Norman Ingram:
Yes Chris you are right the food was good, and the beds were clean and warm, but you could get it windy there.
Aye,it used to blow straight up the Forth Norman,at Forth ten 
Norman Ingram:
when you have spent over 40 plus years on the road, you had a nose for the good cafeās, but by-passes & motorways killed off many a good cafe.
But they shouldnāt have. By and large they didnāt in France and it isnāt just that the food is better here (it is, but Iām biased 
) because the food served at the old traditional transport caffs in Britain was good according to the tastes of their customers, which is what mattered.
So why have they gone? I reckon it has something to do with the respect by the younger generation of drivers in France for the older ones compared to their peers in Britain. Here, the younger drivers listen and learn where the good stops are and pull off the autoroutes keeping the good restos going. Perhaps the younger generation in Britain treat the old 'uns as old fogies and not worth listening to. If so, their loss. 
It canāt be rush rush because French hauliers want the job done yesterday too. There again they expect to take a full hour or two for dinner and expect their drivers to do so too. Maybe thatās it. You canāt ā ā ā ā ā ā a 4 or 5 course meal in 45 minutes.
If any proof were needed of my theory come to France and compare the numbers of British wagons in lay bys or Service areas to those in Routiers. I know it isnāt fair now as youāre hard pressed to see any Brits over here but before I retired the evidence was marked. Plenty of Dutch and Belgians with the French, but no Brits. 
.
Hi Jim,Wyatt Bros. from Diss near Thetford running as Frigid Freight.Did Italy regular with AEC MK3 ātin frontsā and MK5s.I remember them running in the 60s with 8-leggers and drags and the stories about them are legendary.There are forumites who can tell you more about them than me. 
Thatās another photo I never tire of looking at .
Hereās a couple more.
.
Spardo:
Norman Ingram:
when you have spent over 40 plus years on the road, you had a nose for the good cafeās, but by-passes & motorways killed off many a good cafe.But they shouldnāt have. By and large they didnāt in France and it isnāt just that the food is better here (it is, but Iām biased
So why have they gone? I reckon it has something to do with the respect by the younger generation of drivers in France for the older ones compared to their peers in Britain. Here, the younger drivers listen and learn where the good stops are and pull off the autoroutes keeping the good restos going. Perhaps the younger generation in Britain treat the old 'uns as old fogies and not worth listening to. If so, their loss.
It canāt be rush rush because French hauliers want the job done yesterday too. There again they expect to take a full hour or two for dinner and expect their drivers to do so too. Maybe thatās it. You canāt ā ā ā ā ā ā a 4 or 5 course meal in 45 minutes.
If any proof were needed of my theory come to France and compare the numbers of British wagons in lay bys or Service areas to those in Routiers. I know it isnāt fair now as youāre hard pressed to see any Brits over here but before I retired the evidence was marked. Plenty of Dutch and Belgians with the French, but no Brits.
I canāt fault any of that David, and as a young whippersnapper myself learned from the older and more experienced drivers. I can certainly agree that the French wanted their kilo de viande from us, but if I was anywhere away from the port I was found in a resto or Centre Routier wherever I went. Even our own young French drivers were beginning to get a bit cab happy and I would drag them off to eat, in return they did the correct translation and the polite pleasantries for me.
Several times I have been asked by my planner why I didnāt get to a customer on time and my reply or rather question was always the same, ādid you have a nice meal when you went to lunch for two hours?ā 
Strav, some excelent pictures, they do bring memories back, some of those lads on those photoās look very young, were they old enough to have hgvās, I remember a lorry from Ireland pulled up between longtown and M6 by the police, the driver was only 14 years old. Back to cafeās I never got to 72 by eating too many frys, but I loved a good breakfast, I used to make sure I had a dinner of wholesome food.
Chris Webb:
Hi Jim,Wyatt Bros. from Diss near Thetford running as Frigid Freight.Did Italy regular with AEC MK3 ātin frontsā and MK5s.I remember them running in the 60s with 8-leggers and drags and the stories about them are legendary.There are forumites who can tell you more about them than me.
Thatās another photo I never tire of looking at
Just a quicky for the young ones. We might of driven lorrys which seemed a bit basic but you could keep rolling. Look at the traffic in this photo.
you could do Buxton to Bellshill and back in the 70s with a Gardener 180 easley because their was no hold ups.
John
hiya,
Norm could compete with our local dustcart when it comes to guzzling rubbish i could sure pack it away when a young fellah, but it did feel good at thhe time a full English breakfast was always on the menu, go on loads of cholestoral you know it makes sense or so i thought at te time.
thanks harry long retired.
3300John:
[Just a quicky for the young ones. We might of driven lorrys which seemed a bit basic but you could keep rolling. Look at the traffic in this photo.
you could do Buxton to Bellshill and back in the 70s with a Gardener 180 easley because their was no hold ups.
