| Subject: What happened next? |
Author:
Dave Parker
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Date Posted: 22:36:33 02/28/05 Mon
This one is not really a tale from my army days but more a "What happened next". I left the Army in 1974 and for the next six years did a number of jobs. In 1980 I was asked if I fancied a job as a chauffeur? The thought behind the offer was that with my disciplined background and the fact that I knew how to look smart, I would find the job easy. The guy I was going to drive for was the MD of an outfit called British Steel Service Centres and was the stockholding arm of British Steel. The company had a nationwide coverage, with something like 100+ depots spread throughout the UK. As the MD liked to get around as many as possible each month, the job entailed a lot of driving. I, subsequently, got used to driving 100,000 miles, plus, per year but, I digress! When I went for the interview for the job, I had an initial chat with the Personnel Director who informed me that the boss was ex-military too and, in fact, had been awarded the MM at Dieppe as a young lieutenant. When it came time for the interview, it must have been on my mind that this was a bit like a CO's interview and I marched in and slammed to attention in front of his desk and was half way to saluting him, before realising where I was. "F****ing hell, young Parker" he said, pissing himself laughing. "I haven't had anyone do that to me in years. "Sit down, for Christ sake!" That was the start of a fantastic working relationship with a brilliant man who came to treat me like the son he never had. Sadly, he passed away a few years ago, not long after retiring!! That also was the last occasion that I ever bullshitted my way into a job. After chatting for a while and reminiscing about our relative Army experiences, he told me I had the job, subject to a driving test with his Financial Director and he threw me the keys to, his pride and joy, a 4.2 Jaguar, with the admonishment "Don't friggin bend it!". Now, I had never driven an automatic before but when asked if I had, I of course replied "Yeah, no problems" and spent the next twenty minutes sweating goolies while I got used to it, with the bosses last words echoing in my ear! Needless to say, I passed and, later, went on to pass my advanced drivers test and clock up over a million miles with the company over the next 14, or so, years.
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