Page 38 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

ice in all the gullies and drains.
The noise level increased rapidly as instant auctions took place for the countless varieties
of fish and shell fish. Auctions on the back of lorries, auctions in the isles between the
stalls and auctions in the open air.

As goods were sold, the porters loaded kits of fish on their heads or boxes on their quaint
long low barrows. Off they went at top speed, singly or in pairs to another part of the yard
where eager buyers waited patiently to load their precious purchases. Fish from all parts of
the UK was destined to travel yet again to “pastures new”!

‘My shrimps’ were rapidly moved from the back of the truck. Brian’s agent took samples
into his cabin area and sold from there. His porters simply collected the number of nets
from my truck and took them to their new owner.
Demand was high as often they were the only shrimps in the market. The buyer could
actually see what he was getting.
Within an hour it was almost all over. All the excitement and clamour finished until the next
morning at 5am.
I always endeavoured to arrive well by 3.30 or at the latest 4am. This gave me time to
cope with any possibility of breakdown and also gave the merchants time to look at the
shrimps before sales began.
A further reason was that the market café opened at 4 am and served excellent food.

This interlude lasted about two months off and on. The experience was good for the future
although Brian decided to sell his boat later that year and move away.
Brian paid well for these trips but I did not take into account the corrosion effect of the
residue salt water constantly dripping from the shrimp nets onto the truck bodywork.
This was to be contributory to my first road traffic licence endorsement two years later for
“dangerous” corroded sills on the same truck.

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