Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: windowwashers on September 21, 2007, 07:10:43 pm
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Was Interested to know what everyone did before they became a window cleaner.
I myself started at about 12 years old car washing and window cleaning down stairs window 14 as a trainee chef early did like being told i could not do this or that, did cooking till was 19 whilst earning extra in timeshare sales, manager carpet company and suites, managed my dads shops for a year, sales in domain names and websites, did website design and marketing after that (doing this again aswell as window cleaning and going well), even worked doorknocking for a time for british gas (was not a great job but learnt alot) then web sales and design till i new more than the boss, went window cleaning after i got ripped off 50k and part of a company i build for webdesign and marketing. Here and now, I am a window cleaner have a few guys and design websites for other window cleaners and do marketing for others.
So guys and ladies alike what did you do?
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landworker 10 yrs
antique dealer 10yrs
window cleaner 3yrs
in that order
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estate agent for 7 years
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Forkift Driver
Gardener
And used to work in newspaper sales
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How long you got??
Started as a trad window cleaner(with dad bout 13)
labourer
print finisher
trainee roofer
picker packer
trainee body worker
army
Stock controller
store supervisor
And thats just naming a few prob had bout 20 jobs b 4 i joined the army at 19 ;D
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nursery nurse
kids
nursery nurse
window cleaner
Mrs scrim :-*
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Lots of jobs including, Electrical sales, IT Repair & Computer Building (still intersted in), Traditional Window Cleaner (3 Years), Admin, Courier, Security & Door Supervisor (still part-time door supervisor) and now window cleaning again but WFP this time.
Andy
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halfords sale assistant since i left school, went from part time, to full time then to a bigger shop that was a hour away for3 years
then window cleaner trad for 3 years
then my best move ever wfp for a year
:)
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HM forces
Electronic Security Engineer
Window Cleaner past 10yrs
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been a glass cleaner since school.
im wfp in next few weeks so im going to be a lifer ;)
and i wouldnt change it. we have got the best jobs ;)
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This to me is very interesting, thanks for the replies so far guys and Mrs Scrim, and for those that add what they did before they were a window cleaner.
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trained to be a car mechanic then labourer on building sites then were house man was my last one. trad windowcleaner for 8 years now going wfp in next 2 months or so
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Builder's labourer.
Bakery hand.
Kitchen Porter.
Print worker.
Multidrop driver.
Nursing assistant.
Advertiser's merchandiser.
Window cleaner.
Window cleaning is the longest job I've ever had (16 years) but the print job came a close second (13 years).
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trained to be a car mechanic then labourer on building sites then were house man was my last one. trad windowcleaner for 8 years now going wfp in next 2 months or so
Me too wfp asap nothern rock sends the cheque.
VG what did you do? Luke and anyone else post what you did ;)
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carpenter
building forman ( superviser )
carpenter
window cleaner
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Retail sales manager
Painter and decorator
Door Sales British Gas
Manager of window replacement company
Sales manager
oh and in between
Astronaut ( packed it in cos I didnt like the travellin)
Vicar ( didnt like working sundays)
Mark
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time served upholsterer, cheap imports was the end of that, could not compete with them, i thought i was safe being a trademan, wonder what trades are next,
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I Worked for the inland revenue, as a tax inspector
PS i liked the poll "Whats your best day"
Marcus
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Blacksmith in steel industry from leaving school,
Then official pole tester & marketing guru for facelift ;D
Then the best window cleaner in the world! ::)
tony
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army.
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window cleaning 1year
mutidrop delivery 3 years
window cleaning 1 year
then the big move nearly 2 years ago
dont look back
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Blacksmith in steel industry from leaving school,
Then official pole tester & marketing guru for facelift ;D
Then the best window cleaner in the world! ::)
tony
Good reply but you cannot be the first as this is taken by me ;D getting great replies, thanks guys and Mr scrim so far.
Anyone else what did you do before you started window cleaning?
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Blacksmith in steel industry from leaving school,
Then official pole tester & marketing guru for facelift ;D
Then the best window cleaner in the world! ::)
tony
Good reply but you cannot be the first as this is taken by me ;D getting great replies, thanks guys and Mr scrim so far.
Anyone else what did you do before you started window cleaning?
Not the first mate, but- the best! :D
tony
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Driver
Butcher 3yrs
Baker 10yrs
Candlestickmaker (joking) ;D
Postie 9 yrs
Window Cleaner 3 weeks
Lee
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steefixer
shop manager
last job 15 years in sales , lovely new car every two years...
lots of pressure , targets percentages and a manager breathing down my neck, hated it in the end..
walked out just over a year ago... its been a hard year with not much money,
but now i have a liveable wage coming in ( still taking flack from the mrs..)
but its increasing all the time..
