HI will not be putting any more writing up i have realised i have put some on twice its all over the place , [not organised]
time for someone else.dbp.
peggydeckboy:
HI will not be putting any more writing up i have realised i have put some on twice its all over the place , [not organised]
time for someone else.dbp.
But it was still interesting, thanks for sharing.
I HAVE FOUND SOME OF MY FIRSTWRITTING ,IM SURE A LOT HAS NOT BEEN POSTED BEFORE IF IT HAS SORRY THIS IS DEFINATELY THE LAST,DBP
1983/4. First job at rokold fridge work. Other company name VHB EUROPEAN ROBIN EAST.
It was a Sunday afternoon about 2 o clock the phone rang, it was MR Webb [Alan] he said you have got the job sorry for the delay Would you be in for 6 0clock Monday evening also bring your sleeping bag, we like all the drivers to have their passports with them at all times so that as well I had a passport why do I need a passport ??so that gets the old brain working. [no computers then or else i could have googled Rokold.] I would have to wait until Monday night.
It was a 22mile drive, using back roads to Northampton from my village slower drive than the main road but shorter distance less petrol.
Time to leave home, I had sandwiches and flask, not that much cash I took a sleeping bag pillow wash bag. Just in case [famous last words].
.
I arrived at the depot and the nice new lorry is not there, but a older D A F make of truck a 2800 model a smaller cab ,”not a big sleeper cab” it had 2 bunks also had was a 3 axles unit[truck front end .
I walked around the back of the trailer and Alan,[the boss] is in the back of the trailer helping push up pallets to the front with a pallet truck of the trailer with another man ,as the forklift went back in to the warehouse I was at the back of the trailer i shouted up “Hello”, they were both chattering away and the noise of the pallet truck being pushed up on the metal floor, it sounds like a rumbling train, the other chap looks round ,[as if to say what the do you want] he nudges Alan and points to me , not saying anything,.
Alan turns and comes to greet me, with his hand out stretched to shake my hand [again] I only seen him 3 days before ,I was not used to handshaking, he said his greeting ,then asked me to jump on up into the trailer , not the easiest thing to do , but with some scrabbling I manage it, usually they use the fork lift, but I was ■■■■■■■■ trained not to JUMP ON FORK LIFTS, [THAT WAS SOON TO GO]
He then introduced me to TOM who was the driver of the lorry Alan said he would be showing me the ropes, however I could tell that TOM did not want to know ,however he shook my hand rather limp, like a wet fish so I gave his hand a good squeeze like as if to say ■■■■ you too, another pallet arrived to the back of the trailer we then all 3 of us pushed it in to position , the trailer was getting full what looked like all kinds of vegetables, and boxes Tom and Alan carried on with their chatter ,but not with me involved they were talking double Dutch as far as I understood , using foreign sounding words in sentences .[they were place names]i found out later . after a while the trailer was loaded, we all jumped down off the back of the trailer then the last two pallets were pushed on with not a lot of room to spare for the trailer doors to be closed Tom shut the doors then went to the front of the trailer and started the engine for the fridge that kept all the produce inside the trailer at the required temperature [another new procedure for me to learn.
I went in the office with Alan he took my p45 then told me about the duties, and hours and pay ,and that it was as temporary position that could lead up to permanent, however they as a company use mostly owner drivers[with their own tractor units] to do the majority of work ,and used the companies trailers , the company only have 3 lorries of their own, and they are utilised by casual drivers mostly [part time firemen]on their leave to cover a lot of their work .
He told me i would work sometimes 5 days ,6 days, or 2 days whatever the requirement , it was paid as a monthly salary ,it would be the same pay so do not worry if you have days not at work .[as I found out later you make up for it] they gave you £50 for expensive s for anything you had to pay for while on company work, also if you had a night out away from home that would be paid in to your wages tax free.
If the company get really busy, they would hire another tractor unit, as they have a new job delivering to a super market, and will need me as a extra driver.
Also they take on European work when required that could be without notice, however I would be shown the procedures by going out with another driver first, it would be with a owner driver it looked promising for me if the truth was known then [I should have went out and gone home and forget about the job,] but I did not and ended up driving about 21 years on the continental untill 2002/3[however I did not know it then]
It was like a new challenge and 100% different from the road haulage that I was used to i would give it a go.
Tom was slightly, you could say, grumpy, but I do understand now [then I did not] that it was a pain in the arse having a driver with you let alone a new one like me, at least we both smoked so that was all right.
We eventually left NORTHAMPTON apparently we were already running late for a timed booking to unload at Hemel Hemp-stead at a food store distribution centre ,it was over a one hour drive, and the company we were delivering to were strict on time for booking times at 9o clock at night , Tom told me.
This is going to be a different work environment I am embarking on
Tom was driving he pushed the truck to its limits not at the required 58 mph then on the Motorways .
I must say this is the first time I have ever been working at night time in all my previous driving years I had no idea that there was such a amount of trucks working on nights ,it was unheard of unless you were employed as a night driver and not many were ,times are changing it is 1982.
We arrived at the delivery I was all eyes watching the procedures that tom went through and there were many as the pallets were loaded right to the back doors, you would not be able to back the articulated lorry down[on a slope] to get backed on to a unloading bay ,as when you hit the stops [ you knew when you were backed on the loading bay a green light came on ,from red ]on the warehouse wall /unloading dock, the red light came on telling you to stop.] you could see in your review mirror .
As the pallets were loaded at the back of the trailer you had a problem ,a ramp inside would not come down, that allowed the people inside to move in and out of the trailer to take pallets off, you had to drive the lorry off the unloading bay, with the doors open and pinned back to back to where you started from, then go into the warehouse and ask if they would use the outside fork lift truck to take the back two pallets off,
then you would be able to do the original move again, if!![1]if you could find the fork lift driver . [2] he was not obliged to do it. [3] he would for a small price£5 He would take them off and deposit them inside the warehouse via the door you should have been backed on i found out all this in a matter of 10 minutes.
First lesson learnt do not leave the base if the pallets are rammed up to the back trailer doors, and make sure there is a restraining strap around them [why did we leave like it then] Ahh! Tom had got the hump and he forgot, While all this is going on, other lorry’s coming in the area where we are trying to get unloaded outside ,to then go back on to the bay we just come off however this chap wanted to go where we wanted to go, as he must have thought we had just come off the unloading dock finished unloading[wrong], I kept back and let Tom deal with it I found out he had a very usefully tongue on him and would not back off, eventually the pallets were unloaded, we pull off the bay ,close the rear doors then we are able to get on with the journey and drive down into London ,as I was look at the delivery tickets [notes] we had i asked Tom ,what are Samples?? to Baker street.that is by Kings Cross Rail Station in Baker Street, LONDON
It is Sainsbury head office, It is samples of all the fruit and veg that the a company wants to sell to Sainsbury, it is produce for their quality control of products sold in stores of Sainsbury it is either accept or rejected, it is for the next nights delivery’s to Sainsbury depots apparently this is the way they have been doing it for years.
The only problem is that we were on the wrong side of the main A 40 road from Oxford to London, streaming with cars, we had to carry on find a place to turn around ,so were able to drive down to outside the office doors and the best of all you just leave it in the door foyer ,with a lot of other goods, you do not get it signed for you, we now have to go around again as our next deliver is Spitalfields market in the city ,I did know where it was as you passed it every day as it was on a main transit route towards tower bridge, I had no idea it was a indoor fruit market.
At this point if I start to tell you the roads we used to get into places within the city of London I would need a A to Z map.
Once inside the Spitafields market, it was built for horse and carts a absolute night mare, a mass of wire cages that people had all there produce in ,there were only a few fork lift drivers around and Tom taught me the art of Spitalfields Market .
He told me never drive inside ,stay outside, and walk in, have a look to see if you will be able to get to the stall you want to get to, once in there you will not get to be able to drive out until all the lorry in front of you are unloaded it is a rabbit warren of small lanes and a working area for hand carts …I was for ever gratefully for Toms knowledge that night believe me.
.Once you drove in and parked at the stall you walked around and found the forklift man then you told him who you were delivering to how many pallets and give him £5 for him to unload your pallets apparently they were all independent men on the fork lifts who owned them, I have no idea I suspect the forklifts are for all people to use free, it was soon sorted that was £10 in less than 2 hours spent on using forklifts[all money used in market or any other work to get unloaded or loaded was repaid by the company.
When finished inside there we then went to the worlds most smallest market in LONDON called THE BOROUGH just over London bridge
.
Another EDWARDIAN MASTERPIECE inside the entrance there is a[ open all hours pub], inside the market , what a place to get inside the market, we use the same wholesaler at every market also they had their own fork lift driver they are called “Porters” after they have seen your delivery notes, [another load of the laziest ■■■■■■■■ you ever met ] you never had to pay them…well not on a week day, however as I learnt later on ,when you went to deliver on a Sunday night there was not the slightest sign of man or beast to be seen one fork lift was left out for all the drivers to unload themselves, as they were all in the pub in the market the pup is still there this day, you drove out a different way than you drove in.
It was about 2am by now we set off for the next Market New COVENT GARDEN at a place called “nine elms “just passed Vauxhall bridge, tom let me drive I found out later on that he had been up and working since 9am Monday it was now TUESDAY 3.30am
I was shown short cuts around London city streets and how to arrive at the Markets you have to pay a entrance fee to get in Covent garden ,£3 [all lorry s] T he company had regular customers there.
This is now another world very noisy ,every other word[■■■■] most of the men are dressed in the same type clothes, flat caps, brown boots it looked as if it was a uniform at least the men at the stall are pleased to see us ,well ,Tom.
they did not speak to me when they put the pallet truck upon the trailer and we start pulling loaded pallets of all kinds of fruit to the back of the trailer they are taken away in to their store, after a time we are putting full loaded pallets back on. [strange] I push them up to the front of the trailer, after a cup of tea and a sandwich from the market café we made our way out.
By this time we have left the market and back over the north side of the Thames I am driving and Tom tells me to head for HESTON by Heathrow airport and wake him up as we pass the service station, he is soon well asleep and I am driving past Harrods on the A40 I had never been this way before. Lots of people still around at 4 30 am what are they doing, god knows certainly not working
I wake tom up he has been asleep on the bottom of the bunk he jumps up as if he has been mugged, wow!! tom it is me I shout its Vic, we are at the Heston services on the M4 sorry he said
he was dreaming ,he told me to drive to the next exit and come off the Motorway and go to the market well signposted.
At the gate the guard ask where is my delivery how many pallets, Tom shouts 4 only, to some name, and I drive around the market to about the last [pitch] market stall and park up, we both jumped out of the cab , tom told to me open the trailer doors and a fork lift will be right here with a pallet truck tom went inside the market.
I started to pull all the remaining pallets to the rear of the trailer the forklift truck took them away we went to another stall with 1 pallet and then we were empty, it was by now 6am and the market traders were streaming in their vans, Tom came back closed the back doors he said to me quick as you can drive out of the market and head for home.
Once out of the mad house Tom told me it was a regular thing for whoever unloaded at Fen and Hexton the stall we were delivering to in Covent garden you will load up any pallets they have to be delivered to the Heston market for them and do not say anything as it was a arrangement between Alan at the office and them .
We arrived back to Northampton me driving Tom was fast asleep I parked up woke Tom up and went home as no one else was around. I found out later was Tom slept in his lorry as he had another delivery job to do at lunch time I had first learned about the procedure of Double Manning a lorry,
“Explanation”
This is about the driving hours and duty hours of one driver =
A driver can be on duty for 15 hours in one 24 period.
Within that period, he can drive literally drive for 10 hours.
But must take at least 2x30 minutes rest period within that 10rs.driving.
And the rest of 5 hours is for unloading whatever
This is a basic explanation.
After the 15 hours duty a driver must take a 9 our rest period.
All these hours have different combinations of how you do them, and how much they were fiddled.
Before any driver moves anywhere in the lorry by law he must complete, his vehicle checks, oil water tyres, excreta then you must fill in the Tachograph you start writing in the top spaces of the Tachograph provided you have to use a pen placing your name ,where you are [town]etc and the currant reading of the speedometer mileage However if you are double manning you must both put a completed Tachograph card in the Tachograph head that has 2 compartments you must put the same mileage and place of start. [[this will be exploited later]]
A tachograph is a piece of carbon type of paper card easier marked both side so you have to be gently with it, it has a complex series of broken lines printed on and marked as the 24 hour clock.]It records just like a graph [used in lie detector tests] or a doctors heart monitor print out ,it records every movement the lorry makes ,the slightest forward or backward movement on the tachograph disc , once it is inserted [the disc] the only way you can cover any illegal movement is just remove
the disc, throw it away, and start again and take a chance of not getting caught.
Tachograph insertion=
On the tachograph inside the dashboard ,you turn a small key and it opens up [like a ladies powder compact] and it is hinged and it pulls back about6 inches away from the dashboard ,and it splits in to two compartments, when looking in the back all you see is very fine needle pints sticking out but they are retracted so then you get your paper round disc tachograph that has a circle cut out in the middle that you push gently over a protruding knob .that is if you are driving on your own
If you are what is called double manning, two drivers in the same cab on the same run you put another tachograph in the other compartment now they are separate but in the same place as the protruding knob goes through both [well sort of] so what it means all the lorry movement however minuet will be recorded on both the discs at the same time. Anything connected to the electrical power source to the tachograph will be recorded. Like fuses being pulled I will elaborate on the fiddling later…
The regulations were always interpreted in different ways at different company s.
Drivers ARE their OWN worst enemy when breaking the law. It was worse than a minefield.
If it suited you as a driver you did it right or wrong we used to exploit our self sometimes for the company glory, bragging rights various reasons .to be talked about status and best of all of all you never stop moaning about it and never tell the truth lying you were skilled at because a transport office wherever you worked would never every tell you the full story or the truth I took me years to learn, not quite all but a lot, you learned something new every day However more later I have jumped the gun, as I have only just done my first run.
This was in 1980s it all has changed dramatical I arrived home and i really enjoyed it, it did not seem like work the hours and pay did not then seem to matter I realised we had been double manning.
After getting home from my trip with Tom I did not get a phone call until Wednesday would i be in for 1 pm .
I put the same gear in my car and got there for 1pm and the brand-new truck was in the outside loading bay with it refrigerated unit roaring away.
I later found out it takes a while for the fridge unit to cool the goods and trailer down to the required temperature that the goods inside should be transported at and to be excepted at the delivery point, where they would have a quality control person checking all the goods coming off at their premise ,that is why the refrigerated unit on the trailer is running hours before you leave, as to get the produce down to the accepted temperature.
[very important] then though it did not mean so much as I was not really aware of the importance however I would soon learn.
As I walked towards the office to see Alan, a man I had seen briefly when I was at the interview was there, he said to me, can I help you, i replied, I would like to Alan ,why he asked ,I explained to him who I was, he said to me please just hold on a minute ,he went into the office and closed the door.
After a while Alan came out and said to me Vic,! I am really sorry ,but I should have employed another man, not you and the boss, who you have just seen Mr Robin East is fuming at me because he wanted a younger man than you.
Alan asked me to go and have a coffee elsewhere give him half a hour and then come back. i was mad but did not show it and off I went.
I went back to the office and it had all been sorted out, Alan told me your job is safe ,a hand shake ,in comes MR East another handshake ,and welcomed me into the company.
I thought , do not ■■■■ it up ,do as your told and learn ,and that is what I did, they gave me the keys to the new truck outside and off I go, with the biggest grin in Northampton ,if only my old mates could see me now, yes I know it is only a lorry however one of the best then in England…one delivery only on the other side of Birmingham ,do not forget the empty pallets the last words said to me ,then come back here ,fill up and then go home.
I arrived at the supermarket depot delivery warehouse after a bit of a run around but arrived there in the end it is difficult to get it right first time or even second, [ finding delivery places] lots of other lorry s waiting all with their fridges roaring away I checked the temperature gauge is hovering on + 4 that was right ,well that is what I was told ,I thought nothing of it.
Walking up to the outside security office with my loads delivery notes still grinning, hand them in. then I came down to earth with a ■■■■■■■ great bang Your late !!, you have missed your delivery slot .
No one told me it should have been 3 pm.
No wonder it was a ■■■■ up at the depot all I could do was wait for a [slot] = [ term used for getting a unloading bay to back on to if there is time or if someone else is late]
The security man said they would see when they could get me in it maybe 9 o clock tonight I waited, and i learned that to have something to eat and drink
and to read was the way to go…
Eventually I get unloaded, the empty pallets are put back on the front of the trailer. [[Two mistakes I made however I did not know it at the time,]]i drove home to the depot filled up with diesel at the public garage, with the company s card, hid the card and put the keys where I was told to ,I had parked up, no one was around , I arrived home around 2am.
On the way home I am starting to think about the hours I have done for basic pay and trying to think is this the right thing to be doing, and I am trying to talk myself out of doing what I am doing, something I am fairly good at most times I have got this thing in my head that the work and job, also the time off is it worth it, the new lorry s , plus clean job, just pushing a few pallets around clean clothes. I have made my mind up , there are no more jobs around in transport I am lucky to be working get on with and just do it.
There is a phone call at home around11 am ,asking me to come in please ,i collected my gear together and drove to work arriving around 1pm Alan asked me to come in to the office,
I went in and I could tell something is not right
,
Vic, what about the pallets, !![Alan]
What about them they were on the front of the trailer,
Yes [Alan]
well,
you are ten pallets short also they are not the correct pallets. [Alan],
Alan what are you talking about when I left the lorry this morning at 2am there were 15 pallets in that truck /
Are you 100%sure [Alan
yes of course I am i might be new here ,but I have not had the pallets, where would I get rid of pallets ,look at my Tachograph I came straight back here from the delivery, from the other side of BIRMINGHAM
After he had checked the graph over, he apologised he told me to go home we have no work tonight for you so it is all o k ,they found out much later that a man from the warehouse team was coming in early a taking the pallets to sell, at that time there was big money in pallets.
PALLETS=
A pallet must have 9square blocks of wood about6 inches all round. 1 at each corners and the others in the middle. and the slats of good wood about a 1inch gap on the top so they are solid and the underneath have just wider gaps and less slate so the pallet can take a 1 metric ton in weight good for a 1 for 1 exchange when at whare -houses.
The other system is the same pallets that are painted blue and are made by a company called GKN and are governed by a 1 for 1 system also a tickets system ie=if you leave 20 or later 21 pallets at a warehouse and they cannot give you the same in return ,you then get a stamped ticket saying that you are owed them pallet and they were transferable at any depot in the country. or you can go to a pallets collection yard and collect that number of pallets from them, only G K N yards ,however there was a black market trading in blue pallets as well as ordinary ones ,country wide ,CASH.
Also there were the fruit pallets that the fruit was imported from Spain, excreta they were flimsy good for nothing however if you did not keep at eye on what people were giving you in exchange you would end with some, and when you went to re exchange them you were basically ■■■■■■ and you own fault. But over time as it went on for me you got very good at dealing with pallets .
There was a lot of money in 20 pallets, then1983/4£ 60+ black market.
Well! that is sorted and the blue pallets system is massive every product that needs pallets are on G KN blue pallets not just Europe the world.
Work seemed to pick up as it was nearly every night I would be doing market runs or a late supermarket delivery to their main distribution depots also I got to meet and see the other driver s and the owner drivers who worked for the company all the owner drivers were all clean and smart, the same as their tractor units .
I had no idea that men were doing regular runs [trips ] to Spain and bringing all kinds of fresh and frozen goods back to the UK they would talk about the ferry ports they used ,driving through FRANCE down to the Spanish boarder .
They were mentioning all kinds of names of Spanish and French places they went to , to unload or reload ,talking about customs procedures ,delays border hold ups, police stops, getting fined in FRANCE, all kinds of what to me at the time was a new type of job.
A few of the other drivers were very young just 21 years old, no driving experience at all ,even I could tell that they had not done any haulage company driving at all, just the way they were however they were there the same as me it was nothing to do with me. they were very friendly with Alan as if mates i did think well, that could be my downfall but I would have to wait and see.
Two of the drivers were full time firemen and drove for the company on their 4 days off, my next thought was? not a lot of future in this job for me as they do not need the job they get a nights work and not me ,no wonder the pay was not extra for nights. But as men they were adaptable and would help when needed what I did not realise was that if I stayed at home for 4 nights I was still getting paid ,not being used to a monthly salary it took me a time to not bother if there was no work for me.
The company seemed to me to have quite a lot of new trailers but not with the name painted on so after a time I got to know that they were all hired from a big trailer rent company on a monthly basis all this new to me, some of the tractor units were the same even the nice blue painted D A F
so what it meant in company terms they did not own anything all hired this was a completely new idea of working so they could just fold up and move on. also a lot of the owner drivers were doing the same hiring trailers ,and tractor units.
THE REFRIGERATED TRAILER.= THIS IS LATER ON WHEN I WAS ON FRIDGES PERMANENT==LIKE A SHORT HISTORY OF WHAT FRIDGES WERE USED FOR AND HOW WE LOADED THEM WHEN I WAS A DRIVING.
The trailers built before 1983/4 had just a fridge unit control box on the front side of the fridge and all the workings and blowers on the inside of the trailer ,so if you looked in side the trailer from the back doors at the front you would have seen a metal blower fan unit sticking out, just about the size of a modern set of two Chester draws hanging down from the front sticking about 2 foot out ,meaning that you were not able to push pallets right to the front headboard flat they would have to be half size, sif you had boxes you would have to take half of them off in the trailer ,push the other to the front under the fridge blowers ,then try to re stack the rest around the blowers , the ones you were left with you would re-distribute on the pallets as they were in the trailer …meaning no matter how tired you were you had to be with the loading all the while…
The next awkward thing was the meat hooks meat hooks yes, each fridge had meat hooks .i had completely no idea how or when they were used and by what or why, I knew that there were about 330 meat hooks hanging down along 5 rails in the roof of the trailer, what was holding them up I do not know [I still wonder today what was unseen in the fridge roofs] , the meat rails were like [example]- if you look at a zip any zip, undo it and look at the sliding thing ,one is attached to the zip and the other not look down at the side not attached ,and you see the hole that you attach the other piece of the zip to, turn it towards you and you see [like a rail]. The thin gap, that is what the meat rails were like and you threaded the meat hooks along the thin gap from the door end ,to where you wanted them all at the front out of use and the way. Along these rails the whole length of the roof ,at intervals attached ,were small steel clips that you could put down inside the rail to stop the hooks from sliding back or forward ,these were very important Especially when we were loading all the different meats.
FRIDGE SIZE AND WEIGHTS.
The first fridges were on 2 axles,[8wheels] on the rear a Fridge box trailer.
[ The cooling system] inside on the front of the trailer.
A steel ribbed floor , thick heavy doors and side walls, Overall weight with tractor 17.000k gs[17 tons].
Around 19834/5 new fridge trailers arrived ,with 3 rear axles ,singular tyres new type refrigerated unit outside , fitted on the front of the trailer a lightweight chassis, flat [not ribbed] chequered steel floors with visible screw heads, also a thin steel holed strip attached to the side wall to put restraining bars in [ to hold loads back from falling] they were about 4 foot high off the floo.
Later they built under slung boxes underneath the trailers to hold 24 empty pallets and the meat hooks in plastic boxes. and various other features as years went on and of course the lighter the trailers weighed the better. in the end there was no chassis as of now very lightweight, that was the ultimate aim years ago lighter net weight higher pay load.
I AM GOING A BIT FORWARD IN MY STORY,HOWEVER IF I DESCRIBE THE USE OF THE FRIDGES,AND PRODUCTS WE /I CARRIED AND TRAILER DEVELOPMENT YOU WILL HAVE SOME IDEA ?
I will just start with the loading of all meat , carcasses were loaded not by the driver at all it was done at the abattoirs by loaders [porters] ,it was a very hard job ,you would not have wanted to have loaded meat then have to do your driving work ,it was all ways very clinical ,we had to wash the trailers out with high powered jet washes, either before arriving at the abattoir , or when there using their power wash that all abattoir had also the temperature of the trailer had to be cooled down inside the trailer if possible before loading as you backed on to a loading bay that is cooler inside the abattoir than outside temperature where all the meat is cooled down in the large holding fridges ready for loading , the trailers were meticulously inspected by [ 1] the VET, [2]A MINISTRY OF HEALTH INSPECTOR NOW [ M. A F. F] before any loading took place at all.
DIFFERENT MEATS EXPORTED I CARRIED
BEEF= steers breed especial for eating fore quarters [front legs /shoulder …
Hind quarters [rear leg]1animal could weight 1 ton [1000gks]
COW BEEF,= OLD MILKING COWS. AS ABOVE SLIGHTLY LIGHTER.
SHEEP,LAMBS= to FRANCE SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM .HOLLAND GERMANY. ITALY. GREECE.
EWES. MUMS. = MUTTON. LARGE size 3 to 4 years old for ITALY SPAIN. A very fatty product.
PIGS, =FAT OLD SOWS,LARGE. For ITALY, SPAIN. GERMANY. FRANCE.
PIGS=SMALLER =BACON,HAM. For SPAIN. ITALY ,AUSTRIA .FRANCE
BOAR MEAT,= HAD TO BE TRANSPORT SEPARATIVE FROM ANY OTHER MEAT, AS VERY ODOROUS .Mostly loaded that in Germany for ITALY
BULL MEAT=ALSO CARRIED ON THERE OWN. MOSTLY to Italy
SOME TIMES BOXES OF ALL GAME BIRDS, VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF WOOD -PIGEON ALSO VENISON NOT HUNG UP BUT STACKED UP BECAUSE IT WAS FROZEN
WHEN LOADED FOR ITALY, FROM ANY COUNTRY YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE MIDDLE HANGING RAIL EMPTY,SO AS THE VETS COULD WALK ALL THE WAY DOWN THROUGH THE LOAD TO CHECK WHAT YOU HAD ON THE LORRY CORRESPONDED WITH THE PAPER WORK,THEY WERE LITTLE ■■■■■■ IN OTHER WORDS ABSOLUTE ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ WOULD HOLD YOU UP TO 2 DAYS.
It was because the way the meat markets were going if more imports were in the country, the local prices would be higher . Without imports ,it would not be only me waiting there would be up to 20/30 lorry s, waiting to unload all over a ITALY .however if you were in Transit ,going outside ITALY, to GREECE for delivering you would soon be out of the customs /vet the Italians call their vets doctors, so the first time I went there I took me ages to find out what were they on about…
Basically we took fresh chilled hanging meat all over Europe most frozen meat that was what was called INTERVENTION [remember the butter ,wine mountains] yes ,there was a meat mountain but it all went abroad ,we never got the benefit of it, when ROMANIAN was free1989, trucks from the UK took loads of meat to GERMANY to cold stores close to the old east German boarder that was then transferred from the cold stores to the ROMANIANS they had very poor lorry to take it back to ROMANIA.
when you saw what a sorry state the men [drivers ]were in and their pathetic lorries they had absolutely nothing, not even cups to drink out of they used old tin cans or jam jars ,we drivers all give loads of tinned food and all old clothes even some dirty washing of ours to them. I will elaborate later…
That was later on I will go back to 1982/3
Work seemed to be very busy, I did get a lot of the evening or whole nights work, but I never minded as it got me learning more about markets and the way they worked, I have been in Covent garden unloading and I would see another Rokold company trailer ,unloading ,naturally I would go over to see who it was and it was rarely any one I knew it would be a owner driver on contract using his own tractor unit and pulling a Rokold trailer .
I get chatting -as you do ,well I did ,and the response would be the same from the other driver, ohh are you one of the Northampton temps !i used to say yes, yes !I am the new boy just started driving , just finding my feet and then move to the lorry I was driving away from him. And leave it at that, and go about my other deliverers.
One afternoon and I was asked to be in for 5 pm and bring your gear with you your washing gear, change of clothes, sleeping bag and passport , that was all I was told.
I parked my car ,Alan came over to me and told me ,when you get back tonight there will be a owner driver here , you are going with him on a trip to Holland.
You have a short run tonight! and will be back easy as far as time, I thought this is the start, and it was, the driver PETE he seemed fine he explained it all where we were going ,it sounded unbelievable [at the time it was for me], first we did the tachographs ,and I said what about the 5 hours I have done on this disk, he said ohh just put it away, no one will give a ■■■■ about a quick trip you have just done.
First time I had done anything illegal with the tachograph , I was learning…
His trailer was loaded with a few delivers at the markets once we were empty we started to make our way down to Dover for shipping out on the Townsend Thorsen Zeebrugge ferry.
It must have been around 4am when he pulled into a lay by and he said its time for a kip[sleep] the cab had two bunks, normal in most lorry s that did European trips .
It seem after 5 minutes and Pete was up ,and he had the small gas cylinder stove with a kettle boiling on small wooden shaped shelf that fitted on the dash board, I was completely amazed ,undeliverable ,and he said I only have coffee, that is fine I said bursting for the toilet.
Next, still amazed, he had a small type of mesh with a wooden handle and was toasting some bread if you can make tea ,coffee and toast ,what more do you want .
I later on found a device for toasting bread on the small gas stove, you can by them today 2014called a DEFUSER. Look it up.[goggle].
After having the snack/breakfast he educated me by telling me that is how you live once abroad you look after yourself you use all facilities provided by factory’s or border service stations wherever you can ,he said hygiene is not our standard in some countries but always remember ,that it is you that is the foreign visitor in another country and if you respect that you will get along fine
I did ask about the Tachograph card and he said we are starting fresh from where we are ,he took the two tachograph discs out of the tachograph head and tore them up he said if you do not get a police check through the night, then no one else is checking lorry s [or so everyone thought], who knows what you are doing where he booked off on his previous card I did not worry.
I was only a second driver he said he would just use his tachograph card and use mine later if needed when we get back in Dover that meant we now had 15 hours to do collection and get back to a port for the ferry back to Englan
DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR SHIPPING OUT ON A FERRY.
SHIPPING OUT =meaning going to Europe with a load of goods.
First piece of paper or booklet you needed was a TRAILER GARNET. That is the trailers own passport. it is a customs required document for all Country’s in Europe. It means that temporary excise duty has been paid. And the chassis number is used as well as whatever number the company uses for their own purpose and it cannot be changed, also on the trailers front are two photographs of the trailer in sealed plastic holders also legal requirement however [never needed in England by our U.K .trailers however all foreign lorry s within the U.K.] needed them ,but I must point out at that time in the 1980s early 1990s that EUROPEAN lorry s driving over in the U. K. was very limited as Self drive i.e. foreign drivers actually driving.
shipped over
Next stop the ticket office then passports to be shown .
Two drivers one lorry, you will have to pay for the extra bunk bed and food , Apparently when the ticket was booked, two drivers were not mentioned.[i could be a hitch hiker]
They rang the office to get conformation it was 2 drivers It was all-right in the end however I did produce my HGV but they still wanted conformation,
that practice was in still force all the years I crossed the channel from whatever port and country , a named passenger ,for a second drivers ticket… to stop people even then bringing any one to the UK ,because if there was any problems , with the police ,immigration abroad, and trying to get in here the fall back was the Ferry company they were held responsible…
So then round to the customs, having no goods to clear a “transit empty “form has to be filled in and stamped as Belgium is in Benelux there are different boarder controls needed ,not a lot. so it is easy to enter and transit. Then off down to queue up for boarding ,there were two types of ferries for Zeebrugge one freight only ,slower and limited cabins .and the other normal but smaller than now roll on ,roll off that was a faster crossing ,as drivers ,we also had a bunk and drivers only eating lounge.[privilege].L
Loading of the lorry s was a job done by shore staff on the dock and once inside by the ships crew
……=…
,[[just a diverse peace of information, what I did not know at the time when I was using… TOWNSEND THORRESON ,AND LATER P and O ferries to ZEEBRUGGE one of my old ship mates was working on the same ships as a bosun, quartermaster .and we never bumped into one another .we were definitely on the same ferry at the same time as when the HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE SANK IN THE ZEEBRUGGE HARBOUR on march the 9th 1987 WE HAD BOTH CAME OVER THE DAY BEFORE IN ANOTHER FERRY. And we did not meet up un till 2005 .He was a lucky man as crews used to rotate to the two different ships .i did not know of anyone personally who died.
So the ships crew parked you up then proceeded to put chains on the lorry from the deck to stop any movement. Then out we got, went up the stairs to the drivers compartments, and I can tell you I am, ecstatic I never ever thought I would set foot on a ship again ever. just being there brought a lot of memories back[good ones] but I did not let on to PETE he would not a given a rats arse anyway. It did not take long to suss him out , a Ladies man. when round the table eating he never stopped flowing from him .where he had been what he did. chatting to the stewardesses , we went to our cabins and had a sleep for 3 hours how bad was that, and getting paid for it ,well that was the way you had to look at it .I could not believe that for years some drivers had had jobs like I was now privy to ,not all that ■■■■ we used to do, and a lot of them were young men. Well good luck to them but I was envious of them that is all they new ,i expect it was the luck of the draw where you lived and the company you worked for.
After the sleep up for tea and sandwich all free. And then duty free ,what a bonus. But did say to me
be careful how many cigarettes you buy as you are only allowed 200 hundred that is the U K. limit
also you can buy them on the passage home, also all the men buying large quantities of cigarettes
are going home or on long trips ,not back to the UK like we will be so point taken and I waited for the return ferry. after a call over the ships T ANNOY “all drivers proceed to the lorry s”off we went.
Once down in the lorry deck there seemed a lot of lorry s to the amount of drivers who went up into the passenger area so I mentioned it to Pete ,ho arr , he said a lot of the men .do not leave their cabs they get in there own bunk and get to sleep quicker, also if there is a snorer in the same cabin you might just as well give up. Also you get longer in bed.
It did after time turn out to be a practice that all shipping company s on all routes rule out as a non practice to be used after the 1987 disaster at Zeebrugge ,in fact all drivers had to report with ticket to the stewards office .as the loss of drivers life s trapped in the cabs was very high .however `that was to come later.
So we start winding our way out of the ships bowl’s and into the ■■■■■■■ rain in a very orderly queue. For the first bend in the road , all lorry s from different countries I had never seen so many ,what I noticed straight away all the nice hellos heads nodding Pete telling me who was from where etc all smiles , as soon as we got off the ship it was one for all no quarter given horns blowing, Jesus they were like Jekyll and hide. When we eventually got parked up outside the customs and immigration office ,[all in one] it was like a football crowd coming out of a match. no order at all ,so I just stuck with Pete and no one was saying anything to each other ,it was strange however I was learning that was what I was there for.
Ye, I got my passport stamped. My first foreign stamp. They do not bother now ,well they did not years ago, for drivers.
First stop Pete said was diesel .it was the second cheapest in the Euro union , Luxembourg was the cheapest and it still is to this very day, how .■■■■ knows ,but it is.
He would not let me drive until I had got my eye in so to say, he told me.
After 10 minutes we were at the first garage, it was packed with nearly all the lorries off the ferry ,so we queued again ,I can see now why the big rush to get first was to get to the diesel stop first.
After years, I had got it all sussed out , driving down to Dover the more lorry s you overtook they would be behind you whatever queue in the dock you took I would more or less know if they were going for the Zeebrugge or Calais ,as the same companies usually kept to there regular trips to the same countries… you knew you would always be in front of them ,and be at the diesel tank stop n at ZEEBRUGGE before them, how? Because you would be in front of them in the queue at Dover and get on the ferry earlier than them, and we were mostly empty going in to Zeebrugge so quick customs at Dover, and better position on the ferry for getting off to the diesel and the horrible coffee. always luke -warm but drivers used to love it, afraid I never did.
It was the practice of all the different nationality’s while filling up was to have no sense of hurry at all ,they were like mad men to get to the diesel then once there they would put the fill up hose in the tank and ■■■■ off,[automatic fuel cut off]into the garage shop that had chairs, table, and free coffee and not a care in the world .i expect it was something I would have to get used to.
We were at lest 1 ½ hours there …mind you Pete was as bad as the others once at the diesel tank ,he was then speaking in pidgin English , lots of back slapping, and the now classic hand shaking ,it was like a epidemic, they were all shaking hands, if they knew one person, and you were near you all got a handshake .that was to me , well different, being English how many times in your life do you shake hands very little …it was a new form of greeting I would become very at ease with after time.
All I could hear was lots of WE!E, SAV!A,MESSU!E ] then unintelligible rubbish .it was if I had been transported to another world, however after time I found that the Belgians, and the French used a lot of the same words in their greetings language also handshakes .
Also the new smells of strange cigarettes , lots of different nick Knacks in the shop ,nothing English ,for a while yes ,i was like a kid in a sweet shop. You were able to buy all different kinds of goods for a lorry not seen in the U k mostly for owner drives. one thing did catch my eye was like the small well made wooden very neat table top ,that would fit around the inside of the windscreen like a small writing desk with little small draws ,for all the pens , on the passenger side of the cab i thought how good a idea. they were labelled up for all the European makes of lorry cabs.[[little did I know then that I would know more about them]…
There was a air of I will get going when I am ready! no sense of hurry at all ,as I could then see that Pete was blending in, I expect you do as they do !unless you were all on the same firm and running together or just widening his circle of [I met you before mates].?
When at last we made a attempt to get moving, the tank full of diesel all so the tank under the trailer that runs the fridge engine ,that uses RED diesel ,even more cheaper than England, as that diesel is tax exempt in England for Agriculture use only ,however it was used legally by hauliers using refrigerated trailers ,as no direct profit is made from it…[more on diesel later]
Once clear of Zeebrugge ,you never went through the actual town, I was on the learning look out, all the different signs ,road marking and of course wrong side of the road ,well for me, however it did not seemed normal ,well it was .Pete made a point for me to keep well sat back in my seat as not to block his view from the inside mirror .as that was his now important mirror for all his overtaking if he needed to.
The direction signs I were seeing were way far beyond the distance from where we going. I thought we were going into Holland I had no idea of where we were as Pete seemed to have no map and I did not have one however he knew the road and did not need a map we soon turned off the main highway [like our Motorways] and headed for Antwerp. I did notice that on top of the road signs there was a large green E number I found out later the E number on the signs are main transit through routes to all countries throughout Europe.
We passed a most famous truck stop [with EUROPEAN DRIVERS] called” Lokern “on the way out of Belgium towards the Dutch boarder The Boarder when we arrived was just like a pull in lay bye with a few brick huts [agents offices] and a coffee shop.
I followed Pete into a transit type large room with lots of open type rooms with uniformed female and male customs. immigration, Police all lounging around, all with a side arm not to busy, so Pete told me the procedures of entering Holland and what form to fill in and who to go to first then it followed on. Easy, He said nearly all boarders work on the same principle. Police Immigration, Customs.
If you were loaded, and delivering into Holland you had to use a AGENT to process your paper work Roklod company used the same AGENT at all Benelux country’s that means that there is a automatic payment account. As we were empty it was quick and straight forward piece of paper stamped up ready to hand to the gate man who lifted the barrier so you could region the main highway as we did, and me keeping well back in my seat as there were cars travelling fast along the road so Pete could see.
He told me that we had not far to go, I was rather disappointment I would have like to have gone for mile we did cross one massive bridge over like a lake/inland sea, the signposts coming up said to Arnhem the 2nd world war battle for the bridges it looked as if we were going near there so that kept me busy writing place names down. For future reference, there were hardly any trees, no hedges, all dykes, canals and lots of people riding bicycles not on the main road we were on but on the other country roads, Holland is known for bikes and tall people i can see why now it all looked rural and flat.
We soon arrived at our collection point all nicely flat sandy earth round the edges of the hard standing you could see the indentations in the base, where the lorry s have been backed on to loading bays overtime ,unstable ground.
The time was getting on and getting dark I was surprise that we would be loading at that time ,however we were on the continent and their work time patterns were different to hours , as years went by factory’s in the U. K did introduce continental work patterns much to the disappointment of the unions.
Pete seemed well known at the cold store [massive store holding all kings of deep frozen foods ] at temperatures minus -25 we were and loading different vegetables ,and they were ready on pallets. I was told we would not be long, then asked would I like a coffee, in the mess room, with some other Dutch- men and Pete, after another round of handshakes and grunts and black coffee out of a massive pump flask[ never seen one before] they did have a tin of carnation condensed milk , [nice and creamy also a big jar of sugar on the table [not in ENGLAND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STOLEN ] THAT,S US ALL OVER… ]and the smell of all the different tobaccos was ,intoxicating I loved it ,[THE HOME OF GOOD SMELLING TOBACCO]
made it taste better however Luke warm it was quite for a factory for its size, I could see through the door widow lots of workers with white coats and head scarf’s big good looking warm boots on , you could not tell whether they were male or female. they were sorting and packing chips on a conveyor belt .it looked cold in there however that was not the freezer just a packing line also I noticed a stand on riding, like pallet /fork lifts they were using to load our trailer another first the men were whizzing around with a loaded pallet on the front and they were standing on the back with a like a bicycle handlebar steering it. Another first, lots of factory s just about have a fork lift and all loading is done by hand [not now, after 1990s] we got modern.
After I had took as much of the new goings on in i went and found Pete back at the coffee he told me that we were not allowed in the loading area in some factory, you had to stay in your cab in 2013 you have to hand your keys in to a office [so I am told]. We are loaded so we are told and asked to pull of the loading bay and Pete lets me do it and close the doors. When they are shut we go round to the front of the trailer and he shows me how to work the refrigerated unit, all the dials and different functions I thought ■■■■ me, we have been sat about ■■■■■■■ around he could have given me the full tour of the fridge engine,[maybe he did not want me to know to much yet]?
So I get the basic of the fridge control workings, and then we go in and get the papers for the load and a very important paper called a C .M. R. ,That is the drivers legal travel document with the load it has all relevant in -formation typed on it, about 30 sections ,and it was never used in England ever ,unless like us delivering to England from Europe, then it is sealed up by the customs man,[ all the factories in Holland, Belgium, have a designated customs officer at the factory at all times] also the Benelux Country,s never bothered with the trailer garnet, so we were ready for the off .
Pete went and done his last handshaking routine ,i kept in the cab ,[load of ■■■■■■■■] it was now dark and I wondered if I would get a drive ,or do we park up, he said we will get back to the boarder do the customs ,and I could have a drive when we leave the customs after that was finished for the Dutch side all was required at the boarder was a entry stamp into Belgium and we would be on our way back to a ferry which ferry port I had no idea.
I noticed straight away how heavy the trailer seemed to be, but the tractor unit was more than able to cope with the weight so I just drove on, Once we were clear and out of the customs area we drove along a bit ,he said just keep a good lookout in you nearside mirror ,and keep in lane , now I am chuffed, and he said when you see the sign for Ostend turn on to that road do not follow BRUSSELES ,and then goes and lies down on the bottom bunk and leaves me to it i was thinking how many more hours are we going to be working??
we had two small breaks one for 7 hours before the ferry ,then the ferry 4/5 hours we had been working since 5pm on the Monday evening ,it was now 8/9 pm Tuesday evening, and we were not yet finished for the day , we had been working for 28 hours with a 11 break .total illegal and no time to do what you wanted yourself as if you were at home on a break…,i was beginning to have doubts about what I was letting my self in to .but I thought if this is what they do to get around Europe , I will have to give it a try it was certainly different from cattle trucks or dock work, clean work ,cheap ■■■■, just carry on and see how it goes…
As we neared the road junction for the turn off I gave Pete a call , we were now on the road to Ost-end and he started to move around ,where are we ,he said, I told him ,and he said just follow the Ost-end sign, and give me a shout when you start to get near the town you will see all the lights in the distance, and you will come to a service station as soon as you get in to the outskirts.
Now I had pulled in the parking area ,a few lorries parked up. Pete once up, ■■■ on the go, he told me the options we had,of what to do now, I asked what he meant, the Zeebrugge would have gone by the time we had got there, not another sailing untill8am, so,!the Ostend ferry goes at midnight,or we could go to Dunkirk, however you need a pre-booking number for a ticket ,where as Ostend, ,Zeebrugge,the company has two pre reserved tickets for every crossing ,guaranteed. It was a game of where do we get the most time off without moving the lorry.[time off]
So Ostend it is ,he lets me still drive , I am following instructions ,however I did see the signs to the ferry port clearly signposted through the town, to the port , we arrive at the gate Pete told me what to say ,then we parked up then go into the ticket office, where Pete tells the staff that he would like a[ Plug in ]on the ferry , yes “ok it will be done,” I have no idea what he was on about , I would find out later ,no handshakes, very different from Zeebrugge we collect our tickets, and then go to the loading bays for loading on the ship and wait
I then asked what PLUG IN was,=
It is when you want the refrigerated unit on the trailer to keep going to keep the temperature correct while you are on the ferry ,you switch off the diesel engine that runs the engine,and you then plug into a electrical socket at the bottom of the engine with a electrical cable supplied by the ship into the ships electrician system .The ships run on a DC system ,not like our houses that are AC. How it all works I still am not sure, however when the cable [ just like the caravan 3 pin system] is connected you have to be in attendance with the ships electrician, as YOU! have to make sure that the fan that the engine has on the front of the fridge unit ,is on the right phase, that it is sucking in air to cool and work the fridge and not blowing out i.e. sucking the cold air out from the inside of the trailer and blowing the minus-24 air out ,it was a common occurrence if not checked…all you did was to stand at the front ,of the trailer fridge unit and throw a piece of tissue paper up to the front grill air intake if it sticks to the front all was well it if blew away you had a problem.[i got to know all this later on] …as you had to wait for the electrician, that took time, you could be first on the ferry loading deck but the last to go up, or down as on the Ostend ferry’s for food or a bed…waiting for a electrician…
The diesel fumes would eventually leave the bottom decks and creep up to the others decks [also the other reason the noise, fumes if any drivers are sleeping in their cabs] another option was to turn the fridge off ,and take a chance that the frozen goods temperature did not drop to much, if you had a long distance to travel after leaving Dover the temperature would drop to the required one. The only thing was you were unable to open the trailer back doors to check the produce temperature as the customs seal was not undone until at the delivery, if you had a customs check in Dover ,that was frequent , they would reseal the trailer and mark the C .M. R. as resealed ,and it was not unusual for the customs to be at Cold Stores around the country and to be checking all European imported goods
history cont. SATURDAY…
We eventuality get to a cabin with 4 bunks ,after a meal at midnight- ish. We are soon roused by the banging of doors grunts and groans, up we get and troop in to the drivers room for yet again something to eat and coffee ,god not more coffee, it is all like a non stop unreal adventure for me ,it is something I had no idea at all existed [the work] how come it had been kept away from me ,it was just like being back at sea, all the unusual hours ,coffee and food at odd hour. a kind this is different it is not a job, it was not what you call regular, the whole package, and I liked it, out of the ordinary , I expect that sort of sums me up I do not like being put in to boxes, if that makes sense.
Lorry drivers are called ,over the ships tannoy (ships communication system}to proceed to their lorry’s, do not start you engine until told to by the ships crew , yeh ,all the foreigners under stood that, [not] The diesel fumes were terrible by the time we got down as the ferry had not berthed yet and the doors were not opened
Pete pulled the electrical lead out and switched the fridge back to diesel, but did not start it up that would wait until we were outside from the ferry, as the fridge used red diesel that gives out so much black smoke when started it is like a chimney on fire.
It think we must have had about 3 hours in bed, ,it was all a new way of working ,that was sure.
Once Pete had drove off the ferry you go through numerous checks. Boarder control customs. asking questions where country have you come from ,where did you load, what did you take out, when did you leave England, all relevant I expect even back then it was impossible to bring anyone into England without anyone knowing, and while you were inside doing the customs, there were customs men searching your cab ,for any contraband, 200 cigarettes ,and 1 bottle of spirits, 6 bottles of wine ,any anything else you should not have, ■■■■ was a instant arrest . and to get inside a load on a lorry as they do now was unheard of.
After I got more experienced I found out that problems escalate if you are not truthful to customs if you get caught with extra cigarettes and not declared them and do not want to pay the duty you are subjected ,” ell the lorry is “what they call [impounded] that means, your load does not get customs cleared until the whole load is taken and inspected in a loading bay by them. It was known to take a day sometimes, and if it was caused by you the drivers fault for smuggling ■■■■ or spirts too much beer you were in deep ■■■■ with any boss, as you would more than likely lose a delivery time and date also a fine for importing extra goods it was a big deal back then and tabaco was1pack of 6 sachets any more and big trouble for you the driver It did not happen to me i was not that daft .some did.
.Once clear of the interrogations from customs and immigration, every driver was treated the same ,the “port of Poole was the worst ”I found out as time went bye , we went and parked up, then you had to go and put you custom papers into a clearing office ,that was run by the clearing agents, however theses were only [runners]working for the agents that were at the other end of the dock, so it was them who took your paper work down to them, it could take 1 to 4 hours on a good shift
The clearing of paper work for any load is the payment of any duties needed to be paid by the importer for importing, so most companies use the agents who serve them best and the agents hold a monetary fund on the importers be -halve to pay the duties. However the money sometimes get used up before the end of each month, and that causes delays for loads to get customs cleared allowing the lorry to go to the delivery time slot they have [Sometimes after all the effort you put in to get the load back to a port so as you can meet a delivery time was a waste of your time.
It is now about 6 am with the hour turned back from continental time,[ your tachograph stays at UK time at all times] time for another sleep, we had had about 3 hours [rest -sleep]as the agents runner knocks your door if your load is cleared, so you can get your pass to exit the dock . now you have to go and get some stamps on your paper work from the dock -board to let you out the gate, no stamps =no exit. [stamps=franks like the post office use] not postage stamps…
Also Pete was doing some routine lorry checks before going on to the roads ,oil, tyres, lights ,flashers make sure the fridge has diesel and nothing hanging off, as he told me if you go out of the main gate at Dover on theA2 towards LONDON there are always Ministry of Transport checks along that road, so if your Tachographs are suspect, you go out to Folkstone and take a chance, there are not as many lay-by s to be pulled over along that road ,all though Folkstone was a busy cross channel port as well,[ more later]
By this time we were ready to leave and we left Dover behind, the time in my body clock was utterly upside down but it was getting near 12 noon and we were going back via Northampton as someone else was going to get the lorry unloaded for Pete while he went home also me.
It was about 4 in the afternoon when we arrived back at the depot .all handshakes all round,[again]i met another driver ,he did not look old enough to drive ,obviously he was, I collected my gear, said my goodbye , more [handshakes I have not got it yet] and home I go, still full of the experience I have just had. It must have been about 48 hours on duty.
It was then ,at that moment, I should have thought hang on !,i,!me!, have just worked ,like as if I was a owner driver, and that that lorry was mine , it was not.! think about the pay rate ratio- per hour you knob! ,work it out the money is ■■■■, dummy! But I did not, not one of those thoughts crossed my mind, I must have been star struck ,glory hunter, ■■■■■■! I remember getting home and I was full of it ,plus 200 cigarettes duty free ,bonus.
Life and work went on as usual not a lot of market runs for me it seemed to be supermarket timed delivers in different lorry s, and it was working all right however I did seem to be getting the Sunday run on a regular basis that was a job to get used to however I was now getting into the rhythm of not thinking what day it was ,a Sunday could be the same as a Wednesday, also the pay was the same, no extra for weekends and I had now excepted that as now normal, the same as the others that were not owner drivers but like me.
There were story’s going around by different drivers about other drivers .what they had done ,different countries they collected goods , all stories, however one Sunday at Northampton there was this “ left hand drive” D A F, English number plates in lorry terms it did not get much better, I had never seen anything like it, the driver was about my age ,well dressed ,as if on holiday, and he had brought a full load of Oranges from Spain.[[little did I know then]] we got chatting after the handshakes, and it turned out he was the longest serving driver ,and a employee like me, the lorry was Rokold s, it was the flagship as they called it ,a high -line cab perfect inside, i did sit in it, it felt funny left hand drive he did say that he was the only driver of that unit but sometimes when needed it was used by others just to do short jobs[GOD FORBID] I thought it must take years to get used to that.[left hand drive].
So my load was ready , more hand shakes, and away I go ,and get delivering ,that went as normal, no problems ,when I got back the yard was quite, I parked up and went home.
Next thing I know the phone was ringing 11 am ,down to answer the phone, I knew who it would be ,and I was right . Could I be back to Northampton by 2 o clock, without hesitation said yes ,it was not normal for me, but I had realised if I show willing, things would be good for me and I might progress on to the Continental work eventually .
Pete had asked if I could be his second driver again ,so I took a few extra clothes this time .
When I arrived it seemed as if he was waiting for me , but there was no lorry there ,none anywhere, only a old white Volvo car.
After hand shakes and small talk ,the story was we were both going in the car[the company drivers runabout] to a place called Lamberhurst in Sussex, where Pete s truck [not lorry now. a truck] was being loaded and it needed 2 drivers as it was a urgent load ,so off we go and go down the Motorway
next we know the car is chugging ,spluttering, running out of petrol, ■■■■ me ,we just left the yard next door to a petrol station, there should be a can in the back, Pete said, !yes there was ,■■■■■■■ empty. so we are now stuck, pushed for time out of petrol Pete has to ring Alan via the breakdown service telephone on the side of the motorway and they relayed the messageat the yard ,and ask him to bring us some petrol.
While we are waiting Pete then told me the story of this VOLVO dive rs runabout company car
When drivers are anywhere, in England and they are due a proper legal break [rest]or want 2 days off for any reason , and they are loading a Export load and it is their own lorry ,or a company lorry ,a spare driver such as what I am [no company lorry of my own]will go wherever they are in the Volvo car stay and load the lorry or whatever, and the driver goes back in the car .then the loaded truck gets brought back to wherever place for Export .and the driver goes to meet it in the car again because he has kept the Volvo with him to use as he pleases ,and then the question of petrol arises.
Company men like me who use the car ,put the petrol on their expense sheet , and get reimbursed the money ,however owner drivers that use it ,like Pete had ,have to stand the cost themselves as the bonus for them is that they are getting there lorry loaded for free ,by the company s spare drivers[ as they are contracting hauliers to Rokold].
So Pete thought the car had been filled up, but it had not .so who will pay for the petrol from Alan ,as it turned out Pete was given some money to fill the car up on the company, another lesson learned check the petrol…i was under the impression that Pete was the owner of the unit and he subcontracted to Rokold, how wrong I was, he was a employee just the same as me ,however very experienced .
I had never met anyone before so dedicated to Rokold and a boss before god! I knew how I was to be ,and act ,from now on not easy for me. But i would try, and say the right things
in front of Pete from now on, as I suspect he has a influence over a drivers future within Rokold. It turned out he did
When we got to our destination, a abattoir in a village on the main road to the south coast if you were to blink you would have missed the entrance I was pleased I was taken there and not had to look for it. You drove in between two houses , just enough room for a lorry. a few houses built close around it, seemed a strange place for a abattoir to be. Once there it was a very large establishment.
There were two trailers parked up close on the loading bay and the fridge units were roaring away ,Pete was met by another of Roklolds drivers I had not met ,he been loading the trailer[well not actually fiscally but in charge of the movement when required he told us that that it was not finished loading yet, as they had to wait until the temperature of the lamb carcasses had reached -0 to +2/3 in the chill rooms inside the abattoir, and then the vets would release them for loading ,[could be a while he said],
The program was for the driver to take the car and go home ,or he might have to drive somewhere else to relive another driver who needed to go home? It was now about 6 o-clock in the evening. After the driver had left Pete put his gear in to the cab and he brewed a cup of tea up as he said the small canteen would be closed here.[[i would get to know this abattoir very well in the future]]
Pete then asked me if I would like to walk around the abattoir, i declined and he sort of said ,what is it do you not like Animals .are you squeamish. i laughed ,and proceeded to tell him about my butcher boy work when not at school working down the local abattoir, and all my cattle truck days, that sort of shut him up ,and he never said any more about it …
The plan was we were to go to a port that was going to be Rams gate to Dunkirk we had deliverers in Belgian and then one in Koln Germany and we had to have the tachographs right as we could get a check at the German boarder at [Aachen] and if they were not correct we would be in trouble so we did not put tachographs in until we were ready to leave, for the reason it would give us 22 hours to get the job done [we hope].and not lose time .He did tell me this job we were doing was very hard [ i.e. pushing for time]and it was the first time that they let a novice like me to double man driving.[that was supposed to make me feel good] Pete did tell me both bosses asked him how I had been on the other trip and did I moan, and he told the truth and said I was keen to learn .
It must have been around 8 pm and we pulled of the loading bay, got sealed up and made our way ,i was told it was best if I got most of the England driving done as Europe around back roads could be tricky ,so my first taste of driving 18 tons of hand meat, he told me I would get the feel of it once I got going and the sensation of being pushed when slowing down and the corners were tricky. If you look at a map of Sussex ,you will see Lamberhurst A27 and country roads over to Rams-gate via the narrowest villages you could find the most narrowest place ever ,so I was a bit tongue in cheek for a start, it was a test really to see if I could handle it.[ Pete did not know me] as well as he thought .after my time on cattle trucks.
It was getting on for midnight when we pulled into the dock and the Ferry line was called SALLY LINE. we did the export checks that was new to me, so I was all eyes and ears different procedures.
The food was really good steaks sausage, veg chips, sweets, all hours of the night and day, so we really tucked in as I had not eaten pro-ply all day also they let you take and make sausage sandwiches for later .not a lot of drivers on board however some were very regulars on this run so they said. and the crew were mostly from Mauritius .it was a French owned Ferry. It was about a 2 hour crossing from the start until getting off.
The reason we used this route was that you did not need a French Permit to use this route as it was called a FREE ZONE a very short coast journey from France to Belgian the place was called Aden-kirk , the road only allowed you drive that way and not into France.
Once off the ferry [after the routine of unplugging the refrigerated trailer] at the boarder limited controls ,and away we went i was driving ,just to get back in the hang of left hand drive, and heading for Brussels, but going to a place called Kortreck .our first delivery, the roads were very quite,and once off the duel track ,at the right place ,Pete took over driving as we were now into very narrow country roads that looked like water dykes each side no margin for error. it was pitch black except for the truck lights we seemed to be skirting a town and sort of looking for a back entrance in to a housing estate, once we had turned in we pulled up outside a butchers shop all lights blazing one person standing outside, the fridge unit blaring away, just what you wanted in a housing estate, Pete jumped out of the drivers seat, shut the fridge off ,but kept the truck running ,so as we had lights. And it looked just us 3 there, and that was it I did see that the man had some white coats over his arm as we had the handshakes ,and some gruntie noises from the massive chap ,the butcher, and a few pigeon Belgian words from Pete ,that seemed as understood by the butcher.
