My Life Story by Colin Lloyd - Part 6

MFI Gatehouse security

By March, Margaret had been made redundant from Plessey and was working at a chocolate packing factory in Brackmills. I had been told I was being made redundant from MFI, as they had to lose one security guard and as I was only gatehouse security I would be the one to go. They offered me a job working in the canteen. I gave it a try but it affected my back, so after three weeks I told them I would take the redundancy. Whilst looking for another security job I worked for Kelly’s Agency at GE Lighting, packing light bulbs. This wasn't too bad because if you did overtime you got a free breakfast and that was full English.

GE Lighting

Lady's Lane

In June 1990, I applied and got a job with security at Barclaycard on Marefair. It was very interesting working on reception and I did the odd patrol at night. We did hourly patrols. We also covered the Barclaycard buildings over the bus station and the Crown Court in Lady’s Lane. I occasionally went to Golden Wonder at Corby. Whilst there we would be given vouchers for boxes of crisps etc. And sometimes I would come home with a full boot. Margaret was also bringing home bags of chocolates for 50p each so nephews never went short of crisps or sweets. 

Margaret and I continued going to Newquay for our holidays and we made friends with a disabled couple. I tried to teach Margaret how to play snooker, but the only thing she managed to pot was the white. We went to Land’s End in 1993 and went down into the cavern but I became claustrophobic and had to come out. (Photos 7,8 & 9) 

 

Margaret had a younger brother, Michael, who was born in 1940. When he was 4 years old he ran out of the house and because the sun temporarily blinded him, he smashed into the air raid shelter in the street. This caused him to suffer brain damage. Contact was lost with him until his brother Fred received a call from the General Hospital in 1990. Michael was in Linwood Nursing Home in East Park Parade. Whilst he was in hospital I went to visit him and often took him to see his mother. He died before his mother and was buried in Kingsthorpe Cemetery. 

We also took Uncle Bill and his wife to Bognor Regis to see Aunt Gladys, his sister. Margaret and I went into town so they could spend some time together. Margaret bought a watch for £4.99 and it was accurate right up to the time she passed away in 2009.

I received a phone call from the security manager at Barclaycard offering me a position as security at the stationary store in Quorn Way, just off St. Andrews Road. The stationary was going to be outsourced to a private company and they wanted someone to keep an eye on things. This meant that I worked as a picker and packer until they closed at 4pm and then going over to Barclaycard in Marefair until 7pm. I accepted this and it turned out to be very interesting as I learnt to operate a cherry picker. This was a ramp that would lift me up to the top of the warehouse shelving. The manageress of the stationary was Mrs Sue Heydon and all the staff there made me feel very welcome, plus the foreman at Quorn Way was John McDonald, who I had worked with while I was on the buses.                                                                                                                                                                   

We would also go and see Jenny’s in-laws at Mablethorpe.  Tina, the dog, was put in the dog run, but within 10 minutes, would be scratching at the door. We also kept having the family down for Christmas parties. Margaret’s niece had become engaged and she asked if she could bring her fiancé down to meet us. Because his name was Heath, Derek, Margaret’s brother, was convinced he was coloured. When they arrived I let them in. When Kerry got Margaret on her own she asked her what she thought of Heath. Margaret said, “I’ve only one thing to say”, Kerry’s face dropped, Margaret continued, “I wish I had met him first”. He was a lovely chap. They met when Kerry was working at Billing Mill behind the bar and he was a bouncer. 

Mablethorpe

I was made redundant at Barclaycard in Nov 1993 and was taken on by a company known as Ambassador Security. My job was as a security officer at a pc distribution centre in Sketty Close, which is situated on Brackmills Industrial Estate. This was boring because all I had to do was sit and watch the warehouse door for deliveries. Ambassador also had mobile security drivers who checked out the premises. I learnt later they carried keys and one of them started pilfering. And Ambassador lost the contract and I was made redundant on 30th April 1994. 

We continued to go to Mablethorpe to see Jennifer’s in-laws. We also took Phyllis and the dog. One day I took Tina down on the beach, next thing I knew she was running up to the top, near Margaret. She had found a patch of grass, had a wee and then came back down to me on the beach. On the way to Mablethorpe we always stopped at the same pub for something to eat and they always put a bowl of water out for Tina.

