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The Bionic Milk Lady (A Little run-a-round, Part II) |
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By Phil
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04 June 2007 |
To the best of my memory, true. The Bionic Milk Lady. (A Little run-a-round, part II)
Those of a certain age will remember Lee Majors as the six million dollar ‘Bionic Man.’ These days, I don’t suppose six million dollars would get you very far, but back then he was the pinnacle of televisual excitement. Saturday nights would see me and my older brother glued to the TV screen watching his escapades with bated breath. His feats of daring and superhuman strength amazed the pair of us. His co-star, Linda Evans, also held our attention pretty well. Don’t forget, these were pre-Pammy days.
While we  were watching TV dad would often be outside tending to our car, a Reliant Supervan III. TV nymphettes were not the only things that were more straight forward in those days; with a couple of screw drivers, a spanner set and some car ramps, dad could service our car to his heart’s content. One day I arrived back from school to find my push bike missing about a quarter of its front tyre. I discovered dad had repaired the bumper of the car with it. The fact that the car had a fibreglass body and he’s repaired it brilliantly didn’t really assuage my ire. It had taken me a long time to save up the £9.50 the bike had cost me from the local second hand shop.
On another occasion, dad, my brother and I painted the car blue. This wasn’t a posh spray paint job. We painted it by hand with brushes.
Saturday mornings usually saw my brother in bed and me up early. On this particular Saturday I think I was watching TV. (Probably black and white Elvis movie) From the street we heard shouts of panic. Both mum and me rushed out to find our milk lady holding up the back of the car. My dad’s legs were sticking out the side. Pretty quickly a couple of neighbours arrived and lifted the car off him. It had slipped off its ramp and crushed him underneath. Fortunatel  y, not being a proper car, it didn’t do a proper crushing job, just broke his collar bone. Our milk lady had been Johnny on the spot and lifted the weight of the car off him until help arrived. From then on, she was known as The Bionic Milk Lady. A couple of months later my uncle gave us our first car with four wheels – a Ford Escort Mark I. We’d arrived.
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Written by wattle (117 comments posted) 3rd June 2007 | | Memory lane. It's not so long ago, well I guess it's several life-times for many/most. ----- Ha - your story reminded me about the owl flying in the windowless space on the 27 chev and landing on my brothers lap, in the dead of night . He has never been the same sinse. ----- I'm not that old - the car was. --- Thank you | More memories ........
Written by Bagheera (683 comments posted) 4th June 2007 | ....... and every one of them priceless! Thanks again, Phil: keep 'em coming!
My Dad's first car (late 50's) was an Austin 7. It ran perfectly until the day the engine LITERALLY fell through the chassis while climbing a steep hill in Anglesey during our summer holidays.
We were staying on a farm which took guests near the village of Llandona, which was "known" at the time for the number of (alleged) witches [of the WHITE variety!!] who lived there.....
True or not, one of them "scryed" a bowl of water and told my Dad (via a Welsh interpreter - she spoke no English!) where to go to find a replacement. Sure enough, the farmer in question had a (pristine!) engine for an Austin 7 at the back of his barn ..... creepy, or what!!!
Cheers
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Written by coosh (867 comments posted) 15th June 2007 | One of the great things about your "nostalgia" pieces, and the engaging way in which they are written, is that they naturally trigger off a stack of similar-type memories (as evidenced by the above responses). Interesting (from Part I) it was called a 'Supervan'! We had an off-white one... instead of a proper back seat, the spare wheel in the back was covered with a blanket - although only reserved for elderly relatives and visiting dignitaries.
Painting a car by hand sounds great! Dulux Exterior Gloss Emulsion, I assume... I think a Starsky & Hutch style would have been better than blue. I remember painting a Subbuteo team as Brazil, single-bristle for all the details, individual skin and hair colour, moustaches, bald patches, etc... unfortunately used oil paint.. took nearly six weeks to dry.
Much enjoyed, Phil, and the image of your bionic milk lady will remain with me for some time - is she still around?... holding up a bridge during repairs on the Doncaster by-pass... whilst sipping a yoghurt in the other hand... |
Written by Phil (6713 comments posted) 17th June 2007 | Thanks for reading and commenting. No idea what happened to our milk lady. I left Doncaster twenty-two years ago. INice, reassuring idea that she's holding a bridge up. Start of an urban legend.
Phil | The Bionic Milk Lady
Written by bookmonstercats (3 comments posted) 7th September 2007 | I remember the bionic man. I have no particular memories of it that strike me. My first boyfriend desperately wanted a Reliant Robin. Strange though true. It was because he only needed a motorcycle license to drive it.
The title drew me in and the reminiscing tone made me continue. Clearly, we can all identify with you in one respect or another. However, the image of your bionic milklady is priceless and we will all struggle to match it, I think. It certainly drew a snort of laughter from me. I take it she didn't look like Lindsay Wagner, the bionic woman? |
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