Looking back what would you have done differently from your time in the Transport industry ? Well for one thing we could have persuaded “CF”'s parents to have drowned him at birth ! 
( They probably did actually consider it though 
) Only joking “CF” the TN site would never have been the same without you, well better maybe but not as interesting ! Hope you have had a good Bank hol weekend ! Cheers Bewick.
I think I’d at least have upgraded my employer provided class 2 immediately if only I’d have realised how much the 2 was unfairly and often unnecessarily looked down on and bearing in mind the UK preference for artics.I’d also have done the CPC at that point in time too in the hope of maybe a better chance of starting up as an owner driver at that earlier point in time than later.Although start up capital was probably always going to be the main deal breaker in that regard.
Hi Bewick, what a good question,Carryfast actual sounds as if he was one of us .
where do i start re guarding my transport time, to be honest if i had it all again and now know what i do now .
.I would have steered clear of the BRS and stopped with private hauliers,but i thought i was bettering my-self, in fact it made me and lots of others …“Unionist” for one,working to rule, lazy,professional night out fiddlers,not knowing the top union men had a different agenda some had never driven a push bike…
All ways moving from one job to another, [the grass is greener] never got sacked…running for near 24 hours non stop,time after time, for the load ,and customer it was all lying Bollox 99%of the time ie [they are waiting for you ]yeh…
i could go on for pages ,most drivers where mostly the same type of men,men who could work, all the hand ball you did you could not do all that type of work if you did not mind getting black ,cut hands,a bit rough and ready , but ive mellowed,ha,getting inside a cattle truck with it full of store beasts from Ireland from Birkenhead wood-side docks …when you had one down on its knees INSIDE THE TRUCK would i do it again ,yes i expect so.
I wish I had Taken pictures of vehicles & some of the situations I got myself in & out of, I could look back through the past with some happy & some not so happy memories, and a real bonus I could have posted some of them on here…
I would have to agree with the last two regarding the camera and the unions- the only time the T&GW did any good for me was in shortening my six month ban to three months.
I like to think that the intervening fifty years have given me the experience to know who to trust and who to steer clear of. Likewise whose advice to heed and who didn’t know what they were talking about. Too late for any regrets now, so forward into the remainder of my retirement, knowing that I can please myself what time I get up, what I spend my days doing and doing it all my way. 
Retired Old ■■■■:
I would have to agree with the last two regarding the camera and the unions- the only time the T&GW did any good for me was in shortening my six month ban to three months.
I like to think that the intervening fifty years have given me the experience to know who to trust and who to steer clear of. Likewise whose advice to heed and who didn’t know what they were talking about. Too late for any regrets now, so forward into the remainder of my retirement, knowing that I can please myself what time I get up, what I spend my days doing and doing it all my way.
Would you still have been attracted to the lady who lured you up to darkest macclesfield ■■
I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it may incriminate me.
Or get me shot! 
Some of the stuff that I have done, makes me proud, some makes me laugh, some makes me ashamed and some makes me shudder. My career spans five decades and I think I’ve seen and done a bit more than most. But I wouldn’t change things; except maybe one or two of the dark memories that surface every so often. I’ve still got my health and fitness; plus my guardian angel still puts in an appearance when necessary.
