BIRDS EYE VIEW
Page 64
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E Mention, on page 18 . . . of the impending retirement of National Freight Consortium communications director Brian Cottee reminds the Hawk of the day Brian arrived at CM from sister publication Motor, to take over as assistant editor — a post he held for several years before his promotion as editor.
Not only did Brian insist on bringing with him his company car (they all had them on the Motor), but he also flatly refused to leave his old typewriter behind — one of those old 'steam' models (an Underwood, I think) which, it seemed to us 'youngsters' on the staff, was army surplus after the Boar War.
Brian — who made a name for himself as the mastermind behind the NFC workforce buyout — is to retire to sunny Spain. I wonder if he'll take that typewriter with him! Whether he does, or doesn't I am sure all of us, in the business, wish Brian a happy retirement — adios amigo.
• The news that Ken Sidclle, chairman of European Ferries (the parent company of Townsend Thoresen ferries and Atlantic Steam Navigation Company, of Transport Ferry Service fame) has handed over his chair to Geoffrey Parker, the youthful head of Felixstowe docks, comes as no surprise to those who know him in the industry.
Siddle is something of a low key behind-the-scenes personality, with veputation for implementing the strategies of his former boss and chairman, Keith Wickenden who, sadly, lost his life piloting a light aircraft which crashed into river Adur at Shoreham, Sussex.
Keith Wickenden, as those who knew him will attest, was something of an extrovert who made European Ferries tick, and Parker is of the same ilk. Not that one has to be flamboyant to succeed. For Keith Wickenden's brother, Roland — who died somewhat tragically on a train returning from a ferry launch in Holland — was a quiet and retiring man, yet he set the course that the ferry company has steered so successfully ever since.
Ironically, the Hawk was with the press corps on that train when Roland Wickenden died. A decade later that same Hawk was driving across the Adur flyover at Shoreham when Keith Wickenden's aircraft plunged into the river bank.
• Steam vehicle enthusiasts should mark in their diaries August 24 and 25 for a visit to the County of Salop Steam Engine Society at Bishop's Castle; and those with a particular yen for the mighty Sentinel steam road vehicle should get there a day earlier, at the nearby Perkins Engine factory in Shrewsbury. Reason for this suggestion is that no fewer than 16 Sentinels (and maybe more as entries are still pouring in) will parade outside the Perkins engine factory at Shrewsbury in a cavalcade, before making their way, under their own steam, to the rally ground before the two-day event.
Organiser David Goddard is understandably delighted at the response — the prospect of the old Sentinels lining up outside the works where they were built has captured the imagination of owners throughout Britain, he says.
"Normally," he said, "we get three or four Sentinels at the rally. To get 16 of them together at one event is something which, in my experience, is certainly unique for any rally in Britain,' he said, adding that the Society was getting ftill cooperation from the management of the Perkins factory where the original Sentinel statue still stands guard over the main entrance.
As well as the Sentinels, there is expected to be an above-average entry of steam vehicles and showman's engines of the type which have made Bishops Castle one of the major rallies in Britain for steam enthusiasts. Some 40 traction engines are expected at the event, and in addition there will be a number of historic fairground rides on view, in particular the Rodeo Switchback, which is reckoned to be Britain's oldest fairground ride.