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It was an odd job. When I was a small boy, I would take the boat back to the farm to see my grandfather, who was a chartered surveyor. I remember him sitting at his son's side as we drove along, talking to his father as we drove through town. I remember my father sitting beside me and saying: "Did you ever hear of the old Tyneside company?" I did. My father was one of those people who said "that's just a trolley driver's job". He wasn't very good at it.
I remember working on the same boat as my mother. I remember my mother telling me, "You want to get back to Tyneside?" "Yes, I will", she said. I was very lucky to have started my own business. I was working as a chartered surveyor at a school in the town. I was lucky to get a job. My dad was a great man. He didn't always have a family and he wasn't the only one. He had a great wife, a lovely home and a fine family. I don't know if he knew how much the rest of us went through.
I remember the day I found out I was going to have to take the boat to work at the Tyneside boat fair. It was April 17, 1978 and I was on the same boat of a different age. I was in the middle of a boat race. A few days before the race I would go over the Tyneside dock and look around to see what was going on. I would see the line of white people on the ground below me. I would ask: "What are you doing here?" The next day I would go over to the next boat race to see what was going on. I would make the same mistake. It was a terrible day.
I had to go to school. I had to go to the school for an English class. I was in the middle of class. I was only 18. I had come from the countryside in the middle of the night, and I was going to school. I was not quite sure where I was going. I went to the school and I was on the boat. I had a boat. I did what I had to do.