Page 26 - Transporter Talk Issue 195

MEMBER REPORT
The next morning, we all met promptly at eight, I noticed several of our group looked a little grey and red eyed and seemed not too keen on the breakfast buffet that the hotel had laid on. The early 80s had yet to see the food revolution that was soon to grip our country and wow our taste buds. I remember my parents had not even sampled garlic bread at this time, so a continental breakfast came as a bit of a shock to our party. Now we are not talking croissant and jam here and a latte oh no - a full continental meant cold meats, cheese, bread and not a cooked sausage or slice of bacon and egg in sight. Now even I found it hard to stomach cold meat so early on, so I remember lasting till luncheon on bread and jam.
After breakfast we loaded our belongings onto the coach and eagerly boarded not wanting to waste any time reaching our goal the VW plant.
I’m not sure how long the journey took but it seemed to pass quite quickly I had made a friend of similar age, so I spent most of the journey at the rear of the coach with the other children. I remember first approaching the Wolfsburg plant from a distance it looked immense but as we approached the gates the factory seemed to never end. Our coach was met at the gates by Fred who had worked at the plant for many years before retiring. He was later called upon to help out as a tour guide when the need arose and his excellent command of the English
language made him the perfect choice as a guide and mentor for our stay.
We parked up and disembarked to be greeted by Volkswagen’s own brass band playing around the flag pole flying the Union Jack all in our honour. My word they made us feel so welcome. After a brief introduction we were shown around the plant the production line then making late MK1 Golfs the paint shop, engine assembly and final assembly as well as Fred pulling workers off the line to explain what their position and job entailed. We were also given freedom to take as many photographs as we wanted. One area off limits was the design area where they were putting the finishing touches to the MK2 Golf as well as other upcoming new vehicles.
We were all then guided into the dining room where we were all treated to a beautiful meal courtesy of VW.
To be continued next issue...
Andy Jones
26 | Transporter Talk Issue 195