A Career in Construction - Part 3

The George Wimpey training scheme for Quantity Surveyors before I joined was based entirely on day release to attend college once a week with additional evening classes. My year was the first to try an entirely different method. This was called a Block Release Course and required 15 weeks per year at college for the first three years and ten weeks per year for the last two. These were broken down into five week sessions at Brighton College of Advanced Technology, each five weeks during one college term. The course was designed around the examinations of The Institute of Quantity Surveyors.

However, much as we enjoyed the benefits of paid work experience and college life, this system was pretty disruptive for people we worked for, disappearing for weeks at a time. I believe this experiment only lasted a couple of years.

Our first digs in Brighton were in Silverdale Road, that is actually in Hove. There must have been six of us in the house, those were happy, carefree days. We always had time for last orders at the nearby pub. See postings February 2010.

The first January we were in Brighton coincided with the Central Estimating Dinner and Dance. This was a huge event paid for by the company and our presence was required. We did have to hire dinner suits for the occasion, and I found mine in Brighton. Some of the others had hired theirs in London so these had to be brought down by the training manager, Mike Godber. Having left them at our digs, some wag decided to mix then up which caused a big  ruckus and much laughter.

When we arrived at the venue (possibly the massive room above Derry and Toms on Kensington High Street), we were struck by the organisation. A large dance band played on the stage, playing quicksteps, waltzes etc. So we just watched, enjoyed the food and free bar! But half way through the most amazing thing happened. Now you have to remember this is January 1964, and the vast majority were mature people. But low and behold, a rock group took to the stage. How someone had persuaded the organisers to let one in, I shall never know. But there we were, just the trainees bopping alone on the dance floor to the music of The Beatles, Cliff, Gerry and the Pacemakers and The Searchers. I guess the more adventuress of the older staff might have joined in. Absolutely amazing.

Our first year ended in the September and we were distributed through other departments of the company. The lucky many were transferred to the regions for the year, unfortunately I got stuck in a private housing unit in Flyover House in Chiswick where I basically wasted a year and learnt nothing. The most memorable feature being the canteen. But by the September of 1965 I had moved out of Riverview Gardens, sampled the boring single life in a bedsit, and  moved in with my friend Bob Owen to the attic flat of 7 Airedale Road in Chiswick, the home of Mr and Mrs Gosden, and our home for the following momentous year of 1966, and my third successive year in London.