Spardo,
That’s the place, total eccentric behind the bar, good host though. So it’s the green oak eh That’s another mystery cleared up Back to the thread, there was another place the other side of Auxerre on the RN6 called the Rallye Route, that was a decent muppet free stop also, in fact most of them were until you got to Chalon & then the riff raff came off the Autoroute looking for food & wine.
TIR, Ainacs, Charlie one et all,
Did you lot used to go in the routiers with the big parking on both sides at the top of Bessy? There were always a lot of STS, Rawlings etc in there for the night, I’m presuming that was where you’d get in a legal day from Cherbourg, Le Havre etc. being an 01’er I used to be able to make it as far as Le Mistral or if I’d had a good run the place by the railway line at Pont D’Ain, if I’d had a really good run, well that’s a whole new story
Blimey Newmercman you are bringing back memories for me.I worked for both STS and S S Rawlings. And eaten in the routiers on the top of Bessey.If only I could remember the name.O1er eh.Met some cracking guys in me time. Thanks for the memory
Well Charlie, some of us 01’ers weren’t so bad When were you on with Rawlings I used to clear Vicenza a fair bit from mid 80s until they finished so I had a few nights on the town with the Rawlings lads, in fact it was one of you lot who introduced a young newmercman to Sambuca one night in Montebello I’ve never been the same since
Hi newmercman.I worked for Rawlings from 72 til 74.Good crowd of lads apart from one or two.Did you ever meet Braindead.Well named Sambuca eh.What about prunia. Tasted like Vimto.Kick like a bloody horse. Great days Were you around in that time I suppose you were still at school
Charlie, I was still in short trousers in 74, by the time I started going over we had them new fangled pneumatic tyres
I don’t know about Prunia but I have probably tried most alcoholic beverages, most of em kick like a mule, some of the home brews in the little mountain villages could strip paint at 50yds
This is the first post I have seen on TruckNet that mentions 01 er’s. I have avoided the rather derogatory term as it might be classed as racist or summat like the Blacks named after a river.
Some good restos mentioned, some still open and reachable. I rely on David to keep me informed and do his Igon Roaming reviews.
Just a mention of some super brewed alcohol when we shifted the Millenium wheel pods.
JJ72 will know of the hospitality shown by pilot Danny’s mum. Well we were at his house for lunch and were given homemade plum brandy. It was like rocket fuel. Everybody looked in amazement as I reached across and swigged half a bottle of Evian water. The Evian water was actually Peach Schnapps and was more disgusting then the Brandy
I know its a bit off thread but I was going down the Blanc one night about 70/71 on the way to Milan. I was with Arthur Bessant an older o/d from Bournemouth. We pulled into the Shell Station for deisel and he said “This will do tonight nipper we’ll do the rest in the morning. Lets go in the bar for a drink,we’ll start on the top shelf and work our way down 'till we find something that we both like”. I can remember as far as the 3rd shelf then it all went blank !
I’m suprised meself mate, I never thought that 01’er was an insult, it was great being one because while the rest of you had a days work to do when you left dover, we were home in an hour, ding dong
Spardo:
Can’t help here either. Firstly I wasn’t in the Territory in the 70s, but the 60s, and secondly I used the Stuart Highway only twice - to get to Katherine on the bus from Darwin, and later car sharing from there down to Melbourne. All my work for Buntine was west to Wyndham (WA). Only one stop on that 400 mile road, but you could wake him up in the middle of the night for diesel, rum and a steak sandwich.
Hi David, would that of been Kununurra in W.A. where you were able to get your diesel ? What were you doing in Wyndham, delivering cows or sheep?. Hundreds of thousands of sheep are exported from there every year to the Middle East. When you were there it must have been a one horse town. I was up there about four years ago and I am afraid the horse must of died. I don’t think much would of changed since you were there apart from the road is now tarred and you can get diesel in Wyndham.
There is a programme sometimes shown on Discovery Channel called Kimberly Cops, I think that you might find it quite interesting.
As regards to Katherine, its got the only set of traffic lights from Alice Springs to Darwin, a distance of 1500 kilometres on two lane tarred road. Katherine Gorge has certainly put the place on the tourist map and as I think you know, is quite spectacular. Please keep us all informed about how the book is coming along.
