In late September 1979, we had just sold our cafe in Elland, West Yorkshire. At 32 years old, and after being my own boss for such a long time, I knew in my heart that going back to being an employee was going to be difficult.
My father was a one man haulier and owned a small pick-up truck and a 7.5 ton Bedford TK. I had a business plan for him: he would ferry loads to Huddersfield, and I would distribute them using the pick-up. This would give him more time to transport larger hauls. The idea was that we would transport for the horticultural industry, mainly servicing local authorities across Yorkshire and Lancashire.
To my surprise, my father said no to my proposals, saying "if you want to do it, go out and buy a van and get going" - so I did. By the 16th October 1979 I was on my way to collect my first load, organised for me by my father. I quickly learnt that my idea was not going to be easy - I had to go out and find clients of my own.
I put my name down with a local house-clearing business, and started off with some local collections which were then distributed to larger vehicles that would travel all over the United Kingdom - once again I was in love with my career!
Our son Colin joined us that year at 15 as a van boy - he proved himself to be the best navigator on the roads. Not long after he passed his driving test and soon after his class one!
I then decided, after my old van died, to pull into our local Ford dealership. The brand new yellow Ford Transit took to the roads and I've never looked back! Two years later, even though money was tight, I decided to buy another van.
