A bit council (Vol 5)
Discussion
gazza285 said:
Occasionally work at the petfood factory next to the big Ikea in Birstall, that stinks, but not as bad as De Mulder's in Doncaster...
Having been made redundant September 2020, deep in coronavirus times, I ended up packing dog biscuits at that same place! My options were dog biscuits or human biscuits at Fox's in Batley, as there weren't even any jobs going in machine shops, let alone Quality Engineering jobs. 12 hour shifts were tough to start with, but conditions were good, and it kept First Direct off my back for the mortgage payments. To be fair, despite being a temporary job, the conditions were good (subsidised canteen, boots & uniform free,) and once you had proved yourself you could make a decent wage. If you hadn't done well at school but were prepared to work you could do a lot worse. Not the nicest smelling place though.Taking any job going to keep a roof over your head- council!
About 20 years ago I was going for a job interview for a maintenance engineer position at a company with a name like xxxx products Ltd. Had very little info to go on but the job description sounded OK.
It was a hot summer afternoon and as I drove into the car park I was hit with a smell worse than death, it was a pet food rendering plant.
I didn't even get out of the car, just turned round and drove home.
It was a hot summer afternoon and as I drove into the car park I was hit with a smell worse than death, it was a pet food rendering plant.
I didn't even get out of the car, just turned round and drove home.
motco said:
Wadsworth Road in Perivale (behind the old Hoover factory on the A40 Western Avenue) smelled of various perfumes when I was a lad: Ponds, Morny, and names I now forget. Later when I worked in the Hoover subsidiary factory in Wadsworth Road there was a factory called Soflor (later Polak's Fruital works) and the smells of essences, mainly strawberry, were stronger and more mouth watering than the real thing.
Even earlier in my childhood Lyons coffee was made north west of my home by some three miles, but on certain days when the wind was right, there was a strong smell of what seemed to be burned coffee -it was not pleasant.
My children, born and brought up in the Borne End area of Bucks, loved the smell from the Stewart & Arnold chocolate factory in High Wycombe when we went to Wycombe for shopping.
There seem to be far fewer industrial pongs these days.
Mogden Lane sewage works is terrible across most of Isleworth and Brentford if the wind turns the wrong direction. A big water treatment plant right next to Twickenham Rugby Stadium... Even earlier in my childhood Lyons coffee was made north west of my home by some three miles, but on certain days when the wind was right, there was a strong smell of what seemed to be burned coffee -it was not pleasant.
My children, born and brought up in the Borne End area of Bucks, loved the smell from the Stewart & Arnold chocolate factory in High Wycombe when we went to Wycombe for shopping.
There seem to be far fewer industrial pongs these days.
freakybacon said:
gazza285 said:
Occasionally work at the petfood factory next to the big Ikea in Birstall, that stinks, but not as bad as De Mulder's in Doncaster...
Having been made redundant September 2020, deep in coronavirus times, I ended up packing dog biscuits at that same place! My options were dog biscuits or human biscuits at Fox's in Batley, as there weren't even any jobs going in machine shops, let alone Quality Engineering jobs. 12 hour shifts were tough to start with, but conditions were good, and it kept First Direct off my back for the mortgage payments. To be fair, despite being a temporary job, the conditions were good (subsidised canteen, boots & uniform free,) and once you had proved yourself you could make a decent wage. If you hadn't done well at school but were prepared to work you could do a lot worse. Not the nicest smelling place though.Taking any job going to keep a roof over your head- council!
In all fairness, a big thumbs up to you for making the best of a bad situation and seeing the good points in a job that some would see beneath them.
CourtAgain said:
Mogden Lane sewage works is terrible across most of Isleworth and Brentford if the wind turns the wrong direction. A big water treatment plant right next to Twickenham Rugby Stadium...
Yes!I grew up in Isleworth. St Johns Road - which, as it's the council thread, was pronounced 'Saint John' and not 'Sinjin'.
shih tzu faced said:
A scratch ‘n’ sniff version of PH would really help to bring these stories to life.
Come on boffins, sort it out
My daughter used to live in Banbury. I love coffee, but the smell of the huge roasting plant there was dreadful. Come on boffins, sort it out
It is occasionally overwhelmed by the far nicer odours from the Fine lady Bakery plant, which knocks out 3 million loaves a week, but achieves peak pong with its hot cross buns and other fruit buns.
All this talk of pongs takes me back to the 70s in Bradford, there was a mill on Dick Lane that I think washed wool, then smell was awful. The other was the Sunblest bakery on Gain Lain which was much more pleasant!
All we get where I live now is a slight curry smell from the takeaway down the road when the wind's in the right direction.
That pink car - have they pop riveted wide arches on?
All we get where I live now is a slight curry smell from the takeaway down the road when the wind's in the right direction.
That pink car - have they pop riveted wide arches on?
Factory pongs is one thing, what about house pongs, that is true council.
Many many moons ago as a youngster i used to go around houses collecting money for Cancer & Polio, a football pools type thing. It was a round of about 100 customers. The same houses used to have a rank smell coming out of them when they opened the door. A couple of them i used to stand back in anticipation.
