FM Conway - Going the Extra Mile

Heathrow Asphalt is situated on the Paddington Branch of The Grand Union Canal.

was in the winter, on a freezing morning in December. Fortunately, Ron had remembered to bring along the flask of sloe gin that he always takes on fishing trips. Even with the sloe gin to cheer us up, the journey was disappointingly slow. Maybe the canal was not going to prove such an advantage after all. But you can never tell what might crop up in the future. That’s what makes our business so exciting. ll this time, I was aware that we were approaching the company’s 50 th Anniversary. I often thought about my father, and how astonished he would be to learn that the company he started would soon have its own Asphalt Plant in London. I thought about Dad’s brother Bart, the kerb layer, who worked with him in the early days. I hoped that Bart and Frank would be proud of where the next generation had taken the family company. My own son –‘young Michael’ as he was known in the office – had joined the company briefly. He had enjoyed his time in the Workshop, in spite of the men ribbing him ruthlessly, sending him out for cans of ‘chequered paint’ or for boxes of ‘non-sparking spark plugs’. Although he had enjoyed the work well enough, his heart was set on racing, and I would A

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