Issue 2

A Wo rd F ro m Ou r Le ad er

The months are flying by and it is already time for issue 2 of the Swillington tribune. After a visit from the top man at Hanson Mr Alan Murray we have had another visit from the Hanson Hierarchy, our very own Hanson Building Products Managing Director, David Szymanski. After a brief black coffee with one level teaspoon of sugar he went around the factory, he was impressed with the cleanliness and with the projects we have put in. These are people to impress if we are to get money to finance projects at Swillington. Once again thanks for protecting Swillington’s good name as you are the people that put it there. Production The state of the works is as it was in issue 1. The sales are lagging behind production and the current stock level is 11,894,896 We’ve just had a two weeks spell of Iber and with it brought its own tales of woe, but at least we are making bricks that should be sold quickly. Quality Last month saw complaints stay low and I can’t stress this strongly enough, that its all our jobs to ensure quality products go out the door. So please be vigilant. Health & Safety Again no reportable accidents and only one minor accident so again please work safe and watch over each other. You will see the new signs at the Auger and this area is now ear defender mandatory area, please observe. 1of4

We had a visit from the Northern Area Health & Safety Manager to carry out an audit this has now arrived, and while I appreciate they will always find something we must not give them soft targets. So please if you remove guards whilst carrying out your cleaning duties please put them back on. This is a serious problem and needs to be resolved. Projects New forklifts are now here and the block lifter has arrived in the Kiln Car repair bay. As started in issue 1 with the editor Michael Schofield interviewing Mr Steven Todd we thought it was a good idea to have another person who has helped making Swillington what it is today. So let me introduce to you all Mr Donald Fox who talks to the editor…

Int er vie w Wit h D on Fox I started work here in 1967 and we had the Pan House and Brick making machine where it is at present but we had to carry all the green bricks over to the old kilns where the old machine house and the barns are today. When I first started I was taking the hardcore to make the base for the new kiln and setting machine which was to complete Phase II of the new plant which is where it is situated now. Back in them days we had to unload all the bricks automatically and take them using noddy cars to the Hoffmann kiln where they were set by hand. I did a bit of setting in the old kilns and also packed a few of the bricks, the old kiln was build in a long tunnel which went round the perimeter of where the barn is and the old machine house was where the bricks were made, it was hard work then most people today wouldn’t be able to handle it and anyway Health & Safety would shut us down. The Quarry then was where the landfill is now but we never drew the gas from it like they do at Howley Park instead Beats-waste and Waddingtons of Leeds used to dump there. So I have been working in the quarry since 1969 and my back-actor is about 20 years old but it

still doesn’t look like we are going to get a replacement bloody managers!. Back in them days we used to do all the quarrying ourselves and there was six of us but today they get contractors to build the stockpiles because they reckon its much cheaper. We used the old Rushton Bucyrus which had ropes instead of modern hydraulics and it was bloody hard work but today the contractors come along and make loads of mess and I have to go round and clear it all up.

Generally my job is to supervise them and make sure they dig what we want and when we want and it then needs to be build in layers so that the finished bricks don’t all end up different colours. A typical day consists of well first I wake up and then I clean my teeth and have a wash, oh you don’t want that much detail well I checks the pumps which pump the water out of the quarry make sure the gypsies haven’t nicked any during the night and they are all working okay. I then take a slice of the stockpile and make sure it is thoroughly mixed up, I look after Ian Lund (who drives the loading shovel) and Bob Smiley 2of4

and make sure they are not getting up to any mischief. Then I usually spend the rest of my time cleaning up all the mess left by the last lot of contractors or preparing the way for future contractors to come and make more mess. In the last 39 years I have seen loads of changes here, I preferred it under Armitage’s because everyone looked after each other more but I don’t think I have been working long enough with Hanson’s to know who anybody is. That’s the problem see with Armitage’s everyone knew each other but with Hanson being so big you don’t know who anyone is but even from the length of time I have worked with Hanson I can tell they are better than Marshalls. Oh yes I remember when Steve Todd started he was only 8 stone and any roast taties there was left in the kibbler he would scoff but he could work it off then, see, we knew him has the roving setter. However when he got the foreman’s job just look what happened then with no exercise to burn off the excess calories he just continued getting bigger and bigger, no wonder you all call him Mini-roundabout! When Bob Smilie started and he used to make the cups of tea you never got a full cup because he supped that much beer on a night in the morning he was shaking like a dog having a crap and most of the tea was spilt in transit. Oh yes and has anyone told you about the ghost in the machine house, old dick was his name and you first hear an eeek-eeek sound as he pushes his wheelbarrow, if the sound turns to a eek-eek sound you know to do a runner because he is coming after you. You know I remember getting Terry Cappers brother, Splash once, me and Derek Page sneaked down there just as it was getting dark dressed like a ghost just has Splash was on his rounds. It was one of those foggy winters evening and I slowly pushed the wheelbarrow groaning while Derek blew some smoke in my wake to make it look real spooky like, anyway Cappers brother was later found in the showers with eyes like dinner plates mumbling incoherently to himself.

