What's the strangest job you've done?

[Hughie]

Back in the very early 1970's, I was a junior Customs Officer at Melbourne's newly opened International Airport. At that time we often detected bird smugglers taking Australian native birds out of the country - detection in the main was by acting on information. Big money could be made selling Australian birds to European clients - the birds were usually doped and restrained inside socks in suitcases as well as on the body.

This was my weird job: We didn't have the staff to examine all baggage going out, but we knew what airline and nationals to target. One of our bosses had a bright idea, which led to me sitting behind the scenes with a stethoscope and listening for chirping birds in suitcases taken from the conveyor belts. Considering the birds would be doped and the noisy conveyer belts, it was little wonder we didn't have any success.

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What's the strangest job you've done?

[geomacintyre]

I've had many odd and interesting assignments from independent observer at a general election in the Yemen to ensure there was no corruption or intimidation to a " lost walker" to be found and brought to safety by a mountain rescue team but the strangest must be babysitting Red Rum at a stable near Dalry the night before he made a guest appearance at a gala organised by Dalry Motors.

[Jim McCreadie]

Not the strangest by a long shot! Many years ago, I had the pleasure of Security Detail for a teenage Danni Minogue - a nice personable young lady.

[morag]

Not really a job, but tattie howkin' in the dark behind Pop's, ended up wi more rocks than tatties! And here I thought I was getting some beauties!

[John Donnelly]

When I was working for a cigarette company in London in the early 70's, we opened a new factory in Italy. The Italians needed training on our machines, so they had to come over to UK to be trained. Some-one forgot, (not me), to send off the work-permit for one of them. We realised this the morning he was due to travel.
As assistant to the production director, I got the job of going to Heathrow to give him the permit so that he could get through immigration. That meant that I had to go through immigration the wrong way, hand him the permit and then retrace my steps and get back through to the other side of immigration, wait for him and bring him to the office.
I found the airport personnel exit coming out from air-side, waited till somebody came out, and walked in past him. I then walked all the way to the gate and saw the guy holding up a card with the company name on it. I walked past the immigration officer, handed over the permit, and then walked back past the officer.
Nobody blinked an eye the whole time!!! I then walked back to the personnel exit and went back land-side.
After I got back out, I realised that the pubs were shut land-side, and that I should have stayed air-side and could have had a drink while waiting for the trainee to be processed.
I was tempted to go back in, but thought better of it.
I can just hear Hughie muttering, 'impossible.'
I still shudder at the thought of what could have happened if somebody had taken the trouble to stop me and ask for some identification. I still can't believe I had the brass neck and the balls to try it. Oh, the arrogance of youth !!!
Do you think you could get away with that today?

JD.

[Hughie]

Those things could be done in the early 70s, John. Reminded me around the same period we allowed incoming transit passengers out into the public area in Melbourne without immigration clearance. I remember standing at the bottom of the escalator with one of those hand clicker counters counting them into Australia - often wondered how many took advantage of that.

[meekan]

My strangest job was smelling lemonade bottles at Lees lemonade factory. Any that smelled of disinfectant,paraffin or petrol were laid to the side and we had good fun breaking them at the end of the day. By the end of the shift our noses were all black and sticky. I only stayed for a week but I had a smashing time there.

[Bob Bryden]

Just after finally leaving high school in 1969 I worked for a while in the local Watties factory in Gisborne. One job I had there was at the end of the line bagging the production of a new product - a cat food called " pussy puffs " - looked like sheep droppings Offal seemed to be a major ingredient & we regularly saw forklifts going past with large containers of quivering hearts or lungs. Never saw the product on the market here so wondered whether they were just intended for export.

Bob

[morag]

hahaha ...these posts made me really Lol!

[brvhrtjimmy]

just after the falklands war there were lots of people left here to go there either to work or set up small buisnesses, one guy who was home on vacation was asked in the pub what his job was there he replied im the penguin picker upper, when asked what that was he said, well the penguins all huddle together for warmth and when a harrier jet goes over they all look up and follow it with there head as it goes over, they end up all falling down and cant get back up that's where I come in I pick them back up again, and if u believe that you will believe anything

James Barr (Brvhrtjimmy)

[meekan]

That must where the saying pick up a penguin comes from

[sally40bags]

In 1967, my self and my best pal from Stevenston along with a couple of others headed to the bright lights of Manchester. We had loads of jobs, but the two I remember most was at the Kraft factory where we Eleanor & I were "Egg Crackers" dividing the yolk and whites to make powdered eggs. The other job was with Kellogg's where we put the "free gifts" into the boxes. Just remembered we were also glass collectors at the Ballroom Dancing TV Show can't remember what the show was called!