The salt of the earth
I meet some great folk on my travels. The ones who will do anything to help and
always give of themselves to make the human experience of those who meet them a
memorable and positive experience.
I just need to mention a few of them who recently have gone out of their way to extend to me the real hand of friendship and
humanity and whose dedication and commitment to their various events make them
the joy that they are for the public of course, but also for those of us who
work at them.
Bob is the engineering manager at Haven
Street, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
As well as what is obviously a highly skilled and challenging role
keeping all the ancient engines, coaches, tracks and signals working properly
and managing, I imagine with great patience and courtesy, all the volunteers
and others who do the actual manual stuff, he also organises the Woodland Stage at the Steam Rally. The Woodland Stage is a delightful small
acoustic theatre in a wood close by. The
calm atmosphere created by the trees around make for a great setting for folk
music and I was lucky to catch a wonderful song about the first world war by
Karen Tweed and Mark Hickman and some of the set by the Grimshaws in that great
environment.
Bob caught me before I left topping up the
power steering fluid in the lorry, which requires me to tip the lorry cab
forward and fiddle beneath! He asked if
anything was wrong and I explained the particular challenge I have with this
part of the engine. Without hesitation
he had one of his men come out and give me advice and suggestions as to the
nature of the power steering system on the lorry. He had worked for Ford for years and knew the
Cargo series. Half an hour later I had
the benefit of a lot of knowledge I otherwise would not have. No immediate solution but a lot of wisdom
which is an essential pre-requisite to it!
An afternoon’s drive took me to
Wallingford, the pretty little Oxfordshire town on the Thames and the location
of a charming and popular annual folk music, steam and beer festival, the
Bunkfest (www.bunkfest.co.uk). I set up
a basic space for myself and started the generator. Two minutes later and it died and refused to
restart. Technology! And almost brand new too.
I gave up overnight and the following morning mentioned the generator in passing to the
Bunkfest electrician. Five minutes later
Ian was there, another of the site electricians, and within a half an hour he had
it working again and showed me a few tips to try if the issue happened again. He refused the tip I offered, saying, ‘It’s
all part of the service!’
Later in the morning I searched the town on
the mini-motorbike for an electrical suppliers to replace some of the show extension
cables which needed renewal. A charming
old world shack in the middle of almost nowhere is where I discovered Flex (www.flexwholesale.co.uk). I was
explaining my requirements to the guy on the desk when I heard ‘It’s Mr
Alexander’ from the dim recesses of the shack.
The boss, Matt emerged, shook my hand, gave me a hug and offered a cuppa. He had seen the show over a number of years
and was now one of the sponsors of Bunkfest.
He refused any payment and I left with everything I needed with no
charge!
I noticed a sign on the wall where in
previous years might have been a pinup girl calendar. It read, simply ‘Stop War. A good man is a
gentle man’. There’s a photo of it below.
All three of these experiences gave me
reason to stay firm in my belief that despite the dreadful affairs we listen to
on the local and national news, there is some hope for humanity. Certainly if Bob, Ian and Matt are anything
to go by. My hat is off to all three.
This story could be repeated many times over in my weekly life, so to those I haven't mentioned by name, my heartfelt admiration and thanks to you all.
All the best from a road near you,
Mr Alexander
