Not a Simon employee, but very involved when Jeff hooked up with Caravan Trading in Dammam. It’s a long read, but some interesting posts, and as SV says, some wild times. I’ve asked before, but does anyone know if Black John is still knocking about?
Further back on here, I think someone said they had met Jeff (within the last couple of years) at a filling station, and he was still running a skip company, but I remember things from the Seventies better than things I read six months ago!
Good to see you post SV. Noli Illegitimi Carborundum!
John West:
Not a Simon employee, but very involved when Jeff hooked up with Caravan Trading in Dammam. It’s a long read, but some interesting posts, and as SV says, some wild times. I’ve asked before, but does anyone know if Black John is still knocking about?
Further back on here, I think someone said they had met Jeff (within the last couple of years) at a filling station, and he was still running a skip company, but I remember things from the Seventies better than things I read six months ago!
Good to see you post SV. Noli Illegitimi Carborundum!
John.
Not a hope of any bugger grinding me down, i will leave that to the grim reaper,
Jeff’s last sighting was many moons ago in that petrol station, and no doubt his car was way overloaded,
If he is still with us he must be knocking on toward 80 by now,
Bet he has a dodgy ticket for upstairs already printed,
I hope Black John is still around, one of the nicest blokes i ever met,
Sometimes i now regret being a ‘Loner’ in my ME days, would have been good to chat with the guys i did run with,
Hard to think those days were 45+ years ago, seems like yesterday
Just read your extraordinary tale skipvitesse and the accompanying photos are excellent. Most drivers are never put in that position but you were and you won through. Thats what life is about. Outstanding account of what can be achieved. Well done.
sandway:
Just read your extraordinary tale skipvitesse and the accompanying photos are excellent. Most drivers are never put in that position but you were and you won through. Thats what life is about. Outstanding account of what can be achieved. Well done.
Oh to be 25 again, and 40+ years ago,
No way could you do that kind of trip nowdays, I honestly thought of myself as a ‘Paid Tourist’, free to wander in strange places, No SatNavs, No Phones, Live on your wits or else,Not once was i ever scared i just assumed i would get through, going back was out of the question, learnt my lesson the hard way running up to Iron Curtain Russia, only way is foreward,
I never once thought of myself as a ‘Middle East Trucker’, many, many more guys did 10 times what i did, but i always seemed to get problem trips, and others just sailed through on standard route,
But glad i did the oddball routes,
You only live once they say,
Big thumbs up to all old drivers still with us,
Was a different life, i only scratched the surface
JPC 132K an LHD Scania I bought in 1977 at the grand age of 23. Really can relate to the stories I’ve read and have amazing stories to tell as a 64 year old ex trucker. Would love to have had more photos of my truck in those days but only have 2. We never had a mobile phone/ sat nav 'cos we didn’t need them- we had the CMR’s and a map and our wits and just got on with it.
We were lucky to be there at that place and time. I sometimes have dreams about being back there and even thoughts about what we did can bring me out in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. It was a dangerous game - but in a way we did feel it was a game, as Skipvitesse says, we were paid tourists.
Even in Britain at that time it was different. A couple of years ago, I took a transit van load of LEDs from a local manufacturer to London. A chum of mine, who has the Harrow APC depot said he had a pallet for Northampton, so I took it. On delivery, the trouble started at the gate. ‘Why aren’t you wearing a hi vis jacket’… they lent me one. I pulled up near a loading bay with the shutter up. There was no one around, so I climbed up and went wandering around the warehouse. When I found someone, she was apoplectic. ‘How did you get in? You must leave immediately!’ FFS. I was given a number and told to wait to be called. Eventually I got rid of the pallet. It was like visiting a prison.
In the Seventies you backed onto the bay and at Burtons biscuits if you helped unload they gave you a big bag of biscuits. Same at crisp factories. And anywhere you went you could wander about the factory at will, following the process… Wilkie and Paul in Edinburgh manufactured tins for biscuits- nobody asked what you were doing, or treated you as a potential terrorist!
I have the permission of Simon Denton to post some photo’s taken by his father Harry Denton who in the 70’s and 80’s drove for Simon International, Grangewood, Bosman Transport and Invicta Transport. Sadly Harry passed away in 88. There are only a few photos but a couple of them show other drivers and places. Can anyone recognise any of them.
A few more photos from the 70’s courtesy of Simon Denton. As I said in the last post Simons father Harry Denton took these photos but no further information was forthcoming. So if anyone has any ideas of names places etc please let us know.
Thanks to Terrance Keating for this interesting piece of memorabilia. Dated 1974 he already had many years of M/E experience behind him, so many he was already thinking of giving it up.
Anyone on here know where these ex simons drivers are now Johnnie wise he later went on to SGH in wapping with peter hendderson an peter (barracuda) john then went onto a firm in loughton that had a yellow scania 111 and anF88/9 he lived in launsten cornwall.
boyzee:
Anyone on here know where these ex simons drivers are now Johnnie wise he later went on to SGH in wapping with peter hendderson an peter (barracuda) john then went onto a firm in loughton that had a yellow scania 111 and anF88/9 he lived in launsten cornwall.
I worked for Simon International from '78 till '82 based in Stoke when Litcor International was backed by JL.
I don’t recall the names you mention,but if one went to the firm in Loughton,that would be Expo Freight who I also worked for straight after I left Simon Int.
Some names I knew when I was on Simons,Geoff Otway,Nick the Greek,Jeff Ruggins,Terry Cagein,Johnny Hunt,(Black John).
Your right it was Expo frieght they had a G88 volvo and scanias i dont know how long John wise work there for,I lost touch with him when he left sgh.One of the other drivers on simons was Lee Chase he came from simons to sgh must have been around 1981/2?
I knew Lee very well,we did a complete trip together out and back,he was driving an old MAN.We were parked up on a lay by one night just south of Maribor when some old geezer ■■■■■■ out of his mind was trying to thumb a lift and walked straight in front of a Greek road train.What a mess!.
We picked up a couple of birds on the way home.He got the ■■■■■■,I got the nun!Progress really slowed up then as he had to keep pulling into lay by’s and drawing his curtains around.
Smashing lad,wonder what he’s doing now?
That sounds like Lee,he used to drive a 110 left ■■■■■■ on sgh it was one of sca,s old trucks reg JPC 132K he had a load of furs (cat skins) all over the bed he was a right one for the ladies.I think he lived in north london edmonton i would love to meet up with him again we had some great times.He was always going on about pig ally in istanbull.
