Cyber Seance 2

[Moonwatcher]

Cyber Seance. 16 Jan 2005

Hullawrerr Cyber Seancers

Is thir anybiddy ther? Knoak wance furr yes an twice furr naw!

Whit a week! Maist eh iz here in Scoatlin, lik me, hiv bin boathirt wae the wind... an eh weather's bin bliddy awful as well. Thir sayin it’s eh wurst stoarms wiv hid furr foarty year. Aht wid hiv bin - noo let meh coont mah fingirs – 1965! Eh? Noo wait ah wee minute ther. Who ahm ah tae contradict eh weathermen but… surely the BIG Stoarm wiz in 1968 – 15th January in fact. Nearly 37 year tae the day. Ah know, coz ah wiz ther! Working eh night shift ah wiz.

Draw up a cher an ah’ll tell yiz aboot it.

Ah hid left school eh year afore, an efter workin as a book delivery boay furr a foartnight in Smith’s Bookshoap in St Vincent St [same place, same joab, thit Billy Connolly hid a few years earlier ah believe. It's gone noo. The biggest, auldest, best bookshoap in Scoatlin wiz shut doon an made intae a cyber cafe a few years ago. Cryin shame!] an a few months in a printers makin rubber stamps, ah goat a joab it eh Kelvindale Paper Mill in Maryhill. It wiz a ferr trek fae Eastirhoose werr ah stied bit the money wiz good, although ah hid tae work shifts. Whin ah took eh joab a didnae realise whit ah wiz gettin massell intae. Ah thoat workin a paper machine wid bae a dawdle. Ah mean, paper, it’s dedd light innat, an ah imagined eh papermachines wid bae lik the size eh a couple a washin machines, firing oot nice wee rolls urr sheets. Boay wiz ah in furr a shoack! Ah wiz telt afore ah stertit thit it wiz dangerous, hard work. Thae telt meh at eh two minute interview thit a wid be a ‘papermachineboay’ an mah joab wid bae tae pick up waste paper fae the flerr, bale it, an take it up tae the pulper tae bae re-pulped. Thae telt meh thit if a worked hard ah could go oan tae become a ‘papermachineman.’ Ah soon learnt thit you could usually tell the peckin order eh the workers bae lookin it thir hauns. The papermachineboays thit stuck it oot an stied furr ower the six month probationary period usually lacked wan urr two fingertips. Machine Assistants, usually lacked wan urr two fingers. An eh Machinemen, well wurr talkin hauns here: Since thae wurr in a management position they jist needit tae bae able tae hiv wan haun tae write wae an bae able tae wave thir erms aboot. It wiz only whin they loast baith hauns urr an erm thit they goat penshint aff an evrybiddy goat promoted. Eh reason furr aw this dismemberment? Let meh explain.

Papermachines wurr HUGE. Things might hiv chinjed noo, but in thae days each machine wiz eh equivalint eh a line eh aboot three urr four steam locomotives, nose tae tail, inside a big loco shed. Each machine towirt above ye, screamin away, belchin steam, heat and noise. It’s the noise ah remember the maist. It wiz deafnin! Nae ear defenders urr nuthin in em days.. Eh only wae tae communicate wiz bae shoutin an screamin ower the rackit. In eh Kelvindale Mill [Edward Collin’s mill bae the way. Somebiddy telt meh eh hid bin relatitt tae William Collins eh Glesca printer, publisher an bookbinder, bit ah don’t know if aht wiz true] thir wurr four eh these machines. Three oan the grun flerr an a fourth oan an upper flerr. The smell ah diesel, ile and paper ‘size’ filled eh err – it stank! Eh machines worked like this…

