It’s not all misery. I have some happy memories of testers, like the huge woman in that taxi garage/MoT station somewhere I forget in West London (Apols. if I’ve posted this tale before). I took a van there. It had a slow leak from the washer bottle, so I topped it up, expecting it to last the test, which it did, although it did leak over her while she was inspecting underneath on the ramp! The handbrake was a two hands, both feet on the bulkhead job.
Another van was my own, so it didn’t have to look nice! All the panels I fitted to it were home-made, including sills, part wings, rear quarters, floorpans and rear crossmember. Not one spot of filler was used, so there were runs of weld on show all over it. In the Advisory part of the inspection sheet, the tester wrote, “Bodywork extensively welded. Looks horrible but seems strong.”
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Yes, there were some good times. However I was thinking more about the Ministry Test Stations and some of the ‘■■■■■■■■’ and overzealous staff that I had to deal with at times. Some of their actions took some believing, and failing a vehicle for strange reasons as well, but it all got sorted in the end. With me taking a truck almost every week I got to know most of them and generally they were fine, depending on which station we used of course as we had a choice of two and the staff at one (not our first choice) were very militant! 
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Pete.
This thread takes me back. After running transits for a year or so in the early '70’s, a haulier acquired for me a bigger vehicle to do his work. This was a 3ton Commer, like the walk through, but a drop side body & a cab with bi fold doors When it was due for test he booked me in at Garrets Green, B’ham, & what a shock I had! As I pulled on the lane there were tannoy’s shouting out orders on lanes each side of me, as well as my lane & all at different stages of the test. The chaps on my lane seemed to be getting more angry as the test progressed, as I didn’t have a clue what was going on. By the time I was finished I was shaking with fear & remember thinking how bad it would be to have to do that every year. However after buying another 4ton Commer I applied for test, & I think at that time you had to put a second choice (not sure if memory serves me right) but they sent me to Featherstone Staffs. Off I went up the M6, turned off through the countryside & found the little 3 lane MOT station. Well I couldn’t believe the difference. The Testers there never seemed to be under any pressure & would often come and have a chat at the cab door. If you had any small fault they would tell you how you might correct it, like swapping bulbs from a light already tested etc. Needless to say I used that test station as much as I could, & a few years later I moved house & yard into the area so it became my local. I could tell a few stories, but this thread is not really about that.
Yes Big G, you usually had a couple of choices. I could tell many tales as well, some comical and some not so, but as you say it would drag this well off topic.
Pete.