Standby for one of Grandads musings.
When asked ‘What should Santa bring you Grandad?’ Some ‘with it’ socks was my reply. I had become very fed up with boring plain grey, maroon, blue and black socks that I wanted some that were a bit more bright and cheerful.
These were forthcoming in abundance, so much so that this afternoon I cleared out all the old ones from my sock drawer and replenished them with an array of stripes and spots and stars. In the process I came across two small boxes hidden away at the back. On opening them they brought back various memories that I will share with you. A little bit of looking back.
When working I invariably wore cuff links and a neck tie. This box has remained in my drawer since that time. There is a silver pair (need cleaning) with opal cabouchons. They reminded me, Sri Lanka 1997.
A couple of silver medallions also saw the light of day. Yes, many years ago even Grandad used to wear the odd medallion around his neck. These are St Christopher and Sagittarius.
As a lad of twelve, I lied about my age to get into the Sea Cadets, that was 1946. By 1952 and now 18, I was a Petty Officer and selected to be one of the British group of cadets to represent the UK at an Empire Training Course at HMS Osprey on Portland Bill , Dorset. There were cadets from around the world with large contingents from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. We all received one of theses silver pin trays with our name and rank engraved on the reverse of the medallion.
In another little box I found an assortment of enamelled pins, some I couldn’t remember their origin but these few each have their own story.
The silver Ten Year Club badge was from my last employer in 1983, followed after another 15 years with a gold watch.
The BSI badge was given to me when the company achieved BSI approval and several product kitemarks under my direction from around 1980.
The Chicago pin reminds me of the only occasion that I have been to the US and that was in 1998 for a trade fair at which we were exhibiting.
The Big Apple pin which includes the Twin Towers is only included because we changed each way at Newark on the Chicago trip.
The green pin is from Eurotunnel. We were amongst a first group to go through the tunnel in 1994 before it was officially opened. We were on a bus and the train stopped halfway to practice an emergency evacuation procedure.
The square gold pin is from Motorola for achieving 6 sigma quality standards for their products. That is better than 3 defects per million products.
And finally, I continued working part time for three years after retirement in a quality consultant capacity for my old employer. Then at 68 I wanted something to fill some of my time and worked for about three years for B & Q as a tool department specialist, before finally ‘retiring’ at age 72.
Anyone else find memories hidden away in drawersor cupboards when you have a clear out?.
