bullitt:
Two arm chairs wrapped in blankets each side of the luton backs facing out wards, TV (when they were big oblong things!!) in between, settee rolled over the top, upside down feet up with the back on to the front wall to the luton, again wrapped in blankets. Then add assorted clutter and light, leggy bits etc and when full square off with a single mattress. Job done, luton full… next tier.Blankets layed on the floor, stand double and single bed bases and mattress
s on end across the vehicle side on to the front. Square of with wardrobes, chest of drawers (wrapped) and in between the mattresss insert any large mirrors, glass table tops and the like wrapped again in blankets. If the tops of the mattress`s are smooth and fairly level and you have the roof height you could now lose the dining table face down on top, well wrapped and maybe with a cardboard layer between the surfaces for added protection. Dining chairs and awkward bits again will fit in here suitably wrapped in blankets. Dressing tables with the upright arms that support a mirror can be rolled upside down as well at this stage and placed on top of chest of drawers etc to "square off the tier. Top off with various odds and sods, light leggey stuff, dining chairs etc, again all wrapped, to the roof. When this tier is complete, start again!!!
If in doubt, wrap it up!!
Repeat and repeat until…
A. the house is empty and there is still space on the vehicle.
B. The house is empty and the vehicle is chocker.
C. The house IS NOT empty, the vehicle has run out of space and you look a bit of a (zb)!!!To avoid scenario C the golden rule is pack EVERY tier high and tight regardless.
Last things to be loaded on should be contents of garage ,shed, and garden so if you are full, you can leave these behind without to much inconvenience and go back and pick it up!!. I would imagine tailboard loads are a NO-NO now with regard to H&S!!
Apart from that, be prepared to sweat your nuts off, lose body weight, put up with some truly obnoxious members of the public and walk a lot of miles per day, every day!
Never walk OUT of the house empty handed when loading…and never walk INTO the house empty handed when unloading. Doing any one of these will result in a severe bollocking (and my boot up your arse) from the foreman (me) and (possible) loss or reduction of any beer money forth coming at the end of the job!!
The ability to be able to construct in your mind a 3 dimensional jigsaw from what you first see on your initial walk around the house helps too!! the last thing to be loaded should be the kettle and tea bags so they r first off lol
ENJOY!!!
scarboroughpete:
bullitt:
Two arm chairs wrapped in blankets each side of the luton backs facing out wards, TV (when they were big oblong things!!) in between, settee rolled over the top, upside down feet up with the back on to the front wall to the luton, again wrapped in blankets. Then add assorted clutter and light, leggy bits etc and when full square off with a single mattress. Job done, luton full… next tier.Blankets layed on the floor, stand double and single bed bases and mattress
s on end across the vehicle side on to the front. Square of with wardrobes, chest of drawers (wrapped) and in between the mattresss insert any large mirrors, glass table tops and the like wrapped again in blankets. If the tops of the mattress`s are smooth and fairly level and you have the roof height you could now lose the dining table face down on top, well wrapped and maybe with a cardboard layer between the surfaces for added protection. Dining chairs and awkward bits again will fit in here suitably wrapped in blankets. Dressing tables with the upright arms that support a mirror can be rolled upside down as well at this stage and placed on top of chest of drawers etc to "square off the tier. Top off with various odds and sods, light leggey stuff, dining chairs etc, again all wrapped, to the roof. When this tier is complete, start again!!!If in doubt, wrap it up!!
Repeat and repeat until…
A. the house is empty and there is still space on the vehicle.
B. The house is empty and the vehicle is chocker.
C. The house IS NOT empty, the vehicle has run out of space and you look a bit of a (zb)!!!To avoid scenario C the golden rule is pack EVERY tier high and tight regardless.
Last things to be loaded on should be contents of garage ,shed, and garden so if you are full, you can leave these behind without to much inconvenience and go back and pick it up!!. I would imagine tailboard loads are a NO-NO now with regard to H&S!!
Apart from that, be prepared to sweat your nuts off, lose body weight, put up with some truly obnoxious members of the public and walk a lot of miles per day, every day!
Never walk OUT of the house empty handed when loading…and never walk INTO the house empty handed when unloading. Doing any one of these will result in a severe bollocking (and my boot up your arse) from the foreman (me) and (possible) loss or reduction of any beer money forth coming at the end of the job!!
The ability to be able to construct in your mind a 3 dimensional jigsaw from what you first see on your initial walk around the house helps too!! the last thing to be loaded should be the kettle and tea bags so they r first off lol
ENJOY!!!
