On the Papers

METAL BOX.-JOBBING. CASSUAL WORK.
The only job suited to me was one a Heidelberg at Barclay and Fry’s at Southwark. It was a long way to travel and it was numbering, which I did not care for but it was the only chance so I took it. Barclay & Fry’s were a branch of Metal Box. Metal Box closed and went into Laser printing. I did an extra four weeks to finish up the firms existing orders I then took casual work on the out of work rota on the news papers. The first working I had was on the Mirror, after surviving that I gradually worked my way through all the papers except the Observer and the Morning Star. Then my casual document came through and I was a recognized casual worker. At first I got lots of work and could have worked seven nights a week. In the express building one day I mentioned that I intended to go to the Chelsea flower show the following day. This was during set up time in the machine room. Assisting the machine minder with getting the paper through and the page numbers marked up. Then I was up in the warehouse when the machines started up to check the copies. At lunchtime if we were running well there was a break while a new issue was plated up. After the run ended there was a phone call for me to go to the machine room. On getting there I was given tickets to the flower show by one of the machine hands that had contracted to work on that day. He would take no payment for the tickets that at the time would have cost at leased a fiver

THE FINANCIAL TIMES.
Sunday and Holiday working produced the best money, each paper worked differently, and paid from about fifty pounds a night to 135 pounds, being the Financial times. I found John Swaboda there. He had been working at Weatherby, s when I was apprentice. He had been F.O.C. there until replaced by Charley Miller. Who was more of politicians than John would ever have being. One night in the F.T. I was put in the warehouse and was solely in charge for the whole night as no replacement was available, as the regular staff had called in sick. It was half past six in the morning before the lift that morning. Charley Miller said the next time I was in I would get an early. The F.T. was right near St Pauls and the flood lighting looked good so, so I took camera and tripod the next time I was there. The F.T. started at seven thirty. And I only did till 12 o1clock when I escaped with my money, and went to take pictures of St Pauls and St Brides.
In the Mirror I was usually on the machine when the run was on you had to look out for the joins that were all red tabbed. When the bell rang a join would come through on one of the units. The minder had to scoop all the copies out of the igranic. And separate the good from the bad for use or rubbish. If more than one bell rang in quick succession you had to act a bit lively. One night in the Mirror warehouse, we were getting near start up time ((9 o/clock) when the regular minder asked me wake up a man who was asleep on top of the work bench I refused saying it was his job. When he woke the man up the man said it was all right as he had done his work and was sleeping it off before going home. Captain Bob issued orders that all machines would start up 15 minutes after the last plate was down to the machine. This edict was strictly adhered to the result was a heap of waste in the warehouse which took at least an hour to salt out. I think I was in the warehouse that night and two lorries had to be unloaded.

LEARNING
The newspaper machine men always watched how you performed at work. Whether you got on with the job preferably without being asked, and if you were on top of the job at all times. In my experience they quickly assessed if you were to be trusted and if you were up to it. If their verdict was yes. Then they would help you all they could. One night in the Mail, I was on the machine with John Hutton .I don’t remember ever having worked with him before, but we set up the machine, I saw the paper in , A machine minder from the Mirror told John that he was rather worried as he had never done a start up before. At the startup John went off to help him and I was left to do a five-unit start up on my own. The register came in fairly quickly and the ink only needed small adjustments. By the time John came back every thing was O.K John. Was a very good machine -man I met him several times afterwards. Another night on the mail I met Colin Saggs he had been an apprentice at J Lyons. By this time he was a floor walker . He said how he got through his apprenticeship he never knew (I remember him always rowing with the overseer). I rowed with him, but he was a good printer even as an apprentice, that’s why he got through his time, which was about five years, by then

