Page 174 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

CHAPTER 33

THE TRIP TO BRIGHTON

This must have happened sometime in late Summer 1983. Things hadn’t been going too
well since loosing the Uniroyal contract and the T.M.C. contract too. We had moved what
business was left to Frithville near Boston.
We had a few tyre importer clients who used our vehicles when it suited them for bulk
drops up and down the country. We tried to tie these in with collecting the complaint tyres
for regular delivery to Burton on Trent as the return load.
At this moment in time many of our larger tyre retailer clients were very slow at paying their
bills. Consequently we were frequently short of cash for Fridays!
Albert was still with us and I think this must have been a Thursday. A client in Brighton
owed us enough to cover this week’s wages and had agreed to pay me if I went down
there. (bird in the hand and all that!)

CHANGE OF TRANSPORT.
As was fairly usual at this time, calamity built on calamity!

Pictures: Right a Mk 2 Jaguar “S” Type 3.8.
Mine was all white! All MOT’d etc. Having been
used for the last year touring the UK to set up
our new distribution contract.

Below:
Daimler double six with V12 engine.
Mine was somewhat decrepit and un-cared
for. It had cost very littel from a business
contact. No MOT, lots of rust and holes!
But it would shift!

A lorry had broken down in Essex
and one of the other lorries working
in the London area had gone to
help.
He needed a rigid bar to tow the
injured party home!
I was going to Brighton but my car
(my pride and joy at that time a
lovely white “S” type Jag with wire
wheels) had just had a replacement
engine fitted in our workshop. As it
came out of the ‘shop, the exhaust
caught on the bottom sliding door
rail and pulled it off! Hair tearing out time!
I must admit that during this period I was fairly renowned for leaping up and down from
time to time in a somewhat excited manner.

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