No, not Kununnurra, Timber Creek Store, which was just that - a shop (we
stocked up on baked beans and sausages), a post office, a bar and a diesel
pump. We arrived when the place was in darkness knocked him up and he
did a roaring trade.
You’re right about Kununurra, it was Sunday when we got there and the pub
was shut, or at least outside of licensing hours , not something we
were used to in the Territory but he did sell us a roast chook apiece.
We loaded cattle on a large station short of Wyndham, never saw any sheep
when I was in the Top End.
The book has been published and I have just received the advance (and only)
copy. It looks ok but I’ll have to read it right through before making sure and
ordering a stack. In these days of electronic publishing the time of spending
years trying to find someone to take a chance on an unknown author are gone
as is the conning of the old style self-publishing companies who would
demand huge money up front before doing any work.
hiya,
looked at all nine pages all listings nobody mentioned ma green’s latterley it was normans, when it closed i chucked distance work,it was on the a1 at brotherton thanks harry long retired
Ok I haven’t read al the posts on here yet, but how about the Ceders A45 Coventry just passed the cop shop, Bob’s of cause A45 again and going back to the 60’s French’s Cafe on the old London road Coventry opposite the BRS depot before they moved to Rowley Road.
Deesider: Anyone remember the Checkley Cafe at Tean, between Stoke and Uttoxeter on the old A50 ?
There was a Co.op creamery about a mile away in the Stoke direction.
The chef, in his thirties at the time, had left his previous job, (at one of the posh hotels in Park Lane, London) to work there “to serve real food to real people.” (I’ll never forget that bit - it made me kind of proud to be a lorrydriver when I overheard him say that to another customer sitting at the next table.)
Needless to say, the food and presentation were superb. I often ordered a Sunday Roast with all the trimmings and his home made jam suet pudding and custard afterwards.
The proprietor (I can’t remember his name) and his son kept a couple of restored 8 wheelers in the sheds at the back of the parking area.
They had about 15 beds upstairs for overnight stays, - this would be the early seventies, so sleeper cabs were only just beginning to appear - there was room for about 20 wagons in the parking area.[/quote
This was a really great transport cafe.A typical experience there was,if you could get in, a T-bone steak with all the trimmings,cooked to the highest standard I have ever seen.Then relax in the bar room next to the cafe,with a couple or three Newcastle Brown Ales. They would regularly have strippers on and they were mostly quite rude and invite you to rub baby oil on them,it was a bit vulgar for my tastes but hey ho.I think they called it Checkley Setting Down Station or something like that.
dieseldog6:
Ok I haven’t read al the posts on here yet, but how about the Ceders A45 Coventry just passed the cop shop, Bob’s of cause A45 again and going back to the 60’s French’s Cafe on the old London road Coventry opposite the BRS depot before they moved to Rowley Road.
pursy:
Not a cafe ,but at at Metal Box Neath’s canteen you had to pay 50p deposit for your knives and forks.
Stopped at a snack bar in a laybye near Wisbeche about 28 years ago, got a burger and tea and sat back in my cab,it was a nice summer day and a rep in front was asleep across his seats with his feet out of the door with about 10 rats running round them!
Used to do a lot of southeast from worcester and the Windrush was always a nice sort of halfway stop for us, there wasn’t much else before the Smoke back then
When Standard Triumph closed in Liverpool,I was on for BRS and had to run all the stuff down to Swindon I stayed at Windrush once and thought it was a good cafe This night was when Man Utd were playing behind closed doors at Plymouth A couple of drivers and myself settled down to watch the match,when at 10’o’clock the old ‘biddy’ said she was closing and we were turned out to these grotty caravans at the back Last time I stayed there,.I started using an old army camp at Strattan St Margaret,I think that is what is was called. It was a bit like Butlins and school It was run by Asians and very good. You all had your meal in a canteen around big tables The food was OK and it was clean.
That’s another mystery cleared up 
Back to the thread, there was another place the other side of Auxerre on the RN6 called the Rallye Route, that was a decent muppet free stop also, in fact most of them were until you got to Chalon & then the riff raff came off the Autoroute looking for food & wine.
I’ve never been the same since 
Were you around in that time 
I have avoided the rather derogatory term as it might be classed as racist or summat like the Blacks named after a river. 
Anyone remember the Checkley Cafe at Tean, between Stoke and Uttoxeter on the old A50 ?