MY driving and work history from 1980

[peggydeckboy]

After the strike We started to get back to taking goods to the docks and private wharves ,and most defiantly fiddling nights out,we were owed a lot of lost money ,our own fault,[yes] , did we care if we got it from the company [no] had we got any sense [no] we new the writing was on the wall. A ,lot of the car companies that were exporting started to adapt the sizes of the cases filled with car parts to fit in the 20foot [6 meters] or 40 foot[12 meters] long containers that we did not haul.

Although there was tons of case cars standing ready to go for export at the depot it appeared as if some orders had been lost and the export company were going to have to unpack them and reuse the goods for others .and be packed into containers,
It was not long after Christmas ,we had got our £5 that was over due, and the talk that some drivers were going to be made redundant on a [last in first out ] meaning the longest serving drivers would be kept on and the newer ones would have to leave, also it meant that company would not have to pay as much redundant payment for the men with the shortest service. with the company. what helped me in the first redundancy was that my service with the Banbury B. R .S was added on to my service with Mortons as it was the same Nationalised company [sort of]when it suited them .

We had to then do all kinds of work local and export you did not know from one day to another and the nights out were getting less, and the fiddles as well. It got to be near summer holidays around June where there came another wave of men who they had got to let go I was in that batch, I am glad I hung on in and waited ,and not left before the actual redundancy came ,as a few men had got themselves other jobs and left and lost out of any payment ,however small, Len was safe for the moment as he had got longer service than me. It took a while to get used to the idea that I would now have to look for employment also I knew there was very little work around our area especially within the road haulage .
Not forgetting a nice little sum of money coming our way, that was not to be overlooked ,however I knew it would not take long for it to disappear very quick .
You were allowed to sign on the dole as soon as you finished work however getting money was another thing, you had a lump sum paid to you there were entitlements that you would be able to claim ,that is what I did and did not feel guilty at all .

The day came and my service was no longer required a few of us went to the local pub and enjoyed the day with a nice wage packet and a cheque, some of the men were working so we had their beer. I think I was driven home safely, well I am still here so I must have been, and a new chapter of my working life was about to begin ,if you have been bored reading what I have all ready wriiten the next 22 years coming up may be a little better or not.
?what I said before is all true, as this next saga rolls out, I found doing the work that I did quite interesting and new .follow me.

After the initial feeling of having some money had worn off , it had not worn off ,but we had to be careful as we both new it could well be a time before I managed to get employment that I wanted although I new beggars cannot be choosers so I would see what hand would be dealt me .

We had now got a house phone installed and that was important. And I used the local papers to look out for any type of work, I had rang round all of the local transport companies some I would not have ever worked for but I knew I would have to change my working ways. However it was all a waste of time.

There were quite a lot of factory’s in the local area doing all kinds of work but they did not need anyone. I was offered one chance, only because I knew the man at some casual driving and that was with the local skip/scrap man .i thought once and said I would do it , in my head I thought .f–k me what have I come down to, but it did not take me long to get into the swing of things, he showed me once how to pick a loaded skip up, and how to unload it at the skip tip site ,also how to carry 3 skips in each other for dropping off at wherever they were needed and the best job was picking up cars for the crusher ,that was good ,your got near to the car first you had to make sure it was the right car you had to takeaway if it was at a property ,you just smashed the windows in with the hook on the chain then chain it up through the doors, and over the roof and lift it up off the ground with the 2 arms on the back of the lorry that lifted the skip in place on the lorry bed ,but it was a car this time not a skip ,all the broken glass would have stayed inside the car ,you hoped, and away you went…
It was not that simple ever time some of the cars would be in the back of a farm yard ,or in another scrap yard, normally full of scrap and ■■■■, mud, then you earned your tax free money ,especial if it was ■■■■■■■ with rain.

You would sometimes have to pull and drag them out sideways all the tyres being pulled of the rims but you just got on with it I did realise after a time that I quite liked being destructive I really enjoyed it. “do everything by the road law “now being total opposite from what I had been doing for the last 12 ish years, no road tax ,no log books ,no tachograph, completely not me although I used to break the company law ,not the road law, that would involve the police or ministry of transport , I was on the edge all the time in the skip lorry .but it did work out very good some weeks I would have 3 days work, no tax good money, yes I worked for it I did not count the hours ,and new I had to just get on with it that I did, although I would not have liked the job permanent ,some men loved that type of work not me.

[peggydeckboy]

After time it was getting that I would have to find a permanent job even if it meant going further away from my area and living in B$B somewhere, now was the time I wished I had been good at maths and English as I think that gives you a good basis to take most exams. i had even thought I would go to collage ,school ,to learn maths.that was looked into and not possible as the collage was far away and the cost etc.

I kept going to the job centre ,hoping it was going to pay off ,and it did ,there was a job at the Engine Manufacturing Factory going as a Material Handler at ■■■■■■■■■ at Daventry 8 miles away I did know some men who worked there but they were all skilled men as far as knew. so I was given a date and time for a interview, I thought for ■■■■■ sake what am I doing, going for a job you have no idea what it is ,what is required of me and a factory of all places locked inside for 8 hours a day however beggars cannot be choosers.

The day arrived for my interview, dressed up smart, if you went for a drivers job all smart you would never get it you had to have good working black hands, big boots ,jeans covered in grease I think I even had a tie on ,when you think about it what does it matter what you look like as you are going to be in overalls and covered in some kind of muck ,well that is what I thought at the time.

The interview went well I took all my previous work paper work etc and it seemed to be all right I was not asked to do any tests so that was good, then I was asked would I like to go around the factory to see what the job entailed so all eyes and ears said yes. The first thing to hit me was the noise of all kinds of massive machines doing all kinds of engineering tasks to engine blocks in their shell form, as if just arrived from the foundry where they were cast and that was what they were. Big lumps that were moved along a steel roller track ,with drilling, shaving, boring ,machines at benches at different places along the track being operated by men in goggles, and ear muffs. I though wow have I got to operate a machine, but no, that was skilled work, it turned out my job along with 3 others on each shift was to keep the waste material from building up under the machines ,that had been machined off the engine block, so as the operator of the machine did not waste time doing that job .

Some of the blocks that were finished at a certain work stations along the track built up at different stages of the work operation so either some men were held up waiting for the next one or vis-à-vis .so either a massive overhead crane was used to move them on or it was done by fork lift
so the task for me was ,1 learn to drive the massive overhead crane that spanned the whole of the
factory floor , it had two cranes one each end and then learn to drive the fork lift[properly not like we did in transport yards] with proper instruction by a health and safety company man .Two things straight away occurred to me [1] I have a big problem taking any kind of instruction] 2 anyone watching me meaningfully puts me off I thought , for once you do not know anything about the job just go along with it and see. and the last part was using a shovel and
wheelbarrow, that I was good at.

They t took me around all the factory from start to finish , to see the engine blocks, come in on a lorry to being a finished engine [not lorries engines] they were to big .well then they were.
I straight away sussed out that there was a clean part of the manufacture and a dirty one i was in the dirty one.

After the tour, the humming noise of a factory had my ears buzzing ,very strange ,so then I was taken to see the shift foreman who would be my boss ,as I would have to learn all the jobs on day shift before you go on nights understandable as it all was like clock work .

I could not believe who sat in front of me [the foreman] was a man I knew from 1959 we had only just left school when were 15, I worked with him on my second job I had before I went to sea. At a

[peggydeckboy]

,The old big house called [FAWSLEY PARK] is a big private gymnasium ,club now

. I think he was as surprised as i was, I had not been offered the job yet it was up to foreman ,well that was soon sorted and the job was mine [another big mistake].

I got along with the training very well in fact I enjoyed it as I had been used to cranes and fork lifts and just getting into the rhythm of being in a factory and not being able to just clear off and have a tea or ■■■ there was always some one waiting on your next move as your job was a material handler and that is what I became after a few months training I held a fork lift certificate and a 20 ton crane handlers certificate within the company, that was the new word for me to get my head around everything was the Company. I had never been a company’s man before but I was drifting that way.

If you have never been inside a large factory I will try to explain what the size is like also the crane==
If you can imagine that you are in a oblong room ,look up to the ceiling and look where the wall meets the ceiling and come down 2 foot with your eye and imagine that there is a massive steel beam or girder going from one end to the other both sides on the walls, held up by straight steel girders about 10 foot apart ,and on the top of the steel is a rail, like a railway track all the length of the girder …with me ?next, there is a steel beam going across the space from one side to the other, and on that is two steel beams joined together ,in-between the 2 beams is a massive cotton reel type engine ,with a steel cable hanging down to the floor with a big hook on the end also a electrical cable hanging down to just above the floor that is the control cable with a box at the end with buttons on it to use for all types of movement of the crane .

The crane works the same as =in a amusement arcade there are grab type machines that will go forward or back and left and right to pick toys up ,that you control ,that is the same actions as the works crane.
Also if you see the size of a Olympic swimming pool. That is the size area of this factory.[analogy]
right
so after 2 months of getting used to all the workings I think I have got the job sorted in my head I am ready to go on to a shift, although I have 3 months probationer .and I have now joined the engineering union. That is a must from the company you have no option. but I did not get a new
shovel, as I was the new man I spent a lot of time clearing all the shavings up, it is called [swarf]
steel or metal fillings [scrap].

I got into the rhythm of shift work, I soon realised that there was competition between the
shift foreman with each other and the machinist on each shift , who gets most production done on each shift. but there was ,and the person who would determine the end of shift performance was the lowly material handler .

Engine block size [analogy] if you look at a ordinary bath in a house and see it as a square. imagine another bath the same size placed on top of the first one upside down ,so you now have a steel box, hollow. Imagine that now that looks like a oblong steel engine block ,but inside there is like tunnels and caves moulded within the steel ,and rough edges, all around it so you can see through it from all different angles .and you wonder how did they mould it together as looking like one whole structure they had one end as a open bottom .

if turned upside down you would see how it was done, a labyrinth of galleries that took the different parts of the engine to be assembled later on ,also the channels for the lubricant oils and they had machines that would drill, and refine all the inside .i do not know how much weight the block lost,once they were working on them but it was a lot for the amount of [swarf ]that used to come of them .steel shavings.
When the block first arrived in the factory it must have weight 1,500 kilos or one and half tons. when it left the machine shop it looked slim ,slick,i am not sure of the weight loss but substantial .

It was how many complete engine blocks would have been machined and finish and ready for the other part of the build. And that was done by clearing blocks from the stations where the men were working, trouble was some men held back with production while some had none,as the blocks were not ready ,so that would start the foreman off ,throwing wobbles and it was us handlers would get moaned at as we were not keeping production up and who was the worst at it my new friend, my old friend the one who give me the job so we clashed,i would not take ■■■■ of no one ,I would say ,look at that chap,he is the one who held us up excreta he was holding on to his block he was working on ,he finished what he had to do and did not want to start another block as that meant setting all machine up and by the time he had done that he would not have time to start working and it would be ready for the other shift,[■■■■■■■ It went on and on pure silliness.

The rivalry even crept into our small band of handlers,the fork lift would be left with flat batteries and not changed over for the next shift, you would then be playing catch up all shift. and we were always last to be finished when it was time to go,all because of the men on the shop floor not playing the game,after every shift you had to change your c overhauls ,they were black with machine dust and your hands were like a coal miners. most of the machinist there always got cleaned up and ready for the off at least by a quarter of a hour before home time that ■■■■■■ me off as a lot could have been done to help us out, but they never did.