John
And no speed limiters either John 
there will be an article in T&D early int he new year re FRIDGED FREIGHT , a no bull down to earth like it was article. Maybe this will answer a few questions
Pressed the submit button too quick!
The chap l-r at third left is Jimmie Mcdonald originally from the Aberdeen area now sadly deceased RIP. Next to him is John Garnham who was the last transport manager the other two i dont know but maybe someone else on the forum does , i know there are a lot of ālurkersā out there maybe they an shed some light on it?
Bill;
Chris I know you think Iām not trying a leg with that Cafe name, I am. Weāll get it after to-day. You watch .
But first hereās a little piece of road history.
When you head north of Perth for Aberdeen nowadays you aim for Dundee on the present A90 (Old A85) then eventually swing left for Forfar (Old A929). With me so far?
Wasnāt always the case. They changed the road numbers. In our early jaunts we headed north on the A94 passing through places such as New Scone, Coupar Angus ( Who loaded chickens there? ) then through Meigle ( Who remembers DT Campbells blue Leylands? ) and as you approached Forfar you could call in at the āLoopway Cafeā as featured in Charlies fish run film. Inside, stuck to the glass display case you would find a poem (ode) to the Aberdeen drivers and, of all things a few lines to the local delicacy āBridie & Breeā which you all know is āPastie & Gravyā only better What is it about the Scots immortalising grub? From there go around town then at one time pre '73 '74 ( by-passed ), you had to go through Brechin and when you did you found a little, well used Cafe on the left which everybody assures me was simply known as the āBrechin Cafeā. Iām not convinced. Continuing on we then come to a(nother) āMilk Barā that evolved into the present day āStrathcathro Cafe & Servicesā which in itself was helped by the demise of the trad Cafe.
To help us picture all of this Iāve doctored a map and on it Iāve put orange dots at the Cafes and a big blue dot at Coupar Angus.Two things I almost forgot. Who remembers the old trad Cafe on the river front in Perth, Not the post '73 Transportel up near the prison.
Finally finally, mushroomman to the left of Forfar youāll see Kirriemuir where they once had a Ballā¦ ā¦jim
<Image removed at OPās request>
<Image removed at OPās request>
Forfar āLoopwayā defunct and demolished.
<Image removed at OPās request>
āMay you go far and eat wellā Strathcathro Services
Anybody know the name of the old Cafe at Brechin yet?
Jim you sentimental old softy, I bet you used to have your Haggis & chips , when in your neck of the woods, I was pulled up by the police for doing over 40 mph on the A74, the police said do not fight it, the sherriff had a son killed by a lorry driver, so I went to Lanark to see a solicitor, and told him when I left glasgow, and when I got pulled up, and the miles I had done, and pointed out I was not in a hurry, and they had got it wrong, he said yes, but they will not admit it, put it down to experience and pay up, so I said I am not worried about the money, it is the points, he said leave it with me, and I will have a word with the sheriff, I got my licence back clean, and a thirty pound fine.
Norman personally I donāt go in for haggis in a big way, occasionally but thatās about it. Anyway the Americans usually haul it all away
But since you bring up the subject of regional dishes and your mention of healthy eating Ivāe got to admit one of the fun things for me to do as a young driver visiting almost every part of the country over the the piece, as you did when multi dropping in general haulage taking 5 or 6 days in the process, was to try the local offerings and in the variety of ways that all the Cafes and digs would post. Regarding the healthy bit well it wouldnāt have been easy for any of us a time ago down to the fact that the chippy was often your only option. My big problem was with time to kill I almost never missed an opportunity to pop into Cafes for a cuppa and sandwich and if the tea was finished before the sandwich well another cuppa done no harm, then if there was too much tea left perhaps a little scone. So you can believe me when I say I went from 10 stone to almost 14 in 3 years and took another 30 to shift the bugger In attempts to get healthy I would stock up on fruit the idea being if I ate banannas, apples and pears etc it would help curb the appetite when in reality it opened it up and I headed to the chippy Different in this age of enlightenment with healthy options being shoved under your nose.
