Page 192 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

business made me look at every possible option for the future.

“The Lincoln Spiv” story covers our investigation of lorry tyre remoulding which would have
been very successful if it had got off the ground. “The Spiv’s” annoyance at not getting a
chance to “take us over” resulted in the eventual unbearable pressure put on us by
Midland Bank at Lincoln and the final crash.
I must add that a Knight in Shining Armour in the form of Ed Taylor an accountant from
Peterborough did his very best to keep us afloat. He could see the potential of the contract
I had won from the Tyre Manufacturers Conference. After 18 months of hard slog and
thousands of miles of travel throughout England, Scotland and Wales. We were to handle
the total national collection of all major brand tyres under adjudication for manufacturing
complaint, delivering them all to one examination centre at Burton upon Trent, the two
other existing examination centres were to be closed.
I had set up the regional collection centres and developed the system of rigid lorries with
demountable bodies using very second-hand vehicles to begin with. Ed left no stone
unturned in his effort to help, all at no charge. A true Christian.
To make the whole idea profitable I had coupled this basic contract in with distribution
work from five importers of tyres manufactured overseas. These businesses were based in
places where we would be collecting the complaint tyres and leaving empty demountable
box bodies for pick up “next time”. This would give us “back loads” and avoid running
lorries empty.

Six “collection” depots were set up nationally in all corners of the UK and began to
operate. I had proved that my ideas would work but our bank would not allow any further
capital for development of the idea. I am still firmly convinced that “the spiv” was putting
pressure on the bank to stop our development out of spite. We had good spare collateral
in our lovely Georgian Country house and the bank held the deeds. The main problem was
they would not allow us any movement in any direction except down!

In the contract with the TMC was a clause that if my company was to liquidate then we
would lose the contract. The bank would not budge and despite Ed and I travelling
countrywide to find a solution, nothing could be done in time. My final visit to the Midland
Bank in Lincoln and dismantling their office desk with my boot did not help, but made me
feel much better at the time!
One and half year’s work on developing the TMC distribution, 10 years of ECYB all ended
in that liquidation. We finally ran out of working capital. My innocence of how big
companies work within the “old boys” network had lost me my whole business. A Tyre
manufacturer’s subsidiary haulage company simply moved in where I had left off! All the
hard work had been done!
There are several other stories from around this time.
Our Trout, The School, Christmas with Beryl, Buying “Northcote”, The Radio Telephone
and more.

This was not a good time, our house had to be sold to pay off the bank and we were going
to be homeless. Another home had to be found.

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