After about a year there I was one of the team,well my own team ,i had got the job sorted, and checked things before I started work ,like make sure the batteries are charged,[silly I know but it worked] finding the wheelbarrow and brush ,daft yes ,but necessary as your so called mates would just abandon gear you needed, the Foreman would be on the ball as the shift started, I would be one step ahead,and it worked also I would work through my dinner break [no one would know,or even notice,]just to get out of work clean and on time ,as I was now sharing a car with 3 men from the same village [we were all on the same shirts different jobs though] and it worked ,as I could eat my dinner at any time [ the dinner I had at the time was very small and low in calories ,as I was on blood pressure tablets + 1000, calories a day ,it was a ladies diet, however I was overweight ] as we were like butterflies everywhere on the shop floor I soon got the weight down.

[peggydeckboy]

Gentlemen ,just before i post, some younger members of my family were here yesterday ,i asked them to read what i have posted and they said "boring grandad"fair comment ,i expect it is, however they have no connection to the haulage industry so they were not interested.my point is i am trying to say, is if any younger drivers are reading this ,back then work conditions were different, once a driver,it was very unlikely you would change your job ,why would you, however i am trying to show that we could and did adapt to any job through necessity ,the next stage maybe boring however it will lead you, to read on,thanks dbp
I had got my head on two things,well three really but there was no transport work around so I thought make the best of what you have got or get out.

The get out was =join the prison service as a prison officer [warder] I had looked into it in depth? and there was one man living in the village and I got to know him quite well then,[do not ask me his name now I have no recollection ] and he gave me insight as much as he could into the job. He was a chef so was a bit different .

After I had made the first moves for a application form things started to move quite quick. i do know that reverences were checked from previous employers all of them from20 years [not CW KNIGHT] I left them out. I did think though ,after all what went on when I was on strike and helping our selves to goods , [stealing] perhaps it was not the right thing to do ,but I was not going to beat myself up over it what will be will be.
The big day arrived and I was asked to report to a Borstal near WELLINGBOROUGH I do recall i was a bit on the nervous side, but not ■■■■■■■■ myself, just going into the unknown .and getting in my head to call everyone sir, eventually there were about 20 of men. All seated around a massive circular table ,well stood up, until told to sit by the enormous prison officer with a hat on just like they wear in the army guards units the peak was covering nearly all his noise you immediately thought “■■■■■ but a tough one so we did as we were told , we were given papers, told you start when told and stop the same and got on with it .

Well the first page was kids stuff then it got harder ,and harder ,and I knew i was now out of my league in the end I had not go a clue as to some of the papers so I just sat back and waited until we were told to stop. I knew I was out so I did not feel bad at all .everything seems easy until you are put out of your normal level and comfort zone. However after a time some of were told to stand and leave, so I was not on my own. Out of the room I was told to follow this officer, still no idea what for .anyway he said the governor would like to see me so I go into a room and a lady is sat there a governor ,and tells me that all my previous work history and background is what is required by them and I would fit in etcetera, however my English and Maths were of a twelve year old,s standard, go to night school and reapply when you get up to GCSE standard. Goodbye and that was it.
I go, a bit disappointed, but I knew before I went what my standard was like so nothing new as you may be able to tell by how ,and what ,I type and I now knew that I would have to carry on at the factory just like all the others, in actual fact I was no different from any of the men there all though most were skilled men at what they did and apprentice trained,.

I felt I needed to get on ,and get a better position in the factory there was a opportunity within the factory to get promoted for the skilled men however I needed to learn new skills but they would recruit skilled men from outside before they would give in house training on the machines .
So my time in the machine shop was up for me I wanted to move on to engine build department and that was going to be a wait, as it was a better clean job but with no immediate vacancy, and also others were waiting to move into that department.

I knew that there would be a lot of competition from all the workers not classed as tradesman for a internal transfer to the build department , I asked one of the engine build workers I knew, if there was any company reading material showing and describing the sequence of the engine build so I could in theory be able to describe engine parts and where they went and show I was interested I would go and ask for it and I was given it.

I had to stay where I was for the time ,in the engineering shop the smell of the lubricant oil they used did not get any sweeter . I did not dislike working at the factory at all, I was thinking it is better that pounding up and down the roads ,nice and dry,however I was always getting drawn to the doors ,to get out of the factory, I could at lest see the doors,some men. Stayed at their work station all of their shift on the same machine doing the same work day in and out.
They were highly trained 5 year apprentice-ship time served men. but now their skilled work was done by computers and they just programmed their work orders to the machine and let it get on with it.
I did let the human resources department know that I would like to move departments, over to the engine build ,i was sure that if the foreman knew I wanted to move he would block it . I was told that they were only recruiting experienced engine fitters from outside as it took to long to train in house men up to their standard, however there maybe a vacancy soon in the stores department maybe I would like to go for that so I said yes please. but I would still have to have a interview with the relevant head of the department and no guarantee I would get the job as departments did not like taking men from one department to another, also outside recruiting would take place for the job.

The Falklands war was taking place ,and there seemed to be a sort of buzz around the factory men talking in groups at break times ,it just seemed as if their was a together spirit about the place a nice change. small union flags would appear on walls,all ex service men walking ramrod straight .all wanting to go and stick it in the Argentines, but all to old but willing ,i thought, among all the workers in the whole factory I would bet anything that I was the only person ever who had been to Argentina, but I never let on, I was waiting for anyone to say “yea I was there”,but no one did so i
told no one ,i did not matter any way so had thousands of other men been to Argentina.

The time kept marching on and I was waiting for my stores interview, that never happened, but the strangest thing did ,I was asked by the personal department if I would consider moving over to the engine build department as a material handler, as there is a “ vacancy , going to be created” there was no material handler in the build department ,all the heavy material was lifted by a man from the stores on a fork lift . all the other material was collected from the stores by the individuals working on the engine they were building. it was strange, how do you get something you want in the end, w? I knew a lot of people within the factory , and I was not shy in saying what I would like to do .so as they say ■■■■ happens not always bad.
So after a time I left the Machine shop and started within the engine build department. I had a week in the stores trying to get in touch with all the bolts ,nuts washers, clips,all the ancillary parts that are used in all different parts of the engine build, nearly every engine was build with a different
use once it left the factory.

[peggydeckboy]

After the stores week I had to get to know the sequence of how the engine block got to the build station that was called a “cell”
First it was [the machined engine block] put through a pressure wash, then after it was what was called “ de burred ” that was two men with wire brushes and reels of emery paper, [abrasive paper just like sandpaper ]but just for metal and castings, and they had to get everything on that engine block smooth as silk inside all the crevices and journals, they had long brushes [like baby bottle cleaners] everything they needed to get it perfect ,so it would pass a microscopist inspection,by eagle eyed inspectors that was their job.

They used a big roll over machine , it does what is said, to inspect .it was firmly clamped in the roll over machine.
Once the block as been passed A1 the de burr men then had to fit in the main bearings caps ,they held in the crank shaft the .part that actual made the engine pistons work as the were bolted on to the crank-shaft with massive bolts ,and torqued up with a [special torque wrench] =a very large spanner 4 foot long ,at the end [just like a socket set you would use for home mechanics ] you put adaptable heads that fitted the size of bolt you were tightening up, there was a screw device on the end of the spanner that you could set the amount of poundage, [pressure] you wanted the bolts tightened up to .[it had to be right written down in the build sheet] once that had been achieved the spanner would not move. it made a cracking noise .so you knew the pressure had been reached,and that went for all the nuts on bolts throughout all the engine build.

so the main bearing caps held in the main crank shaft and they would stamp on the bottom of the casting, that was shining bright, a number that followed the block all through its construction the main part of the engineering masterpiece. Then it was now ready for the engine builders [mechanics] to do their work. They would have all relevant paper work and collect the block that was on a stand made to take all the weight when finished, the stand was fitted to a steel flat sheet ,as thick as a kit- kat bar , and it floated just like a air bed - hover craft ,and would be moved wherever need by a air umbilical air hose, very clever, into their cell. inside these cells there were perforated metal sheet sides that would take plastic bins that held all kinds of bolts and nuts screws that they needed to build the engine and to attach all the ancillary parts that made the engine up,in fact the cells were stacked out with boxes of bolts .

The same 6 men ,3 shifts, would stay in the same cell for the one engine .so you would think that they had all the ancillary material they needed ,but they did not ,as they would not stop to look around there cells or the other ones ,so they would then go to the stores and loose time waiting for bolts [whatever] that they already had and not bothered to look for so it was down to me to try to stop the men from going to the stores. my job was to be the unpopular redistribution man to stop the men from wasting time at the stores .

Though it was never put to me that was what the foremen wanted to happen to boost production up
it soon came apparent that was what it was about ,they new how much material was out on the shop floor that the men were to use but the output of the engines did not add up ,with the material issued. This was the very first time I had seen a computer,as I was allowed in the stores,i was given a free reign and I was shown how to add or subtract from the stores computer what I wanted or returned .I now realise that all the computer was only a stores program but then it was a magical piece of equipment.

I will be completely honest the actual trying to remember all the numbers of the bolts, washers, I thought no way in this world will I be able to cope with the new challenge ,also the very bright strip lighting was given me massive headaches ,it was as if why am I doing this, also massive diet, blood pressure,and the normal living .it thought ■■■■ this im off, my normal way of dealing with any thing I thought I need not do[ but I did not realise it than now later I can see it clearly]

I have always said I do not like challenges, like mountaineers ,runners, I have never been competitive I could not give a ■■■■ if I won or lost ,darts,anything, through out my life, however now looking back that is all I used to do myself ,and that in the build shop ,was one big challenge although I never looked at it like one ,i just thought get back to driving ,who needs nuts and bolts ■■■■ the factory.

However no driving jobs were available at that time so I had to get on with it and try to make it work strip lights as well.
It probably took about 3 months of moving all kinds of material around, and knowing how many actual pieces of the smallest to the largest engine needed for the men needed to make up the engine ,i did not know it all by any means ,however I used to be able to look at the work production sheet the men /women used and could see what was needed to a layman, I did have a few bust up with certain men about me taking any type of material out of the cell they were working and redistributing it around as if it was theirs .i used to say it was my job nothing personal , they got it in the end by a strange way. i did make the foremen aware of the situation ,but there is always one.

I had now got the bolt numbers in my head ,i also used the fork lift to get all the fly wheels down from the high racks for the men, I was learning more about the engines all the time however if you have never been trained from the very start of anything ,basic at the bottom you cannot fully pick the technical part up with out proper training,and that goes for anything .
I now had the sequence of the build in my head ,as I had watched it enough,getting to know how to sweat the gears on the end s of the cam-shaft also [there were small high power ovens in the cells to heat the gears up hot to be sweated on the ends ] however getting the right key that went onto the end was the hard bit that I would not be able to do right ].also the engine timing by the gearing inside the front plate.
Their was in actual fact so many small but important things to be done on the engine ,and to be sure that it was right would and could only be done by a trained mechanic .i doubt I would have got it right. So I new i had got about as far as I would be able to go within the build system and I would be a material handler , no problem,but I still kept going to the open door

[peggydeckboy]

The economic climate within the country was not that good and it seemed as if the work was slowing down, I would notice that not so many engines where being pushed for completion ,and used to go in to work for some shifts and have absolutely nothing to do, maybe I had done such a good job and done myself out of work.? I could walk around all shift with a empty box and no one would ask me what are you doing.

It got as on nights there was nothing at all to do ,only find a place within the stores and doss down for a few hours, something was going on and no one was saying yet,but it arrived one shift we were there , a notice was on the board stating that, low demand for engines was hitting the world demand for engines being a American firm they meant world wide, they would have to cut back with staff from all departments ,and it listed how many from where and it was last in first out,so as I was technically from the stores it looked as I was zbked, and as it turned out I was .

