McAlpines fusiliers.

[gnasher16 30,608]

I remember getting into a ding dong with a big Irish Mcalpines lad working on the 02 Arena or the Millenium Dome as it was known back then must have been mid 90's it started over something stupid as it does....i thought i was invincible at the time but this fella certainly put me in my place....went back a few days later and offered him a job,over the years he turned out to be one of the strongest yet most peaceful and fiercely loyal men ive ever come across Micky Morrison his name RIP.

[WILF 48,444]

22 minutes ago, gnasher16 said:

I remember getting into a ding dong with a big Irish Mcalpines lad working on the 02 Arena or the Millenium Dome as it was known back then must have been mid 90's it started over something stupid as it does....i thought i was invincible at the time but this fella certainly put me in my place....went back a few days later and offered him a job,over the years he turned out to be one of the strongest yet most peaceful and fiercely loyal men ive ever come across Micky Morrison his name RIP.

I used to deal with a bloke who supplied all the crushed concrete into that gaff when they were building it.

Jimmy Langley was his name, giant of a man with the biggest hands I have ever seen on a human being.

He looked like a navvy who had crawled out the back of his van every morning but he owned the biggest yacht in Brighton marina ! 

What a character, he hardly ever spoke and had this little right hand man type fella who did all the talking for him while he just stood there and listened.

[gnasher16 30,608]

1 hour ago, WILF said:

I used to deal with a bloke who supplied all the crushed concrete into that gaff when they were building it.

Jimmy Langley was his name, giant of a man with the biggest hands I have ever seen on a human being.

He looked like a navvy who had crawled out the back of his van every morning but he owned the biggest yacht in Brighton marina ! 

What a character, he hardly ever spoke and had this little right hand man type fella who did all the talking for him while he just stood there and listened.

Yeah same Micky was just a naturally big raw beast of a man looked like he'd been raised on gravel or something !.....i got asked to do a reading at his funeral and told a more in depth story of our first meeting and how despite losing some skin and teeth that day i gained a lifelong friend who i became very fond of....wasnt a dry eye in the gaff !....i'll shut up about him now before i start blubbing again 

Edited December 8, 2023 by gnasher16

[Daniel cain 47,128]

When I started,I was put in a 4 man gang(3 groundworkers 1 machine driver)with a gentleman called Mick Mullumberry.,very quietly spoken,was like he whispered everything to you lol..he was 68 about 5' 2 9 stone soaking wet...and the fastest man to this day, I've ever seen pinning out and laying kerbs..he could lay 6 x 12 kerbs all day long,bump them up and down off a dumper,was stong as f**k..my job was levelling out in front of him and backing them up....Would do pallet after pallet while every other gang on site plodded along he worked till he was 72,then left and set up a little gardening business...the man was a machine ,It was a badge of honour,if you could last more than a week and become a member of his  gang,the old boys were funny fuckers when you first started there...but all gave me respect and would always show me 'the old Indian tricks ' (easy way to do something)I learnt loads from them,put me through all my tickets and trained me right up tbf,left on good terms,I could go back Tomorrow If I wished,I will always be grateful that they gave me a start,I wouldn't be where I am today with out them

[Daniel cain 47,128]

15 hours ago, eastcoast said:

Going off on a tangent but in keeping with current discussion here on other threads... coincidentally I worked on a Sir Robert McAlpine job fairly recently. Mental Health is a big thing in construction now. All the guidence, all the tool box talks, all the nice people (mostly happy smiley young women) who offer support. Great stuff, we need to do more to stop men working in construction topping themselves. The senior Project Manager on the last SRM job called me to one side before a meeting and told me that he is  now one of several Mental Health 1st Aiders on the project. He said it was a good thing, but he would feel a bit of a hypocrite giving advice as he struggles getting out of bed in the morning and resisting the temptation to jump off the Tyne bridge most days  