I was still Puzzled as what was going on, but once the butcher had broken the seal on the back door and opened it ,i new then what the coats were for ,we had to get up and pass the meat down to this man, nice first time for everything, I could not believe what we were doing but I kept quiet ,and followed what Pete was doing.
We knew when we had to stop passing the meat down as the abattoir had tied a string, around the next delivery so as you new when to stop but Pete new that, and I did now [learning].The unloading done we went into his house ,washed our hands they were covered in grease, and given some horrible Luke warm Belgian coffee.
All ready to go handshakes and grunting again and off we go towards Brussels, it was starting to get light ,and I said I could eat something to Pete and he assured me when we get to the next place it is a proper arbitrator and we would eat then. and maybe get 2 hours sleep, just what I needed.
What I can say about the Europe roads they are so well signposted ,as you approach BRUSSELS it tells you the way to go for GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG ,and all kinds of different new names of places I had never heard of, also 3 lane roads and they are not like our motorway.ys people are changing lanes ,overtaking and undertaking as it is normal ,also this area of the country Pete told me that you give way when you are on a roundabout, to let traffic come on to it when you are going round it is the wrong way for us English we had just gone past the High Zell football stadium that was a good future reference point to remember.
Before we arrived, after we had to do a massive roundabout route that put us the right way for going out back to the duel road, this delivery was on a slope once Pete had backed up to the doors for the meat to be unloaded , the ground had such a slope on it there was no way you would stay in a bunk, let alone sleep i realised weeks later that Pete knew that we would not get a sleep but doze off in the seats. but he never said .After a hot dog type sandwiches called [ a frickadella] we sat uncomfortable in our seats with feet on the dashboard /windscreen dozing off.
Once finished paperwork signed ,and they shut the back doors once we pulled of the loading bay, Pete never got out to check anything so he said to me ,you drive gave me directions then promptly lay on his bunk ,it did not bother me because I was still full of it ,me driving in Europe, unbelievable.
We headed for a place called Luige on the way to the German boarder it was to be our last Delivery in Belgium, he told me to go to the 3 rd turn off [city centre] but he said you will go down this massive hill, be careful, other traffic will try to push you faster than you want to go, but keep slow ,and ■■■■ -em. so that is what I did when I got there ,and the hill was massive, the odd truck went past and blew its horn in disgust; I expect, the weight of the meat was pushing us down the hill without much effort from the engine I just did a royal wave and ■■■■ you to the foreigners ,well, !they were foreigners to me ,not thinking I was the actual foreigner.
We were running along side a massive river of canal, so I gave Pete call ,as I did not want to get to a junction and have to make a decision which way to go , so he rolled out of the bottom bunk, took a look to where we were and said just carry on ,he seemed not to happy, perhaps he was tired because I was.
After time we arrived at the unloading place ,just like a warehouse , a few men rolled up , I opened the trailer doors ,and ■■■■ me we seemed to have gained more meat than we had before, it seemed it was a normal practice for companies to use transport that was going to the same company to move meat around without paying for it unless Pete had a backhander from the company I would find out later.
Pete walked round to the back and started the handshake routine, they all seemed to know him and he said to me go and have a lay- down we might be here a while. I did not need telling twice.
I felt as if I had been asleep about 5 minutes once I was woken up by the engine starting, Pete said we have now go to the Belgian customs to get sealed up for going into Germany, all good new stuff for me learn, I did ask about the extra meat we had on from Brussels to Leagie , and was told it was a regular thing ,that was in fact illegal ,for a English truck to do internal delivers within any country but your own country that also applies to any foreign truck in any foreign country. No internal work done at all .but some people know no one is going to check.
What it does it is supposed to protected your own home haulage market ,who wants johnny foreigner doing our work. The Belgians did not give two monkeys . The practice of doing that internal haulage is called [CABOT AGE] that was in the whole customs era now , since borders are open anything goes in 2014. trucks can go any where and load anything.
So there must have been some reward for Pete but he never said, or parted with any cash, I expect I will find out my self later on He did say that they were the same company so no harm done ,yeh:!
As we approach the turn off for trucks at the boarder ,after going up this massive hill ,we had to go off into a parking area that was full of all kinds of foreigners trucks it was like being in a toy shop. So, Pete then went on to explain what was to happen next .
First we had a GERMAN PERMIT that was to be stamped, then we had to make a fuel declaration[ 200 litres only allowed in the country]then passports, the go to a agent to clear the customs forms T2forms from Dover. III had never in my life seen anything like it ,inside the massive clean hall because that what it was , loads of different uniforms all armed , imposing loads of load talking real gruff GERMAN , as I /we were not used to this is was imposing ,and I thought jesus, it looked as they would lock you up for nothing,[[ no wonder they frightened the foreigners during the war]] and I had never seen such long name above offices ,in German, nothing in English or any other language so intimating, I was pleased we won the war…
Pete took me to a hut and had a coffee and bratwurst sausage and mustard in a crispy roll, lots of different cigarette smoke ,and language all around, no handshakes ,no greetings just grunts , to me any way,it was After about 1 hour Pete said lets go and see if we are cleared from the customs I did ask him why we did not stay in the truck and not sit in the café, and his words of wisdom! this time true, said, if you stay in your cab, and being English,[they tell by your number plate and the GB sticker /sign[obligatory] , the police will want to see you tachograph records, including the previous days, and they walk around the parking area just for that. A nice easy form of collecting fine money, if the discs are not correct, however our get out now is that if you have fresh meat of any kind you are told to leave the parking area with all the paper work given back to to you by the Agent ,and all you forms stamped ,and they did not check the amount of diesel we had and leave by a back road and proceed to the German veterinary for them to inspect the meat, and get clearance to leave for your delivery.
I had no idea of where I was ,and I was driving
[God knows what was happening with the tachographs. Who was driving etc Pete was switching the mode switch around all the time he was obviously on top of it] we were following a sign that said [schlachthof] that was abattoir, we got there in the end but we were far away from the motorway in the town of old Aachen, Aachen was one of the first towns to be conquered by the British army in 1945 ,when you see the hills around you thing how the hell did they do it.
Once cleared by the veterinary ,who did thoroughly check the meat as we were backed on to a unloading bay ,so they could walk into the trailer, I stopped in the cab ,Pete waited on the loading bay [ or dock] eventually we were cleared to go ,to Koln ,[ cologne] to the meat market called the Grober market Pete knew the way I had no idea ,where to go Pete , Pete was going up in my esteem as a man, but I know it was all going in my head , night time or not, what I could see to remember for maybe future reference, [who knows] and that works well for me ,once seen not forgotten.
I had completely given up on the time, and how much rest we have had ,it was if it was not a job at all it just seemed normal to do what we were doing,
Pete told me we will come up to the motorway again ,and cross 2 rivers then we follow the signs for the zoo, and that takes us to the market for unloading.
After time I eventually found the Grober market told where to back up to by Pete , he jumped out lots of ,[good -an-tarts] German for Hello] and he opened the trailer doors, and I backed up on his instruction on to their ramp/unloading bay ,and that was it, i thought ■■■■ me what a day all day ,Pete was inside having a coffee with some one and I could feel the movement of men walking in the trailer unloading, and a feeling of tiredness s seemed to come over me, ready for some proper sleep■■?
Next thing I know we are moving again, I must have dropped off, like a stone, I asked Pete where are we ,what we doing ,when do we sleep, all in one go ,the answer was we will just get out of Germany ,then park at the next service station ,as we are loading in Holland in the morning. But we have to wash the trailer out before we can do anything else but we will sort that out after a sleep The inside of the trailer is covered in blood and snot and grease we come again to the customs at Aachen and we still have to go to all the small offices for a stamp on our pieces of paper to get a complete set of stamps then you get a exit stamp and off you go .and think thank god for that.
We now make for the first service station in Belgium and sleep, it did not take long once there to get in that top bunk, I let Pete worry about the waking up time, I was sure he is on the ball.
It seemed like a very short time before I was being woken up, and I could hear the kettle making a noise , on the small gas prim-us- stove. And Pete, welcome back to the living was !we can not be long as we have to wash the trailer out and be loading by 2pm today, a 3 hour drive away.
I had no idea at all what Pete had done about the Tachographs and I was not bothered a far as anyone would know we had not been in to Germany, in fact if we do not get stopped in Holland or Belgian we have not been anywhere as far as the Tachographs are concerned, he obviously knows how to work [ fiddle]them to his and the company’s advantage and they must also know ,so I hope he will show me what to do.
Apparently the service stations in Holland supply more services than just fuel, you can get the use of a high power jet wash to wash the inside of a trailer out so all traces of meat are gone, and ready for another load, so long as you pay, payment by us was by a credit card ,very rare even now in the UK called a D. K. V. card , it is renown all through Europe within the transport industry you can get anything with it I mean anything, even in red light districts the card is taken ,like a transport only Visa. It was the first time I had seen or heard of it, once you are a established European driver for Rokold you get issued it only to be used when necessary .
The transit from Belgium to Holland ,because we were empty was very quick as if they were not bothered at all and we made our way to a service station that had a wash area ,Pete went into the payment office and came out with some bought tokens to put into the wash machine and he said we have 10 minutes of hot water and power the house was the longest I had seen ,my god these foreigners do not need any lessons in doing the job correct. Next thing Pete comes around from the cab with Wellington’s on ,and a pair of water proof leggings and a long raincoat/sou’wester jacket I was amazed, how much more am I going to learn, it seems as if you have to be self-sufficient.
His water profs were just what was needed and he did a complete through wash of the inside of the fridge it was perfect in side ,no trace of meat at all and as the lambs had been hung on string and not directly on the meat hooks they were clean. Once done he quickly went over his tractor unit with the hose before the time went out, and we were done, en-route to where I did not know. We went in to the coffee shop and had a machine coffee ,not bad ,a cup of tea would have been better ,but not enough time. Pete asked to use the phone ,and that was a yes and they passed him the phone from the office ,another !i cannot believe it they let him use their phone, never in England would that ever happen ,so this is Europe everything I have seen up to yet has opened my eyes ,why are we at home so behind ,god knows. he paid for the phone in cash and given a receipt
Pete comes back with loading instructions, we are to go towards the place we loaded at before to load near there today , I have no idea how far it is we do not have a map but Pete knows the way ,so he lets me drive ,and he dozes off, but he tells me which way to head for and just keep following the signposts until we get there or you have to have a break after 4 ½ hours [ that was joke]
It did not take long before I come to a junction where a decision was needed, left or right, so I had to pullover and shake Pete awake [not best pleased] go left ,towards, Eindhoven ,then pick up the sign for Tilburg, and he lays down again ,so I plod on now overtaking slower trucks , not that many slow ones were on the road ,speed did not seem to matter in Holland.
We got to the outskirts of the place we should be at for loading and I was given directions , to the factory gate ,the factory had a massive turning area for the trucks to get ready for backing down to a ramp onto a loading bay, once Pete came out of the office told me to back on to a bay as loading would start straight away, pallets loaded with frozen chips and we would not be long and the front pallets were smalls so they would fit under the meat hooks and the rear ones would make up the extra.
In no time we were loaded, custom sealed the rear doors that the factory paper work in order so next stop a ferry.
Time has flown from when I got up at 11am Tuesday morning it was now Thursday with no proper rest and now off again to a ferry Pete thinks we will miss the late Zeebrugge so to Ostend .
God knows what he is doing with the tachographs but I am sure he knows as he has changed the cards again. The fridge was set at -25 and roaring away however Pete said they were good at where we have just loaded and their product is nearly always down to the right temperature.
We move on to the road that soon took us to the boarder for Belgium customs , when we parked up I asked Pete if I could go and produce the paper work and get the feel of it ,and yes it was fine , so I went into the large foyer and could see only one office open with a sign DOUNE above the open door, I knocked ,walked in was met by grunts, passed the paper work over to the uniform/gun holstered ,no idea what was said, a couple of stamps later on the paper work I was out and back into the cab. I relayed what happened and was told that it was very rare to have any problems with the Dutch or Belgium’s authority, it was all the others.[countries].
I had now got used to the routine[for this trip] that I was doing the most driving, I treated it as a test to see if I would moan i did not , and carried on driving to Ostend I drove all the way up to the dock gate and booked us in to the ferry terminal, apparently we were not booked for the ferry now but a later one, but we would get on this one as Roklod was a good customer.
I thought that was a bit strange ,it clicked to me that we were ahead of our time, the office expected us to be later by about 6 hours, that was unusual ,later I would find out that Pete had done better than other drivers by not having the proper breaks, it was to show me ,”this is the way you do it ”and that he did the same when he was on his own ,no second driver.
Once off the ferry at Dover ,the routine was the same as last week I was feeling as if I was Mr experience,! no one else would and 200 cigarettes ,they would be sold. It sort of seemed all right to be working all these strange hours as every one else was doing the same , all though not many English seemed to be on the ferry.
Once cleared by the customs, the agents brought the clearance paper to us, and we then went for something to eat ready to make our way home, or not, Pete said we had to go to Frigo Scania in Kings Lynn a cold store that stored ,and processed ,and distribution of all frozen products from all Europe and was used by very big new supper markets ,and they work 24 hours shifts.
Was this another test I said ok no problem , I had no other choice really ,but to divert back to Northampton from Dover would have been ridiculous.
,it was the load first driver second, and you had to be prepared to do as the office would like or you will not last. I now see the important owner driver part of the company
I was now getting a good idea of what this job was and they want there own drivers to be exactly the same. I expect
you have two choices Stay or leave , for now, the job it seemed just for me I liked the running around different countries and the unsocial sleeping times ,the general way you were left to get on with the job and be left alone ,yes I knew the hour pay ratio was not that good however we were on a salary, so hopefully ,yes maybe in the middle of the week, that you would get more time at home, it would be worth a try if I get offered a job on European.
We made good time and I drove ,Pete said it would keep him clear to ship out again if I used my Tachograph. =The plan was that I had just arrived by car into Dover to take this lorry to unload and drop the driver [PETE]off at his house and I was to carry on and get it unloaded and back to base
if we got stopped by the ministry of transport for a tachograph card check.
He had got the previous tachograph cards we both had used and sorted them as if he had just been to Belgium yesterday, I had not been near that truck… so that is how they do it,total disregard for the law, however we were in Europe and no one cared a rats arse so do as the others do, do not forget the new Motorways were not built, the A2 .M . one Dartford tunnel, no Ministry check points at all , the only time you would have had a check if you were involved in a accident.
We had arrived at the cold store and drove straight on to a weigh bridge and the gross weight is record and when you finish you have to go back on to the bridge to get your tare weight ,then the load weight is taken from the gross and then you have the weight of the load, as you could have the right number of boxes but not the correct weight the senders of the goods has said [short weight, not uncommon].
We were told we had a booking in time of 12 o clock that night so park up , and wait. Pete looked a bit sheepish we could have gone to Northampton ,and I am sure he knew when the delivery was, but he is in charge of the truck if I was not with him he would have done exactly the same ,so I said ,good have another sleep, there were lots of other trucks parked up the noise of the fridges roaring away was tremendous, but no one seemed to care at all ,and I was getting used to the noise as well.
While waiting to get on to a unloading bay, the foreman unload er came and took the seal of the back doors , and climbed in as far as he could go and collected 1 box of goods, so he could go and check that the correct temperature had been kept and the product was the right temperature.
Before we had a sleep we kept getting lots of door knocking from workers asking if we had any duty free to sell, cigarettes or spirits wine anything cheap Pete told me more about the selling of any goods at most of the cold stores you would go to. He said, what you do is let the fork lift drivers have first choice of anything you may have ,and they will ask you if you are going back to Europe, and if it is for a load back to where they are as it was a regular run for Rokold trucks ,sometimes you will go back empty from Kings Lynn to Dover to load the next day in Belgium or Holland then straight back to Kings Lynn and they would put a order in if [1] you have the cash to buy goods, and [2] do you want to bring in more than your allowance [3] if you are caught by a customs officer anywhere and you are selling duty free goods you are in deep ■■■■. So it was up to you.
As it was ,I was not interested as I had no control of what I did ,also Pete would not commit himself ,as he did not know what he would be doing next ,if he did he would not tell me, as I expect he will be glad to get rid of me, and I do not blame him I would not fancy having a second driver with me ,however if the bosses say you will you will it is their truck, end of.
After getting unloaded, and the trailer swept out and weighed [by me ] before we made our way back to the depot . One thing Pete impressed on me was to make sure that when you collect your c.m.r note up from the office when the unloading is finished make sure they do not write any remarks on the paper work as that c m r is a legal document, and it is the only way a company can get paid for the load by that note ,with a clear signature, meaning that the load count is correct ,the load temperature was correct, and the given weight , when you arrived and the time , that done home.
When we arrived back at the depot it did not take long for me to get my gear together, and say good by and [handshake],as it was all closed up ,no empty pallets ,or nothing around, only our two cars.
What Pete was going to do I have no idea.
I soon travelled home, quick wash and to bed.
After my European trip work seemed to by very quiet not that many night runs and no market runs at all just the supermarket work and the pallet loads seemed a lot less than before, however I just enjoyed the time off as I knew when the time come it would be longer hours than normal!.
On one run to a few different supermarkets I was told that I had to have the night out and collect some pallets in the morning, yes fine by me i was now used to doing as I was told and not re -bell or moan .
As it was ,I had no idea what was going to happened next, as I was loaded ,i needed to ring the office to see if the pallets were for home base or somewhere else I was told to bring them back to the yard as quick as I could Mr East wants to see me, I thought another trip over the water.
Once in the yard ,i parked up ,went in to the office and asked for Mr East ,i was told to go in to his office, he stood up shook my hand ,and said Vic I am sorry we are going to let you go, work has got bad and there is not enough for all the men .last in first out…Then he said we may have got you some work with a local contractor, he gave me the details ,sorted my wages out ,said if any thing comes up again he would call me ,that was me finished at Northampton and that was that I said my good bys ,Alan said sorry,i new they would keep the young men on, so I went to find my new employee ,i hoped.
The new employer lived and worked at Milton just out side Northampton, I rang him up and he told me to meet him at the Ipec depot ,he gave me the address. after getting through security, I was told where to go and he had a small office at the end of a massive loading bay, that had about 20 trailers parked on it.
The job was first to be shunting the trailers on and off the loading bay as a contractor for the company running the job .Ipec , that turned in to T.N.T the massive parcel and goods distribution.
After time ,also when required you will have to drive a trailer up to the Glasgow depot, that would be a night job once there you go into a bed and breakfast in Glasgow while the lorry and trailer is taken around Scotland all the delivers done then it is reloaded back up for you to run back down to the Northampton through the night, you get back to Northampton park it up in the depot we are in then you go home. If you are required for the next night we ring you by 2pm to let you know.
Yes that sounded good, but the money was Tax free ,that meant you had to do the tax yourself.[self-employed] also he does some containers runs to and from Felixstowe, well it was a job I would go for it .I started the next day at lest I understood what the job was and you got told what to do, and they had a canteen.
I was busy for a time then it would slow down. The man I worked for was a ex middle east driver, photographs all around ,early 1970s he must have been very young. However most men that did that work deserved all they had made out of the jobs it was not for everyone.
It kept me busy for a week, then I thought all the travelling by car and shunting ,i had had enough so I said I am going to finish. No likely Scotland trips so I am off!, ooh hang on a minute, he said you are down for the Sunday night run , was he telling porkies or I was down for the job ,he said no you are on the job all next week ,yes I will stay then and that was the start of another fine mess…
The tractor units we used were from MANN HIRE and they were flying machines 70 mph was the normal speed once on the Motorway well if you did not get caught. Once you left Northampton you drove for 4and half hours had 45 minutes break then another 4 ½ drive and you should be in Bellshill Glasgow that was how fast them trucks were ,really in day time you would not have done it ,even in 1 days drive of 10 hours , however at night ,unbelievable distances were covered the trucks had the power as if you were driving a car, you could accelerate just like a car with a full load .of 20 tons quite remarkable even now when I thing about it, in actual fact when I do like now it was so, so, dangerous I shudder. However once again by luck I came off all right .
Once in Glasgow you would leave the truck in the IPEC yard and a man would take you up to your bed and breakfast, have a breakfast ,then bed, he would collect you again at 6 o clock at night, you had no dinner there, after the first time I soon got myself organised when home I brought a small gas cooker, pan. And tins of food, and cooked it in there rest room when I was back there it caused quite a show as they had never seen a driver cook before. not as I was experienced, I got the idea off of Pete ,never go hungry when you can do it yourself…
I started to get used to the pattern of work on the Glasgow the boss and his partner did have a small issue as we were only working in total driving 9 hours the boss wanted us to do some more work when we got back to Northampton, small local work just to fill the hours in as we got paid a days rate ,night or day and the hours were never defined ,so I think he thought we were getting away with money for no work, so I did what he asked ,then went home to bed later than usual,[not good
One evening just before I was leaving Glasgow the boss phoned me and said when I get back to Northampton ,drop the trailer at the depot then pick another trailer up and go and deliver it to the car factory in Luton. Vauxhall I never gave it much thought about 1 hour from Northampton to LUTON, tip the trailer then out and home I thought it would be a couple of hours.
i When I eventually arrived at the car factory the parts I had on the trailer were marked urgent production line, it did not mean a thing, I was told to park up and would be called in when they were ready. I knew from previous car factory experience that once you got into the queue going around the production area that was you basically ■■■■■■, end of. It is like going around a supermarket following 2 mobile scooters ,with blind people driving.
After god knows how many hours still at Luton ,it was getting that I would not have time to drive back, so there and then I made my mind up that was me finished when I got back , no way to ring anyone up no public phones within the factory for drivers use…
Once on my way ,non stop straight to the depot, I was met by the boss, all full of sorry, I did not realise they said it was urgent, I said no problem ,get some other mug, bye that is me done, he protested ,ore look I gave you a job a favour for Mr East ,i replied you get Mr East to come and do it then, off I went ,to the nearest phone box and rang Roklold at the depot at Oxford and told them what I had done ,and said thanks for the job but no thanks ,and whenever they want me ring home…
Now started another episode of driver with out a job, I first called in at S. T Challis as it was on the way home and explained my situation and could they help they would ring, never did, so I had to look further afield from home ,in the local paper drivers wanted at Aylesbury ,that was nearly 35 miles away, however I thought I would ring, and ask for a interview, it was in a village called Aston Clinton, did not mean nothing to me , i got a day for a interview , in two days time, i have no idea what sort of work they do or anything but I had seen the lorries around and no way of finding out .
I arrived at the village and found the yard , I drove in ,and looked around for a parking place, found a visitors one and parked. Little did I know that I was being observed to see where I left my car.
However I reported to the office explained who I was and was told to sit and wait. I had dressed
with some smart clothes and a tie ,a bit over the top for a drivers job but I wanted work.
I was shown into a office and a young -ish man sat at a desk very smartly dressed, he did not get up just looked and there was a chair pulled out my side, but I did not sit I just stood there.
He then said who he was ,and what did I want so I said a driving job if they have any vacancies,
then where have you been working? . I said I can give you my full working record since I left school, and got out my discharge book with various bits of paper and certificates also my HGV driving licence, Ohh he said you have a class one licence all self-explanatory , so I told him everything from school until that day. While I was in mid flow a older man come in to the room. Also very well dressed and sat on the edge of the desk ,never said a word.
When I had finished talking ,my history, the other man Mr Fowler ,the big boss , said we never employ any men who do not live within a 10 mile radius from Aylesbury ,however if you can start tomorrow we will overlook that rule, and that was me at Aston Clinton Haulage, A. C .H.
I had to be at the yard for 6 am , to start then take it from there it was a good 40 minutes drive from home on back roads, after a short time I started to try other routes, but it was nearly always the same time of travelling.
The work was varied ,from local shunting to unloading in the yard, and loading boxes of cereal for delivery, then delivering it ,you had no time at all, but I stuck with it, they were very long hours if I had known more then I would have stopped in the yard the odd night and sleep in a cab ,with no pay but it would have made life a lot easier ,as all the trucks the ran were sleeper cabs and of the full speck,[the most powerful].
The son David who interviewed me was what you called unfair, a prick ,thoughtless, and all the other meanings, but that was his way and people accepted it, me also as I thought I would get on to having a truck of my own and get some good work even with my limited European experience. Sadly it was not to be then i wanted to leave, but I had to do it right and not just finish ,so one day I got half way to Aylesbury stopped in a village, and said my car has just blew the piston, or valve and I could not make it in, and gave them the local phone box number so they could ring me back…[ no mobile then].
After time Dennis , David’s assistant, rang the call box back, and said if you cannot get in you are no good for us so you will have to finish, so I said fine and they would send my wages and p 45 and that was that for then It was what I wanted to happen in case I ever wanted to go back in the future .
Once home, car all good ,I decided to go S T Challis to see if they have any work, once in the yard straight to the drivers place outside of the office, i knocked the hatch, and was greeted by what the ■■■■ to you want, from the traffic clerk, laughing, nothing from you, but a job, he told me to wait `1 ,i will go to see the boss, after a short time Brian the boss came out and said we have a bit of tipper work if you want it , only local runs ,you can start Monday, and that was the way it worked in my area, straight to the point, the best way.
The tipper work was easy but long hours you were moving earth that was being dug out by machines for a new road ,and once loaded ,you then tipped it where you were told, most times it was to make a bank further back along the road ,or just to fill in holes [massive holes] left by pipes .
It was going good , I used to take a lot of sandwiches and 2 flasks i knew most of the drivers ,some from my village, and we would have a laugh. Plenty of time to eat, and drink all was good the money was manageable, but beggars cannot be choosers
.
I think I must have been there for about3 months and getting bored but nothing else to do ,i was not getting enough out of it if you know what I mean but no weekend work maybe the odd Saturday morning ,sometimes, they wanted you to help the fitters if they had a big job on, nothing technical but I was still learning about trucks ,engines and most of what went with the job, rewiring lights, all though the diesel engine had come on with the future there was still a lot of old basics and common sense .also I had had the ■■■■■■■■ engine workings to help me if I needed it. To a small degree.
Life was plodding on ,getting my self resigned to being on a tipper until they increased the fleet, when out of the blue my wife gets a urgent phone call from no other than Mr Robin East, from the depot in Oxford, asking where, and what I was doing, and asked would I ring as soon as possible, urgent. It was 7 o clock at night and I spoke to Robin .
Tom ,the first driver I went with had ,had a brain haemorrhage and passed away , he was on the service station by Liverpool, the trailer had been taken away to be unloaded ,however ,the unit was still on the service station the keys were in the mangers office ,was the any chance I could go up with another driver and bring the tractor, and the trailer [when empty] back down to Oxford. the lorry was leaving at 5am in the morning to get you to Liverpool later in the day are you able to go with it, also we would now need a relief driver ,if I wanted the job it was mine on Rokold not the other company J C. S. ,it would be reliving the European drivers on a regular basis and the previous man would have Toms truck permanently. I explained that I was permanent where I was and they would not take kindly to me leaving just like that, he said he new Mr ■■■■ who was the boss and he would square it with him, as they were on the road haulage association together and he would explain the situation .
It was a chance not to be missed it could be the break for me to get into European work so I accepted the offer.
I had to leave home at 4 am to get to Oxford before 5 am good job I did as the driver slept overnight at the depot and was ready to leave when I arrived, after a few delivers we made our way to the Liverpool area, I found out a lot more about the job some bits were good ,others I knew about [ the hours] the driver Geoff , who was Toms friend, also from Northampton still could not believe Toms death ,it only happened yesterday so it was shock all round ,well not for me but sad as he left a wife and children, all though when I knew him you would have thought he was single , I hope that is not the way this type of driving changes you, also he was ex army so he knew his way around.
I went and collected the truck keys ,from a office , they knew my name but wanted some ID ,that was all done .i rang the office ,and was told to pick the trailer up at Trafford park Manchester at a refrigerated depot. I was told check it over for any damage in the outside and inside, count the meat hooks that were hanging on the rails at the front, tyres, fuel in the fridge ,and all the trucks paper work was still in the cab folder, I was given a list to check, that all worked out correct, and to record the hours recorded on the fridge, [ a dial on the front cover of the hours the fridge has been run],make sure all the lights were working, as people will steal the lenses and bulbs, yes, the bulbs…
When that was done I rang the office ,and they said make your way to Dover and ring first thing in the morning from there. Yes that was what I wanted i knew it would be late by the time I get there
but I never put a tachograph card in until I left Liverpool so I had got plenty of time, well I thought I had.
I made it to the last service station, on the A2 Farthing Corner, before Dover and had a break by the time I got into Dover and parked outside the Agents office ,went in ,and the ■■■■ had hit the fan, what I was not told I was booked on the 6am crossing to Zeebrugge [when I had phoned from Manchester] [no cab or mobile phones] they had expected my to drive into Dover gone in to the Agents and they would have given me my loading instructions without parking up where I did and I could have booked off once inside Dover ,and by the time I had got off in Zeebrugge I would have had the proper break, also I would have had lots of broken sleep.! Moving on to the ferry etc I had no a clue, that was what I should have done.
I rang the office explained they more of less said it was their fault but told me if you ever have to get to Dover you must try to get there, as there is always a reason why. I think the traffic manager Peter Melcombe thought I was a old hand at the European way of working I had never met him I took a instant dislike to him, by his phone manner to me, one to watch.
Once I was on the ferry ,booked into my cabin and had a meal, it was time to go to bed for about 3 hours ,trouble was you never knew who your cabin mate was , so as Pete told me get to bed first and hope they do not snore.
Once off of the ferry the routine started as before ,and it all went well ,even the fuelling up as the credit diesel card all worked on the same pin number [so long as you knew it] I did not ,but Tom had it written down in the trucks book of paper work ,so I was soon away to get to the loading place. It was the same one as before when I was with Pete ,so I felt very confident that it would all be good and load without any hassle, and after a time of me getting there I was soon striding in to the loading office, full of it, until the Dutch man said in perfect English, you are late ,your load has been given to another driver so you will have to wait until the product [frozen chips] are down to the correct loading temperature , well what could I say but ok thank you I will be in the cab…
And that is where I went, I never said another word, I thought well ■■■■ you too. And laid on the bunk, it did not seem long when loud banging was on the door and shouting to me ,back on to the loading bay so I opened the rear doors , started up the fridge, ■■■■ !!I had forgot to do that before I arrived so as the trailer would be cold, [whoops] I was getting to cocky, and forgot the first rule. To get the fridge temperature down as low as possible, it will never get to minus -20 as there is not product in the trailer to hold the temperature but once the frozen goods are in the trailer and the trailer is all ready cold it will soon be down to -20
Also I think I learned another thing, other people do not like to see you go and lie on the bunk and read a book… [over time I learnt it really ■■■■■■ other people off especially if you have had a disagreement with them and it was your fault, and you shown that it does not bother you at all .]
Once loaded, I was told to pull off the loading bay, collect my paper work from the office and the customs will seal the back doors and I was ready to go. I did stop and think have I done all the right things , checked both diesel tanks. Fridge running ok , god knows what I would do if the fridge stops, I have not been told yet ,i must put that on a list ,of to ask instructions for if a brake -down occurs.
I made my way to the Belgium boarder and then the ferry port. Ohh no I forgot to ask what ferry to go back on, ■■■■ ,i stopped and tried to work the time out, and thought I was at about the same time as when with Pete, so I will go to Ostend ,then I had thought , [dangerous]look at what the T2 customs form said , and it was Ostend, so I now knew the office must have told the Dutch that was my port of exit.
I made my way there without any problems it was easy to find the port as the signs post were very good you just followed the sign with a ship on and it took you straight to the port gate, I completed all the paper work, and went and queued up with all the other trucks , that was not hard to accomplish, as I had been shown before what to do if I had not It would have been a different story.
Once on the ferry I asked the crew for a electrical plug in , and was told yes ok ,but wait for the ships electrician , that is what I did it seemed like hours however he came and sorted the plug in out and it worked the correct way ,that ,the way to test to see that it did not ■■■■ air out of the fridge was by holding some light tissue paper up to the front air intake so that it blew the paper and not ■■■■ it in, , as ships electricity system can vary so I was told? I was the last driver to leave the car deck eventually, I climbed my way up to the accommodation area found the driver only restaurant the food was English looking but cooked by Belgians as it was a Belgian crew, I had some food then straight down to the cabins for a sleep, I had the cabin number on my ticket, but the first thing was to find them , it seemed as if they were right down under the engine, and the noise was bad, Jesus I had spent a long time on ships ,never this noisy!!
I did find the cabin, and the bunk, and it was the top bunk as the other 3 were occupied so clothes on into the bed, I did learn a lesson, all ways strip off when ever you have a chance to sleep ,even for a hour ,as with clothes on you soon get roasting and cannot rest…
Next thing lots of noise, blokes burping and ■■■■■■■, coughing sounded like a cattle market and foreign language ,to me, I understood it was time to get up .and that was what I did and followed the herd up to the coffee, tea and ■■■, bar, also more food it seemed only 5 minutes before that I was eating, but we all seemed to get stuck in, mostly sausages, and hard boiled eggs , then the tannoy came over [all drivers report to the car deck and do not start your engines please until told to by the staff, ■■■■■■■■, by the time I got down to the truck ,the rear door was still down, and all these ■■■■■■■ ,stupid foreign drivers had the engines roaring away it was choking, and they did not give one ■■■■, what they did not realise as the deck crew could not take the safety chains off of the front of the trucks so they would be able to leave the ship, because they wanted to be first off what they did not realize that once they got to the customs they were going nowhere,.
Yes I had done it, I did all the right things parked up put my paper work in the agents box wrote on it where I was parked, and smartly went and got into bed again sleep seemed the main think lacking in this type of work
The next thing I know there is rapping on the cab door, i flew up pulled the curtain back and there was one of our drivers there, hanging off the wing mirror with his arms, shouting something, so I got dressed and opened the door and the first thing he said are we clear what! I said I have not long got in bed, he said well they usually clear this customer straight away, he said he would go and check, in the office where you get your exit stamp ,and the paper work to go .
He came back full of it and said it has been cleared 1 hour -ago, you should have been gone by now as the customer is waiting for the load,” hang on” I said I have only been here 3 hours and not had my full break, he replied, that he was taking the load and I was to be the passenger, ok that made sense. well sort of until I thought about it so off we go with me not driving so it did not matter any-more how much rest or sleep I had the load came first…
I asked the driver how he got here and he said he came down last night with another of our drivers and went in to a bed and breakfast, got up this morning to deliver the load ,and take me back because the office new I would not be able to drive for some time as my break hours were not up one thing was wrong no one told me alarm bells should have been ringing, this is no way to work ,however it was all new to me completely different from any other type of driving I knew .
so in fact I was off duty in the passenger seat basically it does not matter where you take your off duty break so long as you are not working …as time went by it was considered that if you were in a company vehicle you were classed as on duty, but that was much later .in the 1990s in actual fact if you were driving a company car to or from work of to relive another driver you were technically on duty, however who new , unless you had a accident in that car.
We arrived at “Bejams”at large “cold store” full of deep frozen food at a place called Frimley near Guilford to unload the pallets of chips, after time we were told to back on to the loading bay ,and wait for the green light , it was right by your cab when you were backed on the loading bay [or dock]you could not miss it to tell you that you were on the loading bay correctly , you would feel the ramp inside the store go down on to the deck of the trailer so they could start unloading.
But first the quality control would take off the first 6 pallets then on the 7th they would open the boxes for the correct temperature of the product and it had to be between minus-18 and -22, they would take all the boxes of the pallet and check the very bottom ones, just to make sure that the chips had been loaded at the correct temperature also that you had had your frigerated trailer running at the correct temperature -20 If not someone would be in trouble and the first would be the driver, as not checking the product temperature before loading, and was the fridge running correct, it was a bloody minefield this I learnt later through my own experiences you would never believe the checks you had to make and do while loading any product .
Once the load had been cleared to unload it did not take very long to get unloaded and get the correct amount of pallets returned, and we were on our way again, so where now for me I asked myself? we were going to Bedford for a truck and trailer service and I was to pick up a company car and go home and wait for the phone call. At least I had some duty free cigarettes.
I was asked at the cold store [what have you got on] I did not know what they were on about until the other driver, said some drivers bring in Beer, and tobacco for the cold store unloading staff to buy [in bulk] apparently they knew the lorry was Toms, and he looked after the lads at the store , well sadly no more ,they did not know about his death, but it was something to think about , however I never did bother for anyone, as I never had the cash to buy goods…
We soon arrived at Bedford, and the trailer was dropped in a service bay and the unit taken for a service next door, I was taken to see the boss of the work shops and asked if there were any outstanding faults on the truck or trailer i did say some of the tyres on the trailer were a bit short of rubber meaning the tread was low, all the other gauges on the unit were working oil and water was good ,there was no more to say, so I was shown the car I had to go home in and that was it, I was away… it was the same old Volvo first thing was I checked the petrol, and it was nearly empty, what a surprise, why would drivers leave a car with hardly any petrol in I did not know ,however I will now do the same.
I got home there was a telephone message for me to phone the office, Jesus they never left you alone for any length of time, it was something I was going to have to get used to that was for sure ,it was my instructions for tomorrow, I had to be down in Lamberhust the name of the village where the loading was for 5 pm and deliver the load of lambs that I had done with Pete before, on my own, I remember feeling pleased with myself as they were trusting me with a Export load for the first time, also inside I was really ■■■■■■■■ myself but no one knew only me.
After a good drive around the Motorways, the M25 was not yet built, under the Dartford tunnel and down to Lamberhurst ,i arrived in plenty of time, and I had brought a small gas burner and some food ,saucepan, tea ,excreta, just to keep me going and from spending any money on foreign food, the more I did not spend the more for me and home, well that was the thought I had not got round to finding a toaster, but I would.
The unit was the one I had driven before the old 2800 D. A.F, [Ex toms] the driver with the truck wanted to get off home ,and I did ask him why he was not doing the job instead of me, he gave me some story about his wife so I left it at that, anyway it was nothing to me ,he told me it was ¾ loaded and the last of the lambs would be soon loaded ,the truck fridge was roaring away trying to keep the inside of the fridge with the already loaded lambs down to a cool +1 as the doors were open being backed on to the loading bay of the slaughter house it was cold inside, the premises the lambs [meat]were kept inside special cool rooms to get the meat down to the temperature ready for transport. Vets were the only people who can allow any meat from leaving a premise also vets are employed all the while the process of slaughter takes place .
In side the slaughter house there are a series of tracks that run all around the ceilings that the meat hooks run on in and out of the cool rooms for the method of getting meat moved from place to place once the meat arrives by men pushing sliding the carcass at the loading doors in to the trailers, the carcass is lifted off and placed on to the meat hooks inside the trailer there are 5 different rails inside the trailer roof with about 60 hooks on each rail .with lambs being small one lamb is placed on the hook then another is hung underneath by a string so there are 2 lambs to each hook, quite a swinging load ,if you have more than one delivery string is placed around the whole load of lambs to let the unloaders plus the driver where that delivery starts so as not to get them mixed up or extra taken by the first customer as you would have no way of knowing when to stop taking the lambs ,also counting, but the driver is never allowed inside most abattoirs.
I went and checked the diesel for the fridge that is under the trailer it wanted filling up, I realised the truck tank was half full and I would be able to syphon some diesel out of the tank and put it in to the fridge tank, I thought yes I will do it.
So know I needed a piece of hose pipe at lest 6 foot long, and a container of sorts to transfer the diesel, easier said than done believe me, I knew how to do it as I have done it many times before but it can be a smelly dirty job, plus diesel tastes awful. If the trailer had not been loaded and the weight on the front end of it ,the easiest way would have been to drop the trailer where it was and back the unit alongside of the trailer so as the tanks are alongside each other, if the tanks are not on the same side you turn the unit around so as it is ,also you need a lot of room, so all that was out . It meant sucking the diesel up the pipe that you have pushed down , well down inside the trucks diesel tank, and you start sucking “ syphoning” until the diesel flows out ,and then you have to catch it in some form of container a old plastic oil can, and make sure you can tip it into the trailer diesel tank [not easy] it needs 2 people really as once you have filled your oil can the diesel is still flowing ,you have to lift the pipe up so it is above the level of the diesel in the tank, but make sure you have a bend in the pipe so as the pipe is not empty or else you have to start sucking again, believe me it is a pain in the arse and you get covered I did get a hand from one of their drivers and we managed to get a few gallons in the tank, no thanks to the other driver, [■■■■■
Now I had to get cleaned up and once the unit was under the trailer they started to load the last delivery, What I did not know was one of drivers from the abattoir was also going down to the docks on a export load he was going direct to the delivery at leige, and then into Germany and I was to follow him down to Dover the ship over to Calais [F] and I would follow him through to Belgium and then we would go our different ways, this was new to me ,apparently all things change when meat is involved ,and the office knew what was happening .
I was to pick a French permit up from the agent in Dover ,and Jimmy[ THE DRIVER ]was going to show me the route out of Calais, and how to go through the customs at Calais all straight forward well it is supposed to be. After time we were ready to go and he said we were going the back roads down to FOLKSTONE, the on to Dover I did not have a map with me .god!! it was the most fastest switch back ride I have ever had ,god knows where we went, but I did not let his rear lights out of my sight, and he warned me that when you get to Folkstone we will go up this massive hill ,and if it is wet if you miss a gear near at the top you will be ■■■■■■, as the steepness of the hill lets all the weight of the lambs hang back at angle, taking your traction away from your drive wheels as if you are skidding on ice, well that did not do me much good ,all I could thing about was missing a gear, so I thought right, I will put the truck in a low gear at the bottom and then I had no worry ,I expect I lacked a bit of confidence in my own ability and that is what I did and I did not have a problem ,i was slow, yes, but I never got stuck, when I caught Jimmy up at the docks he said I thought you were stuck, but I would not have been any help so I carried on, that was the right thing to do so he said .
We parked outside the agents and collected the paper work for me and a permit for France, then round to the customs part ,this time we had to queue up to go into the customs sheds for a seal check and a port health check, ]MAFF],to make sure we were veterinary sealed up [the trailer] .
That all done we then had to go queue up for the next ferry to Calais, they were nearly every 2 hours leaving Dover , I could see the point of coming this way instead of Ramsgate as it was quicker here, once we were loaded on to the ferry we had to ask for a Electric Plug , as no diesel engines were allowed to be run, once that was sorted and it was working the correct way we made our way up stairs for food in the drivers lounge.
We were on Sea-link ferries and the food was good . Jimmy asked if I had any French money at all, and no I did not he said we would need at least 5 French Francs for the customs as you go out of the gate, for the bung, for the excess diesel we had, you are only allowed 200 litres in France, I changed £10 sterling and received just over 10 Francs, and Jimmy told me do not give that much you must change it as they would take it all that… I am learning more, and we talked about my delivers and he told me about the Belgian border so as I was sure where to go ,he was a great help, I would have been struggling with out him, but that is why they sent me with him I expect…
Once the ferry docked we were about the last to get off as the electrician did not hurry himself, anyway there would be a massive queue waiting to get out of the dock after the customs. Once in the customs hall I just followed what jim said and I did not speak, there was no need to, the customs men all looked the same in massive coats , lots of chatter, stinking of French ■■■■, talking in grunts, and laughter, well they were in charge , after the stamp on the permit backing paper ,jim said he hoped they would stamp that, and not the actual permit as it could be used again [ I will explain later] I watched as the trucks drove up to the last barrier where you gave them the money ,[they called it coffee] the man jumped up onto the step hung on the mirror arm and looked at the fuel gauge on the dash board to see what it read ,full, or half full. Anyway they still had the coffee money whatever, and when it was my turn I drove up stopped and he did what I have said took the 5 francs said [Aur vior]
That was my first of many giving of French francs to the customs men ,only in Calais I must say no where else bothered with the fuel coming in to the country .they were the French Mafia. That practice carried on until the customs frontier controls finished in the 1990s.
Once clear, before I was let loose on my own , Jimmy gave me my last instructions , I crossed the same border in to Belgium as when I was on the other ferry, however I had to clear the customs there as it was my boarder of destination, apparently the veterinary clearance was done at the first delivery but Jimmy was there at the boarder to assist me so it went well
He told me all the deliverers will be waiting for me, as drivers for the abattoir. Company they did this run every 2 days for years and if there are no lights on at the premises ,knock the doors ,and they will soon be out as they were local Butchers shops, in towns obviously this was a regular run .
Once I found the first delivery I would be taken to the next one when I was ready by following a car, I think this job must have been another test as it was non stop full-go ,at the first delivery one man jumped up on the back of the trailer to take the lambs of the hooks and pass them down ,and I was given a white coat, to get up and do the same, as two men were on the road taking the meat inside, so no lay down, and that was the pattern of the nights work, i had lost track of time and it was getting light, and I ended up somewhere near Brussels Airport with a empty trailer, and the inside needed a wash out, so that was my next move find a truck stop with a high power hose, that was normal in Belgium as they seem to think of everything jim did tell me that I should ring the office by 1pm our time and get loading instruction, so sleep was the second priority.
There was so much noise going on at the service station I made amental point of never stopping
there again ,i must have had about 5 hours sleep and my alarm was screaming, first eat then phone thank god I had my toaster, and tea making things, and I sorted my self out.
The office told me I was loading tonight not far from the Dutch boarder in Belgium so make my way there whenever, as the load was ready, full load of frozen vegetables
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After 2hours I had found the loading factory a large compound lots of other trucks were there no other English, once I had been to their office I was given a loading bay number to back on the wait in the cab as the load was handball [meaning not on pallets in paper sacks] so it would be a while, and they would knock the cab when finished, so it was time to get a brew of tea on ,and then lie down and get some rest ,sleep. It was after 4 hours and I was woken up and told to go to the office, I collected my paper work, customs paper, and pulled off the loading bay for the rear doors to be custom sealed up, and they told me that the office said I was to go to Zeebrugge for the midnight ferry, that was good for me no rush, and I would be able to fill all tanks up with diesel unbelievable but it all worked out .i was in plenty of time for the ferry, and another time to get in bed, I had already sussed out that if you can get a lay down take it…
Once the ferry arrived it did not take long for the off load of trucks and then we were soon brought up from lanes for loading ,it is not straight forward ,as heavy lorries have to get put in different places, the loading ticket office know all the trucks weights when booking in…also I wanted a electrical plug in ,so I seemed to be kept waiting to load with other fridge drivers as we were all on the same level deck where all the plug connections were, once loaded on and sorted ,in to get your bed number/cabin, no single berth, so you have 2 choices either go straight to bed , or eat a dinner.
For me it was a no brainier /bed, before the snoring started, and just hoped you did not get a cabin with foreigners .
All went well ,the crew wake you up in time for breakfast nice full English then the unloading starts
passport control/ customs, all done on the dock ,as before, it was still dark.
Once parked up , my paper work lodged in the agents in box ,i wrote on it the number of the lane I was parked in, and would they knock me when finished please… so back in the bunk again…
It was not long before the knock on the door come and I was cleared to go after I got my paper work, and allowed out of the dock gate and on my way to Frimly again to get the load off loaded
I new it would take a while as it all had to be put on pallets ,a long job I expect. Once there I report to the office and they told me to ring my office as soon as I can…
Once again I was told that a driver was coming down in the car to relive me and I could go home and ring tomorrow dinner so now it was a waiting game, the more time I spent here the less at home.
Another driver I did not know, arrived ,and I told him what was going on and that they would let him know when to get on to a unloading bay ,and that was me, away, petrol check seemed ok, so home for me…
After rest at home, I rang the office at dinner time to be told to go to Bedford service depot no later than 5pm to collect the truck, I arrived on time, to be told that at 8 o clock in the morning I was to load a load of lambs from near Bedford and ring from there, I had to get the car back that night as it was needed for someone else, so I had a night at the garage in Bedford ,i slept well …
Once I arrived at the Abattoir I was told to go and wash the trailer out ready for loading they had a very high powered wash hose, it would blow your clothes off if it was pointed at you, anyway that done I put the trailer on the bay and waited, there was a lot of movement in the trailer they seemed to be loading non stop.
Eventually it went all quiet inside the trailer as the loaders stopped i walking up and down the trailer floor in stopped rocking around so I assumed it was loaded i got out of the cab and went to the office, yes it was finished and the customs and veterinary would soon be finished and I could soon be on my way ,so I thought…after ring the office it seemed I was only loading it for another driver I was to take it back to the Bedford garage, leave the truck ,the fridge going at the correct temperature, and the car would soon be there for me to go home again ,and the other driver would be taking the load, yes well I was only the relive driver, so that is what I am doing although I did not like it.
That seemed for a while the pattern of work I was doing, unloading or loading for someone else and it was sort of getting to me, so in the end I asked to speak to the boss Mr East [robin] the office men tried to keep fobbing me off that he was never in the office, so I let it go a week and one Friday I was home with the company car, i thought right and I drove to Oxford to the depot ,and there he was on Saturday morning in the yard ,well it was in a forest, no joke , in a forest called Tubbney wood ,off the Swindon road out of Oxford, it had some hard standing for a few trailers and a wooden cabin type office ,after handshakes I said if I do not get a truck of my own soon I am leaving I had been doing the relive for about a year, with the occasional run abroad and I had had enough…
Once home the phone rang Saturday after noon, and I was told they would be getting another hire truck a new Scania and it would be mine in 2 weeks, however it would be mostly on European work and I would have to do the same as the others and go anywhere I was told, if I could not do it they would have to let me go a catch 22… situation, it could be 2 /3weeks away at a time, I knew some of the other men were very rarely home for long as the export and import ruled… it was a no brainier I told my wife what the score was , I could do it or leave and go to nothing ,obliviously I wanted to do it however was not my own decision so we decided to do it and take a chance.
So the 2 weeks went into 3 and I was getting slightly cautious as to they were telling me the truth but when I did bump into other drivers they said yes the fitter at Bedford had been told another truck was coming and it was the first Scania not a D.AF so I carried on as normal unloading other people’s loads day and night[ not at the same time] one load comes to my mind that nearly come to my down fall and getting to big for my boots ,it is funny how life puts you down to ground very easy…
This load I had to collect ,[I had the company car] from the Bedford fitters premises,[i did not like john’s, the fitters wife she was always saying Robin this, and that, she was dangerous she could get you finished on her say, so ,[example if the truck was not oil up and cleaned up] cab dirty,]anyway=
I had to deliver this load of frozen goods at 12 midnight at Bejams Frimly I knew it very well as a lot of our loads ended up there so I knew some of the unloaders and the canteen ladies and felt at home while there, however it was different at night ,different people but they new the company well [as regulars] so we had no problem getting in past the security to get parked up as times it was very difficult to get on the premises ,if you were early, or more so late but Rokold seemed to breeze it…
“”2
This trailer I collected was a knew one to the fleet it had a new system for the brakes called “progressive breaking” meaning when you put your foot on the brake pedal and it sent air down the air line to the brakes on the 3 axles the brakes did not all come on at the same time ,there was progressive breaking one would come on then another then the last one, so as there was no skidding, gently braking however it used the air in the system up quicker, so the engine needed to be at a high reeving speed to keep the air cylinders up to maximum pressure… when you were slowly manoeuvring and using your brakes the air would be going out ,but the brakes would not be jammed on, but one axle would stop you in a road situation .
I was told to go on to a loading bay, it was very tight as there was a truck both sides of where I was to go so lots of manoeuvrings and shunting and when you hit the loading bay dock a green light would come on and that was you ,[you had opened the back doors before you stated to back up to the bay] so it was tight getting in as their own company trucks were parked everywhere just where you wanted to be another driver got out of his cab and help you back up to the bay and that is what a driver did for me.
Time and time again I wished the driver had left me to do it myself, as we were chatting and reversing at the same time using the brakes, backwards then forwards, and when I eventually got on to the unloading bay the green light come on , so still chatting the truck made no move to move forward ,I was on the bay I jumped out with the deliver tickets and walked up the 10 steps at the corner of the loading bay into the freezing warehouse, as you walk up the steps you are as high as the roofs of all the trailers parked on the loading bays so it looks like a flat field of roofs ,and all the fridges are off.
All the drivers all strangers, to me, are drinking coffee and eating sandwiches, mostly home made, the meal for the night workers does not start until 3am in the subsided canteen , I hope I am away before the crew eat as it makes it all get later and they get slower the longer they work.
The odd driver gets told he is finished, and new ones arrive, and at last they call me to say all is good and the unloading is finished just wait for the empty pallets to be reloaded, so off I go down the steps, talk to driver next door to me, jump in the cab, put the key in the ignition ,start the engine and let it tick over , i jump out the cab again, say something to the driver again [being cocky I expect as I was unloaded before him] I then make for the steps again in to the warehouse to see if the pallets are loaded ,and collect the paper work, and I was told 2/3 minutes and they will be ready so I waited like all the others do.
At that moment I was a happy bunny, soon be away and home I was handed all the correct paperwork all signed correct
and opened the door to go down the steps and looked over the trailer roofs again and there was a empty loading bay where I was parked, i thought well what a good chap [the driver next to me] he had pulled my truck off the unloading bay so as someone else can get in to the space I had… well that was what I thought my unit as I got past the truck alongside the walkway I could hear a commotion ,i did not what it was but as I got further round I could see the Rokold unit parked on a strange angle, I thought oh no !!!he has hit another truck ,and as I run round the front of the Rokold cab it is empty, no one is in it, and I run back around the way I had just come and Jesus, the left hand side of my trailer door was stuck in to the cab of the truck next to me, ■■■■ me what has happened… ohh- no ,i run back to my drivers side jump in the cab, and there is the evidence looking at me, the ■■■■■■■ hand brake was not on!!!ohh no that is me ■■■■■■. In the mean time out comes the driver who s cab I have just ■■■■■■, going ■■■■■■■ bananas.
What has happened is -that when I reached the loading dock doors just by luck or unlucky the air has all gone out of the air reservoirs connected to the trailer brakes and they are firmly on completely empty so it means that all the brakes on the 3 axles are on, I FORGOT TO PUT THE HAND BRAKE ON[silly me].
He said he had only just had it repaired “look mate I said” it has happened it is a accident I did it, sorry I turned to sharp , I will back up the truck and you hold the door open then I will park up over there and come back and sort it out . what the blessing was the chap parked next door had gone to see another driver so no one knows what actual happened . if the truck had not stopped where it did and not got caught up on his front, parked up were 3 trucks of bejams dead in line ,where it would have rolled to, now that would have been a major incident [ no health and safety yet]phew lucky or what…
After I had sorted all the paper work out truck numbers names extra I had to go and tell the night foreman what I had done so if they had a inquiry they would know. I eventually got away and made my way back to Bedford no damage to our truck and trailer , BUT MY GOD IT SORT OF PUT THE DAMPENERS ON ME.
I parked back up at Bedford in the fitters yard, I wrote out all that had happened on the back of a envelope [a big brown one] and stuck it in the window and asked John the fitter if he would tell Mr East what I had written down and I would ring after dinner…[so everyone would know now] no more could I do, but go home and expect the sack, at least I had given the office a heads up if the other driver rang first thing ,they would know what had happened.
About 2 pm I made the dreaded telephone call asked for the boss, told he was out but not to worry the insurance would sort it out, have the rest of the day off ring tomorrow. I could not believe it just like that all the thinking I was going to get the sack and that was that…OR WAS IT.
THIS I rang the next day, all seemed ok I asked if Robin wanted to speak to me and the traffic manager so no, all ok here this is what we want you to do I think it was Wednesday[ not sure]anyway I had to drive the car to Guildford and go to Steve Chities abattoir and there is a trailer that will be loaded with beef for Rung-is, market Paris,
Jesus Christ, after what I did, they have given me a load that I have never done before , only briefly in France ,i have no idea what to do, where to go, ■■■■ me out of the pan into the fire, I thought it is a joke they know I have not had a load of beef before, let alone deliver it, it is either a test to see what I do, if I take it or not, that is what it has got to be, so I thought right, ■■■■ it get on with it, learn as you go, and that is what I done…
Once at the abattoir the other driver a relief driver said thank god you have arrived, he thought he was going to have to go with the load ,and he had less experience than me, I thought well that is two of us but never said a word The load had all been sealed up and he gave me the custom papers, and off he went, I put my gear in the cab checked all around ,checked both diesel tanks and the fridge was set at +1 the correct temperature ,all seemed good I did not know who,s truck it was as the cab was empty, of any personal goods I made sure the company book was in it with all the relevant company credit cards for fuel and I had the company cash float that they gave you so all was goo i made my way to Dover I knew what agent to go to once there. NO GOING BACK NOW.
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I knew where to park in the customs bay on the docks, and I went to the agents ,they sort of knew me and handed me a envelope with customs forms for me to produce ,also another one marked with my name and it said open in rung -is, market Paris with loading instructions after you are empty.
When I had found space for parking [customs] lots of other fridges there, roaring away, very noisy i queued up to present my paper work like the other drivers up the stairs, feeling a bit lost and apprehensive, but you would not know it, when a shout behind me called out Rokold! ,i looked behind as you do ,another driver a few behind me said ,we are going to the same place ,i will see you on the ferry ,right I said, and at that moment my inner nerve went away.
It turned out he had also loaded at the same place but had stopped on the way down to Dover ,but I did not know anyway after driving on the ferry ,fridge plugged in, I went up to the drivers eating area and waited for my new mate.
It turned out he knew that I was a first solo tripper as he was a subcontractor to Rokold as they had told him, so I was glad I did not refuse to take this load, and he proceeded to give me as much information you could take in a short time, however he did say that if we got split up he would wait for me, once through the last road toll pay station near Paris, I said how will I know if it is the last one ,he said it will be chocker block with cars and lorries, and the service station is just as you start to see the toll booth and it was as he said mad ,but that was just the start.