However the good news was that they were going to pay a minimum redundancy package going in 3 year stages [1month employment or 3 years you would get the same ] and up it went. I did not need to apply I was out ,but the cash deal was good however you would not get unemployment benefit for [I think it was 6 weeks] so off I went .and now to think about my future again.

Shift work ,i did not mind it at all as you got a premium payment so that made up for the inconvenience so I would look around for factory work within my area for a time. that was like trying to find rocking horse ■■■■. So it was going to be back to the lorry,s or dole.

I phoned for van jobs,lorry jobs anything in the end I got a interview about 10 miles away at a crisps factory in long Buck,by at “Golden wonder crisps” after the interview I was told that I had the job , Monday on days doing delivers to their warehouses [inter factory work] just what I needed]
I thought [not] as it was C licence work, own account meaning that it was a factory that operated their own lorry ,s also manufacturing production of crisps,and other products.

So the lorry,s were just another department and it could be organised and operated by a complete “numb nuts”.Not run as a haulage company, they were only legally allowed to haul there own goods or goods needed in the manufacture of their goods. That meant as a driver you never had a proper transport manager each shift foreman run the transport they needed,I new it was going to be a fiasco ,i had not forgotten any of the rules, it was not long before I found out the men running the transport did not know any .
There were other drivers there they had been there years so I was put on the shunting from one factory to another about 30 miles away. While they did deliver work to wholesalers.

It was not long before I found that the shunter unit I was driving was basically I wrote a defect sheet out and handed it in to the foreman, well he had never seen one as long before,so down came a manager, to sort me out-ish after I had listen to him all I said was oh, if you do not want defects you should have proper legal lorry,s and said ok if I kill you kids it is ok then he then got it and said yes we will sort it out .

mean while drive this other unit. Yes ,no problem, well that was worse, brakes -■■■■■■ , electrics ■■■■■■, no mud guards, it was a disaster and I thought is there something wrong with me or what .off I go again defect sheet ,in the meantime one of the regular drivers arrived back with his lorry I was told to use that ,fair enough. off I go to do my shunting local ,well ■■■■ me the speedometer in this lorry was not working. I should have turned around and gone back but I thought I just do one trip .
If I would have been caught speeding it would have been down to me, and you imagine explaining to the police why you are driving without a speedometer ,do not even think about it,
back I go, and the driver is still there so the conversation went like this

,excuse me “drive”[that is what other drivers call another driver if you do not know them]

i asked him did you know about the defect on your [ motor] =lorry,
what defect
oh I just went to market harbour and I noticed as soon as I was on the road after I put my tachograph in the speedometer is zb
no it was ok with me he said

I said o k show me your tachograph then, your making out as if it was me.
zb OFF WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOUR ONLY A TEMP .
What ,a temp .i was told I was permanent ,so the bells were ringing ,i said ok, get the boss down who can deal with this, so down the chap came and said what is the problem to the other driver,
I said it is me ,not him. and I told him ,that he allowed me to go out of the yard with a speedometer not working without saying, and he will not show me his tachograph, so the chap said why should he, so I said you will see that he has been driving without a speedometer all day.
show the boss then I said The bos said to me I think you better go home and ring later .

I said if you think your going zb me over ,over this ,I am going straight to the ministry of transport, and then you will be zb not me. The head ministry of transport enforcement officer [I know lives in the village I do]we drink together]white lie ,will get to know about how you run defect lorry,s and make the drivers do it with total disregarded for road safety. I still had my old transport [nothing illegal] head on

Towards home , I thought I cannot believe this ,as I had to go through the town ,I better get this sorted for my benefit maybe later on, I drop into the job centre and ask for a interview ,and I get one, and explain what has happened, in case it would affect a dole claim if it had come to that and if they ask what happened as leaving a job would affect your entitlements for the out of work money, also that was me out of the crisps.

I rang up the next day ,no surprise, I was not needed but they would pay me the week, sas they had my p45, I wanted that back I had calmed down and I thought ,do I want a lot of trouble going to the ministry no I do not ,so let them run like that I know I will not .

[peggydeckboy]

Back to the local papers, and telephone book looking at haulage companies ,i did ring S T CHALLIS. However they had nothing at the time but they took my number ,so if they had a days casual and I was available. They had branched out in to the general haulage now and very little cattle transport .

I went around local building site for any casual labour, carrying bricks ,concrete, digging anything what I forgot was I had been mollycoddled within a factory ,my hands were as soft as butter and I had not done any hard work for a couple of years physical y I was not ready for the harsh working environment of building sites ,so I was kidding myself ,also I had no rough old clothes that could be ruined in a day. so I now had talked my self out of it, and I gave up looking. My one asset was I had a car and I would travel to a driving job if possible,and if it was a long way from home for a daily run I would stay the week ,[where ever] if no nights out were with a job.

I drew a circle on a road map , the map was out of a A A road hand book, my village in the centre and I thought about a 40 mile radius . That incorporated a hell of a area and distance , i thought god no that is to far ,it stretched way to far , you would not work as far as that, o I cut it down to 30
and that was a big area,i picked out the towns, noted them down then thought how am I going to find road haulage company’s if I do not know them. [never thought of that] next move ,that evening I went to the pub and waited to see if the ministry man came in for a beer he would know all the company’s around and hope I strike gold.

No, he did not turn up however,another friend came in and we got talking as you do and he worked in Northampton at a British Timken Factory world wide roller bearing manufactures ,and his hobby was model lorry,s [now trucks] he started telling me about the new firm started up in Northampton near where he was working. And he was going on about these brand new trucks ,large boxed type trailers, paint work like he had never seen, I said ■■■■■■■■,no he said it is true they are brand new A reg DAF,S what the zb is a DAF I ,he told me they were from HOLLAND.

They were getting into the English road haulage market with sleeper cabs. He said he would find out more in his next dinner hour and give me the thumbs up with information
True to his word he went wandering over ,got chatting to a fork lift driver ,and pumped him for information, and come back with it he told me that night , that was me I was going to Northampton to see what was going on .

I must just say at this point of time I had what was called a full set, a massive red beard and sideburns. A slightly twisted moustache all red/ginger, all my head hair was auburn/black. I did not think anything of it but I was told later [once seen not forgotten ] the beard.

As I turned into the place where this company was, there was no lorry,s at all no sign of lorry paraphernalia I thought maybe they just delivered and then went else where . It put me off for a minute . I turned away and parked up and waited to see if anything happened at the unit /warehouse, i was not disappointed after a while I heard this lorry turn in to the unit area and there it was a [massive top line sleeper cab]i was told later.

Jesus I had never seen such a lorry before .it was jaw dropping,you could say .it swung [turned] in ,screwed round all the 6 rear axles tyres squealing rubber on concrete, I noticed it had two fuel tanks and they were big ,I mean large double capacity more than I had ever seen,before and the polished cab was unreal , also a massive engine on the front of the trailer belching out exhaust ,the trailer had a very neat paint job a just massive blue lines reading ROKOLD. The whole length of the 40 foot trailer 13.6 meters.

I made my move to go to the office,little did I realise they were all running late ,in a panic ,could they be bothered with job seekers, So there was me ringing the door intercom to try to talk to anyone,i said my name and the reply was “yeh what can I do for you” I said I am looking for a job .the reply was ,go down the job centre we take all packers on from there, I replied, I am a lorry driver.! O hh hang on you want Mr WEBB ,right where his he, he,is round the back of the trailer, And off I go round the trailer rear and inside there are 3 men moving boxes making lots of noise ,and cursing I thought I better just step back a bit and wait, that would be my best move,
,as I did I heard “Hello can I help you!”i turned and said yes please I am looking for Mr WEBB ,yes that is me what is the problem,!no, nothing, I told you might be looking for a driver,are you from the agency no I replied, then give me a hour ok ,I have got to move this lot, he said
ohh right,can I give you a hand I have nothing to do, I said er, no your fine but thanks.

When he had finished I went into the office ,and did the usual full job history, discharge book as well .and hope it was enough.
It turned out in 2 days time they were interviewing men or women for a driving job and they were filled with allocated places. And they did not have enough time for any more, I asked if any jobs going loading lorries or helping out as I needed a job. Well he said that as we ROKOLD only deal with the transport ,all the others are from a agency, so that was that ,but he said give me your phone number , [home number mobiles had not yet come out] and if there is time I will call you to come for a driving test on Friday. at lest a maybe .

Thurs 8 o clock at night Mr WEEB rang me ,be in for 2 pm Friday for a test. i got there early i parked in the garage next door out of sight to see what was going on test wise , I could not see any lorry , so it must be on test and later the same lorry came in the yard, and did a sharp u,turn and made the trailer tyres scream in pain as a lot of rubber would have been taken off the tyre tread, not the way to do it…

My time came I went to see MR WEBB and as i pressed the intercom a little man came out of the office never spoke and went to a car .MR WEBB welcomed me with a handshake [unusual ] then for a interview then told me some one could not make it ,so I had got a place ,he then went in great detail to Explain what the job entailed .I was told they did the haulage for a company that supplied supermarkets there were no big depots then, like now days called HUBS that all supermarkets have now for all their food distribution

All kinds of fruit and vegetables, from all over the world. they are collected from the airports wherever they arrive at
also produce was delivered here at NORTHAMPTON to be pre packed for all the main supermarkets then it was Sainsbury Littlewoods, Tesco, Waitrose, that was who they pre packed for then and the company was called Van-Heijningen .the biggest tomato producers in Europe

Rokold were the haulage contractors and the Van Heijningen were growers and the main suppliers a lot of the drivers who did Rokold work were owner drivers with their own tractor units .Rokold only had 4/5 of their own lorries and two were shared between god knows how many drivers as a lot were casual ,however if I got the job I would be permanent on a 3 months basis , as they were building up the company,there was a lot more about the job than I was told .

Mr WEBB, asked for my licence, excreta then went for a driving test. In this zb great big new lorry 3 steps up in to the cab ,it was impressive, I did ask before we left, as everything been checked ,fuel ,lights, tyres, oil water,and I asked for a tachograph , I think he was a bit surprised, as we were only going around town, but he waived it and said it was ok ,so off I go it had straight 6 gear box with a splitter for each gear so in theory you had 18 gears,however no point in using any except the main H pattern 6 gears, unless heavy loaded …
.also it had a exhaust brake ,consisting of a button on the floor by your right foot to be depressed when needed when in gear to ease the using of your brakes In the normal way ,what it did was put a shut off valve on ,inside the exhaust pipe from the engine slowing the pistons down [exhaust braking]. All new to me i had never heard of it or seen one before as it was getting on for 18 months since i was made redundant and not driven However I knew about them, I went and found out about D A F trucks from a fitter friend I had who knew about most commercial lorry s.

I did not use exhaust ,when I arrived back at the yard I did not screw the trailer round i did like a 3 point turn and backed it in. and that was that, I will let you know he said it was up to his boss and him off I go home and wait.

[peggydeckboy]

It was a Sunday around 2 o clock the phone rang, it was Alan he said you have got the job ,sorry for the delay, Would you be in for 6 0 clock Monday evening ,

This was after having a driving test on the previous Friday in a new 33 daf 40 foot refridged trailer I had never seen a truck and trailer like it before the last truck I drove was a seddon or crusader I have forgotten which with a flat bed 40 foot trailer I am not sure now it is a long time ago 37 years however I was very pleased to just even sit in it let alone drive it.

