He gave
up his beloved scooter to buy a family car in 1968... but 50 years on, Paul
Proudfoot has got his hands back on a 1960s Lambretta scooter.
The
newly retired grandfather is looking forward to reliving his youth during his
newfound spare time, after colleagues rewarded his half a century of service
with a replica of the scooter he owned as a teenaged mod.
Paul was
the longest standing member of staff at Bridgend-based Jehu Group when he
retired recently after 50 years, and colleagues at the construction firm knew
the usual carriage clock and silver plated pen was not going to cut it as a
fitting parting gift.
Instead,
they plotted with the 65-year-old’s wife Mary to get their hands on a Lambretta
1965 LA 150 Special scooter; a machine he had previously owned aged 17.
He gave
it up in 1968, four years after he followed in his father’s footsteps to join
the company as a 15-year-old apprentice carpenter.
Paul,
who retired on his recent birthday, said: “I have had a fantastic career at
Jehu Group and am honoured to have worked for such a great family company.
“Even
aged 15, I could see how much my father enjoyed working for Jack Jehu, the
company’s founder, and I have never regretted my decision to join the business.
“I now
consider many of my colleagues to be friends and have even completed work on
both Marc and Simon Jehu’s houses. My present is fantastic and shows how well
the team know me. I sold my scooter when I got married and it’s always been a
dream of mine to own one again.
“I was
over the moon when they gave it to me because I never thought I’d own one
again. I’ve been looking on eBay and even for the rusted wrecks you’re looking
at about £1,500. You’ve then got to find about £3,000 to do it up.
“But
they got me a 1965 model and it’s in really good condition. I’ve already bought
all the chrome stuff like I used to have in the 60s.
“I’ll be
the oldest mod in town and I’m looking forward to reliving my youth.”
The
grandfather of five, who worked his way up through the ranks of the family firm
and eventually settling on his role as a working foreman, has led his team to
build some of the largest project sites across South Wales during his five
decades at the company.
Now
retired, he and Mary plan to travel to the Caribbean to visit their daughter
Anna who is a master scuba diver trainer, and have also booked a family holiday
to Egypt.
They
also plan on attending music concerts throughout the summer - and hitting the
open road once all his chores at his home in Fulmar Road, Nottage, are
complete.
“I
wasn’t involved in all the mods and rockers trouble when I had the scooter the
first time round,” added Paul. “But there was a group of about 30 of us who
used to meet from Bridgend and Porthcawl and hang around the prom with our
scooters.
“I doubt
many of them will have scooters these days - the one boy I am still in touch
with moved on to fishing boats.
“But
with the summer coming, I’m looking forward to going out to Porthcawl and
around Cornelly and Pyle, once I’ve got my orders from Mary out of the way of
course.
“I’ll
really miss everybody at the company, but I am looking forward to spending more
time with my wife and five grandchildren.”
Rene
Jehu, Jehu Group chairman and director, said: “I’ve known Paul since I was 15
and he is an absolute pleasure to work with.
“He’s
always been highly regarded by the team.
“He’s
always taken great pride in his work and is such a perfectionist. Paul is
always able to see the bigger picture and has always gone that one step further
to ensure projects are a success.
“When we
were teenagers, Paul was a fan of rock band, The Who and liked to copy the
band’s image. We thought a scooter would be a fitting present as it’s something
we knew he wanted for a while.
“He is a
great guy who will be sorely missed by all at Jehu Group. We will especially
miss his fantastic sense of humour.”
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