'Job Talk', Richard Basker

Our speaker was Club member, Richard Basker, who gave a job talk.

He had studied at Loughborough University and had qualified as a civil / structural engineer. His first job was in Glasgow working for McAlpines on a sewage works. He then moved to London working for Alex Williams on motorway design and construction. He pointed out that, in these days, all this work was done without the aid of computers.

Richard then moved to Durban in South Africa where he worked on a number of projects. Health and safety did not really exist in these days and he told us of some alarming incidents that had taken place on building sites. These could be very dangerous places. Apartheid did not seem to be a problem in Durban then and blacks and whites mixed freely.

Later Richard moved back to the UK and set up home in Devon. He became a partner in a business and spent the rest of his working life there. Shortly after retiring, he moved up to Scotland where his wife has her roots.

A vote of thanks was given by Fraser Marshall.

Report by Alan Young