Also bring your sleeping bag he said ,we also like all the drivers to have their passports with them at all times luckily i had a passport, why do I need a passport [no computers then or else i could have goggled Rokold.] the only knowledge I had of the company was that they delivered mainly tomatoes and fruit to supermarkets I would have to wait until Monday night.

It was a 22 mile drive, back roads to Northampton from my village slower drive than the main road ,but shorter distance ,less petrol the time came, do I take sandwiches also a flask? i have not that much cash ,yes I did and sleeping bag ,pillow ,wash bag. Just in case

At the depot a older D A F A 2800 model, small cab sleeper 2 bunks, all though it had 3 axles the same colour as the other i walked around the back of the trailer Alan is in the back of the trailer pushing up pallets to the front with a driver i assume Alan turns and comes to greet me ready to shake my hand I had only seen him 3 days before he said his greeting then said for me to jump on up into the trailer , not the easiest thing to do but with some scrabbling i manage it, usually they use the fork lift

He then introduced me to Tom who was the driver of the lorry and he would be showing me the ropes, however I could tell that Tom did not want to know however he shook my hand another pallet arrived we then all 3 of us pushed it in to position the trailer was getting full what look like all kinds of vegetables after a time the trailer was loaded, we all jumped down then the last two pallets were pushed on with not a lot of room to spare for the trailer doors to be closed ,Tom shut the doors , went to the front of the trailer and started the engine for the fridge that kept all the produce inside the trailer at the required temperature . [Another new thing for me to learn]

In the office with Alan he took my p45 and then told me about the duties and hours and pay, that it was as position for 3 months that could lead up to permanent however they as a company use mostly owner drivers to do the majority of work ,and that the company only have 4/5 lorries of their own and they are utilised by casual drivers[part time firemen] to cover a lot of their work however i would work sometimes 5 days or even 3 days whatever and the monthly salary would be the same do not worry if you have days not at work. i found out later you make up for it they gave you £50 for expensive s for anything you had to pay for while on Rokold work, also if you had a night out, that would be paid in to your wages tax free.

Alan said if the company got really busy they would hire another tractor unit as they have just got a new job delivering to a super market and will need me. also that they do European work when required and that could be without notice, however I would be shown the procedures by going out with another driver first, it would be with a owner driver, it looked promising for me .

If the truth was known then I should have got out , gone home and forget it, I did not ,and ended up driving about 21 years on the continental until 2002/3 but I did not know it then
It was a new challenge and 100% different from the road haulage that I was used to i would give it a go ,TOM, was all right ,but I do understand now, then I did not, that it was a pain in the arse having a driver with you let alone a new one like me ,at least we both smoked so that was all right.
We leave the yard already running late for a booking to unload at Hemel Hemp-stead
it was a 1,1/2 hours drive the company being delivered to were strict on getting on time for booking time! 10 o clock at night , apparently it is going to be a different world I am embarking on Tom was pushing the older D A F to its limits no 58 mph then on the Motorway

We got to the delivery, watching the procedures it was all new to me the pallets were tight loaded to the back doors, you would not be able to back the articulated lorry down[on a slope] to get backed on to a unloading bay, you had a problem ,a ramp inside would not come down, that allowed the people inside to move in and out of the trailer to unload, you had to pull the lorry off the unloading bay, back to where you started from, then go into the warehouse and ask if they would use the outside fork lift truck to take the back two pallets off, then you would be able to do the original move again, if! you could find the fork lift driver ,he was not obliged to do it he would for a small price He would take the 2 back pallets off and deposit them inside the warehouse via the door you should have been backed on.

First lesson learnt do not leave the base if the pallets are rammed up to the back trailer doors, and make sure there is a restraining strap around them. ,why did we leave like it then ,Tom had got the hump ,and he forgotten

While all this is going on, other lorry’s are coming in the area where we are trying to get unloaded outside, and one is trying toback in on to the bay where we were ,however this chap wanted to go where we wanted to go, he must have thought we had just come off the unloading dock finished.

,Jesus I kept back and letTom deal with it i found out he had a very usefully tongue on him ,and would not back down eventually we get away and head down into London we had got, Samples to Baker street.

Kings Cross Rail Station in Baker Street, LONDON is nearly opposite Sainsbury’s head office the boxes are samples, of all the fruit and vegetables the company has imported trying to sell to Sainsbury, they are for their quality control, to either accept or reject,apparently that is the way they have been doing it for years the only problem is that we were on the wrong side of the road to the offices we had to drive on, find a place to turn around Tom had done it lots of time before so it was ok. He then drove to outside the office doors, you just leave the boxes in the door foyer with a lot of other goods you do not get it signed for, you we have to drive back around again the wrong way you want to go as our next deliver is Spitafields market in the city
.
Once outside the Spitfields market.over the years i had been past the market numerous times,however never been to a market in fact i had not been to any fruit market before,we used to park around the corner on the what is now a brewery was a round about in the 1970s near tower bridge… it was built for horse and carts, a mass of wire cages that people had all there produce in called stands only delivery drivers and the odd fork lift man were around there were only a few fork lift drivers around ,Tom told me when at Spit fields Market ,stay outside, unless you have more than 4 pallets ,as that was the limit the fork truck drivers would take off your lorry outside to go inside for one customer , if once in there you will not get out until all the lorries in front of you are unloaded a working area for hand carts

I was forever gratefully for Toms knowledge that night believe me. you went and found the forklift driver told him who you were delivering to how many pallets and where you were parked give him the £5 if you were on your own how do you know the fork lift driver will take the pallets to the proper customer who will not be there ,the fork lift drivers have the keys to the lock ups you have to trust them.years later at Liverpool marketthat was the last thing you did trust them.

Once done there .we then went to the worlds most smallest zb ing market in LONDON called THE BOROUGH just over London bridge inside there is a working open all hours pub, just in side the market ,and what a place, I followed Toms every move and learned that they use the same wholesaler every time ,and they had their own fork lift driver, and you were not allowed to touch any produce on your lorry at all ,they had what was called Porters .and they organised you ,t after they had seen your delivery notes,

Another load of the laziest ba–ards you ever met ,though you never had to pay them. not on a week day, however as I learnt later ,when you went to deliver on a Sunday night there was not the slightest sign of man or beast to be seen .WITH one fork lift left out in the square [yes all you old market men will remember]. for all the drivers to unload their self’s, pure nightmare it was a one way system very tight trying to get passed other trucks,
it was about 3 am by now or later ,we set off for the next Market New COVENT GARDEN nine elms just passed Vauxhall bridge, tom let me drive i found out later on that he had been up and working since 6 am the Monday it was now TUESDAY into the Market you have to pay a entrance fee to get in [all lorry s] Tom shows me where to go they have a regular customer it is all undercover.

We are parked in the inside of the market, all the stalls are starting to get ready for opening, once our rear doors, are open the fridge is switched off a pallet truck is put upon the trailer, I follow it up and start pulling the pallets back to be taken away ,the pallets have a big paper label on with the name of the customer ,you stop as the name changed ,tom said stay up there there are a few pallets to go back on, I pushed the pallets up to the others then told to come down after the pallet truck has been lifted off. i have no idea what is going on and do I care no.

By this time we have left the market, I am driving and Tom tells me to head for HESTON by Heathrow airport and wake him up when I see the sign post for the market, it is if I am driving on my own at last. He is soon asleep i am driving past Harrods I had never been this way for years i woke tom up ,he jumps up, tom we are at the market.

Once at the gate the guard ask where is my delivery how many pallets, Tom shouts 4 only, to some name, and we go right around the market to about the last [pitch] and park up, tom jumped out [soon recovered]said to me open the trailer doors and a fork lift will be right here.
I pulled all the remaining pallets to the rear of the trailer and the fork truck takes them away, we were empty, it was by now 6 am and the market traders were streaming in ,tom came back checked the back doors and said to me quick as you can drive out of the market and head for home.

Once out of the mad house Tom told me it was a regular thing for whoever delivered to their regular Covent garden customer would load up any pallets they had and deliver to the Heston market for them as they would go to the same trader as we were delivering to.

Tom told me what the market traders do when they receive full pallets of any produce especially from europe,not all he said but the majority .they have a practice called “milking” whatever fruit it is, they have one man in the back of the store and he will take every box on that pallet off, take a few of the produce out of it and put it on to another pallet no one never knows the difference if its strawberries two or three out of every punnet soon mounts up by the end of the night out of ten full pallets they would have made at lest one full pallet for themselfs to sell.

Taking apples out of the cardboard boxes that were used world wide ,they would lift the box upside down so as you have the bottom of the carton facing you,then pull the inside carton out of the outer one ,that the tray you lift out then you get to the apples, they lift the full tray out, then get the cardboard inner and push it back down the inside , it is tight because of the air pressure ,once it is back looking like a box of apples, turn it back and open the top proply and you would never know the apples are there on the top, the bottom layer gone ,that is true having done it myself…

[petecud]

Hi Peggydeckboy,
An interesting recall of your career over the years.
I can appreciate how difficult it can be to put your story in writing, nevertheless, I’ve found it very interesting
Full marks to you for your effort and keep going.
Pete

[dave_docwra]

Great read, Thanks for taking the time to post.

Dave…

[whisperingsmith]

Yep a great read Peggy

Did you acquire your storytelling skills as a Peggy at sea?

I can see you as an Everard’s man

[sandway]

Full of interest many thanks for sharing it with us peggydeckboy.

[peggydeckboy]

NO WHISPERINGSMITH “Blue funnel” deckboy training school Birkenhead i had my 16 birthday there 1960, AFTER BLUE FLU, P.S.N.C ,HOULDER BROTHERS,ESSO, FEDERAL[manns run]. IF i was going to do a book i would have called it “MERCHANT NAVY ON WHEELS” all deep sea .

[peggydeckboy]

The regulations were/are always interpreted in different ways at different company s.
Drivers were/are their worst enemy’ when braking the law. the old adage was if you confronted a driver and ask "why did you do this or that "it was for my own benefit,…the biggest load of tosh ever.but every one to his own i was no better some times
.
It was worse than a minefield. if it suited you as a driver you did it [right or wrong]we used to exploit our self s sometimes for company glory, bragging rites various reasons to be talked about status .and best of all of all never stop moaning about it. and never tell the truth…lying you were skilled at .because a transport office wherever you worked would never every tell you the full story or the truth. it took me years to learn it ,not quite all, but a lot, you learned something new every day however more later I have jumped the gun, as I have only just done my first run.

I had the phone call Wednesday would I be at work for 1 pm .
I put the same gear in my car and got there for 1 pm a daf truck was standing there in the loading bay with its refrigerated unit roaring away I later found out it takes a while for the fridge unit to cool the goods down to the required temperature also they would have been kept in a cold room before being loaded the goods inside should be kept at +3/4 for fruit and veg so I was told

They would have a quality control person checking all the goods at all the delivery places after time I found that if a supermarket warehouse excepting products for redistribution and they had got to much of the product ,hey would reject produce that is why the refrigerated unit on the trailer is running hours before you leave as to get the produce down to the accepted temperature .[very important] then it did not mean so much ,as I was not really aware of the importance ,but I would soon learn…

I went into the office to see Alan ,also there was another man I had seen briefly when i was at the interview he said to me yes can I help you ,i replied i would like to MR Webb please why do you want to see Mr webb he said I told him who I was, just hold on a minute ,he said ,and off he goes.

