I've just clambered out of a taxi, the driver of which demonstrated to me once again how beautifully remarkable people are.
He started off - after the usual pleasantries - with a bold "well I find I'm bored out of my mind doing this job". Dangerous but I ventured a "what did you used to do?" It paid off. "Well, I used to drive the only 1,000 tonne crane in the UK." So we chatted a little about the logistics involved in this. £36,000 to rig it for a job. Another £36,000 to un-rig it - whatever the phrase would be. And £12,000 a day for it to do whatever you want it to do. So it's apparently a fairly well-paid job. (I didn't dare ask precise amounts.)
"But I guess when you're dealing with that size of crane, when things go wrong, they're pretty spectacular?" "Oh yes, and I had a few f**k ups in my time, I don't mind telling you." "What happened?" I'm sure my eyes were more saucer-like than usual in the dark taxi back. "Well, put it this way (not quite answering the question), once I was operating one of the smaller cranes and I misjudged it and it tipped right over the quay and into the water. I was lucky as it was a warm day (hypothermia?) and I got out with a bad back and a broken ankle." The crane sank without trace.
"But of course I only fell into operating it. My supervisor called me in one day when I was operating one of the smaller cranes and said did I have any experience driving a (can't remember the detail but basically, a) big long lorry? And I said, course I did, I used to drive them all the time in the army. And he said 'great, we need someone to take this down to London.' And I looked at it and it went on forever. And I thought well, if I can get it out of the carpark, I can get it to London."
And the Army? Well, he turned out to have been in the Argylls. Well, now I know that this is a very northern battalion. The Argyll and Southern Highlanders, to be precise. "How on earth did you end up up there?" "Well," he said, "that's another story. I was something of a lad in my time. I had more hair then and a six pack. And I wanted to join the army but I didn't know where to go and one of my mates was a sniper and, not to put too fine a point on it, he got all the girls. So I thought, great, I'll be a sniper. And then I was looking for a battalion and one of my mates was in the Argylls so I thought well, I'll go up there. And there were three of us from Edinburgh and we got a lot of stick from the other boys for our accents."
So a sniper for the Argylls. A crane man. And then his missus put her foot down because he was away too much with his biggest crane in the UK and so he drives taxis. "And I know I'm a hypocrite but if my 6 year old ever says she wants to end up with a soldier, well I tell you, I'm having none of it."
He started off - after the usual pleasantries - with a bold "well I find I'm bored out of my mind doing this job". Dangerous but I ventured a "what did you used to do?" It paid off. "Well, I used to drive the only 1,000 tonne crane in the UK." So we chatted a little about the logistics involved in this. £36,000 to rig it for a job. Another £36,000 to un-rig it - whatever the phrase would be. And £12,000 a day for it to do whatever you want it to do. So it's apparently a fairly well-paid job. (I didn't dare ask precise amounts.)
"But I guess when you're dealing with that size of crane, when things go wrong, they're pretty spectacular?" "Oh yes, and I had a few f**k ups in my time, I don't mind telling you." "What happened?" I'm sure my eyes were more saucer-like than usual in the dark taxi back. "Well, put it this way (not quite answering the question), once I was operating one of the smaller cranes and I misjudged it and it tipped right over the quay and into the water. I was lucky as it was a warm day (hypothermia?) and I got out with a bad back and a broken ankle." The crane sank without trace.
"But of course I only fell into operating it. My supervisor called me in one day when I was operating one of the smaller cranes and said did I have any experience driving a (can't remember the detail but basically, a) big long lorry? And I said, course I did, I used to drive them all the time in the army. And he said 'great, we need someone to take this down to London.' And I looked at it and it went on forever. And I thought well, if I can get it out of the carpark, I can get it to London."
And the Army? Well, he turned out to have been in the Argylls. Well, now I know that this is a very northern battalion. The Argyll and Southern Highlanders, to be precise. "How on earth did you end up up there?" "Well," he said, "that's another story. I was something of a lad in my time. I had more hair then and a six pack. And I wanted to join the army but I didn't know where to go and one of my mates was a sniper and, not to put too fine a point on it, he got all the girls. So I thought, great, I'll be a sniper. And then I was looking for a battalion and one of my mates was in the Argylls so I thought well, I'll go up there. And there were three of us from Edinburgh and we got a lot of stick from the other boys for our accents."
So a sniper for the Argylls. A crane man. And then his missus put her foot down because he was away too much with his biggest crane in the UK and so he drives taxis. "And I know I'm a hypocrite but if my 6 year old ever says she wants to end up with a soldier, well I tell you, I'm having none of it."
posted by Claire at 8:41 pm
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