THE BREAK HANDE
One night in the Mail the machine minder said watch the break hand he falls asleep. The Break hand controls the machine the minder just watches the print and register and issues the orders. In the Mail the break hand is in a gantry over looking the press. A join came through and the register started to roam I made the appropriate signals two fingers ie second unit this way; nothing happened I dashed up the gantry and there he was driving the cows home, I shook him a wake and clattered down to scoop the waste out. When the regular came back I went for my break; on my second tour of duty the break hand during did the very same trick. During this time I had various nights some good some bad but at least I managed to steer clear of getting suspended. Harry Web Had rotten luck in the Sun lost a plastic plate and 3 thousand copies, that was only a few minutes, especially at start up as they had natsoper machine minders who were in the same union as the break hands and probably started up before Harry was ready. There was also a case in the Mirror Holbourne.Where they printed copies of the People on Saturday night. In the Mirror the plates were sent to each machine on their own delivery travelator. On one of the mirror machines two People plates arrived. They were correctly numbered and there was no wording or other means of identification so the folios were checked so away they went. Nobody noticed. When the mistake was discovered it was already on the streets. All staff involved was suspended.

THE TIMES GREYS INN ROAD
The Times was a good venue, easy to get to and fairly easy to get home from The F.O.C. a Mr.Bedson was easy to get on with but his second in charge was a bit tricky, The units in the Times were marked in chalk on the machine frame according to the layout which was displayed on the office wall, because the layout had insets, or the paper was folded in separated sections, A certain casual warned me about Peter one of the regulars, he said he would not let him touch anything. The first time I was on with Peter I found he had marked up the entire machine and did not leave for his pint until the paper was in. I saw the plates on and he was back dead on start up I looked after the ink on two units he did the folder and the rest. He watched me for a few minutes and then went off for another pint. The machine ran perfectly and Peter was back dead on time for my break. After a while I was sent up to the canteen to get ten coffees Peter then produced a bottle from the draw and topped up the coffees with whisky then sent me off to get my money and go home. I afterwards found out that Peter had lost his left foot so he set up the machine as perfect as possible to avoid climbing about on the run. Every night on with Peter was as good so he must have known what he was doing.

A TRICKY REGULAR
A particularly tricky night I was on with a machine minder I had never met before, I had chalked up the lay-down, but he wanted it done differently no chalk but bits of sticky tap on each unit. I complied with this and then he left me to get the paper in and set the machine up. The break hand was very helpful and I marked up all the twister register bars for each unit. At the start up he just said you look after the folder and those two units. The start up went very well then he went of for a drink by midnight I was beginning to get apprehensive. Then he turned up and I went to get my money when I got back I found him dosing in the chair. I asked the next machine minder what I should do. He said” go home I’ll look after it”. I was very apprehensive for a few days but I did not hear anymore from the incident.



DRIVING HOME
There were several stories I heard in Grays INN Road at break times. One was of the machine minders who had worked nights nearly all of his life and was inclined to like a good drink and a good party. His mates said they had a party lined up, if they got an early lift, they were all invited, so all bundled into cars in the early hours of the morning as they traveled one of their number started moaning about getting home afterwards as his wife would be worried. It turned out that the party was at his house and he knew nothing about it. Another man said he was driving home in the early hours and had briefly fallen asleep at the wheel of his car, and had been very lucky in straitening up his steering as he was on the motorway at the time. Both the Times and the Guardian were good venues for money and working. I learned a lot by just watching, If I had a disastrous night I tended to avoid that venue for a while be fore going back there. My first night in the Guardian was not very good. The regular minder was away early leaving a more senior casual and myself in charge (the practice in that office then was to put layers of make-ready under solid pictures to make them come up strong without flooding it with ink). The overseer came around (I did not even know who he was) and tried to panic me by saying that the pages were in the wrong order I checked them and proved him wrong, then he got onto me about one of the solids and eventually instructed me and supervised me while I adjusted the impression on that unit to make things slightly better. I got a lecture from him about doing what he asked immediately but I also got the impression that I was not the main cause of his displeasure. I also remember having a talk from Mr Bedson The F.O.C. in the Times’ about a miner infringement of his rules. It made a big impression on me, but I realized afterwards that he had not remembered the incident