AND I LOVE IT. THE BEST JOB I EVER HAD. ;)
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IT technician for a year from when I left school...
Layabout, I mean student, for a bit :P
Worked in purchase ledger, accounts and payroll for 4 years then walked out of a new job after 3 weeks cuz it was driving me crackers....!
Started window cleaning ;D ;D ;D ;D People laugh when I say its the best job in the world, especially mates who went on to do university degrees and stuff like that.... but then I ask them "what other job can you do that lets you work for yourself, work outside, choose when you want to work, how you want to work AND still earn a brilliant wage?"... leaves most of 'em stumped! ;D ;D
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Served my time in Upholstery & Antique restoration, and worked 2 years in the trade,.. then:
2 years construction labourer
1 year steelfixer
2 years groundworker
2 years IT manager (Best job EVER!!)
1 year site agent........ all in the same construction company
They went bankrupt 18 months ago,.. so I went into the family business as it were,.. My dad and my father in law are both contract cleaners.
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Computer sales
Software Training
Financial Sales
Marketing Manager
Operations Manager
Financial Controller
'House Husband'
.......window cleaner, and the best job yet :D
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I am hoping Matt joins in on this, as would love to know what he did.
carry on posting every one is fascinating. ;)
Have to do a plug, if you need a website try us
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Retail.
Sales.
Insurance Agent.
Car Sales
Valeter/Driver.
Window Cleaner.
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and yet customers still think window cleaners left school with no education or skills, i think they would be in for a shock if they saw some of the ocupations here on this poll
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prison
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milk boy .ice cream factory .brick yard. shoe factory.steelworks.bricklaying course.coalminer.battery factory.poultry worker . window cleaner
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Tax Inspector
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Left school straight into window cleaning. A friend asked me to join him working a round someone had given him. We worked together for three weeks and then he quit, leaving me to carry on. Never looked back. Did a year part timing as a decorator to help with finances when first married 26yrs ago. Currently in the process of going WFP. Plenty of fun and games with my custies at the mo as a result. Plenty more to come as well I'm sure.
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Blacksmiths assistant
Springmakers assistant
Trainee Fitter / Welder
Trainee Welder / Fabricator
Ferry Clerk
Load Controller
Port Supervisor
Duty Operations Manager
Just started as a window cleaner and love it so far.
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Accountants technician - Travel agency - 4 years
IT hardware and software sales - 3 years
IT network and computer installation technician - 2 years
IT Datacomms/Telecomms engineer (interesting one, travelled most of europe with this one) 4 years
Setup and ran own IT hardware sales company - 3 years
Window cleaner - 3 months
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Psychiatric Nurse
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and yet customers still think window cleaners left school with no education or skills, i think they would be in for a shock if they saw some of the ocupations here on this poll
sry to say, i did leave school with no education, then saying that, I learnt more not being there to be honest at 14 I hated it being told to do this do that and never in a polite way used to get to me even then , I left, I Qualified as a chef, I am now also a Qualified plumber and am still at college for the next level as want to learn the heating side a little more so will be advanced plumber (not that I want to do it, more I want to know about it (wfp heating seems to be very expensive) I installed my whole house cheaper than it cost for a van, I know something is not right here and will learn why this year, so watch this space, and Matt will love me as i will add the findings on his site as soon as i know the answer.
Right got that off my chest. keep posting people it is great to know what everyone else did before they was a window cleaner......... ;D
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financial futures trader.....used to wear coloured jackets and waved my arms about screaming and shouting all day.... good money...good laugh, like working in a playground!!
started this in 1989......in 2000 they decided to use computers to trade instead of people! i had never even turned a pc at this time. end of my trading career( or so i thought)
thought computers were the way forward so jumped on the band wagon and did some microsoft training took and passed a few exams, went into the IT industry .....bored the pants off me.
went back to trading....this time instead of working for a bank, i traded my own money. was going ok, so moved the family to spain to live while i traded over the internet....didn't work out, i ended up risking far too much to scratch a living.
so in the june of 2005 we decided to move back to the UK, luckily we were only renting in Spain. Me and the mrs talked about what I was going to do, trading was all I knew and I couldn't face going back into IT.