After a time Alan comes in and said to me look Vic! i am really sorry but I should have employed another" man" not you!and the boss, who you have just seen , is fuming at me because he wanted a younger man, than you well I was 38 a bit later to start the work they were doing

He asked me to go and have a coffee elsewhere give him half a hour and then come back, I went. When i got back it had all been sorted, your job is safe ,in comes the boss another handshake , and welcomed me into the company I could not get used to the handshakes ,we never do it as normal ,it must be a european fad ,
They gave me the keys to the truck, also the delivery notes for the supermarket depot delivery warehouse, after a bit of a run around ,when i think back" i do not think i ever owned a map of ENGLAND ",i got there in the end, never get it right first time or even second.
I queue up, behind other lorry s waiting all with their fridges roaring away I looked at the temperature gauge is hovering on + 4 that was right I hoped ,that is what i was told ,I walked up to the outside security office with my delivery notes, handed them in, I came down to earth with a great bang You are late !you have missed your delivery slot

No one told me it should have been 3 pm all I could do was wait the security chap said they would see when they could get me in ,it maybe 7ish o clock tonight I was surprised how calm i was as years ago if someone had said that they would have had both barrels.

Eventually I got told where to go to get unloaded I switched the fridge off no taking keys in to the office then after time the movement stopped so I assumed I was empty I walked up to their office and they said it was all ok and unloaded and the empties are on the front i pulled off the unloading bay closed the doors back in to the office to collect the signed delivery notes everything was ok, I pulled out of the yard, and made my way back to the depot, on the drive back I was wondering how long has work like this been around, nice and clean no hard work it was better than general haulage just driving however the hours and times are not what I was used to do but I thought if I can do shift work this is a piece of ■■■■

Back at the yard, it was not really a yard it was a very large square surrounded by lock up units i parked up ,all the warehouses were in darkness I went to my car, and drove home on deserted back roads it was a 21 mile trip one way.normal for us yokules .
Work seemed to pick up as it was nearly every night I would be doing a market run or a late supermarket, I got to meet and see the other driver s and the owner drivers all the owner drivers were all clean and smart, the same as their tractor units

Refrigerated companies were driving to most European countries, regular runs to Spain France ITALY and bringing all kinds of fresh and frozen goods back to the u k i had no idea trucks were doing food transport work, if you were not involved you would not know, I did not know of any refrigerated company within the area I lived,

The company seemed to me to have quite a lot of new trailers but not with the name painted on them ,after a time i got to know that they were all hired from a big trailer rent company all this was new to me, some of the tractor units were the same It meant in company terms they did not own all the fleet no concern of mine, this was a completely new idea to me, a lot of the owner drivers were doing the same, hiring trailers and tractor units.

Work seemed to be very busy, a lot of the evening or whole nights work, it got me learning more about markets and the way they worked, I have been in Covent garden unloading and I would see another Rokold trailer ,unloading ,naturally i would go over to see who it was it was never any one i knew, it would be another owner driver.

[peggydeckboy]

I was asked to be in for 5 pm and bring your sleeping bag ,and passport
I parked my car Alan was in the yard ,he was always grinning in a good way, he said to me, when you get back later there will be a owner driver here about 9 pm you are to go with him on a trip to Holland, he will not go without you you have a short run tonight!

It was, the driver peter he seemed fine, he explained it all, where we were going ,it sounded unbelievable at the time ,it was for me ,we did the tacographs i said what about the 4 hours i have done on this disk, he said ohh just put it away, no one will worry about a quick trip you have just done ,you have not been stopped have you ,no! I replied ,he said it will be fine forget it and i did, the first time i had done anything illegal with a tacograph I was thinking how I reacted at the crisp factory for going without a speedometer ,kettle pot black ,I certainly had changed for the better who knows.

After a deliver to Hemel Hempstead we lost about 2 hours then one delivery into Covent garden market, then on top Heston we were empty but the time was ticking on ,we started to make our way down to Dover for shipping out on the Townsend Thorsten Zeebrugge ferry.

It was late, or early ,when we pulled into a lay by and he said its time for asleep the cab had two bunks, normal in most lorry s that did European trips now It seem like after 5 minutes and peter was up and woke me as well he had the small gas cylinder stove with a kettle boiling, on small wooden shaped shelf that fitted on the dash board, i was completely amazed ,unbelievable he said i only have coffee, but two cups that is fine i said bursting for the toilet, looks like a Lennie, but not on the wheels.

He also had a small type of round mesh with a wooden handle and was toasting bread if you can do yourself tea ,coffee and toast ,what more do you want ,you can buy the toaster today called a DEFUSER. after having the snack/breakfast he told me this is how you live in your truck once abroad you look after yourself as much as you like and you use all facilities provided by factory’s borders, service stations wherever you can, also always remember that it is you that is the foreign visitor in another country .and if you respect that this job is good.

I did ask about the tacograph card and he said we are starting fresh from where we are now and he took the two tacograph discs out of the tacograph head and tore them up he said if you do not get a police check through the night, then no one else is checking lorries or so everyone thought
Who knows what you are doing, where he booked off on his previous card I have no idea i did not ask i was a second driver he said he would just use his tacograph card and use mine later if needed to get back to Dover or, wherever, that meant we now had 15 hours to do or 22 hours if he used me as second driver to get back to a port for the ferry back to England.

On arrival at Dover i am all eyes I was going to start writing all that was done [procedure] when with a empty trailer you are shipping out.

SHIPPING OUT
First paper or booklet you needed was a TRAILER GARNET that is the trailers own passport. it is a customs required document for all Country’s in Europe the chassis number is used as well as whatever number the company uses for their own purpose and it cannot be changed, also on the trailers front are two photographs of the trailer in sealed plastic holders however never needed in England all foreign lorries driving in the U.K .needed them i must point out at that time in the 1980 s EUROPEAN lorries also driving over in the U. K. was very limited. Quite a lot of European trailers were shipped over on the ferry to be hauled by UK drivers.

At the ticket office, passports were shown to them two driver’s one lorry, apparently when the ticket was booked,
Two drivers were mentioned however they still wanted conformation. that practice was in still force all the years i crossed the channel from whatever port and country a named passenger or for a second drivers ticket to stop people even then bringing any one to the UK, or out, if there was any problems with the police ,immigration and trying to get in the country the fall back was the Ferry company they were held responsible.
Even back then there were concerns about illegal’s
As we were empty on the dock you let the parking marshal see your tickets and he would put you in the right loading queue ready for the ship.

On the ferry you parked where you were directed to ,the crew or dockworkers proceeded to put their chains on the front of the cab and the rear of the trailer lorry to the deck to stop any movement, we managed to get out of the cab it is very tight to the next truck, walking up steel stairs to the drivers compartments, and restaurant i never ever thought i would set foot on a ship again ever. just being there brought a lot of memories but I did not let on to peter he would not a given a rats arse anyway.

It did not take long to get on with him a all round nice chap around the table eating he never stopped talking. where he had been, what he did, other drivers were all ears later we went to our cabins to sleep for 3 hours ish how bad was that, and getting paid for it, that was the way you had to look at it
.I could not believe that for years some drivers had had jobs like I was now seeing not like i used to do, a lot of the drivers on the ferry were young men. Well good luck to them i was envious of them that is all they new ,i expect it was the luck of the draw where you lived and the company you worked for.
And then duty free,what a bonus. But peter did tell me
be careful how many cigarettes you buy as you are only allowed 200 hundred that is the U K. limit
also you can buy them on the trip home, a call over the ships T ANNOY “all drivers proceed to the lorries.

On the lorry deck there seemed a lot of lorries to the amount of drivers who went up into the passenger area I mentioned it to Pete he said a lot of the men .do not leave their cabs they get in there own bunk and get to sleep quicker, also if there is a snorer in the same cabin you might just as well give up. also you get longer in bed.

[peggydeckboy]

It did after time turn out to be a practice that all shipping companies on all routes stopped drivers doing as a non practice to be used after the 1987 disaster at Zeebrugge ,in fact all drivers had to report with ticket to the stewards office .as the loss of drivers life s trapped in the cabs was very high .however `that was to come later.

We start winding our way out of the ships bowl’s and into the ■■■■■■■ rain in a very orderly queue. , all lorries from different countries i had never seen so many ,Peter telling me who was from where etc.
When we eventually got parked up outside the customs and immigration office ,all in one it was like a football crowd coming out of a match. no order at all I stayed with Pete and no one was saying anything to each other, it was strange
I got my passport stamped .they do not bother now they did then,
First stop Pete said was diesel .it was the second cheapest in the Euro union Luxembourg was the cheapest and it still is to this very day.

He would not let me drive until i had got used to being the different side of the road
after around 10 minutes we were at the first garage, it was packed with nearly all the lorries off the ferry we queued again i can see now why the big rush to get first was to get to the diesel stop first.

After years ,i had got it all sussed out driving down to Dover the more lorries you overtook I hoped they would be behind you whatever queue in the dock you took I would more or less know if they were going for the Zeebrugge or Calais ,as the same companies usually kept to their regular trips to the same countries.
I hoped I would always be in front of them and be at the diesel tank stop in ZEEBRUGGE before them, how ?because you would be in front of them in the queue at Dover and get on the ferry earlier than them, and we were mostly empty going in to Zeebrugge so quick customs at Dover, and better position on the ferry for getting off ,it took me two trips on my own to realise the later you are for the ferry you get on last then you are first off. and first to the diesel…
,
It was the practice of all the different nationality’s while filling up was to have no sense of hurry at all ,they were like mad men to get to the diesel then once there they would put the fill up hose in the tank,[automatic fuel cut off]into the garage shop that had chairs, table, and free coffee and not a care in the world i expect it was something I would have to get used to but I never did .

We were there around a hour mind you Pete was as bad as the others once at the diesel tank, he was then speaking in pidgin English they were all shaking hands,if they knew one person, and if you were near you all got a handshake .that was very new and unusual to me well different,being English how many times in your life do you shake hands, very little it was a new form of greeting i would become very at ease with after time.

All I could hear was lots of then unintelligible to me talk.it was if I had been transported to another world, however after time i found that the Belgians, and the French used a lot of the same words in their greetings language, also handshakes.
The amount of different brands of foreign cigarettes also tobacco and the smells mixed in with coffee and body odder from the drivers unwashed clothes ,lots of different types of biscuits, chocolate sweets in the shop all types of lorry stuff i had never seen before flags and banners from the ceiling i think i enjoyed that very first time in the Total garage after years i got to know the boss ,but was never one to pass a lot of time there, fuel up, in and out.

.One thing did catch my eye was like the small well made wooden very neat table top ,that would fit around the inside of the windscreen like a small writing desk with little small draws ,for all the pens on the passenger side of the cab i thought how good a idea. they were labelled up for all the European makes of lorry cabs.[[little did I know then that I would know more about them] also the man who made them and deliver them to that same garage…

There seemed to be no rush what I learnt years later that a lot of the foreign drivers would wait there for loading instructions also a lot of English drivers adapted the i will stay here for a time
get going when I am ready! no sense of hurry I could then see that Peter was blending in,?

When at last we made a attempt to get moving, the tanks were full of diesel all so the tank under the trailer that runs the fridge engine ,that uses RED diesel even cheaper than England, as that diesel is tax exempt in England for Agriculture use only ,however it was used by hauliers using refrigerated trailers, as no direct profit is made from it…[more on diesel later]

Once clear of Zeebrugge ,you do not drive through the actual town, i was learning all the different signs ,road marking and of course wrong side of the road ,however it did not seem normal, well it was .Pete made a point for me to keep well sat back in my seat as not to block his view from the inside mirror .as that was his now important mirror for all his overtaking if he needed to
.
The direction signs I were seeing were way far beyond the distance from where we going.i thought we were going into Holland i had no idea of where we were Pete had no map he knew the road and did not need one ,we soon turned off the main highway [like our Motorways] it was as flat as a air port runway we headed for Antwerp.i did notice that on top of the road signs there was a large green E number I found out later the E number on the signs are main transit through routes to all countries throughout Europe…

We passed a most famous truck stop with EUROPEAN DRIVERS called Lokern .on the way out of Belgium towards the Dutch border The Border it was just like a pull in lay by with a few brick huts [agents offices] customs passport control, surrounded by fields and ditches full of smelly water.

