"In the beginning"

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this blog are not necessarily the views of the blog management, (on the other hand, they are not necessarily not the views of the blog management).

No effort has been made to stay within the bounds of the truth in this blog as it has always been the view of the management that the truth should never be allowed to stand in the way of a good story.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Time spent with BP


The caption I've used for years is; "How do I fix that."


I guess I must have figured it out because this was taken before I made the
leap into the grease pit, if memory serves it was an old Bedford van that
belonged to my Dad and he had asked me to get it started, don't you love the
intelligent look and the haircut on that skinny kid!!!

My time with BP Australia began in 1965 when I joined the company as an area
Representative in the city of Geelong, situated only 50 miles from Melbourne
Geelong is Victoria’s second largest city.

I made a poor choice when I left school and took up a trade as a motor mechanic,
it only took the 5 years of an apprenticeship for me to decide I really didn’t
want to do this for the rest of my working life, I spent a few years with
Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Co before landing the plum job with BP.

Because Geelong was a large enough city but still insulated from Head Office in
Melbourne
I spent 3 years as a wholesale Rep, which simply meant that anyone
except a reseller was my potential customer, I finished my 5 years with BP as
the Retail Rep.

I enjoyed all of my time with the company but my preference was the retail side
of the oil industry, so much so that when I resigned from BP and moved to
Queensland to live I sought out the State manager, who happened to be the man
who first employed me, and obtained a BP service station to lease.

It was quite an eye-opener to be sent back to
school to learn the ropes and even more so to find
that I needed to do this, from the other side of
the fence the view was quite different.

It was during this time that Wazza, who lived
nearby became first a customer and later a friend.

For the next 3 years the business in Holland Park,
a Brisbane suburb, flourished but then the
dreaded Petrol Price Cutting that had been so much

a part of my life as a Rep came to Brisbane.


Rather than join in to this quick road to bankruptcy
We chose to move out of the metropolitan area and buy the freehold title to
a small service station at Rosewood, this station had a franchise deal with
another oil company so the 8 year association with BP was broken.














Julie is here giving full driveway service to the old FJ Holden Ute we bought as
a run around.
That little trip down memory lane reminds me;

1975: Long hair.
2005: Longing for hair.

1975: Acid rock.
2005: Acid reflux.

1975: Moving to
California because it's cool.
2005: Moving to
California because it's warm.

1975: Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor.
2005: Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor.

1975: Seeds and stems.
2005: Roughage.

1975: The Grateful Dead.
2005: Grateful you're not dead.

1975: Going to a new, hip joint.
2005: Receiving a new hip joint.

1975: Rolling Stones.
2005: Kidney Stones.

1975: Being called into the principal's office.
2005: Calling the principal's office.

1975: Screw the system.
2005: Upgrade the system.

1975: Disco.
2005: Tesco.

1975: Parents begging you to get your hair cut.
2005: Children begging you to get their heads shaved.

1975: Passing the drivers' test.
2005: Passing the vision test.

1975: Whatever.
2005: Depends.






19 comments:

Pamela said...

always enjoy your history moments.

fine looking fellow there.

(Julie looks so tall and skinny!!)


the rest of the list makes one laugh, and then cry when you remember you're in the 2nd line now. sniff.

JunieRose2005 said...

Peter,

I enjoyed your walk down memory lane!


June

Vickie said...

Peter, thanks for sharing the walk down memory lane with us. I enjoyed it--actually I enjoy most of the sharing you do here---you are a good one.

Enjoy your weekend.

willowtree said...

Seeing as your guys are about as bad as mine this year, maybe you could use the Geelong connection and jump on the Cat's bandwagon.

Walker said...

That was a nice look along your back trail.

Life is a wonderful story and you live it so well

Have a nice weekend

Puss-in-Boots said...

Yes, well the petrol prices on the Shell sign are a good indication of today, aren't they? Interesting post, Peter.

Rather liked the 1975/2005 comparisons. I can relate to some of those...especially the 2005 ones.

Lee said...

I, too, enjoyed the stroll down memory lane...thanks, Peter. :)

Val said...

Peter, I enjoyed reading the memories of your working life, and seeing the photos. It's obvious your working life was important, more than just earning a living. I also was fortunate in valuing what I worked at, I would wish that for everyone.

kenju said...

I enjoy posts like this, Peter. I am not longing for hair - but I am longing for the trim figure I used to have!

Jeanette said...

Hi Peter. That was a nice trip down memory lane.
Wow That hair cut I think it was called a basin cut.Take care

Merle said...

Hi Peter ~~ Great trip down memory lane and the various jobs in your early life. Terrible haircut !!
The figure was better in those days
I liked the comparisons and am on the wrong side of them. Take care, Love, Merle.

Marcus said...

Brilliant post Pop!

PS. That Willowtree sounds like a very intelligent blogger!

Mind you, the Lions destroyed the Pies tonight, if they make the finals they could do some damage if they keep that form up!

Thanks for the bumper bar rooster, you were right, I loved it.

Cheers
Marcus

willowtree said...

Just a short thankyou note for what the Lions did to Collingwood last night.

Peter said...

Yer welcome WT, sounds like you are similar to a lot of others in AFL, I support ................ AND whoever is playing Collingwood.

willowtree said...

You got that right!!!!!

On another matter, I wish we had Jonathan Brown. Yeah I know, we've got Big Bad Barry, and he's good, but Brown is great!

Cliff said...

Great memories and pics. The young man in the photo was so,,uh..skinny. Never trust a skinny person Peter. That what I always say.

Cliff said...

Hey Peter, thanks for the nomination. And oh yeah, you're already invited.
Some funny stuff below. And the 'creative political writing was entertaining also'.
Loved the viagra stuff.

Cliff said...

As Columbo used to say "one more thing sir" the Italian talk show host must have trouble getting men to talk. It's hard to converse with your mouth hanging open.

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Nice walk down memory lane, Peter.
Love the 1975/2005 thing ... I'm somewhere in between there, at the moment, though !!!
Take care, Meow