Take a glove off to scratch your nose.... Red carded off site,by some spotty little assistant site agent cnut,that don't know shit from toothpaste...f**k working on them big sites these days...only work on the 'private' ones,20 houses here,30 there,where we run the show ,and call the shots

[Arry 23,472]

Worked with a few Irish Lads proper old fashion types but could not stand eating in the same canteen as them. Pile of Tea bags in the corner nearly three feet high a table full of milk bottles not empty of all colours from white - green and black. Put a new bottle on the table every day and one would fall off the other side. No socks just boots in the pub at five and not out till eleven. They could work though hand digging service trenches to the house. One day they carried on passed the house and into the back garden.

Cheers Arry

[eastcoast 4,308]

1 hour ago, Arry said:

Worked with a few Irish Lads proper old fashion types but could not stand eating in the same canteen as them. Pile of Tea bags in the corner nearly three feet high a table full of milk bottles not empty of all colours from white - green and black. Put a new bottle on the table every day and one would fall off the other side. No socks just boots in the pub at five and not out till eleven. They could work though hand digging service trenches to the house. One day they carried on passed the house and into the back garden.

Cheers Arry

Pile of tea bags and tables full of milk bottles nothing has changed, apart from lads on site putting complaints in that we need more cleaners

[chartpolski 25,876]

I’ve got a few Irish pals, here and on both sides of the Irish border. Two brothers, ground workers , here are great pals. They will go out of their way to help.

My sister has a big old house and it had a concrete and asbestos double garage she wanted taken down and getting rid of.

She was quoted over £3000 to have it done.

f**k that, said Sean, I’ll do it for £300 !

He put a chain around it, attached to the back of his transit pick up and drove off !

Loaded it up and away.

I asked him what he did with it ? Dumped it at the back of the old shopping centre we demolishing, he said !

Err…OK.

When I wanted 5 ton of Whin chippings for my back garden , he turned up with them. I said they needed to be barrowed into the back garden and I’d give them a hand, he said f**k off and make some tea you old coffin dodger, me and my mate will do it !

When I asked how much they wanted they said just buy us a drink!

Ive never met a bad Irish man yet. I’ve been down to county Offaly and had a great time and I’m hoping to go to NI this season to hunt with an Irish pal .

Cheers.

 

[comanche 3,150]

I had a few weeks driving for a piling firm based in Sussex that had a big job on in North London. Every morning l would set off in a crappy transit pick-up loaded with  stuff like augars, digger buckets ,barrels of diesel and rebar. I disliked the boss and the vehicle was a police magnet . The only rays of sunshine were the Irish guys on site . A bit scary on first meeting but everyone was a character. Their Forman was huge and very intimidating . One morning he told me that l was to stay and work on site rather than drive onto my next drop and that it had been squared with the Boss. 

What l found myself doing for the next month or so was assembling the metal  pile frames in readiness for welding . I must've been reasonable at it as the Forman and other lads  started referring to me as their Wire Worker . They might've  been taking the wee of course , but suddenly l was one of them ,which meant they cooked extra bacon for me at breakfast.  Yes,  it was cooked on a shovel over a 45 gallon drum of scrap wood.

At the end of my first full week on the site  the Foreman asked me how much l was being paid for driving "That heap of shxt " to the site every day.

When l told him £80 a week he blew up and started telling the other lads what l was on.  I assumed he thought l was being overpaid and prepared myself for some heavy abuse.

Then he reached in his pocket and gave me an extra 40 quid! 

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by comanche

[waltjnr 7,476]

I used to be a cubie for rmc ,I'd have to get concrete samples for my cubes ,I'd get on site park up next to the footings ,and wait for the mixer ,on the many occasions I'd fall asleep ,I'd always wake up with a bucket next to my van ,with some concrete, before they got the driver to piss it up ,always the irish lads, always had a lurcher or terrier in van ,that usually broke the ice and get them chatting 

[VOON 1,317]