Over a bottle of wine one night somehow or other window cleaning was mentioned..... we were still packing boxes in Spain and I was on the internet researching window cleaning.... a google search threw up cleanitup.
arrived back in the UK in July 2005, lived with inlaws (a sound incentive to to gain an income if ever needed) for 6 months, went knocking for the first time in August 2005, haven't looked back.
made sure that i had trad skills sorted before i invested in WFP in November 2005, I am lucky I live in an affluent area and with the advice i have gained from this forum i have managed to build a decent business in 2 years i earn a comparable living to people i know who work in the city and also people who have trained in trades for years, i work hard and i do a good job, i work in the rain so my income is stable.
all i can say is thank god for window cleaning because without i would have been f*&%"!
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DENTISTRY TECHNICIAN ;D
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Good on you mate,how interesting it is reading peoples stories.Most city traders and brokers are burnt out by the time there 40.
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Good on your GSW
anymore posts , this is great reading and leaning what others we speak do used to do before they became window cleaners :)
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cheers fellas, i am not ruling burning out by 40!!
four years to go and i'm working like three polish men at the minute!! roll on expanding and having someone to kick up the backside to earn money for me!
but window cleaning and the people on this forum have certainly saved my bacon, for that i am forever grateful
plus i have lost 3 stone in weight, i'm fitter than i have ever been, i dont get ill so often because i dont work in an office with recycled air and i work the hours i want, pick the kids up from school when i want to and am home earlier than i would be by about 2 hours each day than if i worked in the city.
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but much to my mates disgust, its nothing like confessions of a window cleaner!!!!!!!!!
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cheers fellas, i am not ruling burning out by 40!!
four years to go and i'm working like three polish men at the minute!! roll on expanding and having someone to kick up the backside to earn money for me!
but window cleaning and the people on this forum have certainly saved my bacon, for that i am forever grateful
plus i have lost 3 stone in weight, i'm fitter than i have ever been, i dont get ill so often because i dont work in an office with recycled air and i work the hours i want, pick the kids up from school when i want to and am home earlier than i would be by about 2 hours each day than if i worked in the city.
43 posts from 203 veiws not bad I think, come on people that are reading this add what you did before you started window cleaning ;)
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audit clerk
sales rep
security officer
airport traffic duty officer
old bill (13years)
escaped !
couple of different business ventures-
window cleaner 3 years part time alongside above
escort! ;D ;D
window cleaner full time past year ;D ;D
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old bill (13years)
escort! ;D ;D
which one had more perks????????
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old bill (13years)
escort! ;D ;D
which one had more perks????????
the Police must be a very hard job to be honest.
NEW AND OLD VIEWERS KEEP POSTING WHAT YOU DID BEFORE YOU STARTED WINDOW CLEANING
EVERYONE AND NEW AND OLD ADD TO THE POLL ;)
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I knew you pervs would like the -Escort bit
I could tell a few tales in both ;D ;D ;D ;D
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I am hoping Matt joins in on this, as would love to know what he did.
carry on posting every one is fascinating. ;)
Have to do a plug, if you need a website try us
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Re: what did you do before window cleaning?
« Reply #14 on: Today at 08:06:05pm » Reply with quote
carpenter
building forman ( superviser )
carpenter
window cleaner
Not to sure the point of you putting that to be honest, I see you have not added to it maybe that would help better than quoting from somewhere else.
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Militry 3yrs
Slaughter man/butcher 18yrs
security 2yrs
Landscaping/property services
landscaping/w/c 3yrs
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I am hoping Matt joins in on this, as would love to know what he did.
carry on posting every one is fascinating. ;)
Not quite sure where the dig is coming from. Much earlier you asked that you wish Matt had joined in and I had noticed his reply and duly posted it.
As for adding to it - I have no idea what else Matt has done on his travels. I feel sure that he is his own man and has told you as much as he'd like you to know via his reply.
My life history is as follows:
Born 1976
Started window cleaning 2004
Between the abovementioned years I had a life. Unfortunately this has been sapped away by window cleaning.
Once upon a time I had desire for flashy sportscar - now I care more about payload. Is 650L enough to run through a day of first cleans?
More to come,
Ben
Ben could well have been my mistake if it was sry dude, was not a dig at all, and if people reply I dont need to know more you write what you want to. ;)
Cheers for the reply again if I was wrong or you reads it wrong I can only sry, I am not looking through every post to find out whos right or wrong, ;) have million's of thing to do at the mo and not enough time.