Once I had got through the toll, there were trucks parked every where,i found him and walked up ,he had got his kettle on so tea was the first thing then he proceeded to tell me, what to expect, and he told me where to get off the ring road and what to do once I approached the market…
The Paris city has 2 ring roads they are called [peripherque] [F] one outer for all the transit traffic and a inner for local. the outer has 4 lanes like a race track and that is what it is. As our trucks are right hand drive ,it was the only time it was to our advantage as the 4 lanes has no hard shoulder, masses of twists turns tunnels ,some dark some bright and all exits on the same road as the entrance and being on the right we always had a better view as to what was going on than the normal left hand drive
. LATER After years of using that road and all Frances I used to enjoy going round the peripherque. All the exits are named as [a-port-de -lyon or similar ] It used to get really fast and dangerous as the French would never ever give way they would just keep going, what they did not know was we could see them in our driving mirrors, as being right hand drive , not left sometimes they would have to go back the up exit as the lane for them to join the main road was the same stretch for anyone to get off ,because we/I would not let them in as they could see they would go under the wheels they would just be hanging on their hooters and if you were left hand driver you would slow up and give way because you would not be able to see them
. That was the rule in the city [give way] to cars trying to get on to the main road from a minor road. it was only our ever victory over the French driver, it was even funnier if two of us trucks were very close together. Sad but true all the bumps would be in the fast lane not ours All though it was a free way, we always stick in the slow lane
Yes I was given the insight of what to do and very pleased I was of having been given information, by the other driver also he said do not worry if you catch sight of a aeroplane going overhead, as the Auto route [motorway] goes under the runway of the Charles de Gaul Paris Airport, and many times I have seen planes going over the road in fact after time you took no notice but for then it was a sight…
Also he told me the Motorway signs are very different from ours in ENGLAND because they will show you mileage[in kilometres] and place names miles away from where you are however they are excellent to follow if you are going long distance example=signs showing all routes ,from where you have come from, as if to give you the chance to turn around and go any direction.
the signs show places a long distances away from Paris however they were the main and only routes.
Bordeaux direction to [Spain]
Marseilles v [ Italy ]
Nice v [ Italy]
Perpignan v [spain]
Calais. v6 [ GB]
LYON [F] another important sign .swiss.
What I am trying to say is that so as long you know your final destination you will never go wrong they all give you a 360.chance of turning around ,and when you enter France from other boarders Paris is always signed from where every good French thinking …signposts…
I hope you have grasped as what I have tried to explain …., back to going in to the Rungis market
now the nightmare does begin.
As Rungis is the biggest wholesale market of all the products imported you can imagine into France
it is like its own city, with restaurants/bars buses, and it is serviced by the major roads sign posts to all places in Europe ,it puts you in the right direction from there, as they know most of the trucks will go out to deliver all over France ,however I did not know any of this, I managed to follow the other driver in to the market, and we had to go and pay a entrance fee, it was all very new. once done at the barrier ,we went down to the customs parking bays well !it was like the biggest area you could imagine all numbered with a letter then a numeral. I later over time, found that there were maps of the market in the bars but the locals did not need them ,so hardly anyone knew…
I was taken up to the agents office about 5 floors up and presented the paperwork and we were both told we could be to late for to days market, meaning the customs had stopped clearing trucks for today [.clearing ]means processing the paper work and making sure all monies have been paid b
1983/4. First job at rokold fridge work. Other company name VHB EUROPEAN ROBIN EAST.
It was a Sunday afternoon about 2 o clock the phone rang, it was MR Webb [Alan] he said you have got the job sorry for the delay Would you be in for 6 0clock Monday evening also bring your sleeping bag, we like all the drivers to have their passports with them at all times so that as well I had a passport why do I need a passport ??so that gets the old brain working. [no computers then or else i could have googled Rokold.] I would have to wait until Monday night.
It was a 22mile drive, using back roads to Northampton from my village slower drive than the main road but shorter distance less petrol.
Time to leave home, I had sandwiches and flask, not that much cash I took a sleeping bag pillow wash bag. Just in case [famous last words].
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I arrived at the depot and the nice new lorry is not there, but a older D A F make of truck a 2800 model a smaller cab ,”not a big sleeper cab” it had 2 bunks also had was a 3 axles unit[truck front end .
I walked around the back of the trailer and Alan,[the boss] is in the back of the trailer helping push up pallets to the front with a pallet truck of the trailer with another man ,as the forklift went back in to the warehouse I was at the back of the trailer i shouted up “Hello”, they were both chattering away and the noise of the pallet truck being pushed up on the metal floor, it sounds like a rumbling train, the other chap looks round ,[as if to say what the do you want] he nudges Alan and points to me , not saying anything,.
Alan turns and comes to greet me, with his hand out stretched to shake my hand [again] I only seen him 3 days before ,I was not used to handshaking, he said his greeting ,then asked me to jump on up into the trailer , not the easiest thing to do , but with some scrabbling I manage it, usually they use the fork lift, but I was ■■■■■■■■ trained not to JUMP ON FORK LIFTS, [THAT WAS SOON TO GO]
He then introduced me to TOM who was the driver of the lorry Alan said he would be showing me the ropes, however I could tell that TOM did not want to know ,however he shook my hand rather limp, like a wet fish so I gave his hand a good squeeze like as if to say ■■■■ you too, another pallet arrived to the back of the trailer we then all 3 of us pushed it in to position , the trailer was getting full what looked like all kinds of vegetables, and boxes Tom and Alan carried on with their chatter ,but not with me involved they were talking double Dutch as far as I understood , using foreign sounding words in sentences .[they were place names]i found out later . after a while the trailer was loaded, we all jumped down off the back of the trailer then the last two pallets were pushed on with not a lot of room to spare for the trailer doors to be closed Tom shut the doors then went to the front of the trailer and started the engine for the fridge that kept all the produce inside the trailer at the required temperature [another new procedure for me to learn.
I went in the office with Alan he took my p45 then told me about the duties, and hours and pay ,and that it was as temporary position that could lead up to permanent, however they as a company use mostly owner drivers[with their own tractor units] to do the majority of work ,and used the companies trailers , the company only have 3 lorries of their own, and they are utilised by casual drivers mostly [part time firemen]on their leave to cover a lot of their work .
He told me i would work sometimes 5 days ,6 days, or 2 days whatever the requirement , it was paid as a monthly salary ,it would be the same pay so do not worry if you have days not at work .[as I found out later you make up for it] they gave you £50 for expensive s for anything you had to pay for while on company work, also if you had a night out away from home that would be paid in to your wages tax free.
If the company get really busy, they would hire another tractor unit, as they have a new job delivering to a super market, and will need me as a extra driver.
Also they take on European work when required that could be without notice, however I would be shown the procedures by going out with another driver first, it would be with a owner driver it looked promising for me if the truth was known then [I should have went out and gone home and forget about the job,] but I did not and ended up driving about 21 years on the continental untill 2002/3[however I did not know it then]
It was like a new challenge and 100% different from the road haulage that I was used to i would give it a go.
Tom was slightly, you could say, grumpy, but I do understand now [then I did not] that it was a pain in the arse having a driver with you let alone a new one like me, at least we both smoked so that was all right.
We eventually left NORTHAMPTON apparently we were already running late for a timed booking to unload at Hemel Hemp-stead at a food store distribution centre ,it was over a one hour drive, and the company we were delivering to were strict on time for booking times at 9o clock at night , Tom told me.
This is going to be a different work environment I am embarking on
Tom was driving he pushed the truck to its limits not at the required 58 mph then on the Motorways .
I must say this is the first time I have ever been working at night time in all my previous driving years I had no idea that there was such a amount of trucks working on nights ,it was unheard of unless you were employed as a night driver and not many were ,times are changing it is 1982.
We arrived at the delivery I was all eyes watching the procedures that tom went through and there were many as the pallets were loaded right to the back doors, you would not be able to back the articulated lorry down[on a slope] to get backed on to a unloading bay ,as when you hit the stops [ you knew when you were backed on the loading bay a green light came on ,from red ]on the warehouse wall /unloading dock, the red light came on telling you to stop.] you could see in your review mirror .
As the pallets were loaded at the back of the trailer you had a problem ,a ramp inside would not come down, that allowed the people inside to move in and out of the trailer to take pallets off, you had to drive the lorry off the unloading bay, with the doors open and pinned back to back to where you started from, then go into the warehouse and ask if they would use the outside fork lift truck to take the back two pallets off,
then you would be able to do the original move again, if!![1]if you could find the fork lift driver . [2] he was not obliged to do it. [3] he would for a small price£5 He would take them off and deposit them inside the warehouse via the door you should have been backed on i found out all this in a matter of 10 minutes.
First lesson learnt do not leave the base if the pallets are rammed up to the back trailer doors, and make sure there is a restraining strap around them [why did we leave like it then] Ahh! Tom had got the hump and he forgot, While all this is going on, other lorry’s coming in the area where we are trying to get unloaded outside ,to then go back on to the bay we just come off however this chap wanted to go where we wanted to go, as he must have thought we had just come off the unloading dock finished unloading[wrong], I kept back and let Tom deal with it I found out he had a very usefully tongue on him and would not back off, eventually the pallets were unloaded, we pull off the bay ,close the rear doors then we are able to get on with the journey and drive down into London ,as I was look at the delivery tickets [notes] we had i asked Tom ,what are Samples?? to Baker street.that is by Kings Cross Rail Station in Baker Street, LONDON
It is Sainsbury head office, It is samples of all the fruit and veg that the a company wants to sell to Sainsbury, it is produce for their quality control of products sold in stores of Sainsbury it is either accept or rejected, it is for the next nights delivery’s to Sainsbury depots apparently this is the way they have been doing it for years.
The only problem is that we were on the wrong side of the main A 40 road from Oxford to London, streaming with cars, we had to carry on find a place to turn around ,so were able to drive down to outside the office doors and the best of all you just leave it in the door foyer ,with a lot of other goods, you do not get it signed for you, we now have to go around again as our next deliver is Spitalfields market in the city ,I did know where it was as you passed it every day as it was on a main transit route towards tower bridge, I had no idea it was a indoor fruit market.
At this point if I start to tell you the roads we used to get into places within the city of London I would need a A to Z map.
Once inside the Spitafields market, it was built for horse and carts a absolute night mare, a mass of wire cages that people had all there produce in ,there were only a few fork lift drivers around and Tom taught me the art of Spitalfields Market .
He told me never drive inside ,stay outside, and walk in, have a look to see if you will be able to get to the stall you want to get to, once in there you will not get to be able to drive out until all the lorry in front of you are unloaded it is a rabbit warren of small lanes and a working area for hand carts …I was for ever gratefully for Toms knowledge that night believe me.
.Once you drove in and parked at the stall you walked around and found the forklift man then you told him who you were delivering to how many pallets and give him £5 for him to unload your pallets apparently they were all independent men on the fork lifts who owned them, I have no idea I suspect the forklifts are for all people to use free, it was soon sorted that was £10 in less than 2 hours spent on using forklifts[all money used in market or any other work to get unloaded or loaded was repaid by the company.
When finished inside there we then went to the worlds most smallest market in LONDON called THE BOROUGH just over London bridge
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Another EDWARDIAN MASTERPIECE inside the entrance there is a[ open all hours pub], inside the market , what a place to get inside the market, we use the same wholesaler at every market also they had their own fork lift driver they are called “Porters” after they have seen your delivery notes, [another load of the laziest ■■■■■■■■ you ever met ] you never had to pay them…well not on a week day, however as I learnt later on ,when you went to deliver on a Sunday night there was not the slightest sign of man or beast to be seen one fork lift was left out for all the drivers to unload themselves, as they were all in the pub in the market the pup is still there this day, you drove out a different way than you drove in.
It was about 2am by now we set off for the next Market New COVENT GARDEN at a place called “nine elms “just passed Vauxhall bridge, tom let me drive I found out later on that he had been up and working since 9am Monday it was now TUESDAY 3.30am
I was shown short cuts around London city streets and how to arrive at the Markets you have to pay a entrance fee to get in Covent garden ,£3 [all lorry s] T he company had regular customers there.
This is now another world very noisy ,every other word[■■■■] most of the men are dressed in the same type clothes, flat caps, brown boots it looked as if it was a uniform at least the men at the stall are pleased to see us ,well ,Tom.
they did not speak to me when they put the pallet truck upon the trailer and we start pulling loaded pallets of all kinds of fruit to the back of the trailer they are taken away in to their store, after a time we are putting full loaded pallets back on. [strange] I push them up to the front of the trailer, after a cup of tea and a sandwich from the market café we made our way out.
By this time we have left the market and back over the north side of the Thames I am driving and Tom tells me to head for HESTON by Heathrow airport and wake him up as we pass the service station, he is soon well asleep and I am driving past Harrods on the A40 I had never been this way before. Lots of people still around at 4 30 am what are they doing, god knows certainly not working
I wake tom up he has been asleep on the bottom of the bunk he jumps up as if he has been mugged, wow!! tom it is me I shout its Vic, we are at the Heston services on the M4 sorry he said
he was dreaming ,he told me to drive to the next exit and come off the Motorway and go to the market well signposted.
At the gate the guard ask where is my delivery how many pallets, Tom shouts 4 only, to some name, and I drive around the market to about the last [pitch] market stall and park up, we both jumped out of the cab , tom told to me open the trailer doors and a fork lift will be right here with a pallet truck tom went inside the market.
I started to pull all the remaining pallets to the rear of the trailer the forklift truck took them away we went to another stall with 1 pallet and then we were empty, it was by now 6am and the market traders were streaming in their vans, Tom came back closed the back doors he said to me quick as you can drive out of the market and head for home.
Once out of the mad house Tom told me it was a regular thing for whoever unloaded at Fen and Hexton the stall we were delivering to in Covent garden you will load up any pallets they have to be delivered to the Heston market for them and do not say anything as it was a arrangement between Alan at the office and them .
We arrived back to Northampton me driving Tom was fast asleep I parked up woke Tom up and went home as no one else was around. I found out later was Tom slept in his lorry as he had another delivery job to do at lunch time I had first learned about the procedure of Double Manning a lorry,
“Explanation”
This is about the driving hours and duty hours of one driver =
A driver can be on duty for 15 hours in one 24 period.
Within that period, he can drive literally drive for 10 hours.
But must take at least 2x30 minutes rest period within that 10rs.driving.
And the rest of 5 hours is for unloading whatever
This is a basic explanation.
After the 15 hours duty a driver must take a 9 our rest period.
All these hours have different combinations of how you do them, and how much they were fiddled.
Before any driver moves anywhere in the lorry by law he must complete, his vehicle checks, oil water tyres, excreta then you must fill in the Tachograph you start writing in the top spaces of the Tachograph provided you have to use a pen placing your name ,where you are [town]etc and the currant reading of the speedometer mileage However if you are double manning you must both put a completed Tachograph card in the Tachograph head that has 2 compartments you must put the same mileage and place of start. [[this will be exploited later]]
A tachograph is a piece of carbon type of paper card easier marked both side so you have to be gently with it, it has a complex series of broken lines printed on and marked as the 24 hour clock.]It records just like a graph [used in lie detector tests] or a doctors heart monitor print out ,it records every movement the lorry makes ,the slightest forward or backward movement on the tachograph disc , once it is inserted [the disc] the only way you can cover any illegal movement is just remove
the disc, throw it away, and start again and take a chance of not getting caught.
Tachograph insertion=
On the tachograph inside the dashboard ,you turn a small key and it opens up [like a ladies powder compact] and it is hinged and it pulls back about6 inches away from the dashboard ,and it splits in to two compartments, when looking in the back all you see is very fine needle pints sticking out but they are retracted so then you get your paper round disc tachograph that has a circle cut out in the middle that you push gently over a protruding knob .that is if you are driving on your own
If you are what is called double manning, two drivers in the same cab on the same run you put another tachograph in the other compartment now they are separate but in the same place as the protruding knob goes through both [well sort of] so what it means all the lorry movement however minuet will be recorded on both the discs at the same time. Anything connected to the electrical power source to the tachograph will be recorded. Like fuses being pulled I will elaborate on the fiddling later…
The regulations were always interpreted in different ways at different company s.
Drivers ARE their OWN worst enemy when breaking the law. It was worse than a minefield.
If it suited you as a driver you did it right or wrong we used to exploit our self sometimes for the company glory, bragging rights various reasons .to be talked about status and best of all of all you never stop moaning about it and never tell the truth lying you were skilled at because a transport office wherever you worked would never every tell you the full story or the truth I took me years to learn, not quite all but a lot, you learned something new every day However more later I have jumped the gun, as I have only just done my first run.
This was in 1980s it all has changed dramatical I arrived home and i really enjoyed it, it did not seem like work the hours and pay did not then seem to matter I realised we had been double manning.
After getting home from my trip with Tom I did not get a phone call until Wednesday would i be in for 1 pm .
I put the same gear in my car and got there for 1pm and the brand-new truck was in the outside loading bay with it refrigerated unit roaring away.
I later found out it takes a while for the fridge unit to cool the goods and trailer down to the required temperature that the goods inside should be transported at and to be excepted at the delivery point, where they would have a quality control person checking all the goods coming off at their premise ,that is why the refrigerated unit on the trailer is running hours before you leave, as to get the produce down to the accepted temperature.
[very important] then though it did not mean so much as I was not really aware of the importance however I would soon learn.
As I walked towards the office to see Alan, a man I had seen briefly when I was at the interview was there, he said to me, can I help you, i replied, I would like to Alan ,why he asked ,I explained to him who I was, he said to me please just hold on a minute ,he went into the office and closed the door.
After a while Alan came out and said to me Vic,! I am really sorry ,but I should have employed another man, not you and the boss, who you have just seen Mr Robin East is fuming at me because he wanted a younger man than you.
Alan asked me to go and have a coffee elsewhere give him half a hour and then come back. i was mad but did not show it and off I went.
I went back to the office and it had all been sorted out, Alan told me your job is safe ,a hand shake ,in comes MR East another handshake ,and welcomed me into the company.
I thought , do not ■■■■ it up ,do as your told and learn ,and that is what I did, they gave me the keys to the new truck outside and off I go, with the biggest grin in Northampton ,if only my old mates could see me now, yes I know it is only a lorry however one of the best then in England…one delivery only on the other side of Birmingham ,do not forget the empty pallets the last words said to me ,then come back here ,fill up and then go home.
I arrived at the supermarket depot delivery warehouse after a bit of a run around but arrived there in the end it is difficult to get it right first time or even second, [ finding delivery places] lots of other lorry s waiting all with their fridges roaring away I checked the temperature gauge is hovering on + 4 that was right ,well that is what I was told ,I thought nothing of it.
Walking up to the outside security office with my loads delivery notes still grinning, hand them in. then I came down to earth with a ■■■■■■■ great bang Your late !!, you have missed your delivery slot .
No one told me it should have been 3 pm.
No wonder it was a ■■■■ up at the depot all I could do was wait for a [slot] = [ term used for getting a unloading bay to back on to if there is time or if someone else is late]
The security man said they would see when they could get me in it maybe 9 o clock tonight I waited, and i learned that to have something to eat and drink
and to read was the way to go…
Eventually I get unloaded, the empty pallets are put back on the front of the trailer. [[Two mistakes I made however I did not know it at the time,]]i drove home to the depot filled up with diesel at the public garage, with the company s card, hid the card and put the keys where I was told to ,I had parked up, no one was around , I arrived home around 2am.
On the way home I am starting to think about the hours I have done for basic pay and trying to think is this the right thing to be doing, and I am trying to talk myself out of doing what I am doing, something I am fairly good at most times I have got this thing in my head that the work and job, also the time off is it worth it, the new lorry s , plus clean job, just pushing a few pallets around clean clothes. I have made my mind up , there are no more jobs around in transport I am lucky to be working get on with and just do it.
There is a phone call at home around11 am ,asking me to come in please ,i collected my gear together and drove to work arriving around 1pm Alan asked me to come in to the office,
I went in and I could tell something is not right
,
Vic, what about the pallets, !![Alan]
What about them they were on the front of the trailer,
Yes [Alan]
well,
you are ten pallets short also they are not the correct pallets. [Alan],
Alan what are you talking about when I left the lorry this morning at 2am there were 15 pallets in that truck /
Are you 100%sure [Alan
yes of course I am i might be new here ,but I have not had the pallets, where would I get rid of pallets ,look at my Tachograph I came straight back here from the delivery, from the other side of BIRMINGHAM
After he had checked the graph over, he apologised he told me to go home we have no work tonight for you so it is all o k ,they found out much later that a man from the warehouse team was coming in early a taking the pallets to sell, at that time there was big money in pallets.
PALLETS=
A pallet must have 9square blocks of wood about6 inches all round. 1 at each corners and the others in the middle. and the slats of good wood about a 1inch gap on the top so they are solid and the underneath have just wider gaps and less slate so the pallet can take a 1 metric ton in weight good for a 1 for 1 exchange when at whare -houses.
The other system is the same pallets that are painted blue and are made by a company called GKN and are governed by a 1 for 1 system also a tickets system ie=if you leave 20 or later 21 pallets at a warehouse and they cannot give you the same in return ,you then get a stamped ticket saying that you are owed them pallet and they were transferable at any depot in the country. or you can go to a pallets collection yard and collect that number of pallets from them, only G K N yards ,however there was a black market trading in blue pallets as well as ordinary ones ,country wide ,CASH.
Also there were the fruit pallets that the fruit was imported from Spain, excreta they were flimsy good for nothing however if you did not keep at eye on what people were giving you in exchange you would end with some, and when you went to re exchange them you were basically ■■■■■■ and you own fault. But over time as it went on for me you got very good at dealing with pallets .
There was a lot of money in 20 pallets, then1983/4£ 60+ black market.
Well! that is sorted and the blue pallets system is massive every product that needs pallets are on G KN blue pallets not just Europe the world.
Work seemed to pick up as it was nearly every night I would be doing market runs or a late supermarket delivery to their main distribution depots also I got to meet and see the other driver s and the owner drivers who worked for the company all the owner drivers were all clean and smart, the same as their tractor units .
I had no idea that men were doing regular runs [trips ] to Spain and bringing all kinds of fresh and frozen goods back to the UK they would talk about the ferry ports they used ,driving through FRANCE down to the Spanish boarder .
They were mentioning all kinds of names of Spanish and French places they went to , to unload or reload ,talking about customs procedures ,delays border hold ups, police stops, getting fined in FRANCE, all kinds of what to me at the time was a new type of job.
A few of the other drivers were very young just 21 years old, no driving experience at all ,even I could tell that they had not done any haulage company driving at all, just the way they were however they were there the same as me it was nothing to do with me. they were very friendly with Alan as if mates i did think well, that could be my downfall but I would have to wait and see.
Two of the drivers were full time firemen and drove for the company on their 4 days off, my next thought was? not a lot of future in this job for me as they do not need the job they get a nights work and not me ,no wonder the pay was not extra for nights. But as men they were adaptable and would help when needed what I did not realise was that if I stayed at home for 4 nights I was still getting paid ,not being used to a monthly salary it took me a time to not bother if there was no work for me.
The company seemed to me to have quite a lot of new trailers but not with the name painted on so after a time I got to know that they were all hired from a big trailer rent company on a monthly basis all this new to me, some of the tractor units were the same even the nice blue painted D A F
so what it meant in company terms they did not own anything all hired this was a completely new idea of working so they could just fold up and move on. also a lot of the owner drivers were doing the same hiring trailers ,and tractor units.
THE REFRIGERATED TRAILER.= THIS IS LATER ON WHEN I WAS ON FRIDGES PERMANENT==LIKE A SHORT HISTORY OF WHAT FRIDGES WERE USED FOR AND HOW WE LOADED THEM WHEN I WAS A DRIVING.
The trailers built before 1983/4 had just a fridge unit control box on the front side of the fridge and all the workings and blowers on the inside of the trailer ,so if you looked in side the trailer from the back doors at the front you would have seen a metal blower fan unit sticking out, just about the size of a modern set of two Chester draws hanging down from the front sticking about 2 foot out ,meaning that you were not able to push pallets right to the front headboard flat they would have to be half size, sif you had boxes you would have to take half of them off in the trailer ,push the other to the front under the fridge blowers ,then try to re stack the rest around the blowers , the ones you were left with you would re-distribute on the pallets as they were in the trailer …meaning no matter how tired you were you had to be with the loading all the while…
The next awkward thing was the meat hooks meat hooks yes, each fridge had meat hooks .i had completely no idea how or when they were used and by what or why, I knew that there were about 330 meat hooks hanging down along 5 rails in the roof of the trailer, what was holding them up I do not know [I still wonder today what was unseen in the fridge roofs] , the meat rails were like [example]- if you look at a zip any zip, undo it and look at the sliding thing ,one is attached to the zip and the other not look down at the side not attached ,and you see the hole that you attach the other piece of the zip to, turn it towards you and you see [like a rail]. The thin gap, that is what the meat rails were like and you threaded the meat hooks along the thin gap from the door end ,to where you wanted them all at the front out of use and the way. Along these rails the whole length of the roof ,at intervals attached ,were small steel clips that you could put down inside the rail to stop the hooks from sliding back or forward ,these were very important Especially when we were loading all the different meats.
FRIDGE SIZE AND WEIGHTS.
The first fridges were on 2 axles,[8wheels] on the rear a Fridge box trailer.
[ The cooling system] inside on the front of the trailer.
A steel ribbed floor , thick heavy doors and side walls, Overall weight with tractor 17.000k gs[17 tons].
Around 19834/5 new fridge trailers arrived ,with 3 rear axles ,singular tyres new type refrigerated unit outside , fitted on the front of the trailer a lightweight chassis, flat [not ribbed] chequered steel floors with visible screw heads, also a thin steel holed strip attached to the side wall to put restraining bars in [ to hold loads back from falling] they were about 4 foot high off the floo.
Later they built under slung boxes underneath the trailers to hold 24 empty pallets and the meat hooks in plastic boxes. and various other features as years went on and of course the lighter the trailers weighed the better. in the end there was no chassis as of now very lightweight, that was the ultimate aim years ago lighter net weight higher pay load.
I AM GOING A BIT FORWARD IN MY STORY,HOWEVER IF I DESCRIBE THE USE OF THE FRIDGES,AND PRODUCTS WE /I CARRIED AND TRAILER DEVELOPMENT YOU WILL HAVE SOME IDEA ?
I will just start with the loading of all meat , carcasses were loaded not by the driver at all it was done at the abattoirs by loaders [porters] ,it was a very hard job ,you would not have wanted to have loaded meat then have to do your driving work ,it was all ways very clinical ,we had to wash the trailers out with high powered jet washes, either before arriving at the abattoir , or when there using their power wash that all abattoir had also the temperature of the trailer had to be cooled down inside the trailer if possible before loading as you backed on to a loading bay that is cooler inside the abattoir than outside temperature where all the meat is cooled down in the large holding fridges ready for loading , the trailers were meticulously inspected by [ 1] the VET, [2]A MINISTRY OF HEALTH INSPECTOR NOW [ M. A F. F] before any loading took place at all.
DIFFERENT MEATS EXPORTED I CARRIED
BEEF= steers breed especial for eating fore quarters [front legs /shoulder …
Hind quarters [rear leg]1animal could weight 1 ton [1000gks]
COW BEEF,= OLD MILKING COWS. AS ABOVE SLIGHTLY LIGHTER.
SHEEP,LAMBS= to FRANCE SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM .HOLLAND GERMANY. ITALY. GREECE.
EWES. MUMS. = MUTTON. LARGE size 3 to 4 years old for ITALY SPAIN. A very fatty product.
PIGS, =FAT OLD SOWS,LARGE. For ITALY, SPAIN. GERMANY. FRANCE.
PIGS=SMALLER =BACON,HAM. For SPAIN. ITALY ,AUSTRIA .FRANCE
BOAR MEAT,= HAD TO BE TRANSPORT SEPARATIVE FROM ANY OTHER MEAT, AS VERY ODOROUS .Mostly loaded that in Germany for ITALY
BULL MEAT=ALSO CARRIED ON THERE OWN. MOSTLY to Italy
SOME TIMES BOXES OF ALL GAME BIRDS, VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF WOOD -PIGEON ALSO VENISON NOT HUNG UP BUT STACKED UP BECAUSE IT WAS FROZEN
WHEN LOADED FOR ITALY, FROM ANY COUNTRY YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE MIDDLE HANGING RAIL EMPTY,SO AS THE VETS COULD WALK ALL THE WAY DOWN THROUGH THE LOAD TO CHECK WHAT YOU HAD ON THE LORRY CORRESPONDED WITH THE PAPER WORK,THEY WERE LITTLE ■■■■■■ IN OTHER WORDS ABSOLUTE ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ WOULD HOLD YOU UP TO 2 DAYS.
It was because the way the meat markets were going if more imports were in the country, the local prices would be higher . Without imports ,it would not be only me waiting there would be up to 20/30 lorry s, waiting to unload all over a ITALY .however if you were in Transit ,going outside ITALY, to GREECE for delivering you would soon be out of the customs /vet the Italians call their vets doctors, so the first time I went there I took me ages to find out what were they on about…
Basically we took fresh chilled hanging meat all over Europe most frozen meat that was what was called INTERVENTION [remember the butter ,wine mountains] yes ,there was a meat mountain but it all went abroad ,we never got the benefit of it, when ROMANIAN was free1989, trucks from the UK took loads of meat to GERMANY to cold stores close to the old east German boarder that was then transferred from the cold stores to the ROMANIANS they had very poor lorry to take it back to ROMANIA.
when you saw what a sorry state the men [drivers ]were in and their pathetic lorries they had absolutely nothing, not even cups to drink out of they used old tin cans or jam jars ,we drivers all give loads of tinned food and all old clothes even some dirty washing of ours to them. I will elaborate later…
That was later on I will go back to 1982/3
Work seemed to be very busy, I did get a lot of the evening or whole nights work, but I never minded as it got me learning more about markets and the way they worked, I have been in Covent garden unloading and I would see another Rokold company trailer ,unloading ,naturally I would go over to see who it was and it was rarely any one I knew it would be a owner driver on contract using his own tractor unit and pulling a Rokold trailer .
I get chatting -as you do ,well I did ,and the response would be the same from the other driver, ohh are you one of the Northampton temps !i used to say yes, yes !I am the new boy just started driving , just finding my feet and then move to the lorry I was driving away from him. And leave it at that, and go about my other deliverers.
One afternoon and I was asked to be in for 5 pm and bring your gear with you your washing gear, change of clothes, sleeping bag and passport , that was all I was told.
I parked my car ,Alan came over to me and told me ,when you get back tonight there will be a owner driver here , you are going with him on a trip to Holland.
You have a short run tonight! and will be back easy as far as time, I thought this is the start, and it was, the driver PETE he seemed fine he explained it all where we were going ,it sounded unbelievable [at the time it was for me], first we did the tachographs ,and I said what about the 5 hours I have done on this disk, he said ohh just put it away, no one will give a ■■■■ about a quick trip you have just done.
First time I had done anything illegal with the tachograph , I was learning…
His trailer was loaded with a few delivers at the markets once we were empty we started to make our way down to Dover for shipping out on the Townsend Thorsen Zeebrugge ferry.
It must have been around 4am when he pulled into a lay by and he said its time for a kip[sleep] the cab had two bunks, normal in most lorry s that did European trips .
It seem after 5 minutes and Pete was up ,and he had the small gas cylinder stove with a kettle boiling on small wooden shaped shelf that fitted on the dash board, I was completely amazed ,undeliverable ,and he said I only have coffee, that is fine I said bursting for the toilet.
Next, still amazed, he had a small type of mesh with a wooden handle and was toasting some bread if you can make tea ,coffee and toast ,what more do you want .
I later on found a device for toasting bread on the small gas stove, you can by them today 2014called a DEFUSER. Look it up.[goggle].
After having the snack/breakfast he educated me by telling me that is how you live once abroad you look after yourself you use all facilities provided by factory’s or border service stations wherever you can ,he said hygiene is not our standard in some countries but always remember ,that it is you that is the foreign visitor in another country and if you respect that you will get along fine
I did ask about the Tachograph card and he said we are starting fresh from where we are ,he took the two tachograph discs out of the tachograph head and tore them up he said if you do not get a police check through the night, then no one else is checking lorry s [or so everyone thought], who knows what you are doing where he booked off on his previous card I did not worry.
I was only a second driver he said he would just use his tachograph card and use mine later if needed when we get back in Dover that meant we now had 15 hours to do collection and get back to a port for the ferry back to Englan
DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR SHIPPING OUT ON A FERRY.
SHIPPING OUT =meaning going to Europe with a load of goods.
First piece of paper or booklet you needed was a TRAILER GARNET. That is the trailers own passport. it is a customs required document for all Country’s in Europe. It means that temporary excise duty has been paid. And the chassis number is used as well as whatever number the company uses for their own purpose and it cannot be changed, also on the trailers front are two photographs of the trailer in sealed plastic holders also legal requirement however [never needed in England by our U.K .trailers however all foreign lorry s within the U.K.] needed them ,but I must point out at that time in the 1980s early 1990s that EUROPEAN lorry s driving over in the U. K. was very limited as Self drive i.e. foreign drivers actually driving.
shipped over
Next stop the ticket office then passports to be shown .
Two drivers one lorry, you will have to pay for the extra bunk bed and food , Apparently when the ticket was booked, two drivers were not mentioned.[i could be a hitch hiker]
They rang the office to get conformation it was 2 drivers It was all-right in the end however I did produce my HGV but they still wanted conformation,
that practice was in still force all the years I crossed the channel from whatever port and country , a named passenger ,for a second drivers ticket… to stop people even then bringing any one to the UK ,because if there was any problems , with the police ,immigration abroad, and trying to get in here the fall back was the Ferry company they were held responsible…
So then round to the customs, having no goods to clear a “transit empty “form has to be filled in and stamped as Belgium is in Benelux there are different boarder controls needed ,not a lot. so it is easy to enter and transit. Then off down to queue up for boarding ,there were two types of ferries for Zeebrugge one freight only ,slower and limited cabins .and the other normal but smaller than now roll on ,roll off that was a faster crossing ,as drivers ,we also had a bunk and drivers only eating lounge.[privilege].L
Loading of the lorry s was a job done by shore staff on the dock and once inside by the ships crew
……=…
,[[just a diverse peace of information, what I did not know at the time when I was using… TOWNSEND THORRESON ,AND LATER P and O ferries to ZEEBRUGGE one of my old ship mates was working on the same ships as a bosun, quartermaster .and we never bumped into one another .we were definitely on the same ferry at the same time as when the HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE SANK IN THE ZEEBRUGGE HARBOUR on march the 9th 1987 WE HAD BOTH CAME OVER THE DAY BEFORE IN ANOTHER FERRY. And we did not meet up un till 2005 .He was a lucky man as crews used to rotate to the two different ships .i did not know of anyone personally who died.
So the ships crew parked you up then proceeded to put chains on the lorry from the deck to stop any movement. Then out we got, went up the stairs to the drivers compartments, and I can tell you I am, ecstatic I never ever thought I would set foot on a ship again ever. just being there brought a lot of memories back[good ones] but I did not let on to PETE he would not a given a rats arse anyway. It did not take long to suss him out , a Ladies man. when round the table eating he never stopped flowing from him .where he had been what he did. chatting to the stewardesses , we went to our cabins and had a sleep for 3 hours how bad was that, and getting paid for it ,well that was the way you had to look at it .I could not believe that for years some drivers had had jobs like I was now privy to ,not all that ■■■■ we used to do, and a lot of them were young men. Well good luck to them but I was envious of them that is all they new ,i expect it was the luck of the draw where you lived and the company you worked for.
After the sleep up for tea and sandwich all free. And then duty free ,what a bonus. But did say to me
be careful how many cigarettes you buy as you are only allowed 200 hundred that is the U K. limit
also you can buy them on the passage home, also all the men buying large quantities of cigarettes
are going home or on long trips ,not back to the UK like we will be so point taken and I waited for the return ferry. after a call over the ships T ANNOY “all drivers proceed to the lorry s”off we went.
Once down in the lorry deck there seemed a lot of lorry s to the amount of drivers who went up into the passenger area so I mentioned it to Pete ,ho arr , he said a lot of the men .do not leave their cabs they get in there own bunk and get to sleep quicker, also if there is a snorer in the same cabin you might just as well give up. Also you get longer in bed.
It did after time turn out to be a practice that all shipping company s on all routes rule out as a non practice to be used after the 1987 disaster at Zeebrugge ,in fact all drivers had to report with ticket to the stewards office .as the loss of drivers life s trapped in the cabs was very high .however `that was to come later.
So we start winding our way out of the ships bowl’s and into the ■■■■■■■ rain in a very orderly queue. For the first bend in the road , all lorry s from different countries I had never seen so many ,what I noticed straight away all the nice hellos heads nodding Pete telling me who was from where etc all smiles , as soon as we got off the ship it was one for all no quarter given horns blowing, Jesus they were like Jekyll and hide. When we eventually got parked up outside the customs and immigration office ,[all in one] it was like a football crowd coming out of a match. no order at all ,so I just stuck with Pete and no one was saying anything to each other ,it was strange however I was learning that was what I was there for.
Ye, I got my passport stamped. My first foreign stamp. They do not bother now ,well they did not years ago, for drivers.
First stop Pete said was diesel .it was the second cheapest in the Euro union , Luxembourg was the cheapest and it still is to this very day, how .■■■■ knows ,but it is.
He would not let me drive until I had got my eye in so to say, he told me.
After 10 minutes we were at the first garage, it was packed with nearly all the lorries off the ferry ,so we queued again ,I can see now why the big rush to get first was to get to the diesel stop first.
After years, I had got it all sussed out , driving down to Dover the more lorry s you overtook they would be behind you whatever queue in the dock you took I would more or less know if they were going for the Zeebrugge or Calais ,as the same companies usually kept to there regular trips to the same countries… you knew you would always be in front of them ,and be at the diesel tank stop n at ZEEBRUGGE before them, how? Because you would be in front of them in the queue at Dover and get on the ferry earlier than them, and we were mostly empty going in to Zeebrugge so quick customs at Dover, and better position on the ferry for getting off to the diesel and the horrible coffee. always luke -warm but drivers used to love it, afraid I never did.
It was the practice of all the different nationality’s while filling up was to have no sense of hurry at all ,they were like mad men to get to the diesel then once there they would put the fill up hose in the tank and ■■■■ off,[automatic fuel cut off]into the garage shop that had chairs, table, and free coffee and not a care in the world .i expect it was something I would have to get used to.
We were at lest 1 ½ hours there …mind you Pete was as bad as the others once at the diesel tank ,he was then speaking in pidgin English , lots of back slapping, and the now classic hand shaking ,it was like a epidemic, they were all shaking hands, if they knew one person, and you were near you all got a handshake .that was to me , well different, being English how many times in your life do you shake hands very little …it was a new form of greeting I would become very at ease with after time.
All I could hear was lots of WE!E, SAV!A,MESSU!E ] then unintelligible rubbish .it was if I had been transported to another world, however after time I found that the Belgians, and the French used a lot of the same words in their greetings language also handshakes .
Also the new smells of strange cigarettes , lots of different nick Knacks in the shop ,nothing English ,for a while yes ,i was like a kid in a sweet shop. You were able to buy all different kinds of goods for a lorry not seen in the U k mostly for owner drives. one thing did catch my eye was like the small well made wooden very neat table top ,that would fit around the inside of the windscreen like a small writing desk with little small draws ,for all the pens , on the passenger side of the cab i thought how good a idea. they were labelled up for all the European makes of lorry cabs.[[little did I know then that I would know more about them]…
There was a air of I will get going when I am ready! no sense of hurry at all ,as I could then see that Pete was blending in, I expect you do as they do !unless you were all on the same firm and running together or just widening his circle of [I met you before mates].?
When at last we made a attempt to get moving, the tank full of diesel all so the tank under the trailer that runs the fridge engine ,that uses RED diesel ,even more cheaper than England, as that diesel is tax exempt in England for Agriculture use only ,however it was used legally by hauliers using refrigerated trailers ,as no direct profit is made from it…[more on diesel later]
Once clear of Zeebrugge ,you never went through the actual town, I was on the learning look out, all the different signs ,road marking and of course wrong side of the road ,well for me, however it did not seemed normal ,well it was .Pete made a point for me to keep well sat back in my seat as not to block his view from the inside mirror .as that was his now important mirror for all his overtaking if he needed to.
The direction signs I were seeing were way far beyond the distance from where we going. I thought we were going into Holland I had no idea of where we were as Pete seemed to have no map and I did not have one however he knew the road and did not need a map we soon turned off the main highway [like our Motorways] and headed for Antwerp. I did notice that on top of the road signs there was a large green E number I found out later the E number on the signs are main transit through routes to all countries throughout Europe.
We passed a most famous truck stop [with EUROPEAN DRIVERS] called” Lokern “on the way out of Belgium towards the Dutch boarder The Boarder when we arrived was just like a pull in lay bye with a few brick huts [agents offices] and a coffee shop.
I followed Pete into a transit type large room with lots of open type rooms with uniformed female and male customs. immigration, Police all lounging around, all with a side arm not to busy, so Pete told me the procedures of entering Holland and what form to fill in and who to go to first then it followed on. Easy, He said nearly all boarders work on the same principle. Police Immigration, Customs.
If you were loaded, and delivering into Holland you had to use a AGENT to process your paper work Roklod company used the same AGENT at all Benelux country’s that means that there is a automatic payment account. As we were empty it was quick and straight forward piece of paper stamped up ready to hand to the gate man who lifted the barrier so you could region the main highway as we did, and me keeping well back in my seat as there were cars travelling fast along the road so Pete could see.
He told me that we had not far to go, I was rather disappointment I would have like to have gone for mile we did cross one massive bridge over like a lake/inland sea, the signposts coming up said to Arnhem the 2nd world war battle for the bridges it looked as if we were going near there so that kept me busy writing place names down. For future reference, there were hardly any trees, no hedges, all dykes, canals and lots of people riding bicycles not on the main road we were on but on the other country roads, Holland is known for bikes and tall people i can see why now it all looked rural and flat.
We soon arrived at our collection point all nicely flat sandy earth round the edges of the hard standing you could see the indentations in the base, where the lorry s have been backed on to loading bays overtime ,unstable ground.
The time was getting on and getting dark I was surprise that we would be loading at that time ,however we were on the continent and their work time patterns were different to hours , as years went by factory’s in the U. K did introduce continental work patterns much to the disappointment of the unions.
Pete seemed well known at the cold store [massive store holding all kings of deep frozen foods ] at temperatures minus -25 we were and loading different vegetables ,and they were ready on pallets. I was told we would not be long, then asked would I like a coffee, in the mess room, with some other Dutch- men and Pete, after another round of handshakes and grunts and black coffee out of a massive pump flask[ never seen one before] they did have a tin of carnation condensed milk , [nice and creamy also a big jar of sugar on the table [not in ENGLAND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STOLEN ] THAT,S US ALL OVER… ]and the smell of all the different tobaccos was ,intoxicating I loved it ,[THE HOME OF GOOD SMELLING TOBACCO]
made it taste better however Luke warm it was quite for a factory for its size, I could see through the door widow lots of workers with white coats and head scarf’s big good looking warm boots on , you could not tell whether they were male or female. they were sorting and packing chips on a conveyor belt .it looked cold in there however that was not the freezer just a packing line also I noticed a stand on riding, like pallet /fork lifts they were using to load our trailer another first the men were whizzing around with a loaded pallet on the front and they were standing on the back with a like a bicycle handlebar steering it. Another first, lots of factory s just about have a fork lift and all loading is done by hand [not now, after 1990s] we got modern.
After I had took as much of the new goings on in i went and found Pete back at the coffee he told me that we were not allowed in the loading area in some factory, you had to stay in your cab in 2013 you have to hand your keys in to a office [so I am told]. We are loaded so we are told and asked to pull of the loading bay and Pete lets me do it and close the doors. When they are shut we go round to the front of the trailer and he shows me how to work the refrigerated unit, all the dials and different functions I thought ■■■■ me, we have been sat about ■■■■■■■ around he could have given me the full tour of the fridge engine,[maybe he did not want me to know to much yet]?
So I get the basic of the fridge control workings, and then we go in and get the papers for the load and a very important paper called a C .M. R. ,That is the drivers legal travel document with the load it has all relevant in -formation typed on it, about 30 sections ,and it was never used in England ever ,unless like us delivering to England from Europe, then it is sealed up by the customs man,[ all the factories in Holland, Belgium, have a designated customs officer at the factory at all times] also the Benelux Country,s never bothered with the trailer garnet, so we were ready for the off .
Pete went and done his last handshaking routine ,i kept in the cab ,[load of ■■■■■■■■] it was now dark and I wondered if I would get a drive ,or do we park up, he said we will get back to the boarder do the customs ,and I could have a drive when we leave the customs after that was finished for the Dutch side all was required at the boarder was a entry stamp into Belgium and we would be on our way back to a ferry which ferry port I had no idea.
I noticed straight away how heavy the trailer seemed to be, but the tractor unit was more than able to cope with the weight so I just drove on, Once we were clear and out of the customs area we drove along a bit ,he said just keep a good lookout in you nearside mirror ,and keep in lane , now I am chuffed, and he said when you see the sign for Ostend turn on to that road do not follow BRUSSELES ,and then goes and lies down on the bottom bunk and leaves me to it i was thinking how many more hours are we going to be working??
we had two small breaks one for 7 hours before the ferry ,then the ferry 4/5 hours we had been working since 5pm on the Monday evening ,it was now 8/9 pm Tuesday evening, and we were not yet finished for the day , we had been working for 28 hours with a 11 break .total illegal and no time to do what you wanted yourself as if you were at home on a break…,i was beginning to have doubts about what I was letting my self in to .but I thought if this is what they do to get around Europe , I will have to give it a try it was certainly different from cattle trucks or dock work, clean work ,cheap ■■■■, just carry on and see how it goes…
As we neared the road junction for the turn off I gave Pete a call , we were now on the road to Ost-end and he started to move around ,where are we ,he said, I told him ,and he said just follow the Ost-end sign, and give me a shout when you start to get near the town you will see all the lights in the distance, and you will come to a service station as soon as you get in to the outskirts.
Now I had pulled in the parking area ,a few lorries parked up. Pete once up, ■■■ on the go, he told me the options we had,of what to do now, I asked what he meant, the Zeebrugge would have gone by the time we had got there, not another sailing untill8am, so,!the Ostend ferry goes at midnight,or we could go to Dunkirk, however you need a pre-booking number for a ticket ,where as Ostend, ,Zeebrugge,the company has two pre reserved tickets for every crossing ,guaranteed. It was a game of where do we get the most time off without moving the lorry.[time off]
So Ostend it is ,he lets me still drive , I am following instructions ,however I did see the signs to the ferry port clearly signposted through the town, to the port , we arrive at the gate Pete told me what to say ,then we parked up then go into the ticket office, where Pete tells the staff that he would like a[ Plug in ]on the ferry , yes “ok it will be done,” I have no idea what he was on about , I would find out later ,no handshakes, very different from Zeebrugge we collect our tickets, and then go to the loading bays for loading on the ship and wait
I then asked what PLUG IN was,=
It is when you want the refrigerated unit on the trailer to keep going to keep the temperature correct while you are on the ferry ,you switch off the diesel engine that runs the engine,and you then plug into a electrical socket at the bottom of the engine with a electrical cable supplied by the ship into the ships electrician system .The ships run on a DC system ,not like our houses that are AC. How it all works I still am not sure, however when the cable [ just like the caravan 3 pin system] is connected you have to be in attendance with the ships electrician, as YOU! have to make sure that the fan that the engine has on the front of the fridge unit ,is on the right phase, that it is sucking in air to cool and work the fridge and not blowing out i.e. sucking the cold air out from the inside of the trailer and blowing the minus-24 air out ,it was a common occurrence if not checked…all you did was to stand at the front ,of the trailer fridge unit and throw a piece of tissue paper up to the front grill air intake if it sticks to the front all was well it if blew away you had a problem.[i got to know all this later on] …as you had to wait for the electrician, that took time, you could be first on the ferry loading deck but the last to go up, or down as on the Ostend ferry’s for food or a bed…waiting for a electrician…
The diesel fumes would eventually leave the bottom decks and creep up to the others decks [also the other reason the noise, fumes if any drivers are sleeping in their cabs] another option was to turn the fridge off ,and take a chance that the frozen goods temperature did not drop to much, if you had a long distance to travel after leaving Dover the temperature would drop to the required one. The only thing was you were unable to open the trailer back doors to check the produce temperature as the customs seal was not undone until at the delivery, if you had a customs check in Dover ,that was frequent , they would reseal the trailer and mark the C .M. R. as resealed ,and it was not unusual for the customs to be at Cold Stores around the country and to be checking all European imported goods
history cont. SATURDAY…
We eventuality get to a cabin with 4 bunks ,after a meal at midnight- ish. We are soon roused by the banging of doors grunts and groans, up we get and troop in to the drivers room for yet again something to eat and coffee ,god not more coffee, it is all like a non stop unreal adventure for me ,it is something I had no idea at all existed [the work] how come it had been kept away from me ,it was just like being back at sea, all the unusual hours ,coffee and food at odd hour. a kind this is different it is not a job, it was not what you call regular, the whole package, and I liked it, out of the ordinary , I expect that sort of sums me up I do not like being put in to boxes, if that makes sense.
Lorry drivers are called ,over the ships tannoy (ships communication system}to proceed to their lorry’s, do not start you engine until told to by the ships crew , yeh ,all the foreigners under stood that, [not] The diesel fumes were terrible by the time we got down as the ferry had not berthed yet and the doors were not opened
Pete pulled the electrical lead out and switched the fridge back to diesel, but did not start it up that would wait until we were outside from the ferry, as the fridge used red diesel that gives out so much black smoke when started it is like a chimney on fire.
It think we must have had about 3 hours in bed, ,it was all a new way of working ,that was sure.
Once Pete had drove off the ferry you go through numerous checks. Boarder control customs. asking questions where country have you come from ,where did you load, what did you take out, when did you leave England, all relevant I expect even back then it was impossible to bring anyone into England without anyone knowing, and while you were inside doing the customs, there were customs men searching your cab ,for any contraband, 200 cigarettes ,and 1 bottle of spirits, 6 bottles of wine ,any anything else you should not have, ■■■■ was a instant arrest . and to get inside a load on a lorry as they do now was unheard of.
After I got more experienced I found out that problems escalate if you are not truthful to customs if you get caught with extra cigarettes and not declared them and do not want to pay the duty you are subjected ,” ell the lorry is “what they call [impounded] that means, your load does not get customs cleared until the whole load is taken and inspected in a loading bay by them. It was known to take a day sometimes, and if it was caused by you the drivers fault for smuggling ■■■■ or spirts too much beer you were in deep ■■■■ with any boss, as you would more than likely lose a delivery time and date also a fine for importing extra goods it was a big deal back then and tabaco was1pack of 6 sachets any more and big trouble for you the driver It did not happen to me i was not that daft .some did.
.Once clear of the interrogations from customs and immigration, every driver was treated the same ,the “port of Poole was the worst ”I found out as time went bye , we went and parked up, then you had to go and put you custom papers into a clearing office ,that was run by the clearing agents, however theses were only [runners]working for the agents that were at the other end of the dock, so it was them who took your paper work down to them, it could take 1 to 4 hours on a good shift
The clearing of paper work for any load is the payment of any duties needed to be paid by the importer for importing, so most companies use the agents who serve them best and the agents hold a monetary fund on the importers be -halve to pay the duties. However the money sometimes get used up before the end of each month, and that causes delays for loads to get customs cleared allowing the lorry to go to the delivery time slot they have [Sometimes after all the effort you put in to get the load back to a port so as you can meet a delivery time was a waste of your time.
It is now about 6 am with the hour turned back from continental time,[ your tachograph stays at UK time at all times] time for another sleep, we had had about 3 hours [rest -sleep]as the agents runner knocks your door if your load is cleared, so you can get your pass to exit the dock . now you have to go and get some stamps on your paper work from the dock -board to let you out the gate, no stamps =no exit. [stamps=franks like the post office use] not postage stamps…
Also Pete was doing some routine lorry checks before going on to the roads ,oil, tyres, lights ,flashers make sure the fridge has diesel and nothing hanging off, as he told me if you go out of the main gate at Dover on theA2 towards LONDON there are always Ministry of Transport checks along that road, so if your Tachographs are suspect, you go out to Folkstone and take a chance, there are not as many lay-by s to be pulled over along that road ,all though Folkstone was a busy cross channel port as well,[ more later]
By this time we were ready to leave and we left Dover behind, the time in my body clock was utterly upside down but it was getting near 12 noon and we were going back via Northampton as someone else was going to get the lorry unloaded for Pete while he went home also me.
It was about 4 in the afternoon when we arrived back at the depot .all handshakes all round,[again]i met another driver ,he did not look old enough to drive ,obviously he was, I collected my gear, said my goodbye , more [handshakes I have not got it yet] and home I go, still full of the experience I have just had. It must have been about 48 hours on duty.
It was then ,at that moment, I should have thought hang on !,i,!me!, have just worked ,like as if I was a owner driver, and that that lorry was mine , it was not.! think about the pay rate ratio- per hour you knob! ,work it out the money is ■■■■, dummy! But I did not, not one of those thoughts crossed my mind, I must have been star struck ,glory hunter, ■■■■■■! I remember getting home and I was full of it ,plus 200 cigarettes duty free ,bonus.
Life and work went on as usual not a lot of market runs for me it seemed to be supermarket timed delivers in different lorry s, and it was working all right however I did seem to be getting the Sunday run on a regular basis that was a job to get used to however I was now getting into the rhythm of not thinking what day it was ,a Sunday could be the same as a Wednesday, also the pay was the same, no extra for weekends and I had now excepted that as now normal, the same as the others that were not owner drivers but like me.
There were story’s going around by different drivers about other drivers .what they had done ,different countries they collected goods , all stories, however one Sunday at Northampton there was this “ left hand drive” D A F, English number plates in lorry terms it did not get much better, I had never seen anything like it, the driver was about my age ,well dressed ,as if on holiday, and he had brought a full load of Oranges from Spain.[[little did I know then]] we got chatting after the handshakes, and it turned out he was the longest serving driver ,and a employee like me, the lorry was Rokold s, it was the flagship as they called it ,a high -line cab perfect inside, i did sit in it, it felt funny left hand drive he did say that he was the only driver of that unit but sometimes when needed it was used by others just to do short jobs[GOD FORBID] I thought it must take years to get used to that.[left hand drive].
So my load was ready , more hand shakes, and away I go ,and get delivering ,that went as normal, no problems ,when I got back the yard was quite, I parked up and went home.
Next thing I know the phone was ringing 11 am ,down to answer the phone, I knew who it would be ,and I was right . Could I be back to Northampton by 2 o clock, without hesitation said yes ,it was not normal for me, but I had realised if I show willing, things would be good for me and I might progress on to the Continental work eventually .
Pete had asked if I could be his second driver again ,so I took a few extra clothes this time .
When I arrived it seemed as if he was waiting for me , but there was no lorry there ,none anywhere, only a old white Volvo car.
After hand shakes and small talk ,the story was we were both going in the car[the company drivers runabout] to a place called Lamberhurst in Sussex, where Pete s truck [not lorry now. a truck] was being loaded and it needed 2 drivers as it was a urgent load ,so off we go and go down the Motorway
next we know the car is chugging ,spluttering, running out of petrol, ■■■■ me ,we just left the yard next door to a petrol station, there should be a can in the back, Pete said, !yes there was ,■■■■■■■ empty. so we are now stuck, pushed for time out of petrol Pete has to ring Alan via the breakdown service telephone on the side of the motorway and they relayed the messageat the yard ,and ask him to bring us some petrol.
While we are waiting Pete then told me the story of this VOLVO dive rs runabout company car
When drivers are anywhere, in England and they are due a proper legal break [rest]or want 2 days off for any reason , and they are loading a Export load and it is their own lorry ,or a company lorry ,a spare driver such as what I am [no company lorry of my own]will go wherever they are in the Volvo car stay and load the lorry or whatever, and the driver goes back in the car .then the loaded truck gets brought back to wherever place for Export .and the driver goes to meet it in the car again because he has kept the Volvo with him to use as he pleases ,and then the question of petrol arises.
Company men like me who use the car ,put the petrol on their expense sheet , and get reimbursed the money ,however owner drivers that use it ,like Pete had ,have to stand the cost themselves as the bonus for them is that they are getting there lorry loaded for free ,by the company s spare drivers[ as they are contracting hauliers to Rokold].
So Pete thought the car had been filled up, but it had not .so who will pay for the petrol from Alan ,as it turned out Pete was given some money to fill the car up on the company, another lesson learned check the petrol…i was under the impression that Pete was the owner of the unit and he subcontracted to Rokold, how wrong I was, he was a employee just the same as me ,however very experienced .
I had never met anyone before so dedicated to Rokold and a boss before god! I knew how I was to be ,and act ,from now on not easy for me. But i would try, and say the right things
in front of Pete from now on, as I suspect he has a influence over a drivers future within Rokold. It turned out he did
When we got to our destination, a abattoir in a village on the main road to the south coast if you were to blink you would have missed the entrance I was pleased I was taken there and not had to look for it. You drove in between two houses , just enough room for a lorry. a few houses built close around it, seemed a strange place for a abattoir to be. Once there it was a very large establishment.
There were two trailers parked up close on the loading bay and the fridge units were roaring away ,Pete was met by another of Roklolds drivers I had not met ,he been loading the trailer[well not actually fiscally but in charge of the movement when required he told us that that it was not finished loading yet, as they had to wait until the temperature of the lamb carcasses had reached -0 to +2/3 in the chill rooms inside the abattoir, and then the vets would release them for loading ,[could be a while he said],
The program was for the driver to take the car and go home ,or he might have to drive somewhere else to relive another driver who needed to go home? It was now about 6 o-clock in the evening. After the driver had left Pete put his gear in to the cab and he brewed a cup of tea up as he said the small canteen would be closed here.[[i would get to know this abattoir very well in the future]]
Pete then asked me if I would like to walk around the abattoir, i declined and he sort of said ,what is it do you not like Animals .are you squeamish. i laughed ,and proceeded to tell him about my butcher boy work when not at school working down the local abattoir, and all my cattle truck days, that sort of shut him up ,and he never said any more about it …
The plan was we were to go to a port that was going to be Rams gate to Dunkirk we had deliverers in Belgian and then one in Koln Germany and we had to have the tachographs right as we could get a check at the German boarder at [Aachen] and if they were not correct we would be in trouble so we did not put tachographs in until we were ready to leave, for the reason it would give us 22 hours to get the job done [we hope].and not lose time .He did tell me this job we were doing was very hard [ i.e. pushing for time]and it was the first time that they let a novice like me to double man driving.[that was supposed to make me feel good] Pete did tell me both bosses asked him how I had been on the other trip and did I moan, and he told the truth and said I was keen to learn .
