Our new exhibition, ‘Clocking In’ opens on 27th February 2010 at Bedford Gallery. The exhibition will be an exploration into the past, present and future working lives of the people of Bedford. From market trading to brick-making to cutting-edge aerospace research, the working lives of the people of Bedford have always been varied. We will be using interviews with local people, as well as the Art Gallery & Museum collections, to illustrate the vibrancy and variety of Bedfordshire life. The exhibition includes amazing insights into our working day, highlighting what has remained the same but also, how our lives have changed.
‘There were still people in Bedford who believed in what they called gold water, which was the water they washed the gold in, having medicinal properties when they drank it or rubbed it in. His job was to go and retrieve the water that they had washed the gold objects in and hand it out gratuitously to the people of Bedford.’ Richard Stoodley (speaking about his father working at John Bull & Co from 1920 to 1970)
We would love to know what was the first job you ever had? All stories and anecdotes welcome! Get in touch by leaving comments here on the blog, on facebook or on twitter.
My first job was as chief potwasher (kitchen assistant) at The Blacksmiths Arms in Ravensden, where I worked at the weekends whilst I was studying at Bedford College. My favourite part was the potato tumbler that we used to make the chips - an excellent time saving device, really I need one at home.
GH
My first job was as chief pot washer too, at the Strawberry Tree in Milton Ernest, on my first day I wanted to impress them so I scrubbed away for ages on a pan to try and make it shiny, not realising that the reason it wasn’t shiny was that it was non stick and I had scrubbed it all away!
ReplyDeleteMy first job involved sweeping up all the plastic shavings in a factory that made upvc replacement windows. It would take all week to get the bits out of my then long curly hair. These bits of plastic got everywhere in the building and trying to hoover them out of the velcro-like office carpets was a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteDreadful.
ReplyDeleteSat behind a desk typing with one finger and answering the phone badly, not really knowing what I was doing. Until you mentioned it, I had put it to the back of my mind!
Mine was working at Bakers Oven on Saturdays. They weren't used to boys working there - I had to wear a hair net and, in the words of Noel Edmonds, a 'man's shirt' (that's what they told me - in retrospect I'm pretty sure it was a blouse).
ReplyDeleteMy second job was in a factory where they made veggie burgers for a fast food I chain I won't mention...don't eat them!
My first job was in Sainsbury's...Beeep, beeep, beeep, beeep. I hated it. Ma and Sis came and got me for lunch every Saturday to relief the bordem.
ReplyDeleteI was a Saturday girl in woolworths, age 14. Tooting Broadway. I got paid 9/3d (under 50p) and an extra 6d if put on the plant counter, dirt money!
ReplyDeleteI was an apprentice draftsman in McCann Ltd, Dublin. The boss explained to me that workmen are always called by their first name, Pat, Mick, Rob and not Mr So and so. I was 16/17, I earned 7 1/2d an hour.
ReplyDeleteI was a piano teacher at age 14, taking 6 and 7 year olds through the basics for my own piano teacher who couldn't be arsed and farmed them out to me.
ReplyDeleteStocking up supplies and doing odd-jobs at long-established local stationers F Tollman & Co on The Broadway. I cycled to work and made sure the shelves and small shop store was filled from the warehouse which meant running back and forth across the A6 with trolley-loads of boxes! Health & Safety nightmare. This was only in the 1980's but they still wrote each sale out in a book with carbon copies and manually calculated VAT and discounts. Happy days!
ReplyDeleteMy first Saturday job was in the local grocers round the corner in Wandsworth, South London. I was 14 and it paid well at £1 per day. The most popular purchase was 'spam'. I had to work the slicing machine and they could choose the thickness. For e.g. they would ask for 10 slices of spam on no.10. When I got home and mum said we had spam fritters for tea I was not amused!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember the health food shop that used to be on Midland Road called 'Nuts'? I worked on the till on Saturdays while I was in the 6th form at Sharnbrook. It wasn't too bad, but it really motivated me to get my A levels and go to university!
ReplyDelete