At Barclaycard we always took part in Comic Relief and other charity fund raising events. By December Rentokil, my employers, had lost the security contract. I immediately signed on with Staffline Agency and continued working as a picker/packer at the stationary store. The following year Ofrex Office Supplies took over the stationery for Barclaycard and employed us full time but it still meant working 12 hour shifts. They also provided a car, as I had to ferry the manager about. I also had to go to different suppliers to pick up some stock if we were short. I had to go to Croyden once just to pick up one small parcel. I left at lunch time but due to roadworks on the M25, I didn't get back until half past seven that evening. Another journey I used to make was to Ofrex Head Office in Droitwich, in Worcestershire.

Meanwhile, my eldest daughter, Jane was living with her future husband, Stewart. He was a gamekeeper and worked for a Mr Phillips They lived in a farmhouse that had been converted into three houses. He had 5 dogs, 4 were working dogs as they had a lot of pheasant shoots. One time, he let me have a go on his quad bike and I nearly rolled it over. 

Stewart had a son, Jamie and he came to stay with us in 1994. He arrived in time to see the balloon festival. He also came to Bognor Regis with us.

At the side of Stewart’s house was an old Victorian walled garden where Mr Phillips had an enormous collection of Iris's. Every time he went away, he brought back another species to add to the 200 plus that he already had.
At the back wall, were old greenhouses with vines that were over 100 years old and which still produced grapes. 

 

In October Jane and Stewart decided to get married and Janine, her daughter, was to be her Matron of Honour. Jamie and I were witnesses. We took our neighbour Phyllis with us but the weather was terrible, wet and very windy, but nevertheless it all went off without a hitch.

We were still going out at Christmas for dinner and we decide to go to the Globe at Weedon. The main meal was acceptable but we had chestnut soup, which I did not enjoy one little bit, so that put the dampers on the whole meal and we never went back.

On Mr Phillips land, a mobile phone company wanted to erect a mast in the woodland. He insisted that it was camouflaged and if you did not know it was a mast it looked exactly like one of the trees. Pity they can’t all be like that. 

We went to Newquay again in 1996 and it was so hot that all the grass had turned brown. We went to the seal sanctuary at Gweek. When Margaret got out of the car she said it was as if the bushes were going round in circles. The following morning at breakfast she had to leave the dining room because it was as if the chandeliers were coming down. The hotel arranged for us to see the doctor, who said it was the weather, but when we got home she kept feeling dizzy and our doctor diagnosed Meniere’s Disease.This is an illness that affects the balance in the inner ear and put her on tablets that did help. That was the last time we ever went on holiday as it had frightened her. When Margaret went to see the doctor he called her “Duchess of Duke Street”. He is a very good and caring doctor. If I ever experience any problems, I just have to give him a call.

It was in 1995 or 1996, that Kerry and Heath got married, the exact year, I'm uncertain of.

 

In February 1997 Margaret’s brother suffered a severe stroke that left him paralysed down the left side of his body, affecting his speech and movements. He was a patient in Northampton General Hospital and we used to visit him while he was in there. As it got warmer, we used to wheel him downstairs to the main entrance for a change of scenery. After about eight weeks he was transferred to a rehabilitation centre at Rivermead on the outskirts of Oxford. We often went over to see him at weekends and I used to take him down the pub for a drink. (Photos 32 & 33)

 

Derek and his wife lived in a first floor flat in Cartwright Road and because of his disability they decided to sell the flat and bought a bungalow in North Western Avenue. Derek was allowed home at weekends and as the bungalow was being converted Margaret and I decided he could stay with us as we were in a downstairs flat, which has been designed for disabled people.

In 1998 Derek, his wife, Margaret and I decided to go to Newquay, where we stayed at the Kilbernie Hotel. The staff there were very good to us, putting ramps down so he could get in and out in his wheelchair. We took him out regularly and one day went down to the harbour. The only snag was pushing him back up the hill to town. By the time I got to the top I was absolutely knackered (pardon my French). We often took him and his wife out with us on Saturday evenings, along with Phyllis. 