The first time ever I tried ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā Sausage, served with beans, was one Sunday afternoon at Stainemore Cafe on the A66 on the way down. I could hardly believe my eyes when it was put down in front of me. I thought to myself, who the hellās going to eat all that? I had a real struggle trying to polish off the two thickly buttered slices, and had to have another pint pot of tea, and perhaps a little scone. I was so stuffed I think it was Tuesday before I could face another main meal. By the time Wednesday comes around Iām now in our London depot and nipping out with the lads to one of the many corner Cafes that was to found and, as you do without staring, clocked some diners with pie, mash and an interesting looking green sauce. Iāll have some of that! Once again when itās put down to me it now doesnāt appear to be the thin mushy peas that I first imagined. āItās what?ā I asked one of my mates. What do you mean eels and parsley?" Twenty minutes later as we were about to head one of the lads said to me that I hadnāt touched my meal. āItās okā I said, I had something on Sunday"
So there you have it Norman perhaps I wasnāt as adventurous as I first imagined. What about you and the rest of the lads. What culinary delights have you all experienced?..jim
hiya,
Jim when oāer the Border and especially the Glasgow area i got very partial to a half and a half does that come within culinary delights, must admit it was usually followed by haggis and chips which i was was known to be partial to.
thanks harry long retired.
stravaiger:
By the time Wednesday comes around Iām now in our London depot and nipping out with the lads to one of the many corner Cafes that was to found and, as you do without staring, clocked some diners with pie, mash and an interesting looking green sauce. Iāll have some of that! Once again when itās put down to me it now doesnāt appear to be the thin mushy peas that I first imagined. āItās what?ā I asked one of my mates. What do you mean eels and parsley?" Twenty minutes later as we were about to head one of the lads said to me that I hadnāt touched my meal. āItās okā I said, I had something on Sunday"
So there you have it Norman perhaps I wasnāt as adventurous as I first imagined. What about you and the rest of the lads. What culinary delights have you all experienced?..jim
De ye want liquor wi yit? Well of course I said yes, yuk 
And faggots and peas in the Black Countryā¦yeuk .
stravaiger:
Chris I know you think Iām not trying a leg with that Cafe name, I am. Weāll get it after to-day. You watch
But first hereās a little piece of road history.When you head north of Perth for Aberdeen nowadays you aim for Dundee on the present A90 (Old A85) then eventually swing left for Forfar (Old A929). With me so far?
Wasnāt always the case. They changed the road numbers. In our early jaunts we headed north on the A94 passing through places such as New Scone, Coupar Angus ( Who loaded chickens there? ) then through Meigle ( Who remembers DT Campbells blue Leylands? ) and as you approached Forfar you could call in at the āLoopway Cafeā as featured in Charlies fish run film. Inside, stuck to the glass display case you would find a poem (ode) to the Aberdeen drivers and, of all things a few lines to the local delicacy āBridie & Breeā which you all know is āPastie & Gravyā only better
To help us picture all of this Iāve doctored a map and on it Iāve put orange dots at the Cafes and a big blue dot at Coupar Angus.Two things I almost forgot. Who remembers the old trad Cafe on the river front in Perth, Not the post '73 Transportel up near the prison.
Finally finally, mushroomman to the left of Forfar youāll see Kirriemuir where they once had a Ballā¦Anybody know the name of the old Cafe at Brechin yet?
I enjoyed reading that one, it was a bit later after the Loopway I believe but I had got myself a cracking little job. I used to run up Sunday to Forfar to tip at Bonars, then for the rest of the week run between Gartcosh and Bonars. I was in the āHotelā in Forfar every night and made some good friends, one of them was security at the factory and he would bring me a cup of tea in the morning, I drank āheavilyā with another bloke who I heard was sadly killed, he worked at the agricultural engineering place next door and I bought a pair of red Massey Ferguson overalls from him, they sadly donāt fit any longer, if they ever did
It became a bit of a routine and 2 nights a week I was joined by a driver from James Hemphill out of Polmadie who ran between Grangemouth and Bonars. His name was āJockā obviously, and we got well ā ā ā ā ā ā and organised ourselves so we could tip back to back in the morning.
Good old memories!
Hi Jim, I never had a ball in Kerrimuir but two of the people who I saw in a pub near Leith Docks one night may have had a couple of them under their frocks. I canāt even remember seeing any jams around Scone or if I picked up a trailer from United Biscuits in Dundee or was it Goodyear Tyres 
. I remember that the biscuits trailer was for London Docks ( was there a King Georges Dock in London in the seventies ? ). Where ever I picked the trailer up from I seem to remember seeing a lot of green Harry Lawson from Broughty Ferry trailers in there.
Another question that has got me thinking because of your comments about local fare is where was the I.C.I. laboratories that was on the Cornish South Coast ?. The first time that I went there I bought a Cornish Pastie from the local bakers and it was huge, I sat in the cab and poured a cup of tea out of the flask. It tasted that good that as soon as I had finished it I nipped back into the shop and bought a cheese pastie.
The next time that I went down there I didnāt mess about, I just bought two large Cornish pasties and two cheese ones, I thought it would save a bit of time.
So come on, who can remember the name of the I.C.I. laboratories which was next to an old quarry on the South Cornish coast .
O.B.T.W. how does a couple of bottles of Newcastle Brown bought in Houghton-Le- Springs sound as a dessert .