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Hi Bob,
When I worked for EIMCO Water Technologies, I got booted out of Rugby and banished to the newly acquired Jones & Attwood Titan Works. I would commute to/from Kettering daily!
The Works are at the end of the canal, and one of the historic warehouses looked, to all intents and purposes, like a U-Boat pen! I was told that it was where the anchor chains for the Titanic were embarked on a barge and shipped off to Liverpool for delivery to H&W, Belfast.
I had some interesting experiences there:
After packing up in Rugby, having "forgotten" to leave my 21" computer flat screen (I was working in Autocad), I moved into J&A. I was soon surrounded by curiosity seekers, having an ultimate model computer and the "screen"! Moreover, they were amazed that I had my own stock of stationery - In J&A (remember, this was 2005), they still had to take their diminutive pencil stub or empty Bic to "draw" a new one from the stationery window! Also, at lunchtime, a bell would sound and everyone had to vacate the building, the doors were locked until lunch was over, bell sounded, doors opened and workers would file back in!
You could only smoke in the old, cobbled, delivery patio behind the building. The sheds had previously been casting bays for drain pipes etc. One day, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye - some fellows with flat caps and old fashioned dress, walking to the casting bays. I turned to look and, I trick you not, they were transparent! Ghosts or apparitions? I believe that they were!
My Nikon 6006 camera had been stolen. Just after starting in Stourbridge, I had to go "up into town" to get money out of the ATM. I don't know why, I was attracted to the Pawn shop, directly to the window with cameras. Now, the 6006 was an American version, bought in Houston. There was my bluddy camera with a different strap! I went in and asked to see it. Sure enough, the S/N matched. I said nothing and asked,"how much?". Twenty-five quid and in small weekly payments! I re-bought my camera, still have it but cannot be ar$ed with film nowadays (camera now is a Nikon D3300 with 128GB chip).
At christmas, for my eldest daughter's birthday (21 December), I took her and some school friends to Stourbridge to ride on a canal boat and look for Father Christmas, visit his grotto upon return and then a quick stop at McDonalds before returning to Kettering. It was a memorable day!
Only fond memories of my short time in Stourbridge. And yes, I was bewildered by the accent!
Rgds.
Dave
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