Well, my Dad has always been a bit of a Berty Big Bollocks, especially in his youth. Said 'yes' to everything when it came to buisness.
If someone wanted a big order, he could get it, he'd worry about the details afterwards, and he'd get it done 95% of the time, even if it meant taking a loss on occasions.

Anyway, he was in charge of the bookies in the east-end one evening, when an irish fella comes in, this is in the 50s by the way. The fella asks if we'll take a £100 bet in Ireland, well, Dad naturally said "We'll take any bet", and took it. Don't ask me about the odds, I don't get it how he would know, but they knew how that worked at the time.

In comes Tone (Dad's brother), and he sees this bet on the books, and asks what the hell my Dad was playing at. He said, "Norm, this is the 50s, £100 is a year's wages for most people, and some Irish fella comes in placing an obscure bet? You know there is no way an Irish fella comes into your bookies in the east end, lays down a year's wages on a horse, and ends up loosing". It then clicked, they'd been rigged. But how do they turn this around? Dad, Tone and Melv spend the next day, and all night, going to every single bookie in the east end, and beyond, putting a fiver here and a tenner there, on the exact same thing. The figure if it comes through, they're quids in, if it doesn't, they've covered themselves.

Low and behold, the horse wins, the irish fella comes in, collects his money, and everyone smiles all 'round. I bet the Irish fella has never seen a bookie so pleased to lose before.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Sun 11 Dec 2011, 18:44, archived)

hey, my great grandad was running lots of places in the east end in the 50s,
how old was your dad in the 50s?!
( Sir Sand GOBLIN ^popular page dis, Sun 11 Dec 2011, 19:15, archived)

Oh cool, he was born in 46. It might have been 60s thinking about it, they did start work young in those days though, he left school at 13 or whatever it was.

( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Sun 11 Dec 2011, 19:19, archived)

grandad, not great grandad, great grandad would be crazy
i think he worked from quite an early age, was a schizophrenic though, died in prison
( Sir Sand GOBLIN ^popular page dis, Sun 11 Dec 2011, 19:27, archived)

also, he kept working even while in prison, running a security business

( Sir Sand GOBLIN ^popular page dis, Sun 11 Dec 2011, 19:28, archived)

tl;dr

(yeah right bollocks bollocks, Sun 11 Dec 2011, 19:16, archived)

man, you told him!

( Sir Sand GOBLIN ^popular page dis, Sun 11 Dec 2011, 19:16, archived)