4.54pm on a Friday afternoon........
....and I'm temping for a company that makes pine furniture. Without fail Friday afternoon meant loading a truck with predominantly custom made furniture to go out to three local stores. This was a thankless task. The furntiture had to be loaded in a way that meant it came off in order at the stores and some of it weighed a sodding ton.

On this particular friday, 5.00pm is fast approaching, there's a lovely new girlfriend interested in some weekend fumbling and I'm desperate to go home. I finish loading the truck and pull the material curtain on the side closed. I don't seal it with the straps mind- whilst I had done in some previous weeks surely the truck driver would do the honours before leaving.

Alas, two hours later as I'm readying myself for a night of lager and ladies, I see on tinpot local news that an awfully familiar looking lorry has shed its load on the A34. At rush hour. Yep the driver had set off with the curtain unsecured. The tightly packed, interlocking cargo of boxes had made a bid for freedom as the truck accelerated and at least half the contents had burst out of the side into the road. I am pleased to say that there were no serious injuries which makes it easier to relate the story a decade or so later.

Now absolute blame rested with the driver but it would have been easy enough to mention that I'd not secured the curtain before buggering off. I believe that about £60,000 worth of furntiture became a splintery road block that day.
(Leonard Hatred briefly did some work on, Thu 25 Oct 2007, 22:29, 2 replies)

Hmmm...
Was it for Arighi Bianci?
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Fri 26 Oct 2007, 8:47, closed)

re Hmm
For the record it was the now defunct (for reasons I am sure not directly related to the story above) Ducal based in the armpit of Hampshire that is Andover.
(Leonard Hatred briefly did some work on, Fri 26 Oct 2007, 17:45, closed)