I started paid employment in 1968 after leaving school with GCE A Levels, so even though I had spent every spare minute I could around lorries since being 5 years old, driving them for a full time living wasn’t an option as I was very aware of the sacrifices my parents had made to give me a grammar school education. My father had to take early retirement because of ill health, he suffered a very serious heart attack aged 42. In my 48 years of work since then I can split my career into 3 almost equal lengthy periods of employment (each a minimum of 12 years) between RHM, Spillers Milling, and Turners (Soham) Ltd. in junior, middle and senior management positions. I was very happy with all these companies, and I wouldn’t change any of that. In between ‘finding’ these companies there were a couple of periods of employment which were not so good, but we all make mistakes. I did have ambitions to run my own business and actually obtained an O Licence for three lorries and trailers, but at the last minute I got cold feet and didn’t go ahead. Maybe I should have done, but I’ve no regrets about it. I think deep down I’m a big company man. As a part time career I had my writing and publishing business about transport matters which gave me plenty of satisfaction. I have preserved and restored a couple of classic lorries, which with hindsight were costly projects that in many respects tuned out to be “dead” money, but then again I enjoyed 20 years of driving them on road runs and taking them to shows, but it is an expensive hobby for an individual who hasn’t got a business to offset costs against. Now at an age when I’m past what used to be retirement I’m still working, managing a 26 vehicle operation that in the 8 years I’ve been here has had three owners and has been on the verge of liquidation through poor financial decision making by the previous owner. Luckily I’m fit and healthy and still put in a 60 to 65 hour week every week, so I guess that I must still enjoy it.
Retired Old ■■■■:
I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it may incriminate me.Or get me shot!
Like the Bear ROF?
Should be making the Speech House rally it is the 11th Sept?
I wouldn’t change anything, I enjoyed my working life, I got 100% job satisfaction, it brought a family up, it bought my home, I’ve still got my wife (57 years now), I’ve no debt, so if I had it all to do again I wouldn’t change a thing. I never smashed a vehicle up, I never injured anybody, only got nicked once (speeding, 48mph when the limit was 40 
)
Yes, there were good days and there were crap days…but that’s life.
Bewick:
Looking back what would you have done differently from your time in the Transport industry ? Well for one thing we could have persuaded “CF”'s parents to have drowned him at birth !
Now that you’ve got some of us to open up about our past, Dennis, what would you have done differently?
gingerfold:
Bewick:
Looking back what would you have done differently from your time in the Transport industry ? Well for one thing we could have persuaded “CF”'s parents to have drowned him at birth !Now that you’ve got some of us to open up about our past, Dennis, what would you have done differently?
Maybe I shouldn’t have joined the WRM Group in hindsight as it turned out to be just one big Façade, what was offered i.e. “just carry on as per normal Dennis the only difference being you will have easier access to additional capital to further develop Paperlink ( The new name for Bewick) and you will be required to attend monthly Group Board meetings at Dorking, otherwise you will be expected to continue much as before as Chief Excecutive of Paperlink” Aye so far so good ! what a load of bollox ! The three Amigos in no time at all wanted to stick their fingers into every aspect of our operation and they didn’t have a clue how our firm functioned and it all ended in tears with them trying to “lay their law down” which was suicidal but you couldn’t tell those clever ■■■■■ they thought they were superior to a dyed in the wool cretin haulier like me ! So I told them to “stick it where the monkey stuck the nuts”. All three of them “W,R & M” apparently got kicked out within twelve months although the chap the Banks put in came to see me at home and was most apologetic and congratulated me on what decent operation Bewick Transport had been, and in other circumstances he would have tried to persuade me to join him to try and revive the Group but it was “mission impossible” and the whole thing eventually went down the pan! That’s Life ! and all water under the bridge many moons ago, but up until WRM I had enjoyed building the operation up maybe a bit too fast at times but some of the opportunities were too good to turn down. Will this explanation suffice ! Cheers Dennis.
pete smith:
Like the Bear ROF?
Should be making the Speech House rally it is the 11th Sept?
Yes, matey, Sunday 11th. Plan is to meet in the beer tent at one o’clock. If such essentials are not provided, we’ll adjourn to the public bar of the Speech House Hotel. Mine’s a scrumpy if you beat me there!
Retired Old ■■■■:
pete smith:
Like the Bear ROF?
Should be making the Speech House rally it is the 11th Sept?Yes, matey, Sunday 11th. Plan is to meet in the beer tent at one o’clock. If such essentials are not provided, we’ll adjourn to the public bar of the Speech House Hotel. Mine’s a scrumpy if you beat me there!
