Ten years later Mum started work at the Auctioneers and Cattle Market in Haywards Heath. From an all girls school to being one of the first female auctioneers' clerks to work outside was quite a change, shall we say. And as such Mum was immediately part and parcel of a lot of fun and ribaldry. Lets just keep to the bin theme here - there are far too many other tales to tell - and some best not to tell.
The grand and sturdy building that was the offices of T. Bannister & Co was on the opposite side of the road from the railway station. For good reason in olden days. The Market offices were up two flights of stairs and a large bay window looked across the road on a level with Platform 1. Market Day was Tuesday and Wednesday meant a lot of office work. Time to have a bit of fun first though. Anyway to cut a long story short Mum ended up in the waste paper basket, her bottom sunk to the base and the rest of her body unable to manoevre. She was placed on the large wooden table in front of the bay window, the floor having been scattered liberally with drawing pins first. Then - Hey Presto! The blind was lifted and all the commuters on Platform 1 saw Mum in her basket. The funny thing was the platform cleared as if by magic. People jostled for a space in the rest room and hid behind the iron supports - within seconds Platform 1 was empty! And she had to stay there until it was deemed time enough to rescue her.
Mum says that luckily there probably won't be a third time as she wouldn't fit in a waste paper bin now! Gordon x