Hi Pete,
It’s strange but wherever you came from in the country, all the independent operators seemed to work basically the same way.
However from my experience, and I stand to be corrected, Pickford’s staff tended to work quite differently.
After loading on most ‘distance work’ usually, unless they were loading well south from Spennymoor, our lot came back to refuel, get subsistence cash etc and we always looked in the back of the van to see what space was available so we could fill it up. As we paid bonus to drivers if they could fill up with part load (s) they were usually keen to do so. It was increasing our revenue per load and as I say slightly increasing the driver’s pay packet.
However when they reached the main removal delivery address they had to move things to make their way through to the load, I am sure one of the first things off the van and into the house was still the kettle
Carl
Hi Steve,Nice picture of the a and n [army and navy]van are they still part of Pickfords?
jeffreyk:
Hi Steve,Nice picture of the a and n [army and navy]van are they still part of Pickfords?
Just looking last night at Pickfords Share holding etc, to try and see who ownes it. Not very clear, and as for Hoults like Pickfords saying Shares are owned by Pickfords Organisation Ltd , yet nothing listed for them.
Another interesting case was a new quicly expanding UK network, look to be destined to fall very shortly. I dont want to mention name but the ‘Alarm’ might go off very soon.
Carl
‘time’ is ticking away for them then is it Carl?
Would love to hear more details, feel free to pm me 
Cuc koo
jdc:
‘time’ is ticking away for them then is it Carl?Would love to hear more details, feel free to pm me
Taken from public records, accounts are confused by passng through various holding companies, many of which disolved and limited liability partnerships, but the following statement gives a clearer picture of the total situation and says it all
The combined cash at bank value for all of John’s current businesses is £829,220, with a combined assets value of £3,289,713 and liabilities of £11,404,827. Roles associated with John within the recorded businesses include: Director, Company Secretary, Llp Designated Member
By this calculation £8 million in negative equities
Assett Value 3289713
liabilities -11404827
-8115114
total liabilities 8115114
There might be a explanation,but one way or another its a worrying situation, as banks tend to not like negative equity.
Carl
Hi, Carl,
Just a quick post to say that I get a lot of enjoyment out of reading about you furniture lads, not having been too involved in your section of the industry to any great extent.
The nearest we came to being furniture removers was the odd Saturday local job carried out with a well-scrubbed out livestock lorry and half a dozen general haulage drivers. I don’t think we ever broke or lost anything but we weren’t keen on the variety of goods- from the piano to a ton or so of coal and firewood.
But of course we were savvy enough to insist on loading the kettle, tea, sugar & milk last!
Retired Old ■■■■:
Hi, Carl,
Just a quick post to say that I get a lot of enjoyment out of reading about you furniture lads, not having been too involved in your section of the industry to any great extent.
The nearest we came to being furniture removers was the odd Saturday local job carried out with a well-scrubbed out livestock lorry and half a dozen general haulage drivers. I don’t think we ever broke or lost anything but we weren’t keen on the variety of goods- from the piano to a ton or so of coal and firewood.
But of course we were savvy enough to insist on loading the kettle, tea, sugar & milk last!
Hi
I always remember a massive mirror on the staircase of Ramside Hall Hotel Durham, probably still there today. It must have been about 20 ft high by about 8 ft wide, massive and looked as though it had been there about 100 years. I always used to think ’ I can imagine one of our lot coming back after a removal saying that everything was OK apart from they had broken a mirror’ I hate to think the value of that one, and on the occasion I met anyone that said I, personally had done there removal, I always used to think back to the last time I had broken a mirror, in case it was there’s.
Carl
I can remember we did a removal for a north east shipping magnate which was a three day job, one day to wrap and pack everything another to load the van and one to unload The move was from Stocksfield to just outside Corbridge, within the grounds of the Stocksfield house there was a cottage occupied by a couple who were the gardener and housekeeper and it was the housekeeper who kept us supplied with tea, sandwiches and biscuits, we got nothing off his and her lordship till we had finished the job when we got a small tip but the thing that sticks in my mind is his son coming round a giving us all a bottle of Newcastle brown ale then about 20 minutes later coming back to collect the bottles back so he could get his deposit back of the bottles.
Another job we did was for a young couple who were both teachers they had lived in the house they were moving from for two years it was a new build when they moved in and in all that time they had never dusted or cleaned the house and it was inches thick in dust.
