Okay Peeps, here is my blog for July. We had what the media
was calling a “Heatwave”, I thought it was what we used to call “Summer”. If
you were a sparky working in a loft or roof-space my heart goes out to you. I
had plenty of that and its no fun in those conditions. I just about managed to finish the bathroom and have started
a major rework of the garden with a view to putting in a swimming pool next
year so standby for reports on that. Luckily had a very light month work-wise so only did
Devizes, Wimbledon and Dunstable (actually did Dunstable three times, but that
was only due to a “senior moment” where I went on the wrong day; ho-hum). Went to see Burt Bacarach in July and what a privilege that
was. The man has worked on so many tunes with so many people. It was an honour
to be in the same building as him. I can’t think of anything he has worked on I
didn’t like. I remember as a little kid listening on my mum and dad’s radio to
“San Jose” and “Say a little prayer” and loving it. Compared to the Beatles
“Yeah Yeah” Burt was pure gold. Funny really, but show business was how I came to be an
electrician. Me and my mate Keith George were interested in electrical science
and involved in the Drama club at Cherwell School doing the stage lighting and
setting up the projector for film shows along with loudspeakers and PA gear on
top of the science block roof for school sports day etc. It was therefore a
natural conclusion that when I left school I would be an electrician for stage
or film. Accordingly, I went to my interview at the New Theatre Oxford with a
spring in my step and great hope in my heart. However, when the Theatre Manager
told me that the job involved periods of intense activity (working all day in
preparation and then through the evening operating equipment) followed by
periods of nothing at all until the next performance, it sort of burst my
balloon and decided to pursue a more traditional route to being an electrician.
That was how I became an apprentice electrician and not long after my fifteenth
birthday found myself shoved under the floor of a Chinese restaurant with a big
drill and told to drill all the holes through the under-pinning for cables to
run through. That really wasn’t what I was looking for but after you’ve made
your bed etc. I think Keith George went on to become Head of Electronics at
Oxford University but sadly we lost touch. My old boss and much-respected lecturer Adrian Hickinbottom
has been involved with stage lighting for quite some time and as far as I know
still deals with stage electricians known as the Strand Group in London in
helping them to get electrical qualifications. In addition to that he is
involved in a national stage scheme where he inspects and advises on stage
lighting installations. I think it is this range of career opportunities that makes
electrical engineering such a fascinating profession and I think gives a great
range of career routes. As has now been proven, forget IT and Media. These have
nowhere near the interchangeable/transferable skills such as planning, drawing,
measuring up, pricing, stock control that we find in the electrical trade. The
list is endless, and as dealing with the public or other trades is a big part
of our job we also develop pretty good “people skills”; we can manage staff,
defuse situations and interestingly we get to “read” people. Of course, some sparkies stay in one job their whole
lifetime and if they are happy to do this then so be it. Personally, I do not
think this is a healthy objective for the individual or organisation as it
means the electrician does not encounter different working practices or
solutions to problems. For example some electrical contractors may only deal
with domestic work such as rewires, if this is what you’ve done for a decade or
so how will you get on if made redundant? Can you do Conduit? Trunking? NO? How
about Maintenance work? How about setting up your own business? This is where a
more rounded experience comes in useful, if not essential. Those of you who have been involved in maintenance work or
fault-finding will have a little smile and nod at the comment above about being
able to “read” people. As part of the fault-finding process we often have to
deal with machine operators etc to get information. Very often you will get “I
didn’t do anything” as an opening line which immediately puts you on your
guard. But we get to be like those poker players who can read the “tells” on an
opponent’s face: the wide open pupils, touching the nose and sweating etc. If
they don’t tell us the truth if can take a long time to find a problem caused
by operator error. It must also be said that sometimes faults aren’t faults.
Its not unknown on night-shifts for personnel to sabotage equipment through
boredom or frustration. And again its difficult to trace a fault if the spanner
that was rammed into a line has been removed and those concerned have arranged
their features into those of the junior school choir. On one occasion I was
looking for a faulty grinder reported by a night-shift. After searching for it
for some time the guys were all clutching their stomachs with laughter and
pointing upwards. They had only welded it to the roof girders! Passed my 18 Edition exam this month so now
ready to receive the hordes that will also want theirs. I must say that I have
never liked the 7671 series of exams as I think that 60 questions in 2 hours (2
minutes a question) is very demanding. For the average working spark, who needs
this qualification to keep their grade I think we need a lower level exam that
just proves they can navigate the book, not have an in-depth knowledge of it. I have noticed a lot of traffic on Facebook recently with
the storyline “Be Kind”. Well, that’s great. I can’t argue with that but
unfortunately there will always be people in this world that take advantage of
kind people. I am still disturbed by the old dear that was pursued by so many tele-sales
charities for donations that she committed suicide. I would prefer the motto
(Mel Brooks style) “Be kind, but don’t be a shmuck”. God bless all my readers and those that aren’t. Stay safe
and keep your hand on your ha’penny. Until next month, Adios mi amigos y
amigas. |
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