Poor lad he never was the same again and “The ghost in the machine house with brown boots on” became a legend

A Da y Wit h D arr en Be ll

I decide to get these samples ready to be sent out to somewhere darn south. As I get the boxes ready and fill out the paperwork, Steve Todd Comes over and says the bricks are coming out a bit bar marked do I want to go check on them. As I start toward the dehacker, I notice that there is urgent mail on the despatch desk addressed to me that had been brought up from the reception earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the check the bricks. I lay my paperwork for the samples down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the urgent letters back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then Ian Sharpe turns up as I am heading out with the garbage, he says he wants to go through some batch codes and show me a new spreadsheet I need to fill in when I enter production so I leave the bin unemptied in the reception. Ian sharpe gets talking about the shrinkage of the bricks due to the temperature in the kiln and I find myself drawn into the conversation idly agreeing with both sides of the argument. Lee comes into the office to see me to tell me we have run out of 73mm red mix smooth labels again, so I go back to phone that idiot Michael to see why he keeps forgetting to order them, on my desk I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking. I'm going to look for Michael, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see that the Coke is getting warm,

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and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, Sue is trying to lift Henry her vacuum up the stairs to vacuum the office, I set the Coke down on the counter next to the red phone for the samaritans, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to help Sue with the vacuum. I set the glasses back down on the counter, and walk to the bottom of the stairs to help carry Henry and a driver has come to deliver some cardboard sheets we have been waiting for. When I sign his note and go to direct him to where he needs to be Andy comes over to tell me that the new forklift that has just been delivered last week wont start. I head back to my desk to phone Linde to send an engineer out to see if he can repair the forklift, on the way I bump into Mick Brayford who wants to know why I havent checked the hoses on the sandblasting machine. As I head down to the Auger Steve Todd comes wobbling over to say that Ian Sharpe is looking for me because he has a new project for me to do which wont take long… At the end of the day: ----the samples arnt ready, ----the bricks havent been checked for bar marking, ----there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the next to the phone for the samaritans, ----Sue never got a hand with henry, ----the bloke delivering the cardboard is wondering around in the yard aimlessly, ----I can't find Michael – any of them, ----I can't find my glasses, ----and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.

Jok e By Our Le ade r Out on her royal yacht, the queen was enjoying the sea air when she spied aman in the water off the port bow - clearly being menaced by a very largeshark. Through her binoculars she could see it was Christian Ronaldo,struggling frantically to free himself from the jaws of a 20-foot shark!The queen ordered the captain to change course to try and save the poorman, but she knew the yacht's top speed would never get them there in time.At that exact moment a speedboat containing three men wearing white topssped into

view. One of the men took aim at the shark and fired a harpooninto its ribs, immobilising it instantly. The other two reached out andpulled Ronaldo from the water and, using long clubs, beat the shark todeath.They bundled the bleeding, semi-conscious Ronaldo into the speedboat alongwith the dead shark and prepared for a hasty retreat, when they heardfrantic calling ........... It was the Queen calling them to the yacht. Onreaching yacht, the Queen went into raptures about the rescue and said,"I'll give you a knighthood for your brave actions. I thought the Englandteam would hate Ronaldo after the world cup. But I see that the Englandteam are true heroes and should serve as a model for sportsmanship to othercountries." She knighted them and sailed away.As she departed, Rooney asked the others, "Who was that?!""That," Beckham answered, "was our Queen. She rules the Commonwealth andshe knows everything about our country.""Well," Rooney replied, "she knows F all about shark fishing. How's thebait holding up ?"

Wo rk s St at ist ics Date 5th -12th June 12th-19th June 19th-26th June 26th Jun-3rd Jul

Produced 454,736

Sales 303,472

Finish Stock 11,554,500

432,112

402,020

11,582,904

443,056

255,896

11,770,064

433,176

312,864

11,894,896

Mo re Wor ks St at is tic s Here are some pretty solid reasons why alcohol should be served at work...

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It's an incentive to show up. It leads to more honest communications. It reduces complaints about low pay. Employees tell management what they think, not what management wants to hear. It encourages car pooling. Increase job satisfaction because if you have a bad job, you don't care.

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It eliminates vacations because people would rather come to work. • It makes fellow employees look better. • It makes the cafeteria food taste better. • Bosses are more likely to hand out raises when they are wasted. • Salary negotiations are a lot more profitable. • Employees work later since there's no longer a need to relax at the bar. • It makes everyone more open with their ideas. • Eliminates the need for employees to get drunk on their lunch break. • Increases the chance of seeing your boss naked. • Employees no longer need coffee to sober up. • Sitting "bare ass" on the copy machine will no longer be seen as "gross." • Not having to worry about your wife being mad when you come home wasted - its your job! • Any sick days taken would be completely genuine. • you can take longer and more frequent bathroom breaks. One day an Indian boy asked his father why they have such long names? The dad answers, "Well son whenever a Indian baby is born the father would go outside and name the baby after the first thing he sees... Why do you ask Two Dogs Fucking." During their silver anniversary, a wife reminded her husband: Do you remember when you proposed to me, I was so overwhelmed that I didn't talk for an hour?" The hubby replied: "Yes, honey, that was the happiest hour of my life."