Those we have Known and Loved? -9
Jack W; Jack was a "card" he was up to every dodge in the book.
he had had an industrial injury and wore a back support, and was therefore on light duties.
Our dept. used to service the lifting hoists and ancillary equipment in a number of mills around the Witton site.
One of Jacks jobs was to oil the lifting blocks that ran on tracks 10 or 12 feet above the floor. To do so a ladder was needed to get up to them.
I went with jack to learn his round in case he was ever absent. With oil can in hand we sauntered along, Jack had only one speed, "gently" in his words, slow in anyone else's.
At each set of blocks Jack glanced around, and not being watched he squirted some oil onto the floor, "not too much" he said, "otherwise you give the game away".
The following week the foreman went with me to make sure I knew the route.
His comment was that "you can always see where Jack's been because of the oil that he always let drip onto the floor after he has done the job".
Mum was the word, I daren't let the truth be known.
Several years later I was on a company course at Holdford House, that required small teams to look out of the window, and judge the work rate of the various people that were working within our view. We had to give marks up to 10 to each person, dependent on our opinion as to their work rate.
All went well and each team handed in their sheets of marks to the instructor.
He looked them over until he came to the team that had given someone only 2 points.
"How on Earth can you give anyone such a low mark", the instructor declared.
The team were at a loss, when one of them spotted the person that they had been given the low score outside in the yard.
The instructor studied the person for a few moments, and declared that they had indeed given the wrong marks. "He doesn't deserve the 2 you gave him, they were far too generous.
The person in question was my old mate Jack, "gently" going about his business. Again I said nowt, letting Jack go on his way "gently".
How did Jack get away with it for so many years? I asked him on many occasions, but he always answered with a wink of the eye.
When his retirement day came I made a point of asking him again. My logic was that whatever he told me would count for little, now that he was no longer an employee.
It worked,it turned out that many years previously, Jack who lived in the countryside, had had a day off, he had taken his dog a walk along a canal towpath.
On the way he had passed a car that was all steamed up, and judging from its motions, there was "activity" going on inside.
Just as he walked past, the window was wiped from the inside and a face appeared.
It happened to be his foreman, who to intents and purposes was a church going man!
Nothing was said then or at any time later, but there was an understanding between them.
Now jack's little secret is between the 3 of us.