Pulp fae the pulpers upsterrs wiz fed doon pipes tae the ‘wire’. This wiz the furst pert eh the machine. It wiz a huge movin, shakin, wire mesh conveyor aboot 15 feet wide, thit the pulp ran ower wae the watter drainin oot as it went, leavin a thick layer a wet pulpy paper fibres oan eh tap surface. It wiz it this stage thit the wattermerk wiz impressed oan, if eh paper wiz s’pposed tae hiv wan. Bae eh time it reached eh end eh the wire the pulp wiz squiggy an jist solid enough thit ye could lift it a wee bit afore it disintegratit in yer fingers. The squiggy 15ft wide sheet wid then, via a broad canvas belt, begin it’s journey through the long line a huge rotatin drying drums, mibby aboot a dozen urr so. They towert above ye an the heat aff thim wiz tremendous. Thae took up maist eh the length eh the machine. As eh pulpy mass foalied a convoluted path aroon each drum an dried oot it became… paper. When it emerged fae the ither end it wiz hoat, dry an, in eh case a thin paper, movin bliddy fast! [Thick paper and board moved much slower bit wiz merr difficult tae haunle.]
That wiz when it hid tae bae fed through the ‘calendar rolls’ afore finally bein allowed tae wind oantae the final reel. These wurr big fast movin heavy steel rollers, stacked in columns of four. Thir wirr aroon four stacks, wan efter the ither, in each machine. Tae get the paper from the drying drums to the calendars ye hid tae ‘cut a tail’ wae a knife. This involved haudin the point eh a knife against the in-running nip eh the big steel rollers, cuttin a strip (the tail) thit could be fed through, bae haun, each set of rollers in turn. This was the finger, haun, an erm sacrificin bit! Ah wiz nevir very good at cuttin tails coz ah wanted tae keep mah hauns – ah hid got quite attached tae thim ower the years! Wance the ‘tail' hid bin successfully fed through aw the rollers eh guy cuttin eh tail wid run eh knife slow an steady alang eh nip eh the roller. If eh loast pressure [an eh kife wid bae heatin up wae the friction bae this time] eh paper wid brek an evrybiddy hid tae stert again. If eh loast control eh the knife eez fingers wid plunge intae the nip and it wiz goodnight fingers, haun urr arm dependin oan eez luck urr lack eh it!’.

The thing wiz thit when the paper broke, which it did aw the time, ye couldnae stoap the machine it jist kept producin paper – literally tons eh it! Runnin alang unner eh length eh the machine wiz a pit! Aht wiz wher eh paper wid faw intae an collect. An aht’s wher eh papermachineboays wurr, doon in eh pit, rollin up eh paper an chuckin it oot oantae eh flerr at eh side eh the machine [victorian urr whit?]. In really bad breks thit wirr takin a long time tae soart an feed back through the machine, eh paper wid build up tae such a level thit it wid spill oot eh pit an fill up the area aroon it tae ye couldnae see eh machine. Evribiddy wid bae buried in eh paper. Sounds funny, bit oan eh scale ah’m talkin aboot it wis dangerous, an scary. It could take hoors tae clear up eh ‘broke’, bale it an wheel it up tae the pulper oan trolleys. An aht’s whit ah wiz daein eh night eh the Big Stoarm [remember aht?]

Eh furst hint wae goat aht night-shift thit somethin wiz amiss wis whin wae couldnae get eh bales a paper alang eh alley thit ran alangside the outer wa' eh the factory an eh River Kelvin. Eh wind wiz jist blawin eh bales right aff eh trolleys intae the river. Wae couldnae even staun up straight an even eh trolleys wurr in danger a takin aff! The River wiz churnin an lashin ower the wa’. It wiz lik bein oan a ship in a gale. Still the machines churned oot the paper, thir noise droonin oot the sound eh the wind ootside. We machineboays tried tae tell eh folk inside bit thae wurnae furr listenin. It wisnae tae wan eh the big skylights oan eh roof shattirt and a huge, spear shaped, wedge a gless fell fae the ceilin, narrowly missin an engineer an embeddin itsell in a wooden gangway between two machines, thit wae goat evribiddy’s undividitt attention. An still eh machines rolled on. Paper broke. We baled it, an fought oor wae through eh darkness, wind an lashin rain alang eh side eh the river wae the waves crashin ower us - only tae get tae the ither side, where eh hoist up tae the puper wiz, haudin an empty trolley in wan haun an a hankie sized dod a soggy paper in eh ither, watter drippin fae wurr noses and decidin thit jinin eh ermy might no bae such a bad idea efteraw!

Ah remember finally reachin eh pulper wae sumhin resemblin a bale. Ther wisnae much left bit at least ah hid made it up the hoist wae sumhin tae show. Ah proudly affloaded mah wee load tae the pulper guy, who wiz lookin decidittly unimpressed an uneasy. He wiz oan a higher level ye see, an closer tae the big factory skylight windaes oan eh roof. He telt meh thit some eh thim hid cracked an bits hid fell doon oan eh flerr. Eh showed meh the bits. An still eh machines wirr churnin oot paper.

