week, my head was twirlin’ like mad!
Now, production was 200 a day. I not come near the mark, first day. I tink I was short about 50 or so. But before the week was finished, I reached the 200. I was amazed. How on earth we could produce a costume in 8 minutes! ‘Cos that’s what’s amount to! Between 8 and 10 minutes, costume been hanging up, you see? It went so fast.
After near a year, I was called to the office and he says you know, your section is runnin’ very well, I tink we’ll put somebody else to it. And you take the despatch. You see? That was, tremendous promotion. I have 8 models, and a secretary. And you know I was on that section two weeks and the blasted ting went on fire! Two weeks! Was such a job, you know! Pay was, och, double practically!
Went on fire on a Sunday. In the despatch department. Some basket left the fire on! And the dress silk caught, went up like a, bloomin’ torch! So, Monday going to work, there’s no work. And they offer me job in factory in Birmingham but mother didn’t want to go.
So I say, ‘What ta hell to do next? Hm, I tink I’ll go back to Inverness.’
Just like that! I’ll see my old place. So I went, to R.S. MacDonald there.
‘You back?! You want a job?’
I say, ‘Well, is job going?’
‘Yes.’
I say, ‘Right, I’ll take a job.’
So I took back job in the R.S. MacDonald, which didn’t last long. I have a bit of a fight with Colonel Campbell, he was the owner.
I just been back about three months and girl went to the bank for the wages and there was no money for the wages. So I went to the manager of the bank myself. He says Colonel Campbell took all the money out.
‘How do you mean took all the money out? We have business to run.’
Campbell also have the frozen food place in Bunchrew and apparently that wasn’t doin’ well and he took all the money and put into that bloomin’ frozen food. I went hotfoot to Bunchrew.
I say ‘Here! What happened to the money? We doin’ very well, we busy! And no money for the wages!’
‘You not going to tell me how to run my business, I know how to run my business!’ I say, ‘Well, I’m not runnin’ your business, I just want the money to pay the wages! And you run your business how you want and if you want to run it that way, just bloody well run it!’
And I just slammed the door and I went out. And that was that, I never went back.
And mother say, ‘Now what we going to do, we going back to Glasgow?’ She was in Inverness then, ‘cos I got a house, that electric flats up there in Dalneigh. Oh mother start greetin’. ‘We just got here and then you no job!’
I say, ‘Well, we’ll go back to Glasgow again. On the other hand, I might start on my own.’
So I went to look for a place. I was unemployed for, 2, 3 weeks. Found a place up in the gods, above Halifax Building Society. And I started.
From the day I started I never look back. I had the sewing
machine, that’s all I needed for a start. One of the furniture store give me a wooden bench for nothing. I bought another machine and started myself, for 2 or 3 weeks myself and then I got Jean Gordon. I bung a big advert, cost me a pound that time. Mathew Zajac, late of R.S. Macdonald, openin’ his own business, you know? 25 Inglis Street, Ladies and Gents Tailor, your own cloth made up and all that, you know? From the very first week, I had such a pile of order, how ta hell I’m going to catch up with it?
So I took Jean and I took another girl and I took another girl so, work about 5 of us for a while, and then 3 and then 4 and then 2 and then 3. But Jean lasted with me all the time since I started. Aye, till she died, practically. Practically till she died, aye…We done reasonably well, you know, but I could have done better. I should have broke out, from bespoke tailoring and went to the ready-mades. ‘Cos there was money in it. A lot of salesmen been advisin’ me, take ready-made. Take a sale, because that time, it was possible to
Now, production was 200 a day. I not come near the mark, first day. I tink I was short about 50 or so. But before the week was finished, I reached the 200. I was amazed. How on earth we could produce a costume in 8 minutes! ‘Cos that’s what’s amount to! Between 8 and 10 minutes, costume been hanging up, you see? It went so fast.
After near a year, I was called to the office and he says you know, your section is runnin’ very well, I tink we’ll put somebody else to it. And you take the despatch. You see? That was, tremendous promotion. I have 8 models, and a secretary. And you know I was on that section two weeks and the blasted ting went on fire! Two weeks! Was such a job, you know! Pay was, och, double practically!
Went on fire on a Sunday. In the despatch department. Some basket left the fire on! And the dress silk caught, went up like a, bloomin’ torch! So, Monday going to work, there’s no work. And they offer me job in factory in Birmingham but mother didn’t want to go.
So I say, ‘What ta hell to do next? Hm, I tink I’ll go back to Inverness.’
Just like that! I’ll see my old place. So I went, to R.S. MacDonald there.
‘You back?! You want a job?’
I say, ‘Well, is job going?’
‘Yes.’
I say, ‘Right, I’ll take a job.’
So I took back job in the R.S. MacDonald, which didn’t last long. I have a bit of a fight with Colonel Campbell, he was the owner.
I just been back about three months and girl went to the bank for the wages and there was no money for the wages. So I went to the manager of the bank myself. He says Colonel Campbell took all the money out.
‘How do you mean took all the money out? We have business to run.’
Campbell also have the frozen food place in Bunchrew and apparently that wasn’t doin’ well and he took all the money and put into that bloomin’ frozen food. I went hotfoot to Bunchrew.
I say ‘Here! What happened to the money? We doin’ very well, we busy! And no money for the wages!’
‘You not going to tell me how to run my business, I know how to run my business!’ I say, ‘Well, I’m not runnin’ your business, I just want the money to pay the wages! And you run your business how you want and if you want to run it that way, just bloody well run it!’
And I just slammed the door and I went out. And that was that, I never went back.
And mother say, ‘Now what we going to do, we going back to Glasgow?’ She was in Inverness then, ‘cos I got a house, that electric flats up there in Dalneigh. Oh mother start greetin’. ‘We just got here and then you no job!’
I say, ‘Well, we’ll go back to Glasgow again. On the other hand, I might start on my own.’
So I went to look for a place. I was unemployed for, 2, 3 weeks. Found a place up in the gods, above Halifax Building Society. And I started.
From the day I started I never look back. I had the sewing
machine, that’s all I needed for a start. One of the furniture store give me a wooden bench for nothing. I bought another machine and started myself, for 2 or 3 weeks myself and then I got Jean Gordon. I bung a big advert, cost me a pound that time. Mathew Zajac, late of R.S. Macdonald, openin’ his own business, you know? 25 Inglis Street, Ladies and Gents Tailor, your own cloth made up and all that, you know? From the very first week, I had such a pile of order, how ta hell I’m going to catch up with it?
So I took Jean and I took another girl and I took another girl so, work about 5 of us for a while, and then 3 and then 4 and then 2 and then 3. But Jean lasted with me all the time since I started. Aye, till she died, practically. Practically till she died, aye…We done reasonably well, you know, but I could have done better. I should have broke out, from bespoke tailoring and went to the ready-mades. ‘Cos there was money in it. A lot of salesmen been advisin’ me, take ready-made. Take a sale, because that time, it was possible to
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