Plastic Man
When I was quite a bit younger and setting off into the world of work, I got one of the worst jobs imaginable.
It was at a time when temping was the only work available and permanent employment was rarer than rocking horse shit.
The factory was based in Chorley, Lancs and made plastic containers and other plastic products. I had the job with my brother and a couple of mates which made it more bearable. We were tasked with checking plastic food trays for minute imperfections (holes, cracks etc.) This was to go on all night
with us squinting at ten trays together underneath a bright lamp. To say we felt like lab rats was an understatement. The thing that made it worse was the ten pallets of them all waiting to be checked.
After three hours of this and our clinging on to a wage, we gave up. It was a 12 hour night shift and to finish the shift would’ve been a living hell, let alone go back the next night for more. We all walked out together with a permanent squint in one eye and left behind the princely sum of �2-50 an hour. Bastards…
Ian Leach.
"I do nothing and then I do something. But it's taken years of investigating idleness in all its forms to be able to achieve this. My discipline is borne out of concerted study of idleness."