I followed Pete into a transit type large hall with lots of open type rooms with uniformed female and male .customs. immigration, Police all lounging around, all with a side arm, not very busy, so Pete told me the procedures of entering Holland and what form to fill in, who to go to first then it followed on. He said nearly all borders work on the same principle. Police ,Immigration, Customs.

If you were loaded, and delivering into Holland you had to use a AGENT to process your paper work a few years later on they used a type of T2L customs paper for the Benelux if i remember correct ,maybe not ?
Roklod company used the same AGENT at all Benelux Borders, if needed ,however nearly all customs was done on the customers premises that means that there is a automatic payment account. We were empty it was quick and straight forward keeping well back in my seat as the were cars travelling fast along the road ,so Pete could see.

He told me that we had not far to travel i was rather disappointment i would have like to have gone for miles we did cross one massive bridge over like a lake,/inland sea, the signposts coming up said to Arnhem ,the 2nd world war battle for the bridges it looked as if we were going near there

That kept me busy writing place names down. for future reference, we turned off the duel carriage way on the a narrow country road just wide enough for a truck to pass each other one wrong move and you would be off the road there were hardly any trees no hedges all dykes, or canals Holland is known for bikes also very tall people ,i can see why now,all the cycling everywhere, it was very rural and flat.
We arrived at our collection point all brick block paved with flat sandy earth round the edges of the hard standing, you could see the indentations in the floor, where the lorries have backed on to loading bays overtime it was stable ground.different to a lot of our transport yards at home some are like bloody flanders.

The time was getting on and i was surprised we would be loading at that time ,however we were on the continent and their work time patterns were different to ours as years went by ,factory’s in the U. K did introduce continental work patterns much to the disappointment of the unions.

Pete seemed well known at the cold store ,a store holding all kinds of deep frozen foods at temperatures minus -25 we were and loading vegetables they were ready on pallets,that was unusual pete told me,lots of handball places still around and use conveyor belts to get the boxes or sacks to the front then they draw back asc the product goes on ,well you all new that ,sorry if im sucking eggs. i was told we would not be long here loading peter asked would i like a coffee in the mess room, with some other Dutchmen after another round of handshakes black coffee out of a massive pump flask i had never seen one before also a tin of carnation condensed milk ,nice and creamy also a big jar of sugar on the table the smell of all the tobaccos was ,intoxicating I loved it.

I could see through the widow alot of workers with white coats and head scarf’s good looking warm boots on , you could not tell whether they were male or female they were sorting and packing chips on a conveyor belt it looked cold in there .
That was not the storage freezer just a packing line also a stand on riding,type of pallet /fork lift they were using to load our trailer it was long enough it lifted two full pallets another first,the men were whizzing around with a loaded pallets on the front they were standing on the back with a ,like bicycle handlebar steering it.l ots of factory s just about have a fork lift and all loading is done by hand .[not now, after 1990s ]we got modern.

I went and found Pete back at the coffee area,he told me that we were not allowed in the loading area, in some factories you had to stay in your cab in 2013 you have to hand your keys in to a office ,[so I am told].
We are loaded we are told to pull of the loading bay Peter lets me do it and he closed the doors. W they are closed I drive round to the front of the building i park up Peter shows me how to work the refrigerated unit, all the dials and different functions i thought we have been sat around he could have given me the full tour of the fridge engine,maybe he did not want me to know to much yet?

I get the basic of the fridge control workings in to office and get the papers for the load and a very important paper called a C .M. R they were held by the agent normally given to the driver by the transport office completed of you filled it in yourself or the company you were loading from filled it in especially fresh meat transport that information came to me much later on]

The C.M.R. is the drivers load travel document with the load it has all relevant on in-formation typed or hand written on it, about 30 sections ,and it was never used in England for deliveries ,unless like us delivering to England from Europe, the traileris sealed up by the customs man,[ all the factory s in Holland, Belgium, have a designated customs officer at the factory ] so i was told, also the Benelux Country, s never bothered with the trailer garnet ,we were ready for the off .

Pete got in the drivers side of the cab i wondered if I would get a drive, he said we will get back to the border do the customs ,and then i could drive when we leave the customs it was all finished for the Dutch side ,all was required at the border was a entry stamp into Belgium and we would be on our way back to a ferry which ferry port, I had no idea.

We were clear of the customs area he drove along for a time , then stopped, Pete got out and said your turn to drive just keep a good lookout in you nearside mirror and keep in lane he said when you see the sign for Ostend turn on to that road do not follow the Brussels sign please, he then goes and lies down on the bottom bunk and leaves me to it

I noticed straight away how heavy trailer seemed to be,although the tractor unit was more than able to cope with the weight, I just drove on, however i was thinking how many more hours are we going to be working?
We have had two small breaks one for 7 hours before the ferry ,then on the ferry 4/5 hours we had been working since 5pm on the Monday evening ,it was now 8/9 pm Tuesday evening, and we were not yet finished yet, on duty for 28 hours with a 11 break I thought if this is what they do to get around Europe I will have to give it a try it was certainly different from cattle trucks or dock work, clean work ,cheap ■■■■, just see how it goes…

As we neared the road junction for the turnoff i gave Pete a call, we were on the road to Ostend he started to move around he said just follow the Ost-end sign, and give me a shout when you start to get near the town you will see all the lights in the distance, and you will come to a service station as soon as you get in to the outskirts. it is the only one.

[peggydeckboy]

I pulled in the parking area a few lorries were parked up. Pete slowly got up once, he told me the options we had, of what to do now, I asked what he meant, he said the Zeebrugge would have gone by the time we had got there, not another sailing until the morning, the Ostend ferry goes at ,0230 ish Ostend it is ,he lets me drive I did see the signs to the ferry port clearly signposted through the town, to the port “called Haven” as we arrive at the gate Pete told me what to say ,we park up go into the ticket office, Pete tells the staff that he would like a Plug in on the ferry I have no idea what he was on about ,i would find out later ,we collect our tickets, go to the loading bays and for loading on the ship and wait

When you want the refrigerated unit on the trailer to keep going to keep the temperature correct while you are on the ferry ,you switch off the diesel engine,and switch the system to run on electrics, you then plug into a electrical socket at the bottom of the engine with a electrical cable supplied by the ship into the ships electrical system .

The ships run on a DC system not like our houses that are AC.How it all works i am not sure when the cable [ just like the caravan 3 pin system] is connected you have to be in attendance with the ships electrician, as you! have to make sure that the fan working from the fridge engine is on the right phase, that it is sucking in air to cool and work the fridge and not blowing out i.e. sucking the cold air out from the inside of the trailer and blowing the minus-24 air out

,It was a common occurrence if not checked. all you did was to stand at the front ,of the trailer fridge unit and throw a piece of tissue paper up to the front grill air intake if it sticks to the front all was well it if blew away you had a problem.[i got to know all this later on].that is why you had to wait for the electrician, that took time for them to arrive you could be first on the ferry but the last to go up for food or a bed.waiting for a electrician…

If the fridges were left to run on diesel, diesel fumes would eventually leave the bottom decks and creep up to the others decks also the the noise, fumes if any drivers are sleeping in their cabs another option was to turn the fridge off ,and take a chance that the frozen goods temperature did not drop to much, if you had a long distance to travel after leaving Dover the temperature would soon get to the required one [years later they starting building temperature graphs in to the front of the trailer.

You were unable to open the trailer back doors to check the produce temperature as the customs seal was not undone until at the delivery, or if you had a customs check in Dover ,that was frequent , they would reseal the trailer and mark the C .M. R. as resealed it was not unusual for the customs to be at Cold Stores around the country and to be checking all European imported goods also door seals were in tact.also to check for hidden contraband ,cigarettes, tobacco ,wine or spirits,yes ,smuggling was going on trucks well before the boom once the border controls went down ,even before the beer boom in calais .the beer was in grates and the empty bottles were returned to some brewers ,i can remember going to the brewery i think it was [stella] in belgium to get the take -away.

We eventuality get to a cabin with 4 bunks, after a meal We are no sooner in a bunk then we are being roused by the banging of doors, drivers getting up then in to the drivers room for yet something to eat and coffee ,god ,not more coffee, it is all like a nonstop a real adventure for me ,it is something had no idea at all existed [the work]it was just like being back at sea all the unusual hours ,coffee and food at odd hours. this is a different life it is not a job, it was not what you call a regular, package, and I sort of liked it, out of the ordinary I expect that sort of sums me up I do not like being put in to boxes, if that makes sense.

Drivers are called over the tannoy to proceed to their lorry’s, do not start you engine until told to by the ships crew when the doors are opened,all the foreigners under stood that, [not] the diesel fumes were terrible by the time we got down to the trucks the ferry had not berthed yet and the doors were not opened.

Pete pulled the electrical lead out and switched the fridge back to diesel, but did not start it up .that would wait until we were out side from the ferry, as the fridge used red diesel that gives out so much black smoke when started it is like a chimney on fire.
It think we must have had about 3 hours in bed, it was all a new way of working ,that was sure.

Peter drove off the ferry you then go through numerous checks. Border control ,customs. asking questions what country have you come from ,where did you load, what did you take out, when did you leave England, all relevant i expect ,even back then it was impossible to bring anyone into England with out anyone knowing,as you pulled up in front of the customs people and while you were inside doing the customs, there were customs men looking in your cab or around the truck for any contraband, 200 cigarettes ,and 1 bottle of spirits, 6 bottles of wine that was it your allowance,any anything else you should not have, ■■■■ was a problem.

Once i got more experienced i found out that problems escalate if you are not truthful to customs if you get caught with extra cigarettes and not declared them and do not want to pay the duty, you are subjected ,well the lorry is what they call [impounded] that means your load does not get customs cleared until the whole load or part is taken and inspected on a loading bay by them. it was known to take hours, sometimes,if it was caused by you, the drivers fault for smuggling ■■■■ ,you were in deep ■■■■ with any boss as you would more than likely loose a delivery time and date.
It did not happen to me ,some it did who thought they were clever and greedy,most drivers i knew would not let on if they had extra ■■■■ or spirits,“over time” i knew lots did because you would get pestered where ever you went to deliver,by the fork lift drivers like bloody seagulls,take anything…

Once clear of that we parked up, then you had to go and put you custom papers into a clearing office ,that was run by the clearing agents, however theses were only [runners]working for the agents that were at the other end of the dock, it was them who took your paper work down to them, they would do all the import clearances needed ,it could take 1 to 4 hour or for some half a day or more.

The clearing of paper work for any load is the payment of any duties needed to be paid by the importer for importing most companies use the agents who serve them best, the agents hold a monetary fund to pay the duties ,the money sometimes get used up before the end of each month, and that causes delays for goods to get customs cleared allowing the lorry to go to the delivery.after all the effort you put in to get the load back to a port so as you can meet a delivery time ,was a waste of your time, again i found that out later.

