Just to clear up Mick ‘Olio’ Cairns worked for A S Rawlings with the likes of Polly. Brain Damage and Nick the Greek to name but a few, out of a farm in Medstead near Alton (not Hook) a lot of whose work was skins and hides to Italy. I believe he did open a restaraunt near Fordingbridge Hants but that didn’t last long and he went driving again for Comptons of Poole. I remember one trip over Cenis with him and ‘The Captain’ Sean Moran, Mick was telling stories non stop my sides were aching!
Also yes he was fluent in both Italian and French languages.
Don’t know what he is up to now last I heard he had slipped on the back of a tractor unit and very badly gashed his hand on the Eminox shield.
Regards Pat
I didn’t know they called Sean 'The Captain ’ but he was a steward on a passenger liner.
Yeah,Mick had a gift for languages.
That trip over Cenis must have been a few years ago…?
The only reason I put Rawlings in Hook is because years later I used to deliver there .At the time the son was running an Aston Martin ; not a bad bloke IMO
I think we were the last to go over we could not go back over after loading as snow had closed it! Was the only time I went over and then only because we had TV’s on and only weighed about 16 tons but ‘The Captains’ F89 played up (An ex Ian Elkins brown and beige motor) or so he said! For an experienced man he sure did panic my old Scania 111 was ok as I remember
Stopped at Victors for a coffee break! I sure do appreciate those drivers that took 38 tons (or often more!!!) over that pass! My hat goes off to you such drivers:!:
Before this week in February 1997 i had been involved in
many transport and customs strikes especially in France
and had never felt in any danger whatsoever this one was different.
we had shipped out as normal and apart from some queing at Irun
due to strikers blockades of the roads we were allowed to carry on
down to Madrid and tip as normal the roads were quite and in fact
it was a bit spooky, we went to Victors in Burgos then down to Madrid.
coming back i was with John and Jane, and a driver who worked for Francis
transport out of Basildon, our problems started when we got to the peage
where you sweep of up the hill to go to Victors at Burgos the slip road was full of Spanish strikers about three hundred of them and it was impossible to
leave by the slip road so over the CB i told the others to go via the peage
as we made for the booths the strikers ran towards us and i decided to not take a ticket and just go through then my passenger window went as a large rock came through it and hit me on the shoulder then things started to hit
my truck all over , i screamed to the others not to stop but to carry on but
they were surrounded by strikers and had no choice, but to stop.
after a terryfing couple of minutes which seemed like eternity we somehow
managed to get the trucks rolling and went to Victors where we just sat in
the cabs shaking like little children, all three motors had been badly damaged
but the francis motor was a wreck, when we went in the bar the owner of the
John d ward motor was in there he was in a mess the strikers had thrown
a large piece of concrete through his windscreen from a bridge and as you
can see he was lucky to escape with his life. we stayed a Victors for two days
and then in the middle of the night the Wednesday we drove up to FAGORS
the factory in ESKORIATZA where we was loading only to find it was worse
there than where we had come from as it was impossible to drive to the border
at IRUN, so we was then stuck there for four days. during our stay there ROVERS were flying these helicopters in and taking one pallet a time to
BIARRITZ airfield where our drivers were loading up and off to LONGBRIDGE
as they had to keep the production lines rolling. on the Monday we were taken
to Pamplona with a Army ■■■■■■ where we joined a massive Convoy of trucks
and was escorted up through the mountains back in to France and safety.
when i got home my truck was repaired in Scanias and what did i do on
the Friday yeah you know i shipped out to Madrid (Crazy M/F)
A few pics of MCH International (Albert Cooke).
Patras Greece myself and Jimmy Rawlinson with our Greek mates
George and Babis the latter had a stunning sister called Koola
and no i didn’t
This boat used to sail from Brindisi Italy to Patras it was a bit of a old tub
but the berths were clean (unlike some drivers) and the food was good
the crew were all Egyptian and looked after you ok the big problem was
getting on it and any of you who sailed from Brindisi in those days will
know what i mean
I think we were the last to go over we could not go back over after loading as snow had closed it! Was the only time I went over and then only because we had TV’s on and only weighed about 16 tons but ‘The Captains’ F89 played up (An ex Ian Elkins brown and beige motor) or so he said! For an experienced man he sure did panic my old Scania 111 was ok as I remember
Stopped at Victors for a coffee break! I sure do appreciate those drivers that took 38 tons (or often more!!!) over that pass! My hat goes off to you such drivers:!:
Regards Pat
I am surprised at Sean panicking ; could be he was in financial straights & losing money ?
The first time I went over I left UK with an empty tilt to pick up three reels of cable that had turned over with the truck on the steps. The truck & trailer were a write-off but the reels were still on the Steps .The driver had escaped & done a runner back to the UK. I went down the Steps & stopped on the bend by the reels but was told by the French salvage crew to go down & then back again before they could load. I did this & they wanted to load the reels the same way as they came off;standing up. I refused & loaded them laying flat ,with a bit of overhang on the side ,chained them up & went to the top again to rebuild the tilt .Turned round ,went down again & carried on to Pirrellis down South Italy.I came to the first toll & got slung off ;went to the next one on the old road got a ticket & stayed on the toll sysem for the rest of the trip.
is it Laura 
