I can only put on what I was told , IE !! Bill Smith striping down tilt sorry if this was wrong Ron
WondERFul input Ron, it is a pleasure to read your crisp and pure posts over here!
With this quantity of posts, pages, pictures and more important so many memories
a nice volume on TA-history is written!
ronhawk:
I can only put on what I was told , IE !! Bill Smith striping down tilt sorry if this was wrong Ron
Hey Ron. Do not worry - it’s a long time ago and before you were not there and fortunately I was involved from inception and before any drivers plus Bill went - I went in the August before the whole thing kick off and decided because of the state if the place I was not going but sitting front of MJ I change my mind as I knew I would kid myself if I did’nt do it.
I must say I smiled at BS wearing his bobble hat in 35/40c certainly in the first 6 months and it was winter we found it very hot.
I had totally forgotten about The football - the Saudis were crazy on it
Hope to meet up sometime soon
Ken
During my time (1977/8)the soccer world cup was on. I can remember it well the Saudis’ loved it going into the Port one morning I was greeted with "What happened to Scotlands magic "… I did,nt know as I don,t follow fitba !!!
Mah salaam
Jonnie Ryder this lad was strong in character as well in the arm as you can see ,these loads where bad enough on just one 40ft let alone 2 ,this mesh was difficult to carry ,and can slide like a pack of cards ,relying on just the chains ,was taking a chance How ever I don’t think any one of our lads lost it ?thanks to our drivers , Certainly worth the photo that looks impressive, I remember JR. Coming back off leave his wife drove him to Heath Row in there brand new black MINI ? When she got back to the park ,the car had been stolen !!! Bloody bad luck , J R was an OK guy always with a smile Ron
ronhawk:
Jonnie Ryder this lad was strong in character as well in the arm as you can see ,these loads where bad enough on just one 40ft let alone 2 ,this mesh was difficult to carry ,and can slide like a pack of cards ,relying on just the chains ,was taking a chance How ever I don’t think any one of our lads lost it ?thanks to our drivers , Certainly worth the photo that looks impressive, I remember JR. Coming back off leave his wife drove him to Heath Row in there brand new black MINI ? When she got back to the park ,the car had been stolen !!! Bloody bad luck , J R was an OK guy always with a smile Ron
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I used to hate carrying that reinforcement mesh. You had to strap it down ‘murder tight’ to make it stay on the deck - and then re-tension it every so often en route. I remember hauling this stuff out of the old Chatham docks very early one morning in the early '80s with a Merc 1626 artic, and as I passed through an industrial area the load began to lean. I got the lorry onto a construction site and bribed the Irish driver of a massive fork-lift truck to right my load for the price of a cooked breakfast. Nasty stuff! Robert
robert1952:
ronhawk:
Jonnie Ryder this lad was strong in character as well in the arm as you can see ,these loads where bad enough on just one 40ft let alone 2 ,this mesh was difficult to carry ,and can slide like a pack of cards ,relying on just the chains ,was taking a chance How ever I don’t think any one of our lads lost it ?thanks to our drivers , Certainly worth the photo that looks impressive, I remember JR. Coming back off leave his wife drove him to Heath Row in there brand new black MINI ? When she got back to the park ,the car had been stolen !!! Bloody bad luck , J R was an OK guy always with a smile Ron
[/quote;]
I used to hate carrying that reinforcement mesh. You had to strap it down ‘murder tight’ to make it stay on the deck - and then re-tension it every so often en route. I remember hauling this stuff out of the old Chatham docks very early one morning in the early '80s with a Merc 1626 artic, and as I passed through an industrial area the load began to lean. I got the lorry onto a construction site and bribed the Irish driver of a massive fork-lift truck to right my load for the price of a cooked breakfast. Nasty stuff! Robert
You are both correct horrible stuff to carry - as I remember the T/a lads started to drive timber through the square to stop it moving - I think there was a previous picture of them doing that.
Who wad the pollock who took the work on■■? No comment
To be fare it was the ship to factory work that I wanted because it was a real money earner and in fact there was little distribution for us out of the factory ad most customers collected there own.
Johnny Ryder as I remember was from Northampton and previously worked for Knights of Old?
Ken
To brighten up the thread a bit!!! this lad will love the next few words , This shot is of Jimmy Wells, the medallion Man of T/A he was addicted to the sound of a camera , hearing my Nikon shutter speed clicking , he turned round ■■? Then we heard a bang !!! He only blowed out the NSF 1200 x20 on a gutter drain , this photo cost a few riyals , My fault !!! he knows this is true and the photo earlier proves it with Gogy & Taffy changing the wheel , he was always dressed as if he was going to start a tennis tournament white sports socks with red and blue rings white trainers immaculate shorts and top !instead he was driving a truck but his truck was always clean and well cared for ,as long as the air con was working, If ever he went into the house of Mirrors at Blackpool he could have an heart attack !!! I liked JW, Ron
Should have been in bed hours ago - but - went to collect the daughter from Lancaster station, correctly guessing that her 17 minutes delayed train from Birmingham would miss the Barrow connection - by 4 minutes, but, no they don’t hold it!
Watched the cricket highlights, after avoiding all media for several hours. Good position!
Currently watching a recording of totp from 1980. One of the songs was Kelly Marie - Feels like I’m in love.
The connection is the background ‘boom boom’.
This was the call of the container carriers on Dammam Port. It must have been the same in Jeddah!
As soon as I heard that ‘boom boom’, I could hear her singing.
The reverse was true tonight - I was back in time ducking below the dashboard to take a swig of water in Ramadan!
John
John your. thoughts on Ramadan took me strait back to the level crossing in Damman I was in traffic late morning pulling up waiting for train to clear ? I had 1/2 eaten a mars bar then I was aware of This Arab looking at me I pretended not to be disrespectful !!! But this was "melting fast not to be mistaken with !!! "Muslim fast " !!! and the chocolate was all round my face just like a little kid i tried to lick it off , he really stared at me as if he wanted some ? Smiling I put this sticky mess on bonnet tray and looked strait ahead , the train eventually went by, and I parked up at the football stadium Wirlinjmerlin will remember !! Good job I did not have Wellzys shirt on? He wood have gone ape sh-t Ron
ronhawk:
John your. thoughts on Ramadan took me strait back to the level crossing in Damman I was in traffic late morning pulling up waiting for train to clear ? I had 1/2 eaten a mars bar then I was aware of This Arab looking at me I pretended not to be disrespectful !!! But this was "melting fast not to be mistaken with !!! "Muslim fast " !!! and the chocolate was all round my face just like a little kid i tried to lick it off , he really stared at me as if he wanted some ? Smiling I put this sticky mess on bonnet tray and looked strait ahead , the train eventually went by, and I parked up at the football stadium Wirlinjmerlin will remember !! Good job I did not have Wellzys shirt on? He wood have gone ape sh-t Ron
Ramadan
I had an interesting experience - I had gone to the air cargo section at Jeddah old airport to collect a consignment of parts that had been air freighted - as I parked the Blazer and got out the car next to me had an Arab in down on the floor having a feast and was just drinking out of a bottle - his face was a picture - really did not know what to do - so I just smiled and walked on - I guess there were loads behind the scene not sticking to the rules - but hey it was party time on the streets every evening
Ken Broster
I was in Jeddah at t/a 1979 with ron and john taffy brunt eric parry the guy in photo was jimmy cant rember his last name also gogi jack the hat john from Northampton mr perfect copey slimey big mac then the philos came ken broster boss Charlie fusel his sidekick and not forgetting mr cope regards alan newton :
alantruck:
I was in Jeddah at t/a 1979 with ron and john taffy brunt eric parry the guy in photo was jimmy cant rember his last name also gogi jack the hat john from Northampton mr perfect copey slimey big mac then the philos came ken broster boss Charlie fusel his sidekick and not forgetting mr cope regards alan newton :
Welcome Alantruck! If you’ve got any tales to tell of the ERF NGCs I’d love to hear about them; and if you’ve got any photos of them we’d love to see 'em! Robert
alantruck:
I was in Jeddah at t/a 1979 with ron and john taffy brunt eric parry the guy in photo was jimmy cant rember his last name also gogi jack the hat john from Northampton mr perfect copey slimey big mac then the philos came ken broster boss Charlie fusel his sidekick and not forgetting mr cope regards alan newton :
Hi Alan. welcome aboard - can you just remind me where you came from - trying to place you - long time ago and ageing memory
Cheers
Ken Broster
WERE you all expected to recognize ram-adam ,wow that is a first, i have never heard of it did ,i was not there ,so i would not have ,did that apply to all non arabs working in the middle east , was it done as respect ,and not to rock the boat.a very difficult thing to do .if you had your family over there and children did the same apply ,or just out in the public.
Ah Ha! JW, KB, RH, you can’t keep a good man down. Have just been catching up on your latest reminiscences. I need to get back into adding my two penny worth. Meanwhile, for those of you who can still “salivate(?)” over pictures of ERFs’, I attach a few I took at the week end. Just for you! Warrington steam fair. Really good, especially as the weather stayed dry.
By the way Ronaldo, liked the picture of me in the kitchen that you have been treasuring all these years! Remembering the odd carryings on with the vegetable pan, the wild cats clinging to the wall up the back of the cooker, the scuttling sounds the cockroaches made as they rattled across the tiled floor, the Phillies blocking the drains with enormous rookers from eating vast quantities of rice, resulting in us walking about on planks for two weeks and nearly dying from the smell until we managed to dig down and, with the help of a couple of snorkling TCNs’ managed to clear it. The early morning shout from the Binzager transport fixer…10 TRRRUCK!..15 TRRRUCK! Hami! Hami! when all along all he needed was 3 or 4! The strange appearance then disappearance of various types of swag, borrowed from containers after the customs men had filled their boots. Being stoned in the street by Arab kids when a couple of us went out jogging. Being hit round the shoulders by the religious police for waiting in the street for the shops to open after evening prayer. The ■■■■■■ case of the Arab’s Thai servant girl who was so grateful when I rescued her from the slimy hands of a local. Paying 50 quid for a bottle of whiskey. Etc etc. It’s a wonder we didn’t end up at the police station except for the times when we were paying up cash to get our lads out of clink. Heady days!!
deckboypeggy:
WERE you all expected to recognize ram-adam ,wow that is a first, i have never heard of it did ,i was not there ,so i would not have ,did that apply to all non arabs working in the middle east , was it done as respect ,and not to rock the boat.a very difficult thing to do .if you had your family over there and children did the same apply ,or just out in the public.
I guess it depends when you were there, and even whereabouts you were within the Magic Kingdom as to how they treated Ramadan & things related to religion.
In 1976/77, they turned the lights off in the cafes at prayer time in the Eastern Province, but allowed you to carry on eating. You could carry on filling up with diesel at the garages, but The shops in the souk closed their shutters and stopped trading.I don’t know how strict they were in Jeddah, but even though it was nearer Mecca, I seem to remember that the shops stayed open during prayer time. Ron or KB will remember better than me.
The thing that seemed to change it was the Iranian revolution. Many Shias on the East side and over a period of months it changed from a relaxed attitude to one where everything stopped dead at prayer time. They wouldn’t serve you in the restaurants before prayer time and they closed up. Shops and garages the same.
I remember eating at the mirrors in Ramadan in 76/77 during the day. It was rude to drink in front of someone, on the docks say, but you wouldn’t be locked up.
