The Ball of Kirriemuir - Part 3

NOT A PRETTY SIGHT !

Three significant events occurred prior to the end of 1976 which were to change the course of my life and career forever ! The first was not to come to fruition for nearly 15 years and could only be described as one of life's ironies. I was 'patrolling' the Kirrie Site one day when I bumped into Bob Railton. He told me a 'Decorating' Contractor was on site painting all the lampposts and asked me to keep an 'eye' on them. The company in question was Angus Decs of Arbroath owned by Allan Kennedy, a very astute businessman. He was on-site and was fascinated by the activities of the Industrial Shotblaster Painter companies. I was invited to his offices in Arbroath for 'lunch'. This comprised of copious amounts of Grouse Whisky and when I was well 'pissed' I revealed all the secrets of the trade. It was out of this encounter that Tayblast was born in the mid 80's headed by his son, a then very young Colin Kennedy. This was to be the company I now work for as a Director.

The 2nd event was on a far more emotional level ! It was October 1976 and my mother-in- law to be (Ruby) was up visiting. Now we have all heard the mother-in-law jokes and I won't bore you with them, but suffice it to say she modelled as a 'space-hopper' in her spare time. She was about 5 feet tall and out-weighed me ! I went home for my dinner and I was supping my 'Cock A Leekie' soup when Linda announced she was pregnant by 3 months. "ohh Aye" says I not really taking in the enormity of this statement. I calmly finished lunch jumped into my van and headed back to site. It was only when I arrived at the car park this news hit me like a thunderbolt ! "Holy S#@t" I thought "what are my Mum & Dad going to say !" - At 1st examination that would seem to the on-looker a totally inane and pointless thought. The problem was when I met Linda she was already married ! This was at the time was one of our deepest secrets, and no way we could marry until she divorced (obviously !). This led to avoiding conversations with my parents and family alike who would ask disapprovingly "When are you going to do the right thing then ehh ?". My already tarnished reputation with my relations (and hers) and friends plummeted to new lows - Jack the Ripper was probably more popular than me ! What a #@&#ing mess ! To my eternal discredit I did what any 'honourable' male would do in such a situation - retired to the Pub got blazing drunk and proceeded to pick on the 'hardest man' in the place. This unfortunate turned out to be 'Manny' who I had met on my 1st day in Kirrie - he had become increasingly hostile over the weeks anyway as I was usurping his 'position' so a confrontation was inevitable. The poor soul ended up with every bone in his right hand broken, which destroyed his career as a wood-cutter (lumberjack ?). The only positive thing is that we became firm friends (its a man thing that women don't understand) and he was my loyal disciple for many a year.

The final event ultimately put me at the top of my 'profession' for years to come. The agency I worked for (Solus Schall, at that time a subsidiary of the Rank Xerox organisation) had a policy of awarding an extra £1000 a year on top of your basic salary for every 'Ticket' you gained. Every Inspector (ie Welding Inspection personnel) had to undergo an exam at British ERS (Engineering Research Station), Killingworth, England and awarded an appropriate grade and ID card depending on level of competence and experience. This 'Ticket' was highly sought after as it had at the time Worldwide recognition and was a passport to a lot of money. British Gas decided it was time to bring Paint Inspectors into the scheme and started exams mid 1976. There were 2 grades available ie Painting Inspector & Paint/Painting Inspector. This may seem unintelligible to the layman but meant a 'Painting' Inspector could only monitor and record a job while a 'Paint/Painting could make limited on the spot decisions regarding unclear interpretations of the relevant specifications.

Two Inspectors from other companies had been and gained 'Painting'. Solus sent down 4 men (this included 'Bob' who had 'trained' me) and all failed. My humiliated Boss at Solus (Angus) contacted me with a proposal. As I was the youngest and closest to a school / college exam environment would I go down and take the exam. It would not matter if I failed as my task was to remember as many of the questions as possible so that a training course could be built around them. Failing an exam was not in my vocabulary however, I had never failed an exam in my life ! - Suddenly I got serious, stopped my shenanigans and started training like an Athlete for the Olympics cramming every Paint Technology text I could lay my hands on.

I arrived at Whitley Bay (near Killingworth) with Linda in tow and booked into a Hotel on the night of Dec 8th 1976. I arrived at the exam centre the next day a bag of nerves, there was only one other lad there, Tony Cunningham from the Solus London office (he later went on to do great things and started his own company Transocean in Gt Yarmouth) - The exam was in 2 parts, theory in the morning and practical in the afternoon - The Theory paper was presented and I quickly read it - Oh Joy !! - it was as if someone had taken my old job spec from the Lab at the Chrysler Car Factory and converted it to an exam - What a doddle !! - I finished it in half the allocated time and left the room leaving Tony behind. Because I was so quick they gave me the practical early and I was out of there by lunchtime. I arrived back on-site the next day and hovered nervously around the Office. Bob Railton knew the man (Ron Crisp) in charge at ERS and fed up with my pacing up and down, phoned to get my results. I had passed the Paint/Painting Grade !!! What a party there was in the Og that night !

The financial impact for me was huge ! In the 70's the top earners in Britain tended to be in the Car Industry - A shop floor worker averaged about £85 per week - My finishing salary in 1975 was about £5500 per annum (about £40k in todays terms) - My starting salary with Solus was £2500 plus £120 per week expenses plus paid overtime - relatively not too bad - Because I had achieved 2 grades in one Solus had to increase my rate by £2000 pa (they were not happy !) - I was now better off than in '75 - Later in early 1977 I discovered that ERS had introduced a new Senior Paint Inspector grade which, of course,I wanted. I phoned Ron Crisp and asked him how I would go about getting it. Puzzled he said "But you do have it ! we upgraded you automatically when the grade was introduced - we sent your ticket to Solus !". I was stunned and then filled with rage - the conning bastards ! - I jumped into my van and set up a World Speed Record to Barrhead and stormed into Angus's office - not a pretty sight ! Before I could utter a word Angus went into the top drawer of his desk and flipped my 'Ticket' at me " Oh sorry ! I'd forgotten about that, meant to post it to you !" The 'wind taken out of my sails' I turned about and snarled "I expect my increase to be back dated !" - Yes ! another grand a year.

So there I was ! The 1st ever Senior Paint Man in Britain (I was the only one for years), the highest paid and I was made ! The only problem was that my arrogance and eccentricity increased exponentially as I was aware I could now get a job anywhere in the World and could name my own price. The adage 'Pride comes before a fall' was, however, soon to become painfully true !