how times have changed,

I remember my first job (during the school holidays, just before I went to college) Worked 8 till half 4 Mon to Thurs and 8 till half 12 on a Friday. 1/3rd of me money had gone before I got home.. (Sometimes it was Saturday morning before I crawled through the door) Worked for a building firm doing general clean up at Stanton & Stavely ironworks. Gaffer sent this chap down a manhole about 20 ft deep to clear out the silt in a drain. We sent a shovel down on a rope.. He sent it back up asking if we could chop a foot off it as he was struggling. Cut the foot off it and tied the rope round the shaft. Lad held it over the hole and the fookin shovel slipped through and dropped towards him at a rate of knots. Took half his thumb off. ... Had a good laugh about that on the Friday in't pub.