This would not be the case later. You pulled off well into the desert to eat and made sure nobody saw you. Also my point about ducking down in the cab to take a swig of water.
Pre puberty children and old people did not (and still don’t) have to observe Ramadan, but again, nobody would have given their child an ice cream in the street!
Also travellers do not have to fast. Sheikh Ali always chose Ramadan for his round the world tour. Since he was travelling…
I have no idea what living in Saudi as a foreigner would be like now. I left in 87. In about 2000, we had an old truckers reunion. I knew a lad who was still working as a building manager for Rezayat group, and asked his wife ‘If I give Barry a video camera, any chance he can take some film of Dammam and Riyadh, so I can show it at the reunion?’
The physical changes were so unbelievable while I was there - a place we delivered to, which was miles out in the desert from Riyadh in 1977, was in the middle of a housing complex less than 10 years later.
Maureen, Barry’s wife, said that if he was caught with a camera, he would be taken to prison and interrogated, and probably kicked out.
Nobody had bothered about cameras while I was there!
I’m sure those that have lived and visited since will be able to say what’s gone on, but I suspect it’s no longer the same as it was.
John.
Ah John …you are right of course its all changed keeping in mind it was 40 years ago …there are lots of places I went to but have no idea of the names now …some were 150/200 klicks off the asphalt but we found them …eventually little medical clinics were being gifted to little settlements I remember the magic smell of spearmint being grown at some of them I made a lot of trips to Al Ghat as I said before well I looked on google maps …big changes … anyway I always say the bad times get forgotten and the good times live on and I have no regrets
about doing my stint …none the worse for it !!
Mah Salaam
Glad your back Wirlinmerlin Well thanks martin for those happy memories , of the ■■■■ roaches and the planks over the flooded raw sewage that was there for days this smell of the brown sludge baking in the hot sun with hundreds of flies and ■■■■ roaches trying to swim was a memory I wanted to forget .but seeing the Yemeni lad in the cess pit up to his neck in you know what trying to unblock the entails of 1/2 cooked chicken and rabbet which had been eaten by none other by our selves ? And actually ducking down because he could free the blockage with his foot !! his turban somehow floated on top , I could not BELIEVE what people will do for a few shekels !! The Philos with bloated stomachs filled with rice ,trying to adjust the seat to steer there A series’s shunter ,it all reminds me of that song , We gotta get out of this place if it’s the last thing we ever do ,by the Animals ,!! Trans Arabia Damman villa was right next to the mosque ? I wonder why , did KB have anything to do with it , at least Alcatraz awoke at a more reasonable time , thanks to Alantruck for coming on board , I have a story about Jack the hat Ron
ronhawk:
Glad your back Wirlinmerlin Well thanks martin for those happy memories , of the ■■■■ roaches and the planks over the flooded raw sewage that was there for days this smell of the brown sludge baking in the hot sun with hundreds of flies and ■■■■ roaches trying to swim was a memory I wanted to forget .but seeing the Yemeni lad in the cess pit up to his neck in you know what trying to unblock the entails of 1/2 cooked chicken and rabbet which had been eaten by none other by our selves ? And actually ducking down because he could free the blockage with his foot !! his turban somehow floated on top , I could not BELIEVE what people will do for a few shekels !! The Philos with bloated stomachs filled with rice ,trying to adjust the seat to steer there A series’s shunter ,it all reminds me of that song , We gotta get out of this place if it’s the last thing we ever do ,by the Animals ,!! Trans Arabia Damman villa was right next to the mosque ? I wonder why , did KB have anything to do with it , at least Alcatraz awoke at a more reasonable time , thanks to Alantruck for coming on board , I have a story about Jack the hat Ron
The Dammam Villa rental - yes KB hired it thought you lads didn’t require lye in’s !! Up with the lark whilst it was cool!! This was done in conjunction with Martins predessor, a guy from Southampton.
Always felt quite sorry for the residence with all those trucks on there door steps!!
Ken b