It must have been around 8 pm and we pulled of the loading bay, got sealed up and made our way ,i was told it was best if I got most of the England driving done as Europe around back roads could be tricky ,so my first taste of driving 18 tons of hand meat, he told me I would get the feel of it once I got going and the sensation of being pushed when slowing down and the corners were tricky. If you look at a map of Sussex ,you will see Lamberhurst A27 and country roads over to Rams-gate via the narrowest villages you could find the most narrowest place ever ,so I was a bit tongue in cheek for a start, it was a test really to see if I could handle it.[ Pete did not know me] as well as he thought .after my time on cattle trucks.
It was getting on for midnight when we pulled into the dock and the Ferry line was called SALLY LINE. we did the export checks that was new to me, so I was all eyes and ears different procedures.
The food was really good steaks sausage, veg chips, sweets, all hours of the night and day, so we really tucked in as I had not eaten pro-ply all day also they let you take and make sausage sandwiches for later .not a lot of drivers on board however some were very regulars on this run so they said. and the crew were mostly from Mauritius .it was a French owned Ferry. It was about a 2 hour crossing from the start until getting off.
The reason we used this route was that you did not need a French Permit to use this route as it was called a FREE ZONE a very short coast journey from France to Belgian the place was called Aden-kirk , the road only allowed you drive that way and not into France.
Once off the ferry [after the routine of unplugging the refrigerated trailer] at the boarder limited controls ,and away we went i was driving ,just to get back in the hang of left hand drive, and heading for Brussels, but going to a place called Kortreck .our first delivery, the roads were very quite,and once off the duel track ,at the right place ,Pete took over driving as we were now into very narrow country roads that looked like water dykes each side no margin for error. it was pitch black except for the truck lights we seemed to be skirting a town and sort of looking for a back entrance in to a housing estate, once we had turned in we pulled up outside a butchers shop all lights blazing one person standing outside, the fridge unit blaring away, just what you wanted in a housing estate, Pete jumped out of the drivers seat, shut the fridge off ,but kept the truck running ,so as we had lights. And it looked just us 3 there, and that was it I did see that the man had some white coats over his arm as we had the handshakes ,and some gruntie noises from the massive chap ,the butcher, and a few pigeon Belgian words from Pete ,that seemed as understood by the butcher.
I was still Puzzled as what was going on, but once the butcher had broken the seal on the back door and opened it ,i new then what the coats were for ,we had to get up and pass the meat down to this man, nice first time for everything, I could not believe what we were doing but I kept quiet ,and followed what Pete was doing.
We knew when we had to stop passing the meat down as the abattoir had tied a string, around the next delivery so as you new when to stop but Pete new that, and I did now [learning].The unloading done we went into his house ,washed our hands they were covered in grease, and given some horrible Luke warm Belgian coffee.
All ready to go handshakes and grunting again and off we go towards Brussels, it was starting to get light ,and I said I could eat something to Pete and he assured me when we get to the next place it is a proper arbitrator and we would eat then. and maybe get 2 hours sleep, just what I needed.
What I can say about the Europe roads they are so well signposted ,as you approach BRUSSELS it tells you the way to go for GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG ,and all kinds of different new names of places I had never heard of, also 3 lane roads and they are not like our motorway.ys people are changing lanes ,overtaking and undertaking as it is normal ,also this area of the country Pete told me that you give way when you are on a roundabout, to let traffic come on to it when you are going round it is the wrong way for us English we had just gone past the High Zell football stadium that was a good future reference point to remember.
Before we arrived, after we had to do a massive roundabout route that put us the right way for going out back to the duel road, this delivery was on a slope once Pete had backed up to the doors for the meat to be unloaded , the ground had such a slope on it there was no way you would stay in a bunk, let alone sleep i realised weeks later that Pete knew that we would not get a sleep but doze off in the seats. but he never said .After a hot dog type sandwiches called [ a frickadella] we sat uncomfortable in our seats with feet on the dashboard /windscreen dozing off.
Once finished paperwork signed ,and they shut the back doors once we pulled of the loading bay, Pete never got out to check anything so he said to me ,you drive gave me directions then promptly lay on his bunk ,it did not bother me because I was still full of it ,me driving in Europe, unbelievable.
We headed for a place called Luige on the way to the German boarder it was to be our last Delivery in Belgium, he told me to go to the 3 rd turn off [city centre] but he said you will go down this massive hill, be careful, other traffic will try to push you faster than you want to go, but keep slow ,and ■■■■ -em. so that is what I did when I got there ,and the hill was massive, the odd truck went past and blew its horn in disgust; I expect, the weight of the meat was pushing us down the hill without much effort from the engine I just did a royal wave and ■■■■ you to the foreigners ,well, !they were foreigners to me ,not thinking I was the actual foreigner.
We were running along side a massive river of canal, so I gave Pete call ,as I did not want to get to a junction and have to make a decision which way to go , so he rolled out of the bottom bunk, took a look to where we were and said just carry on ,he seemed not to happy, perhaps he was tired because I was.
After time we arrived at the unloading place ,just like a warehouse , a few men rolled up , I opened the trailer doors ,and ■■■■ me we seemed to have gained more meat than we had before, it seemed it was a normal practice for companies to use transport that was going to the same company to move meat around without paying for it unless Pete had a backhander from the company I would find out later.
Pete walked round to the back and started the handshake routine, they all seemed to know him and he said to me go and have a lay- down we might be here a while. I did not need telling twice.
I felt as if I had been asleep about 5 minutes once I was woken up by the engine starting, Pete said we have now go to the Belgian customs to get sealed up for going into Germany, all good new stuff for me learn, I did ask about the extra meat we had on from Brussels to Leagie , and was told it was a regular thing ,that was in fact illegal ,for a English truck to do internal delivers within any country but your own country that also applies to any foreign truck in any foreign country. No internal work done at all .but some people know no one is going to check.
What it does it is supposed to protected your own home haulage market ,who wants johnny foreigner doing our work. The Belgians did not give two monkeys . The practice of doing that internal haulage is called [CABOT AGE] that was in the whole customs era now , since borders are open anything goes in 2014. trucks can go any where and load anything.
So there must have been some reward for Pete but he never said, or parted with any cash, I expect I will find out my self later on He did say that they were the same company so no harm done ,yeh:!
As we approach the turn off for trucks at the boarder ,after going up this massive hill ,we had to go off into a parking area that was full of all kinds of foreigners trucks it was like being in a toy shop. So, Pete then went on to explain what was to happen next .
First we had a GERMAN PERMIT that was to be stamped, then we had to make a fuel declaration[ 200 litres only allowed in the country]then passports, the go to a agent to clear the customs forms T2forms from Dover. III had never in my life seen anything like it ,inside the massive clean hall because that what it was , loads of different uniforms all armed , imposing loads of load talking real gruff GERMAN , as I /we were not used to this is was imposing ,and I thought jesus, it looked as they would lock you up for nothing,[[ no wonder they frightened the foreigners during the war]] and I had never seen such long name above offices ,in German, nothing in English or any other language so intimating, I was pleased we won the war…
Pete took me to a hut and had a coffee and bratwurst sausage and mustard in a crispy roll, lots of different cigarette smoke ,and language all around, no handshakes ,no greetings just grunts , to me any way,it was After about 1 hour Pete said lets go and see if we are cleared from the customs I did ask him why we did not stay in the truck and not sit in the café, and his words of wisdom! this time true, said, if you stay in your cab, and being English,[they tell by your number plate and the GB sticker /sign[obligatory] , the police will want to see you tachograph records, including the previous days, and they walk around the parking area just for that. A nice easy form of collecting fine money, if the discs are not correct, however our get out now is that if you have fresh meat of any kind you are told to leave the parking area with all the paper work given back to to you by the Agent ,and all you forms stamped ,and they did not check the amount of diesel we had and leave by a back road and proceed to the German veterinary for them to inspect the meat, and get clearance to leave for your delivery.
I had no idea of where I was ,and I was driving
[God knows what was happening with the tachographs. Who was driving etc Pete was switching the mode switch around all the time he was obviously on top of it] we were following a sign that said [schlachthof] that was abattoir, we got there in the end but we were far away from the motorway in the town of old Aachen, Aachen was one of the first towns to be conquered by the British army in 1945 ,when you see the hills around you thing how the hell did they do it.
Once cleared by the veterinary ,who did thoroughly check the meat as we were backed on to a unloading bay ,so they could walk into the trailer, I stopped in the cab ,Pete waited on the loading bay [ or dock] eventually we were cleared to go ,to Koln ,[ cologne] to the meat market called the Grober market Pete knew the way I had no idea ,where to go Pete , Pete was going up in my esteem as a man, but I know it was all going in my head , night time or not, what I could see to remember for maybe future reference, [who knows] and that works well for me ,once seen not forgotten.
I had completely given up on the time, and how much rest we have had ,it was if it was not a job at all it just seemed normal to do what we were doing,
Pete told me we will come up to the motorway again ,and cross 2 rivers then we follow the signs for the zoo, and that takes us to the market for unloading.
After time I eventually found the Grober market told where to back up to by Pete , he jumped out lots of ,[good -an-tarts] German for Hello] and he opened the trailer doors, and I backed up on his instruction on to their ramp/unloading bay ,and that was it, i thought ■■■■ me what a day all day ,Pete was inside having a coffee with some one and I could feel the movement of men walking in the trailer unloading, and a feeling of tiredness s seemed to come over me, ready for some proper sleep■■?
Next thing I know we are moving again, I must have dropped off, like a stone, I asked Pete where are we ,what we doing ,when do we sleep, all in one go ,the answer was we will just get out of Germany ,then park at the next service station ,as we are loading in Holland in the morning. But we have to wash the trailer out before we can do anything else but we will sort that out after a sleep The inside of the trailer is covered in blood and snot and grease we come again to the customs at Aachen and we still have to go to all the small offices for a stamp on our pieces of paper to get a complete set of stamps then you get a exit stamp and off you go .and think thank god for that.
We now make for the first service station in Belgium and sleep, it did not take long once there to get in that top bunk, I let Pete worry about the waking up time, I was sure he is on the ball.
It seemed like a very short time before I was being woken up, and I could hear the kettle making a noise , on the small gas prim-us- stove. And Pete, welcome back to the living was !we can not be long as we have to wash the trailer out and be loading by 2pm today, a 3 hour drive away.
I had no idea at all what Pete had done about the Tachographs and I was not bothered a far as anyone would know we had not been in to Germany, in fact if we do not get stopped in Holland or Belgian we have not been anywhere as far as the Tachographs are concerned, he obviously knows how to work [ fiddle]them to his and the company’s advantage and they must also know ,so I hope he will show me what to do.
Apparently the service stations in Holland supply more services than just fuel, you can get the use of a high power jet wash to wash the inside of a trailer out so all traces of meat are gone, and ready for another load, so long as you pay, payment by us was by a credit card ,very rare even now in the UK called a D. K. V. card , it is renown all through Europe within the transport industry you can get anything with it I mean anything, even in red light districts the card is taken ,like a transport only Visa. It was the first time I had seen or heard of it, once you are a established European driver for Rokold you get issued it only to be used when necessary .
The transit from Belgium to Holland ,because we were empty was very quick as if they were not bothered at all and we made our way to a service station that had a wash area ,Pete went into the payment office and came out with some bought tokens to put into the wash machine and he said we have 10 minutes of hot water and power the house was the longest I had seen ,my god these foreigners do not need any lessons in doing the job correct. Next thing Pete comes around from the cab with Wellington’s on ,and a pair of water proof leggings and a long raincoat/sou’wester jacket I was amazed, how much more am I going to learn, it seems as if you have to be self-sufficient.
His water profs were just what was needed and he did a complete through wash of the inside of the fridge it was perfect in side ,no trace of meat at all and as the lambs had been hung on string and not directly on the meat hooks they were clean. Once done he quickly went over his tractor unit with the hose before the time went out, and we were done, en-route to where I did not know. We went in to the coffee shop and had a machine coffee ,not bad ,a cup of tea would have been better ,but not enough time. Pete asked to use the phone ,and that was a yes and they passed him the phone from the office ,another !i cannot believe it they let him use their phone, never in England would that ever happen ,so this is Europe everything I have seen up to yet has opened my eyes ,why are we at home so behind ,god knows. he paid for the phone in cash and given a receipt
Pete comes back with loading instructions, we are to go towards the place we loaded at before to load near there today , I have no idea how far it is we do not have a map but Pete knows the way ,so he lets me drive ,and he dozes off, but he tells me which way to head for and just keep following the signposts until we get there or you have to have a break after 4 ½ hours [ that was joke]
It did not take long before I come to a junction where a decision was needed, left or right, so I had to pullover and shake Pete awake [not best pleased] go left ,towards, Eindhoven ,then pick up the sign for Tilburg, and he lays down again ,so I plod on now overtaking slower trucks , not that many slow ones were on the road ,speed did not seem to matter in Holland.
We got to the outskirts of the place we should be at for loading and I was given directions , to the factory gate ,the factory had a massive turning area for the trucks to get ready for backing down to a ramp onto a loading bay, once Pete came out of the office told me to back on to a bay as loading would start straight away, pallets loaded with frozen chips and we would not be long and the front pallets were smalls so they would fit under the meat hooks and the rear ones would make up the extra.
In no time we were loaded, custom sealed the rear doors that the factory paper work in order so next stop a ferry.
Time has flown from when I got up at 11am Tuesday morning it was now Thursday with no proper rest and now off again to a ferry Pete thinks we will miss the late Zeebrugge so to Ostend .
God knows what he is doing with the tachographs but I am sure he knows as he has changed the cards again. The fridge was set at -25 and roaring away however Pete said they were good at where we have just loaded and their product is nearly always down to the right temperature.
We move on to the road that soon took us to the boarder for Belgium customs , when we parked up I asked Pete if I could go and produce the paper work and get the feel of it ,and yes it was fine , so I went into the large foyer and could see only one office open with a sign DOUNE above the open door, I knocked ,walked in was met by grunts, passed the paper work over to the uniform/gun holstered ,no idea what was said, a couple of stamps later on the paper work I was out and back into the cab. I relayed what happened and was told that it was very rare to have any problems with the Dutch or Belgium’s authority, it was all the others.[countries].
I had now got used to the routine[for this trip] that I was doing the most driving, I treated it as a test to see if I would moan i did not , and carried on driving to Ostend I drove all the way up to the dock gate and booked us in to the ferry terminal, apparently we were not booked for the ferry now but a later one, but we would get on this one as Roklod was a good customer.
I thought that was a bit strange ,it clicked to me that we were ahead of our time, the office expected us to be later by about 6 hours, that was unusual ,later I would find out that Pete had done better than other drivers by not having the proper breaks, it was to show me ,”this is the way you do it ”and that he did the same when he was on his own ,no second driver.
Once off the ferry at Dover ,the routine was the same as last week I was feeling as if I was Mr experience,! no one else would and 200 cigarettes ,they would be sold. It sort of seemed all right to be working all these strange hours as every one else was doing the same , all though not many English seemed to be on the ferry.
Once cleared by the customs, the agents brought the clearance paper to us, and we then went for something to eat ready to make our way home, or not, Pete said we had to go to Frigo Scania in Kings Lynn a cold store that stored ,and processed ,and distribution of all frozen products from all Europe and was used by very big new supper markets ,and they work 24 hours shifts.
Was this another test I said ok no problem , I had no other choice really ,but to divert back to Northampton from Dover would have been ridiculous.
,it was the load first driver second, and you had to be prepared to do as the office would like or you will not last. I now see the important owner driver part of the company
I was now getting a good idea of what this job was and they want there own drivers to be exactly the same. I expect
you have two choices Stay or leave , for now, the job it seemed just for me I liked the running around different countries and the unsocial sleeping times ,the general way you were left to get on with the job and be left alone ,yes I knew the hour pay ratio was not that good however we were on a salary, so hopefully ,yes maybe in the middle of the week, that you would get more time at home, it would be worth a try if I get offered a job on European.
We made good time and I drove ,Pete said it would keep him clear to ship out again if I used my Tachograph. =The plan was that I had just arrived by car into Dover to take this lorry to unload and drop the driver [PETE]off at his house and I was to carry on and get it unloaded and back to base
if we got stopped by the ministry of transport for a tachograph card check.
He had got the previous tachograph cards we both had used and sorted them as if he had just been to Belgium yesterday, I had not been near that truck… so that is how they do it,total disregard for the law, however we were in Europe and no one cared a rats arse so do as the others do, do not forget the new Motorways were not built, the A2 .M . one Dartford tunnel, no Ministry check points at all , the only time you would have had a check if you were involved in a accident.
We had arrived at the cold store and drove straight on to a weigh bridge and the gross weight is record and when you finish you have to go back on to the bridge to get your tare weight ,then the load weight is taken from the gross and then you have the weight of the load, as you could have the right number of boxes but not the correct weight the senders of the goods has said [short weight, not uncommon].
We were told we had a booking in time of 12 o clock that night so park up , and wait. Pete looked a bit sheepish we could have gone to Northampton ,and I am sure he knew when the delivery was, but he is in charge of the truck if I was not with him he would have done exactly the same ,so I said ,good have another sleep, there were lots of other trucks parked up the noise of the fridges roaring away was tremendous, but no one seemed to care at all ,and I was getting used to the noise as well.
While waiting to get on to a unloading bay, the foreman unload er came and took the seal of the back doors , and climbed in as far as he could go and collected 1 box of goods, so he could go and check that the correct temperature had been kept and the product was the right temperature.
Before we had a sleep we kept getting lots of door knocking from workers asking if we had any duty free to sell, cigarettes or spirits wine anything cheap Pete told me more about the selling of any goods at most of the cold stores you would go to. He said, what you do is let the fork lift drivers have first choice of anything you may have ,and they will ask you if you are going back to Europe, and if it is for a load back to where they are as it was a regular run for Rokold trucks ,sometimes you will go back empty from Kings Lynn to Dover to load the next day in Belgium or Holland then straight back to Kings Lynn and they would put a order in if [1] you have the cash to buy goods, and [2] do you want to bring in more than your allowance [3] if you are caught by a customs officer anywhere and you are selling duty free goods you are in deep ■■■■. So it was up to you.
As it was ,I was not interested as I had no control of what I did ,also Pete would not commit himself ,as he did not know what he would be doing next ,if he did he would not tell me, as I expect he will be glad to get rid of me, and I do not blame him I would not fancy having a second driver with me ,however if the bosses say you will you will it is their truck, end of.
After getting unloaded, and the trailer swept out and weighed [by me ] before we made our way back to the depot . One thing Pete impressed on me was to make sure that when you collect your c.m.r note up from the office when the unloading is finished make sure they do not write any remarks on the paper work as that c m r is a legal document, and it is the only way a company can get paid for the load by that note ,with a clear signature, meaning that the load count is correct ,the load temperature was correct, and the given weight , when you arrived and the time , that done home.
When we arrived back at the depot it did not take long for me to get my gear together, and say good by and [handshake],as it was all closed up ,no empty pallets ,or nothing around, only our two cars.
What Pete was going to do I have no idea.
I soon travelled home, quick wash and to bed.
After my European trip work seemed to by very quiet not that many night runs and no market runs at all just the supermarket work and the pallet loads seemed a lot less than before, however I just enjoyed the time off as I knew when the time come it would be longer hours than normal!.
On one run to a few different supermarkets I was told that I had to have the night out and collect some pallets in the morning, yes fine by me i was now used to doing as I was told and not re -bell or moan .
As it was ,I had no idea what was going to happened next, as I was loaded ,i needed to ring the office to see if the pallets were for home base or somewhere else I was told to bring them back to the yard as quick as I could Mr East wants to see me, I thought another trip over the water.
Once in the yard ,i parked up ,went in to the office and asked for Mr East ,i was told to go in to his office, he stood up shook my hand ,and said Vic I am sorry we are going to let you go, work has got bad and there is not enough for all the men .last in first out…Then he said we may have got you some work with a local contractor, he gave me the details ,sorted my wages out ,said if any thing comes up again he would call me ,that was me finished at Northampton and that was that I said my good bys ,Alan said sorry,i new they would keep the young men on, so I went to find my new employee ,i hoped.
The new employer lived and worked at Milton just out side Northampton, I rang him up and he told me to meet him at the Ipec depot ,he gave me the address. after getting through security, I was told where to go and he had a small office at the end of a massive loading bay, that had about 20 trailers parked on it.
The job was first to be shunting the trailers on and off the loading bay as a contractor for the company running the job .Ipec , that turned in to T.N.T the massive parcel and goods distribution.
After time ,also when required you will have to drive a trailer up to the Glasgow depot, that would be a night job once there you go into a bed and breakfast in Glasgow while the lorry and trailer is taken around Scotland all the delivers done then it is reloaded back up for you to run back down to the Northampton through the night, you get back to Northampton park it up in the depot we are in then you go home. If you are required for the next night we ring you by 2pm to let you know.
Yes that sounded good, but the money was Tax free ,that meant you had to do the tax yourself.[self-employed] also he does some containers runs to and from Felixstowe, well it was a job I would go for it .I started the next day at lest I understood what the job was and you got told what to do, and they had a canteen.
I was busy for a time then it would slow down. The man I worked for was a ex middle east driver, photographs all around ,early 1970s he must have been very young. However most men that did that work deserved all they had made out of the jobs it was not for everyone.
It kept me busy for a week, then I thought all the travelling by car and shunting ,i had had enough so I said I am going to finish. No likely Scotland trips so I am off!, ooh hang on a minute, he said you are down for the Sunday night run , was he telling porkies or I was down for the job ,he said no you are on the job all next week ,yes I will stay then and that was the start of another fine mess…
The tractor units we used were from MANN HIRE and they were flying machines 70 mph was the normal speed once on the Motorway well if you did not get caught. Once you left Northampton you drove for 4and half hours had 45 minutes break then another 4 ½ drive and you should be in Bellshill Glasgow that was how fast them trucks were ,really in day time you would not have done it ,even in 1 days drive of 10 hours , however at night ,unbelievable distances were covered the trucks had the power as if you were driving a car, you could accelerate just like a car with a full load .of 20 tons quite remarkable even now when I thing about it, in actual fact when I do like now it was so, so, dangerous I shudder. However once again by luck I came off all right .
Once in Glasgow you would leave the truck in the IPEC yard and a man would take you up to your bed and breakfast, have a breakfast ,then bed, he would collect you again at 6 o clock at night, you had no dinner there, after the first time I soon got myself organised when home I brought a small gas cooker, pan. And tins of food, and cooked it in there rest room when I was back there it caused quite a show as they had never seen a driver cook before. not as I was experienced, I got the idea off of Pete ,never go hungry when you can do it yourself…
I started to get used to the pattern of work on the Glasgow the boss and his partner did have a small issue as we were only working in total driving 9 hours the boss wanted us to do some more work when we got back to Northampton, small local work just to fill the hours in as we got paid a days rate ,night or day and the hours were never defined ,so I think he thought we were getting away with money for no work, so I did what he asked ,then went home to bed later than usual,[not good
One evening just before I was leaving Glasgow the boss phoned me and said when I get back to Northampton ,drop the trailer at the depot then pick another trailer up and go and deliver it to the car factory in Luton. Vauxhall I never gave it much thought about 1 hour from Northampton to LUTON, tip the trailer then out and home I thought it would be a couple of hours.
i When I eventually arrived at the car factory the parts I had on the trailer were marked urgent production line, it did not mean a thing, I was told to park up and would be called in when they were ready. I knew from previous car factory experience that once you got into the queue going around the production area that was you basically ■■■■■■, end of. It is like going around a supermarket following 2 mobile scooters ,with blind people driving.
After god knows how many hours still at Luton ,it was getting that I would not have time to drive back, so there and then I made my mind up that was me finished when I got back , no way to ring anyone up no public phones within the factory for drivers use…
Once on my way ,non stop straight to the depot, I was met by the boss, all full of sorry, I did not realise they said it was urgent, I said no problem ,get some other mug, bye that is me done, he protested ,ore look I gave you a job a favour for Mr East ,i replied you get Mr East to come and do it then, off I went ,to the nearest phone box and rang Roklold at the depot at Oxford and told them what I had done ,and said thanks for the job but no thanks ,and whenever they want me ring home…
Now started another episode of driver with out a job, I first called in at S. T Challis as it was on the way home and explained my situation and could they help they would ring, never did, so I had to look further afield from home ,in the local paper drivers wanted at Aylesbury ,that was nearly 35 miles away, however I thought I would ring, and ask for a interview, it was in a village called Aston Clinton, did not mean nothing to me , i got a day for a interview , in two days time, i have no idea what sort of work they do or anything but I had seen the lorries around and no way of finding out .
I arrived at the village and found the yard , I drove in ,and looked around for a parking place, found a visitors one and parked. Little did I know that I was being observed to see where I left my car.
However I reported to the office explained who I was and was told to sit and wait. I had dressed
with some smart clothes and a tie ,a bit over the top for a drivers job but I wanted work.
I was shown into a office and a young -ish man sat at a desk very smartly dressed, he did not get up just looked and there was a chair pulled out my side, but I did not sit I just stood there.
He then said who he was ,and what did I want so I said a driving job if they have any vacancies,
then where have you been working? . I said I can give you my full working record since I left school, and got out my discharge book with various bits of paper and certificates also my HGV driving licence, Ohh he said you have a class one licence all self-explanatory , so I told him everything from school until that day. While I was in mid flow a older man come in to the room. Also very well dressed and sat on the edge of the desk ,never said a word.
When I had finished talking ,my history, the other man Mr Fowler ,the big boss , said we never employ any men who do not live within a 10 mile radius from Aylesbury ,however if you can start tomorrow we will overlook that rule, and that was me at Aston Clinton Haulage, A. C .H.
I had to be at the yard for 6 am , to start then take it from there it was a good 40 minutes drive from home on back roads, after a short time I started to try other routes, but it was nearly always the same time of travelling.
The work was varied ,from local shunting to unloading in the yard, and loading boxes of cereal for delivery, then delivering it ,you had no time at all, but I stuck with it, they were very long hours if I had known more then I would have stopped in the yard the odd night and sleep in a cab ,with no pay but it would have made life a lot easier ,as all the trucks the ran were sleeper cabs and of the full speck,[the most powerful].
The son David who interviewed me was what you called unfair, a prick ,thoughtless, and all the other meanings, but that was his way and people accepted it, me also as I thought I would get on to having a truck of my own and get some good work even with my limited European experience. Sadly it was not to be then i wanted to leave, but I had to do it right and not just finish ,so one day I got half way to Aylesbury stopped in a village, and said my car has just blew the piston, or valve and I could not make it in, and gave them the local phone box number so they could ring me back…[ no mobile then].
After time Dennis , David’s assistant, rang the call box back, and said if you cannot get in you are no good for us so you will have to finish, so I said fine and they would send my wages and p 45 and that was that for then It was what I wanted to happen in case I ever wanted to go back in the future .
Once home, car all good ,I decided to go S T Challis to see if they have any work, once in the yard straight to the drivers place outside of the office, i knocked the hatch, and was greeted by what the ■■■■ to you want, from the traffic clerk, laughing, nothing from you, but a job, he told me to wait `1 ,i will go to see the boss, after a short time Brian the boss came out and said we have a bit of tipper work if you want it , only local runs ,you can start Monday, and that was the way it worked in my area, straight to the point, the best way.
The tipper work was easy but long hours you were moving earth that was being dug out by machines for a new road ,and once loaded ,you then tipped it where you were told, most times it was to make a bank further back along the road ,or just to fill in holes [massive holes] left by pipes .
It was going good , I used to take a lot of sandwiches and 2 flasks i knew most of the drivers ,some from my village, and we would have a laugh. Plenty of time to eat, and drink all was good the money was manageable, but beggars cannot be choosers
.
I think I must have been there for about3 months and getting bored but nothing else to do ,i was not getting enough out of it if you know what I mean but no weekend work maybe the odd Saturday morning ,sometimes, they wanted you to help the fitters if they had a big job on, nothing technical but I was still learning about trucks ,engines and most of what went with the job, rewiring lights, all though the diesel engine had come on with the future there was still a lot of old basics and common sense .also I had had the ■■■■■■■■ engine workings to help me if I needed it. To a small degree.
Life was plodding on ,getting my self resigned to being on a tipper until they increased the fleet, when out of the blue my wife gets a urgent phone call from no other than Mr Robin East, from the depot in Oxford, asking where, and what I was doing, and asked would I ring as soon as possible, urgent. It was 7 o clock at night and I spoke to Robin .
Tom ,the first driver I went with had ,had a brain haemorrhage and passed away , he was on the service station by Liverpool, the trailer had been taken away to be unloaded ,however ,the unit was still on the service station the keys were in the mangers office ,was the any chance I could go up with another driver and bring the tractor, and the trailer [when empty] back down to Oxford. the lorry was leaving at 5am in the morning to get you to Liverpool later in the day are you able to go with it, also we would now need a relief driver ,if I wanted the job it was mine on Rokold not the other company J C. S. ,it would be reliving the European drivers on a regular basis and the previous man would have Toms truck permanently. I explained that I was permanent where I was and they would not take kindly to me leaving just like that, he said he new Mr ■■■■ who was the boss and he would square it with him, as they were on the road haulage association together and he would explain the situation .
It was a chance not to be missed it could be the break for me to get into European work so I accepted the offer.
I had to leave home at 4 am to get to Oxford before 5 am good job I did as the driver slept overnight at the depot and was ready to leave when I arrived, after a few delivers we made our way to the Liverpool area, I found out a lot more about the job some bits were good ,others I knew about [ the hours] the driver Geoff , who was Toms friend, also from Northampton still could not believe Toms death ,it only happened yesterday so it was shock all round ,well not for me but sad as he left a wife and children, all though when I knew him you would have thought he was single , I hope that is not the way this type of driving changes you, also he was ex army so he knew his way around.
I went and collected the truck keys ,from a office , they knew my name but wanted some ID ,that was all done .i rang the office ,and was told to pick the trailer up at Trafford park Manchester at a refrigerated depot. I was told check it over for any damage in the outside and inside, count the meat hooks that were hanging on the rails at the front, tyres, fuel in the fridge ,and all the trucks paper work was still in the cab folder, I was given a list to check, that all worked out correct, and to record the hours recorded on the fridge, [ a dial on the front cover of the hours the fridge has been run],make sure all the lights were working, as people will steal the lenses and bulbs, yes, the bulbs…
When that was done I rang the office ,and they said make your way to Dover and ring first thing in the morning from there. Yes that was what I wanted i knew it would be late by the time I get there
but I never put a tachograph card in until I left Liverpool so I had got plenty of time, well I thought I had.
I made it to the last service station, on the A2 Farthing Corner, before Dover and had a break by the time I got into Dover and parked outside the Agents office ,went in ,and the ■■■■ had hit the fan, what I was not told I was booked on the 6am crossing to Zeebrugge [when I had phoned from Manchester] [no cab or mobile phones] they had expected my to drive into Dover gone in to the Agents and they would have given me my loading instructions without parking up where I did and I could have booked off once inside Dover ,and by the time I had got off in Zeebrugge I would have had the proper break, also I would have had lots of broken sleep.! Moving on to the ferry etc I had no a clue, that was what I should have done.
I rang the office explained they more of less said it was their fault but told me if you ever have to get to Dover you must try to get there, as there is always a reason why. I think the traffic manager Peter Melcombe thought I was a old hand at the European way of working I had never met him I took a instant dislike to him, by his phone manner to me, one to watch.
Once I was on the ferry ,booked into my cabin and had a meal, it was time to go to bed for about 3 hours ,trouble was you never knew who your cabin mate was , so as Pete told me get to bed first and hope they do not snore.
Once off of the ferry the routine started as before ,and it all went well ,even the fuelling up as the credit diesel card all worked on the same pin number [so long as you knew it] I did not ,but Tom had it written down in the trucks book of paper work ,so I was soon away to get to the loading place. It was the same one as before when I was with Pete ,so I felt very confident that it would all be good and load without any hassle, and after a time of me getting there I was soon striding in to the loading office, full of it, until the Dutch man said in perfect English, you are late ,your load has been given to another driver so you will have to wait until the product [frozen chips] are down to the correct loading temperature , well what could I say but ok thank you I will be in the cab…
And that is where I went, I never said another word, I thought well ■■■■ you too. And laid on the bunk, it did not seem long when loud banging was on the door and shouting to me ,back on to the loading bay so I opened the rear doors , started up the fridge, ■■■■ !!I had forgot to do that before I arrived so as the trailer would be cold, [whoops] I was getting to cocky, and forgot the first rule. To get the fridge temperature down as low as possible, it will never get to minus -20 as there is not product in the trailer to hold the temperature but once the frozen goods are in the trailer and the trailer is all ready cold it will soon be down to -20
Also I think I learned another thing, other people do not like to see you go and lie on the bunk and read a book… [over time I learnt it really ■■■■■■ other people off especially if you have had a disagreement with them and it was your fault, and you shown that it does not bother you at all .]
Once loaded, I was told to pull off the loading bay, collect my paper work from the office and the customs will seal the back doors and I was ready to go. I did stop and think have I done all the right things , checked both diesel tanks. Fridge running ok , god knows what I would do if the fridge stops, I have not been told yet ,i must put that on a list ,of to ask instructions for if a brake -down occurs.
I made my way to the Belgium boarder and then the ferry port. Ohh no I forgot to ask what ferry to go back on, ■■■■ ,i stopped and tried to work the time out, and thought I was at about the same time as when with Pete, so I will go to Ostend ,then I had thought , [dangerous]look at what the T2 customs form said , and it was Ostend, so I now knew the office must have told the Dutch that was my port of exit.
I made my way there without any problems it was easy to find the port as the signs post were very good you just followed the sign with a ship on and it took you straight to the port gate, I completed all the paper work, and went and queued up with all the other trucks , that was not hard to accomplish, as I had been shown before what to do if I had not It would have been a different story.
Once on the ferry I asked the crew for a electrical plug in , and was told yes ok ,but wait for the ships electrician , that is what I did it seemed like hours however he came and sorted the plug in out and it worked the correct way ,that ,the way to test to see that it did not ■■■■ air out of the fridge was by holding some light tissue paper up to the front air intake so that it blew the paper and not ■■■■ it in, , as ships electricity system can vary so I was told? I was the last driver to leave the car deck eventually, I climbed my way up to the accommodation area found the driver only restaurant the food was English looking but cooked by Belgians as it was a Belgian crew, I had some food then straight down to the cabins for a sleep, I had the cabin number on my ticket, but the first thing was to find them , it seemed as if they were right down under the engine, and the noise was bad, Jesus I had spent a long time on ships ,never this noisy!!
I did find the cabin, and the bunk, and it was the top bunk as the other 3 were occupied so clothes on into the bed, I did learn a lesson, all ways strip off when ever you have a chance to sleep ,even for a hour ,as with clothes on you soon get roasting and cannot rest…
Next thing lots of noise, blokes burping and ■■■■■■■, coughing sounded like a cattle market and foreign language ,to me, I understood it was time to get up .and that was what I did and followed the herd up to the coffee, tea and ■■■, bar, also more food it seemed only 5 minutes before that I was eating, but we all seemed to get stuck in, mostly sausages, and hard boiled eggs , then the tannoy came over [all drivers report to the car deck and do not start your engines please until told to by the staff, ■■■■■■■■, by the time I got down to the truck ,the rear door was still down, and all these ■■■■■■■ ,stupid foreign drivers had the engines roaring away it was choking, and they did not give one ■■■■, what they did not realise as the deck crew could not take the safety chains off of the front of the trucks so they would be able to leave the ship, because they wanted to be first off what they did not realize that once they got to the customs they were going nowhere,.
Yes I had done it, I did all the right things parked up put my paper work in the agents box wrote on it where I was parked, and smartly went and got into bed again sleep seemed the main think lacking in this type of work
The next thing I know there is rapping on the cab door, i flew up pulled the curtain back and there was one of our drivers there, hanging off the wing mirror with his arms, shouting something, so I got dressed and opened the door and the first thing he said are we clear what! I said I have not long got in bed, he said well they usually clear this customer straight away, he said he would go and check, in the office where you get your exit stamp ,and the paper work to go .
He came back full of it and said it has been cleared 1 hour -ago, you should have been gone by now as the customer is waiting for the load,” hang on” I said I have only been here 3 hours and not had my full break, he replied, that he was taking the load and I was to be the passenger, ok that made sense. well sort of until I thought about it so off we go with me not driving so it did not matter any-more how much rest or sleep I had the load came first…
I asked the driver how he got here and he said he came down last night with another of our drivers and went in to a bed and breakfast, got up this morning to deliver the load ,and take me back because the office new I would not be able to drive for some time as my break hours were not up one thing was wrong no one told me alarm bells should have been ringing, this is no way to work ,however it was all new to me completely different from any other type of driving I knew .
so in fact I was off duty in the passenger seat basically it does not matter where you take your off duty break so long as you are not working …as time went by it was considered that if you were in a company vehicle you were classed as on duty, but that was much later .in the 1990s in actual fact if you were driving a company car to or from work of to relive another driver you were technically on duty, however who new , unless you had a accident in that car.
We arrived at “Bejams”at large “cold store” full of deep frozen food at a place called Frimley near Guilford to unload the pallets of chips, after time we were told to back on to the loading bay ,and wait for the green light , it was right by your cab when you were backed on the loading bay [or dock]you could not miss it to tell you that you were on the loading bay correctly , you would feel the ramp inside the store go down on to the deck of the trailer so they could start unloading.
But first the quality control would take off the first 6 pallets then on the 7th they would open the boxes for the correct temperature of the product and it had to be between minus-18 and -22, they would take all the boxes of the pallet and check the very bottom ones, just to make sure that the chips had been loaded at the correct temperature also that you had had your frigerated trailer running at the correct temperature -20 If not someone would be in trouble and the first would be the driver, as not checking the product temperature before loading, and was the fridge running correct, it was a bloody minefield this I learnt later through my own experiences you would never believe the checks you had to make and do while loading any product .
Once the load had been cleared to unload it did not take very long to get unloaded and get the correct amount of pallets returned, and we were on our way again, so where now for me I asked myself? we were going to Bedford for a truck and trailer service and I was to pick up a company car and go home and wait for the phone call. At least I had some duty free cigarettes.
I was asked at the cold store [what have you got on] I did not know what they were on about until the other driver, said some drivers bring in Beer, and tobacco for the cold store unloading staff to buy [in bulk] apparently they knew the lorry was Toms, and he looked after the lads at the store , well sadly no more ,they did not know about his death, but it was something to think about , however I never did bother for anyone, as I never had the cash to buy goods…
We soon arrived at Bedford, and the trailer was dropped in a service bay and the unit taken for a service next door, I was taken to see the boss of the work shops and asked if there were any outstanding faults on the truck or trailer i did say some of the tyres on the trailer were a bit short of rubber meaning the tread was low, all the other gauges on the unit were working oil and water was good ,there was no more to say, so I was shown the car I had to go home in and that was it, I was away… it was the same old Volvo first thing was I checked the petrol, and it was nearly empty, what a surprise, why would drivers leave a car with hardly any petrol in I did not know ,however I will now do the same.
I got home there was a telephone message for me to phone the office, Jesus they never left you alone for any length of time, it was something I was going to have to get used to that was for sure ,it was my instructions for tomorrow, I had to be down in Lamberhust the name of the village where the loading was for 5 pm and deliver the load of lambs that I had done with Pete before, on my own, I remember feeling pleased with myself as they were trusting me with a Export load for the first time, also inside I was really ■■■■■■■■ myself but no one knew only me.
After a good drive around the Motorways, the M25 was not yet built, under the Dartford tunnel and down to Lamberhurst ,i arrived in plenty of time, and I had brought a small gas burner and some food ,saucepan, tea ,excreta, just to keep me going and from spending any money on foreign food, the more I did not spend the more for me and home, well that was the thought I had not got round to finding a toaster, but I would.
The unit was the one I had driven before the old 2800 D. A.F, [Ex toms] the driver with the truck wanted to get off home ,and I did ask him why he was not doing the job instead of me, he gave me some story about his wife so I left it at that, anyway it was nothing to me ,he told me it was ¾ loaded and the last of the lambs would be soon loaded ,the truck fridge was roaring away trying to keep the inside of the fridge with the already loaded lambs down to a cool +1 as the doors were open being backed on to the loading bay of the slaughter house it was cold inside, the premises the lambs [meat]were kept inside special cool rooms to get the meat down to the temperature ready for transport. Vets were the only people who can allow any meat from leaving a premise also vets are employed all the while the process of slaughter takes place .
In side the slaughter house there are a series of tracks that run all around the ceilings that the meat hooks run on in and out of the cool rooms for the method of getting meat moved from place to place once the meat arrives by men pushing sliding the carcass at the loading doors in to the trailers, the carcass is lifted off and placed on to the meat hooks inside the trailer there are 5 different rails inside the trailer roof with about 60 hooks on each rail .with lambs being small one lamb is placed on the hook then another is hung underneath by a string so there are 2 lambs to each hook, quite a swinging load ,if you have more than one delivery string is placed around the whole load of lambs to let the unloaders plus the driver where that delivery starts so as not to get them mixed up or extra taken by the first customer as you would have no way of knowing when to stop taking the lambs ,also counting, but the driver is never allowed inside most abattoirs.
I went and checked the diesel for the fridge that is under the trailer it wanted filling up, I realised the truck tank was half full and I would be able to syphon some diesel out of the tank and put it in to the fridge tank, I thought yes I will do it.
So know I needed a piece of hose pipe at lest 6 foot long, and a container of sorts to transfer the diesel, easier said than done believe me, I knew how to do it as I have done it many times before but it can be a smelly dirty job, plus diesel tastes awful. If the trailer had not been loaded and the weight on the front end of it ,the easiest way would have been to drop the trailer where it was and back the unit alongside of the trailer so as the tanks are alongside each other, if the tanks are not on the same side you turn the unit around so as it is ,also you need a lot of room, so all that was out . It meant sucking the diesel up the pipe that you have pushed down , well down inside the trucks diesel tank, and you start sucking “ syphoning” until the diesel flows out ,and then you have to catch it in some form of container a old plastic oil can, and make sure you can tip it into the trailer diesel tank [not easy] it needs 2 people really as once you have filled your oil can the diesel is still flowing ,you have to lift the pipe up so it is above the level of the diesel in the tank, but make sure you have a bend in the pipe so as the pipe is not empty or else you have to start sucking again, believe me it is a pain in the arse and you get covered I did get a hand from one of their drivers and we managed to get a few gallons in the tank, no thanks to the other driver, [■■■■■
Now I had to get cleaned up and once the unit was under the trailer they started to load the last delivery, What I did not know was one of drivers from the abattoir was also going down to the docks on a export load he was going direct to the delivery at leige, and then into Germany and I was to follow him down to Dover the ship over to Calais [F] and I would follow him through to Belgium and then we would go our different ways, this was new to me ,apparently all things change when meat is involved ,and the office knew what was happening .
I was to pick a French permit up from the agent in Dover ,and Jimmy[ THE DRIVER ]was going to show me the route out of Calais, and how to go through the customs at Calais all straight forward well it is supposed to be. After time we were ready to go and he said we were going the back roads down to FOLKSTONE, the on to Dover I did not have a map with me .god!! it was the most fastest switch back ride I have ever had ,god knows where we went, but I did not let his rear lights out of my sight, and he warned me that when you get to Folkstone we will go up this massive hill ,and if it is wet if you miss a gear near at the top you will be ■■■■■■, as the steepness of the hill lets all the weight of the lambs hang back at angle, taking your traction away from your drive wheels as if you are skidding on ice, well that did not do me much good ,all I could thing about was missing a gear, so I thought right, I will put the truck in a low gear at the bottom and then I had no worry ,I expect I lacked a bit of confidence in my own ability and that is what I did and I did not have a problem ,i was slow, yes, but I never got stuck, when I caught Jimmy up at the docks he said I thought you were stuck, but I would not have been any help so I carried on, that was the right thing to do so he said .
We parked outside the agents and collected the paper work for me and a permit for France, then round to the customs part ,this time we had to queue up to go into the customs sheds for a seal check and a port health check, ]MAFF],to make sure we were veterinary sealed up [the trailer] .
That all done we then had to go queue up for the next ferry to Calais, they were nearly every 2 hours leaving Dover , I could see the point of coming this way instead of Ramsgate as it was quicker here, once we were loaded on to the ferry we had to ask for a Electric Plug , as no diesel engines were allowed to be run, once that was sorted and it was working the correct way we made our way up stairs for food in the drivers lounge.
We were on Sea-link ferries and the food was good . Jimmy asked if I had any French money at all, and no I did not he said we would need at least 5 French Francs for the customs as you go out of the gate, for the bung, for the excess diesel we had, you are only allowed 200 litres in France, I changed £10 sterling and received just over 10 Francs, and Jimmy told me do not give that much you must change it as they would take it all that… I am learning more, and we talked about my delivers and he told me about the Belgian border so as I was sure where to go ,he was a great help, I would have been struggling with out him, but that is why they sent me with him I expect…
Once the ferry docked we were about the last to get off as the electrician did not hurry himself, anyway there would be a massive queue waiting to get out of the dock after the customs. Once in the customs hall I just followed what jim said and I did not speak, there was no need to, the customs men all looked the same in massive coats , lots of chatter, stinking of French ■■■■, talking in grunts, and laughter, well they were in charge , after the stamp on the permit backing paper ,jim said he hoped they would stamp that, and not the actual permit as it could be used again [ I will explain later] I watched as the trucks drove up to the last barrier where you gave them the money ,[they called it coffee] the man jumped up onto the step hung on the mirror arm and looked at the fuel gauge on the dash board to see what it read ,full, or half full. Anyway they still had the coffee money whatever, and when it was my turn I drove up stopped and he did what I have said took the 5 francs said [Aur vior]
That was my first of many giving of French francs to the customs men ,only in Calais I must say no where else bothered with the fuel coming in to the country .they were the French Mafia. That practice carried on until the customs frontier controls finished in the 1990s.
Once clear, before I was let loose on my own , Jimmy gave me my last instructions , I crossed the same border in to Belgium as when I was on the other ferry, however I had to clear the customs there as it was my boarder of destination, apparently the veterinary clearance was done at the first delivery but Jimmy was there at the boarder to assist me so it went well
He told me all the deliverers will be waiting for me, as drivers for the abattoir. Company they did this run every 2 days for years and if there are no lights on at the premises ,knock the doors ,and they will soon be out as they were local Butchers shops, in towns obviously this was a regular run .
Once I found the first delivery I would be taken to the next one when I was ready by following a car, I think this job must have been another test as it was non stop full-go ,at the first delivery one man jumped up on the back of the trailer to take the lambs of the hooks and pass them down ,and I was given a white coat, to get up and do the same, as two men were on the road taking the meat inside, so no lay down, and that was the pattern of the nights work, i had lost track of time and it was getting light, and I ended up somewhere near Brussels Airport with a empty trailer, and the inside needed a wash out, so that was my next move find a truck stop with a high power hose, that was normal in Belgium as they seem to think of everything jim did tell me that I should ring the office by 1pm our time and get loading instruction, so sleep was the second priority.
There was so much noise going on at the service station I made amental point of never stopping
there again ,i must have had about 5 hours sleep and my alarm was screaming, first eat then phone thank god I had my toaster, and tea making things, and I sorted my self out.
The office told me I was loading tonight not far from the Dutch boarder in Belgium so make my way there whenever, as the load was ready, full load of frozen vegetables
.
After 2hours I had found the loading factory a large compound lots of other trucks were there no other English, once I had been to their office I was given a loading bay number to back on the wait in the cab as the load was handball [meaning not on pallets in paper sacks] so it would be a while, and they would knock the cab when finished, so it was time to get a brew of tea on ,and then lie down and get some rest ,sleep. It was after 4 hours and I was woken up and told to go to the office, I collected my paper work, customs paper, and pulled off the loading bay for the rear doors to be custom sealed up, and they told me that the office said I was to go to Zeebrugge for the midnight ferry, that was good for me no rush, and I would be able to fill all tanks up with diesel unbelievable but it all worked out .i was in plenty of time for the ferry, and another time to get in bed, I had already sussed out that if you can get a lay down take it…
Once the ferry arrived it did not take long for the off load of trucks and then we were soon brought up from lanes for loading ,it is not straight forward ,as heavy lorries have to get put in different places, the loading ticket office know all the trucks weights when booking in…also I wanted a electrical plug in ,so I seemed to be kept waiting to load with other fridge drivers as we were all on the same level deck where all the plug connections were, once loaded on and sorted ,in to get your bed number/cabin, no single berth, so you have 2 choices either go straight to bed , or eat a dinner.
For me it was a no brainier /bed, before the snoring started, and just hoped you did not get a cabin with foreigners .
All went well ,the crew wake you up in time for breakfast nice full English then the unloading starts
passport control/ customs, all done on the dock ,as before, it was still dark.
Once parked up , my paper work lodged in the agents in box ,i wrote on it the number of the lane I was parked in, and would they knock me when finished please… so back in the bunk again…
It was not long before the knock on the door come and I was cleared to go after I got my paper work, and allowed out of the dock gate and on my way to Frimly again to get the load off loaded
I new it would take a while as it all had to be put on pallets ,a long job I expect. Once there I report to the office and they told me to ring my office as soon as I can…
Once again I was told that a driver was coming down in the car to relive me and I could go home and ring tomorrow dinner so now it was a waiting game, the more time I spent here the less at home.
Another driver I did not know, arrived ,and I told him what was going on and that they would let him know when to get on to a unloading bay ,and that was me, away, petrol check seemed ok, so home for me…
After rest at home, I rang the office at dinner time to be told to go to Bedford service depot no later than 5pm to collect the truck, I arrived on time, to be told that at 8 o clock in the morning I was to load a load of lambs from near Bedford and ring from there, I had to get the car back that night as it was needed for someone else, so I had a night at the garage in Bedford ,i slept well …
Once I arrived at the Abattoir I was told to go and wash the trailer out ready for loading they had a very high powered wash hose, it would blow your clothes off if it was pointed at you, anyway that done I put the trailer on the bay and waited, there was a lot of movement in the trailer they seemed to be loading non stop.
Eventually it went all quiet inside the trailer as the loaders stopped i walking up and down the trailer floor in stopped rocking around so I assumed it was loaded i got out of the cab and went to the office, yes it was finished and the customs and veterinary would soon be finished and I could soon be on my way ,so I thought…after ring the office it seemed I was only loading it for another driver I was to take it back to the Bedford garage, leave the truck ,the fridge going at the correct temperature, and the car would soon be there for me to go home again ,and the other driver would be taking the load, yes well I was only the relive driver, so that is what I am doing although I did not like it.
That seemed for a while the pattern of work I was doing, unloading or loading for someone else and it was sort of getting to me, so in the end I asked to speak to the boss Mr East [robin] the office men tried to keep fobbing me off that he was never in the office, so I let it go a week and one Friday I was home with the company car, i thought right and I drove to Oxford to the depot ,and there he was on Saturday morning in the yard ,well it was in a forest, no joke , in a forest called Tubbney wood ,off the Swindon road out of Oxford, it had some hard standing for a few trailers and a wooden cabin type office ,after handshakes I said if I do not get a truck of my own soon I am leaving I had been doing the relive for about a year, with the occasional run abroad and I had had enough…
Once home the phone rang Saturday after noon, and I was told they would be getting another hire truck a new Scania and it would be mine in 2 weeks, however it would be mostly on European work and I would have to do the same as the others and go anywhere I was told, if I could not do it they would have to let me go a catch 22… situation, it could be 2 /3weeks away at a time, I knew some of the other men were very rarely home for long as the export and import ruled… it was a no brainier I told my wife what the score was , I could do it or leave and go to nothing ,obliviously I wanted to do it however was not my own decision so we decided to do it and take a chance.
So the 2 weeks went into 3 and I was getting slightly cautious as to they were telling me the truth but when I did bump into other drivers they said yes the fitter at Bedford had been told another truck was coming and it was the first Scania not a D.AF so I carried on as normal unloading other people’s loads day and night[ not at the same time] one load comes to my mind that nearly come to my down fall and getting to big for my boots ,it is funny how life puts you down to ground very easy…
This load I had to collect ,[I had the company car] from the Bedford fitters premises,[i did not like john’s, the fitters wife she was always saying Robin this, and that, she was dangerous she could get you finished on her say, so ,[example if the truck was not oil up and cleaned up] cab dirty,]anyway=
I had to deliver this load of frozen goods at 12 midnight at Bejams Frimly I knew it very well as a lot of our loads ended up there so I knew some of the unloaders and the canteen ladies and felt at home while there, however it was different at night ,different people but they new the company well [as regulars] so we had no problem getting in past the security to get parked up as times it was very difficult to get on the premises ,if you were early, or more so late but Rokold seemed to breeze it…
“”2
This trailer I collected was a knew one to the fleet it had a new system for the brakes called “progressive breaking” meaning when you put your foot on the brake pedal and it sent air down the air line to the brakes on the 3 axles the brakes did not all come on at the same time ,there was progressive breaking one would come on then another then the last one, so as there was no skidding, gently braking however it used the air in the system up quicker, so the engine needed to be at a high reeving speed to keep the air cylinders up to maximum pressure… when you were slowly manoeuvring and using your brakes the air would be going out ,but the brakes would not be jammed on, but one axle would stop you in a road situation .
I was told to go on to a loading bay, it was very tight as there was a truck both sides of where I was to go so lots of manoeuvrings and shunting and when you hit the loading bay dock a green light would come on and that was you ,[you had opened the back doors before you stated to back up to the bay] so it was tight getting in as their own company trucks were parked everywhere just where you wanted to be another driver got out of his cab and help you back up to the bay and that is what a driver did for me.
Time and time again I wished the driver had left me to do it myself, as we were chatting and reversing at the same time using the brakes, backwards then forwards, and when I eventually got on to the unloading bay the green light come on , so still chatting the truck made no move to move forward ,I was on the bay I jumped out with the deliver tickets and walked up the 10 steps at the corner of the loading bay into the freezing warehouse, as you walk up the steps you are as high as the roofs of all the trailers parked on the loading bays so it looks like a flat field of roofs ,and all the fridges are off.
All the drivers all strangers, to me, are drinking coffee and eating sandwiches, mostly home made, the meal for the night workers does not start until 3am in the subsided canteen , I hope I am away before the crew eat as it makes it all get later and they get slower the longer they work.
The odd driver gets told he is finished, and new ones arrive, and at last they call me to say all is good and the unloading is finished just wait for the empty pallets to be reloaded, so off I go down the steps, talk to driver next door to me, jump in the cab, put the key in the ignition ,start the engine and let it tick over , i jump out the cab again, say something to the driver again [being cocky I expect as I was unloaded before him] I then make for the steps again in to the warehouse to see if the pallets are loaded ,and collect the paper work, and I was told 2/3 minutes and they will be ready so I waited like all the others do.
At that moment I was a happy bunny, soon be away and home I was handed all the correct paperwork all signed correct
and opened the door to go down the steps and looked over the trailer roofs again and there was a empty loading bay where I was parked, i thought well what a good chap [the driver next to me] he had pulled my truck off the unloading bay so as someone else can get in to the space I had… well that was what I thought my unit as I got past the truck alongside the walkway I could hear a commotion ,i did not what it was but as I got further round I could see the Rokold unit parked on a strange angle, I thought oh no !!!he has hit another truck ,and as I run round the front of the Rokold cab it is empty, no one is in it, and I run back around the way I had just come and Jesus, the left hand side of my trailer door was stuck in to the cab of the truck next to me, ■■■■ me what has happened… ohh- no ,i run back to my drivers side jump in the cab, and there is the evidence looking at me, the ■■■■■■■ hand brake was not on!!!ohh no that is me ■■■■■■. In the mean time out comes the driver who s cab I have just ■■■■■■, going ■■■■■■■ bananas.
What has happened is -that when I reached the loading dock doors just by luck or unlucky the air has all gone out of the air reservoirs connected to the trailer brakes and they are firmly on completely empty so it means that all the brakes on the 3 axles are on, I FORGOT TO PUT THE HAND BRAKE ON[silly me].
He said he had only just had it repaired “look mate I said” it has happened it is a accident I did it, sorry I turned to sharp , I will back up the truck and you hold the door open then I will park up over there and come back and sort it out . what the blessing was the chap parked next door had gone to see another driver so no one knows what actual happened . if the truck had not stopped where it did and not got caught up on his front, parked up were 3 trucks of bejams dead in line ,where it would have rolled to, now that would have been a major incident [ no health and safety yet]phew lucky or what…
After I had sorted all the paper work out truck numbers names extra I had to go and tell the night foreman what I had done so if they had a inquiry they would know. I eventually got away and made my way back to Bedford no damage to our truck and trailer , BUT MY GOD IT SORT OF PUT THE DAMPENERS ON ME.
I parked back up at Bedford in the fitters yard, I wrote out all that had happened on the back of a envelope [a big brown one] and stuck it in the window and asked John the fitter if he would tell Mr East what I had written down and I would ring after dinner…[so everyone would know now] no more could I do, but go home and expect the sack, at least I had given the office a heads up if the other driver rang first thing ,they would know what had happened.
About 2 pm I made the dreaded telephone call asked for the boss, told he was out but not to worry the insurance would sort it out, have the rest of the day off ring tomorrow. I could not believe it just like that all the thinking I was going to get the sack and that was that…OR WAS IT.
