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What's your brew, as in life trade

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SteveD CB500K0:
My daughter is in the Met. She loves it too (even being based in Lewisham...)

Steve

Wenman:

--- Quote from: SteveD CB500F on July 14, 2017, 08:51:34 AM ---My daughter is in the Met. She loves it too (even being based in Lewisham...)

Steve

--- End quote ---

Different world up there I bet! 😩

MCTID:
Me.....I have been very fortunate in my working life - if the job was crap (more usually the managers were the real crap bit) I just went and got another one! Was offered Engineering Apprenticeship in 1966 at Gardner Diesel Engines in Eccles but a bit daunting in such a large factory....same with AEI in Trafford Park......25,000 Employees at the time so went to work in a TV/ Radio Shop in Eccles selling stuff. Older Brother talked me round to get an Engineering Apprenticeship at a small company in Salford manufacturing Textile Machinery (Ring Spinning kit to spin Cotton). Loved that place and learned my stuff off 'proper Engineers'. Left to earn more money at a US Compressor Manufacturer in Trafford Park - like Xmas and my Birthday when I went there as they had hundreds of the latest CNC Machines and some really brilliant CNC Machining Centres machining multi axis stuff like Crankcases. Lovely stuff after working with pre war machines! My Colleague there bought a brand new CB750 Four about 1971/2 which I lusted after big time! Like many on here, I got fed up of the Government so I went to live in Canada for a few years.....worked on Heavy Cranes etc and then for De Havilland on the Twin Otter light aircraft. Loved it in Toronto but my Wife couldn't settle so came back home......not before I rode over to the Rockies on my Suzuki GT500.....most beautiful scenery in the world.....and I will go back one day I hope. Did another 10 years with my old US Employer in Wythenshawe on Inspection/ Quality Control. Added Radiographic Inspection of welded pipework to my resume, along with Auditing (BS 5750/ ISO 9000 stuff) and developing Process Instructions/ Procedures. Had (yet another) 'do' with my Manager so moved into writing Instruction Manuals. Happily - made redundant and got a much better job in Runcorn as a Quality Manager for a Commercial Vehicle Parts manufacturer - mostly because of my BS 5750 knowledge. Loved it there (met my second Wife there so I have a lot to thank them for) and did some really good work.....but (again) had a 'do' with the MD (a smashing bloke) about him never paying our Suppliers on time so I left. Had also looked after Health and Safety there so that helped my next move - a 6 month contract with London Underground.......where I actually stayed for over 20 years. Worked on some gigantic Engineering Projects and got involved in the selection of Suppliers and Contractors, and looked after HSQE on many highly complex and interesting Projects. Found the Front Line Operational Managers and Staff to be brilliant people to work with, but Senior Managers in LUL less so. Did a fair bit of Safety Training (mostly behavioural stuff to give people a different approach to HSE) and helped to reduce accidents and incidents to an all time low. Joined the TA in 1981 as I thought Regan and Thatcher would start WWIII - and stayed for 15 years in the Manchester Artillery.......loved every minute of my time as a Gunner - although I wouldn't recommend it to anyone nowadays as the Government has crapped on the Armed Forces big time and are now seeing the huge problems with recruitment and retention - I very much doubt if we could defend ourselves in a large scale fight again. Just coming up to my 3rd year since retirement and still loving it....still finding plenty to do......my Son in Law recently said that 'There is plenty of time for sleeping when I'm dead' so I'm trying to live up to that! I enjoy this Forum - mostly - as there are some really knowledgable and helpful people contributing to it's undoubted success. I also have a few old Triumph bikes on the go, but the Triumph Forums are not a patch on the sohc crowd. Have met a few fellow sohc members and again, they are all top blokes (they know who they are) and they have all helped me with my bike - and helped me as a person, so many thanks to everyone on our great Forum. Long may I be a part of it. Cheers.

