| Description | LORNA ROBERTSON born 1945, Glasgow. Childhood memories of maternal grandmother. No electricity in her home. Describes glass radio batteries. Took candles to bed, heated iron on cooker. Father drove taxis in Stonehaven, mother a nurse, trained and worked in Aberdeen. Father was driver in Second World War. Mother won medal for aircraft tracking work. Reference to father's photos, mementos from wartime France. He became bus driver for Glasgow Corporation. Coronation 1953 earliest real memory. Has mementos, recalls first seeing television. Lived briefly in Stonehaven. Father became a chauffeur. Recalls homes in grounds of big estates in Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire etc. Recalls sledging, childhood games, kind boss, hunting parties, fox blooding, long walks to school. Played tennis. Girls better at occupying themselves than boys. Enjoyed reading. Recalls early experience with photography, painting-by-numbers. Mother helped in some of the big houses on the estates, had been a private nurse. No career aspirations when left school. Worked in wholesale fashion showroom, Glasgow. Went to night school, to learn shorthand, typing to please mother. Worked in jewellery company. Details. Reference to Jewish people in Glasgow. Moved to wholesale dress company, worked as traveller. Details re accident on icy road - reason for returning to showroom work. Stopped working after marriage till children teenagers. Took on curtain sewing jobs when husband, David Robertson, involved in offshore dispute. Details. Dispute won but David sent to Finland for a year. Explains. Worked in curtain shop part-time. Details re contact with David during his time away, use of a very cheap phone. Mentions Finnish friends. Details re David's time in Finland, long cold winter etc.
Side B
Recalls marriage to David Robertson, his job in oil refinery near Chester. Difficulties re accommodation in winter with baby. Stayed in Chester 7 years. Background to move to Aberdeen, own successful efforts to get David a job with a drilling company based in Aberdeen. Details re his offshore work. Recalls move, reaction to being in Aberdeen. Own, and David's initial reaction to his working offshore - where he stayed 20 years. Lonely when he was offshore. Explains need for conversation with adults. Most friends came through David's work. Describes situation re incomers in Aberdeen. Was left to own devices, did tasks around house. Feelings about being back in Scotland. Recalls children's English accents, contrast with Aberdonian accent. Mixed with other offshore people. Took part in BBC television programme re offshore wives. People in Aberdeen had colour television - unlike home in Chester. Became very independent, developed dual role dealing with children, problems etc. When David home had lot of company until pubs started opening all day. No support from companies. Recalls rare night out given by companies. Many people offshore went home to places all over the country - impact of this. Oil companies had support networks, eg Petroleum Wives - not working class people. Group started up briefly in Stonehaven. Details. Wives support group attempted during 1990 dispute. By then involved with OILC (Offshore Industry Liaison Committee). Some wives got jobs because of loneliness. Explains. Wives' success with jobs depended on husbands. Describes own situation with part-time work, David's attitude to OILC job, his attitude to working wives. Lot of offshore workers played golf. Details.
Side A
Work in shipyards involved long hours. Compares with offshore work. Situation now - some single men go home to Spain, Ireland, England etc. Recalls difficulties making contact with David when he was offshore. Details re telephone call routines. Describes arrangements for a trip to Paris. Explains reluctance to ring him, difficulty getting him home except in cases of emergency. Didn't call him home when ill. He phoned once a week. There were rules for phoning from offshore, queues waiting to phone home. David wrote letters. Explains mailing procedures. David offshore when Piper Alpha, Cormorant Alpha, Ocean Odyssey accidents happened. Recalls hearing about Piper. Some women don't know which platform husbands on. Recalls getting fright at news of Ocean Odyssey. Describes night of Cormorant Alpha disaster, next day at office. People phoned all day. Piper accident affected offshore workers deeply. David's reaction. Reason for people ringing OILC all day after Cormorant Alpha. Oil companies secretive, not good at giving information. Many callers didn't know where husbands worked. Details re one survivor. Some callers just needed someone to talk to. Wives not informed of procedures in case of accidents. Always made sure of knowing where David working. Details. Mentions ignorance in England of industry, misconceptions of distances etc. Strange calls long after Piper about people who had disappeared. Explains wives' ignorance of husbands' working lives, own situation. Husbands don't want to discuss work. Visited oil rig in Peterhead. Describes conditions, own impressions. Details re situation for offshore workers. Oil companies arranged days out for wives, generally not same for contractors' wives. Recalls scary metal walkways etc on rig.
Side B
Piper Alpha disaster brought realisation of danger of offshore working environment. Before that, main worry was helicopter. Explains. Tried to put worries out of mind. Husband and wife had two different lives. Feelings about David working offshore. Compares offshore life with lives of fishermen. David loved offshore life. Describes videotape of concert offshore, music, David singing etc. Recalls offshore catering at Christmas, New Year, compares with home situation without David. Mention current offshore newsletter. Many offshore workers have good 'crack'. Explains. Knows of workers who are terrified of helicopter flights, force themselves to go - possibly because of employment situation. Recalls finding it difficult adapting to David's needs when he came back ashore. Gives examples. People thought offshore workers were rich, lived strange lives. Offshore people were different. Describes David. Not better off than other people. Explains. Reaction of neighbours during 1990 dispute. Oil industry changed from being seen as glamorous. Fewer young people joining. Mentions average age of offshore workers. Recalls southern Americans in Aberdeen. In early days some couldn't read or write. Details. Recalls lifestyle of some Americans, standards of cleanliness. Impact of industry life on marriages. Lot of mistrust between couples. Example of a divorce. Working in OILC, finds it's mostly women who control the money, understand money better than men - change from traditional ways. Details. Situation in own family. Comments on different shift patterns. Difficult to plan holidays when husband working offshore. Effect of job insecurity. Effect on children of having father offshore. Would not encourage children to work offshore. Explains. Certain types best suited to work offshore.
Side A
Comments on personality types suited to offshore work. Reference to star signs. Own role in family. Need for family support in offshore industry. Explains own situation in OILC, wages etc. 1990 dispute: effect on workers of being involved, blacklisting. Example of own husband's situation. Details of numbers involved in strikes, effect of wives' reaction to the situation. Lot of wives in Glasgow opposed to strike. Compares Glasgow and Aberdeen situations, different psyches. Recalls supporters coming with food to office during strike. Donations came from all over the country. Details. Recalls keeping in communication with strikers offshore. Explains ways of keeping in telephone contact, using cell phones, changing numbers keeping ahead of Shell etc. Strikers handled situation in different ways. OILC sent old fishing boat out to platform with megaphone. Details. Recalls media coverage of dispute, assistance from media, programmes. Mentions women coming back from platform. Ran 24-hour shifts in office. Details re calls to platforms calling strikes etc. Describes atmosphere in office, own feelings of anticlimax at end after 25 days when workers came ashore and celebrated.
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