Things are different now!

I was out in the car the other day, radio playing, Classic FM, the piece of music playing was Sibelius, 'Karerlia Suite'. I said to the MD who was co-piloting at the time: 'That was Vernon's favourite'. The reply was immediate: drop him an e-mail and tell him you were thinking about him.

Vernon? My oldest and best friend. Met him in the summer of '61 he was the older apprentice in the print shop I was sent to to learn the art of being a compositor. Some would say a trade, but the way it seemed to me then and does so now, it was an art form. Taking lumps of lead and turning those lumps of lead by many different methods into words and phrases that could communicate a message, a thought, a philosophy, the paths that lead soldiers could go on were many and varied, what they could achieve for good or ill, well I leave the rest to you.

Back to Vernon! I could write a book about our exploits over the next 6 years. He was from a different back ground to myself. His father was an architect and worked for the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. A leading light in the British Humanist Society and an all round good guy!

How Vernon ever became involved in the printing industry I will never know.

Anyway summer '61, my first day at work. Told by my father to watch what I was doing and sent off. Vernon took me under his wing, like a brother, and over the past 46 years I have probably looked on him as such. That July morning will remain with me as long as I live. A little bit of history will help here!

The printing trade was riddled with restrictive practices, in the small factory that I was to be apprenticed in with a staff of no more than 50 people there would be at least 5 trade unions if not more. There were nearly a dozen printing trades unions in total throughout the whole of the industry. Each union controlled a particular part of the factory. Anyway on day one I fell foul of trade union legislation within minutes of starting work. I was informed that as a union card had not materialised for me I would not be able to commence my apprenticeship and as such was destined to be the message boy for the despatch department until such time as the 'card' was delivered to the father of the chapel (the shop steward)! It arrived 6 weeks later, I had almost given up hope of it ever appearing.

My new found friend came searching for me in the bowels of the warehouse. he encouraged me to follow him on a tour of the factory, that was to be my home from home, for the next six years. I followed him all over the factory being introduced to all and sundry. Then we arrived in the case room (this was the nerve centre of the whole operation - no compositors - no printing)! Vernon encouraged me to use a simple piece of equipment! I had no sooner started to experiment with this highly technical and specialist item (not) when the shop steward (father of the chapel) came from his work bench and told me to eff off until I had a union card to allow me to work in the case room. Welcome to the real world. I have had an aversion to trades unions ever since, I wonder why? My mentor did not mince his words when speaking to this 'father of the chapel', save to say it was colourful!

But enough of my tales of the case room stone and back to my e-mail, I sent it off and was delighted to receive a reply from this old pal. He says that he is the grumpy one in the corner. The strange thing is that is how I am seen by my family, in fact my grandchildren often refer to me as 'Grumpy'.

Vernon is fine and living in the south of England. I will probably return to talk of him again. We had great times, you would not believe what we did during those years of working and having fun. We were real compositors who were direct descendants of 'Bill Caxton'! Vernon in his e-mail reminded me that up until about 1975 Bill Caxton could have returned and been able to work in a case room without any bother. But within 10 years all that had been swept away. The only place you will find a case room is in a museum of printing and there are precious few of those.

Things are different now! And How!