It was always political correct that if somebody offered you a tip you refused first time but 99% of the time they would offer it again and under protest you would accept, I can remember the boss asking me to pop round to the local estate to move a pair of very long ladders for a punter a couple of streets, no problem after doing so the punter dug into his pocket and offered me a pound coin- no thanks says me - oh ok and punter returns coin back to pocket never for it to see the light of day again.regards prattman
prattman:
…It was always political correct that if somebody offered you a tip you refused first time but 99% of the time they would offer it again and under protest you would accept…
…not when I was doing mate!! If they offered it I took it and bloody right as well. Household removals is bloody hard graft, if someone is happy with the job and offers you a few quid for a beer then rip their arm!
An old wives tale was, when after a long hard job, sweating and grafting your nuts off, trying to keep the customer happy etc, the customer would say something along the lines of, “well done lads, have a drink on me” and would then offer a quid to each man! The foreman would then gather all the pounds back, turn round to the customer and say “forget it mate, you obviously need this more then we do”, turn around and then walk out the door leaving a red faced and embarrassed customer behind him.
Like I say, it was an old wives tale, I never heard of anyone actually saying it but I came close a couple of times.
Nothing to do with removals but bullit’s post reminded me of a really hot afternoon in Ross on Wye livestock market. It was the school holidays and I had been helping the old chap organising loads of cattle, sheep & pigs for delivery to various farms & abbatoirs. There came a lull in proceedings and dad says, “Go and help Stan load his lorry- he’ll see you alright”.
Off I went to offer my services to Farmer Stan. I loaded his lorry for him- both decks crammed full of lambs- while Stan leaned on his stick and shouted a bit.
After we had closed the tailboard he handed me a bronze three-penny bit and said, “Get yerself a cup of tea”.
Poor bl**dy farmers! 
prattman:
I can remember we did a removal for a north east shipping magnate which was a three day job, one day to wrap and pack everything another to load the van and one to unload The move was from Stocksfield to just outside Corbridge, within the grounds of the Stocksfield house there was a cottage occupied by a couple who were the gardener and housekeeper and it was the housekeeper who kept us supplied with tea, sandwiches and biscuits, we got nothing off his and her lordship till we had finished the job when we got a small tip but the thing that sticks in my mind is his son coming round a giving us all a bottle of Newcastle brown ale then about 20 minutes later coming back to collect the bottles back so he could get his deposit back of the bottles.
Another job we did was for a young couple who were both teachers they had lived in the house they were moving from for two years it was a new build when they moved in and in all that time they had never dusted or cleaned the house and it was inches thick in dust.
It was always political correct that if somebody offered you a tip you refused first time but 99% of the time they would offer it again and under protest you would accept, I can remember the boss asking me to pop round to the local estate to move a pair of very long ladders for a punter a couple of streets, no problem after doing so the punter dug into his pocket and offered me a pound coin- no thanks says me - oh ok and punter returns coin back to pocket never for it to see the light of day again.regards prattman
Hi Prattman,
It sounds like you worked for someone up here. Certainly doing the right quality of work at Stocksfield and Corbridge. Who was it? We certainly got good prices there, from our Newcastle office.
One thing I never would have dared to suggest is that anyone turned down a tip. That was the one benefit our drivers on removal work got. I always got the complaint that there was no point doing removals as a driver as van haulage was much easier, as it certainly was as you defiantly had to work hard on removals, and also with our bonus scheme removal work didn’t pay the driver as well. Tips made up for that and drivers made sure they looked after the customer to get them.
Mind, from what I was told tips were better from people who were not so well off, as the one who could afford a good tip tended to keep their money.
It’s like dad always said of people who went to the gym. ‘They should do a few removals and then they would know what exercise is’.
Carl
Retired Old ■■■■:
Nothing to do with removals but bullit’s post reminded me of a really hot afternoon in Ross on Wye livestock market. It was the school holidays and I had been helping the old chap organising loads of cattle, sheep & pigs for delivery to various farms & abbatoirs. There came a lull in proceedings and dad says, “Go and help Stan load his lorry- he’ll see you alright”.
Off I went to offer my services to Farmer Stan. I loaded his lorry for him- both decks crammed full of lambs- while Stan leaned on his stick and shouted a bit.
After we had closed the tailboard he handed me a bronze three-penny bit and said, “Get yerself a cup of tea”.
Poor bl**dy farmers!
Hi
We carried cattle from the nineteen twenties until 1955 when we got rid of our last cattle truck.
I was just very young but can still remember going to the marts at Darlington and Sedgefield. I was always told that removals was hard work but cattle was twice as hard, and in particular the hardest part of the work was getting paid by the famers, who most had their first penny.
Carl