Clunker:
I'm almost ashamed to say what I do/did/done after hearing about you load of geniuses! :-[  I started out as an apprentice brickie at the local Council, got bored of that after a few years and became a forklift driver on a building site. Became a motorcycle courier for a photographic studio until I got squashed by a car, compo payout set myself and my brother up in the shotblasting and powder coating business (biggest mistake of my life). Seemed like I was the only one doing the work while my brother sat on his arse in the office all day on the pretext of "getting work in". He did all the office side of it and kept telling me that the business wasn't really going anywhere and not making enough money and that I ought to let him buy me out. This went on for about a year and I'd had enough so agreed, two weeks after I walked away he went out and bought a listed cottage in the countryside and a brand new BMW to drive himself to the business in. He's a millionaire now and I haven't got a pot to urinate in but I'm happy as a pig in poo, I'm a carer for my disabled Wife. :)

Laverda Dave:
After leaving school in 1978 I became an apprentice coach trimmer in the London Transport Acton Work train overhaul workshops.  It was all sprung seats, horse hair, leather and hand stitching back then, foam was toxic when burned, not a good idea underground!  I was sent  on a residential course where I learned to make hand stitched saddles for horses (not many of those on the tube!). I ended up making all the box leather brief cases for the officers of the company, they must have cost an absolute fortune as each one took a week to make being all hand made and stitched, I never made one for myself though!  After 6 years I got bored, the company was looking for ex-apprentices to move into the technical offices and I became a design draftsman as I was always good at TD in school and it was my best subject at college.  I had the best job in the world thinking up and designing mechanical equipment all day, and seeing it made and used in the workshops. All the other guys in the office were also in their 20's and 30's and had the same outlook. We used to all go out on Friday's and would meet up sometimes during the weekends, we still meet up on a regular basis now for nights out even though we are well into our 50's. Shame this type of bonding doesn't seem to happen nowdays, people leave the office at the end of the working day and retreat into their own worlds.  Unfortunately CAD came along in the early 90's and ink drawing on film was finished for ever :(, the whole department was closed down in 94 when it was 'outsourced' ::). I moved into project engineering which was good but it became boring as it was all office and paperwork based.  I got restless and was offered an opportunity to move onto the Jubilee Line railway extension as a site engineer, hard work but I loved it, I met many people who have remained great friends ever since.
In 2001 I became a project manager and have stayed with it ever since having manged some big projects such as extending the tube to Heathrow Terminal 5, rebuilding Stratford stn ready for the Olympics and now upgrading the surface lines on LU with new trains and signalling. I'll be retiring next year once I've got my 40 years of service in and will still be young enough to enjoy my bikes.
As for motorcycles, I had my first Honda SOHC in 1978, it was a 1966 CB160.  I kept it for 2 years before buying a Matchless 250CSR (why, oh why  :o). After that it was a CB200 and I px'd it for my first 400/4 in 81 (I've had 5 in total, I must be addicted!). I bought a CR750 Rickman Honda (still got it in boxes), it was a S&S bike although the engine had been changed at some point. Modern bikes followed and I've still got my VFR800 after selling the Blackbird last year.  Other bikes are a Laverda 120 (I rode it to its birthplace in Bregenza following its restoration) and a Morini 350 Sport.  Restoring bikes is my hobby/passion/frustration in equal measure (especially 400/4 carbs!). I raced speedway for 4 years at Wimbledon and Iwade on a 2 valve Jawa 500, marriage saw an end to that little escapade, the subsequent divorce saw the bike being sold along with my restored 400/4, drum kit and the Triumph Spitfire to enable me to hang onto the house (and having to work 3 jobs and doing private coach trimming on MG's to pay the 15% mortgage rate)
After many years of working in cold, damp sheds I finally have a garage with a lathe and a proper bench and bike lift, bliss  :).
I stumbled across the SOHC forum a couple of years ago, its been a godsend, great people (and I've even been in touch with MCITD on here who also worked at LU for 20 years) great chatter and advice.  Long may it continue  :)

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