I had finished at Barclaycard and was working at the job centre in Sheep Street. (Photo 35) My previous wife’s nephews worked there, Mark Holmes and his brother Simon. Mark lived in St James and his home was one of those affected when the 1998 flooding occurred. 

In 1999 the four of us went to Babbacombe, to a hotel that catered for disabled people. It wasn’t too bad but I wasn’t impressed by the meals or the level of service. One evening Margaret came down to the bar and asked me to go upstairs. When I got there she had been ironing and stood the iron up on the carpet. Apparently a bus went past and the iron fell flat on the carpet and had burnt it. I called one of the staff and explained and she said don’t worry about it as the carpet peeled off the iron. It fitted back into the bare patch. Margaret and I went to see the miniature village. It was marvellous with all working models and I used a complete film taking photographs.

Margaret, Phyllis and I had found a lovely pub in Yardley Hastings, The Red Lion. The second time we went there, when we left the landlord came out after us and told me I had forgotten to pay. Phyllis said to him, “I thought it was a freehouse”. That broke the ice and we had a good laugh. Also we came through Brayfield and there was a gentleman waiting for the bus to go to the pub, so we stopped to pick him up. It turned out he was the actor Bryan Pringle, who had appeared in the film The Early Bird with Norman Wisdom and had also appeared in several episodes of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave them. He was a gentleman and always when he got out of the car he opened the door for Phyllis and Margaret. 

                                  

Margaret and I went for Sunday lunch and as I didn’t like carrots I had a double helping of cabbage with extra gravy. It was beautiful. The couple who ran it eventually sold it and it went downhill so we decided to try the Red Lion at Denton. This was quite entertaining as they used to run race nights. We also used to go to the Stretton Arms at Turweston where the barmaid who took the photos of our wedding had taken over the tenancy of the pub. They used to hold a duck race every year in the stream at the bottom of the garden.  
I eventually left the job centre and went to work at Francis House, for Group 4 security. Here, they dealt with Income Support and pensions. Before going there I had to go for a week’s training at the company Head Office in Wapping, by the River Thames. While I was there, I watched the filming of one of the James Bond films which included a river chase. I passed the exam and returned to Northampton to start work at Francis House, where here were 2 of us on duty. There were several nasty experiences here, one involved a girl who couldn’t get an emergency loan and in temper, she kicked the door in. 
This was in 1999 and I stayed there until I retired in 2001.

One day someone came in and told us a pheasant had landed in the bushes outside. We went out and managed to catch it. I put it in a large cardboard box and when we finished our duty roster, I took it to Rhodes Veterinary Surgery, on Queens Park Parade. They rang me the following day and said it was fine. One of the veterinary assistants lived in Chapel Brampton so she took it home with her and released it into the field nearby.

At the start of 2001 I was still working for the DSS at Francis House as security officer. Margaret was concerned at the amount of violent activity at the DSS. Quite often had to call the police to resolve some of the problems we were experiencing. One time we searched the waiting room and found two knives. On 1st March I reached the age of 65 and decided to retire. The day I left I was presented with many gifts from the DSS staff. I, though, was glad to get out.

After about four weeks I became bored so I went along to the job centre to look for a part time job. One that caught my eye, was working in a post room. I went to the agency and found that it was the post room at the DSS! I explained that I had worked there as security and asked the agency to make sure there was no objections to my working there, which they did. I got the job. It involved opening the post and sorting it into baskets for the relevant departments. The hours were 7am – 10am but we were usually finished by 9.30am. The post was delivered by TNT and there were several times when the post was late, so we used to stay until it was finished.

My duties meant that I also covered for the messenger, which meant delivering and collecting mail to and from both the Town Hall and Belmont House in Cliftonville. I used to use my car, for which I received a petrol allowance. In all there were seven of us working in the post room. Eventually a private company took over as part of the outsourcing policy and they took us on as regular staff. This meant we received holiday pay, which, when you consider I was drawing a pension and receiving pay for working, meant that everything in the garden was rosy.

