Any idea’s who this driver is from the mid 70’s? Thanks to Stevie Smith’s family for the photo. Can someone comment so I can post again. grrrrrrrr.
Sorry, no idea who that is.
The flared jeans , curly perm, and play boy sticker, do remind me of many others though!
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No recollection either. M reg (1973-4). I started at Promotor when the S reg Pantechnicon was newish (1977-8). “Lionels” were 70s wear and I joined in 1979 so they were mostly gone by then (except for French & Italian Police that still sported them)
The unit looks in a bit of a state. I was guessing the year was 74/75. I would think just come back from a long trip. The one thing I found odd were the stickers. I was led to understand, from Tony Grainger I think, that Peter Calderwood wouldn’t allow them on his lorries so could it have been a subbie?
A name has come up for the guy leaning on his lorry. It could be Dougie Smith a Scot’s bloke from North London. He and the lorry certainly weren’t around when I joined the company in 78. The only one who may know is Tony Grainger.
Name doesn’t ring a bell but I only started in 1979. Some names of drivers past were legends (good and bad) but no recollection of this name at all. Maybe he just quietly got on and did the job?
Another great old photo from the early to mid 70’s courtesy of Steve Smith’s family. Steve is the dapper looking bloke on the left. Anyone recognise any of the others? Of course the photo could have been taken anywhere from the Bakehouse to the National from the Windmill to Mama’s.
Those beer bottles are unmistakably shaped Efes beer bottles I’d say. This photo’ was probably taken in Turkey
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Great observation by Mickey Twemlow (now sadly departed) about Romania. I remember stopping for a cuppa deep in Romania somewhere remote - and it it didn’t take long for the crowd of admirers to arrive… All standing watching.
I drank my tea and they carried on watching. In the stairwell of my Scania there was an empty gallon plastic oil container - nowhere to throw it away as they appeared not to have rubbish bins in Romania. A gentleman in the crowd pointed at it and I presumed he wanted it… I motioned that he could have it… Next moment he took the top off and lifted it to his lips to drink… I shouted “no, no, olio”… But anyway, luckily he didn’t poison himself but he was as pleased as Punch… However, the crowd became agitated when they saw I had given away something (no plastic things in the Eastern bloc) and they all rushed forward proferring wedges of Lei (Rom money no good to man nor beast).
I had a similar experience in Minsk (Belarus). Parked up one night with Boshing Pete of Kepstowe on the way home from Moscow in a layby cooking - a plastic bag hanging off the window handle on the open door to deposit our rubbish… A fellow came by with very good English and asked if we had any rubbish to throw away? “Like what” we asked? “Like this plastic bag” he said and “any empty cigarette cartons or beer bottles…”. So he took our plastic bag filled with baked bean cans and other cab detritus (plenty of packets for gaspers - as Pete was a great smoker). He thanked us profusely and said he would wash everything to give to his girlfriend as such things were highly sought after in Belarus…
Forty years later it doesn’t seem possible that this strange world existed…
Very common in Afghanistan too, empty shampoo bottles, dunnage, just about anything was of use to them.
Alas, never made it to Iran and thus on to Afghanistan. I was one of the boys that turned right at Ankara for Baghdad leaving the men to go straight on to Iran. Once you had the Iraqi or Iranian visa one precluded a visit to the other. So my lot was an annual Baghdad trip - usually to the Baghdad fair. Although I also did take a load of Spectrum computers and a water pump to Tikrit.
That first trip in 1979 to Baghdad the Turks had just fallen to Marshall law and there was no diesel ( I had a belly tank full of red). This made it quite hairy parking anywhere as there was very quickly a huge crowd of farmers and Tonka drivers demanding fuel…
On the way back I met all the people who had been stranded between Turkey and Iran in deep snow for 3 months making their way home. One guy I met looked like the wildman of Borneo. He had his wife with him and a newborn baby. The truck had rolled over in Afghanistan and when I say the tyres were bald that was an understatement, they were down to canvas… How they let him into Germany with a truck in that state I have no idea… Anyhow, he made it back home pulling an empty flatbed.
If I can just add my two Yugoslave Dinars worth to this subject. 
I always wondered why the people it the Commie Block used to search through the rubbish bins, whenever they saw a Western European truck parked up. I can remember being parked up in Czecho where that big 'Zebra Crossing" was, the section of the motorway that they used to block off and use as a military runway, whenever The Warsaw Pact were having an exercise.
On this particular day, I saw a car pull up, two people got out and started tipping all the rubbish, straight onto the floor. After fossicking around for a couple of minutes, they picked up a few cans and then drove away, leaving a right mess behind them.
Now for a time, I thought that they might have had a kind of aluminum can recycling theme where if you took the cans to a recycling center, you got a cent back on every can, but it seemed that that wasn’t the answer.
