Former Falkirk Pru workers still meet for cuppa and a chat after 60-plus years
Former colleagues who used to meet to catch up on work are still enjoying a cuppa and a chat after six decades.
Lots of cups of tea and coffee have been drunk since the Prudential Assurance agents and supervisors first met in Falkirk town centre in 1964 – over 3000 cups each by our reckoning.
But there’s no let up in them enjoying their weekly get-togethers which have seen them visiting several cafes over the years.
Now they can be found in the Morrisons cafe at Brockville every Wednesday from 10.30am and they would love any other retirees out there to join them.
The two original members are John Roberton and John Fraser, both from Falkirk, and who turn 94 this year.
Other regular attenders are John Gordon, originally from Dundee, and other Falkirk residents Billy Kane and Billy Walker.
Billy Kane is the youngster in the group at 71 and explained the weekly meetings started after each of the insurance agents had been into their then office in Lower Newmarket Street – currently occupied by the Unison office – and handed over their accounts.
Billy recalled: “This was in the time when we used to go out and do our collections before going into the office in Falkirk on a Wednesday morning to hand them in. They would then be sent by special delivery to Glasgow.
"You would then have a chat with your supervisor and set out your plans for the coming week. The vast majority of colleagues would then take some down time to go and enjoy a coffee break. When I started we would meet in the nearby Tudor House, then later it was when Asda still had a cafe upstairs in Newmarket Street. Now we meet in Morrisons and it’s great to catch up.
"We’ll spend about 30 minutes putting the world to rights and then we have what’s like an episode of Emergency Ward 10 with all their chat about ailments and medication before I say it’s time to move on. Lately we’ve had a lot of talk about the World Cup and the cost of living but it’s mainly great banter."
He added: “Particularly for anyone on their own, it’s important to keep up this kind of meeting and we’d invite others to join us.”