ANY MORE posts on what you did before window cleaning please add them ;D
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ICI nylon factory--25 years working nights :(
wincanton forklift driver-- 1 year
handy man for dairy crest --3 years
wfp -- 4 years
next birthday im 50 and get my ICI pension,its a very short life so next year im calling it quits while im young and healthy enough to enjoy retirement ;D in fact i havnt cleaned a window all week coz im getting ready to move back to wales soon so i think that may actually be it for me ;D ;D ;D ;D
i know im going on but this could be my last post,wont have anything to write about :'(
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What did I do before window cleaning?
A. Alot more hours for a lot less money
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I had my own building company building houses.
Would i go back, NEVER.
Macc
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tele sales 1yr
shop manager 2 yrs
fork lift driver 1yr
chain maker 17 yrs
window cleaning 1st year things going okay with thanks to putting in lots of hard work and great advice off the forums. wouldnt have got this far without people
on here sharing their thoughts and experience
cheers gary :)
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i had my own printing business ( silk screen and hot foil mainly )
started window cleaning on the side to make sure i had a cash flow .
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I was an IT contractor for 11 years.
I've now been window cleaning for 21 months... Would never ever ever ever ever work in an office again!!!
Andy
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Farmer. Went through the foot and mouth crisis in 2001 (lost all my sheep). Glad I ain't having to deal with that again
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Green keeper
Builder and decorator
Plumber
Insurance Agent
Double glazing salesman
Train Driver
Window cleaner
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Insurance Agent
Not you as well?
I enjoyed it, but most of my clients went direct debit and the job just faded out.
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my dads a train driver!blinking good money!!! ::)
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I am hoping Matt joins in on this, as would love to know what he did.
carry on posting every one is fascinating. ;)
Not quite sure where the dig is coming from. Much earlier you asked that you wish Matt had joined in and I had noticed his reply and duly posted it.
As for adding to it - I have no idea what else Matt has done on his travels. I feel sure that he is his own man and has told you as much as he'd like you to know via his reply.
My life history is as follows:
Born 1976
Started window cleaning 2004
Between the abovementioned years I had a life. Unfortunately this has been sapped away by window cleaning.
Once upon a time I had desire for flashy sportscar - now I care more about payload. Is 650L enough to run through a day of first cleans?
More to come,
Ben
Ben could well have been my mistake if it was sry dude, was not a dig at all, and if people reply I dont need to know more you write what you want to. ;)
Cheers for the reply again if I was wrong or you reads it wrong I can only sry, I am not looking through every post to find out whos right or wrong, ;) have million's of thing to do at the mo and not enough time.
ANY MORE posts on what you did before window cleaning please add them ;D
carpenter
building forman ( superviser )
carpenter
window cleaner
he means, ive replied to this, post 14 of this same thread, you must have missed it
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post deleted as it seemed to upset the guy below !
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P****.
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my dads a train driver!blinking good money!!! ::)
Yes it is quite good money, the basic is about £37k now at the company I used to work for + paid holiday/sick pay and a very good pension!!. I left because I hated being tied to a shift pattern of unsociable hours which totally controls your life, as a window cleaner I am in control of my own life, I don't think I could ever go back to working for somebody else again as I'm not good at being told what I can or can't do!!
What company does your Dad work for Scrim?
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my dads a train driver!blinking good money!!! ::)
Yes it is quite good money, the basic is about £37k now at the company I used to work for + paid holiday/sick pay and a very good pension!!. I left because I hated being tied to a shift pattern of unsociable hours which totally controls your life, as a window cleaner I am in control of my own life, I don't think I could ever go back to working for somebody else again as I'm not good at being told what I can or can't do!!
What company does your Dad work for Scrim?
37 K, thats not bad, a nice pension aswell
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my dads on south eastern.Works out of ashford kent.He also trains peolpe to drive trains!
Mrs scrim ;D
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25 years in outdoor advertising, doing bill posting at sites all around London.
People who think ladders are frightening should have had some of that!
Three 18 foot ladders right out, working on your own at the crack of dawn, no H&S in those days. :o
When H&S recently got involved it was all........ training courses, strap all ladders even if only on the second rung, harnesses ..etc etc.
Killed the job off.
I earned fantastic money for all those years although never worked more than 5 hours a day and now do window cleaning in a low key way as I don't have to earn a huge amount of money as everything is paid for.
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plus i have lost 3 stone in weight,
Dear Jesus please let it be true. I need to lose about 6 stone , just starting out WFP. :D
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I think it's true, I lost about a stone and half.
It's energetic and vigourous, you don't have time to eat, and the rythmic movements act as a self massage. Your metabolism will be raised for hours on end.