Many many moons ago as a youngster i used to go around houses collecting money for Cancer & Polio, a football pools type thing. It was a round of about 100 customers. The same houses used to have a rank smell coming out of them when they opened the door. A couple of them i used to stand back in anticipation.
Yeah tanneries are not a good smell. We used to nick out for a tab in one whilst at school...
I'm going to add 'galligu' (by product of a victorian chemical process that was simply dumped wherever) in to the pong mix.
I'm doing a development in Glasgow at the moment where they built high rise blocks of flats in the 60's (since demolished) around a depression in the landscaping. Turned out is was built on this galligu, so when it rained the water collected in depression and reacted with it to create hydrogen sulfide or stinky pond as it was known.
ETA, I'm sure everybody knows this, but this is why the 'West End' of cities is always the posh end. The are upwind of the prevailing south westerly so didn't smell as bad as the East End.
I'm going to add 'galligu' (by product of a victorian chemical process that was simply dumped wherever) in to the pong mix.
I'm doing a development in Glasgow at the moment where they built high rise blocks of flats in the 60's (since demolished) around a depression in the landscaping. Turned out is was built on this galligu, so when it rained the water collected in depression and reacted with it to create hydrogen sulfide or stinky pond as it was known.
ETA, I'm sure everybody knows this, but this is why the 'West End' of cities is always the posh end. The are upwind of the prevailing south westerly so didn't smell as bad as the East End.
Edited by ben5575 on Wednesday 25th May 09:04
3 bed detached new ish house near me, quite lovely really, got the trendy grey UPVC an the lot (£400k ish, which is steep as I'm oop north innit, cheap for you lot) sells, family moves in. Must've been in 2 months now.
Empty boxes, s
te old broken toys strewn across the drive, weeds 3 foot high adorning all the walls and the flagged driveway. It looked smarter when sat on the market empty. It would take maybe half a day to fully sort, bit of weed killer and some rubbish bags. I don't get it? 
I can't even rent a property let alone purchase one without deploying some modicum of care for it's external appearance. Blows my mind. Council.
Empty boxes, s
te old broken toys strewn across the drive, weeds 3 foot high adorning all the walls and the flagged driveway. It looked smarter when sat on the market empty. It would take maybe half a day to fully sort, bit of weed killer and some rubbish bags. I don't get it? I can't even rent a property let alone purchase one without deploying some modicum of care for it's external appearance. Blows my mind. Council.freakybacon said:
Having been made redundant September 2020, deep in coronavirus times, I ended up packing dog biscuits at that same place! My options were dog biscuits or human biscuits at Fox's in Batley, as there weren't even any jobs going in machine shops, let alone Quality Engineering jobs. 12 hour shifts were tough to start with, but conditions were good, and it kept First Direct off my back for the mortgage payments. To be fair, despite being a temporary job, the conditions were good (subsidised canteen, boots & uniform free,) and once you had proved yourself you could make a decent wage. If you hadn't done well at school but were prepared to work you could do a lot worse. Not the nicest smelling place though.
Taking any job going to keep a roof over your head- council!
"Taking any job going to keep a roof over your head- admirable!"Taking any job going to keep a roof over your head- council!
anonymous said:
[redacted]
My very first ever IT contract in January 1993 was for Yorkshire Water (VAX ACMS if anyone remembers that) right in the centre of Bradford. There was an abbatoir or something back in the centre back then and it was minging. I can still smell it now.Depressing place, although the job was cool - it actually used to have a lady come round with a tea and biscuits trolley several times a day - big tea urn on it and everything. She used to shout out "trolleeeeeee!" and you'd scoot off and grab your tea and cake or whatever.
(As an off-topic aside - the locations that I used to work in would determine how much I liked a job; some places were just alien to me, like Bradford, Woking, London, Basingstoke (and it also makes me laugh that people in the SE seen to think that where they live is so posh - most places are definitely no better than anywhere else - they just cost ten times more) . So glad I gave up and went doing a normal job.)
markymarkthree said:
Factory pongs is one thing, what about house pongs, that is true council.
Many many moons ago as a youngster i used to go around houses collecting money for Cancer & Polio, a football pools type thing. It was a round of about 100 customers. The same houses used to have a rank smell coming out of them when they opened the door. A couple of them i used to stand back in anticipation.
Occasionally a purchase arrives from eBay and, when I open it, this fetid smell wafts out - something combining general dirt and dust, smelly feet and stale chip fat. It does make me wonder what the houses and the people themselves smell like...Many many moons ago as a youngster i used to go around houses collecting money for Cancer & Polio, a football pools type thing. It was a round of about 100 customers. The same houses used to have a rank smell coming out of them when they opened the door. A couple of them i used to stand back in anticipation.
On a cheerier note, the gorgeous smell from Elke's biscuits in Uttoxeter always told me we were nearing the end of our journey to stay with my godparents in Alton, as a child
Deranged Rover said:
Occasionally a purchase arrives from eBay and, when I open it, this fetid smell wafts out - something combining general dirt and dust, smelly feet and stale chip fat. It does make me wonder what the houses and the people themselves smell like...
Or damp, or a combination of them all - but I do find that an ingrained damp smell is probably the most commonGassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff