Kenb:
ronhawk:
Coming from the port ,towards Damman ,there is a train line crossing the dual carriageway with barriers, on occasion a train would Cross creating absolute chaos, with the barriers down the traffic would pile up on both sides of this duel carriageway and i mean pile up even going onto the soft sand ether side, even over the broken middle section making a solid cross section of trucks cars camels bikes you name it it was there ?the road was now 60ft across solid and backed up it was brilliant I loved this, and always wanted it to happen again it was nearly as good as you no what ? Every body was on the horn including me it was bloody fantastic Then and Then you guest it !!! The barriers ? went up now facing each other it was like looking in the mirror bloody marvellous nobody could move some would try the train line honest . It really was brilliant !!!
There was a block of flats on the left, Brand new but have been empty since built ,for years because there was only “One” lift in there and there must be two one for ether ■■■ our villa was over that way just passed heart break Hotel .we parked up by the Football Stadium a little further up on the right ,and walked back in the midday sunshine , Ron
Ron
Brilliant - remember those flats - they build the same in Jeddah just across the road from the old Airport - new entrance - they wanted Bedouin to come and live in them - I think they also build some in Riyhad!?
I loved traffic light where you would pull up on the line at red and someone would come in front of you then another to the point you had 3/4 cars in front sticking out into the middle of the junction - they could not see the lights - so you pipped your horn and they would just take off into the crossing traffic - brilliant - you had to laugh or you would have committed Harry Cary - plat them at there own game!! Was my motto
Cheers
Ken
The Bedou were never going to live in those flats - I don’t know about the lift problem, but we were told that the occupiers of the tarpaper shacks near the end of the port road had been given the flats, but still wouldn’t move in.
At the Dammam port lights, where the causeway ended at the dual carriageway, you would always get an Arab in the outside lane alongside you. Before the lights changed to green, if you revved the engine they would almost always set off - they couldn’t bear you to get away first, then realise the lights were still red, brake hard, and gesticulate and shout at you for ‘making’ them set off.
You could wait a long time at that railway crossing!
Was the Heartbreak Hotel you refer to Geoff Fulford and Joe Finney’s villa? I never went there, but Ginger McNeil christened it that. We were still living in an old oilfield type portakabin, set on massive skids, so it could be dragged about the desert, in Caravan’s yard at the time. Can’t remember where we liberated it from, but it was better than the cabs!
Ginger said that their accomodation was even more basic that ours, just a couple of chairs, a table and a couple of beds. Can’t remember who they worked for, but Joe, from Preston, was nephew to the famous Tom Finney, and good company. They would come into Caravan’s yard looking for work, but Joe’s needs were pretty specific - Jubail or Abqaiq were what he was looking for, Maybe Ras Tanurah. These were all places that you could get there and back to in a couple of hours. One a day was his aim.
if Peter Best, the TM, offered him a Jeddah, or even a Riyadh, he would pull a long face. ‘Gently away’ was his favourite expression!
Geoff was more amenable to actually working and he later worked with my brother Andy on overland for FFI driving a Transcon.
Joe had an unerring nose for locating whisky, so Ginger would say of an evening, ‘just off down the Heartbreak to see if Joe’s got any in.’
I don’t think whoever owned those trucks would have made any money. Jerry Cooke may remember better than me - Ginger would also head off to the Trans Arabia villa in search of alcohol.
John.
Very nice catalog on smiths A-J my motor Had Lucas King of the road head lights Ron