Then it happint! A skylight caved in an crashed right intae the pulper! If ye kin imagine eh noise ye wid get if ye took a beer gless an stuck it intae yer washin machine wae yer smalls – then multiply that hundreds a times! [en again mibby no – aht's a loata smalls!] The gless wiz grun doon wae eh pulp an fed doon through the pipes tae the machine wires below. No a pretty site.

The machines stoaped!

The rest eh the night wiz spent clearin up the mess. Damage wiz costly bit, iz faur iz a kin remember naebiddy wiz hurt. The Stoarm jist kept cummin. The Kelvin burst ower the wa' an eh place stertit tae flood. Nae boays doon eh pits noo! Wae stoaped gaun ootside tae look, eh big rubber doors leadin oot tae the alleyway widnae let us anywae. They wurr slammin an clatterin igither like eh jaws eh some monster threatnin tae devour anybiddy thit kim near em. If wae hid managed tae get by thim ther wiz a real danger thit wae wid hiv bin swept intae the Kelvin. Wae jist hid tae sit it oot an try an no staun unner any eh the owerheid skylights. Rain wiz teemin in fae the gaps in the roof wher bits hid broke aff urr eh skylights hid caved in.

Bae the time six a cloak came an eh night shift wiz ower, things hid calmed doon an wae stertit tae hear jist how bad hings wirr ootside. A loata folk didnae turn up furr thir shift. The wans thit did telt horrendous tales eh damage an injury. Thir wurr even rumours a people bein kilt!

Ah left the mill at eh back a six an stertit tae make mah wae up eh Kelvindale road past eh big loco engine works an whit wiz wance eh Maryhill Barracks. Thir wiz debris evrywher. Bricks n' masonery, gless, chimney poats, planks a wid, slates, whole sections a roofs, dustbins, rubbish. Bae the time ah goat up ontae Merryhill (Maryhill) Road it wiz clear that merr thin jist proapirty hid bin loast. Emergency services wirr workin at full tilt. People wurr oot in eh streets. Some wirr greetin, ithers stunned an jist lookin. Them thit still hid a hoose an some kin a power wirr making tea furr the homeless an offerin whit shelter an assistance thae could. An thir wiz laughter, the Glesca humour still shone through. But the cost hid bin tremendous. Folk compert it tae eh Clydebank Blitz durin eh war.

20 people wurr known tae hiv bin killed that night in Glesca, hunnurs wirr injirt an a couple a thousan wirr made homeless. Minny eh the hooses wurr beyond repair. A loat eh the deaths hid bin fae chimneys fawin aff roofs, urr fawin through the roof an crashin through eh tap flerrs. Typical wiz eh polisman in Springburn who wiz kilt bae a fawin chimney while eh wiz tryin tae help folk.

A few days later ah left eh Kelvidale Mill forever – ah also left a bit eh mah finger ther.

Wurr any eh you guys in Glesca aht night? Kerr tae sher yir experience wae izz?


Oor new hame page!

Noo ther's nuthin wrang wae it iz such. In fact, it's a nice wee hame page, iz hame pages go. It's no complicatit, it disnae send ye scurryin furr eh sunglesses, an it disnae endanger them thit urr prone tae siezures wae strobotic effects designed tae interfere wae yer senses so ye cannae fine eh aff button. An ah'm sure they'll tell ye thit it's designed tae symbolise eh auld an eh new, ancient an modern, auld bridge an new...'thing'. But ah still hink it lacks sumhin – bit ah cannae quite pit mah finger oan it – mah forth finger tae bae precise : )

Hid a quick look at mah faimly histry notebook durin eh week, bit ah jist wisnea in eh mood – too minny mysteries thit need revisitin;

Who wiz 'Ma Kelly' fae the 1891 census?
Wherr wiz mah granfaither's alleged shoemakers shoap?
Whit happint tae Eliza Jane Wilson?
Who wiz Sgt Butler the polis, an how'd he die?
Wher in Ireland did John Wilson an eez faimly come fae?
Why dae aw the light bulbs in eh hoose keep blawin?

Mah heid's nippin.

Tae next week.

Bob.

[AndrewP]

(message to make the Cyber Seance posts appear in sequence)