In 2002 Margaret was on medication and I used to go to the Co-op to collect it. In August I went there and found that there was a note on the door advertising for a part time driver. I enquired after it and learnt that they wanted to start a delivery and collection service, i.e. collecting prescriptions and delivering to customers. It was for one hour a day, starting at 2pm. They were moving into the doctor’s surgery in Adelaide Street. I applied for and got the job. I commenced on 2nd October 2002. Melanie Ashton was the manager. the service started off slowly but after two months it went from one hour to two and by 6 months we were up to three hours a day. Being employed by the Co-op, I automatically became a member, receiving all the benefits. 

I found that working at both the DSS post and the Co-op was getting to be too much for me so I decided to resign from the post room and concentrate on the delivery service with the Co-op. I was, by now, delivering out of town, Pitsford, Collingtree, Duston, Moulton and Haringstone. Apart from that, we had contracts with Simon de Senlis and Grange Nursing Homes. Margaret used to come out with me for the ride and as I delivered each prescription she ticked them off the list.

One Friday I had several deliveries to make and as I pulled up at Queensview Surgery to collect prescriptions it started to snow. When I came out of the surgery everything was white, I could hardly see my car. I had a full load on for The Grange and I knew they were urgent so I rang the chemist and said I would go up the Grange and depending on the weather, I may have to leave the rest. I got to the Grange at about quarter past three. We left at three thirty and decided to return to the chemist. It took more than an hour and half to get from Kingsthorpe to the bottom of Kingsthorpe Hollow. I turned into St Andrews Road and from there it took me nearly half an hour to get to the chemist. It was 5.30pm when we left there and it took me three quarters of an hour to get home. That journey would normally have taken ten minutes. Luckily it was the weekend and by Monday the roads were fairly clear.

Margaret had been to the doctors with a blood clot and he had told her to stop smoking. She had had two cigarettes before seeing the doctor and after she came, out she never touched another one. Delivery work had become very busy and I was working nearly full time but I was enjoying every minute and made many friends with the patients. We lost the contract for The Grange but we had started delivering to St Crispin Retirement Village in Duston. I was given a special keypass to access all areas and finished up with about twelve deliveries for there.

I was being paid 40p a mile fuel allowance and was averaging about 200 miles a week. Once a month I also had to go to Bugbrooke Surgery,to pick up a prescription for a lady at St Crispin’s Village, so that to my added mileage.
By 2009 the company had decided to stop using our own cars and use a van. Owing to the insurance restrictions, this meant that I could no longer take Margaret with me so I decided to accept a redundancy offer they made. It was disappointing but I did not like to leave Margaret on her own. So we used to go out for afternoon rides into the countryside. Margaret used to love going to Gayton, where she had spent her childhood.On one occasion,I received a phone call from the chemist, asking me to help them out as the driver, Tony, was on holiday. This I did two weeks and was paid £25 a day.

On 22nd September, when Margaret woke up and said she had problems breathing, I phoned for an ambulance. A paramedic came to her and put her on oxygen before admitting her into hospital. I stayed with her and notified the family. When I went to see her on the 23rd, she seemed fine and the family also visited her. I left at seven in the evening. On Thursday 24th I received a telephone call at 5.15am from the hospital telling me to get down there as she had taken a turn for the worse. When I arrived they would not let me see her and a doctor took me into the office. They had had to resuscitate her eight times. I contacted Margaret’s sister and she came down straight away. The doctor said they dare not do any more resuscitation because of the damage to her heart. We stayed with her until seven in the evening. The neighbours were brilliant, feeding the cats for me.

On 25th I rang the hospital at 8am and was told she had a comfortable night, so I said I would go in to see her when I had done the shopping. At 10.15am, when I got home, I had a phone call from the hospital to tell me she had died. The first thing I did was to ring Margaret’s sister, Dolly and she told me to go straight up to her house. How I managed to drive up there I don’t know, I was in a daze.

When I arrived all of Doll’s family were there and they took me down to the hospital to see her. I had already rang my neighbours and they took care of the cats, making sure they were fed. Doll agreed to come with me on Tuesday to sort everything out, including registering the death, dealing with the banks and arranging for the funeral directors. I rang my daughter Jane to tell her. She was very upset but because of her illness she was unable to get back to town. The funeral took place on 7th October at The Counties Crematorium and her ashes were buried with her mother at Kingsthorpe Cemetery. Her name was added to her mother’s tombstone. Christmas seemed very quiet but my neighbour, Cis, cooked my Christmas dinner for me.