THIS I rang the next day, all seemed ok I asked if Robin wanted to speak to me and the traffic manager so no, all ok here this is what we want you to do I think it was Wednesday[ not sure]anyway I had to drive the car to Guildford and go to Steve Chities abattoir and there is a trailer that will be loaded with beef for Rung-is, market Paris,
Jesus Christ, after what I did, they have given me a load that I have never done before , only briefly in France ,i have no idea what to do, where to go, ■■■■ me out of the pan into the fire, I thought it is a joke they know I have not had a load of beef before, let alone deliver it, it is either a test to see what I do, if I take it or not, that is what it has got to be, so I thought right, ■■■■ it get on with it, learn as you go, and that is what I done…
Once at the abattoir the other driver a relief driver said thank god you have arrived, he thought he was going to have to go with the load ,and he had less experience than me, I thought well that is two of us but never said a word The load had all been sealed up and he gave me the custom papers, and off he went, I put my gear in the cab checked all around ,checked both diesel tanks and the fridge was set at +1 the correct temperature ,all seemed good I did not know who,s truck it was as the cab was empty, of any personal goods I made sure the company book was in it with all the relevant company credit cards for fuel and I had the company cash float that they gave you so all was goo i made my way to Dover I knew what agent to go to once there. NO GOING BACK NOW.
.
I knew where to park in the customs bay on the docks, and I went to the agents ,they sort of knew me and handed me a envelope with customs forms for me to produce ,also another one marked with my name and it said open in rung -is, market Paris with loading instructions after you are empty.
When I had found space for parking [customs] lots of other fridges there, roaring away, very noisy i queued up to present my paper work like the other drivers up the stairs, feeling a bit lost and apprehensive, but you would not know it, when a shout behind me called out Rokold! ,i looked behind as you do ,another driver a few behind me said ,we are going to the same place ,i will see you on the ferry ,right I said, and at that moment my inner nerve went away.
It turned out he had also loaded at the same place but had stopped on the way down to Dover ,but I did not know anyway after driving on the ferry ,fridge plugged in, I went up to the drivers eating area and waited for my new mate.
It turned out he knew that I was a first solo tripper as he was a subcontractor to Rokold as they had told him, so I was glad I did not refuse to take this load, and he proceeded to give me as much information you could take in a short time, however he did say that if we got split up he would wait for me, once through the last road toll pay station near Paris, I said how will I know if it is the last one ,he said it will be chocker block with cars and lorries, and the service station is just as you start to see the toll booth and it was as he said mad ,but that was just the start.
Once I had got through the toll, there were trucks parked every where,i found him and walked up ,he had got his kettle on so tea was the first thing then he proceeded to tell me, what to expect, and he told me where to get off the ring road and what to do once I approached the market…
The Paris city has 2 ring roads they are called [peripherque] [F] one outer for all the transit traffic and a inner for local. the outer has 4 lanes like a race track and that is what it is. As our trucks are right hand drive ,it was the only time it was to our advantage as the 4 lanes has no hard shoulder, masses of twists turns tunnels ,some dark some bright and all exits on the same road as the entrance and being on the right we always had a better view as to what was going on than the normal left hand drive
. LATER After years of using that road and all Frances I used to enjoy going round the peripherque. All the exits are named as [a-port-de -lyon or similar ] It used to get really fast and dangerous as the French would never ever give way they would just keep going, what they did not know was we could see them in our driving mirrors, as being right hand drive , not left sometimes they would have to go back the up exit as the lane for them to join the main road was the same stretch for anyone to get off ,because we/I would not let them in as they could see they would go under the wheels they would just be hanging on their hooters and if you were left hand driver you would slow up and give way because you would not be able to see them
. That was the rule in the city [give way] to cars trying to get on to the main road from a minor road. it was only our ever victory over the French driver, it was even funnier if two of us trucks were very close together. Sad but true all the bumps would be in the fast lane not ours All though it was a free way, we always stick in the slow lane
Yes I was given the insight of what to do and very pleased I was of having been given information, by the other driver also he said do not worry if you catch sight of a aeroplane going overhead, as the Auto route [motorway] goes under the runway of the Charles de Gaul Paris Airport, and many times I have seen planes going over the road in fact after time you took no notice but for then it was a sight…
Also he told me the Motorway signs are very different from ours in ENGLAND because they will show you mileage[in kilometres] and place names miles away from where you are however they are excellent to follow if you are going long distance example=signs showing all routes ,from where you have come from, as if to give you the chance to turn around and go any direction.
the signs show places a long distances away from Paris however they were the main and only routes.
Bordeaux direction to [Spain]
Marseilles v [ Italy ]
Nice v [ Italy]
Perpignan v [spain]
Calais. v6 [ GB]
LYON [F] another important sign .swiss.
What I am trying to say is that so as long you know your final destination you will never go wrong they all give you a 360.chance of turning around ,and when you enter France from other boarders Paris is always signed from where every good French thinking …signposts…
I hope you have grasped as what I have tried to explain …., back to going in to the Rungis market
now the nightmare does begin.
As Rungis is the biggest wholesale market of all the products imported you can imagine into France
it is like its own city, with restaurants/bars buses, and it is serviced by the major roads sign posts to all places in Europe ,it puts you in the right direction from there, as they know most of the trucks will go out to deliver all over France ,however I did not know any of this, I managed to follow the other driver in to the market, and we had to go and pay a entrance fee, it was all very new. once done at the barrier ,we went down to the customs parking bays well !it was like the biggest area you could imagine all numbered with a letter then a numeral. I later over time, found that there were maps of the market in the bars but the locals did not need them ,so hardly anyone knew…
I was taken up to the agents office about 5 floors up and presented the paperwork and we were both told we could be to late for to days market, meaning the customs had stopped clearing trucks for today [.clearing ]means processing the paper work and making sure all monies have been paid b
1983/4. First job at rokold fridge work. Other company name VHB EUROPEAN ROBIN EAST.
It was a Sunday afternoon about 2 o clock the phone rang, it was MR Webb [Alan] he said you have got the job sorry for the delay Would you be in for 6 0clock Monday evening also bring your sleeping bag, we like all the drivers to have their passports with them at all times so that as well I had a passport why do I need a passport ??so that gets the old brain working. [no computers then or else i could have googled Rokold.] I would have to wait until Monday night.
It was a 22mile drive, using back roads to Northampton from my village slower drive than the main road but shorter distance less petrol.
Time to leave home, I had sandwiches and flask, not that much cash I took a sleeping bag pillow wash bag. Just in case [famous last words].
.
I arrived at the depot and the nice new lorry is not there, but a older D A F make of truck a 2800 model a smaller cab ,”not a big sleeper cab” it had 2 bunks also had was a 3 axles unit[truck front end .
I walked around the back of the trailer and Alan,[the boss] is in the back of the trailer helping push up pallets to the front with a pallet truck of the trailer with another man ,as the forklift went back in to the warehouse I was at the back of the trailer i shouted up “Hello”, they were both chattering away and the noise of the pallet truck being pushed up on the metal floor, it sounds like a rumbling train, the other chap looks round ,[as if to say what the do you want] he nudges Alan and points to me , not saying anything,.
Alan turns and comes to greet me, with his hand out stretched to shake my hand [again] I only seen him 3 days before ,I was not used to handshaking, he said his greeting ,then asked me to jump on up into the trailer , not the easiest thing to do , but with some scrabbling I manage it, usually they use the fork lift, but I was ■■■■■■■■ trained not to JUMP ON FORK LIFTS, [THAT WAS SOON TO GO]
He then introduced me to TOM who was the driver of the lorry Alan said he would be showing me the ropes, however I could tell that TOM did not want to know ,however he shook my hand rather limp, like a wet fish so I gave his hand a good squeeze like as if to say ■■■■ you too, another pallet arrived to the back of the trailer we then all 3 of us pushed it in to position , the trailer was getting full what looked like all kinds of vegetables, and boxes Tom and Alan carried on with their chatter ,but not with me involved they were talking double Dutch as far as I understood , using foreign sounding words in sentences .[they were place names]i found out later . after a while the trailer was loaded, we all jumped down off the back of the trailer then the last two pallets were pushed on with not a lot of room to spare for the trailer doors to be closed Tom shut the doors then went to the front of the trailer and started the engine for the fridge that kept all the produce inside the trailer at the required temperature [another new procedure for me to learn.
I went in the office with Alan he took my p45 then told me about the duties, and hours and pay ,and that it was as temporary position that could lead up to permanent, however they as a company use mostly owner drivers[with their own tractor units] to do the majority of work ,and used the companies trailers , the company only have 3 lorries of their own, and they are utilised by casual drivers mostly [part time firemen]on their leave to cover a lot of their work .
He told me i would work sometimes 5 days ,6 days, or 2 days whatever the requirement , it was paid as a monthly salary ,it would be the same pay so do not worry if you have days not at work .[as I found out later you make up for it] they gave you £50 for expensive s for anything you had to pay for while on company work, also if you had a night out away from home that would be paid in to your wages tax free.
If the company get really busy, they would hire another tractor unit, as they have a new job delivering to a super market, and will need me as a extra driver.
Also they take on European work when required that could be without notice, however I would be shown the procedures by going out with another driver first, it would be with a owner driver it looked promising for me if the truth was known then [I should have went out and gone home and forget about the job,] but I did not and ended up driving about 21 years on the continental untill 2002/3[however I did not know it then]
It was like a new challenge and 100% different from the road haulage that I was used to i would give it a go.
Tom was slightly, you could say, grumpy, but I do understand now [then I did not] that it was a pain in the arse having a driver with you let alone a new one like me, at least we both smoked so that was all right.
We eventually left NORTHAMPTON apparently we were already running late for a timed booking to unload at Hemel Hemp-stead at a food store distribution centre ,it was over a one hour drive, and the company we were delivering to were strict on time for booking times at 9o clock at night , Tom told me.
This is going to be a different work environment I am embarking on
Tom was driving he pushed the truck to its limits not at the required 58 mph then on the Motorways .
I must say this is the first time I have ever been working at night time in all my previous driving years I had no idea that there was such a amount of trucks working on nights ,it was unheard of unless you were employed as a night driver and not many were ,times are changing it is 1982.
We arrived at the delivery I was all eyes watching the procedures that tom went through and there were many as the pallets were loaded right to the back doors, you would not be able to back the articulated lorry down[on a slope] to get backed on to a unloading bay ,as when you hit the stops [ you knew when you were backed on the loading bay a green light came on ,from red ]on the warehouse wall /unloading dock, the red light came on telling you to stop.] you could see in your review mirror .
As the pallets were loaded at the back of the trailer you had a problem ,a ramp inside would not come down, that allowed the people inside to move in and out of the trailer to take pallets off, you had to drive the lorry off the unloading bay, with the doors open and pinned back to back to where you started from, then go into the warehouse and ask if they would use the outside fork lift truck to take the back two pallets off,
then you would be able to do the original move again, if!![1]if you could find the fork lift driver . [2] he was not obliged to do it. [3] he would for a small price£5 He would take them off and deposit them inside the warehouse via the door you should have been backed on i found out all this in a matter of 10 minutes.
First lesson learnt do not leave the base if the pallets are rammed up to the back trailer doors, and make sure there is a restraining strap around them [why did we leave like it then] Ahh! Tom had got the hump and he forgot, While all this is going on, other lorry’s coming in the area where we are trying to get unloaded outside ,to then go back on to the bay we just come off however this chap wanted to go where we wanted to go, as he must have thought we had just come off the unloading dock finished unloading[wrong], I kept back and let Tom deal with it I found out he had a very usefully tongue on him and would not back off, eventually the pallets were unloaded, we pull off the bay ,close the rear doors then we are able to get on with the journey and drive down into London ,as I was look at the delivery tickets [notes] we had i asked Tom ,what are Samples?? to Baker street.that is by Kings Cross Rail Station in Baker Street, LONDON
It is Sainsbury head office, It is samples of all the fruit and veg that the a company wants to sell to Sainsbury, it is produce for their quality control of products sold in stores of Sainsbury it is either accept or rejected, it is for the next nights delivery’s to Sainsbury depots apparently this is the way they have been doing it for years.
The only problem is that we were on the wrong side of the main A 40 road from Oxford to London, streaming with cars, we had to carry on find a place to turn around ,so were able to drive down to outside the office doors and the best of all you just leave it in the door foyer ,with a lot of other goods, you do not get it signed for you, we now have to go around again as our next deliver is Spitalfields market in the city ,I did know where it was as you passed it every day as it was on a main transit route towards tower bridge, I had no idea it was a indoor fruit market.
At this point if I start to tell you the roads we used to get into places within the city of London I would need a A to Z map.
Once inside the Spitafields market, it was built for horse and carts a absolute night mare, a mass of wire cages that people had all there produce in ,there were only a few fork lift drivers around and Tom taught me the art of Spitalfields Market .
He told me never drive inside ,stay outside, and walk in, have a look to see if you will be able to get to the stall you want to get to, once in there you will not get to be able to drive out until all the lorry in front of you are unloaded it is a rabbit warren of small lanes and a working area for hand carts …I was for ever gratefully for Toms knowledge that night believe me.
.Once you drove in and parked at the stall you walked around and found the forklift man then you told him who you were delivering to how many pallets and give him £5 for him to unload your pallets apparently they were all independent men on the fork lifts who owned them, I have no idea I suspect the forklifts are for all people to use free, it was soon sorted that was £10 in less than 2 hours spent on using forklifts[all money used in market or any other work to get unloaded or loaded was repaid by the company.
When finished inside there we then went to the worlds most smallest market in LONDON called THE BOROUGH just over London bridge
.
Another EDWARDIAN MASTERPIECE inside the entrance there is a[ open all hours pub], inside the market , what a place to get inside the market, we use the same wholesaler at every market also they had their own fork lift driver they are called “Porters” after they have seen your delivery notes, [another load of the laziest ■■■■■■■■ you ever met ] you never had to pay them…well not on a week day, however as I learnt later on ,when you went to deliver on a Sunday night there was not the slightest sign of man or beast to be seen one fork lift was left out for all the drivers to unload themselves, as they were all in the pub in the market the pup is still there this day, you drove out a different way than you drove in.
It was about 2am by now we set off for the next Market New COVENT GARDEN at a place called “nine elms “just passed Vauxhall bridge, tom let me drive I found out later on that he had been up and working since 9am Monday it was now TUESDAY 3.30am
I was shown short cuts around London city streets and how to arrive at the Markets you have to pay a entrance fee to get in Covent garden ,£3 [all lorry s] T he company had regular customers there.
This is now another world very noisy ,every other word[■■■■] most of the men are dressed in the same type clothes, flat caps, brown boots it looked as if it was a uniform at least the men at the stall are pleased to see us ,well ,Tom.
they did not speak to me when they put the pallet truck upon the trailer and we start pulling loaded pallets of all kinds of fruit to the back of the trailer they are taken away in to their store, after a time we are putting full loaded pallets back on. [strange] I push them up to the front of the trailer, after a cup of tea and a sandwich from the market café we made our way out.
By this time we have left the market and back over the north side of the Thames I am driving and Tom tells me to head for HESTON by Heathrow airport and wake him up as we pass the service station, he is soon well asleep and I am driving past Harrods on the A40 I had never been this way before. Lots of people still around at 4 30 am what are they doing, god knows certainly not working
I wake tom up he has been asleep on the bottom of the bunk he jumps up as if he has been mugged, wow!! tom it is me I shout its Vic, we are at the Heston services on the M4 sorry he said
he was dreaming ,he told me to drive to the next exit and come off the Motorway and go to the market well signposted.
At the gate the guard ask where is my delivery how many pallets, Tom shouts 4 only, to some name, and I drive around the market to about the last [pitch] market stall and park up, we both jumped out of the cab , tom told to me open the trailer doors and a fork lift will be right here with a pallet truck tom went inside the market.
I started to pull all the remaining pallets to the rear of the trailer the forklift truck took them away we went to another stall with 1 pallet and then we were empty, it was by now 6am and the market traders were streaming in their vans, Tom came back closed the back doors he said to me quick as you can drive out of the market and head for home.
Once out of the mad house Tom told me it was a regular thing for whoever unloaded at Fen and Hexton the stall we were delivering to in Covent garden you will load up any pallets they have to be delivered to the Heston market for them and do not say anything as it was a arrangement between Alan at the office and them .
We arrived back to Northampton me driving Tom was fast asleep I parked up woke Tom up and went home as no one else was around. I found out later was Tom slept in his lorry as he had another delivery job to do at lunch time I had first learned about the procedure of Double Manning a lorry,
“Explanation”
This is about the driving hours and duty hours of one driver =
A driver can be on duty for 15 hours in one 24 period.
Within that period, he can drive literally drive for 10 hours.
But must take at least 2x30 minutes rest period within that 10rs.driving.
And the rest of 5 hours is for unloading whatever
This is a basic explanation.
After the 15 hours duty a driver must take a 9 our rest period.
All these hours have different combinations of how you do them, and how much they were fiddled.
Before any driver moves anywhere in the lorry by law he must complete, his vehicle checks, oil water tyres, excreta then you must fill in the Tachograph you start writing in the top spaces of the Tachograph provided you have to use a pen placing your name ,where you are [town]etc and the currant reading of the speedometer mileage However if you are double manning you must both put a completed Tachograph card in the Tachograph head that has 2 compartments you must put the same mileage and place of start. [[this will be exploited later]]
A tachograph is a piece of carbon type of paper card easier marked both side so you have to be gently with it, it has a complex series of broken lines printed on and marked as the 24 hour clock.]It records just like a graph [used in lie detector tests] or a doctors heart monitor print out ,it records every movement the lorry makes ,the slightest forward or backward movement on the tachograph disc , once it is inserted [the disc] the only way you can cover any illegal movement is just remove
the disc, throw it away, and start again and take a chance of not getting caught.
Tachograph insertion=
On the tachograph inside the dashboard ,you turn a small key and it opens up [like a ladies powder compact] and it is hinged and it pulls back about6 inches away from the dashboard ,and it splits in to two compartments, when looking in the back all you see is very fine needle pints sticking out but they are retracted so then you get your paper round disc tachograph that has a circle cut out in the middle that you push gently over a protruding knob .that is if you are driving on your own
If you are what is called double manning, two drivers in the same cab on the same run you put another tachograph in the other compartment now they are separate but in the same place as the protruding knob goes through both [well sort of] so what it means all the lorry movement however minuet will be recorded on both the discs at the same time. Anything connected to the electrical power source to the tachograph will be recorded. Like fuses being pulled I will elaborate on the fiddling later…
The regulations were always interpreted in different ways at different company s.
Drivers ARE their OWN worst enemy when breaking the law. It was worse than a minefield.
If it suited you as a driver you did it right or wrong we used to exploit our self sometimes for the company glory, bragging rights various reasons .to be talked about status and best of all of all you never stop moaning about it and never tell the truth lying you were skilled at because a transport office wherever you worked would never every tell you the full story or the truth I took me years to learn, not quite all but a lot, you learned something new every day However more later I have jumped the gun, as I have only just done my first run.
This was in 1980s it all has changed dramatical I arrived home and i really enjoyed it, it did not seem like work the hours and pay did not then seem to matter I realised we had been double manning.
After getting home from my trip with Tom I did not get a phone call until Wednesday would i be in for 1 pm .
I put the same gear in my car and got there for 1pm and the brand-new truck was in the outside loading bay with it refrigerated unit roaring away.
I later found out it takes a while for the fridge unit to cool the goods and trailer down to the required temperature that the goods inside should be transported at and to be excepted at the delivery point, where they would have a quality control person checking all the goods coming off at their premise ,that is why the refrigerated unit on the trailer is running hours before you leave, as to get the produce down to the accepted temperature.
[very important] then though it did not mean so much as I was not really aware of the importance however I would soon learn.
As I walked towards the office to see Alan, a man I had seen briefly when I was at the interview was there, he said to me, can I help you, i replied, I would like to Alan ,why he asked ,I explained to him who I was, he said to me please just hold on a minute ,he went into the office and closed the door.
After a while Alan came out and said to me Vic,! I am really sorry ,but I should have employed another man, not you and the boss, who you have just seen Mr Robin East is fuming at me because he wanted a younger man than you.
Alan asked me to go and have a coffee elsewhere give him half a hour and then come back. i was mad but did not show it and off I went.
I went back to the office and it had all been sorted out, Alan told me your job is safe ,a hand shake ,in comes MR East another handshake ,and welcomed me into the company.
I thought , do not ■■■■ it up ,do as your told and learn ,and that is what I did, they gave me the keys to the new truck outside and off I go, with the biggest grin in Northampton ,if only my old mates could see me now, yes I know it is only a lorry however one of the best then in England…one delivery only on the other side of Birmingham ,do not forget the empty pallets the last words said to me ,then come back here ,fill up and then go home.
I arrived at the supermarket depot delivery warehouse after a bit of a run around but arrived there in the end it is difficult to get it right first time or even second, [ finding delivery places] lots of other lorry s waiting all with their fridges roaring away I checked the temperature gauge is hovering on + 4 that was right ,well that is what I was told ,I thought nothing of it.
Walking up to the outside security office with my loads delivery notes still grinning, hand them in. then I came down to earth with a ■■■■■■■ great bang Your late !!, you have missed your delivery slot .
No one told me it should have been 3 pm.
No wonder it was a ■■■■ up at the depot all I could do was wait for a [slot] = [ term used for getting a unloading bay to back on to if there is time or if someone else is late]
The security man said they would see when they could get me in it maybe 9 o clock tonight I waited, and i learned that to have something to eat and drink
and to read was the way to go…
Eventually I get unloaded, the empty pallets are put back on the front of the trailer. [[Two mistakes I made however I did not know it at the time,]]i drove home to the depot filled up with diesel at the public garage, with the company s card, hid the card and put the keys where I was told to ,I had parked up, no one was around , I arrived home around 2am.
On the way home I am starting to think about the hours I have done for basic pay and trying to think is this the right thing to be doing, and I am trying to talk myself out of doing what I am doing, something I am fairly good at most times I have got this thing in my head that the work and job, also the time off is it worth it, the new lorry s , plus clean job, just pushing a few pallets around clean clothes. I have made my mind up , there are no more jobs around in transport I am lucky to be working get on with and just do it.
There is a phone call at home around11 am ,asking me to come in please ,i collected my gear together and drove to work arriving around 1pm Alan asked me to come in to the office,
I went in and I could tell something is not right
,
Vic, what about the pallets, !![Alan]
What about them they were on the front of the trailer,
Yes [Alan]
well,
you are ten pallets short also they are not the correct pallets. [Alan],
Alan what are you talking about when I left the lorry this morning at 2am there were 15 pallets in that truck /
Are you 100%sure [Alan
yes of course I am i might be new here ,but I have not had the pallets, where would I get rid of pallets ,look at my Tachograph I came straight back here from the delivery, from the other side of BIRMINGHAM
After he had checked the graph over, he apologised he told me to go home we have no work tonight for you so it is all o k ,they found out much later that a man from the warehouse team was coming in early a taking the pallets to sell, at that time there was big money in pallets.
PALLETS=
A pallet must have 9square blocks of wood about6 inches all round. 1 at each corners and the others in the middle. and the slats of good wood about a 1inch gap on the top so they are solid and the underneath have just wider gaps and less slate so the pallet can take a 1 metric ton in weight good for a 1 for 1 exchange when at whare -houses.
The other system is the same pallets that are painted blue and are made by a company called GKN and are governed by a 1 for 1 system also a tickets system ie=if you leave 20 or later 21 pallets at a warehouse and they cannot give you the same in return ,you then get a stamped ticket saying that you are owed them pallet and they were transferable at any depot in the country. or you can go to a pallets collection yard and collect that number of pallets from them, only G K N yards ,however there was a black market trading in blue pallets as well as ordinary ones ,country wide ,CASH.
Also there were the fruit pallets that the fruit was imported from Spain, excreta they were flimsy good for nothing however if you did not keep at eye on what people were giving you in exchange you would end with some, and when you went to re exchange them you were basically ■■■■■■ and you own fault. But over time as it went on for me you got very good at dealing with pallets .
There was a lot of money in 20 pallets, then1983/4£ 60+ black market.
Well! that is sorted and the blue pallets system is massive every product that needs pallets are on G KN blue pallets not just Europe the world.
Work seemed to pick up as it was nearly every night I would be doing market runs or a late supermarket delivery to their main distribution depots also I got to meet and see the other driver s and the owner drivers who worked for the company all the owner drivers were all clean and smart, the same as their tractor units .
I had no idea that men were doing regular runs [trips ] to Spain and bringing all kinds of fresh and frozen goods back to the UK they would talk about the ferry ports they used ,driving through FRANCE down to the Spanish boarder .
They were mentioning all kinds of names of Spanish and French places they went to , to unload or reload ,talking about customs procedures ,delays border hold ups, police stops, getting fined in FRANCE, all kinds of what to me at the time was a new type of job.
A few of the other drivers were very young just 21 years old, no driving experience at all ,even I could tell that they had not done any haulage company driving at all, just the way they were however they were there the same as me it was nothing to do with me. they were very friendly with Alan as if mates i did think well, that could be my downfall but I would have to wait and see.
Two of the drivers were full time firemen and drove for the company on their 4 days off, my next thought was? not a lot of future in this job for me as they do not need the job they get a nights work and not me ,no wonder the pay was not extra for nights. But as men they were adaptable and would help when needed what I did not realise was that if I stayed at home for 4 nights I was still getting paid ,not being used to a monthly salary it took me a time to not bother if there was no work for me.
The company seemed to me to have quite a lot of new trailers but not with the name painted on so after a time I got to know that they were all hired from a big trailer rent company on a monthly basis all this new to me, some of the tractor units were the same even the nice blue painted D A F
so what it meant in company terms they did not own anything all hired this was a completely new idea of working so they could just fold up and move on. also a lot of the owner drivers were doing the same hiring trailers ,and tractor units.
THE REFRIGERATED TRAILER.= THIS IS LATER ON WHEN I WAS ON FRIDGES PERMANENT==LIKE A SHORT HISTORY OF WHAT FRIDGES WERE USED FOR AND HOW WE LOADED THEM WHEN I WAS A DRIVING.
The trailers built before 1983/4 had just a fridge unit control box on the front side of the fridge and all the workings and blowers on the inside of the trailer ,so if you looked in side the trailer from the back doors at the front you would have seen a metal blower fan unit sticking out, just about the size of a modern set of two Chester draws hanging down from the front sticking about 2 foot out ,meaning that you were not able to push pallets right to the front headboard flat they would have to be half size, sif you had boxes you would have to take half of them off in the trailer ,push the other to the front under the fridge blowers ,then try to re stack the rest around the blowers , the ones you were left with you would re-distribute on the pallets as they were in the trailer …meaning no matter how tired you were you had to be with the loading all the while…
The next awkward thing was the meat hooks meat hooks yes, each fridge had meat hooks .i had completely no idea how or when they were used and by what or why, I knew that there were about 330 meat hooks hanging down along 5 rails in the roof of the trailer, what was holding them up I do not know [I still wonder today what was unseen in the fridge roofs] , the meat rails were like [example]- if you look at a zip any zip, undo it and look at the sliding thing ,one is attached to the zip and the other not look down at the side not attached ,and you see the hole that you attach the other piece of the zip to, turn it towards you and you see [like a rail]. The thin gap, that is what the meat rails were like and you threaded the meat hooks along the thin gap from the door end ,to where you wanted them all at the front out of use and the way. Along these rails the whole length of the roof ,at intervals attached ,were small steel clips that you could put down inside the rail to stop the hooks from sliding back or forward ,these were very important Especially when we were loading all the different meats.
FRIDGE SIZE AND WEIGHTS.
The first fridges were on 2 axles,[8wheels] on the rear a Fridge box trailer.
[ The cooling system] inside on the front of the trailer.
A steel ribbed floor , thick heavy doors and side walls, Overall weight with tractor 17.000k gs[17 tons].
Around 19834/5 new fridge trailers arrived ,with 3 rear axles ,singular tyres new type refrigerated unit outside , fitted on the front of the trailer a lightweight chassis, flat [not ribbed] chequered steel floors with visible screw heads, also a thin steel holed strip attached to the side wall to put restraining bars in [ to hold loads back from falling] they were about 4 foot high off the floo.
Later they built under slung boxes underneath the trailers to hold 24 empty pallets and the meat hooks in plastic boxes. and various other features as years went on and of course the lighter the trailers weighed the better. in the end there was no chassis as of now very lightweight, that was the ultimate aim years ago lighter net weight higher pay load.
I AM GOING A BIT FORWARD IN MY STORY,HOWEVER IF I DESCRIBE THE USE OF THE FRIDGES,AND PRODUCTS WE /I CARRIED AND TRAILER DEVELOPMENT YOU WILL HAVE SOME IDEA ?
I will just start with the loading of all meat , carcasses were loaded not by the driver at all it was done at the abattoirs by loaders [porters] ,it was a very hard job ,you would not have wanted to have loaded meat then have to do your driving work ,it was all ways very clinical ,we had to wash the trailers out with high powered jet washes, either before arriving at the abattoir , or when there using their power wash that all abattoir had also the temperature of the trailer had to be cooled down inside the trailer if possible before loading as you backed on to a loading bay that is cooler inside the abattoir than outside temperature where all the meat is cooled down in the large holding fridges ready for loading , the trailers were meticulously inspected by [ 1] the VET, [2]A MINISTRY OF HEALTH INSPECTOR NOW [ M. A F. F] before any loading took place at all.
DIFFERENT MEATS EXPORTED I CARRIED
BEEF= steers breed especial for eating fore quarters [front legs /shoulder …
Hind quarters [rear leg]1animal could weight 1 ton [1000gks]
COW BEEF,= OLD MILKING COWS. AS ABOVE SLIGHTLY LIGHTER.
SHEEP,LAMBS= to FRANCE SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM .HOLLAND GERMANY. ITALY. GREECE.
EWES. MUMS. = MUTTON. LARGE size 3 to 4 years old for ITALY SPAIN. A very fatty product.
PIGS, =FAT OLD SOWS,LARGE. For ITALY, SPAIN. GERMANY. FRANCE.
PIGS=SMALLER =BACON,HAM. For SPAIN. ITALY ,AUSTRIA .FRANCE
BOAR MEAT,= HAD TO BE TRANSPORT SEPARATIVE FROM ANY OTHER MEAT, AS VERY ODOROUS .Mostly loaded that in Germany for ITALY
BULL MEAT=ALSO CARRIED ON THERE OWN. MOSTLY to Italy
SOME TIMES BOXES OF ALL GAME BIRDS, VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF WOOD -PIGEON ALSO VENISON NOT HUNG UP BUT STACKED UP BECAUSE IT WAS FROZEN
WHEN LOADED FOR ITALY, FROM ANY COUNTRY YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE MIDDLE HANGING RAIL EMPTY,SO AS THE VETS COULD WALK ALL THE WAY DOWN THROUGH THE LOAD TO CHECK WHAT YOU HAD ON THE LORRY CORRESPONDED WITH THE PAPER WORK,THEY WERE LITTLE ■■■■■■ IN OTHER WORDS ABSOLUTE ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ WOULD HOLD YOU UP TO 2 DAYS.
It was because the way the meat markets were going if more imports were in the country, the local prices would be higher . Without imports ,it would not be only me waiting there would be up to 20/30 lorry s, waiting to unload all over a ITALY .however if you were in Transit ,going outside ITALY, to GREECE for delivering you would soon be out of the customs /vet the Italians call their vets doctors, so the first time I went there I took me ages to find out what were they on about…
Basically we took fresh chilled hanging meat all over Europe most frozen meat that was what was called INTERVENTION [remember the butter ,wine mountains] yes ,there was a meat mountain but it all went abroad ,we never got the benefit of it, when ROMANIAN was free1989, trucks from the UK took loads of meat to GERMANY to cold stores close to the old east German boarder that was then transferred from the cold stores to the ROMANIANS they had very poor lorry to take it back to ROMANIA.
when you saw what a sorry state the men [drivers ]were in and their pathetic lorries they had absolutely nothing, not even cups to drink out of they used old tin cans or jam jars ,we drivers all give loads of tinned food and all old clothes even some dirty washing of ours to them. I will elaborate later…
That was later on I will go back to 1982/3
Work seemed to be very busy, I did get a lot of the evening or whole nights work, but I never minded as it got me learning more about markets and the way they worked, I have been in Covent garden unloading and I would see another Rokold company trailer ,unloading ,naturally I would go over to see who it was and it was rarely any one I knew it would be a owner driver on contract using his own tractor unit and pulling a Rokold trailer .
I get chatting -as you do ,well I did ,and the response would be the same from the other driver, ohh are you one of the Northampton temps !i used to say yes, yes !I am the new boy just started driving , just finding my feet and then move to the lorry I was driving away from him. And leave it at that, and go about my other deliverers.
One afternoon and I was asked to be in for 5 pm and bring your gear with you your washing gear, change of clothes, sleeping bag and passport , that was all I was told.
I parked my car ,Alan came over to me and told me ,when you get back tonight there will be a owner driver here , you are going with him on a trip to Holland.
You have a short run tonight! and will be back easy as far as time, I thought this is the start, and it was, the driver PETE he seemed fine he explained it all where we were going ,it sounded unbelievable [at the time it was for me], first we did the tachographs ,and I said what about the 5 hours I have done on this disk, he said ohh just put it away, no one will give a ■■■■ about a quick trip you have just done.
First time I had done anything illegal with the tachograph , I was learning…
His trailer was loaded with a few delivers at the markets once we were empty we started to make our way down to Dover for shipping out on the Townsend Thorsen Zeebrugge ferry.
It must have been around 4am when he pulled into a lay by and he said its time for a kip[sleep] the cab had two bunks, normal in most lorry s that did European trips .
It seem after 5 minutes and Pete was up ,and he had the small gas cylinder stove with a kettle boiling on small wooden shaped shelf that fitted on the dash board, I was completely amazed ,undeliverable ,and he said I only have coffee, that is fine I said bursting for the toilet.
Next, still amazed, he had a small type of mesh with a wooden handle and was toasting some bread if you can make tea ,coffee and toast ,what more do you want .
I later on found a device for toasting bread on the small gas stove, you can by them today 2014called a DEFUSER. Look it up.[goggle].
After having the snack/breakfast he educated me by telling me that is how you live once abroad you look after yourself you use all facilities provided by factory’s or border service stations wherever you can ,he said hygiene is not our standard in some countries but always remember ,that it is you that is the foreign visitor in another country and if you respect that you will get along fine
I did ask about the Tachograph card and he said we are starting fresh from where we are ,he took the two tachograph discs out of the tachograph head and tore them up he said if you do not get a police check through the night, then no one else is checking lorry s [or so everyone thought], who knows what you are doing where he booked off on his previous card I did not worry.
I was only a second driver he said he would just use his tachograph card and use mine later if needed when we get back in Dover that meant we now had 15 hours to do collection and get back to a port for the ferry back to Englan
DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR SHIPPING OUT ON A FERRY.
SHIPPING OUT =meaning going to Europe with a load of goods.
First piece of paper or booklet you needed was a TRAILER GARNET. That is the trailers own passport. it is a customs required document for all Country’s in Europe. It means that temporary excise duty has been paid. And the chassis number is used as well as whatever number the company uses for their own purpose and it cannot be changed, also on the trailers front are two photographs of the trailer in sealed plastic holders also legal requirement however [never needed in England by our U.K .trailers however all foreign lorry s within the U.K.] needed them ,but I must point out at that time in the 1980s early 1990s that EUROPEAN lorry s driving over in the U. K. was very limited as Self drive i.e. foreign drivers actually driving.
shipped over
Next stop the ticket office then passports to be shown .
Two drivers one lorry, you will have to pay for the extra bunk bed and food , Apparently when the ticket was booked, two drivers were not mentioned.[i could be a hitch hiker]
They rang the office to get conformation it was 2 drivers It was all-right in the end however I did produce my HGV but they still wanted conformation,
that practice was in still force all the years I crossed the channel from whatever port and country , a named passenger ,for a second drivers ticket… to stop people even then bringing any one to the UK ,because if there was any problems , with the police ,immigration abroad, and trying to get in here the fall back was the Ferry company they were held responsible…
So then round to the customs, having no goods to clear a “transit empty “form has to be filled in and stamped as Belgium is in Benelux there are different boarder controls needed ,not a lot. so it is easy to enter and transit. Then off down to queue up for boarding ,there were two types of ferries for Zeebrugge one freight only ,slower and limited cabins .and the other normal but smaller than now roll on ,roll off that was a faster crossing ,as drivers ,we also had a bunk and drivers only eating lounge.[privilege].L
Loading of the lorry s was a job done by shore staff on the dock and once inside by the ships crew
……=…
,[[just a diverse peace of information, what I did not know at the time when I was using… TOWNSEND THORRESON ,AND LATER P and O ferries to ZEEBRUGGE one of my old ship mates was working on the same ships as a bosun, quartermaster .and we never bumped into one another .we were definitely on the same ferry at the same time as when the HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE SANK IN THE ZEEBRUGGE HARBOUR on march the 9th 1987 WE HAD BOTH CAME OVER THE DAY BEFORE IN ANOTHER FERRY. And we did not meet up un till 2005 .He was a lucky man as crews used to rotate to the two different ships .i did not know of anyone personally who died.
So the ships crew parked you up then proceeded to put chains on the lorry from the deck to stop any movement. Then out we got, went up the stairs to the drivers compartments, and I can tell you I am, ecstatic I never ever thought I would set foot on a ship again ever. just being there brought a lot of memories back[good ones] but I did not let on to PETE he would not a given a rats arse anyway. It did not take long to suss him out , a Ladies man. when round the table eating he never stopped flowing from him .where he had been what he did. chatting to the stewardesses , we went to our cabins and had a sleep for 3 hours how bad was that, and getting paid for it ,well that was the way you had to look at it .I could not believe that for years some drivers had had jobs like I was now privy to ,not all that ■■■■ we used to do, and a lot of them were young men. Well good luck to them but I was envious of them that is all they new ,i expect it was the luck of the draw where you lived and the company you worked for.
After the sleep up for tea and sandwich all free. And then duty free ,what a bonus. But did say to me
be careful how many cigarettes you buy as you are only allowed 200 hundred that is the U K. limit
also you can buy them on the passage home, also all the men buying large quantities of cigarettes
are going home or on long trips ,not back to the UK like we will be so point taken and I waited for the return ferry. after a call over the ships T ANNOY “all drivers proceed to the lorry s”off we went.
Once down in the lorry deck there seemed a lot of lorry s to the amount of drivers who went up into the passenger area so I mentioned it to Pete ,ho arr , he said a lot of the men .do not leave their cabs they get in there own bunk and get to sleep quicker, also if there is a snorer in the same cabin you might just as well give up. Also you get longer in bed.
It did after time turn out to be a practice that all shipping company s on all routes rule out as a non practice to be used after the 1987 disaster at Zeebrugge ,in fact all drivers had to report with ticket to the stewards office .as the loss of drivers life s trapped in the cabs was very high .however `that was to come later.
So we start winding our way out of the ships bowl’s and into the ■■■■■■■ rain in a very orderly queue. For the first bend in the road , all lorry s from different countries I had never seen so many ,what I noticed straight away all the nice hellos heads nodding Pete telling me who was from where etc all smiles , as soon as we got off the ship it was one for all no quarter given horns blowing, Jesus they were like Jekyll and hide. When we eventually got parked up outside the customs and immigration office ,[all in one] it was like a football crowd coming out of a match. no order at all ,so I just stuck with Pete and no one was saying anything to each other ,it was strange however I was learning that was what I was there for.
Ye, I got my passport stamped. My first foreign stamp. They do not bother now ,well they did not years ago, for drivers.
First stop Pete said was diesel .it was the second cheapest in the Euro union , Luxembourg was the cheapest and it still is to this very day, how .■■■■ knows ,but it is.
He would not let me drive until I had got my eye in so to say, he told me.
After 10 minutes we were at the first garage, it was packed with nearly all the lorries off the ferry ,so we queued again ,I can see now why the big rush to get first was to get to the diesel stop first.
After years, I had got it all sussed out , driving down to Dover the more lorry s you overtook they would be behind you whatever queue in the dock you took I would more or less know if they were going for the Zeebrugge or Calais ,as the same companies usually kept to there regular trips to the same countries… you knew you would always be in front of them ,and be at the diesel tank stop n at ZEEBRUGGE before them, how? Because you would be in front of them in the queue at Dover and get on the ferry earlier than them, and we were mostly empty going in to Zeebrugge so quick customs at Dover, and better position on the ferry for getting off to the diesel and the horrible coffee. always luke -warm but drivers used to love it, afraid I never did.
It was the practice of all the different nationality’s while filling up was to have no sense of hurry at all ,they were like mad men to get to the diesel then once there they would put the fill up hose in the tank and ■■■■ off,[automatic fuel cut off]into the garage shop that had chairs, table, and free coffee and not a care in the world .i expect it was something I would have to get used to.
We were at lest 1 ½ hours there …mind you Pete was as bad as the others once at the diesel tank ,he was then speaking in pidgin English , lots of back slapping, and the now classic hand shaking ,it was like a epidemic, they were all shaking hands, if they knew one person, and you were near you all got a handshake .that was to me , well different, being English how many times in your life do you shake hands very little …it was a new form of greeting I would become very at ease with after time.
All I could hear was lots of WE!E, SAV!A,MESSU!E ] then unintelligible rubbish .it was if I had been transported to another world, however after time I found that the Belgians, and the French used a lot of the same words in their greetings language also handshakes .
Also the new smells of strange cigarettes , lots of different nick Knacks in the shop ,nothing English ,for a while yes ,i was like a kid in a sweet shop. You were able to buy all different kinds of goods for a lorry not seen in the U k mostly for owner drives. one thing did catch my eye was like the small well made wooden very neat table top ,that would fit around the inside of the windscreen like a small writing desk with little small draws ,for all the pens , on the passenger side of the cab i thought how good a idea. they were labelled up for all the European makes of lorry cabs.[[little did I know then that I would know more about them]…
There was a air of I will get going when I am ready! no sense of hurry at all ,as I could then see that Pete was blending in, I expect you do as they do !unless you were all on the same firm and running together or just widening his circle of [I met you before mates].?
When at last we made a attempt to get moving, the tank full of diesel all so the tank under the trailer that runs the fridge engine ,that uses RED diesel ,even more cheaper than England, as that diesel is tax exempt in England for Agriculture use only ,however it was used legally by hauliers using refrigerated trailers ,as no direct profit is made from it…[more on diesel later]
Once clear of Zeebrugge ,you never went through the actual town, I was on the learning look out, all the different signs ,road marking and of course wrong side of the road ,well for me, however it did not seemed normal ,well it was .Pete made a point for me to keep well sat back in my seat as not to block his view from the inside mirror .as that was his now important mirror for all his overtaking if he needed to.
The direction signs I were seeing were way far beyond the distance from where we going. I thought we were going into Holland I had no idea of where we were as Pete seemed to have no map and I did not have one however he knew the road and did not need a map we soon turned off the main highway [like our Motorways] and headed for Antwerp. I did notice that on top of the road signs there was a large green E number I found out later the E number on the signs are main transit through routes to all countries throughout Europe.
We passed a most famous truck stop [with EUROPEAN DRIVERS] called” Lokern “on the way out of Belgium towards the Dutch boarder The Boarder when we arrived was just like a pull in lay bye with a few brick huts [agents offices] and a coffee shop.
I followed Pete into a transit type large room with lots of open type rooms with uniformed female and male customs. immigration, Police all lounging around, all with a side arm not to busy, so Pete told me the procedures of entering Holland and what form to fill in and who to go to first then it followed on. Easy, He said nearly all boarders work on the same principle. Police Immigration, Customs.
If you were loaded, and delivering into Holland you had to use a AGENT to process your paper work Roklod company used the same AGENT at all Benelux country’s that means that there is a automatic payment account. As we were empty it was quick and straight forward piece of paper stamped up ready to hand to the gate man who lifted the barrier so you could region the main highway as we did, and me keeping well back in my seat as there were cars travelling fast along the road so Pete could see.
He told me that we had not far to go, I was rather disappointment I would have like to have gone for mile we did cross one massive bridge over like a lake/inland sea, the signposts coming up said to Arnhem the 2nd world war battle for the bridges it looked as if we were going near there so that kept me busy writing place names down. For future reference, there were hardly any trees, no hedges, all dykes, canals and lots of people riding bicycles not on the main road we were on but on the other country roads, Holland is known for bikes and tall people i can see why now it all looked rural and flat.
We soon arrived at our collection point all nicely flat sandy earth round the edges of the hard standing you could see the indentations in the base, where the lorry s have been backed on to loading bays overtime ,unstable ground.
The time was getting on and getting dark I was surprise that we would be loading at that time ,however we were on the continent and their work time patterns were different to hours , as years went by factory’s in the U. K did introduce continental work patterns much to the disappointment of the unions.
Pete seemed well known at the cold store [massive store holding all kings of deep frozen foods ] at temperatures minus -25 we were and loading different vegetables ,and they were ready on pallets. I was told we would not be long, then asked would I like a coffee, in the mess room, with some other Dutch- men and Pete, after another round of handshakes and grunts and black coffee out of a massive pump flask[ never seen one before] they did have a tin of carnation condensed milk , [nice and creamy also a big jar of sugar on the table [not in ENGLAND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STOLEN ] THAT,S US ALL OVER… ]and the smell of all the different tobaccos was ,intoxicating I loved it ,[THE HOME OF GOOD SMELLING TOBACCO]
made it taste better however Luke warm it was quite for a factory for its size, I could see through the door widow lots of workers with white coats and head scarf’s big good looking warm boots on , you could not tell whether they were male or female. they were sorting and packing chips on a conveyor belt .it looked cold in there however that was not the freezer just a packing line also I noticed a stand on riding, like pallet /fork lifts they were using to load our trailer another first the men were whizzing around with a loaded pallet on the front and they were standing on the back with a like a bicycle handlebar steering it. Another first, lots of factory s just about have a fork lift and all loading is done by hand [not now, after 1990s] we got modern.
After I had took as much of the new goings on in i went and found Pete back at the coffee he told me that we were not allowed in the loading area in some factory, you had to stay in your cab in 2013 you have to hand your keys in to a office [so I am told]. We are loaded so we are told and asked to pull of the loading bay and Pete lets me do it and close the doors. When they are shut we go round to the front of the trailer and he shows me how to work the refrigerated unit, all the dials and different functions I thought ■■■■ me, we have been sat about ■■■■■■■ around he could have given me the full tour of the fridge engine,[maybe he did not want me to know to much yet]?
So I get the basic of the fridge control workings, and then we go in and get the papers for the load and a very important paper called a C .M. R. ,That is the drivers legal travel document with the load it has all relevant in -formation typed on it, about 30 sections ,and it was never used in England ever ,unless like us delivering to England from Europe, then it is sealed up by the customs man,[ all the factories in Holland, Belgium, have a designated customs officer at the factory at all times] also the Benelux Country,s never bothered with the trailer garnet, so we were ready for the off .
Pete went and done his last handshaking routine ,i kept in the cab ,[load of ■■■■■■■■] it was now dark and I wondered if I would get a drive ,or do we park up, he said we will get back to the boarder do the customs ,and I could have a drive when we leave the customs after that was finished for the Dutch side all was required at the boarder was a entry stamp into Belgium and we would be on our way back to a ferry which ferry port I had no idea.
I noticed straight away how heavy the trailer seemed to be, but the tractor unit was more than able to cope with the weight so I just drove on, Once we were clear and out of the customs area we drove along a bit ,he said just keep a good lookout in you nearside mirror ,and keep in lane , now I am chuffed, and he said when you see the sign for Ostend turn on to that road do not follow BRUSSELES ,and then goes and lies down on the bottom bunk and leaves me to it i was thinking how many more hours are we going to be working??
we had two small breaks one for 7 hours before the ferry ,then the ferry 4/5 hours we had been working since 5pm on the Monday evening ,it was now 8/9 pm Tuesday evening, and we were not yet finished for the day , we had been working for 28 hours with a 11 break .total illegal and no time to do what you wanted yourself as if you were at home on a break…,i was beginning to have doubts about what I was letting my self in to .but I thought if this is what they do to get around Europe , I will have to give it a try it was certainly different from cattle trucks or dock work, clean work ,cheap ■■■■, just carry on and see how it goes…
As we neared the road junction for the turn off I gave Pete a call , we were now on the road to Ost-end and he started to move around ,where are we ,he said, I told him ,and he said just follow the Ost-end sign, and give me a shout when you start to get near the town you will see all the lights in the distance, and you will come to a service station as soon as you get in to the outskirts.
Now I had pulled in the parking area ,a few lorries parked up. Pete once up, ■■■ on the go, he told me the options we had,of what to do now, I asked what he meant, the Zeebrugge would have gone by the time we had got there, not another sailing untill8am, so,!the Ostend ferry goes at midnight,or we could go to Dunkirk, however you need a pre-booking number for a ticket ,where as Ostend, ,Zeebrugge,the company has two pre reserved tickets for every crossing ,guaranteed. It was a game of where do we get the most time off without moving the lorry.[time off]
So Ostend it is ,he lets me still drive , I am following instructions ,however I did see the signs to the ferry port clearly signposted through the town, to the port , we arrive at the gate Pete told me what to say ,then we parked up then go into the ticket office, where Pete tells the staff that he would like a[ Plug in ]on the ferry , yes “ok it will be done,” I have no idea what he was on about , I would find out later ,no handshakes, very different from Zeebrugge we collect our tickets, and then go to the loading bays for loading on the ship and wait
I then asked what PLUG IN was,=
It is when you want the refrigerated unit on the trailer to keep going to keep the temperature correct while you are on the ferry ,you switch off the diesel engine that runs the engine,and you then plug into a electrical socket at the bottom of the engine with a electrical cable supplied by the ship into the ships electrician system .The ships run on a DC system ,not like our houses that are AC. How it all works I still am not sure, however when the cable [ just like the caravan 3 pin system] is connected you have to be in attendance with the ships electrician, as YOU! have to make sure that the fan that the engine has on the front of the fridge unit ,is on the right phase, that it is sucking in air to cool and work the fridge and not blowing out i.e. sucking the cold air out from the inside of the trailer and blowing the minus-24 air out ,it was a common occurrence if not checked…all you did was to stand at the front ,of the trailer fridge unit and throw a piece of tissue paper up to the front grill air intake if it sticks to the front all was well it if blew away you had a problem.[i got to know all this later on] …as you had to wait for the electrician, that took time, you could be first on the ferry loading deck but the last to go up, or down as on the Ostend ferry’s for food or a bed…waiting for a electrician…
The diesel fumes would eventually leave the bottom decks and creep up to the others decks [also the other reason the noise, fumes if any drivers are sleeping in their cabs] another option was to turn the fridge off ,and take a chance that the frozen goods temperature did not drop to much, if you had a long distance to travel after leaving Dover the temperature would drop to the required one. The only thing was you were unable to open the trailer back doors to check the produce temperature as the customs seal was not undone until at the delivery, if you had a customs check in Dover ,that was frequent , they would reseal the trailer and mark the C .M. R. as resealed ,and it was not unusual for the customs to be at Cold Stores around the country and to be checking all European imported goods
history cont. SATURDAY…
We eventuality get to a cabin with 4 bunks ,after a meal at midnight- ish. We are soon roused by the banging of doors grunts and groans, up we get and troop in to the drivers room for yet again something to eat and coffee ,god not more coffee, it is all like a non stop unreal adventure for me ,it is something I had no idea at all existed [the work] how come it had been kept away from me ,it was just like being back at sea, all the unusual hours ,coffee and food at odd hour. a kind this is different it is not a job, it was not what you call regular, the whole package, and I liked it, out of the ordinary , I expect that sort of sums me up I do not like being put in to boxes, if that makes sense.
Lorry drivers are called ,over the ships tannoy (ships communication system}to proceed to their lorry’s, do not start you engine until told to by the ships crew , yeh ,all the foreigners under stood that, [not] The diesel fumes were terrible by the time we got down as the ferry had not berthed yet and the doors were not opened
Pete pulled the electrical lead out and switched the fridge back to diesel, but did not start it up that would wait until we were outside from the ferry, as the fridge used red diesel that gives out so much black smoke when started it is like a chimney on fire.
It think we must have had about 3 hours in bed, ,it was all a new way of working ,that was sure.
Once Pete had drove off the ferry you go through numerous checks. Boarder control customs. asking questions where country have you come from ,where did you load, what did you take out, when did you leave England, all relevant I expect even back then it was impossible to bring anyone into England without anyone knowing, and while you were inside doing the customs, there were customs men searching your cab ,for any contraband, 200 cigarettes ,and 1 bottle of spirits, 6 bottles of wine ,any anything else you should not have, ■■■■ was a instant arrest . and to get inside a load on a lorry as they do now was unheard of.
After I got more experienced I found out that problems escalate if you are not truthful to customs if you get caught with extra cigarettes and not declared them and do not want to pay the duty you are subjected ,” ell the lorry is “what they call [impounded] that means, your load does not get customs cleared until the whole load is taken and inspected in a loading bay by them. It was known to take a day sometimes, and if it was caused by you the drivers fault for smuggling ■■■■ or spirts too much beer you were in deep ■■■■ with any boss, as you would more than likely lose a delivery time and date also a fine for importing extra goods it was a big deal back then and tabaco was1pack of 6 sachets any more and big trouble for you the driver It did not happen to me i was not that daft .some did.
.Once clear of the interrogations from customs and immigration, every driver was treated the same ,the “port of Poole was the worst ”I found out as time went bye , we went and parked up, then you had to go and put you custom papers into a clearing office ,that was run by the clearing agents, however theses were only [runners]working for the agents that were at the other end of the dock, so it was them who took your paper work down to them, it could take 1 to 4 hours on a good shift
The clearing of paper work for any load is the payment of any duties needed to be paid by the importer for importing, so most companies use the agents who serve them best and the agents hold a monetary fund on the importers be -halve to pay the duties. However the money sometimes get used up before the end of each month, and that causes delays for loads to get customs cleared allowing the lorry to go to the delivery time slot they have [Sometimes after all the effort you put in to get the load back to a port so as you can meet a delivery time was a waste of your time.
It is now about 6 am with the hour turned back from continental time,[ your tachograph stays at UK time at all times] time for another sleep, we had had about 3 hours [rest -sleep]as the agents runner knocks your door if your load is cleared, so you can get your pass to exit the dock . now you have to go and get some stamps on your paper work from the dock -board to let you out the gate, no stamps =no exit. [stamps=franks like the post office use] not postage stamps…
Also Pete was doing some routine lorry checks before going on to the roads ,oil, tyres, lights ,flashers make sure the fridge has diesel and nothing hanging off, as he told me if you go out of the main gate at Dover on theA2 towards LONDON there are always Ministry of Transport checks along that road, so if your Tachographs are suspect, you go out to Folkstone and take a chance, there are not as many lay-by s to be pulled over along that road ,all though Folkstone was a busy cross channel port as well,[ more later]
By this time we were ready to leave and we left Dover behind, the time in my body clock was utterly upside down but it was getting near 12 noon and we were going back via Northampton as someone else was going to get the lorry unloaded for Pete while he went home also me.
It was about 4 in the afternoon when we arrived back at the depot .all handshakes all round,[again]i met another driver ,he did not look old enough to drive ,obviously he was, I collected my gear, said my goodbye , more [handshakes I have not got it yet] and home I go, still full of the experience I have just had. It must have been about 48 hours on duty.
It was then ,at that moment, I should have thought hang on !,i,!me!, have just worked ,like as if I was a owner driver, and that that lorry was mine , it was not.! think about the pay rate ratio- per hour you knob! ,work it out the money is ■■■■, dummy! But I did not, not one of those thoughts crossed my mind, I must have been star struck ,glory hunter, ■■■■■■! I remember getting home and I was full of it ,plus 200 cigarettes duty free ,bonus.
Life and work went on as usual not a lot of market runs for me it seemed to be supermarket timed delivers in different lorry s, and it was working all right however I did seem to be getting the Sunday run on a regular basis that was a job to get used to however I was now getting into the rhythm of not thinking what day it was ,a Sunday could be the same as a Wednesday, also the pay was the same, no extra for weekends and I had now excepted that as now normal, the same as the others that were not owner drivers but like me.
There were story’s going around by different drivers about other drivers .what they had done ,different countries they collected goods , all stories, however one Sunday at Northampton there was this “ left hand drive” D A F, English number plates in lorry terms it did not get much better, I had never seen anything like it, the driver was about my age ,well dressed ,as if on holiday, and he had brought a full load of Oranges from Spain.[[little did I know then]] we got chatting after the handshakes, and it turned out he was the longest serving driver ,and a employee like me, the lorry was Rokold s, it was the flagship as they called it ,a high -line cab perfect inside, i did sit in it, it felt funny left hand drive he did say that he was the only driver of that unit but sometimes when needed it was used by others just to do short jobs[GOD FORBID] I thought it must take years to get used to that.[left hand drive].
So my load was ready , more hand shakes, and away I go ,and get delivering ,that went as normal, no problems ,when I got back the yard was quite, I parked up and went home.
Next thing I know the phone was ringing 11 am ,down to answer the phone, I knew who it would be ,and I was right . Could I be back to Northampton by 2 o clock, without hesitation said yes ,it was not normal for me, but I had realised if I show willing, things would be good for me and I might progress on to the Continental work eventually .
Pete had asked if I could be his second driver again ,so I took a few extra clothes this time .
When I arrived it seemed as if he was waiting for me , but there was no lorry there ,none anywhere, only a old white Volvo car.
After hand shakes and small talk ,the story was we were both going in the car[the company drivers runabout] to a place called Lamberhurst in Sussex, where Pete s truck [not lorry now. a truck] was being loaded and it needed 2 drivers as it was a urgent load ,so off we go and go down the Motorway
next we know the car is chugging ,spluttering, running out of petrol, ■■■■ me ,we just left the yard next door to a petrol station, there should be a can in the back, Pete said, !yes there was ,■■■■■■■ empty. so we are now stuck, pushed for time out of petrol Pete has to ring Alan via the breakdown service telephone on the side of the motorway and they relayed the messageat the yard ,and ask him to bring us some petrol.
While we are waiting Pete then told me the story of this VOLVO dive rs runabout company car
When drivers are anywhere, in England and they are due a proper legal break [rest]or want 2 days off for any reason , and they are loading a Export load and it is their own lorry ,or a company lorry ,a spare driver such as what I am [no company lorry of my own]will go wherever they are in the Volvo car stay and load the lorry or whatever, and the driver goes back in the car .then the loaded truck gets brought back to wherever place for Export .and the driver goes to meet it in the car again because he has kept the Volvo with him to use as he pleases ,and then the question of petrol arises.