Of course, don't compensate by over eating.
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my dads on south eastern.Works out of ashford kent.He also trains peolpe to drive trains!
Mrs scrim ;D
He's a D.I. then, thats what I used to do, teach newbies to drive the trains. I was with South West Trains. (Hated it!! :()
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yeah something like that!he wants to get on these new hitatchi trains that go quite fast!!My dad has been on the railway for 30 odd years now,my grandad was a driver on the steam trains too.He was in swindon!
Mrs scrim :-*
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Printer for thirty four years, good money, mundane job, mind numbing shift patterns then towards the end I suddenly realised what greedy arrogant selfish b*stards the directors were- time for a change. The only bit I really miss was cycling twenty miles a day - loved it.
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16 years Army (Plant mechanic)
8 years Police (Firearms officer)
6 years Carpet Cleaning but noticed a market for regular income and self advertising by getting into window cleaning, so I have 2 business's in effect.
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plus i have lost 3 stone in weight,
Dear Jesus please let it be true. I need to lose about 6 stone , just starting out WFP. :D
You've had it then. ;D
Most people put on weight when they use wfp instead of ladders.
Even me, and I'm 11 stone with a really high metabolism.
It's a fraction of the exercise mate!
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well bearing in mind all i did before was sit at a desk i think my system had a bit of a shock, doing trad cleaning for the first six months shifted the weight and wfp for 18 months has kept it off........
now if you could market a window cleaning diet you could become a very rich man, anyone who knows anything about heart rate training will confirm that by raising the heart rate during exercise will burn fat and it doesn't have to be raised excessively to achieve fat burning. basically what we do all day long, well those of us that graft!
i might hang around outside a weight watchers meeting and then charge women to clean their own windows......kick start their weight loss for them, problem being that i would end up a bloater again!!!
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plus i have lost 3 stone in weight,
Dear Jesus please let it be true. I need to lose about 6 stone , just starting out WFP. :D
You've had it then. ;D
Most people put on weight when they use wfp instead of ladders.
Even me, and I'm 11 stone with a really high metabolism.
It's a fraction of the exercise mate!
Your right there Squeaky, i've put weight on my belly, ::)
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I've lost a fair bit off my wallet lately. :(
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Was a material planning, production scheduling, business management all the stressfull jobs. Never saw the wife and kids working all hours and had to deal with back stabbing managers who never told the truth.
In the end I learnt that companies do not care for you as everyone is trying to get the upper hand by lying , cheating, sleeping with the boss. ( and they were ugly) ;D
My health then went downwards as my body could no longer cope with stress, now have learned to live with it.
Have always wanted to work for myself but have never had the bottle but the events in my life changed that. Have always wondered why fellow wc's even though their life was not full of riches money wise but they were always contented with life. How right that is and now wish I had done it years ago.
So with my nice big pay off from my comoany to keep me quiet about IBM I invested it in wfp and have never looked back.
But ssshhh don't tell everyone how good window cleaning is ;)
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school - waiter - antique book dealer with my dad - window cleaner, Luke
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Production scheduler and stock controller for JS Sainbury
Mortgage consultant
Interior building products sales
Transport scheduler for specialised high security goods
Loved them all, but having your own "stress" is much better than someone elses ;D
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* Assistant Furniture dept manager in a Dept.store
*Window cleaner [I was the only one with a driving licence, so I got all the driving, in a Bedford CA van....
*TV installer
*Panel Beater from 1975 to 2005 [23 years of this time was running a business with my business partner]
*WFP window cleaner, along with my business partner.
Regrets? Why the :( :( :( :( I didn't get back into Window cleaning sooner than I did >:(
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Started my own Window Cleaning company 27 years ago straight from school.
Joint the Fire Service 20 years ago, now in officer in charge of a fire station.
Still doing both and love them equally.
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It's funny how many firemen clean windows part time, someone pointed out on the SLWCN aberdeen list there were 7 firemen on the list. Don't they pay you enough and do you guys declare it ;)
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No and yes
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H.M.Forces: Metalsmith
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Army 6 years. W/c 16 years
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Kebab shop operative (though I look Oriental - it used to confuse the punters).
Joined the Army at age 16 and stayed there for 17 years, leaving as a Staff Sergeant (in a Warrant Officer's post).
Window cleaner for six years. I'm not earning as much as Ian Giles, even though I work with Wor Lass, but I reckon I could be there in a few more years (he's been window cleaning for 22 years at least; the auld git, but at least I'm kicking the arse out of Squeaky and he's been going for years and years! ;D