After Christmas I decided to contact my youngest daughter Jennifer. Margaret hadn't been able to get on with her so I hadn’t been in contact for 19 years.  My eldest daughter gave me her telephone number. I rang her and we decided to meet, so I drove over to Newton where she was living. She hadn’t changed one bit. She took me over to Haverhill to see my grandson, his wife and my great grandson Dylan, who was two. I had never seen him. We went into town for a meal and she said she would come over for a weekend and bring Dylan. I managed to obtain a single bed and they came over. We were planning to go to Harlestone Firs so Jenny put Dylan in the car. She shut the door and then realised she had left the keys on the front seat, the car locked automatically after one minute.

We had to call the fire brigade and they had to break the quarter light to get the keys. Dylan was a little frightened but the firemen let him sit in the fire engine so that pleased him. On Sunday we took him into town and went to see the lions in the town centre and then down to Becket's Park. Also that year my grandson Darren, his partner Ursula and great granddaughters called in on their way back home to Llandudno. As I hadn’t seen them for over 20 years, that was brilliant.

My brother-in-law’s grandson was getting married and I received an invitation to the wedding. As I didn’t want to go on my own Jennifer offered to come with me. I cleared it with the bride’s mother and I rang Doll. She wasn’t very happy about it as she thought Jennifer didn’t get on with Margaret. When I tried to explain, she said she didn’t want to know. In the end, I said, “Sod your family”, and I haven’t heard from any of them since. Jennifer also came to my neighbour Phyllis’s 90th birthday party, which was held at the Romany pub. It was packed as all the family came from all parts of the country.

On the anniversary of Margaret’s death Jennifer took me on a three day break to Lymington, in Hampshire. We stayed at a farmhouse belonging to a person who supplies mushrooms to royalty and the houses of parliament. Whilst there we went on the ferry to the Isle of Wight, visiting Alum Bay and The Needles. We also went to the glass blowing factory and then on the steam railway.

On the 23rd October Margaret’s brother Derek passed away. I didn’t go to the funeral as I did not want to see the family but his wife and I have kept in contact with each other.
On Christmas Day Jennifer came to collect me and we went to her friend Sallys' home where we stayed overnight and came back home on Boxing Day.

I had started to having trouble with my hands swelling, early in 2011 I was finally diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and went to the clinic at the hospital. The consultant was brilliant and I was given a steroid injection and put on tablets. Within 3 weeks all my swelling had gone down, the one snag is, I have to have monthly blood tests. Jennifer came over in July and decorated my living room for me. I had applied to have a wet room installed and was told it would be about a year.

In November I decided to buy a laptop and go on the internet. I saw one advertised and decided to buy it. Lee Murray was the person I bought it from and he came down to set it up for me. I have never looked back. He introduced me to Northampton Past and it was only by chatting to Mary Grant and saying I would like to write my life story with the help of Frank, I started, and now I’m on my final part. I have made contact with all my family now.

On my birthday in 2012 my granddaughter Angie came down with her partner Dean and my three great grandchildren. They came for three days, staying at the Travel Lodge. I met them at junction 16 and brought them into town. We had a marvellous three days. Jennifer came over on the Friday, so that put the icing on the cake. We all went to The Spencer Arms at Chapel Brampton.

My next door neighbour Phyllis passed away aged 91. I will really miss her.


On 5th June Angie came down again for a couple of days with Paddy and Oscar.


By July I had decided to stop driving when my car tax ran out, as it was becoming too dear to run the car. With the help of Lee, we sold it on EBay. I don’t really miss it, but I have kept my driving license. The only problem I have is walking, as I need a stick but last week Jennifer came over and took me to Argos and bought me a four wheeled shopping trolley. It has certainly made a difference with walking. My step son comes up weekends, picks up my shopping list and brings it in on Monday. He has been a great help. Before I got my wet room he would come up every Friday to help me in and out of the bath.

Well I think that brings me up to date. I hope you have enjoyed reading it. And to all my friends on Northampton Past...God bless you all.

Update – Great Grandson born 17^th September 2012, weighing 7lb 9oz.