Company men like me who use the car ,put the petrol on their expense sheet , and get reimbursed the money ,however owner drivers that use it ,like Pete had ,have to stand the cost themselves as the bonus for them is that they are getting there lorry loaded for free ,by the company s spare drivers[ as they are contracting hauliers to Rokold].
So Pete thought the car had been filled up, but it had not .so who will pay for the petrol from Alan ,as it turned out Pete was given some money to fill the car up on the company, another lesson learned check the petrol…i was under the impression that Pete was the owner of the unit and he subcontracted to Rokold, how wrong I was, he was a employee just the same as me ,however very experienced .
I had never met anyone before so dedicated to Rokold and a boss before god! I knew how I was to be ,and act ,from now on not easy for me. But i would try, and say the right things
in front of Pete from now on, as I suspect he has a influence over a drivers future within Rokold. It turned out he did
When we got to our destination, a abattoir in a village on the main road to the south coast if you were to blink you would have missed the entrance I was pleased I was taken there and not had to look for it. You drove in between two houses , just enough room for a lorry. a few houses built close around it, seemed a strange place for a abattoir to be. Once there it was a very large establishment.
There were two trailers parked up close on the loading bay and the fridge units were roaring away ,Pete was met by another of Roklolds drivers I had not met ,he been loading the trailer[well not actually fiscally but in charge of the movement when required he told us that that it was not finished loading yet, as they had to wait until the temperature of the lamb carcasses had reached -0 to +2/3 in the chill rooms inside the abattoir, and then the vets would release them for loading ,[could be a while he said],
The program was for the driver to take the car and go home ,or he might have to drive somewhere else to relive another driver who needed to go home? It was now about 6 o-clock in the evening. After the driver had left Pete put his gear in to the cab and he brewed a cup of tea up as he said the small canteen would be closed here.[[i would get to know this abattoir very well in the future]]
Pete then asked me if I would like to walk around the abattoir, i declined and he sort of said ,what is it do you not like Animals .are you squeamish. i laughed ,and proceeded to tell him about my butcher boy work when not at school working down the local abattoir, and all my cattle truck days, that sort of shut him up ,and he never said any more about it …
The plan was we were to go to a port that was going to be Rams gate to Dunkirk we had deliverers in Belgian and then one in Koln Germany and we had to have the tachographs right as we could get a check at the German boarder at [Aachen] and if they were not correct we would be in trouble so we did not put tachographs in until we were ready to leave, for the reason it would give us 22 hours to get the job done [we hope].and not lose time .He did tell me this job we were doing was very hard [ i.e. pushing for time]and it was the first time that they let a novice like me to double man driving.[that was supposed to make me feel good] Pete did tell me both bosses asked him how I had been on the other trip and did I moan, and he told the truth and said I was keen to learn .
It must have been around 8 pm and we pulled of the loading bay, got sealed up and made our way ,i was told it was best if I got most of the England driving done as Europe around back roads could be tricky ,so my first taste of driving 18 tons of hand meat, he told me I would get the feel of it once I got going and the sensation of being pushed when slowing down and the corners were tricky. If you look at a map of Sussex ,you will see Lamberhurst A27 and country roads over to Rams-gate via the narrowest villages you could find the most narrowest place ever ,so I was a bit tongue in cheek for a start, it was a test really to see if I could handle it.[ Pete did not know me] as well as he thought .after my time on cattle trucks.
It was getting on for midnight when we pulled into the dock and the Ferry line was called SALLY LINE. we did the export checks that was new to me, so I was all eyes and ears different procedures.
The food was really good steaks sausage, veg chips, sweets, all hours of the night and day, so we really tucked in as I had not eaten pro-ply all day also they let you take and make sausage sandwiches for later .not a lot of drivers on board however some were very regulars on this run so they said. and the crew were mostly from Mauritius .it was a French owned Ferry. It was about a 2 hour crossing from the start until getting off.
The reason we used this route was that you did not need a French Permit to use this route as it was called a FREE ZONE a very short coast journey from France to Belgian the place was called Aden-kirk , the road only allowed you drive that way and not into France.
Once off the ferry [after the routine of unplugging the refrigerated trailer] at the boarder limited controls ,and away we went i was driving ,just to get back in the hang of left hand drive, and heading for Brussels, but going to a place called Kortreck .our first delivery, the roads were very quite,and once off the duel track ,at the right place ,Pete took over driving as we were now into very narrow country roads that looked like water dykes each side no margin for error. it was pitch black except for the truck lights we seemed to be skirting a town and sort of looking for a back entrance in to a housing estate, once we had turned in we pulled up outside a butchers shop all lights blazing one person standing outside, the fridge unit blaring away, just what you wanted in a housing estate, Pete jumped out of the drivers seat, shut the fridge off ,but kept the truck running ,so as we had lights. And it looked just us 3 there, and that was it I did see that the man had some white coats over his arm as we had the handshakes ,and some gruntie noises from the massive chap ,the butcher, and a few pigeon Belgian words from Pete ,that seemed as understood by the butcher.
I was still Puzzled as what was going on, but once the butcher had broken the seal on the back door and opened it ,i new then what the coats were for ,we had to get up and pass the meat down to this man, nice first time for everything, I could not believe what we were doing but I kept quiet ,and followed what Pete was doing.
We knew when we had to stop passing the meat down as the abattoir had tied a string, around the next delivery so as you new when to stop but Pete new that, and I did now [learning].The unloading done we went into his house ,washed our hands they were covered in grease, and given some horrible Luke warm Belgian coffee.
All ready to go handshakes and grunting again and off we go towards Brussels, it was starting to get light ,and I said I could eat something to Pete and he assured me when we get to the next place it is a proper arbitrator and we would eat then. and maybe get 2 hours sleep, just what I needed.
What I can say about the Europe roads they are so well signposted ,as you approach BRUSSELS it tells you the way to go for GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG ,and all kinds of different new names of places I had never heard of, also 3 lane roads and they are not like our motorway.ys people are changing lanes ,overtaking and undertaking as it is normal ,also this area of the country Pete told me that you give way when you are on a roundabout, to let traffic come on to it when you are going round it is the wrong way for us English we had just gone past the High Zell football stadium that was a good future reference point to remember.
Before we arrived, after we had to do a massive roundabout route that put us the right way for going out back to the duel road, this delivery was on a slope once Pete had backed up to the doors for the meat to be unloaded , the ground had such a slope on it there was no way you would stay in a bunk, let alone sleep i realised weeks later that Pete knew that we would not get a sleep but doze off in the seats. but he never said .After a hot dog type sandwiches called [ a frickadella] we sat uncomfortable in our seats with feet on the dashboard /windscreen dozing off.
Once finished paperwork signed ,and they shut the back doors once we pulled of the loading bay, Pete never got out to check anything so he said to me ,you drive gave me directions then promptly lay on his bunk ,it did not bother me because I was still full of it ,me driving in Europe, unbelievable.
We headed for a place called Luige on the way to the German boarder it was to be our last Delivery in Belgium, he told me to go to the 3 rd turn off [city centre] but he said you will go down this massive hill, be careful, other traffic will try to push you faster than you want to go, but keep slow ,and ■■■■ -em. so that is what I did when I got there ,and the hill was massive, the odd truck went past and blew its horn in disgust; I expect, the weight of the meat was pushing us down the hill without much effort from the engine I just did a royal wave and ■■■■ you to the foreigners ,well, !they were foreigners to me ,not thinking I was the actual foreigner.
We were running along side a massive river of canal, so I gave Pete call ,as I did not want to get to a junction and have to make a decision which way to go , so he rolled out of the bottom bunk, took a look to where we were and said just carry on ,he seemed not to happy, perhaps he was tired because I was.
After time we arrived at the unloading place ,just like a warehouse , a few men rolled up , I opened the trailer doors ,and ■■■■ me we seemed to have gained more meat than we had before, it seemed it was a normal practice for companies to use transport that was going to the same company to move meat around without paying for it unless Pete had a backhander from the company I would find out later.
Pete walked round to the back and started the handshake routine, they all seemed to know him and he said to me go and have a lay- down we might be here a while. I did not need telling twice.
I felt as if I had been asleep about 5 minutes once I was woken up by the engine starting, Pete said we have now go to the Belgian customs to get sealed up for going into Germany, all good new stuff for me learn, I did ask about the extra meat we had on from Brussels to Leagie , and was told it was a regular thing ,that was in fact illegal ,for a English truck to do internal delivers within any country but your own country that also applies to any foreign truck in any foreign country. No internal work done at all .but some people know no one is going to check.
What it does it is supposed to protected your own home haulage market ,who wants johnny foreigner doing our work. The Belgians did not give two monkeys . The practice of doing that internal haulage is called [CABOT AGE] that was in the whole customs era now , since borders are open anything goes in 2014. trucks can go any where and load anything.
So there must have been some reward for Pete but he never said, or parted with any cash, I expect I will find out my self later on He did say that they were the same company so no harm done ,yeh:!
As we approach the turn off for trucks at the boarder ,after going up this massive hill ,we had to go off into a parking area that was full of all kinds of foreigners trucks it was like being in a toy shop. So, Pete then went on to explain what was to happen next .
First we had a GERMAN PERMIT that was to be stamped, then we had to make a fuel declaration[ 200 litres only allowed in the country]then passports, the go to a agent to clear the customs forms T2forms from Dover. III had never in my life seen anything like it ,inside the massive clean hall because that what it was , loads of different uniforms all armed , imposing loads of load talking real gruff GERMAN , as I /we were not used to this is was imposing ,and I thought jesus, it looked as they would lock you up for nothing,[[ no wonder they frightened the foreigners during the war]] and I had never seen such long name above offices ,in German, nothing in English or any other language so intimating, I was pleased we won the war…
Pete took me to a hut and had a coffee and bratwurst sausage and mustard in a crispy roll, lots of different cigarette smoke ,and language all around, no handshakes ,no greetings just grunts , to me any way,it was After about 1 hour Pete said lets go and see if we are cleared from the customs I did ask him why we did not stay in the truck and not sit in the café, and his words of wisdom! this time true, said, if you stay in your cab, and being English,[they tell by your number plate and the GB sticker /sign[obligatory] , the police will want to see you tachograph records, including the previous days, and they walk around the parking area just for that. A nice easy form of collecting fine money, if the discs are not correct, however our get out now is that if you have fresh meat of any kind you are told to leave the parking area with all the paper work given back to to you by the Agent ,and all you forms stamped ,and they did not check the amount of diesel we had and leave by a back road and proceed to the German veterinary for them to inspect the meat, and get clearance to leave for your delivery.
I had no idea of where I was ,and I was driving
[God knows what was happening with the tachographs. Who was driving etc Pete was switching the mode switch around all the time he was obviously on top of it] we were following a sign that said [schlachthof] that was abattoir, we got there in the end but we were far away from the motorway in the town of old Aachen, Aachen was one of the first towns to be conquered by the British army in 1945 ,when you see the hills around you thing how the hell did they do it.
Once cleared by the veterinary ,who did thoroughly check the meat as we were backed on to a unloading bay ,so they could walk into the trailer, I stopped in the cab ,Pete waited on the loading bay [ or dock] eventually we were cleared to go ,to Koln ,[ cologne] to the meat market called the Grober market Pete knew the way I had no idea ,where to go Pete , Pete was going up in my esteem as a man, but I know it was all going in my head , night time or not, what I could see to remember for maybe future reference, [who knows] and that works well for me ,once seen not forgotten.
I had completely given up on the time, and how much rest we have had ,it was if it was not a job at all it just seemed normal to do what we were doing,
Pete told me we will come up to the motorway again ,and cross 2 rivers then we follow the signs for the zoo, and that takes us to the market for unloading.
After time I eventually found the Grober market told where to back up to by Pete , he jumped out lots of ,[good -an-tarts] German for Hello] and he opened the trailer doors, and I backed up on his instruction on to their ramp/unloading bay ,and that was it, i thought ■■■■ me what a day all day ,Pete was inside having a coffee with some one and I could feel the movement of men walking in the trailer unloading, and a feeling of tiredness s seemed to come over me, ready for some proper sleep■■?
Next thing I know we are moving again, I must have dropped off, like a stone, I asked Pete where are we ,what we doing ,when do we sleep, all in one go ,the answer was we will just get out of Germany ,then park at the next service station ,as we are loading in Holland in the morning. But we have to wash the trailer out before we can do anything else but we will sort that out after a sleep The inside of the trailer is covered in blood and snot and grease we come again to the customs at Aachen and we still have to go to all the small offices for a stamp on our pieces of paper to get a complete set of stamps then you get a exit stamp and off you go .and think thank god for that.
We now make for the first service station in Belgium and sleep, it did not take long once there to get in that top bunk, I let Pete worry about the waking up time, I was sure he is on the ball.
It seemed like a very short time before I was being woken up, and I could hear the kettle making a noise , on the small gas prim-us- stove. And Pete, welcome back to the living was !we can not be long as we have to wash the trailer out and be loading by 2pm today, a 3 hour drive away.
I had no idea at all what Pete had done about the Tachographs and I was not bothered a far as anyone would know we had not been in to Germany, in fact if we do not get stopped in Holland or Belgian we have not been anywhere as far as the Tachographs are concerned, he obviously knows how to work [ fiddle]them to his and the company’s advantage and they must also know ,so I hope he will show me what to do.
Apparently the service stations in Holland supply more services than just fuel, you can get the use of a high power jet wash to wash the inside of a trailer out so all traces of meat are gone, and ready for another load, so long as you pay, payment by us was by a credit card ,very rare even now in the UK called a D. K. V. card , it is renown all through Europe within the transport industry you can get anything with it I mean anything, even in red light districts the card is taken ,like a transport only Visa. It was the first time I had seen or heard of it, once you are a established European driver for Rokold you get issued it only to be used when necessary .
The transit from Belgium to Holland ,because we were empty was very quick as if they were not bothered at all and we made our way to a service station that had a wash area ,Pete went into the payment office and came out with some bought tokens to put into the wash machine and he said we have 10 minutes of hot water and power the house was the longest I had seen ,my god these foreigners do not need any lessons in doing the job correct. Next thing Pete comes around from the cab with Wellington’s on ,and a pair of water proof leggings and a long raincoat/sou’wester jacket I was amazed, how much more am I going to learn, it seems as if you have to be self-sufficient.
His water profs were just what was needed and he did a complete through wash of the inside of the fridge it was perfect in side ,no trace of meat at all and as the lambs had been hung on string and not directly on the meat hooks they were clean. Once done he quickly went over his tractor unit with the hose before the time went out, and we were done, en-route to where I did not know. We went in to the coffee shop and had a machine coffee ,not bad ,a cup of tea would have been better ,but not enough time. Pete asked to use the phone ,and that was a yes and they passed him the phone from the office ,another !i cannot believe it they let him use their phone, never in England would that ever happen ,so this is Europe everything I have seen up to yet has opened my eyes ,why are we at home so behind ,god knows. he paid for the phone in cash and given a receipt
Pete comes back with loading instructions, we are to go towards the place we loaded at before to load near there today , I have no idea how far it is we do not have a map but Pete knows the way ,so he lets me drive ,and he dozes off, but he tells me which way to head for and just keep following the signposts until we get there or you have to have a break after 4 ½ hours [ that was joke]
It did not take long before I come to a junction where a decision was needed, left or right, so I had to pullover and shake Pete awake [not best pleased] go left ,towards, Eindhoven ,then pick up the sign for Tilburg, and he lays down again ,so I plod on now overtaking slower trucks , not that many slow ones were on the road ,speed did not seem to matter in Holland.
We got to the outskirts of the place we should be at for loading and I was given directions , to the factory gate ,the factory had a massive turning area for the trucks to get ready for backing down to a ramp onto a loading bay, once Pete came out of the office told me to back on to a bay as loading would start straight away, pallets loaded with frozen chips and we would not be long and the front pallets were smalls so they would fit under the meat hooks and the rear ones would make up the extra.
In no time we were loaded, custom sealed the rear doors that the factory paper work in order so next stop a ferry.
Time has flown from when I got up at 11am Tuesday morning it was now Thursday with no proper rest and now off again to a ferry Pete thinks we will miss the late Zeebrugge so to Ostend .
God knows what he is doing with the tachographs but I am sure he knows as he has changed the cards again. The fridge was set at -25 and roaring away however Pete said they were good at where we have just loaded and their product is nearly always down to the right temperature.
We move on to the road that soon took us to the boarder for Belgium customs , when we parked up I asked Pete if I could go and produce the paper work and get the feel of it ,and yes it was fine , so I went into the large foyer and could see only one office open with a sign DOUNE above the open door, I knocked ,walked in was met by grunts, passed the paper work over to the uniform/gun holstered ,no idea what was said, a couple of stamps later on the paper work I was out and back into the cab. I relayed what happened and was told that it was very rare to have any problems with the Dutch or Belgium’s authority, it was all the others.[countries].
I had now got used to the routine[for this trip] that I was doing the most driving, I treated it as a test to see if I would moan i did not , and carried on driving to Ostend I drove all the way up to the dock gate and booked us in to the ferry terminal, apparently we were not booked for the ferry now but a later one, but we would get on this one as Roklod was a good customer.
I thought that was a bit strange ,it clicked to me that we were ahead of our time, the office expected us to be later by about 6 hours, that was unusual ,later I would find out that Pete had done better than other drivers by not having the proper breaks, it was to show me ,”this is the way you do it ”and that he did the same when he was on his own ,no second driver.
Once off the ferry at Dover ,the routine was the same as last week I was feeling as if I was Mr experience,! no one else would and 200 cigarettes ,they would be sold. It sort of seemed all right to be working all these strange hours as every one else was doing the same , all though not many English seemed to be on the ferry.
Once cleared by the customs, the agents brought the clearance paper to us, and we then went for something to eat ready to make our way home, or not, Pete said we had to go to Frigo Scania in Kings Lynn a cold store that stored ,and processed ,and distribution of all frozen products from all Europe and was used by very big new supper markets ,and they work 24 hours shifts.
Was this another test I said ok no problem , I had no other choice really ,but to divert back to Northampton from Dover would have been ridiculous.
,it was the load first driver second, and you had to be prepared to do as the office would like or you will not last. I now see the important owner driver part of the company
I was now getting a good idea of what this job was and they want there own drivers to be exactly the same. I expect
you have two choices Stay or leave , for now, the job it seemed just for me I liked the running around different countries and the unsocial sleeping times ,the general way you were left to get on with the job and be left alone ,yes I knew the hour pay ratio was not that good however we were on a salary, so hopefully ,yes maybe in the middle of the week, that you would get more time at home, it would be worth a try if I get offered a job on European.
We made good time and I drove ,Pete said it would keep him clear to ship out again if I used my Tachograph. =The plan was that I had just arrived by car into Dover to take this lorry to unload and drop the driver [PETE]off at his house and I was to carry on and get it unloaded and back to base
if we got stopped by the ministry of transport for a tachograph card check.
He had got the previous tachograph cards we both had used and sorted them as if he had just been to Belgium yesterday, I had not been near that truck… so that is how they do it,total disregard for the law, however we were in Europe and no one cared a rats arse so do as the others do, do not forget the new Motorways were not built, the A2 .M . one Dartford tunnel, no Ministry check points at all , the only time you would have had a check if you were involved in a accident.
We had arrived at the cold store and drove straight on to a weigh bridge and the gross weight is record and when you finish you have to go back on to the bridge to get your tare weight ,then the load weight is taken from the gross and then you have the weight of the load, as you could have the right number of boxes but not the correct weight the senders of the goods has said [short weight, not uncommon].
We were told we had a booking in time of 12 o clock that night so park up , and wait. Pete looked a bit sheepish we could have gone to Northampton ,and I am sure he knew when the delivery was, but he is in charge of the truck if I was not with him he would have done exactly the same ,so I said ,good have another sleep, there were lots of other trucks parked up the noise of the fridges roaring away was tremendous, but no one seemed to care at all ,and I was getting used to the noise as well.
While waiting to get on to a unloading bay, the foreman unload er came and took the seal of the back doors , and climbed in as far as he could go and collected 1 box of goods, so he could go and check that the correct temperature had been kept and the product was the right temperature.
Before we had a sleep we kept getting lots of door knocking from workers asking if we had any duty free to sell, cigarettes or spirits wine anything cheap Pete told me more about the selling of any goods at most of the cold stores you would go to. He said, what you do is let the fork lift drivers have first choice of anything you may have ,and they will ask you if you are going back to Europe, and if it is for a load back to where they are as it was a regular run for Rokold trucks ,sometimes you will go back empty from Kings Lynn to Dover to load the next day in Belgium or Holland then straight back to Kings Lynn and they would put a order in if [1] you have the cash to buy goods, and [2] do you want to bring in more than your allowance [3] if you are caught by a customs officer anywhere and you are selling duty free goods you are in deep ■■■■. So it was up to you.
As it was ,I was not interested as I had no control of what I did ,also Pete would not commit himself ,as he did not know what he would be doing next ,if he did he would not tell me, as I expect he will be glad to get rid of me, and I do not blame him I would not fancy having a second driver with me ,however if the bosses say you will you will it is their truck, end of.
After getting unloaded, and the trailer swept out and weighed [by me ] before we made our way back to the depot . One thing Pete impressed on me was to make sure that when you collect your c.m.r note up from the office when the unloading is finished make sure they do not write any remarks on the paper work as that c m r is a legal document, and it is the only way a company can get paid for the load by that note ,with a clear signature, meaning that the load count is correct ,the load temperature was correct, and the given weight , when you arrived and the time , that done home.
When we arrived back at the depot it did not take long for me to get my gear together, and say good by and [handshake],as it was all closed up ,no empty pallets ,or nothing around, only our two cars.
What Pete was going to do I have no idea.
I soon travelled home, quick wash and to bed.
After my European trip work seemed to by very quiet not that many night runs and no market runs at all just the supermarket work and the pallet loads seemed a lot less than before, however I just enjoyed the time off as I knew when the time come it would be longer hours than normal!.
On one run to a few different supermarkets I was told that I had to have the night out and collect some pallets in the morning, yes fine by me i was now used to doing as I was told and not re -bell or moan .
As it was ,I had no idea what was going to happened next, as I was loaded ,i needed to ring the office to see if the pallets were for home base or somewhere else I was told to bring them back to the yard as quick as I could Mr East wants to see me, I thought another trip over the water.
Once in the yard ,i parked up ,went in to the office and asked for Mr East ,i was told to go in to his office, he stood up shook my hand ,and said Vic I am sorry we are going to let you go, work has got bad and there is not enough for all the men .last in first out…Then he said we may have got you some work with a local contractor, he gave me the details ,sorted my wages out ,said if any thing comes up again he would call me ,that was me finished at Northampton and that was that I said my good bys ,Alan said sorry,i new they would keep the young men on, so I went to find my new employee ,i hoped.
The new employer lived and worked at Milton just out side Northampton, I rang him up and he told me to meet him at the Ipec depot ,he gave me the address. after getting through security, I was told where to go and he had a small office at the end of a massive loading bay, that had about 20 trailers parked on it.
The job was first to be shunting the trailers on and off the loading bay as a contractor for the company running the job .Ipec , that turned in to T.N.T the massive parcel and goods distribution.
After time ,also when required you will have to drive a trailer up to the Glasgow depot, that would be a night job once there you go into a bed and breakfast in Glasgow while the lorry and trailer is taken around Scotland all the delivers done then it is reloaded back up for you to run back down to the Northampton through the night, you get back to Northampton park it up in the depot we are in then you go home. If you are required for the next night we ring you by 2pm to let you know.
Yes that sounded good, but the money was Tax free ,that meant you had to do the tax yourself.[self-employed] also he does some containers runs to and from Felixstowe, well it was a job I would go for it .I started the next day at lest I understood what the job was and you got told what to do, and they had a canteen.
I was busy for a time then it would slow down. The man I worked for was a ex middle east driver, photographs all around ,early 1970s he must have been very young. However most men that did that work deserved all they had made out of the jobs it was not for everyone.
It kept me busy for a week, then I thought all the travelling by car and shunting ,i had had enough so I said I am going to finish. No likely Scotland trips so I am off!, ooh hang on a minute, he said you are down for the Sunday night run , was he telling porkies or I was down for the job ,he said no you are on the job all next week ,yes I will stay then and that was the start of another fine mess…
The tractor units we used were from MANN HIRE and they were flying machines 70 mph was the normal speed once on the Motorway well if you did not get caught. Once you left Northampton you drove for 4and half hours had 45 minutes break then another 4 ½ drive and you should be in Bellshill Glasgow that was how fast them trucks were ,really in day time you would not have done it ,even in 1 days drive of 10 hours , however at night ,unbelievable distances were covered the trucks had the power as if you were driving a car, you could accelerate just like a car with a full load .of 20 tons quite remarkable even now when I thing about it, in actual fact when I do like now it was so, so, dangerous I shudder. However once again by luck I came off all right .
Once in Glasgow you would leave the truck in the IPEC yard and a man would take you up to your bed and breakfast, have a breakfast ,then bed, he would collect you again at 6 o clock at night, you had no dinner there, after the first time I soon got myself organised when home I brought a small gas cooker, pan. And tins of food, and cooked it in there rest room when I was back there it caused quite a show as they had never seen a driver cook before. not as I was experienced, I got the idea off of Pete ,never go hungry when you can do it yourself…
I started to get used to the pattern of work on the Glasgow the boss and his partner did have a small issue as we were only working in total driving 9 hours the boss wanted us to do some more work when we got back to Northampton, small local work just to fill the hours in as we got paid a days rate ,night or day and the hours were never defined ,so I think he thought we were getting away with money for no work, so I did what he asked ,then went home to bed later than usual,[not good
One evening just before I was leaving Glasgow the boss phoned me and said when I get back to Northampton ,drop the trailer at the depot then pick another trailer up and go and deliver it to the car factory in Luton. Vauxhall I never gave it much thought about 1 hour from Northampton to LUTON, tip the trailer then out and home I thought it would be a couple of hours.
i When I eventually arrived at the car factory the parts I had on the trailer were marked urgent production line, it did not mean a thing, I was told to park up and would be called in when they were ready. I knew from previous car factory experience that once you got into the queue going around the production area that was you basically ■■■■■■, end of. It is like going around a supermarket following 2 mobile scooters ,with blind people driving.
After god knows how many hours still at Luton ,it was getting that I would not have time to drive back, so there and then I made my mind up that was me finished when I got back , no way to ring anyone up no public phones within the factory for drivers use…
Once on my way ,non stop straight to the depot, I was met by the boss, all full of sorry, I did not realise they said it was urgent, I said no problem ,get some other mug, bye that is me done, he protested ,ore look I gave you a job a favour for Mr East ,i replied you get Mr East to come and do it then, off I went ,to the nearest phone box and rang Roklold at the depot at Oxford and told them what I had done ,and said thanks for the job but no thanks ,and whenever they want me ring home…
Now started another episode of driver with out a job, I first called in at S. T Challis as it was on the way home and explained my situation and could they help they would ring, never did, so I had to look further afield from home ,in the local paper drivers wanted at Aylesbury ,that was nearly 35 miles away, however I thought I would ring, and ask for a interview, it was in a village called Aston Clinton, did not mean nothing to me , i got a day for a interview , in two days time, i have no idea what sort of work they do or anything but I had seen the lorries around and no way of finding out .
I arrived at the village and found the yard , I drove in ,and looked around for a parking place, found a visitors one and parked. Little did I know that I was being observed to see where I left my car.
However I reported to the office explained who I was and was told to sit and wait. I had dressed
with some smart clothes and a tie ,a bit over the top for a drivers job but I wanted work.
I was shown into a office and a young -ish man sat at a desk very smartly dressed, he did not get up just looked and there was a chair pulled out my side, but I did not sit I just stood there.
He then said who he was ,and what did I want so I said a driving job if they have any vacancies,
then where have you been working? . I said I can give you my full working record since I left school, and got out my discharge book with various bits of paper and certificates also my HGV driving licence, Ohh he said you have a class one licence all self-explanatory , so I told him everything from school until that day. While I was in mid flow a older man come in to the room. Also very well dressed and sat on the edge of the desk ,never said a word.
When I had finished talking ,my history, the other man Mr Fowler ,the big boss , said we never employ any men who do not live within a 10 mile radius from Aylesbury ,however if you can start tomorrow we will overlook that rule, and that was me at Aston Clinton Haulage, A. C .H.
I had to be at the yard for 6 am , to start then take it from there it was a good 40 minutes drive from home on back roads, after a short time I started to try other routes, but it was nearly always the same time of travelling.
The work was varied ,from local shunting to unloading in the yard, and loading boxes of cereal for delivery, then delivering it ,you had no time at all, but I stuck with it, they were very long hours if I had known more then I would have stopped in the yard the odd night and sleep in a cab ,with no pay but it would have made life a lot easier ,as all the trucks the ran were sleeper cabs and of the full speck,[the most powerful].
The son David who interviewed me was what you called unfair, a prick ,thoughtless, and all the other meanings, but that was his way and people accepted it, me also as I thought I would get on to having a truck of my own and get some good work even with my limited European experience. Sadly it was not to be then i wanted to leave, but I had to do it right and not just finish ,so one day I got half way to Aylesbury stopped in a village, and said my car has just blew the piston, or valve and I could not make it in, and gave them the local phone box number so they could ring me back…[ no mobile then].
After time Dennis , David’s assistant, rang the call box back, and said if you cannot get in you are no good for us so you will have to finish, so I said fine and they would send my wages and p 45 and that was that for then It was what I wanted to happen in case I ever wanted to go back in the future .
Once home, car all good ,I decided to go S T Challis to see if they have any work, once in the yard straight to the drivers place outside of the office, i knocked the hatch, and was greeted by what the ■■■■ to you want, from the traffic clerk, laughing, nothing from you, but a job, he told me to wait `1 ,i will go to see the boss, after a short time Brian the boss came out and said we have a bit of tipper work if you want it , only local runs ,you can start Monday, and that was the way it worked in my area, straight to the point, the best way.
The tipper work was easy but long hours you were moving earth that was being dug out by machines for a new road ,and once loaded ,you then tipped it where you were told, most times it was to make a bank further back along the road ,or just to fill in holes [massive holes] left by pipes .
It was going good , I used to take a lot of sandwiches and 2 flasks i knew most of the drivers ,some from my village, and we would have a laugh. Plenty of time to eat, and drink all was good the money was manageable, but beggars cannot be choosers
.
I think I must have been there for about3 months and getting bored but nothing else to do ,i was not getting enough out of it if you know what I mean but no weekend work maybe the odd Saturday morning ,sometimes, they wanted you to help the fitters if they had a big job on, nothing technical but I was still learning about trucks ,engines and most of what went with the job, rewiring lights, all though the diesel engine had come on with the future there was still a lot of old basics and common sense .also I had had the ■■■■■■■■ engine workings to help me if I needed it. To a small degree.
Life was plodding on ,getting my self resigned to being on a tipper until they increased the fleet, when out of the blue my wife gets a urgent phone call from no other than Mr Robin East, from the depot in Oxford, asking where, and what I was doing, and asked would I ring as soon as possible, urgent. It was 7 o clock at night and I spoke to Robin .
Tom ,the first driver I went with had ,had a brain haemorrhage and passed away , he was on the service station by Liverpool, the trailer had been taken away to be unloaded ,however ,the unit was still on the service station the keys were in the mangers office ,was the any chance I could go up with another driver and bring the tractor, and the trailer [when empty] back down to Oxford. the lorry was leaving at 5am in the morning to get you to Liverpool later in the day are you able to go with it, also we would now need a relief driver ,if I wanted the job it was mine on Rokold not the other company J C. S. ,it would be reliving the European drivers on a regular basis and the previous man would have Toms truck permanently. I explained that I was permanent where I was and they would not take kindly to me leaving just like that, he said he new Mr ■■■■ who was the boss and he would square it with him, as they were on the road haulage association together and he would explain the situation .
It was a chance not to be missed it could be the break for me to get into European work so I accepted the offer.
I had to leave home at 4 am to get to Oxford before 5 am good job I did as the driver slept overnight at the depot and was ready to leave when I arrived, after a few delivers we made our way to the Liverpool area, I found out a lot more about the job some bits were good ,others I knew about [ the hours] the driver Geoff , who was Toms friend, also from Northampton still could not believe Toms death ,it only happened yesterday so it was shock all round ,well not for me but sad as he left a wife and children, all though when I knew him you would have thought he was single , I hope that is not the way this type of driving changes you, also he was ex army so he knew his way around.
I went and collected the truck keys ,from a office , they knew my name but wanted some ID ,that was all done .i rang the office ,and was told to pick the trailer up at Trafford park Manchester at a refrigerated depot. I was told check it over for any damage in the outside and inside, count the meat hooks that were hanging on the rails at the front, tyres, fuel in the fridge ,and all the trucks paper work was still in the cab folder, I was given a list to check, that all worked out correct, and to record the hours recorded on the fridge, [ a dial on the front cover of the hours the fridge has been run],make sure all the lights were working, as people will steal the lenses and bulbs, yes, the bulbs…
When that was done I rang the office ,and they said make your way to Dover and ring first thing in the morning from there. Yes that was what I wanted i knew it would be late by the time I get there
but I never put a tachograph card in until I left Liverpool so I had got plenty of time, well I thought I had.
I made it to the last service station, on the A2 Farthing Corner, before Dover and had a break by the time I got into Dover and parked outside the Agents office ,went in ,and the ■■■■ had hit the fan, what I was not told I was booked on the 6am crossing to Zeebrugge [when I had phoned from Manchester] [no cab or mobile phones] they had expected my to drive into Dover gone in to the Agents and they would have given me my loading instructions without parking up where I did and I could have booked off once inside Dover ,and by the time I had got off in Zeebrugge I would have had the proper break, also I would have had lots of broken sleep.! Moving on to the ferry etc I had no a clue, that was what I should have done.
I rang the office explained they more of less said it was their fault but told me if you ever have to get to Dover you must try to get there, as there is always a reason why. I think the traffic manager Peter Melcombe thought I was a old hand at the European way of working I had never met him I took a instant dislike to him, by his phone manner to me, one to watch.
Once I was on the ferry ,booked into my cabin and had a meal, it was time to go to bed for about 3 hours ,trouble was you never knew who your cabin mate was , so as Pete told me get to bed first and hope they do not snore.
Once off of the ferry the routine started as before ,and it all went well ,even the fuelling up as the credit diesel card all worked on the same pin number [so long as you knew it] I did not ,but Tom had it written down in the trucks book of paper work ,so I was soon away to get to the loading place. It was the same one as before when I was with Pete ,so I felt very confident that it would all be good and load without any hassle, and after a time of me getting there I was soon striding in to the loading office, full of it, until the Dutch man said in perfect English, you are late ,your load has been given to another driver so you will have to wait until the product [frozen chips] are down to the correct loading temperature , well what could I say but ok thank you I will be in the cab…
And that is where I went, I never said another word, I thought well ■■■■ you too. And laid on the bunk, it did not seem long when loud banging was on the door and shouting to me ,back on to the loading bay so I opened the rear doors , started up the fridge, ■■■■ !!I had forgot to do that before I arrived so as the trailer would be cold, [whoops] I was getting to cocky, and forgot the first rule. To get the fridge temperature down as low as possible, it will never get to minus -20 as there is not product in the trailer to hold the temperature but once the frozen goods are in the trailer and the trailer is all ready cold it will soon be down to -20
Also I think I learned another thing, other people do not like to see you go and lie on the bunk and read a book… [over time I learnt it really ■■■■■■ other people off especially if you have had a disagreement with them and it was your fault, and you shown that it does not bother you at all .]
Once loaded, I was told to pull off the loading bay, collect my paper work from the office and the customs will seal the back doors and I was ready to go. I did stop and think have I done all the right things , checked both diesel tanks. Fridge running ok , god knows what I would do if the fridge stops, I have not been told yet ,i must put that on a list ,of to ask instructions for if a brake -down occurs.
I made my way to the Belgium boarder and then the ferry port. Ohh no I forgot to ask what ferry to go back on, ■■■■ ,i stopped and tried to work the time out, and thought I was at about the same time as when with Pete, so I will go to Ostend ,then I had thought , [dangerous]look at what the T2 customs form said , and it was Ostend, so I now knew the office must have told the Dutch that was my port of exit.
I made my way there without any problems it was easy to find the port as the signs post were very good you just followed the sign with a ship on and it took you straight to the port gate, I completed all the paper work, and went and queued up with all the other trucks , that was not hard to accomplish, as I had been shown before what to do if I had not It would have been a different story.
Once on the ferry I asked the crew for a electrical plug in , and was told yes ok ,but wait for the ships electrician , that is what I did it seemed like hours however he came and sorted the plug in out and it worked the correct way ,that ,the way to test to see that it did not ■■■■ air out of the fridge was by holding some light tissue paper up to the front air intake so that it blew the paper and not ■■■■ it in, , as ships electricity system can vary so I was told? I was the last driver to leave the car deck eventually, I climbed my way up to the accommodation area found the driver only restaurant the food was English looking but cooked by Belgians as it was a Belgian crew, I had some food then straight down to the cabins for a sleep, I had the cabin number on my ticket, but the first thing was to find them , it seemed as if they were right down under the engine, and the noise was bad, Jesus I had spent a long time on ships ,never this noisy!!
I did find the cabin, and the bunk, and it was the top bunk as the other 3 were occupied so clothes on into the bed, I did learn a lesson, all ways strip off when ever you have a chance to sleep ,even for a hour ,as with clothes on you soon get roasting and cannot rest…
Next thing lots of noise, blokes burping and ■■■■■■■, coughing sounded like a cattle market and foreign language ,to me, I understood it was time to get up .and that was what I did and followed the herd up to the coffee, tea and ■■■, bar, also more food it seemed only 5 minutes before that I was eating, but we all seemed to get stuck in, mostly sausages, and hard boiled eggs , then the tannoy came over [all drivers report to the car deck and do not start your engines please until told to by the staff, ■■■■■■■■, by the time I got down to the truck ,the rear door was still down, and all these ■■■■■■■ ,stupid foreign drivers had the engines roaring away it was choking, and they did not give one ■■■■, what they did not realise as the deck crew could not take the safety chains off of the front of the trucks so they would be able to leave the ship, because they wanted to be first off what they did not realize that once they got to the customs they were going nowhere,.
Yes I had done it, I did all the right things parked up put my paper work in the agents box wrote on it where I was parked, and smartly went and got into bed again sleep seemed the main think lacking in this type of work
The next thing I know there is rapping on the cab door, i flew up pulled the curtain back and there was one of our drivers there, hanging off the wing mirror with his arms, shouting something, so I got dressed and opened the door and the first thing he said are we clear what! I said I have not long got in bed, he said well they usually clear this customer straight away, he said he would go and check, in the office where you get your exit stamp ,and the paper work to go .
He came back full of it and said it has been cleared 1 hour -ago, you should have been gone by now as the customer is waiting for the load,” hang on” I said I have only been here 3 hours and not had my full break, he replied, that he was taking the load and I was to be the passenger, ok that made sense. well sort of until I thought about it so off we go with me not driving so it did not matter any-more how much rest or sleep I had the load came first…
I asked the driver how he got here and he said he came down last night with another of our drivers and went in to a bed and breakfast, got up this morning to deliver the load ,and take me back because the office new I would not be able to drive for some time as my break hours were not up one thing was wrong no one told me alarm bells should have been ringing, this is no way to work ,however it was all new to me completely different from any other type of driving I knew .
so in fact I was off duty in the passenger seat basically it does not matter where you take your off duty break so long as you are not working …as time went by it was considered that if you were in a company vehicle you were classed as on duty, but that was much later .in the 1990s in actual fact if you were driving a company car to or from work of to relive another driver you were technically on duty, however who new , unless you had a accident in that car.
We arrived at “Bejams”at large “cold store” full of deep frozen food at a place called Frimley near Guilford to unload the pallets of chips, after time we were told to back on to the loading bay ,and wait for the green light , it was right by your cab when you were backed on the loading bay [or dock]you could not miss it to tell you that you were on the loading bay correctly , you would feel the ramp inside the store go down on to the deck of the trailer so they could start unloading.
But first the quality control would take off the first 6 pallets then on the 7th they would open the boxes for the correct temperature of the product and it had to be between minus-18 and -22, they would take all the boxes of the pallet and check the very bottom ones, just to make sure that the chips had been loaded at the correct temperature also that you had had your frigerated trailer running at the correct temperature -20 If not someone would be in trouble and the first would be the driver, as not checking the product temperature before loading, and was the fridge running correct, it was a bloody minefield this I learnt later through my own experiences you would never believe the checks you had to make and do while loading any product .
Once the load had been cleared to unload it did not take very long to get unloaded and get the correct amount of pallets returned, and we were on our way again, so where now for me I asked myself? we were going to Bedford for a truck and trailer service and I was to pick up a company car and go home and wait for the phone call. At least I had some duty free cigarettes.
I was asked at the cold store [what have you got on] I did not know what they were on about until the other driver, said some drivers bring in Beer, and tobacco for the cold store unloading staff to buy [in bulk] apparently they knew the lorry was Toms, and he looked after the lads at the store , well sadly no more ,they did not know about his death, but it was something to think about , however I never did bother for anyone, as I never had the cash to buy goods…
We soon arrived at Bedford, and the trailer was dropped in a service bay and the unit taken for a service next door, I was taken to see the boss of the work shops and asked if there were any outstanding faults on the truck or trailer i did say some of the tyres on the trailer were a bit short of rubber meaning the tread was low, all the other gauges on the unit were working oil and water was good ,there was no more to say, so I was shown the car I had to go home in and that was it, I was away… it was the same old Volvo first thing was I checked the petrol, and it was nearly empty, what a surprise, why would drivers leave a car with hardly any petrol in I did not know ,however I will now do the same.
I got home there was a telephone message for me to phone the office, Jesus they never left you alone for any length of time, it was something I was going to have to get used to that was for sure ,it was my instructions for tomorrow, I had to be down in Lamberhust the name of the village where the loading was for 5 pm and deliver the load of lambs that I had done with Pete before, on my own, I remember feeling pleased with myself as they were trusting me with a Export load for the first time, also inside I was really ■■■■■■■■ myself but no one knew only me.
After a good drive around the Motorways, the M25 was not yet built, under the Dartford tunnel and down to Lamberhurst ,i arrived in plenty of time, and I had brought a small gas burner and some food ,saucepan, tea ,excreta, just to keep me going and from spending any money on foreign food, the more I did not spend the more for me and home, well that was the thought I had not got round to finding a toaster, but I would.
The unit was the one I had driven before the old 2800 D. A.F, [Ex toms] the driver with the truck wanted to get off home ,and I did ask him why he was not doing the job instead of me, he gave me some story about his wife so I left it at that, anyway it was nothing to me ,he told me it was ¾ loaded and the last of the lambs would be soon loaded ,the truck fridge was roaring away trying to keep the inside of the fridge with the already loaded lambs down to a cool +1 as the doors were open being backed on to the loading bay of the slaughter house it was cold inside, the premises the lambs [meat]were kept inside special cool rooms to get the meat down to the temperature ready for transport. Vets were the only people who can allow any meat from leaving a premise also vets are employed all the while the process of slaughter takes place .
In side the slaughter house there are a series of tracks that run all around the ceilings that the meat hooks run on in and out of the cool rooms for the method of getting meat moved from place to place once the meat arrives by men pushing sliding the carcass at the loading doors in to the trailers, the carcass is lifted off and placed on to the meat hooks inside the trailer there are 5 different rails inside the trailer roof with about 60 hooks on each rail .with lambs being small one lamb is placed on the hook then another is hung underneath by a string so there are 2 lambs to each hook, quite a swinging load ,if you have more than one delivery string is placed around the whole load of lambs to let the unloaders plus the driver where that delivery starts so as not to get them mixed up or extra taken by the first customer as you would have no way of knowing when to stop taking the lambs ,also counting, but the driver is never allowed inside most abattoirs.
I went and checked the diesel for the fridge that is under the trailer it wanted filling up, I realised the truck tank was half full and I would be able to syphon some diesel out of the tank and put it in to the fridge tank, I thought yes I will do it.
So know I needed a piece of hose pipe at lest 6 foot long, and a container of sorts to transfer the diesel, easier said than done believe me, I knew how to do it as I have done it many times before but it can be a smelly dirty job, plus diesel tastes awful. If the trailer had not been loaded and the weight on the front end of it ,the easiest way would have been to drop the trailer where it was and back the unit alongside of the trailer so as the tanks are alongside each other, if the tanks are not on the same side you turn the unit around so as it is ,also you need a lot of room, so all that was out . It meant sucking the diesel up the pipe that you have pushed down , well down inside the trucks diesel tank, and you start sucking “ syphoning” until the diesel flows out ,and then you have to catch it in some form of container a old plastic oil can, and make sure you can tip it into the trailer diesel tank [not easy] it needs 2 people really as once you have filled your oil can the diesel is still flowing ,you have to lift the pipe up so it is above the level of the diesel in the tank, but make sure you have a bend in the pipe so as the pipe is not empty or else you have to start sucking again, believe me it is a pain in the arse and you get covered I did get a hand from one of their drivers and we managed to get a few gallons in the tank, no thanks to the other driver, [■■■■■
Now I had to get cleaned up and once the unit was under the trailer they started to load the last delivery, What I did not know was one of drivers from the abattoir was also going down to the docks on a export load he was going direct to the delivery at leige, and then into Germany and I was to follow him down to Dover the ship over to Calais [F] and I would follow him through to Belgium and then we would go our different ways, this was new to me ,apparently all things change when meat is involved ,and the office knew what was happening .
I was to pick a French permit up from the agent in Dover ,and Jimmy[ THE DRIVER ]was going to show me the route out of Calais, and how to go through the customs at Calais all straight forward well it is supposed to be. After time we were ready to go and he said we were going the back roads down to FOLKSTONE, the on to Dover I did not have a map with me .god!! it was the most fastest switch back ride I have ever had ,god knows where we went, but I did not let his rear lights out of my sight, and he warned me that when you get to Folkstone we will go up this massive hill ,and if it is wet if you miss a gear near at the top you will be ■■■■■■, as the steepness of the hill lets all the weight of the lambs hang back at angle, taking your traction away from your drive wheels as if you are skidding on ice, well that did not do me much good ,all I could thing about was missing a gear, so I thought right, I will put the truck in a low gear at the bottom and then I had no worry ,I expect I lacked a bit of confidence in my own ability and that is what I did and I did not have a problem ,i was slow, yes, but I never got stuck, when I caught Jimmy up at the docks he said I thought you were stuck, but I would not have been any help so I carried on, that was the right thing to do so he said .
We parked outside the agents and collected the paper work for me and a permit for France, then round to the customs part ,this time we had to queue up to go into the customs sheds for a seal check and a port health check, ]MAFF],to make sure we were veterinary sealed up [the trailer] .
That all done we then had to go queue up for the next ferry to Calais, they were nearly every 2 hours leaving Dover , I could see the point of coming this way instead of Ramsgate as it was quicker here, once we were loaded on to the ferry we had to ask for a Electric Plug , as no diesel engines were allowed to be run, once that was sorted and it was working the correct way we made our way up stairs for food in the drivers lounge.
We were on Sea-link ferries and the food was good . Jimmy asked if I had any French money at all, and no I did not he said we would need at least 5 French Francs for the customs as you go out of the gate, for the bung, for the excess diesel we had, you are only allowed 200 litres in France, I changed £10 sterling and received just over 10 Francs, and Jimmy told me do not give that much you must change it as they would take it all that… I am learning more, and we talked about my delivers and he told me about the Belgian border so as I was sure where to go ,he was a great help, I would have been struggling with out him, but that is why they sent me with him I expect…
Once the ferry docked we were about the last to get off as the electrician did not hurry himself, anyway there would be a massive queue waiting to get out of the dock after the customs. Once in the customs hall I just followed what jim said and I did not speak, there was no need to, the customs men all looked the same in massive coats , lots of chatter, stinking of French ■■■■, talking in grunts, and laughter, well they were in charge , after the stamp on the permit backing paper ,jim said he hoped they would stamp that, and not the actual permit as it could be used again [ I will explain later] I watched as the trucks drove up to the last barrier where you gave them the money ,[they called it coffee] the man jumped up onto the step hung on the mirror arm and looked at the fuel gauge on the dash board to see what it read ,full, or half full. Anyway they still had the coffee money whatever, and when it was my turn I drove up stopped and he did what I have said took the 5 francs said [Aur vior]
That was my first of many giving of French francs to the customs men ,only in Calais I must say no where else bothered with the fuel coming in to the country .they were the French Mafia. That practice carried on until the customs frontier controls finished in the 1990s.
Once clear, before I was let loose on my own , Jimmy gave me my last instructions , I crossed the same border in to Belgium as when I was on the other ferry, however I had to clear the customs there as it was my boarder of destination, apparently the veterinary clearance was done at the first delivery but Jimmy was there at the boarder to assist me so it went well
He told me all the deliverers will be waiting for me, as drivers for the abattoir. Company they did this run every 2 days for years and if there are no lights on at the premises ,knock the doors ,and they will soon be out as they were local Butchers shops, in towns obviously this was a regular run .
Once I found the first delivery I would be taken to the next one when I was ready by following a car, I think this job must have been another test as it was non stop full-go ,at the first delivery one man jumped up on the back of the trailer to take the lambs of the hooks and pass them down ,and I was given a white coat, to get up and do the same, as two men were on the road taking the meat inside, so no lay down, and that was the pattern of the nights work, i had lost track of time and it was getting light, and I ended up somewhere near Brussels Airport with a empty trailer, and the inside needed a wash out, so that was my next move find a truck stop with a high power hose, that was normal in Belgium as they seem to think of everything jim did tell me that I should ring the office by 1pm our time and get loading instruction, so sleep was the second priority.
There was so much noise going on at the service station I made amental point of never stopping
there again ,i must have had about 5 hours sleep and my alarm was screaming, first eat then phone thank god I had my toaster, and tea making things, and I sorted my self out.
The office told me I was loading tonight not far from the Dutch boarder in Belgium so make my way there whenever, as the load was ready, full load of frozen vegetables
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After 2hours I had found the loading factory a large compound lots of other trucks were there no other English, once I had been to their office I was given a loading bay number to back on the wait in the cab as the load was handball [meaning not on pallets in paper sacks] so it would be a while, and they would knock the cab when finished, so it was time to get a brew of tea on ,and then lie down and get some rest ,sleep. It was after 4 hours and I was woken up and told to go to the office, I collected my paper work, customs paper, and pulled off the loading bay for the rear doors to be custom sealed up, and they told me that the office said I was to go to Zeebrugge for the midnight ferry, that was good for me no rush, and I would be able to fill all tanks up with diesel unbelievable but it all worked out .i was in plenty of time for the ferry, and another time to get in bed, I had already sussed out that if you can get a lay down take it…
Once the ferry arrived it did not take long for the off load of trucks and then we were soon brought up from lanes for loading ,it is not straight forward ,as heavy lorries have to get put in different places, the loading ticket office know all the trucks weights when booking in…also I wanted a electrical plug in ,so I seemed to be kept waiting to load with other fridge drivers as we were all on the same level deck where all the plug connections were, once loaded on and sorted ,in to get your bed number/cabin, no single berth, so you have 2 choices either go straight to bed , or eat a dinner.
For me it was a no brainier /bed, before the snoring started, and just hoped you did not get a cabin with foreigners .
All went well ,the crew wake you up in time for breakfast nice full English then the unloading starts
passport control/ customs, all done on the dock ,as before, it was still dark.
Once parked up , my paper work lodged in the agents in box ,i wrote on it the number of the lane I was parked in, and would they knock me when finished please… so back in the bunk again…
It was not long before the knock on the door come and I was cleared to go after I got my paper work, and allowed out of the dock gate and on my way to Frimly again to get the load off loaded
I new it would take a while as it all had to be put on pallets ,a long job I expect. Once there I report to the office and they told me to ring my office as soon as I can…
Once again I was told that a driver was coming down in the car to relive me and I could go home and ring tomorrow dinner so now it was a waiting game, the more time I spent here the less at home.
Another driver I did not know, arrived ,and I told him what was going on and that they would let him know when to get on to a unloading bay ,and that was me, away, petrol check seemed ok, so home for me…
After rest at home, I rang the office at dinner time to be told to go to Bedford service depot no later than 5pm to collect the truck, I arrived on time, to be told that at 8 o clock in the morning I was to load a load of lambs from near Bedford and ring from there, I had to get the car back that night as it was needed for someone else, so I had a night at the garage in Bedford ,i slept well …
Once I arrived at the Abattoir I was told to go and wash the trailer out ready for loading they had a very high powered wash hose, it would blow your clothes off if it was pointed at you, anyway that done I put the trailer on the bay and waited, there was a lot of movement in the trailer they seemed to be loading non stop.
Eventually it went all quiet inside the trailer as the loaders stopped i walking up and down the trailer floor in stopped rocking around so I assumed it was loaded i got out of the cab and went to the office, yes it was finished and the customs and veterinary would soon be finished and I could soon be on my way ,so I thought…after ring the office it seemed I was only loading it for another driver I was to take it back to the Bedford garage, leave the truck ,the fridge going at the correct temperature, and the car would soon be there for me to go home again ,and the other driver would be taking the load, yes well I was only the relive driver, so that is what I am doing although I did not like it.
That seemed for a while the pattern of work I was doing, unloading or loading for someone else and it was sort of getting to me, so in the end I asked to speak to the boss Mr East [robin] the office men tried to keep fobbing me off that he was never in the office, so I let it go a week and one Friday I was home with the company car, i thought right and I drove to Oxford to the depot ,and there he was on Saturday morning in the yard ,well it was in a forest, no joke , in a forest called Tubbney wood ,off the Swindon road out of Oxford, it had some hard standing for a few trailers and a wooden cabin type office ,after handshakes I said if I do not get a truck of my own soon I am leaving I had been doing the relive for about a year, with the occasional run abroad and I had had enough…
Once home the phone rang Saturday after noon, and I was told they would be getting another hire truck a new Scania and it would be mine in 2 weeks, however it would be mostly on European work and I would have to do the same as the others and go anywhere I was told, if I could not do it they would have to let me go a catch 22… situation, it could be 2 /3weeks away at a time, I knew some of the other men were very rarely home for long as the export and import ruled… it was a no brainier I told my wife what the score was , I could do it or leave and go to nothing ,obliviously I wanted to do it however was not my own decision so we decided to do it and take a chance.
So the 2 weeks went into 3 and I was getting slightly cautious as to they were telling me the truth but when I did bump into other drivers they said yes the fitter at Bedford had been told another truck was coming and it was the first Scania not a D.AF so I carried on as normal unloading other people’s loads day and night[ not at the same time] one load comes to my mind that nearly come to my down fall and getting to big for my boots ,it is funny how life puts you down to ground very easy…
This load I had to collect ,[I had the company car] from the Bedford fitters premises,[i did not like john’s, the fitters wife she was always saying Robin this, and that, she was dangerous she could get you finished on her say, so ,[example if the truck was not oil up and cleaned up] cab dirty,]anyway=
I had to deliver this load of frozen goods at 12 midnight at Bejams Frimly I knew it very well as a lot of our loads ended up there so I knew some of the unloaders and the canteen ladies and felt at home while there, however it was different at night ,different people but they new the company well [as regulars] so we had no problem getting in past the security to get parked up as times it was very difficult to get on the premises ,if you were early, or more so late but Rokold seemed to breeze it…
“”2
This trailer I collected was a knew one to the fleet it had a new system for the brakes called “progressive breaking” meaning when you put your foot on the brake pedal and it sent air down the air line to the brakes on the 3 axles the brakes did not all come on at the same time ,there was progressive breaking one would come on then another then the last one, so as there was no skidding, gently braking however it used the air in the system up quicker, so the engine needed to be at a high reeving speed to keep the air cylinders up to maximum pressure… when you were slowly manoeuvring and using your brakes the air would be going out ,but the brakes would not be jammed on, but one axle would stop you in a road situation .
I was told to go on to a loading bay, it was very tight as there was a truck both sides of where I was to go so lots of manoeuvrings and shunting and when you hit the loading bay dock a green light would come on and that was you ,[you had opened the back doors before you stated to back up to the bay] so it was tight getting in as their own company trucks were parked everywhere just where you wanted to be another driver got out of his cab and help you back up to the bay and that is what a driver did for me.
Time and time again I wished the driver had left me to do it myself, as we were chatting and reversing at the same time using the brakes, backwards then forwards, and when I eventually got on to the unloading bay the green light come on , so still chatting the truck made no move to move forward ,I was on the bay I jumped out with the deliver tickets and walked up the 10 steps at the corner of the loading bay into the freezing warehouse, as you walk up the steps you are as high as the roofs of all the trailers parked on the loading bays so it looks like a flat field of roofs ,and all the fridges are off.
All the drivers all strangers, to me, are drinking coffee and eating sandwiches, mostly home made, the meal for the night workers does not start until 3am in the subsided canteen , I hope I am away before the crew eat as it makes it all get later and they get slower the longer they work.
The odd driver gets told he is finished, and new ones arrive, and at last they call me to say all is good and the unloading is finished just wait for the empty pallets to be reloaded, so off I go down the steps, talk to driver next door to me, jump in the cab, put the key in the ignition ,start the engine and let it tick over , i jump out the cab again, say something to the driver again [being cocky I expect as I was unloaded before him] I then make for the steps again in to the warehouse to see if the pallets are loaded ,and collect the paper work, and I was told 2/3 minutes and they will be ready so I waited like all the others do.
At that moment I was a happy bunny, soon be away and home I was handed all the correct paperwork all signed correct
and opened the door to go down the steps and looked over the trailer roofs again and there was a empty loading bay where I was parked, i thought well what a good chap [the driver next to me] he had pulled my truck off the unloading bay so as someone else can get in to the space I had… well that was what I thought my unit as I got past the truck alongside the walkway I could hear a commotion ,i did not what it was but as I got further round I could see the Rokold unit parked on a strange angle, I thought oh no !!!he has hit another truck ,and as I run round the front of the Rokold cab it is empty, no one is in it, and I run back around the way I had just come and Jesus, the left hand side of my trailer door was stuck in to the cab of the truck next to me, ■■■■ me what has happened… ohh- no ,i run back to my drivers side jump in the cab, and there is the evidence looking at me, the ■■■■■■■ hand brake was not on!!!ohh no that is me ■■■■■■. In the mean time out comes the driver who s cab I have just ■■■■■■, going ■■■■■■■ bananas.
