00:00:02 My name’s Carol Tunstall, I’m a production assistant, I work at Gibson’s hot bread kitchens making sandwiches, wraps. Well, every day I can do different things, it depends on how you feel, what you’re capable of doing. I mean, one day I can come down and I can put the rolls through the butter machine. The next day I can come in, like today I’ve been doing the mayo or I can stand and spread the pallet knife with tuna, egg or whatever. So, you can move about and do what you want. I like it because it’s friendly, you work alongside people that you’ve known for years and you can talk while you’re working, there’s no, you know, interference, really. As long as you know what you’re doing.
00:00:47 When I was at school I used to like biology and cooking and I was in the St John’s Ambulance Brigade. I wanted to be a nurse or something to do with cooking when I was at school. But obviously I was the eldest of five kids, times were hard 40 odd years, so many years ago. I happened to be the eldest, I left school and I had to help me Mum and Dad and my brothers and sisters so I just went into whatever came along. When I was 15 actually I left school at 15. It was sort of, you haven’t got the grades, there was no sort of pushing GCSEs, anything like that unless you’re in the top group at school. So, it was sort of a case of my Mum says, “Well, you’re going to have to get, we can’t afford to send you away to college or blah, blah, whatever it is you happen to do,” so I just got a job in a shop. I’ve done shops and factory work and then I had the children so that went by the wind. There’s not much opportunity 40 odd years ago for young girls like there is now. I wasn’t pushed hard enough at school. I was never any good at English, I’m terrible at spelling but, you know, them days women were not as free as they are now. You’re expected to leave school, get married, have kids and that was it. As I said, I probably would’ve liked to have gone into nursing. That was my favourite, helping people and doing things like that but it wasn’t to be.
00:02:24 When I was at home I had children, I used to do little jobs cleaning. I used to look after the little lad next door who’s a Down’s Syndrome boy. I used to look after him for a couple of hours in the morning and in the evening for me friend and basically I had the children, I’ve not really gone out as out to work, sort of thing. I wish I had but.
00:02:49 My outlook to life is just get on with it at this time and my stage of my life. I’m looking forward to retiring, not yet, a few more years down the line. That’s all I can think about, really, me and my husband retiring together.
00:03:07 The only important thing to me is my family at the end of the day. My family and what happens to them. I worry about them, as I say, even as old as they are and the further away that they are. You still worry about them. My grandkids, hope that they grow up with a sense of responsibility to do what they want to do. ENDS
Carol Tunstall
Carol Tunstall
My name’s Carol Tunstall, I’m a production assistant, I work at Gibson’s hot bread kitchens making sandwiches, wraps. Well, every day I can do different things, it depends on how you feel, what you’re capable of doing. I mean, one day I can come down and I can put the rolls through the butter machine. The next day I can come in, like today I’ve been doing the mayo or I can stand and spread the pallet knife with tuna, egg or whatever. So, you can move about and do what you want. I like it because it’s friendly, you work alongside people that you’ve known for years and you can talk while you’re working, there’s no, you know, interference, really. As long as you know what you’re doing.
When I was at school I used to like biology and cooking and I was in the St John’s Ambulance Brigade. I wanted to be a nurse or something to do with cooking when I was at school. But obviously I was the eldest of five kids, times were hard 40 odd years, so many years ago. I happened to be the eldest, I left school and I had to help me Mum and Dad and my brothers and sisters so I just went into whatever came along. When I was 15 actually I left school at 15. It was sort of, you haven’t got the grades, there was no sort of pushing GCSEs, anything like that unless you’re in the top group at school. So, it was sort of a case of my Mum says, “Well, you’re going to have to get, we can’t afford to send you away to college or blah, blah, whatever it is you happen to do,” so I just got a job in a shop. I’ve done shops and factory work and then I had the children so that went by the wind. There’s not much opportunity 40 odd years ago for young girls like there is now. I wasn’t pushed hard enough at school. I was never any good at English, I’m terrible at spelling but, you know, them days women were not as free as they are now. You’re expected to leave school, get married, have kids and that was it. As I said, I probably would’ve liked to have gone into nursing. That was my favourite, helping people and doing things like that but it wasn’t to be.
When I was at home I had children, I used to do little jobs cleaning. I used to look after the little lad next door who’s a Down’s Syndrome boy. I used to look after him for a couple of hours in the morning and in the evening for me friend and basically I had the children, I’ve not really gone out as out to work, sort of thing. I wish I had but.
My outlook to life is just get on with it at this time and my stage of my life. I’m looking forward to retiring, not yet, a few more years down the line. That’s all I can think about, really, me and my husband retiring together.
The only important thing to me is my family at the end of the day. My family and what happens to them. I worry about them, as I say, even as old as they are and the further away that they are. You still worry about them. My grandkids, hope that they grow up with a sense of responsibility to do what they want to do. ENDS
Carol Turnstall is a Production Assistant at Gibsons Foods making sandwiches and wraps. Her family has always come first, and over the years she has had jobs in shops and factories to support them. "I left school and I had to help my Mum and Dad and my brothers and sisters so I just went into whatever came along."
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