It is now about 8 am with the hour turned back from continental time, your tachograph stays at UK time at all times time for another sleep ,we had had about 3 hours rest the agents runners knocks your door if your load is cleared so you can get your pass to exit the dock you have to go and get some stamps on your paper work from the dock board to let you out the gate, no stamps =no exit.[[stamps=franks like the post office use] not postage stamps…

Peter was doing some routine lorry checks before going out of the dock on to the roads ,oil, tyres, lights ,flashers ,making sure the fridge has diesel, and nothing hanging off, he told me if you go out of the main gate at Dover on the A2 towards LONDON there are always Ministry of Transport checks along that road, if your Tacographs are suspect[I am sure ours were ] you can or could go out to Folkestone and take a chance, there are not as many lay-bys to be pulled over along that road ,all though Folkestone was a busy cross channel port as well.

We were ready to leave and left Dover behind, the time in my body clock was utterly upside down but it was getting near 12 noon and we were going back via Northampton ,as someone else was going to deliver for Pete while he went home

It was about 5/6pm in the afternoon when we arrived back at the depot, i met another driver ,he did not look old enough to drive ,obviously he was ,I collected my gear said my goodbys and make tracks for home I have just had. about 48 hours on duty.

Life and work went on not a lot of fruit market runs for me it seemed to be supermarket delivers in different in lorries it was working all right however i did seem to be getting the Sunday run on a regular basis that however i was getting into the rhythm of not thinking what day it was ,a Sunday could be the same as a Wednesday , the pay was the same, no extra for weekends and i excepted that as now normal, the same as the others that were not owner drivers but like me

There were stories going around by about different drivers by other drivers what they had done or not in different countries where they collected or delivered goods all stories One Sunday at Northampton there was a left hand drive D A F English number plates i had never seen anything like it, the driver was about my age well dressed as if on holiday he had brought a full load of veg from Spain.[little did I know then] we got chatting after the handshakes he was the longest serving driver and a employee like me, the lorry was Rokolds it was a high line space cab perfect inside, i did sit in it it felt funny left hand drive ,he did say that he was the only driver of that unit but sometimes when needed it was used by others just to do short jobs[GOD FORBID] I thought it must take years to get used to that.[left hand drive] deja-vu.

My load was ready I leave to do the delivering ,it was a supermarket run it went as normal, no problems I drove back to the yard later I parked up and went home.
Around 11 am, i get up and go downstairs to answer the phone, i knew who it would be ,and I was right it was Alan, could I be at Northampton by 2 o clock, with my gear without hesitation i said yes ,I had realised if I show willing ,things would be good for me and I might progress on to the Continental work eventually .
.
When I arrived Peter was there it seemed as if he was waiting for me but there was no lorry there ,none anywhere, only a old white Volvo car.
The script[story] was we were both going in the car[the company drivers runabout] to a place called Lamberhurst in Sussex ,where Peters truck was being loaded and it needed 2 drivers as it was a urgent load, we set off to go down the M1 Motorway we are going up the small hill outside NORTHAMPTON the car starts chugging ,spluttering, very much as if it is running out of petrol, we have left the yard next door to a petrol station, there should be a petrol can in the back, Peter said, !yes there was ,it is empty. we are now stuck, pushed for time, out of petrol,

Peter walks to motorway emergency phone box, to ask for a call to be relayed to the office for Alan at the yard ask him to bring us some petrol.
While we are waiting Pete then told me the story of this VOLVO drivers runabout company car

When drivers are due a proper legal break [rest]or want 2 days off for any reason and they are loading a Export load and it is their own lorry, or a company lorry ,a spare driver such as what I am will go wherever the lorry is ,take over the truck ,and the original driver goes off home in the car then the system is reversed when the truck is loaded and the driver goes back to his loaded truck in the car ,and then the question of petrol arises.

Company men like me who use the car, put the petrol on their expense sheet , and get reimbursed the money ,however owner drivers that use it like Peter ,have to stand the cost themselves as the bonus for them is that they are getting there lorry loaded the company Peter should have filled the car up but did not the who will pay for the petrol Peter was given some money to fill the car up on the company he had forgotten.
Petrol was brought out to us by a driver after a phone call from the emergency box on the side of the motorway to the office enough to get us to the service area.

[peggydeckboy]

We got to our destination a abattoir in a village on the main road to the south coast if you were to blink you would have missed the entrance i was pleased i was taken there and not had to look for it You drove in to the yard in-between two houses enough room for a lorry.a few houses built close around it, seemed a strange place for a abattoir to be

Once there it was a very large establishment two trailers parked up close on the loading bay and the fridge units were roaring away, Peter was met by another of Roklolds drivers i had not met ,he been loading the trailer ,well ,not actually fiscally, but in charge of the movement when required he told us that that it was not finished loading yet, they had to wait until the temperature of the lamb carcasses had reached to +2/3 in the chill rooms inside the abattoir, and then the vets would release them for loading ,could be a while he said.

The Script was for the driver to take the car and go home ,or he might have to drive somewhere else to relive another driver who needed to go home? It was now about 6 o-clock in the evening, the driver had left Pete put his gear in to the cab and he brewed a cup of tea up as he said the small canteen would be closed here.

I would get to know this abattoir very well in the future Peter then asked me if I would like to walk around the abattoir, i declined and he sort of said ,what is it do you not like Animals that are about to be slaughtered are you squeamish. i laughed ,and proceeded to tell him about my butcher boy work when not at school working down the local abattoir, and all my cattle truck days, that sorted that, he never said any more about it.

The plan was we were going the port of Ramsgate to Dunkirk we had deliverers in Belgian and then one in Koln Germany we had to have the tacographs right as we could get a check at the German boarder at [Aachen] and if they were not correct we would be in trouble.
We did not put tachographs in until we were ready to leave, for the reason it would give us 22 hours to get the job done [we hope]and not lose time .
He did tell me this job we were doing was very hard, pushing for time and it was the first time that they let a novice like me double man driving Peter did tell me both bosses asked him how I had been on the other trip he told the truth and said I was keen to learn .

It must have been around 8 pm when we pulled of the loading bay, got vet sealed up and made our way ,i was told it was best if i got most of the England driving done as once in Europe it would be on some back roads that could be tricky, my first taste of driving 20 tons of hanging meat, he told me i would get the feel of it once I got going and the sensation of being pushed when slowing down and the corners was tricky a long way off the old cattle truck days if you want shunting about they were the lorries to drive nearly as bad a tankers pushing ,so i was told however i never drove liquid tankers…

If you look at a map of Sussex ,you will see Lamberhurst and country roads over to Ramsgate via the narrowest villages you could find the most narrowest place ever I was a bit tongue in cheek for a start, it was a test really to see if I could handle it. one village called sissinghurst had the worst double bends ever.

It was getting on for midnight when we pulled into the dock and the Ferry line was called SALLY LINE we did the export checks that was new to me, I was all eyes watching the different procedures. once on the ferry peter never bothered with a plug in he said no sooner have you had your food it would be docking.
The food was really good steaks ,sausage, veg chips,[trouble was over the years the menu never changed ] also “sweets”[puddings ] all hours of the night and day, we really tucked in as i had not eaten much all day they also let you take bread and make sausage sandwiches for later ,there were not a lot of trucks on board some were very regulars on this run .

The reason we used this route was that you did not need a French Permit to use this route as it was called a FREE ZONE a very short coast journey from France to Belgian the place was called Hadenkirk.
Once off the ferry, limited controls,in and out of the BELGIAN CUSTOMS and away we went,pete was driving we were heading for Brussels eventually but going to a place called Kortrijk our first delivery, the roads were very quite, and once off the duel track we were now into very narrow country roads that were bordered by like water dykes ,each side no margin for error. it was pitch black except ,for the truck lights.

We seemed to be skirting a town and sort of looking for a entrance in to a housing estate,as i could see the outline of house plus the odd street light,then we were in like a small village, he pulled up outside a butchers shop , a large person standing outside with a white apron on he looked as if was covered in blood the fridge unit blaring away, just what you wanted in a housing estate, Pete jumped out of the drivers seat, shut the fridge off , but kept the truck running as we needed lights for inside the trailer .

I was Puzzled as what was going on, once the butcher had broken the seal on the back door, and opened it he kept the seal , he had some whits coats with him ,i knew then what the coats were for, we had to get up and pass the meat ,first time for everything, i could not believe what we were doing ,i kept quiet ,and followed what Pete was doing.i had never seen so many lambs in my life, they were 3 high from the hook to the floor, as they were attached to strings hanging down.

We knew when we had to stop passing the meat down as the abattoir had tied a string, around the next delivery you new when to stop ,well Pete knew , and i did now [learning].The unloading finished, we went into his house well it was a small abattoir we washed our hands they were covered in grease ,and given some horrible Luke warm Belgian coffee ,i have never liked black coffee ,is it in our English nature to drink coffee black no!!

All ready to go, after driving out of the village area we picked up a signpost for Brussels, it was starting to get light , I said i could eat something to Pete and he assured me when we get to the next place it is a proper meat factory we would eat then also maybe get 2 hours sleep, just what I needed.

What I can say about the Europe roads they are well signposted ,as you approach BRUSSELS it tells you the way to go for GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG, and all kinds of different new names of places i had never heard of 3 lane roads and they are not like our motorways people are changing lanes ,overtaking and undertaking it is normal.

After we went around a roundabout about as big as a football pitch, we were heading out back to the duel road, this delivery was on a slope,talk about awkward,it sometimes makes you wonder ,who comes up with ideas ,lets build a factory where no one can get in without difficulty.
once Peter had backed up to the factory doors for the meat to be unloaded, you opened the trailer doors once you were backed on to the unloading bay the opening was so wide the doors opened inside the factory , ground had such a slope on it there was no way you would stay in a bunk, let alone sleep.

I realised later that Pete knew that we would not get a sleep but try to doze off in the seats. he never said ,we went to a hot dog type shop that sold takeaway sandwiches /hot dog type called a frickadella we sat uncomfortable in our seats with feet on the dashboard /windscreen eating I am hoping doze off a, but the rocking of the unloading movement in the trailer plus the workers noise I gave up.

Once unloaded the c.m.r. signed ,they shut the back doors peter let me pull off of the loading bay Peter never got out to check anything i put the fridge back on he said to me ,you drive, he gave me directions and instructions then promptly lay on his bunk i am glad he did as it gave me the sense of being by myself it did not bother me I was still full of it ,me driving in Europe, unbelievable.

We were headed for a place called Liege the last town /city on the way to the German boarder it was our last Delivery in Belgium, he told me to go to the 3 rd turn off [city centre] in Flemish, he said you will go down this massive hill, be careful, other traffic will try to push you faster than you want to go, but keep slow ,that is what I did, when I got there the hill was massive ,the odd truck went past and blew its horn in disgust at my speed, the weight of the meat that was left on, how much I have no idea but I could feel it was pushing us down the hill without much effort from the engine.

Before going over the motorway /canal bridge i was to a turn off half way down the hill follow the city signs ,we were running alongside a river or canal, i gave Pete call I did not want to get to a junction and have to make a decision which way to go he rolled out of the bottom bunk, looked and said carry on ,he seemed not to happy, perhaps he was tired because I was getting to the stage of thinking zb this for a job.

After time we arrived at a industrial area the unloading place just like a warehouse, peter told me the way to go all theses meat factories looked the same i pulled up in to the marked parking bays and waited for peter to get sorted, he said he needed a coffee, we both walked in to the reception area ,peter gave the papers to the girls and she said in broken English the coffee is through there, peter already new, he had got that old glint in his eyes a bit of a ladies man .

Once the coffee was done a man in a white coat came out to peter and greeted him with a hand shake also one for me and said to back on to a loading bay for unloading ,I opened the trailer doors ,and we seemed to have gained more meat than we had before Pete walked round to the back and started the handshake routine some men looking out of the unloading bay ,they all seemed to know him he said to me go and have a lay down we might be here a while .i did not need telling twice.