What has happened is -that when I reached the loading dock doors just by luck or unlucky the air has all gone out of the air reservoirs connected to the trailer brakes and they are firmly on completely empty so it means that all the brakes on the 3 axles are on, I FORGOT TO PUT THE HAND BRAKE ON[silly me].
He said he had only just had it repaired “look mate I said” it has happened it is a accident I did it, sorry I turned to sharp , I will back up the truck and you hold the door open then I will park up over there and come back and sort it out . what the blessing was the chap parked next door had gone to see another driver so no one knows what actual happened . if the truck had not stopped where it did and not got caught up on his front, parked up were 3 trucks of bejams dead in line ,where it would have rolled to, now that would have been a major incident [ no health and safety yet]phew lucky or what…
After I had sorted all the paper work out truck numbers names extra I had to go and tell the night foreman what I had done so if they had a inquiry they would know. I eventually got away and made my way back to Bedford no damage to our truck and trailer , BUT MY GOD IT SORT OF PUT THE DAMPENERS ON ME.
I parked back up at Bedford in the fitters yard, I wrote out all that had happened on the back of a envelope [a big brown one] and stuck it in the window and asked John the fitter if he would tell Mr East what I had written down and I would ring after dinner…[so everyone would know now] no more could I do, but go home and expect the sack, at least I had given the office a heads up if the other driver rang first thing ,they would know what had happened.
About 2 pm I made the dreaded telephone call asked for the boss, told he was out but not to worry the insurance would sort it out, have the rest of the day off ring tomorrow. I could not believe it just like that all the thinking I was going to get the sack and that was that…OR WAS IT.
THIS I rang the next day, all seemed ok I asked if Robin wanted to speak to me and the traffic manager so no, all ok here this is what we want you to do I think it was Wednesday[ not sure]anyway I had to drive the car to Guildford and go to Steve Chities abattoir and there is a trailer that will be loaded with beef for Rung-is, market Paris,
Jesus Christ, after what I did, they have given me a load that I have never done before , only briefly in France ,i have no idea what to do, where to go, ■■■■ me out of the pan into the fire, I thought it is a joke they know I have not had a load of beef before, let alone deliver it, it is either a test to see what I do, if I take it or not, that is what it has got to be, so I thought right, ■■■■ it get on with it, learn as you go, and that is what I done…
Once at the abattoir the other driver a relief driver said thank god you have arrived, he thought he was going to have to go with the load ,and he had less experience than me, I thought well that is two of us but never said a word The load had all been sealed up and he gave me the custom papers, and off he went, I put my gear in the cab checked all around ,checked both diesel tanks and the fridge was set at +1 the correct temperature ,all seemed good I did not know who,s truck it was as the cab was empty, of any personal goods I made sure the company book was in it with all the relevant company credit cards for fuel and I had the company cash float that they gave you so all was goo i made my way to Dover I knew what agent to go to once there. NO GOING BACK NOW.
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I knew where to park in the customs bay on the docks, and I went to the agents ,they sort of knew me and handed me a envelope with customs forms for me to produce ,also another one marked with my name and it said open in rung -is, market Paris with loading instructions after you are empty.
When I had found space for parking [customs] lots of other fridges there, roaring away, very noisy i queued up to present my paper work like the other drivers up the stairs, feeling a bit lost and apprehensive, but you would not know it, when a shout behind me called out Rokold! ,i looked behind as you do ,another driver a few behind me said ,we are going to the same place ,i will see you on the ferry ,right I said, and at that moment my inner nerve went away.
It turned out he had also loaded at the same place but had stopped on the way down to Dover ,but I did not know anyway after driving on the ferry ,fridge plugged in, I went up to the drivers eating area and waited for my new mate.
It turned out he knew that I was a first solo tripper as he was a subcontractor to Rokold as they had told him, so I was glad I did not refuse to take this load, and he proceeded to give me as much information you could take in a short time, however he did say that if we got split up he would wait for me, once through the last road toll pay station near Paris, I said how will I know if it is the last one ,he said it will be chocker block with cars and lorries, and the service station is just as you start to see the toll booth and it was as he said mad ,but that was just the start.
Once I had got through the toll, there were trucks parked every where,i found him and walked up ,he had got his kettle on so tea was the first thing then he proceeded to tell me, what to expect, and he told me where to get off the ring road and what to do once I approached the market…
The Paris city has 2 ring roads they are called [peripherque] [F] one outer for all the transit traffic and a inner for local. the outer has 4 lanes like a race track and that is what it is. As our trucks are right hand drive ,it was the only time it was to our advantage as the 4 lanes has no hard shoulder, masses of twists turns tunnels ,some dark some bright and all exits on the same road as the entrance and being on the right we always had a better view as to what was going on than the normal left hand drive
. LATER After years of using that road and all Frances I used to enjoy going round the peripherque. All the exits are named as [a-port-de -lyon or similar ] It used to get really fast and dangerous as the French would never ever give way they would just keep going, what they did not know was we could see them in our driving mirrors, as being right hand drive , not left sometimes they would have to go back the up exit as the lane for them to join the main road was the same stretch for anyone to get off ,because we/I would not let them in as they could see they would go under the wheels they would just be hanging on their hooters and if you were left hand driver you would slow up and give way because you would not be able to see them
. That was the rule in the city [give way] to cars trying to get on to the main road from a minor road. it was only our ever victory over the French driver, it was even funnier if two of us trucks were very close together. Sad but true all the bumps would be in the fast lane not ours All though it was a free way, we always stick in the slow lane
Yes I was given the insight of what to do and very pleased I was of having been given information, by the other driver also he said do not worry if you catch sight of a aeroplane going overhead, as the Auto route [motorway] goes under the runway of the Charles de Gaul Paris Airport, and many times I have seen planes going over the road in fact after time you took no notice but for then it was a sight…
Also he told me the Motorway signs are very different from ours in ENGLAND because they will show you mileage[in kilometres] and place names miles away from where you are however they are excellent to follow if you are going long distance example=signs showing all routes ,from where you have come from, as if to give you the chance to turn around and go any direction.
the signs show places a long distances away from Paris however they were the main and only routes.
Bordeaux direction to [Spain]
Marseilles v [ Italy ]
Nice v [ Italy]
Perpignan v [spain]
Calais. v6 [ GB]
LYON [F] another important sign .swiss.
What I am trying to say is that so as long you know your final destination you will never go wrong they all give you a 360.chance of turning around ,and when you enter France from other boarders Paris is always signed from where every good French thinking …signposts…
I hope you have grasped as what I have tried to explain …., back to going in to the Rungis market
now the nightmare does begin.
As Rungis is the biggest wholesale market of all the products imported you can imagine into France
it is like its own city, with restaurants/bars buses, and it is serviced by the major roads sign posts to all places in Europe ,it puts you in the right direction from there, as they know most of the trucks will go out to deliver all over France ,however I did not know any of this, I managed to follow the other driver in to the market, and we had to go and pay a entrance fee, it was all very new. once done at the barrier ,we went down to the customs parking bays well !it was like the biggest area you could imagine all numbered with a letter then a numeral. I later over time, found that there were maps of the market in the bars but the locals did not need them ,so hardly anyone knew…
I was taken up to the agents office about 5 floors up and presented the paperwork and we were both told we could be to late for to days market, meaning the customs had stopped clearing trucks for today [.clearing ]means processing the paper work and making sure all monies have been paid b
1983/4. First job at rokold fridge work. Other company name VHB EUROPEAN ROBIN EAST.
It was a Sunday afternoon about 2 o clock the phone rang, it was MR Webb [Alan] he said you have got the job sorry for the delay Would you be in for 6 0clock Monday evening also bring your sleeping bag, we like all the drivers to have their passports with them at all times so that as well I had a passport why do I need a passport ??so that gets the old brain working. [no computers then or else i could have googled Rokold.] I would have to wait until Monday night.
It was a 22mile drive, using back roads to Northampton from my village slower drive than the main road but shorter distance less petrol.
Time to leave home, I had sandwiches and flask, not that much cash I took a sleeping bag pillow wash bag. Just in case [famous last words].
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I arrived at the depot and the nice new lorry is not there, but a older D A F make of truck a 2800 model a smaller cab ,”not a big sleeper cab” it had 2 bunks also had was a 3 axles unit[truck front end .
I walked around the back of the trailer and Alan,[the boss] is in the back of the trailer helping push up pallets to the front with a pallet truck of the trailer with another man ,as the forklift went back in to the warehouse I was at the back of the trailer i shouted up “Hello”, they were both chattering away and the noise of the pallet truck being pushed up on the metal floor, it sounds like a rumbling train, the other chap looks round ,[as if to say what the do you want] he nudges Alan and points to me , not saying anything,.
Alan turns and comes to greet me, with his hand out stretched to shake my hand [again] I only seen him 3 days before ,I was not used to handshaking, he said his greeting ,then asked me to jump on up into the trailer , not the easiest thing to do , but with some scrabbling I manage it, usually they use the fork lift, but I was ■■■■■■■■ trained not to JUMP ON FORK LIFTS, [THAT WAS SOON TO GO]
He then introduced me to TOM who was the driver of the lorry Alan said he would be showing me the ropes, however I could tell that TOM did not want to know ,however he shook my hand rather limp, like a wet fish so I gave his hand a good squeeze like as if to say ■■■■ you too, another pallet arrived to the back of the trailer we then all 3 of us pushed it in to position , the trailer was getting full what looked like all kinds of vegetables, and boxes Tom and Alan carried on with their chatter ,but not with me involved they were talking double Dutch as far as I understood , using foreign sounding words in sentences .[they were place names]i found out later . after a while the trailer was loaded, we all jumped down off the back of the trailer then the last two pallets were pushed on with not a lot of room to spare for the trailer doors to be closed Tom shut the doors then went to the front of the trailer and started the engine for the fridge that kept all the produce inside the trailer at the required temperature [another new procedure for me to learn.
I went in the office with Alan he took my p45 then told me about the duties, and hours and pay ,and that it was as temporary position that could lead up to permanent, however they as a company use mostly owner drivers[with their own tractor units] to do the majority of work ,and used the companies trailers , the company only have 3 lorries of their own, and they are utilised by casual drivers mostly [part time firemen]on their leave to cover a lot of their work .
He told me i would work sometimes 5 days ,6 days, or 2 days whatever the requirement , it was paid as a monthly salary ,it would be the same pay so do not worry if you have days not at work .[as I found out later you make up for it] they gave you £50 for expensive s for anything you had to pay for while on company work, also if you had a night out away from home that would be paid in to your wages tax free.
If the company get really busy, they would hire another tractor unit, as they have a new job delivering to a super market, and will need me as a extra driver.
Also they take on European work when required that could be without notice, however I would be shown the procedures by going out with another driver first, it would be with a owner driver it looked promising for me if the truth was known then [I should have went out and gone home and forget about the job,] but I did not and ended up driving about 21 years on the continental untill 2002/3[however I did not know it then]
It was like a new challenge and 100% different from the road haulage that I was used to i would give it a go.
Tom was slightly, you could say, grumpy, but I do understand now [then I did not] that it was a pain in the arse having a driver with you let alone a new one like me, at least we both smoked so that was all right.
We eventually left NORTHAMPTON apparently we were already running late for a timed booking to unload at Hemel Hemp-stead at a food store distribution centre ,it was over a one hour drive, and the company we were delivering to were strict on time for booking times at 9o clock at night , Tom told me.
This is going to be a different work environment I am embarking on
Tom was driving he pushed the truck to its limits not at the required 58 mph then on the Motorways .
I must say this is the first time I have ever been working at night time in all my previous driving years I had no idea that there was such a amount of trucks working on nights ,it was unheard of unless you were employed as a night driver and not many were ,times are changing it is 1982.
We arrived at the delivery I was all eyes watching the procedures that tom went through and there were many as the pallets were loaded right to the back doors, you would not be able to back the articulated lorry down[on a slope] to get backed on to a unloading bay ,as when you hit the stops [ you knew when you were backed on the loading bay a green light came on ,from red ]on the warehouse wall /unloading dock, the red light came on telling you to stop.] you could see in your review mirror .
As the pallets were loaded at the back of the trailer you had a problem ,a ramp inside would not come down, that allowed the people inside to move in and out of the trailer to take pallets off, you had to drive the lorry off the unloading bay, with the doors open and pinned back to back to where you started from, then go into the warehouse and ask if they would use the outside fork lift truck to take the back two pallets off,
then you would be able to do the original move again, if!![1]if you could find the fork lift driver . [2] he was not obliged to do it. [3] he would for a small price£5 He would take them off and deposit them inside the warehouse via the door you should have been backed on i found out all this in a matter of 10 minutes.
First lesson learnt do not leave the base if the pallets are rammed up to the back trailer doors, and make sure there is a restraining strap around them [why did we leave like it then] Ahh! Tom had got the hump and he forgot, While all this is going on, other lorry’s coming in the area where we are trying to get unloaded outside ,to then go back on to the bay we just come off however this chap wanted to go where we wanted to go, as he must have thought we had just come off the unloading dock finished unloading[wrong], I kept back and let Tom deal with it I found out he had a very usefully tongue on him and would not back off, eventually the pallets were unloaded, we pull off the bay ,close the rear doors then we are able to get on with the journey and drive down into London ,as I was look at the delivery tickets [notes] we had i asked Tom ,what are Samples?? to Baker street.that is by Kings Cross Rail Station in Baker Street, LONDON
It is Sainsbury head office, It is samples of all the fruit and veg that the a company wants to sell to Sainsbury, it is produce for their quality control of products sold in stores of Sainsbury it is either accept or rejected, it is for the next nights delivery’s to Sainsbury depots apparently this is the way they have been doing it for years.
The only problem is that we were on the wrong side of the main A 40 road from Oxford to London, streaming with cars, we had to carry on find a place to turn around ,so were able to drive down to outside the office doors and the best of all you just leave it in the door foyer ,with a lot of other goods, you do not get it signed for you, we now have to go around again as our next deliver is Spitalfields market in the city ,I did know where it was as you passed it every day as it was on a main transit route towards tower bridge, I had no idea it was a indoor fruit market.
At this point if I start to tell you the roads we used to get into places within the city of London I would need a A to Z map.
Once inside the Spitafields market, it was built for horse and carts a absolute night mare, a mass of wire cages that people had all there produce in ,there were only a few fork lift drivers around and Tom taught me the art of Spitalfields Market .
He told me never drive inside ,stay outside, and walk in, have a look to see if you will be able to get to the stall you want to get to, once in there you will not get to be able to drive out until all the lorry in front of you are unloaded it is a rabbit warren of small lanes and a working area for hand carts …I was for ever gratefully for Toms knowledge that night believe me.
.Once you drove in and parked at the stall you walked around and found the forklift man then you told him who you were delivering to how many pallets and give him £5 for him to unload your pallets apparently they were all independent men on the fork lifts who owned them, I have no idea I suspect the forklifts are for all people to use free, it was soon sorted that was £10 in less than 2 hours spent on using forklifts[all money used in market or any other work to get unloaded or loaded was repaid by the company.
When finished inside there we then went to the worlds most smallest market in LONDON called THE BOROUGH just over London bridge
.
Another EDWARDIAN MASTERPIECE inside the entrance there is a[ open all hours pub], inside the market , what a place to get inside the market, we use the same wholesaler at every market also they had their own fork lift driver they are called “Porters” after they have seen your delivery notes, [another load of the laziest ■■■■■■■■ you ever met ] you never had to pay them…well not on a week day, however as I learnt later on ,when you went to deliver on a Sunday night there was not the slightest sign of man or beast to be seen one fork lift was left out for all the drivers to unload themselves, as they were all in the pub in the market the pup is still there this day, you drove out a different way than you drove in.
It was about 2am by now we set off for the next Market New COVENT GARDEN at a place called “nine elms “just passed Vauxhall bridge, tom let me drive I found out later on that he had been up and working since 9am Monday it was now TUESDAY 3.30am
I was shown short cuts around London city streets and how to arrive at the Markets you have to pay a entrance fee to get in Covent garden ,£3 [all lorry s] T he company had regular customers there.
This is now another world very noisy ,every other word[■■■■] most of the men are dressed in the same type clothes, flat caps, brown boots it looked as if it was a uniform at least the men at the stall are pleased to see us ,well ,Tom.
they did not speak to me when they put the pallet truck upon the trailer and we start pulling loaded pallets of all kinds of fruit to the back of the trailer they are taken away in to their store, after a time we are putting full loaded pallets back on. [strange] I push them up to the front of the trailer, after a cup of tea and a sandwich from the market café we made our way out.
By this time we have left the market and back over the north side of the Thames I am driving and Tom tells me to head for HESTON by Heathrow airport and wake him up as we pass the service station, he is soon well asleep and I am driving past Harrods on the A40 I had never been this way before. Lots of people still around at 4 30 am what are they doing, god knows certainly not working
I wake tom up he has been asleep on the bottom of the bunk he jumps up as if he has been mugged, wow!! tom it is me I shout its Vic, we are at the Heston services on the M4 sorry he said
he was dreaming ,he told me to drive to the next exit and come off the Motorway and go to the market well signposted.
At the gate the guard ask where is my delivery how many pallets, Tom shouts 4 only, to some name, and I drive around the market to about the last [pitch] market stall and park up, we both jumped out of the cab , tom told to me open the trailer doors and a fork lift will be right here with a pallet truck tom went inside the market.
I started to pull all the remaining pallets to the rear of the trailer the forklift truck took them away we went to another stall with 1 pallet and then we were empty, it was by now 6am and the market traders were streaming in their vans, Tom came back closed the back doors he said to me quick as you can drive out of the market and head for home.
Once out of the mad house Tom told me it was a regular thing for whoever unloaded at Fen and Hexton the stall we were delivering to in Covent garden you will load up any pallets they have to be delivered to the Heston market for them and do not say anything as it was a arrangement between Alan at the office and them .
We arrived back to Northampton me driving Tom was fast asleep I parked up woke Tom up and went home as no one else was around. I found out later was Tom slept in his lorry as he had another delivery job to do at lunch time I had first learned about the procedure of Double Manning a lorry,
“Explanation”
This is about the driving hours and duty hours of one driver =
A driver can be on duty for 15 hours in one 24 period.
Within that period, he can drive literally drive for 10 hours.
But must take at least 2x30 minutes rest period within that 10rs.driving.
And the rest of 5 hours is for unloading whatever
This is a basic explanation.
After the 15 hours duty a driver must take a 9 our rest period.
All these hours have different combinations of how you do them, and how much they were fiddled.
Before any driver moves anywhere in the lorry by law he must complete, his vehicle checks, oil water tyres, excreta then you must fill in the Tachograph you start writing in the top spaces of the Tachograph provided you have to use a pen placing your name ,where you are [town]etc and the currant reading of the speedometer mileage However if you are double manning you must both put a completed Tachograph card in the Tachograph head that has 2 compartments you must put the same mileage and place of start. [[this will be exploited later]]
A tachograph is a piece of carbon type of paper card easier marked both side so you have to be gently with it, it has a complex series of broken lines printed on and marked as the 24 hour clock.]It records just like a graph [used in lie detector tests] or a doctors heart monitor print out ,it records every movement the lorry makes ,the slightest forward or backward movement on the tachograph disc , once it is inserted [the disc] the only way you can cover any illegal movement is just remove
the disc, throw it away, and start again and take a chance of not getting caught.
Tachograph insertion=
On the tachograph inside the dashboard ,you turn a small key and it opens up [like a ladies powder compact] and it is hinged and it pulls back about6 inches away from the dashboard ,and it splits in to two compartments, when looking in the back all you see is very fine needle pints sticking out but they are retracted so then you get your paper round disc tachograph that has a circle cut out in the middle that you push gently over a protruding knob .that is if you are driving on your own
If you are what is called double manning, two drivers in the same cab on the same run you put another tachograph in the other compartment now they are separate but in the same place as the protruding knob goes through both [well sort of] so what it means all the lorry movement however minuet will be recorded on both the discs at the same time. Anything connected to the electrical power source to the tachograph will be recorded. Like fuses being pulled I will elaborate on the fiddling later…
The regulations were always interpreted in different ways at different company s.
Drivers ARE their OWN worst enemy when breaking the law. It was worse than a minefield.
If it suited you as a driver you did it right or wrong we used to exploit our self sometimes for the company glory, bragging rights various reasons .to be talked about status and best of all of all you never stop moaning about it and never tell the truth lying you were skilled at because a transport office wherever you worked would never every tell you the full story or the truth I took me years to learn, not quite all but a lot, you learned something new every day However more later I have jumped the gun, as I have only just done my first run.
This was in 1980s it all has changed dramatical I arrived home and i really enjoyed it, it did not seem like work the hours and pay did not then seem to matter I realised we had been double manning.
After getting home from my trip with Tom I did not get a phone call until Wednesday would i be in for 1 pm .
I put the same gear in my car and got there for 1pm and the brand-new truck was in the outside loading bay with it refrigerated unit roaring away.
I later found out it takes a while for the fridge unit to cool the goods and trailer down to the required temperature that the goods inside should be transported at and to be excepted at the delivery point, where they would have a quality control person checking all the goods coming off at their premise ,that is why the refrigerated unit on the trailer is running hours before you leave, as to get the produce down to the accepted temperature.
[very important] then though it did not mean so much as I was not really aware of the importance however I would soon learn.
As I walked towards the office to see Alan, a man I had seen briefly when I was at the interview was there, he said to me, can I help you, i replied, I would like to Alan ,why he asked ,I explained to him who I was, he said to me please just hold on a minute ,he went into the office and closed the door.
After a while Alan came out and said to me Vic,! I am really sorry ,but I should have employed another man, not you and the boss, who you have just seen Mr Robin East is fuming at me because he wanted a younger man than you.
Alan asked me to go and have a coffee elsewhere give him half a hour and then come back. i was mad but did not show it and off I went.
I went back to the office and it had all been sorted out, Alan told me your job is safe ,a hand shake ,in comes MR East another handshake ,and welcomed me into the company.
I thought , do not ■■■■ it up ,do as your told and learn ,and that is what I did, they gave me the keys to the new truck outside and off I go, with the biggest grin in Northampton ,if only my old mates could see me now, yes I know it is only a lorry however one of the best then in England…one delivery only on the other side of Birmingham ,do not forget the empty pallets the last words said to me ,then come back here ,fill up and then go home.
I arrived at the supermarket depot delivery warehouse after a bit of a run around but arrived there in the end it is difficult to get it right first time or even second, [ finding delivery places] lots of other lorry s waiting all with their fridges roaring away I checked the temperature gauge is hovering on + 4 that was right ,well that is what I was told ,I thought nothing of it.
Walking up to the outside security office with my loads delivery notes still grinning, hand them in. then I came down to earth with a ■■■■■■■ great bang Your late !!, you have missed your delivery slot .
No one told me it should have been 3 pm.
No wonder it was a ■■■■ up at the depot all I could do was wait for a [slot] = [ term used for getting a unloading bay to back on to if there is time or if someone else is late]
The security man said they would see when they could get me in it maybe 9 o clock tonight I waited, and i learned that to have something to eat and drink
and to read was the way to go…
Eventually I get unloaded, the empty pallets are put back on the front of the trailer. [[Two mistakes I made however I did not know it at the time,]]i drove home to the depot filled up with diesel at the public garage, with the company s card, hid the card and put the keys where I was told to ,I had parked up, no one was around , I arrived home around 2am.
On the way home I am starting to think about the hours I have done for basic pay and trying to think is this the right thing to be doing, and I am trying to talk myself out of doing what I am doing, something I am fairly good at most times I have got this thing in my head that the work and job, also the time off is it worth it, the new lorry s , plus clean job, just pushing a few pallets around clean clothes. I have made my mind up , there are no more jobs around in transport I am lucky to be working get on with and just do it.
There is a phone call at home around11 am ,asking me to come in please ,i collected my gear together and drove to work arriving around 1pm Alan asked me to come in to the office,
I went in and I could tell something is not right
,
Vic, what about the pallets, !![Alan]
What about them they were on the front of the trailer,
Yes [Alan]
well,
you are ten pallets short also they are not the correct pallets. [Alan],
Alan what are you talking about when I left the lorry this morning at 2am there were 15 pallets in that truck /
Are you 100%sure [Alan
yes of course I am i might be new here ,but I have not had the pallets, where would I get rid of pallets ,look at my Tachograph I came straight back here from the delivery, from the other side of BIRMINGHAM
After he had checked the graph over, he apologised he told me to go home we have no work tonight for you so it is all o k ,they found out much later that a man from the warehouse team was coming in early a taking the pallets to sell, at that time there was big money in pallets.
PALLETS=
A pallet must have 9square blocks of wood about6 inches all round. 1 at each corners and the others in the middle. and the slats of good wood about a 1inch gap on the top so they are solid and the underneath have just wider gaps and less slate so the pallet can take a 1 metric ton in weight good for a 1 for 1 exchange when at whare -houses.
The other system is the same pallets that are painted blue and are made by a company called GKN and are governed by a 1 for 1 system also a tickets system ie=if you leave 20 or later 21 pallets at a warehouse and they cannot give you the same in return ,you then get a stamped ticket saying that you are owed them pallet and they were transferable at any depot in the country. or you can go to a pallets collection yard and collect that number of pallets from them, only G K N yards ,however there was a black market trading in blue pallets as well as ordinary ones ,country wide ,CASH.
Also there were the fruit pallets that the fruit was imported from Spain, excreta they were flimsy good for nothing however if you did not keep at eye on what people were giving you in exchange you would end with some, and when you went to re exchange them you were basically ■■■■■■ and you own fault. But over time as it went on for me you got very good at dealing with pallets .
There was a lot of money in 20 pallets, then1983/4£ 60+ black market.
Well! that is sorted and the blue pallets system is massive every product that needs pallets are on G KN blue pallets not just Europe the world.
Work seemed to pick up as it was nearly every night I would be doing market runs or a late supermarket delivery to their main distribution depots also I got to meet and see the other driver s and the owner drivers who worked for the company all the owner drivers were all clean and smart, the same as their tractor units .
I had no idea that men were doing regular runs [trips ] to Spain and bringing all kinds of fresh and frozen goods back to the UK they would talk about the ferry ports they used ,driving through FRANCE down to the Spanish boarder .
They were mentioning all kinds of names of Spanish and French places they went to , to unload or reload ,talking about customs procedures ,delays border hold ups, police stops, getting fined in FRANCE, all kinds of what to me at the time was a new type of job.
A few of the other drivers were very young just 21 years old, no driving experience at all ,even I could tell that they had not done any haulage company driving at all, just the way they were however they were there the same as me it was nothing to do with me. they were very friendly with Alan as if mates i did think well, that could be my downfall but I would have to wait and see.
Two of the drivers were full time firemen and drove for the company on their 4 days off, my next thought was? not a lot of future in this job for me as they do not need the job they get a nights work and not me ,no wonder the pay was not extra for nights. But as men they were adaptable and would help when needed what I did not realise was that if I stayed at home for 4 nights I was still getting paid ,not being used to a monthly salary it took me a time to not bother if there was no work for me.
The company seemed to me to have quite a lot of new trailers but not with the name painted on so after a time I got to know that they were all hired from a big trailer rent company on a monthly basis all this new to me, some of the tractor units were the same even the nice blue painted D A F
so what it meant in company terms they did not own anything all hired this was a completely new idea of working so they could just fold up and move on. also a lot of the owner drivers were doing the same hiring trailers ,and tractor units.
THE REFRIGERATED TRAILER.= THIS IS LATER ON WHEN I WAS ON FRIDGES PERMANENT==LIKE A SHORT HISTORY OF WHAT FRIDGES WERE USED FOR AND HOW WE LOADED THEM WHEN I WAS A DRIVING.
The trailers built before 1983/4 had just a fridge unit control box on the front side of the fridge and all the workings and blowers on the inside of the trailer ,so if you looked in side the trailer from the back doors at the front you would have seen a metal blower fan unit sticking out, just about the size of a modern set of two Chester draws hanging down from the front sticking about 2 foot out ,meaning that you were not able to push pallets right to the front headboard flat they would have to be half size, sif you had boxes you would have to take half of them off in the trailer ,push the other to the front under the fridge blowers ,then try to re stack the rest around the blowers , the ones you were left with you would re-distribute on the pallets as they were in the trailer …meaning no matter how tired you were you had to be with the loading all the while…
The next awkward thing was the meat hooks meat hooks yes, each fridge had meat hooks .i had completely no idea how or when they were used and by what or why, I knew that there were about 330 meat hooks hanging down along 5 rails in the roof of the trailer, what was holding them up I do not know [I still wonder today what was unseen in the fridge roofs] , the meat rails were like [example]- if you look at a zip any zip, undo it and look at the sliding thing ,one is attached to the zip and the other not look down at the side not attached ,and you see the hole that you attach the other piece of the zip to, turn it towards you and you see [like a rail]. The thin gap, that is what the meat rails were like and you threaded the meat hooks along the thin gap from the door end ,to where you wanted them all at the front out of use and the way. Along these rails the whole length of the roof ,at intervals attached ,were small steel clips that you could put down inside the rail to stop the hooks from sliding back or forward ,these were very important Especially when we were loading all the different meats.
FRIDGE SIZE AND WEIGHTS.
The first fridges were on 2 axles,[8wheels] on the rear a Fridge box trailer.
[ The cooling system] inside on the front of the trailer.
A steel ribbed floor , thick heavy doors and side walls, Overall weight with tractor 17.000k gs[17 tons].
Around 19834/5 new fridge trailers arrived ,with 3 rear axles ,singular tyres new type refrigerated unit outside , fitted on the front of the trailer a lightweight chassis, flat [not ribbed] chequered steel floors with visible screw heads, also a thin steel holed strip attached to the side wall to put restraining bars in [ to hold loads back from falling] they were about 4 foot high off the floo.
Later they built under slung boxes underneath the trailers to hold 24 empty pallets and the meat hooks in plastic boxes. and various other features as years went on and of course the lighter the trailers weighed the better. in the end there was no chassis as of now very lightweight, that was the ultimate aim years ago lighter net weight higher pay load.
I AM GOING A BIT FORWARD IN MY STORY,HOWEVER IF I DESCRIBE THE USE OF THE FRIDGES,AND PRODUCTS WE /I CARRIED AND TRAILER DEVELOPMENT YOU WILL HAVE SOME IDEA ?
I will just start with the loading of all meat , carcasses were loaded not by the driver at all it was done at the abattoirs by loaders [porters] ,it was a very hard job ,you would not have wanted to have loaded meat then have to do your driving work ,it was all ways very clinical ,we had to wash the trailers out with high powered jet washes, either before arriving at the abattoir , or when there using their power wash that all abattoir had also the temperature of the trailer had to be cooled down inside the trailer if possible before loading as you backed on to a loading bay that is cooler inside the abattoir than outside temperature where all the meat is cooled down in the large holding fridges ready for loading , the trailers were meticulously inspected by [ 1] the VET, [2]A MINISTRY OF HEALTH INSPECTOR NOW [ M. A F. F] before any loading took place at all.
DIFFERENT MEATS EXPORTED I CARRIED
BEEF= steers breed especial for eating fore quarters [front legs /shoulder …
Hind quarters [rear leg]1animal could weight 1 ton [1000gks]
COW BEEF,= OLD MILKING COWS. AS ABOVE SLIGHTLY LIGHTER.
SHEEP,LAMBS= to FRANCE SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM .HOLLAND GERMANY. ITALY. GREECE.
EWES. MUMS. = MUTTON. LARGE size 3 to 4 years old for ITALY SPAIN. A very fatty product.
PIGS, =FAT OLD SOWS,LARGE. For ITALY, SPAIN. GERMANY. FRANCE.
PIGS=SMALLER =BACON,HAM. For SPAIN. ITALY ,AUSTRIA .FRANCE
BOAR MEAT,= HAD TO BE TRANSPORT SEPARATIVE FROM ANY OTHER MEAT, AS VERY ODOROUS .Mostly loaded that in Germany for ITALY
BULL MEAT=ALSO CARRIED ON THERE OWN. MOSTLY to Italy
SOME TIMES BOXES OF ALL GAME BIRDS, VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF WOOD -PIGEON ALSO VENISON NOT HUNG UP BUT STACKED UP BECAUSE IT WAS FROZEN
WHEN LOADED FOR ITALY, FROM ANY COUNTRY YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE MIDDLE HANGING RAIL EMPTY,SO AS THE VETS COULD WALK ALL THE WAY DOWN THROUGH THE LOAD TO CHECK WHAT YOU HAD ON THE LORRY CORRESPONDED WITH THE PAPER WORK,THEY WERE LITTLE ■■■■■■ IN OTHER WORDS ABSOLUTE ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ WOULD HOLD YOU UP TO 2 DAYS.
It was because the way the meat markets were going if more imports were in the country, the local prices would be higher . Without imports ,it would not be only me waiting there would be up to 20/30 lorry s, waiting to unload all over a ITALY .however if you were in Transit ,going outside ITALY, to GREECE for delivering you would soon be out of the customs /vet the Italians call their vets doctors, so the first time I went there I took me ages to find out what were they on about…
Basically we took fresh chilled hanging meat all over Europe most frozen meat that was what was called INTERVENTION [remember the butter ,wine mountains] yes ,there was a meat mountain but it all went abroad ,we never got the benefit of it, when ROMANIAN was free1989, trucks from the UK took loads of meat to GERMANY to cold stores close to the old east German boarder that was then transferred from the cold stores to the ROMANIANS they had very poor lorry to take it back to ROMANIA.
when you saw what a sorry state the men [drivers ]were in and their pathetic lorries they had absolutely nothing, not even cups to drink out of they used old tin cans or jam jars ,we drivers all give loads of tinned food and all old clothes even some dirty washing of ours to them. I will elaborate later…
That was later on I will go back to 1982/3
Work seemed to be very busy, I did get a lot of the evening or whole nights work, but I never minded as it got me learning more about markets and the way they worked, I have been in Covent garden unloading and I would see another Rokold company trailer ,unloading ,naturally I would go over to see who it was and it was rarely any one I knew it would be a owner driver on contract using his own tractor unit and pulling a Rokold trailer .
I get chatting -as you do ,well I did ,and the response would be the same from the other driver, ohh are you one of the Northampton temps !i used to say yes, yes !I am the new boy just started driving , just finding my feet and then move to the lorry I was driving away from him. And leave it at that, and go about my other deliverers.
One afternoon and I was asked to be in for 5 pm and bring your gear with you your washing gear, change of clothes, sleeping bag and passport , that was all I was told.
I parked my car ,Alan came over to me and told me ,when you get back tonight there will be a owner driver here , you are going with him on a trip to Holland.
You have a short run tonight! and will be back easy as far as time, I thought this is the start, and it was, the driver PETE he seemed fine he explained it all where we were going ,it sounded unbelievable [at the time it was for me], first we did the tachographs ,and I said what about the 5 hours I have done on this disk, he said ohh just put it away, no one will give a ■■■■ about a quick trip you have just done.
First time I had done anything illegal with the tachograph , I was learning…
His trailer was loaded with a few delivers at the markets once we were empty we started to make our way down to Dover for shipping out on the Townsend Thorsen Zeebrugge ferry.
It must have been around 4am when he pulled into a lay by and he said its time for a kip[sleep] the cab had two bunks, normal in most lorry s that did European trips .
It seem after 5 minutes and Pete was up ,and he had the small gas cylinder stove with a kettle boiling on small wooden shaped shelf that fitted on the dash board, I was completely amazed ,undeliverable ,and he said I only have coffee, that is fine I said bursting for the toilet.
Next, still amazed, he had a small type of mesh with a wooden handle and was toasting some bread if you can make tea ,coffee and toast ,what more do you want .
I later on found a device for toasting bread on the small gas stove, you can by them today 2014called a DEFUSER. Look it up.[goggle].
After having the snack/breakfast he educated me by telling me that is how you live once abroad you look after yourself you use all facilities provided by factory’s or border service stations wherever you can ,he said hygiene is not our standard in some countries but always remember ,that it is you that is the foreign visitor in another country and if you respect that you will get along fine
I did ask about the Tachograph card and he said we are starting fresh from where we are ,he took the two tachograph discs out of the tachograph head and tore them up he said if you do not get a police check through the night, then no one else is checking lorry s [or so everyone thought], who knows what you are doing where he booked off on his previous card I did not worry.
I was only a second driver he said he would just use his tachograph card and use mine later if needed when we get back in Dover that meant we now had 15 hours to do collection and get back to a port for the ferry back to Englan
DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR SHIPPING OUT ON A FERRY.
SHIPPING OUT =meaning going to Europe with a load of goods.
First piece of paper or booklet you needed was a TRAILER GARNET. That is the trailers own passport. it is a customs required document for all Country’s in Europe. It means that temporary excise duty has been paid. And the chassis number is used as well as whatever number the company uses for their own purpose and it cannot be changed, also on the trailers front are two photographs of the trailer in sealed plastic holders also legal requirement however [never needed in England by our U.K .trailers however all foreign lorry s within the U.K.] needed them ,but I must point out at that time in the 1980s early 1990s that EUROPEAN lorry s driving over in the U. K. was very limited as Self drive i.e. foreign drivers actually driving.
shipped over
Next stop the ticket office then passports to be shown .
Two drivers one lorry, you will have to pay for the extra bunk bed and food , Apparently when the ticket was booked, two drivers were not mentioned.[i could be a hitch hiker]
They rang the office to get conformation it was 2 drivers It was all-right in the end however I did produce my HGV but they still wanted conformation,
that practice was in still force all the years I crossed the channel from whatever port and country , a named passenger ,for a second drivers ticket… to stop people even then bringing any one to the UK ,because if there was any problems , with the police ,immigration abroad, and trying to get in here the fall back was the Ferry company they were held responsible…
So then round to the customs, having no goods to clear a “transit empty “form has to be filled in and stamped as Belgium is in Benelux there are different boarder controls needed ,not a lot. so it is easy to enter and transit. Then off down to queue up for boarding ,there were two types of ferries for Zeebrugge one freight only ,slower and limited cabins .and the other normal but smaller than now roll on ,roll off that was a faster crossing ,as drivers ,we also had a bunk and drivers only eating lounge.[privilege].L
Loading of the lorry s was a job done by shore staff on the dock and once inside by the ships crew
……=…
,[[just a diverse peace of information, what I did not know at the time when I was using… TOWNSEND THORRESON ,AND LATER P and O ferries to ZEEBRUGGE one of my old ship mates was working on the same ships as a bosun, quartermaster .and we never bumped into one another .we were definitely on the same ferry at the same time as when the HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE SANK IN THE ZEEBRUGGE HARBOUR on march the 9th 1987 WE HAD BOTH CAME OVER THE DAY BEFORE IN ANOTHER FERRY. And we did not meet up un till 2005 .He was a lucky man as crews used to rotate to the two different ships .i did not know of anyone personally who died.
So the ships crew parked you up then proceeded to put chains on the lorry from the deck to stop any movement. Then out we got, went up the stairs to the drivers compartments, and I can tell you I am, ecstatic I never ever thought I would set foot on a ship again ever. just being there brought a lot of memories back[good ones] but I did not let on to PETE he would not a given a rats arse anyway. It did not take long to suss him out , a Ladies man. when round the table eating he never stopped flowing from him .where he had been what he did. chatting to the stewardesses , we went to our cabins and had a sleep for 3 hours how bad was that, and getting paid for it ,well that was the way you had to look at it .I could not believe that for years some drivers had had jobs like I was now privy to ,not all that ■■■■ we used to do, and a lot of them were young men. Well good luck to them but I was envious of them that is all they new ,i expect it was the luck of the draw where you lived and the company you worked for.
After the sleep up for tea and sandwich all free. And then duty free ,what a bonus. But did say to me
be careful how many cigarettes you buy as you are only allowed 200 hundred that is the U K. limit
also you can buy them on the passage home, also all the men buying large quantities of cigarettes
are going home or on long trips ,not back to the UK like we will be so point taken and I waited for the return ferry. after a call over the ships T ANNOY “all drivers proceed to the lorry s”off we went.
Once down in the lorry deck there seemed a lot of lorry s to the amount of drivers who went up into the passenger area so I mentioned it to Pete ,ho arr , he said a lot of the men .do not leave their cabs they get in there own bunk and get to sleep quicker, also if there is a snorer in the same cabin you might just as well give up. Also you get longer in bed.
It did after time turn out to be a practice that all shipping company s on all routes rule out as a non practice to be used after the 1987 disaster at Zeebrugge ,in fact all drivers had to report with ticket to the stewards office .as the loss of drivers life s trapped in the cabs was very high .however `that was to come later.
So we start winding our way out of the ships bowl’s and into the ■■■■■■■ rain in a very orderly queue. For the first bend in the road , all lorry s from different countries I had never seen so many ,what I noticed straight away all the nice hellos heads nodding Pete telling me who was from where etc all smiles , as soon as we got off the ship it was one for all no quarter given horns blowing, Jesus they were like Jekyll and hide. When we eventually got parked up outside the customs and immigration office ,[all in one] it was like a football crowd coming out of a match. no order at all ,so I just stuck with Pete and no one was saying anything to each other ,it was strange however I was learning that was what I was there for.
Ye, I got my passport stamped. My first foreign stamp. They do not bother now ,well they did not years ago, for drivers.
First stop Pete said was diesel .it was the second cheapest in the Euro union , Luxembourg was the cheapest and it still is to this very day, how .■■■■ knows ,but it is.
He would not let me drive until I had got my eye in so to say, he told me.
After 10 minutes we were at the first garage, it was packed with nearly all the lorries off the ferry ,so we queued again ,I can see now why the big rush to get first was to get to the diesel stop first.
After years, I had got it all sussed out , driving down to Dover the more lorry s you overtook they would be behind you whatever queue in the dock you took I would more or less know if they were going for the Zeebrugge or Calais ,as the same companies usually kept to there regular trips to the same countries… you knew you would always be in front of them ,and be at the diesel tank stop n at ZEEBRUGGE before them, how? Because you would be in front of them in the queue at Dover and get on the ferry earlier than them, and we were mostly empty going in to Zeebrugge so quick customs at Dover, and better position on the ferry for getting off to the diesel and the horrible coffee. always luke -warm but drivers used to love it, afraid I never did.
It was the practice of all the different nationality’s while filling up was to have no sense of hurry at all ,they were like mad men to get to the diesel then once there they would put the fill up hose in the tank and ■■■■ off,[automatic fuel cut off]into the garage shop that had chairs, table, and free coffee and not a care in the world .i expect it was something I would have to get used to.
We were at lest 1 ½ hours there …mind you Pete was as bad as the others once at the diesel tank ,he was then speaking in pidgin English , lots of back slapping, and the now classic hand shaking ,it was like a epidemic, they were all shaking hands, if they knew one person, and you were near you all got a handshake .that was to me , well different, being English how many times in your life do you shake hands very little …it was a new form of greeting I would become very at ease with after time.
All I could hear was lots of WE!E, SAV!A,MESSU!E ] then unintelligible rubbish .it was if I had been transported to another world, however after time I found that the Belgians, and the French used a lot of the same words in their greetings language also handshakes .
Also the new smells of strange cigarettes , lots of different nick Knacks in the shop ,nothing English ,for a while yes ,i was like a kid in a sweet shop. You were able to buy all different kinds of goods for a lorry not seen in the U k mostly for owner drives. one thing did catch my eye was like the small well made wooden very neat table top ,that would fit around the inside of the windscreen like a small writing desk with little small draws ,for all the pens , on the passenger side of the cab i thought how good a idea. they were labelled up for all the European makes of lorry cabs.[[little did I know then that I would know more about them]…
There was a air of I will get going when I am ready! no sense of hurry at all ,as I could then see that Pete was blending in, I expect you do as they do !unless you were all on the same firm and running together or just widening his circle of [I met you before mates].?
When at last we made a attempt to get moving, the tank full of diesel all so the tank under the trailer that runs the fridge engine ,that uses RED diesel ,even more cheaper than England, as that diesel is tax exempt in England for Agriculture use only ,however it was used legally by hauliers using refrigerated trailers ,as no direct profit is made from it…[more on diesel later]
Once clear of Zeebrugge ,you never went through the actual town, I was on the learning look out, all the different signs ,road marking and of course wrong side of the road ,well for me, however it did not seemed normal ,well it was .Pete made a point for me to keep well sat back in my seat as not to block his view from the inside mirror .as that was his now important mirror for all his overtaking if he needed to.
The direction signs I were seeing were way far beyond the distance from where we going. I thought we were going into Holland I had no idea of where we were as Pete seemed to have no map and I did not have one however he knew the road and did not need a map we soon turned off the main highway [like our Motorways] and headed for Antwerp. I did notice that on top of the road signs there was a large green E number I found out later the E number on the signs are main transit through routes to all countries throughout Europe.
We passed a most famous truck stop [with EUROPEAN DRIVERS] called” Lokern “on the way out of Belgium towards the Dutch boarder The Boarder when we arrived was just like a pull in lay bye with a few brick huts [agents offices] and a coffee shop.
I followed Pete into a transit type large room with lots of open type rooms with uniformed female and male customs. immigration, Police all lounging around, all with a side arm not to busy, so Pete told me the procedures of entering Holland and what form to fill in and who to go to first then it followed on. Easy, He said nearly all boarders work on the same principle. Police Immigration, Customs.
If you were loaded, and delivering into Holland you had to use a AGENT to process your paper work Roklod company used the same AGENT at all Benelux country’s that means that there is a automatic payment account. As we were empty it was quick and straight forward piece of paper stamped up ready to hand to the gate man who lifted the barrier so you could region the main highway as we did, and me keeping well back in my seat as there were cars travelling fast along the road so Pete could see.
He told me that we had not far to go, I was rather disappointment I would have like to have gone for mile we did cross one massive bridge over like a lake/inland sea, the signposts coming up said to Arnhem the 2nd world war battle for the bridges it looked as if we were going near there so that kept me busy writing place names down. For future reference, there were hardly any trees, no hedges, all dykes, canals and lots of people riding bicycles not on the main road we were on but on the other country roads, Holland is known for bikes and tall people i can see why now it all looked rural and flat.
We soon arrived at our collection point all nicely flat sandy earth round the edges of the hard standing you could see the indentations in the base, where the lorry s have been backed on to loading bays overtime ,unstable ground.
The time was getting on and getting dark I was surprise that we would be loading at that time ,however we were on the continent and their work time patterns were different to hours , as years went by factory’s in the U. K did introduce continental work patterns much to the disappointment of the unions.
Pete seemed well known at the cold store [massive store holding all kings of deep frozen foods ] at temperatures minus -25 we were and loading different vegetables ,and they were ready on pallets. I was told we would not be long, then asked would I like a coffee, in the mess room, with some other Dutch- men and Pete, after another round of handshakes and grunts and black coffee out of a massive pump flask[ never seen one before] they did have a tin of carnation condensed milk , [nice and creamy also a big jar of sugar on the table [not in ENGLAND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STOLEN ] THAT,S US ALL OVER… ]and the smell of all the different tobaccos was ,intoxicating I loved it ,[THE HOME OF GOOD SMELLING TOBACCO]
made it taste better however Luke warm it was quite for a factory for its size, I could see through the door widow lots of workers with white coats and head scarf’s big good looking warm boots on , you could not tell whether they were male or female. they were sorting and packing chips on a conveyor belt .it looked cold in there however that was not the freezer just a packing line also I noticed a stand on riding, like pallet /fork lifts they were using to load our trailer another first the men were whizzing around with a loaded pallet on the front and they were standing on the back with a like a bicycle handlebar steering it. Another first, lots of factory s just about have a fork lift and all loading is done by hand [not now, after 1990s] we got modern.
After I had took as much of the new goings on in i went and found Pete back at the coffee he told me that we were not allowed in the loading area in some factory, you had to stay in your cab in 2013 you have to hand your keys in to a office [so I am told]. We are loaded so we are told and asked to pull of the loading bay and Pete lets me do it and close the doors. When they are shut we go round to the front of the trailer and he shows me how to work the refrigerated unit, all the dials and different functions I thought ■■■■ me, we have been sat about ■■■■■■■ around he could have given me the full tour of the fridge engine,[maybe he did not want me to know to much yet]?
So I get the basic of the fridge control workings, and then we go in and get the papers for the load and a very important paper called a C .M. R. ,That is the drivers legal travel document with the load it has all relevant in -formation typed on it, about 30 sections ,and it was never used in England ever ,unless like us delivering to England from Europe, then it is sealed up by the customs man,[ all the factories in Holland, Belgium, have a designated customs officer at the factory at all times] also the Benelux Country,s never bothered with the trailer garnet, so we were ready for the off .
Pete went and done his last handshaking routine ,i kept in the cab ,[load of ■■■■■■■■] it was now dark and I wondered if I would get a drive ,or do we park up, he said we will get back to the boarder do the customs ,and I could have a drive when we leave the customs after that was finished for the Dutch side all was required at the boarder was a entry stamp into Belgium and we would be on our way back to a ferry which ferry port I had no idea.
I noticed straight away how heavy the trailer seemed to be, but the tractor unit was more than able to cope with the weight so I just drove on, Once we were clear and out of the customs area we drove along a bit ,he said just keep a good lookout in you nearside mirror ,and keep in lane , now I am chuffed, and he said when you see the sign for Ostend turn on to that road do not follow BRUSSELES ,and then goes and lies down on the bottom bunk and leaves me to it i was thinking how many more hours are we going to be working??
we had two small breaks one for 7 hours before the ferry ,then the ferry 4/5 hours we had been working since 5pm on the Monday evening ,it was now 8/9 pm Tuesday evening, and we were not yet finished for the day , we had been working for 28 hours with a 11 break .total illegal and no time to do what you wanted yourself as if you were at home on a break…,i was beginning to have doubts about what I was letting my self in to .but I thought if this is what they do to get around Europe , I will have to give it a try it was certainly different from cattle trucks or dock work, clean work ,cheap ■■■■, just carry on and see how it goes…
As we neared the road junction for the turn off I gave Pete a call , we were now on the road to Ost-end and he started to move around ,where are we ,he said, I told him ,and he said just follow the Ost-end sign, and give me a shout when you start to get near the town you will see all the lights in the distance, and you will come to a service station as soon as you get in to the outskirts.
Now I had pulled in the parking area ,a few lorries parked up. Pete once up, ■■■ on the go, he told me the options we had,of what to do now, I asked what he meant, the Zeebrugge would have gone by the time we had got there, not another sailing untill8am, so,!the Ostend ferry goes at midnight,or we could go to Dunkirk, however you need a pre-booking number for a ticket ,where as Ostend, ,Zeebrugge,the company has two pre reserved tickets for every crossing ,guaranteed. It was a game of where do we get the most time off without moving the lorry.[time off]
So Ostend it is ,he lets me still drive , I am following instructions ,however I did see the signs to the ferry port clearly signposted through the town, to the port , we arrive at the gate Pete told me what to say ,then we parked up then go into the ticket office, where Pete tells the staff that he would like a[ Plug in ]on the ferry , yes “ok it will be done,” I have no idea what he was on about , I would find out later ,no handshakes, very different from Zeebrugge we collect our tickets, and then go to the loading bays for loading on the ship and wait
I then asked what PLUG IN was,=
It is when you want the refrigerated unit on the trailer to keep going to keep the temperature correct while you are on the ferry ,you switch off the diesel engine that runs the engine,and you then plug into a electrical socket at the bottom of the engine with a electrical cable supplied by the ship into the ships electrician system .The ships run on a DC system ,not like our houses that are AC. How it all works I still am not sure, however when the cable [ just like the caravan 3 pin system] is connected you have to be in attendance with the ships electrician, as YOU! have to make sure that the fan that the engine has on the front of the fridge unit ,is on the right phase, that it is sucking in air to cool and work the fridge and not blowing out i.e. sucking the cold air out from the inside of the trailer and blowing the minus-24 air out ,it was a common occurrence if not checked…all you did was to stand at the front ,of the trailer fridge unit and throw a piece of tissue paper up to the front grill air intake if it sticks to the front all was well it if blew away you had a problem.[i got to know all this later on] …as you had to wait for the electrician, that took time, you could be first on the ferry loading deck but the last to go up, or down as on the Ostend ferry’s for food or a bed…waiting for a electrician…
The diesel fumes would eventually leave the bottom decks and creep up to the others decks [also the other reason the noise, fumes if any drivers are sleeping in their cabs] another option was to turn the fridge off ,and take a chance that the frozen goods temperature did not drop to much, if you had a long distance to travel after leaving Dover the temperature would drop to the required one. The only thing was you were unable to open the trailer back doors to check the produce temperature as the customs seal was not undone until at the delivery, if you had a customs check in Dover ,that was frequent , they would reseal the trailer and mark the C .M. R. as resealed ,and it was not unusual for the customs to be at Cold Stores around the country and to be checking all European imported goods
history cont. SATURDAY…
We eventuality get to a cabin with 4 bunks ,after a meal at midnight- ish. We are soon roused by the banging of doors grunts and groans, up we get and troop in to the drivers room for yet again something to eat and coffee ,god not more coffee, it is all like a non stop unreal adventure for me ,it is something I had no idea at all existed [the work] how come it had been kept away from me ,it was just like being back at sea, all the unusual hours ,coffee and food at odd hour. a kind this is different it is not a job, it was not what you call regular, the whole package, and I liked it, out of the ordinary , I expect that sort of sums me up I do not like being put in to boxes, if that makes sense.
Lorry drivers are called ,over the ships tannoy (ships communication system}to proceed to their lorry’s, do not start you engine until told to by the ships crew , yeh ,all the foreigners under stood that, [not] The diesel fumes were terrible by the time we got down as the ferry had not berthed yet and the doors were not opened
Pete pulled the electrical lead out and switched the fridge back to diesel, but did not start it up that would wait until we were outside from the ferry, as the fridge used red diesel that gives out so much black smoke when started it is like a chimney on fire.
It think we must have had about 3 hours in bed, ,it was all a new way of working ,that was sure.
Once Pete had drove off the ferry you go through numerous checks. Boarder control customs. asking questions where country have you come from ,where did you load, what did you take out, when did you leave England, all relevant I expect even back then it was impossible to bring anyone into England without anyone knowing, and while you were inside doing the customs, there were customs men searching your cab ,for any contraband, 200 cigarettes ,and 1 bottle of spirits, 6 bottles of wine ,any anything else you should not have, ■■■■ was a instant arrest . and to get inside a load on a lorry as they do now was unheard of.
After I got more experienced I found out that problems escalate if you are not truthful to customs if you get caught with extra cigarettes and not declared them and do not want to pay the duty you are subjected ,” ell the lorry is “what they call [impounded] that means, your load does not get customs cleared until the whole load is taken and inspected in a loading bay by them. It was known to take a day sometimes, and if it was caused by you the drivers fault for smuggling ■■■■ or spirts too much beer you were in deep ■■■■ with any boss, as you would more than likely lose a delivery time and date also a fine for importing extra goods it was a big deal back then and tabaco was1pack of 6 sachets any more and big trouble for you the driver It did not happen to me i was not that daft .some did.
.Once clear of the interrogations from customs and immigration, every driver was treated the same ,the “port of Poole was the worst ”I found out as time went bye , we went and parked up, then you had to go and put you custom papers into a clearing office ,that was run by the clearing agents, however theses were only [runners]working for the agents that were at the other end of the dock, so it was them who took your paper work down to them, it could take 1 to 4 hours on a good shift
The clearing of paper work for any load is the payment of any duties needed to be paid by the importer for importing, so most companies use the agents who serve them best and the agents hold a monetary fund on the importers be -halve to pay the duties. However the money sometimes get used up before the end of each month, and that causes delays for loads to get customs cleared allowing the lorry to go to the delivery time slot they have [Sometimes after all the effort you put in to get the load back to a port so as you can meet a delivery time was a waste of your time.
It is now about 6 am with the hour turned back from continental time,[ your tachograph stays at UK time at all times] time for another sleep, we had had about 3 hours [rest -sleep]as the agents runner knocks your door if your load is cleared, so you can get your pass to exit the dock . now you have to go and get some stamps on your paper work from the dock -board to let you out the gate, no stamps =no exit. [stamps=franks like the post office use] not postage stamps…
Also Pete was doing some routine lorry checks before going on to the roads ,oil, tyres, lights ,flashers make sure the fridge has diesel and nothing hanging off, as he told me if you go out of the main gate at Dover on theA2 towards LONDON there are always Ministry of Transport checks along that road, so if your Tachographs are suspect, you go out to Folkstone and take a chance, there are not as many lay-by s to be pulled over along that road ,all though Folkstone was a busy cross channel port as well,[ more later]
By this time we were ready to leave and we left Dover behind, the time in my body clock was utterly upside down but it was getting near 12 noon and we were going back via Northampton as someone else was going to get the lorry unloaded for Pete while he went home also me.
It was about 4 in the afternoon when we arrived back at the depot .all handshakes all round,[again]i met another driver ,he did not look old enough to drive ,obviously he was, I collected my gear, said my goodbye , more [handshakes I have not got it yet] and home I go, still full of the experience I have just had. It must have been about 48 hours on duty.
It was then ,at that moment, I should have thought hang on !,i,!me!, have just worked ,like as if I was a owner driver, and that that lorry was mine , it was not.! think about the pay rate ratio- per hour you knob! ,work it out the money is ■■■■, dummy! But I did not, not one of those thoughts crossed my mind, I must have been star struck ,glory hunter, ■■■■■■! I remember getting home and I was full of it ,plus 200 cigarettes duty free ,bonus.
Life and work went on as usual not a lot of market runs for me it seemed to be supermarket timed delivers in different lorry s, and it was working all right however I did seem to be getting the Sunday run on a regular basis that was a job to get used to however I was now getting into the rhythm of not thinking what day it was ,a Sunday could be the same as a Wednesday, also the pay was the same, no extra for weekends and I had now excepted that as now normal, the same as the others that were not owner drivers but like me.
