Keith Sanders the Storyman Podcast

The wind was something I had not encountered earlier in the day and just on that very corner it was like a turbine. It swept between the buildings of the Chandlers premises and began pushing the boat away from the bank just as I had judged my distances and speed to allow for gently coming alongside the wharf. I was on the point of stepping ashore when the boat began to drift away from the bank.......

I had been charged with travelling at “speed in excess of 75mph” in a Ford Thames5 cwt van with antique side valve (Ford pop) engine and three speed gearbox. The ridiculousness of the estimated velocity of the van when loaded to the roof at the time with newspapers was incredible enough. Added to that was the fact that it all happened down a straight road 7 miles long, in a thunder storm and I had...

My principal job at the “Boston Standard” Newspaper was not really driving delivery vans but selling advertising space, designing the adverts and writing the copy. I began straight from school; Boston Grammar School that is, where I took 8 subjects in GCE “O” level and managed to fail all 8! The job was supposed to be a stop gap, a position that I thought I might like but had not really considered...

 Another episode from life in Boston in the 1960's. This time the venue is the forcourt of E.C. Stanwell's Garage in Main Ridge. The date about 1966......................  Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and photographs as videos and slide shows on our YouTube Channel at  "cracker books on youtube". WEB SITE...

 A story from Northcote in the early 2000's. More drama at a small animal sanctuary.  Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and photographs as videos and slide shows on our YouTube Channel at  "cracker books on youtube". WEB SITE CHANGE:  New Web site at  www.crackerbooks.fr At the same time, Cracker Books have produced...

I went to see the surgeon in January and he said the tendon was definitely broken and he could try and rebuild it with bits and pieces from elsewhere, will never be as good as new he said, but better than I had then......!  Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and photographs as videos and slide shows on our YouTube Channel at  &quot...

A short story from this last week.................. Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and photographs as videos and slide shows on our YouTube Channel at  "cracker books on youtube". WEB SITE CHANGE:  New Web site at  www.crackerbooks.fr At the same time, Cracker Books have produced 10 complete page turning e-books on th...

I had given the car a once over before leaving and as it was in daily use, could find nothing that needed attention. However once we had left the A1 southbound and joined the infernal A14 towards Cambridge the exhaust began to make loud noises; just before arriving at the M11 junction, a large piece broke away and began to drag along the road. Cambridge seemed the obvious place to seek aid and we...

Earls Court Station was the next stop and as the doors opened, my friend hopped down from his seat and walked out of the door . I was still so astonished, I almost forgot this was my stop too and only managed to get off the train before it was once more on its way. Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and photographs as videos and sl...

Julian, his vet,  decided to use ‘prednisalone’........a cortisone treatment generally used for many different health problems, it was much cheaper but would it work.  He contacted a drug supplier and they told him what was needed for an animal the size of Bonnie.        How many tablets? Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and phot...

Beryl came to the rescue. She lived in the “crescent” a line of houses built with the rest of our village of New Bolingbroke when it was created a New Town in 1805 or so. The crescent consisted of genuine London style Town houses grouped together like a very small Royal Crescent in Bath. Yes, very small!    Beryl was a widow and over the years I had written letters for her from time to time, to he...

By midday I was approaching Harrogate the town of my birth and in need of fuel. My trusty series two, petrol engined land rover was a thirsty beast especially pulling four tons of boat and another ton of trailer up hill and down dale. There is a “Total” Petroleum site in Harrogate; it is still there, on the Knaresborough road between the Hospital and the town.  As one gets older and more mature, u...

I was deeply honoured that this wonderful elderly gentleman who was almost 80, years old had sufficient confidence in me and this gaudily painted very second hand lorry to wish to come on the round trip of between six and seven hundred miles into some seriously wild countryside. I think it was the thought of passing Culloden and Balmoral, Tomintoul and Blairgowrie; Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee that...

We were finally all set to begin the SWEL foods contract on time, only one obstacle was left for me to overcome; I had no driving licence for a lorry over 7.5 tons capacity, FJK 140 was HGV country! Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and photographs as videos and slide shows on our YouTube Channel at  "cracker books on youtube...

Almost 2am by this time and I began my journey home. I must explain at this point that to get to the breakdown I had borrowed my wife’s car a Renault 4L. This was a curious little 5 door estate car, very light with a nippy four cylinder petrol engine. It was originally marketed by Renault as a utility vehicle to go anywhere. It had 4-wheel independent torsion bar suspension, could cross ploughed f...

"I have this most dreadful indigestion," said my examiner. "You will have to stop here while I get something to help." So there I was, a leaner driver in an HGV with L plates, abandoned by my examiner.......... Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and photographs as videos and slide shows on our YouTube Channel at...

Well the dog may have been rolling but I tried to protect my head after achieving something between an exaggerated forward roll, turning into a sideways somersault as my feet where whipped from beneath me. I ended up landing a fearful high speed whack on the shoulder.  Getting up, there was no question of trying to wipe off the dripping mud.  Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories...

This one was long! It had those steel rods, two of them, one on each side. A very large electric motor was mounted on one end and I had been engaged to deliver it as a farmer client who had decided he had nothing to move his corn and vehicles were collecting it the same day!   Rundles own lorry was away for the whole day. Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many...

He fell on his bum pulling me after him and managed to pull my right arm clean out of the shoulder socket! There was this swishing scrunch and I knew straight away what had happened. I also knew that the incident with the dog the month before had been a minor incident by comparison! Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and photograph...

Looking back on these times now it is difficult to see when I managed to devote the time to my basic job when at any moment I was going to be asked to imitate Stirling Moss or Mike Hawthorn in a mini van! Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and photographs as videos and slide shows on our YouTube Channel at  "cracker books on y...

This story comes from the time just after we had moved to Northcote after the traumatic episodes involving the loss of our home for 14 years, our distribution business and the litigation that was still threatening from our ex farmer neighbour. The year must have been late 1984. All the posh cars and most “unnecessary” possessions had gone in the grand auction sale at Ivy House at the end of 1983....

A small 7.5 ton box van had impacted with the central crash barrier and stopped hard against it. Smoke and steam was rising around. It had just that minute happened and that was what the HGV driver had reacted to. He must have thought it was coming straight at HIM! Thank you for listening to our Buzzsprout audio stories. You can follow many of these with added film and photographs as videos and sl...

The date is summer 1980, the place New Bolingbroke, a small historical village located exactly 10 miles north of the Port of Boston. There was an important event to celebrate! The South Lindsey Ecumenical Partnership were celebrating their third Anniversary. This was to be a celebration like never seen before, a huge Flower Festival was to be held. New Bolingbroke was chosen as the actual venue, a...

Firstly, it's not an MOT Test, the correct term is “Control Technique”.  Like the UK it is Government controlled and follows the EU regular updates etc. Even so it is not as strict as in the UK.......it has not got that direct connection to the “Fat Controller” as is rapidly becoming the scene in the UK. Episode one was about three years ago when Ruth's little Renault 4L needed a test. O...

It was while listening to music of J.S. Bach this last lunchtime that I read in the “splurge” that comes with these music cd's.......that in 1743 a pulley operated passenger lift was installed in the major Palace of Versailles! How on earth you might say, has that anything to do with my stories of the mid to late 20th century?? Well.......it was like this.........In 1969, Firestone UK, introd...