The first two boats were being delivered to Shardlow and I was up early and on site when the trucks pulled in.
I flagged down the first truck and told him where to go, but he seemed reluctant to obey my instruction.
“Reckon I'll wait for the gaffer," he said moodily, so I went to the second driver and repeated what I'd told the first trucker.
"Why isn't he going first?"
“Oh, I think he wants a rest."
“Okay, mate,” he said and drove around the first truck. By the time he'd unchained the boat, I'd got the crane going and brought it up between the truck and the water.
I dropped the legs, chocked them in position, checked the spirit level in the cab and, fifteen minutes later, the driver was pulling out with a big grin on his face, probably due to the ten pound note I'd given him.
“Oi, kid,” the first driver shouted, “when’s the gaffer coming?"
“You’re talking to him,” Frank said, coming from behind the truck. He'd been watching since they’d pulled in.
"What, a fucking kid?" He looked amazed, and when I strolled up and asked Frank if he fancied a cup of tea in the cafe, his face fell even further.
"What about my load?"
Frank laughed. "That fucking kid, as you put it, is about thirty years younger than you, mate, but about forty years ahead in maturity. Now, you either get that boat unchained ready for that fucking kid to unload, or you can get back in your cab and fuck off. The choice is yours. Either way, me and the fucking kid will be back in about fifteen minutes
It was unchained when we got back and we completed the job in a sullen silence. He didn't get a tenner!
"They'll learn, young David," Frank said. "They'll learn."
The driver returned two days later, and he was as helpful as the other drivers. He got his ten pound tip. Frank was right, he'd learned.
There were no more hiccups with any of the loads and all the drivers went away happy. But I was happiest. I'd earned twenty pounds for unloading and refuelling each boat and my wedding to Annie was less than two weeks away.
I now had a provisional driving license and could drive on the roads with a qualified driver. I'd had a few lessons from Frank and he'd quizzed me on the Highway Code. I was confident that I'd pass my test when the time came.
It came sooner than I expected. I received a letter saying a test had been booked for me at ten in the morning… on the day I was getting married!
I didn't tell Annie, but Frank thought it was funny, then he took me to look at the old Rover,
"Nancy reckons we should give it to you as a wedding present,” he said.
"And I have to do what she tells me. Here, it's yours." He passed me the keys.
He kept doing things like that, things that left me speechless. I'd saved almost a thousand pounds toward buying it and he'd casually given it to me!
"I don't know what to say, Frank." I was almost choked for words.
“The morning of your test, I'll pick you up in your car, take you there and wait for you. When you pass, I'll drive you back here and then you can pick up Annie in it and go to the registry office. How does that sound?"
"She'll go mad, Frank."
He laughed. “Aye, she probably will, lad."
On my wedding day, I was as nervous as a kitten. Annie had spent the previous night at home with her mum, Frank had taken me out for a few beers at a pub owned by a friend of his — isn’t it silly, I was getting married but I was too young to legally drink? — and I'd spent the night at his house.
Nancy fussed around me like a mother hen. "Have you got a clean handkerchief? Have you got the ring?" Bless her, she enjoyed every moment.
Eventually, it was time to leave for my test. The instructor was a man in his forties. He examined my license and told me to get into the car. Then he sighed and rolled his eyes. "In the driving seat, please.”
Oops!
"Pull up just inside the gate, please. Read me the registration of that blue car over there."
He made notes.
"When I drop my hand, I want you to make an emergency stop as if a child has run out in front of you."
I did it and I had to do a hill start and also filter into traffic on a dual carriage way. Back at the test centre, we sat in the car while he asked various questions about the Highway Code.
“Congratulations," he said formally, handing me a green slip of paper.
I'd passed! I was a qualified driver!
I got into the passenger seat for the drive back to Frank’s place but he grinned and told me to drive. "It's your car, David."
Nancy hugged and kissed me and I went to collect my bride.
"What are you doing driving this?" she demanded and then let out a whoop of joy when I told her. She kissed and hugged me and her mum had to repair her makeup.
My parents were at the registry office. Mum greeted us with a kiss and dad seemed to be looking for a pregnancy bump. Julie was there and already crying. My landlord and his wife were there but the other guests were just friends and Annie's family.
Twenty minutes later, we were man and wife and I was the happiest seventeen year old in Britain.
Annie's uncle Bob had laid on a reception for us in his pub at Willington.