posted by sooyup
on
Daily trivia,
Pictures of Emm
Seeing Emma in seamed stockings again brings back memories. Before we were married, and for a little time after, I worked for Bear Brand, then the largest hosiery manufacturer in the UK. It was my intention to become a hosiery-knitter, one of the highest-paid jobs in industry at the time. There was a waiting list. But statistics showed that I would not have to wait long. In order to prevent the sheer nylon thread from snapping, the knitters worked in conditions of very high humidity and high temperatures. Their intention was always to do the work for a few years - long enough to buy a house and a few luxuries - and quit before their health gave out completely. (The incidence of TB for example was higher among hosiery-knitters than any other occupation.). Many, having grown accustomed to the high wages, left it too late. In the event, I carved out a different career in management. Just as well really. Within a few years, with the introduction of the miniskirt, stockings gave way to tights. The factory owners, believing this was a passing fad, failed to adapt. The knitting-machines ended up on the scrap-heap, along with their operators.
Seeing Emma in seamed stockings again brings back memories. Before we were married, and for a little time after, I worked for Bear Brand, then the largest hosiery manufacturer in the UK. It was my intention to become a hosiery-knitter, one of the highest-paid jobs in industry at the time. There was a waiting list. But statistics showed that I would not have to wait long. In order to prevent the sheer nylon thread from snapping, the knitters worked in conditions of very high humidity and high temperatures. Their intention was always to do the work for a few years - long enough to buy a house and a few luxuries - and quit before their health gave out completely. (The incidence of TB for example was higher among hosiery-knitters than any other occupation.). Many, having grown accustomed to the high wages, left it too late. In the event, I carved out a different career in management. Just as well really. Within a few years, with the introduction of the miniskirt, stockings gave way to tights. The factory owners, believing this was a passing fad, failed to adapt. The knitting-machines ended up on the scrap-heap, along with their operators.
