Brussels Sprouts Latest Festival Pavilion Attraction
Introducing the latest attraction at the Festival Pavilion – Brussels Sprouts!
Source: Skegness Standard 1968
THE controversial temporary factory scheme at Skegness’ seafront Festival Pavilion, arranged in the hope of lowering the town’s winter unemployment figures, has run into labour shortage problems.
After eight days of working, Findus Foods, who have rented the pavilion from the town’s council for 23 weeks, are still about 60 workers short of the number they need to prepare’ Brussels sprouts for freezing.
INTERVIEWS
Mr Ken Keable, in charge of the site, said: “We need to have about 170 women working here at any one time, but we are still a good deal short of achieving that number.
“We are arranging more interviews at the Labour Exchange, and we hope to get the workers we want. We are not too pessimistic because it in Skegness’ holiday period and when it ends we may have little difficulty in getting the women we want.”
So far 62 women are working the full 8 am to 5 pm shift; with 16 more working from 8 am to 12 noon and 42 others from 1 pm to 5 pm.
Mr Keable said the firm was considering arranging another shift, possibly from 9 am to about 5 pm, so that mothers could get jobs and still be able to get their children off to school.
TRIMMING
The women’s work entails trimming Brussels sprouts from farms in Lincolnshire and Bedfordshire before they are taken on to the firm’s Cleethorpes factory.
When the pavilion scheme was first announced, other manufacturers in Skegness complained that there was already a shortage of female labour, and that what was needed to solve the winter unemployment problem was work for men.
Skegness Festival Pavilion turned into a Brussels Sprouts factory
The brussel sprout factory was the downfall of a most popular skating rink. At the time, unemployment in Skegness was up and so the council sanctioned for the premises to be converted and used for a brussel sprout factory. I remember i had just finished my summer job and went to sign on. They said I had to go to work at the brussel sprout factory or they wouldnt give me any dole money as they are desperate for workers. Well I heard they were all women so thought no thankyou – I dont want to listen to women going on about husbands, babies, love lives, who is having an affairs. So there was a choice of going to a similar job at Louth but on a farm so went for that job instead. Had to travel in the back of an old canvas-covered army lorry with bench seats in the back freezing cold and when I got there guess what – loads of cackling woman I couldnt beleive it. I started to go on my motorbike so I could get home earlier till I crashed through a pub fence as the roads got very icy as the winter drew on. But we all walked out a few weeks later when the farmer said he was going to drop all wages down. After being turned into a brussel sprout facory, the festivel pavillon never opened as a rollerskating rink again, I dont think.