To make life easier I needed transport to get me to and from work at any time of the day or night. A motor bike was the obvious choice, being able to ride up to 250cc on my own as a learner. I was also a bit of a “Rocker” with black leather jacket and studs I started with a BSA 125cc Bantam. It only lasted a month before breaking down. Next step was to invest (HP) and I purchased a second hand Norton 250cc twin. That also only lasted a month before breaking down. It was under guarantee and so this time I invested in reliability and purchased a brand new Honda C90.
It was small and didn’t exactly fit my Rocker status, but it was reliable and lasted me throughout my service in Motive Power. It was smooth running and quite powerful for its size. It did lack one thing that all British motorcycles possessed. Oil spillage. There wasn’t any. Up to the introduction of Japanese engineering oil spillage was accepted.
It’s a 14 mile ride into work. I left home at 02.00hrs for a 03.00hrs start. It was a beautiful night. The moon shone bright and stars twinkled throughout the moonlit sky.
The only bad thing about it was the temperature. It was the coldest night for over 20 years. Not that I could feel it. I was that cold that I was numbed from the start. When I arrived at the depot I was so cold that I couldn’t dismount the bike. I managed to stand up and help was needed to remove the bike from under me. I was helped to the mess room to thaw out.
Talking of mess rooms- it is the centre of the depot. You could be arriving to start your duty, finishing your duty preparing to go home or having your meal break, the mess room was your port of call. On occasions you could spend a whole shift in the mess room standing by for relief if needed. One of these needs was often due to what was known as a “sleep through”. A driver or Fireman may not turn up for duty because they did not wake up. The alarm clock may not have activated, or in some cases you were so tired you didn’t even hear it. It happened to me once and I woke up at the time my shift had actually finished.
What could you do in the mess room? Well the obvious activity was to make the tea and eat your sandwiches. But there were many other activities for which you could partake. There was a dartboard, a shove halfpenny board and of course playing cards. If you were on your own then pyramids or solo was an option. With two of you cribbage was a favourite. If there were more than two of you there were a number of options open.
The big one though was 3 card brag. This meant gambling and in general we were talking pennies. There was one game I remember though that went way above pennies and I was a participant. There were about six of us playing. We’d been playing for well over an hour and a straight run was about the best hand that had been dealt. Then came the big one. I had been dealt a prial of 7s. Out of a 52 card pack, three cards, three sevens. WOW. Pennies flowed and quickly 3 players dropped out leaving three of us in play. You can’t stop gambling until there are only two players left. Soon pennies turned to shillings, then pounds. I ran out of money and reluctantly had to throw my cards in. Even then the other two players played on until one of them eventually closed the game with the words “See You”. With a big smile on his face the other player showed his hand. Three Queens.
His face dropped though when the other player presented three threes. That is the top hand in 3 card brag. Friendship goes amiss when you gamble to extremes.
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