It felt as if I had been asleep about 5 minutes I was woken up by the engine starting, Peter said we have now go to the Belgian customs to get sealed up for going into Germany, all new procedures for me learn, I did ask about the extra meat we had on from Brussels to Liege and was told it was a regular thing ,that was in -fact illegal for a English truck to do internal delivers within any country but your own country, that also applies to any foreign truck in any foreign country. [No internal work done at all ].but people knew no one is going to check. it was all the same company we were delivering to ,peter said to me how did you know you never seen the inside of the trailer at the last place i said i could feel the weight when going down the few hills.

Not doing internal work in other countries is supposed to protected your own home haulage market ,who wants a foreigner doing our work. The Belgians did not give two monkeys The practice of doing that internal haulage is called [CABOTAGE] that was in the customs era now , since borders are open anything goes in 2014. trucks can go anywhere and load anything.
The Belgian customs post/compound was on the same estate we did not have to wait long at all peter went in to the office they came out and sealed the trailer up,I have no idea what paper work was needed we left for the border

As we approach the turn off for trucks at the border ,after going up this massive hill, we had to go off into a parking area that was full of foreigners trucks ,Peter then went on to explain what was to happen next, a GERMAN PERMIT that was to be stamped, we had to make a fuel declaration 200 litres only allowed in the country then passports, then go to a agent to clear the customs forms T2 forms from Dover i had never in my life seen anything like it

Pete took me to a hut and had a coffee and bratwurst sausage and mustard in a crispy roll,lots of different cigarette smoke ,and language After about 1 hour Pete said lets go and see if we are cleared from the customs, if you have fresh meat of any kind you are told to leave the parking area with all the paper work given back to to you by the Agent ,and leave by a back road and proceed to the German veterinary for them to inspect the meat, and get clearance to leave for your delivery

God knows what was happening with the tacographs. Who was driving etc Pete was switching the mode switch around all the time he was obviously on top of it we were following a sign that said [schlachthof] that was abattoir, we were far away from the motorway in the town of old Aachen, Aachen was one of the first towns to be conquered by the British army in 1944/5.

Once cleared by the veterinary who thoroughly check the meat I was told we were to back on to a unloading bay so they could walk into the trailer ,i stopped in the cab ,Pete waited by the loading bay [ or dock] eventually we were cleared to go ,to Koln,to the meat market called the Grober market.

I was driving Pete knew the way I had no idea where we were going however it was all going in my head what I could see to remember for maybe future reference, I had completely given up on the time, and how much rest we have
Peter told me we will come up and cross 2 rivers then we follow the signs for the zoo, and that takes us to the market for unloading.

After time we arrived at the Grober market it was like a very large square surrounded by a platform type of buildings like a railway platform they all had their names above the units Peter told me which one to back up to, he opened the trailer doors, switched the fridge off and i backed up on his instruction on to their ramp/unloading bay ,and that was it, i thought what a day.

,Peter was inside having a coffee with someone and I could feel the movement of men walking in the trailer unloading, a feeling of tiredness seemed to come over me ready for some proper sleep.
Next thing I know we are moving again, i must have dropped off like a stone ,I asked Peter where are we what are we doing ,when do we sleep, all in one go the answer was we will just get out of Germany ,then park at the next service station ,we are loading in Holland in the morning.

[peggydeckboy]

However we have to wash the trailer out before we can do anything else but we will sort that out after a sleep .the inside of the trailer is covered in blood and snot and grease from the meat rubbing along the trailer walls we arrive again at the customs at Aachen and we still have to go to all the small offices for a stamp on our pieces of paper and the diesel paper called a lufzettle it is not as easy and as quick as that to transit but easier than being loaded[spelling not correct]

We now make for the first service station in holland near Maastricht and sleep, it did not take long ,once there in that top bunk like a rat up drain ,I let Pete worry about the waking up time.
It seemed like a very short time before i was being woken up and i could hear the kettle making a noise on the small gas prim-us stove Pete ,said welcome back to the living we cannot be long as we have to wash the trailer out and be loading today

I had no idea at all what Pete had done about the Tacographs I was not bothered a far as anyone would know we had not been in to Germany, in fact if we do not get stopped in Holland or Belgian we have not been anywhere as far as the Macrographs are concerned, he obviously knows how to fiddle them to his and the companies advantage they must know I hope he will show me what to do
.
The service stations in Holland supply more services than just fuel,[naughty] you can get the use of a high power jet wash to wash the inside of a trailer out so all traces of meat are gone and ready for another load, payment by us was by a credit card called a D.K.V. card ,it is renown all through Europe within the transport industry you can get anything with it I mean anything ,even in red light districts the card is taken ,like a transport only Visa it was the first time i had seen or heard of it, you get issued it only to be used when necessary by the company.

,Peter went into the payment office and came out with some tokens to put into the wash machine and he said we have 10 minutes of hot water and power the hose was the longest i had seen ,my god these foreigners do not need any lessons in doing the job correct.

Next thing Peter comes around from the cab side lockers with Wellingtons a pair of water proof leggings and a long raincoat/souwester jacket i was amazed, how much more am I going to learn, it seems as if you have to be very self-sufficient.

His water proofs were just what was needed and he did a complete through wash of the inside of the fridge it was perfect in side ,no trace of meat at all and as the lambs had been hung on string and not directly on the meat hooks they were clean. He dropped the air bags on the trailer so the water ran out of the trailer all the time
Once done he quickly went over his tractor unit with the hose before the time went out, and we were done, en-route to where I did not know.

We went in to the coffee shop and had a machine coffee, not bad ,a cup of tea for me would have been better, Pete asked to use the phone ,and that was a yes they passed him the phone from the office, another !i cannot believe it they let him use their phone, never in England would that ever happen, everything i have seen up to yet has opened my eyes.

Peter comes back with loading instructions ,we are to go towards the place we loaded at before, and load near there today Peter told me that going back into Holland to load once unloaded in KOLN is normal you always ring from here to get final instructions

I have no idea how far it is we do not have a map but Pete knows the way he lets me drive he dozes off, but he tells me which way to head for and just keep following the signposts until we get there or you have to have a break after 4 ½ hours [ that was joke]

.

We got to the outskirts of the town where we will be loading from and signpost directions to the factory gate ,the factory had a massive turning area for the trucks for backing down to a ramp onto a loading bay, I parked up, peter went in to the office came out and told me to back on to a bay as loading would start straight away, a pallet load of frozen chips we would not be long and the front pallets were smalls so they would fit under the meat hooks and the rear ones would make up the extra.

In no time we were loaded, custom sealed at the factory, customs paper from their own customs from the office paper work in order, next stop a ferry time has flown from when i got up at 11 am Tuesday morning it was now Thursday with no proper rest and now off again to a ferry, Peter thinks we will miss the late Zeebrugge to Ostend again

God knows what he is doing with the tachographs but i am sure he knows the fridge was set at -25 and roaring away ,however Pete said they were good at where we have just loaded and their product is always down to the correct temperature.

Out from the village we were on to the road that will take us to the boarder for Belgium customs we parked up at the border i asked Peter if I could go and produce the paper work and get the feel of it ,and yes it was fine i went into the large foyer and could see only one office open with a sign doune above the open door, I knocked walked in was met by a grunt, that passed as hello [I think] passed the paper work over to the uniform/gun holstered ,no idea what was said a couple of stamps later on the paper work, i was outside, they walked out to check the door seal ,he walked away another spoken word ,i was back into the cab, and peter told me that it was very rare to have any problems with the Dutch or Belgium’s authority.

I tried routine I was pleased with that i carried on driving to Ostend, I drove all the way up to the dock gate, and booked us in to the ferry terminal, apparently we were not booked for a ferry now but a later one, but we would get on this one as Roklod was a good customer so the women told me just go and park .
The ferry crossing was the same routine as before off the ferry at Dover the routine was the same as last week it sort of seemed all right to be working all these strange hours as everyone else was doing the same all though not many English drivers were on the ferry.

Once cleared by the customs, the agents runners brought the papers to us we had to get the dock clearance paper from the harbour board we are ready to leave Dover ,Peter said we had to go to FrigoScania at Kings Lynn a cold store that stored and processed and distributed all frozen products from all Europe and was used by super markets for storage also they work 24 hours shifts there unloading and loading throughout the day and night.

I was now getting a good idea of what this job in tailed, the load was the priority ,driver second, and you had to be prepared to do as the office told you or you would not last, i can see the importance of the owner drivers within a company ,however they want their own drivers to be exactly the same.

I have two choices Stay or leave the job it seemed just for me i liked the running around different countries and the unsocial sleeping times, the general way you were left to get on with the job and be left alone .

I know the hour pay ratio was not that good however we were on a salary, so hopefully yes maybe in the middle of the week, you would get more time at home, it would be worth a try if I get offered a job on European.

We made good time i drove ,Peter said it would keep him clear to ship out again if I used my Tachograph not double manned if we were stopped by the police or ministry of transport ,the plan was i had just arrived by car into Dover to take this lorry to unload and drop the driver [PETE]off at his house and I was to carry on and get it unloaded and back to base

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We arrived at the cold store no problems on the way peter told me to drive on to a weigh bridge and the gross weight is recorded it is at the gate house so you have no option you have to weigh in when you finish you have to go back on to the bridge to get your tare weight ,then the load weight is taken from the gross and then you have the weight of the load, as you could have the right number of boxes but not the correct weight.

We were told we had a booking that night so park up and wait. Pete looked a bit sheepish we could have gone to Northampton i am sure he knew when the delivery was, but he is in charge of the truck if I was not with him he would have done exactly the same I said ,good have another sleep, there were lots of other trucks parked up the noise of the fridges roaring away was tremendous, but no one seemed to care at all ,and I was getting used to the noise as well.

While waiting the a unloader came and took the seal of the back doors and climbed in as far as he could go and collected 1 box of goods, he could go and check that the correct temperature had been kept and the product was the right temperature.

Before we fell asleep we got some door knocking from workers asking if we had any duty free to sell, cigarettes ,or spirits wine anything cheap ,Pete told me more about the selling of any goods at most of the cold stores you would go to .he said, what you do is let the fork lift drivers have first choice of anything you may have, they will ask you if you are going back to Europe it was a regular run for Rokold trucks.sometimes you will go back empty from Kings Lynn to Dover to load the next day in Belgium or Holland then straight back to Kings Lynn they would put a order in if [1] you have the cash to buy goods, and [2] do you want to bring in more than your allowance [3] if you are caught by a customs officer anywhere and you are selling duty free goods you are in deep it was up to you.

As it was, i was not interested as I had no control of what i did ,also Pete would not commit himself, as he did not know what he would be doing next ,if he did he would not tell me, as I expect he will be glad to get rid of me,and I do not blame him I would not fancy having a second driver with me however if the bosses say you will ,you will it is their truck.

After getting unloaded, and the trailer swept out and weighed [by me ] we made our way back to the depot . One thing Pete impressed on me was to make sure that when you collect your c.m.r note up from the office when the unloading is finished make sure they do not write any remarks on the paper work as that c m r is a legal

After my European trip, work seemed to by very quiet not that many night runs and no market runs at all just the supermarket work and loads seemed a lot less than before, however I just enjoyed the time off as i knew when the time come it would be longer hours than normal!.

[sandway]

I’m sure there are a fair number of us here that can relate to peggydeckboy’s working practices. It wasn’t always pretty but boy o boy I’m happy to repeat that old well known cliche “been there, done that”.

Hope there’s more to come.