Cheer’s ROF see you on the 11th about 10 past 1,
Thank you for your openness Dennis, you can take tremendous pride and satisfaction from what you achieved.
I just wish that I had started earlier, I was 34 when I finally went driving fulltime (though I had my class 2 since I was 25 but there were no driving vacancies available for several years) and finished at 52 so a short spell in a career I had always wanted to do. However I enjoyed the time I had and wouldn’t change any of it really, three good employers and no arguments with any of them. The saddest day of my life was locking the cab door on my final day.
Pete.
Maybe I shouldn’t have joined the WRM Group in hindsight as it turned out to be just one big Façade, what was offered i.e. “just carry on as per normal Dennis the only difference being you will have easier access to additional capital to further develop Paperlink ( The new name for Bewick) and you will be required to attend monthly Group Board meetings at Dorking, otherwise you will be expected to continue much as before as Chief Excecutive of Paperlink” Aye so far so good ! what a load of bollox ! The three Amigos in no time at all wanted to stick their fingers into every aspect of our operation and they didn’t have a clue how our firm functioned and it all ended in tears with them trying to “lay their law down” which was suicidal but you couldn’t tell those clever [zb] they thought they were superior to a dyed in the wool cretin haulier like me ! So I told them to “stick it where the monkey stuck the nuts”. All three of them “W,R & M” apparently got kicked out within twelve months although the chap the Banks put in came to see me at home and was most apologetic and congratulated me on what decent operation Bewick Transport had been, and in other circumstances he would have tried to persuade me to join him to try and revive the Group but it was “mission impossible” and the whole thing eventually went down the pan! That’s Life ! and all water under the bridge many moons ago, but up until WRM I had enjoyed building the operation up maybe a bit too fast at times but some of the opportunities were too good to turn down. Will this explanation suffice ! Cheers Dennis.
You’ve certainly had a fantastic experience with ‘Bewick’ Dennis, but does it still feel like unfinished business? I imagine that there would be a tinge of sadness at what’s happened to something you’ve grafted so hard to build up from nothing.
Pete
petecud:
Maybe I shouldn’t have joined the WRM Group in hindsight as it turned out to be just one big Façade, what was offered i.e. “just carry on as per normal Dennis the only difference being you will have easier access to additional capital to further develop Paperlink ( The new name for Bewick) and you will be required to attend monthly Group Board meetings at Dorking, otherwise you will be expected to continue much as before as Chief Excecutive of Paperlink” Aye so far so good ! what a load of bollox ! The three Amigos in no time at all wanted to stick their fingers into every aspect of our operation and they didn’t have a clue how our firm functioned and it all ended in tears with them trying to “lay their law down” which was suicidal but you couldn’t tell those clever [zb] they thought they were superior to a dyed in the wool cretin haulier like me ! So I told them to “stick it where the monkey stuck the nuts”. All three of them “W,R & M” apparently got kicked out within twelve months although the chap the Banks put in came to see me at home and was most apologetic and congratulated me on what decent operation Bewick Transport had been, and in other circumstances he would have tried to persuade me to join him to try and revive the Group but it was “mission impossible” and the whole thing eventually went down the pan! That’s Life ! and all water under the bridge many moons ago, but up until WRM I had enjoyed building the operation up maybe a bit too fast at times but some of the opportunities were too good to turn down. Will this explanation suffice ! Cheers Dennis.You’ve certainly had a fantastic experience with ‘Bewick’ Dennis, but does it still feel like unfinished business? I imagine that there would be a tinge of sadness at what’s happened to something you’ve grafted so hard to build up from nothing.
Pete
No Pete what happened, happened ! and I was never one to cry over “spilt milk” and of course it was 20 years ago and the industry has changed out of all recognition and I don’t reckon much to what I see now, so no thanks I had nearly 30 years in the game and more or less experienced every level of operation from O/D to operating a fairly large transport business. Cheers Dennis.
I reckon it was those visits to Dorking that finally drove the last nail in, Dennis. Far too close to Leatherhead for comfort! 