One day, I was on way home coming back through Szeged in Hungary, when I noticed a young girl stood at the side of the road hitchhiking. I stopped to give her a lift (like we did) and she turned out to be a student, on her way to Budapest and she spoke very good English. She asked me had if I had a can of Coca Cola, I didn’t but I did have a can of Fanta so I offered her a can. She looked over the moon and asked me to drink it, so that she could have the empty can. I told her to take it with her and asked her, what was the fascination with the empty can.
She told me that when the can was empty, then she would make into a holder for all her pencils and pens. 
Whenever I was in the duty free shop on any of the ferries, I always used to ask if I could take a couple of extra Townsend-Thorensen, Sally Line, North Sea Ferries, Sea Link etc. duty free plastic bags and, very often the reply was, “help yourself”.
I am sure that I was not the only driver who did this because they were very handy to keep your rubbish in and your dirty washing.
And it’s still good to see these old photos, without the word photobucket sprawled across them.
Hi Efes. Our mate Geoff Gardener looks as if he’s about to enjoy a breakfast that has been cooked for him. Good find.
Going back to Steve Smith and the bottles of Efes. I have a couple of more photos given to me by Steve’s family and I am convinced these were taken in the Ancelo drinking hole below the Londra Hotel. The first photo is of Steve on the right with Billy Heath, note the clothes which appear in the next photo. The second photo has Steve set in what looks like a leaf and the third photo is a copy of a business card from those days. On the bottom of the card it says photo service and I am fairly sure that’s where the photos came from. The fourth photo was taken on the opening day in 1968 of the Ancelo Bar. In the photo are drivers from Asian Transport, Rynart and Union Cartage Company better known as UCC. The last photo is of another driver whose image is set in a leaf. I don’t know who he is.
The Russian told me it was because they collected Western items. They’d put empty cigarette packets on the wall for decoration (ditto beer cans). Plastic bags were useful as they didn;t have plastic in the USSR or satellite states. At exhibitions plastic bags given away were a massive attraction and would could literally start a riot. At the end of a show one exhibitor threw a big pack of plastic bags into the crowd and a fight over them ensued (Bratislava) as the crowd fought over them. Just as we used to buy the little red badges from the USSR depicting Stalin and Lenin. I bought a life-size bust of Lenin (£5) home which was my pride and joy. Not because I was a supporter but it’s because you’d see “dead Fred the great Red head” in the films about the USSR
On the theme of recycling, does anyone remember the convenience/grocers shop down the street opposite Sammy Sirrissi’s in Damascus.
They did an excellent Falafel Wrap, but what also made it stand out was the wrappers.
The wax paper wrappers were misprints or rejects from UK Bakers like Wonderloaf or Mothers Pride.- not so good for any driver feeling homesick, but I guess they were rare that far from home as most gave up at the Londra
Just found the names of 2 of the drivers in the photo. Terry Keating of Union Cartage Company is the guy sitting to the left of the girl as you look at the photo. He has a beard and light coloured jacket. To the right is Asian Transports John Frost. I’m not sure which one is John but thought it was the guy in the centre of the three. This photo was taken on the opening night in 68 of the bar and restaurant below the Londra Hotel.
Seeing John Frost the Astran’s man (Frost) reminded me of Andrew Wilson-Young who always wore shorts and wellingtons whatever the weather. Always refused to pay bribes (would shout loudly “I’m British” - I used the same tactic myself) and drove non-stop… A very fine character who never stopped anywhere for long for a chat.
Happy days indeed.
Since I posted some photos of Stevie Smith in the watering hole beneath the Londra Hotel in Istanbul Paul Rowlands has come up with a couple of photos of his own. Both taken mid 70’s. In the photo of the belly dancer Paul is on the left carefully placing money where it can’t fall out. I like the hand in front of him holding the plate. I reckon that was the waiter getting worried that his own tip was disappearing somewhere he couldn’t get his hands on it. In the second photo Paul is 2nd left. 1st left is Pete Hiwe whilst 1st right is Mick Prigg. The guy 4th left is a French driver who became a good friend of Paul’s.
Steve Smith worked for Promotor for many years however, it was split into two stints. I know he joined the company around 74 and I believe he left about 10 years later. His second stint started in the late 80’s and he was still there when I left in 93/4. The first 3 photos, courtesy of Steves family, Sandra and son Bill, were taken around 74/75. When he left for the first time I know he did some work for Essex Transport, there may have been other companies I don’t know about. Prior to joining Pro’s Steve, according to his wife Sandra, worked for Stan Stone in 69, I don’t know how long he worked there but in 70 Stan sold the lorry to Grangewood and Steve went with it.
Steve doing the cooking. Don’t know the other driver.
This driver is I think driving one of our small Ford "Panic Wagons’ doing small urgent deliveries.
Steve drove for Essex as well other local companies.
The Grangwood photos were found on the web.