There were story’s going around by different drivers about other drivers .what they had done ,different countries they collected goods , all stories, however one Sunday at Northampton there was this “ left hand drive” D A F, English number plates in lorry terms it did not get much better, I had never seen anything like it, the driver was about my age ,well dressed ,as if on holiday, and he had brought a full load of Oranges from Spain.[[little did I know then]] we got chatting after the handshakes, and it turned out he was the longest serving driver ,and a employee like me, the lorry was Rokold s, it was the flagship as they called it ,a high -line cab perfect inside, i did sit in it, it felt funny left hand drive he did say that he was the only driver of that unit but sometimes when needed it was used by others just to do short jobs[GOD FORBID] I thought it must take years to get used to that.[left hand drive].
So my load was ready , more hand shakes, and away I go ,and get delivering ,that went as normal, no problems ,when I got back the yard was quite, I parked up and went home.
Next thing I know the phone was ringing 11 am ,down to answer the phone, I knew who it would be ,and I was right . Could I be back to Northampton by 2 o clock, without hesitation said yes ,it was not normal for me, but I had realised if I show willing, things would be good for me and I might progress on to the Continental work eventually .
Pete had asked if I could be his second driver again ,so I took a few extra clothes this time .
When I arrived it seemed as if he was waiting for me , but there was no lorry there ,none anywhere, only a old white Volvo car.
After hand shakes and small talk ,the story was we were both going in the car[the company drivers runabout] to a place called Lamberhurst in Sussex, where Pete s truck [not lorry now. a truck] was being loaded and it needed 2 drivers as it was a urgent load ,so off we go and go down the Motorway
next we know the car is chugging ,spluttering, running out of petrol, ■■■■ me ,we just left the yard next door to a petrol station, there should be a can in the back, Pete said, !yes there was ,■■■■■■■ empty. so we are now stuck, pushed for time out of petrol Pete has to ring Alan via the breakdown service telephone on the side of the motorway and they relayed the messageat the yard ,and ask him to bring us some petrol.
While we are waiting Pete then told me the story of this VOLVO dive rs runabout company car
When drivers are anywhere, in England and they are due a proper legal break [rest]or want 2 days off for any reason , and they are loading a Export load and it is their own lorry ,or a company lorry ,a spare driver such as what I am [no company lorry of my own]will go wherever they are in the Volvo car stay and load the lorry or whatever, and the driver goes back in the car .then the loaded truck gets brought back to wherever place for Export .and the driver goes to meet it in the car again because he has kept the Volvo with him to use as he pleases ,and then the question of petrol arises.
Company men like me who use the car ,put the petrol on their expense sheet , and get reimbursed the money ,however owner drivers that use it ,like Pete had ,have to stand the cost themselves as the bonus for them is that they are getting there lorry loaded for free ,by the company s spare drivers[ as they are contracting hauliers to Rokold].
So Pete thought the car had been filled up, but it had not .so who will pay for the petrol from Alan ,as it turned out Pete was given some money to fill the car up on the company, another lesson learned check the petrol…i was under the impression that Pete was the owner of the unit and he subcontracted to Rokold, how wrong I was, he was a employee just the same as me ,however very experienced .
I had never met anyone before so dedicated to Rokold and a boss before god! I knew how I was to be ,and act ,from now on not easy for me. But i would try, and say the right things
in front of Pete from now on, as I suspect he has a influence over a drivers future within Rokold. It turned out he did
When we got to our destination, a abattoir in a village on the main road to the south coast if you were to blink you would have missed the entrance I was pleased I was taken there and not had to look for it. You drove in between two houses , just enough room for a lorry. a few houses built close around it, seemed a strange place for a abattoir to be. Once there it was a very large establishment.
There were two trailers parked up close on the loading bay and the fridge units were roaring away ,Pete was met by another of Roklolds drivers I had not met ,he been loading the trailer[well not actually fiscally but in charge of the movement when required he told us that that it was not finished loading yet, as they had to wait until the temperature of the lamb carcasses had reached -0 to +2/3 in the chill rooms inside the abattoir, and then the vets would release them for loading ,[could be a while he said],
The program was for the driver to take the car and go home ,or he might have to drive somewhere else to relive another driver who needed to go home? It was now about 6 o-clock in the evening. After the driver had left Pete put his gear in to the cab and he brewed a cup of tea up as he said the small canteen would be closed here.[[i would get to know this abattoir very well in the future]]
Pete then asked me if I would like to walk around the abattoir, i declined and he sort of said ,what is it do you not like Animals .are you squeamish. i laughed ,and proceeded to tell him about my butcher boy work when not at school working down the local abattoir, and all my cattle truck days, that sort of shut him up ,and he never said any more about it …
The plan was we were to go to a port that was going to be Rams gate to Dunkirk we had deliverers in Belgian and then one in Koln Germany and we had to have the tachographs right as we could get a check at the German boarder at [Aachen] and if they were not correct we would be in trouble so we did not put tachographs in until we were ready to leave, for the reason it would give us 22 hours to get the job done [we hope].and not lose time .He did tell me this job we were doing was very hard [ i.e. pushing for time]and it was the first time that they let a novice like me to double man driving.[that was supposed to make me feel good] Pete did tell me both bosses asked him how I had been on the other trip and did I moan, and he told the truth and said I was keen to learn .
It must have been around 8 pm and we pulled of the loading bay, got sealed up and made our way ,i was told it was best if I got most of the England driving done as Europe around back roads could be tricky ,so my first taste of driving 18 tons of hand meat, he told me I would get the feel of it once I got going and the sensation of being pushed when slowing down and the corners were tricky. If you look at a map of Sussex ,you will see Lamberhurst A27 and country roads over to Rams-gate via the narrowest villages you could find the most narrowest place ever ,so I was a bit tongue in cheek for a start, it was a test really to see if I could handle it.[ Pete did not know me] as well as he thought .after my time on cattle trucks.
It was getting on for midnight when we pulled into the dock and the Ferry line was called SALLY LINE. we did the export checks that was new to me, so I was all eyes and ears different procedures.
The food was really good steaks sausage, veg chips, sweets, all hours of the night and day, so we really tucked in as I had not eaten pro-ply all day also they let you take and make sausage sandwiches for later .not a lot of drivers on board however some were very regulars on this run so they said. and the crew were mostly from Mauritius .it was a French owned Ferry. It was about a 2 hour crossing from the start until getting off.
The reason we used this route was that you did not need a French Permit to use this route as it was called a FREE ZONE a very short coast journey from France to Belgian the place was called Aden-kirk , the road only allowed you drive that way and not into France.
Once off the ferry [after the routine of unplugging the refrigerated trailer] at the boarder limited controls ,and away we went i was driving ,just to get back in the hang of left hand drive, and heading for Brussels, but going to a place called Kortreck .our first delivery, the roads were very quite,and once off the duel track ,at the right place ,Pete took over driving as we were now into very narrow country roads that looked like water dykes each side no margin for error. it was pitch black except for the truck lights we seemed to be skirting a town and sort of looking for a back entrance in to a housing estate, once we had turned in we pulled up outside a butchers shop all lights blazing one person standing outside, the fridge unit blaring away, just what you wanted in a housing estate, Pete jumped out of the drivers seat, shut the fridge off ,but kept the truck running ,so as we had lights. And it looked just us 3 there, and that was it I did see that the man had some white coats over his arm as we had the handshakes ,and some gruntie noises from the massive chap ,the butcher, and a few pigeon Belgian words from Pete ,that seemed as understood by the butcher.
I was still Puzzled as what was going on, but once the butcher had broken the seal on the back door and opened it ,i new then what the coats were for ,we had to get up and pass the meat down to this man, nice first time for everything, I could not believe what we were doing but I kept quiet ,and followed what Pete was doing.
We knew when we had to stop passing the meat down as the abattoir had tied a string, around the next delivery so as you new when to stop but Pete new that, and I did now [learning].The unloading done we went into his house ,washed our hands they were covered in grease, and given some horrible Luke warm Belgian coffee.
All ready to go handshakes and grunting again and off we go towards Brussels, it was starting to get light ,and I said I could eat something to Pete and he assured me when we get to the next place it is a proper arbitrator and we would eat then. and maybe get 2 hours sleep, just what I needed.
What I can say about the Europe roads they are so well signposted ,as you approach BRUSSELS it tells you the way to go for GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG ,and all kinds of different new names of places I had never heard of, also 3 lane roads and they are not like our motorway.ys people are changing lanes ,overtaking and undertaking as it is normal ,also this area of the country Pete told me that you give way when you are on a roundabout, to let traffic come on to it when you are going round it is the wrong way for us English we had just gone past the High Zell football stadium that was a good future reference point to remember.
Before we arrived, after we had to do a massive roundabout route that put us the right way for going out back to the duel road, this delivery was on a slope once Pete had backed up to the doors for the meat to be unloaded , the ground had such a slope on it there was no way you would stay in a bunk, let alone sleep i realised weeks later that Pete knew that we would not get a sleep but doze off in the seats. but he never said .After a hot dog type sandwiches called [ a frickadella] we sat uncomfortable in our seats with feet on the dashboard /windscreen dozing off.
Once finished paperwork signed ,and they shut the back doors once we pulled of the loading bay, Pete never got out to check anything so he said to me ,you drive gave me directions then promptly lay on his bunk ,it did not bother me because I was still full of it ,me driving in Europe, unbelievable.
We headed for a place called Luige on the way to the German boarder it was to be our last Delivery in Belgium, he told me to go to the 3 rd turn off [city centre] but he said you will go down this massive hill, be careful, other traffic will try to push you faster than you want to go, but keep slow ,and ■■■■ -em. so that is what I did when I got there ,and the hill was massive, the odd truck went past and blew its horn in disgust; I expect, the weight of the meat was pushing us down the hill without much effort from the engine I just did a royal wave and ■■■■ you to the foreigners ,well, !they were foreigners to me ,not thinking I was the actual foreigner.
We were running along side a massive river of canal, so I gave Pete call ,as I did not want to get to a junction and have to make a decision which way to go , so he rolled out of the bottom bunk, took a look to where we were and said just carry on ,he seemed not to happy, perhaps he was tired because I was.
After time we arrived at the unloading place ,just like a warehouse , a few men rolled up , I opened the trailer doors ,and ■■■■ me we seemed to have gained more meat than we had before, it seemed it was a normal practice for companies to use transport that was going to the same company to move meat around without paying for it unless Pete had a backhander from the company I would find out later.
Pete walked round to the back and started the handshake routine, they all seemed to know him and he said to me go and have a lay- down we might be here a while. I did not need telling twice.
I felt as if I had been asleep about 5 minutes once I was woken up by the engine starting, Pete said we have now go to the Belgian customs to get sealed up for going into Germany, all good new stuff for me learn, I did ask about the extra meat we had on from Brussels to Leagie , and was told it was a regular thing ,that was in fact illegal ,for a English truck to do internal delivers within any country but your own country that also applies to any foreign truck in any foreign country. No internal work done at all .but some people know no one is going to check.
What it does it is supposed to protected your own home haulage market ,who wants johnny foreigner doing our work. The Belgians did not give two monkeys . The practice of doing that internal haulage is called [CABOT AGE] that was in the whole customs era now , since borders are open anything goes in 2014. trucks can go any where and load anything.
So there must have been some reward for Pete but he never said, or parted with any cash, I expect I will find out my self later on He did say that they were the same company so no harm done ,yeh:!
As we approach the turn off for trucks at the boarder ,after going up this massive hill ,we had to go off into a parking area that was full of all kinds of foreigners trucks it was like being in a toy shop. So, Pete then went on to explain what was to happen next .
First we had a GERMAN PERMIT that was to be stamped, then we had to make a fuel declaration[ 200 litres only allowed in the country]then passports, the go to a agent to clear the customs forms T2forms from Dover. III had never in my life seen anything like it ,inside the massive clean hall because that what it was , loads of different uniforms all armed , imposing loads of load talking real gruff GERMAN , as I /we were not used to this is was imposing ,and I thought jesus, it looked as they would lock you up for nothing,[[ no wonder they frightened the foreigners during the war]] and I had never seen such long name above offices ,in German, nothing in English or any other language so intimating, I was pleased we won the war…
Pete took me to a hut and had a coffee and bratwurst sausage and mustard in a crispy roll, lots of different cigarette smoke ,and language all around, no handshakes ,no greetings just grunts , to me any way,it was After about 1 hour Pete said lets go and see if we are cleared from the customs I did ask him why we did not stay in the truck and not sit in the café, and his words of wisdom! this time true, said, if you stay in your cab, and being English,[they tell by your number plate and the GB sticker /sign[obligatory] , the police will want to see you tachograph records, including the previous days, and they walk around the parking area just for that. A nice easy form of collecting fine money, if the discs are not correct, however our get out now is that if you have fresh meat of any kind you are told to leave the parking area with all the paper work given back to to you by the Agent ,and all you forms stamped ,and they did not check the amount of diesel we had and leave by a back road and proceed to the German veterinary for them to inspect the meat, and get clearance to leave for your delivery.
I had no idea of where I was ,and I was driving
[God knows what was happening with the tachographs. Who was driving etc Pete was switching the mode switch around all the time he was obviously on top of it] we were following a sign that said [schlachthof] that was abattoir, we got there in the end but we were far away from the motorway in the town of old Aachen, Aachen was one of the first towns to be conquered by the British army in 1945 ,when you see the hills around you thing how the hell did they do it.
Once cleared by the veterinary ,who did thoroughly check the meat as we were backed on to a unloading bay ,so they could walk into the trailer, I stopped in the cab ,Pete waited on the loading bay [ or dock] eventually we were cleared to go ,to Koln ,[ cologne] to the meat market called the Grober market Pete knew the way I had no idea ,where to go Pete , Pete was going up in my esteem as a man, but I know it was all going in my head , night time or not, what I could see to remember for maybe future reference, [who knows] and that works well for me ,once seen not forgotten.
I had completely given up on the time, and how much rest we have had ,it was if it was not a job at all it just seemed normal to do what we were doing,
Pete told me we will come up to the motorway again ,and cross 2 rivers then we follow the signs for the zoo, and that takes us to the market for unloading.
After time I eventually found the Grober market told where to back up to by Pete , he jumped out lots of ,[good -an-tarts] German for Hello] and he opened the trailer doors, and I backed up on his instruction on to their ramp/unloading bay ,and that was it, i thought ■■■■ me what a day all day ,Pete was inside having a coffee with some one and I could feel the movement of men walking in the trailer unloading, and a feeling of tiredness s seemed to come over me, ready for some proper sleep■■?
Next thing I know we are moving again, I must have dropped off, like a stone, I asked Pete where are we ,what we doing ,when do we sleep, all in one go ,the answer was we will just get out of Germany ,then park at the next service station ,as we are loading in Holland in the morning. But we have to wash the trailer out before we can do anything else but we will sort that out after a sleep The inside of the trailer is covered in blood and snot and grease we come again to the customs at Aachen and we still have to go to all the small offices for a stamp on our pieces of paper to get a complete set of stamps then you get a exit stamp and off you go .and think thank god for that.
We now make for the first service station in Belgium and sleep, it did not take long once there to get in that top bunk, I let Pete worry about the waking up time, I was sure he is on the ball.
It seemed like a very short time before I was being woken up, and I could hear the kettle making a noise , on the small gas prim-us- stove. And Pete, welcome back to the living was !we can not be long as we have to wash the trailer out and be loading by 2pm today, a 3 hour drive away.
I had no idea at all what Pete had done about the Tachographs and I was not bothered a far as anyone would know we had not been in to Germany, in fact if we do not get stopped in Holland or Belgian we have not been anywhere as far as the Tachographs are concerned, he obviously knows how to work [ fiddle]them to his and the company’s advantage and they must also know ,so I hope he will show me what to do.
Apparently the service stations in Holland supply more services than just fuel, you can get the use of a high power jet wash to wash the inside of a trailer out so all traces of meat are gone, and ready for another load, so long as you pay, payment by us was by a credit card ,very rare even now in the UK called a D. K. V. card , it is renown all through Europe within the transport industry you can get anything with it I mean anything, even in red light districts the card is taken ,like a transport only Visa. It was the first time I had seen or heard of it, once you are a established European driver for Rokold you get issued it only to be used when necessary .
The transit from Belgium to Holland ,because we were empty was very quick as if they were not bothered at all and we made our way to a service station that had a wash area ,Pete went into the payment office and came out with some bought tokens to put into the wash machine and he said we have 10 minutes of hot water and power the house was the longest I had seen ,my god these foreigners do not need any lessons in doing the job correct. Next thing Pete comes around from the cab with Wellington’s on ,and a pair of water proof leggings and a long raincoat/sou’wester jacket I was amazed, how much more am I going to learn, it seems as if you have to be self-sufficient.
His water profs were just what was needed and he did a complete through wash of the inside of the fridge it was perfect in side ,no trace of meat at all and as the lambs had been hung on string and not directly on the meat hooks they were clean. Once done he quickly went over his tractor unit with the hose before the time went out, and we were done, en-route to where I did not know. We went in to the coffee shop and had a machine coffee ,not bad ,a cup of tea would have been better ,but not enough time. Pete asked to use the phone ,and that was a yes and they passed him the phone from the office ,another !i cannot believe it they let him use their phone, never in England would that ever happen ,so this is Europe everything I have seen up to yet has opened my eyes ,why are we at home so behind ,god knows. he paid for the phone in cash and given a receipt
Pete comes back with loading instructions, we are to go towards the place we loaded at before to load near there today , I have no idea how far it is we do not have a map but Pete knows the way ,so he lets me drive ,and he dozes off, but he tells me which way to head for and just keep following the signposts until we get there or you have to have a break after 4 ½ hours [ that was joke]
It did not take long before I come to a junction where a decision was needed, left or right, so I had to pullover and shake Pete awake [not best pleased] go left ,towards, Eindhoven ,then pick up the sign for Tilburg, and he lays down again ,so I plod on now overtaking slower trucks , not that many slow ones were on the road ,speed did not seem to matter in Holland.
We got to the outskirts of the place we should be at for loading and I was given directions , to the factory gate ,the factory had a massive turning area for the trucks to get ready for backing down to a ramp onto a loading bay, once Pete came out of the office told me to back on to a bay as loading would start straight away, pallets loaded with frozen chips and we would not be long and the front pallets were smalls so they would fit under the meat hooks and the rear ones would make up the extra.
In no time we were loaded, custom sealed the rear doors that the factory paper work in order so next stop a ferry.
Time has flown from when I got up at 11am Tuesday morning it was now Thursday with no proper rest and now off again to a ferry Pete thinks we will miss the late Zeebrugge so to Ostend .
God knows what he is doing with the tachographs but I am sure he knows as he has changed the cards again. The fridge was set at -25 and roaring away however Pete said they were good at where we have just loaded and their product is nearly always down to the right temperature.
We move on to the road that soon took us to the boarder for Belgium customs , when we parked up I asked Pete if I could go and produce the paper work and get the feel of it ,and yes it was fine , so I went into the large foyer and could see only one office open with a sign DOUNE above the open door, I knocked ,walked in was met by grunts, passed the paper work over to the uniform/gun holstered ,no idea what was said, a couple of stamps later on the paper work I was out and back into the cab. I relayed what happened and was told that it was very rare to have any problems with the Dutch or Belgium’s authority, it was all the others.[countries].
I had now got used to the routine[for this trip] that I was doing the most driving, I treated it as a test to see if I would moan i did not , and carried on driving to Ostend I drove all the way up to the dock gate and booked us in to the ferry terminal, apparently we were not booked for the ferry now but a later one, but we would get on this one as Roklod was a good customer.
I thought that was a bit strange ,it clicked to me that we were ahead of our time, the office expected us to be later by about 6 hours, that was unusual ,later I would find out that Pete had done better than other drivers by not having the proper breaks, it was to show me ,”this is the way you do it ”and that he did the same when he was on his own ,no second driver.
Once off the ferry at Dover ,the routine was the same as last week I was feeling as if I was Mr experience,! no one else would and 200 cigarettes ,they would be sold. It sort of seemed all right to be working all these strange hours as every one else was doing the same , all though not many English seemed to be on the ferry.
Once cleared by the customs, the agents brought the clearance paper to us, and we then went for something to eat ready to make our way home, or not, Pete said we had to go to Frigo Scania in Kings Lynn a cold store that stored ,and processed ,and distribution of all frozen products from all Europe and was used by very big new supper markets ,and they work 24 hours shifts.
Was this another test I said ok no problem , I had no other choice really ,but to divert back to Northampton from Dover would have been ridiculous.
,it was the load first driver second, and you had to be prepared to do as the office would like or you will not last. I now see the important owner driver part of the company
I was now getting a good idea of what this job was and they want there own drivers to be exactly the same. I expect
you have two choices Stay or leave , for now, the job it seemed just for me I liked the running around different countries and the unsocial sleeping times ,the general way you were left to get on with the job and be left alone ,yes I knew the hour pay ratio was not that good however we were on a salary, so hopefully ,yes maybe in the middle of the week, that you would get more time at home, it would be worth a try if I get offered a job on European.
We made good time and I drove ,Pete said it would keep him clear to ship out again if I used my Tachograph. =The plan was that I had just arrived by car into Dover to take this lorry to unload and drop the driver [PETE]off at his house and I was to carry on and get it unloaded and back to base
if we got stopped by the ministry of transport for a tachograph card check.
He had got the previous tachograph cards we both had used and sorted them as if he had just been to Belgium yesterday, I had not been near that truck… so that is how they do it,total disregard for the law, however we were in Europe and no one cared a rats arse so do as the others do, do not forget the new Motorways were not built, the A2 .M . one Dartford tunnel, no Ministry check points at all , the only time you would have had a check if you were involved in a accident.
We had arrived at the cold store and drove straight on to a weigh bridge and the gross weight is record and when you finish you have to go back on to the bridge to get your tare weight ,then the load weight is taken from the gross and then you have the weight of the load, as you could have the right number of boxes but not the correct weight the senders of the goods has said [short weight, not uncommon].
We were told we had a booking in time of 12 o clock that night so park up , and wait. Pete looked a bit sheepish we could have gone to Northampton ,and I am sure he knew when the delivery was, but he is in charge of the truck if I was not with him he would have done exactly the same ,so I said ,good have another sleep, there were lots of other trucks parked up the noise of the fridges roaring away was tremendous, but no one seemed to care at all ,and I was getting used to the noise as well.
While waiting to get on to a unloading bay, the foreman unload er came and took the seal of the back doors , and climbed in as far as he could go and collected 1 box of goods, so he could go and check that the correct temperature had been kept and the product was the right temperature.
Before we had a sleep we kept getting lots of door knocking from workers asking if we had any duty free to sell, cigarettes or spirits wine anything cheap Pete told me more about the selling of any goods at most of the cold stores you would go to. He said, what you do is let the fork lift drivers have first choice of anything you may have ,and they will ask you if you are going back to Europe, and if it is for a load back to where they are as it was a regular run for Rokold trucks ,sometimes you will go back empty from Kings Lynn to Dover to load the next day in Belgium or Holland then straight back to Kings Lynn and they would put a order in if [1] you have the cash to buy goods, and [2] do you want to bring in more than your allowance [3] if you are caught by a customs officer anywhere and you are selling duty free goods you are in deep ■■■■. So it was up to you.
As it was ,I was not interested as I had no control of what I did ,also Pete would not commit himself ,as he did not know what he would be doing next ,if he did he would not tell me, as I expect he will be glad to get rid of me, and I do not blame him I would not fancy having a second driver with me ,however if the bosses say you will you will it is their truck, end of.
After getting unloaded, and the trailer swept out and weighed [by me ] before we made our way back to the depot . One thing Pete impressed on me was to make sure that when you collect your c.m.r note up from the office when the unloading is finished make sure they do not write any remarks on the paper work as that c m r is a legal document, and it is the only way a company can get paid for the load by that note ,with a clear signature, meaning that the load count is correct ,the load temperature was correct, and the given weight , when you arrived and the time , that done home.
When we arrived back at the depot it did not take long for me to get my gear together, and say good by and [handshake],as it was all closed up ,no empty pallets ,or nothing around, only our two cars.
What Pete was going to do I have no idea.
I soon travelled home, quick wash and to bed.
After my European trip work seemed to by very quiet not that many night runs and no market runs at all just the supermarket work and the pallet loads seemed a lot less than before, however I just enjoyed the time off as I knew when the time come it would be longer hours than normal!.
On one run to a few different supermarkets I was told that I had to have the night out and collect some pallets in the morning, yes fine by me i was now used to doing as I was told and not re -bell or moan .
As it was ,I had no idea what was going to happened next, as I was loaded ,i needed to ring the office to see if the pallets were for home base or somewhere else I was told to bring them back to the yard as quick as I could Mr East wants to see me, I thought another trip over the water.
Once in the yard ,i parked up ,went in to the office and asked for Mr East ,i was told to go in to his office, he stood up shook my hand ,and said Vic I am sorry we are going to let you go, work has got bad and there is not enough for all the men .last in first out…Then he said we may have got you some work with a local contractor, he gave me the details ,sorted my wages out ,said if any thing comes up again he would call me ,that was me finished at Northampton and that was that I said my good bys ,Alan said sorry,i new they would keep the young men on, so I went to find my new employee ,i hoped.
The new employer lived and worked at Milton just out side Northampton, I rang him up and he told me to meet him at the Ipec depot ,he gave me the address. after getting through security, I was told where to go and he had a small office at the end of a massive loading bay, that had about 20 trailers parked on it.
The job was first to be shunting the trailers on and off the loading bay as a contractor for the company running the job .Ipec , that turned in to T.N.T the massive parcel and goods distribution.
After time ,also when required you will have to drive a trailer up to the Glasgow depot, that would be a night job once there you go into a bed and breakfast in Glasgow while the lorry and trailer is taken around Scotland all the delivers done then it is reloaded back up for you to run back down to the Northampton through the night, you get back to Northampton park it up in the depot we are in then you go home. If you are required for the next night we ring you by 2pm to let you know.
Yes that sounded good, but the money was Tax free ,that meant you had to do the tax yourself.[self-employed] also he does some containers runs to and from Felixstowe, well it was a job I would go for it .I started the next day at lest I understood what the job was and you got told what to do, and they had a canteen.
I was busy for a time then it would slow down. The man I worked for was a ex middle east driver, photographs all around ,early 1970s he must have been very young. However most men that did that work deserved all they had made out of the jobs it was not for everyone.
It kept me busy for a week, then I thought all the travelling by car and shunting ,i had had enough so I said I am going to finish. No likely Scotland trips so I am off!, ooh hang on a minute, he said you are down for the Sunday night run , was he telling porkies or I was down for the job ,he said no you are on the job all next week ,yes I will stay then and that was the start of another fine mess…
The tractor units we used were from MANN HIRE and they were flying machines 70 mph was the normal speed once on the Motorway well if you did not get caught. Once you left Northampton you drove for 4and half hours had 45 minutes break then another 4 ½ drive and you should be in Bellshill Glasgow that was how fast them trucks were ,really in day time you would not have done it ,even in 1 days drive of 10 hours , however at night ,unbelievable distances were covered the trucks had the power as if you were driving a car, you could accelerate just like a car with a full load .of 20 tons quite remarkable even now when I thing about it, in actual fact when I do like now it was so, so, dangerous I shudder. However once again by luck I came off all right .
Once in Glasgow you would leave the truck in the IPEC yard and a man would take you up to your bed and breakfast, have a breakfast ,then bed, he would collect you again at 6 o clock at night, you had no dinner there, after the first time I soon got myself organised when home I brought a small gas cooker, pan. And tins of food, and cooked it in there rest room when I was back there it caused quite a show as they had never seen a driver cook before. not as I was experienced, I got the idea off of Pete ,never go hungry when you can do it yourself…
I started to get used to the pattern of work on the Glasgow the boss and his partner did have a small issue as we were only working in total driving 9 hours the boss wanted us to do some more work when we got back to Northampton, small local work just to fill the hours in as we got paid a days rate ,night or day and the hours were never defined ,so I think he thought we were getting away with money for no work, so I did what he asked ,then went home to bed later than usual,[not good
One evening just before I was leaving Glasgow the boss phoned me and said when I get back to Northampton ,drop the trailer at the depot then pick another trailer up and go and deliver it to the car factory in Luton. Vauxhall I never gave it much thought about 1 hour from Northampton to LUTON, tip the trailer then out and home I thought it would be a couple of hours.
i When I eventually arrived at the car factory the parts I had on the trailer were marked urgent production line, it did not mean a thing, I was told to park up and would be called in when they were ready. I knew from previous car factory experience that once you got into the queue going around the production area that was you basically ■■■■■■, end of. It is like going around a supermarket following 2 mobile scooters ,with blind people driving.
After god knows how many hours still at Luton ,it was getting that I would not have time to drive back, so there and then I made my mind up that was me finished when I got back , no way to ring anyone up no public phones within the factory for drivers use…
Once on my way ,non stop straight to the depot, I was met by the boss, all full of sorry, I did not realise they said it was urgent, I said no problem ,get some other mug, bye that is me done, he protested ,ore look I gave you a job a favour for Mr East ,i replied you get Mr East to come and do it then, off I went ,to the nearest phone box and rang Roklold at the depot at Oxford and told them what I had done ,and said thanks for the job but no thanks ,and whenever they want me ring home…
Now started another episode of driver with out a job, I first called in at S. T Challis as it was on the way home and explained my situation and could they help they would ring, never did, so I had to look further afield from home ,in the local paper drivers wanted at Aylesbury ,that was nearly 35 miles away, however I thought I would ring, and ask for a interview, it was in a village called Aston Clinton, did not mean nothing to me , i got a day for a interview , in two days time, i have no idea what sort of work they do or anything but I had seen the lorries around and no way of finding out .
I arrived at the village and found the yard , I drove in ,and looked around for a parking place, found a visitors one and parked. Little did I know that I was being observed to see where I left my car.
However I reported to the office explained who I was and was told to sit and wait. I had dressed
with some smart clothes and a tie ,a bit over the top for a drivers job but I wanted work.
I was shown into a office and a young -ish man sat at a desk very smartly dressed, he did not get up just looked and there was a chair pulled out my side, but I did not sit I just stood there.
He then said who he was ,and what did I want so I said a driving job if they have any vacancies,
then where have you been working? . I said I can give you my full working record since I left school, and got out my discharge book with various bits of paper and certificates also my HGV driving licence, Ohh he said you have a class one licence all self-explanatory , so I told him everything from school until that day. While I was in mid flow a older man come in to the room. Also very well dressed and sat on the edge of the desk ,never said a word.
When I had finished talking ,my history, the other man Mr Fowler ,the big boss , said we never employ any men who do not live within a 10 mile radius from Aylesbury ,however if you can start tomorrow we will overlook that rule, and that was me at Aston Clinton Haulage, A. C .H.
I had to be at the yard for 6 am , to start then take it from there it was a good 40 minutes drive from home on back roads, after a short time I started to try other routes, but it was nearly always the same time of travelling.
The work was varied ,from local shunting to unloading in the yard, and loading boxes of cereal for delivery, then delivering it ,you had no time at all, but I stuck with it, they were very long hours if I had known more then I would have stopped in the yard the odd night and sleep in a cab ,with no pay but it would have made life a lot easier ,as all the trucks the ran were sleeper cabs and of the full speck,[the most powerful].
The son David who interviewed me was what you called unfair, a prick ,thoughtless, and all the other meanings, but that was his way and people accepted it, me also as I thought I would get on to having a truck of my own and get some good work even with my limited European experience. Sadly it was not to be then i wanted to leave, but I had to do it right and not just finish ,so one day I got half way to Aylesbury stopped in a village, and said my car has just blew the piston, or valve and I could not make it in, and gave them the local phone box number so they could ring me back…[ no mobile then].
After time Dennis , David’s assistant, rang the call box back, and said if you cannot get in you are no good for us so you will have to finish, so I said fine and they would send my wages and p 45 and that was that for then It was what I wanted to happen in case I ever wanted to go back in the future .
Once home, car all good ,I decided to go S T Challis to see if they have any work, once in the yard straight to the drivers place outside of the office, i knocked the hatch, and was greeted by what the ■■■■ to you want, from the traffic clerk, laughing, nothing from you, but a job, he told me to wait `1 ,i will go to see the boss, after a short time Brian the boss came out and said we have a bit of tipper work if you want it , only local runs ,you can start Monday, and that was the way it worked in my area, straight to the point, the best way.
The tipper work was easy but long hours you were moving earth that was being dug out by machines for a new road ,and once loaded ,you then tipped it where you were told, most times it was to make a bank further back along the road ,or just to fill in holes [massive holes] left by pipes .
It was going good , I used to take a lot of sandwiches and 2 flasks i knew most of the drivers ,some from my village, and we would have a laugh. Plenty of time to eat, and drink all was good the money was manageable, but beggars cannot be choosers
.
I think I must have been there for about3 months and getting bored but nothing else to do ,i was not getting enough out of it if you know what I mean but no weekend work maybe the odd Saturday morning ,sometimes, they wanted you to help the fitters if they had a big job on, nothing technical but I was still learning about trucks ,engines and most of what went with the job, rewiring lights, all though the diesel engine had come on with the future there was still a lot of old basics and common sense .also I had had the ■■■■■■■■ engine workings to help me if I needed it. To a small degree.
Life was plodding on ,getting my self resigned to being on a tipper until they increased the fleet, when out of the blue my wife gets a urgent phone call from no other than Mr Robin East, from the depot in Oxford, asking where, and what I was doing, and asked would I ring as soon as possible, urgent. It was 7 o clock at night and I spoke to Robin .
Tom ,the first driver I went with had ,had a brain haemorrhage and passed away , he was on the service station by Liverpool, the trailer had been taken away to be unloaded ,however ,the unit was still on the service station the keys were in the mangers office ,was the any chance I could go up with another driver and bring the tractor, and the trailer [when empty] back down to Oxford. the lorry was leaving at 5am in the morning to get you to Liverpool later in the day are you able to go with it, also we would now need a relief driver ,if I wanted the job it was mine on Rokold not the other company J C. S. ,it would be reliving the European drivers on a regular basis and the previous man would have Toms truck permanently. I explained that I was permanent where I was and they would not take kindly to me leaving just like that, he said he new Mr ■■■■ who was the boss and he would square it with him, as they were on the road haulage association together and he would explain the situation .
It was a chance not to be missed it could be the break for me to get into European work so I accepted the offer.
I had to leave home at 4 am to get to Oxford before 5 am good job I did as the driver slept overnight at the depot and was ready to leave when I arrived, after a few delivers we made our way to the Liverpool area, I found out a lot more about the job some bits were good ,others I knew about [ the hours] the driver Geoff , who was Toms friend, also from Northampton still could not believe Toms death ,it only happened yesterday so it was shock all round ,well not for me but sad as he left a wife and children, all though when I knew him you would have thought he was single , I hope that is not the way this type of driving changes you, also he was ex army so he knew his way around.
I went and collected the truck keys ,from a office , they knew my name but wanted some ID ,that was all done .i rang the office ,and was told to pick the trailer up at Trafford park Manchester at a refrigerated depot. I was told check it over for any damage in the outside and inside, count the meat hooks that were hanging on the rails at the front, tyres, fuel in the fridge ,and all the trucks paper work was still in the cab folder, I was given a list to check, that all worked out correct, and to record the hours recorded on the fridge, [ a dial on the front cover of the hours the fridge has been run],make sure all the lights were working, as people will steal the lenses and bulbs, yes, the bulbs…
When that was done I rang the office ,and they said make your way to Dover and ring first thing in the morning from there. Yes that was what I wanted i knew it would be late by the time I get there
but I never put a tachograph card in until I left Liverpool so I had got plenty of time, well I thought I had.
I made it to the last service station, on the A2 Farthing Corner, before Dover and had a break by the time I got into Dover and parked outside the Agents office ,went in ,and the ■■■■ had hit the fan, what I was not told I was booked on the 6am crossing to Zeebrugge [when I had phoned from Manchester] [no cab or mobile phones] they had expected my to drive into Dover gone in to the Agents and they would have given me my loading instructions without parking up where I did and I could have booked off once inside Dover ,and by the time I had got off in Zeebrugge I would have had the proper break, also I would have had lots of broken sleep.! Moving on to the ferry etc I had no a clue, that was what I should have done.
I rang the office explained they more of less said it was their fault but told me if you ever have to get to Dover you must try to get there, as there is always a reason why. I think the traffic manager Peter Melcombe thought I was a old hand at the European way of working I had never met him I took a instant dislike to him, by his phone manner to me, one to watch.
Once I was on the ferry ,booked into my cabin and had a meal, it was time to go to bed for about 3 hours ,trouble was you never knew who your cabin mate was , so as Pete told me get to bed first and hope they do not snore.
Once off of the ferry the routine started as before ,and it all went well ,even the fuelling up as the credit diesel card all worked on the same pin number [so long as you knew it] I did not ,but Tom had it written down in the trucks book of paper work ,so I was soon away to get to the loading place. It was the same one as before when I was with Pete ,so I felt very confident that it would all be good and load without any hassle, and after a time of me getting there I was soon striding in to the loading office, full of it, until the Dutch man said in perfect English, you are late ,your load has been given to another driver so you will have to wait until the product [frozen chips] are down to the correct loading temperature , well what could I say but ok thank you I will be in the cab…
And that is where I went, I never said another word, I thought well ■■■■ you too. And laid on the bunk, it did not seem long when loud banging was on the door and shouting to me ,back on to the loading bay so I opened the rear doors , started up the fridge, ■■■■ !!I had forgot to do that before I arrived so as the trailer would be cold, [whoops] I was getting to cocky, and forgot the first rule. To get the fridge temperature down as low as possible, it will never get to minus -20 as there is not product in the trailer to hold the temperature but once the frozen goods are in the trailer and the trailer is all ready cold it will soon be down to -20
Also I think I learned another thing, other people do not like to see you go and lie on the bunk and read a book… [over time I learnt it really ■■■■■■ other people off especially if you have had a disagreement with them and it was your fault, and you shown that it does not bother you at all .]
Once loaded, I was told to pull off the loading bay, collect my paper work from the office and the customs will seal the back doors and I was ready to go. I did stop and think have I done all the right things , checked both diesel tanks. Fridge running ok , god knows what I would do if the fridge stops, I have not been told yet ,i must put that on a list ,of to ask instructions for if a brake -down occurs.
I made my way to the Belgium boarder and then the ferry port. Ohh no I forgot to ask what ferry to go back on, ■■■■ ,i stopped and tried to work the time out, and thought I was at about the same time as when with Pete, so I will go to Ostend ,then I had thought , [dangerous]look at what the T2 customs form said , and it was Ostend, so I now knew the office must have told the Dutch that was my port of exit.
I made my way there without any problems it was easy to find the port as the signs post were very good you just followed the sign with a ship on and it took you straight to the port gate, I completed all the paper work, and went and queued up with all the other trucks , that was not hard to accomplish, as I had been shown before what to do if I had not It would have been a different story.
Once on the ferry I asked the crew for a electrical plug in , and was told yes ok ,but wait for the ships electrician , that is what I did it seemed like hours however he came and sorted the plug in out and it worked the correct way ,that ,the way to test to see that it did not ■■■■ air out of the fridge was by holding some light tissue paper up to the front air intake so that it blew the paper and not ■■■■ it in, , as ships electricity system can vary so I was told? I was the last driver to leave the car deck eventually, I climbed my way up to the accommodation area found the driver only restaurant the food was English looking but cooked by Belgians as it was a Belgian crew, I had some food then straight down to the cabins for a sleep, I had the cabin number on my ticket, but the first thing was to find them , it seemed as if they were right down under the engine, and the noise was bad, Jesus I had spent a long time on ships ,never this noisy!!
I did find the cabin, and the bunk, and it was the top bunk as the other 3 were occupied so clothes on into the bed, I did learn a lesson, all ways strip off when ever you have a chance to sleep ,even for a hour ,as with clothes on you soon get roasting and cannot rest…
Next thing lots of noise, blokes burping and ■■■■■■■, coughing sounded like a cattle market and foreign language ,to me, I understood it was time to get up .and that was what I did and followed the herd up to the coffee, tea and ■■■, bar, also more food it seemed only 5 minutes before that I was eating, but we all seemed to get stuck in, mostly sausages, and hard boiled eggs , then the tannoy came over [all drivers report to the car deck and do not start your engines please until told to by the staff, ■■■■■■■■, by the time I got down to the truck ,the rear door was still down, and all these ■■■■■■■ ,stupid foreign drivers had the engines roaring away it was choking, and they did not give one ■■■■, what they did not realise as the deck crew could not take the safety chains off of the front of the trucks so they would be able to leave the ship, because they wanted to be first off what they did not realize that once they got to the customs they were going nowhere,.
Yes I had done it, I did all the right things parked up put my paper work in the agents box wrote on it where I was parked, and smartly went and got into bed again sleep seemed the main think lacking in this type of work
The next thing I know there is rapping on the cab door, i flew up pulled the curtain back and there was one of our drivers there, hanging off the wing mirror with his arms, shouting something, so I got dressed and opened the door and the first thing he said are we clear what! I said I have not long got in bed, he said well they usually clear this customer straight away, he said he would go and check, in the office where you get your exit stamp ,and the paper work to go .
He came back full of it and said it has been cleared 1 hour -ago, you should have been gone by now as the customer is waiting for the load,” hang on” I said I have only been here 3 hours and not had my full break, he replied, that he was taking the load and I was to be the passenger, ok that made sense. well sort of until I thought about it so off we go with me not driving so it did not matter any-more how much rest or sleep I had the load came first…
I asked the driver how he got here and he said he came down last night with another of our drivers and went in to a bed and breakfast, got up this morning to deliver the load ,and take me back because the office new I would not be able to drive for some time as my break hours were not up one thing was wrong no one told me alarm bells should have been ringing, this is no way to work ,however it was all new to me completely different from any other type of driving I knew .
so in fact I was off duty in the passenger seat basically it does not matter where you take your off duty break so long as you are not working …as time went by it was considered that if you were in a company vehicle you were classed as on duty, but that was much later .in the 1990s in actual fact if you were driving a company car to or from work of to relive another driver you were technically on duty, however who new , unless you had a accident in that car.
We arrived at “Bejams”at large “cold store” full of deep frozen food at a place called Frimley near Guilford to unload the pallets of chips, after time we were told to back on to the loading bay ,and wait for the green light , it was right by your cab when you were backed on the loading bay [or dock]you could not miss it to tell you that you were on the loading bay correctly , you would feel the ramp inside the store go down on to the deck of the trailer so they could start unloading.
But first the quality control would take off the first 6 pallets then on the 7th they would open the boxes for the correct temperature of the product and it had to be between minus-18 and -22, they would take all the boxes of the pallet and check the very bottom ones, just to make sure that the chips had been loaded at the correct temperature also that you had had your frigerated trailer running at the correct temperature -20 If not someone would be in trouble and the first would be the driver, as not checking the product temperature before loading, and was the fridge running correct, it was a bloody minefield this I learnt later through my own experiences you would never believe the checks you had to make and do while loading any product .
Once the load had been cleared to unload it did not take very long to get unloaded and get the correct amount of pallets returned, and we were on our way again, so where now for me I asked myself? we were going to Bedford for a truck and trailer service and I was to pick up a company car and go home and wait for the phone call. At least I had some duty free cigarettes.
I was asked at the cold store [what have you got on] I did not know what they were on about until the other driver, said some drivers bring in Beer, and tobacco for the cold store unloading staff to buy [in bulk] apparently they knew the lorry was Toms, and he looked after the lads at the store , well sadly no more ,they did not know about his death, but it was something to think about , however I never did bother for anyone, as I never had the cash to buy goods…
We soon arrived at Bedford, and the trailer was dropped in a service bay and the unit taken for a service next door, I was taken to see the boss of the work shops and asked if there were any outstanding faults on the truck or trailer i did say some of the tyres on the trailer were a bit short of rubber meaning the tread was low, all the other gauges on the unit were working oil and water was good ,there was no more to say, so I was shown the car I had to go home in and that was it, I was away… it was the same old Volvo first thing was I checked the petrol, and it was nearly empty, what a surprise, why would drivers leave a car with hardly any petrol in I did not know ,however I will now do the same.
I got home there was a telephone message for me to phone the office, Jesus they never left you alone for any length of time, it was something I was going to have to get used to that was for sure ,it was my instructions for tomorrow, I had to be down in Lamberhust the name of the village where the loading was for 5 pm and deliver the load of lambs that I had done with Pete before, on my own, I remember feeling pleased with myself as they were trusting me with a Export load for the first time, also inside I was really ■■■■■■■■ myself but no one knew only me.
After a good drive around the Motorways, the M25 was not yet built, under the Dartford tunnel and down to Lamberhurst ,i arrived in plenty of time, and I had brought a small gas burner and some food ,saucepan, tea ,excreta, just to keep me going and from spending any money on foreign food, the more I did not spend the more for me and home, well that was the thought I had not got round to finding a toaster, but I would.
The unit was the one I had driven before the old 2800 D. A.F, [Ex toms] the driver with the truck wanted to get off home ,and I did ask him why he was not doing the job instead of me, he gave me some story about his wife so I left it at that, anyway it was nothing to me ,he told me it was ¾ loaded and the last of the lambs would be soon loaded ,the truck fridge was roaring away trying to keep the inside of the fridge with the already loaded lambs down to a cool +1 as the doors were open being backed on to the loading bay of the slaughter house it was cold inside, the premises the lambs [meat]were kept inside special cool rooms to get the meat down to the temperature ready for transport. Vets were the only people who can allow any meat from leaving a premise also vets are employed all the while the process of slaughter takes place .
In side the slaughter house there are a series of tracks that run all around the ceilings that the meat hooks run on in and out of the cool rooms for the method of getting meat moved from place to place once the meat arrives by men pushing sliding the carcass at the loading doors in to the trailers, the carcass is lifted off and placed on to the meat hooks inside the trailer there are 5 different rails inside the trailer roof with about 60 hooks on each rail .with lambs being small one lamb is placed on the hook then another is hung underneath by a string so there are 2 lambs to each hook, quite a swinging load ,if you have more than one delivery string is placed around the whole load of lambs to let the unloaders plus the driver where that delivery starts so as not to get them mixed up or extra taken by the first customer as you would have no way of knowing when to stop taking the lambs ,also counting, but the driver is never allowed inside most abattoirs.
I went and checked the diesel for the fridge that is under the trailer it wanted filling up, I realised the truck tank was half full and I would be able to syphon some diesel out of the tank and put it in to the fridge tank, I thought yes I will do it.
So know I needed a piece of hose pipe at lest 6 foot long, and a container of sorts to transfer the diesel, easier said than done believe me, I knew how to do it as I have done it many times before but it can be a smelly dirty job, plus diesel tastes awful. If the trailer had not been loaded and the weight on the front end of it ,the easiest way would have been to drop the trailer where it was and back the unit alongside of the trailer so as the tanks are alongside each other, if the tanks are not on the same side you turn the unit around so as it is ,also you need a lot of room, so all that was out . It meant sucking the diesel up the pipe that you have pushed down , well down inside the trucks diesel tank, and you start sucking “ syphoning” until the diesel flows out ,and then you have to catch it in some form of container a old plastic oil can, and make sure you can tip it into the trailer diesel tank [not easy] it needs 2 people really as once you have filled your oil can the diesel is still flowing ,you have to lift the pipe up so it is above the level of the diesel in the tank, but make sure you have a bend in the pipe so as the pipe is not empty or else you have to start sucking again, believe me it is a pain in the arse and you get covered I did get a hand from one of their drivers and we managed to get a few gallons in the tank, no thanks to the other driver, [■■■■■
Now I had to get cleaned up and once the unit was under the trailer they started to load the last delivery, What I did not know was one of drivers from the abattoir was also going down to the docks on a export load he was going direct to the delivery at leige, and then into Germany and I was to follow him down to Dover the ship over to Calais [F] and I would follow him through to Belgium and then we would go our different ways, this was new to me ,apparently all things change when meat is involved ,and the office knew what was happening .
I was to pick a French permit up from the agent in Dover ,and Jimmy[ THE DRIVER ]was going to show me the route out of Calais, and how to go through the customs at Calais all straight forward well it is supposed to be. After time we were ready to go and he said we were going the back roads down to FOLKSTONE, the on to Dover I did not have a map with me .god!! it was the most fastest switch back ride I have ever had ,god knows where we went, but I did not let his rear lights out of my sight, and he warned me that when you get to Folkstone we will go up this massive hill ,and if it is wet if you miss a gear near at the top you will be ■■■■■■, as the steepness of the hill lets all the weight of the lambs hang back at angle, taking your traction away from your drive wheels as if you are skidding on ice, well that did not do me much good ,all I could thing about was missing a gear, so I thought right, I will put the truck in a low gear at the bottom and then I had no worry ,I expect I lacked a bit of confidence in my own ability and that is what I did and I did not have a problem ,i was slow, yes, but I never got stuck, when I caught Jimmy up at the docks he said I thought you were stuck, but I would not have been any help so I carried on, that was the right thing to do so he said .
We parked outside the agents and collected the paper work for me and a permit for France, then round to the customs part ,this time we had to queue up to go into the customs sheds for a seal check and a port health check, ]MAFF],to make sure we were veterinary sealed up [the trailer] .
That all done we then had to go queue up for the next ferry to Calais, they were nearly every 2 hours leaving Dover , I could see the point of coming this way instead of Ramsgate as it was quicker here, once we were loaded on to the ferry we had to ask for a Electric Plug , as no diesel engines were allowed to be run, once that was sorted and it was working the correct way we made our way up stairs for food in the drivers lounge.
We were on Sea-link ferries and the food was good . Jimmy asked if I had any French money at all, and no I did not he said we would need at least 5 French Francs for the customs as you go out of the gate, for the bung, for the excess diesel we had, you are only allowed 200 litres in France, I changed £10 sterling and received just over 10 Francs, and Jimmy told me do not give that much you must change it as they would take it all that… I am learning more, and we talked about my delivers and he told me about the Belgian border so as I was sure where to go ,he was a great help, I would have been struggling with out him, but that is why they sent me with him I expect…
Once the ferry docked we were about the last to get off as the electrician did not hurry himself, anyway there would be a massive queue waiting to get out of the dock after the customs. Once in the customs hall I just followed what jim said and I did not speak, there was no need to, the customs men all looked the same in massive coats , lots of chatter, stinking of French ■■■■, talking in grunts, and laughter, well they were in charge , after the stamp on the permit backing paper ,jim said he hoped they would stamp that, and not the actual permit as it could be used again [ I will explain later] I watched as the trucks drove up to the last barrier where you gave them the money ,[they called it coffee] the man jumped up onto the step hung on the mirror arm and looked at the fuel gauge on the dash board to see what it read ,full, or half full. Anyway they still had the coffee money whatever, and when it was my turn I drove up stopped and he did what I have said took the 5 francs said [Aur vior]
That was my first of many giving of French francs to the customs men ,only in Calais I must say no where else bothered with the fuel coming in to the country .they were the French Mafia. That practice carried on until the customs frontier controls finished in the 1990s.
Once clear, before I was let loose on my own , Jimmy gave me my last instructions , I crossed the same border in to Belgium as when I was on the other ferry, however I had to clear the customs there as it was my boarder of destination, apparently the veterinary clearance was done at the first delivery but Jimmy was there at the boarder to assist me so it went well
He told me all the deliverers will be waiting for me, as drivers for the abattoir. Company they did this run every 2 days for years and if there are no lights on at the premises ,knock the doors ,and they will soon be out as they were local Butchers shops, in towns obviously this was a regular run .
Once I found the first delivery I would be taken to the next one when I was ready by following a car, I think this job must have been another test as it was non stop full-go ,at the first delivery one man jumped up on the back of the trailer to take the lambs of the hooks and pass them down ,and I was given a white coat, to get up and do the same, as two men were on the road taking the meat inside, so no lay down, and that was the pattern of the nights work, i had lost track of time and it was getting light, and I ended up somewhere near Brussels Airport with a empty trailer, and the inside needed a wash out, so that was my next move find a truck stop with a high power hose, that was normal in Belgium as they seem to think of everything jim did tell me that I should ring the office by 1pm our time and get loading instruction, so sleep was the second priority.
There was so much noise going on at the service station I made amental point of never stopping
there again ,i must have had about 5 hours sleep and my alarm was screaming, first eat then phone thank god I had my toaster, and tea making things, and I sorted my self out.
The office told me I was loading tonight not far from the Dutch boarder in Belgium so make my way there whenever, as the load was ready, full load of frozen vegetables
.
After 2hours I had found the loading factory a large compound lots of other trucks were there no other English, once I had been to their office I was given a loading bay number to back on the wait in the cab as the load was handball [meaning not on pallets in paper sacks] so it would be a while, and they would knock the cab when finished, so it was time to get a brew of tea on ,and then lie down and get some rest ,sleep. It was after 4 hours and I was woken up and told to go to the office, I collected my paper work, customs paper, and pulled off the loading bay for the rear doors to be custom sealed up, and they told me that the office said I was to go to Zeebrugge for the midnight ferry, that was good for me no rush, and I would be able to fill all tanks up with diesel unbelievable but it all worked out .i was in plenty of time for the ferry, and another time to get in bed, I had already sussed out that if you can get a lay down take it…
Once the ferry arrived it did not take long for the off load of trucks and then we were soon brought up from lanes for loading ,it is not straight forward ,as heavy lorries have to get put in different places, the loading ticket office know all the trucks weights when booking in…also I wanted a electrical plug in ,so I seemed to be kept waiting to load with other fridge drivers as we were all on the same level deck where all the plug connections were, once loaded on and sorted ,in to get your bed number/cabin, no single berth, so you have 2 choices either go straight to bed , or eat a dinner.
For me it was a no brainier /bed, before the snoring started, and just hoped you did not get a cabin with foreigners .
All went well ,the crew wake you up in time for breakfast nice full English then the unloading starts
passport control/ customs, all done on the dock ,as before, it was still dark.
Once parked up , my paper work lodged in the agents in box ,i wrote on it the number of the lane I was parked in, and would they knock me when finished please… so back in the bunk again…
It was not long before the knock on the door come and I was cleared to go after I got my paper work, and allowed out of the dock gate and on my way to Frimly again to get the load off loaded
I new it would take a while as it all had to be put on pallets ,a long job I expect. Once there I report to the office and they told me to ring my office as soon as I can…
Once again I was told that a driver was coming down in the car to relive me and I could go home and ring tomorrow dinner so now it was a waiting game, the more time I spent here the less at home.
Another driver I did not know, arrived ,and I told him what was going on and that they would let him know when to get on to a unloading bay ,and that was me, away, petrol check seemed ok, so home for me…
After rest at home, I rang the office at dinner time to be told to go to Bedford service depot no later than 5pm to collect the truck, I arrived on time, to be told that at 8 o clock in the morning I was to load a load of lambs from near Bedford and ring from there, I had to get the car back that night as it was needed for someone else, so I had a night at the garage in Bedford ,i slept well …
Once I arrived at the Abattoir I was told to go and wash the trailer out ready for loading they had a very high powered wash hose, it would blow your clothes off if it was pointed at you, anyway that done I put the trailer on the bay and waited, there was a lot of movement in the trailer they seemed to be loading non stop.
Eventually it went all quiet inside the trailer as the loaders stopped i walking up and down the trailer floor in stopped rocking around so I assumed it was loaded i got out of the cab and went to the office, yes it was finished and the customs and veterinary would soon be finished and I could soon be on my way ,so I thought…after ring the office it seemed I was only loading it for another driver I was to take it back to the Bedford garage, leave the truck ,the fridge going at the correct temperature, and the car would soon be there for me to go home again ,and the other driver would be taking the load, yes well I was only the relive driver, so that is what I am doing although I did not like it.
That seemed for a while the pattern of work I was doing, unloading or loading for someone else and it was sort of getting to me, so in the end I asked to speak to the boss Mr East [robin] the office men tried to keep fobbing me off that he was never in the office, so I let it go a week and one Friday I was home with the company car, i thought right and I drove to Oxford to the depot ,and there he was on Saturday morning in the yard ,well it was in a forest, no joke , in a forest called Tubbney wood ,off the Swindon road out of Oxford, it had some hard standing for a few trailers and a wooden cabin type office ,after handshakes I said if I do not get a truck of my own soon I am leaving I had been doing the relive for about a year, with the occasional run abroad and I had had enough…
Once home the phone rang Saturday after noon, and I was told they would be getting another hire truck a new Scania and it would be mine in 2 weeks, however it would be mostly on European work and I would have to do the same as the others and go anywhere I was told, if I could not do it they would have to let me go a catch 22… situation, it could be 2 /3weeks away at a time, I knew some of the other men were very rarely home for long as the export and import ruled… it was a no brainier I told my wife what the score was , I could do it or leave and go to nothing ,obliviously I wanted to do it however was not my own decision so we decided to do it and take a chance.
So the 2 weeks went into 3 and I was getting slightly cautious as to they were telling me the truth but when I did bump into other drivers they said yes the fitter at Bedford had been told another truck was coming and it was the first Scania not a D.AF so I carried on as normal unloading other people’s loads day and night[ not at the same time] one load comes to my mind that nearly come to my down fall and getting to big for my boots ,it is funny how life puts you down to ground very easy…
This load I had to collect ,[I had the company car] from the Bedford fitters premises,[i did not like john’s, the fitters wife she was always saying Robin this, and that, she was dangerous she could get you finished on her say, so ,[example if the truck was not oil up and cleaned up] cab dirty,]anyway=
I had to deliver this load of frozen goods at 12 midnight at Bejams Frimly I knew it very well as a lot of our loads ended up there so I knew some of the unloaders and the canteen ladies and felt at home while there, however it was different at night ,different people but they new the company well [as regulars] so we had no problem getting in past the security to get parked up as times it was very difficult to get on the premises ,if you were early, or more so late but Rokold seemed to breeze it…
“”2
This trailer I collected was a knew one to the fleet it had a new system for the brakes called “progressive breaking” meaning when you put your foot on the brake pedal and it sent air down the air line to the brakes on the 3 axles the brakes did not all come on at the same time ,there was progressive breaking one would come on then another then the last one, so as there was no skidding, gently braking however it used the air in the system up quicker, so the engine needed to be at a high reeving speed to keep the air cylinders up to maximum pressure… when you were slowly manoeuvring and using your brakes the air would be going out ,but the brakes would not be jammed on, but one axle would stop you in a road situation .
I was told to go on to a loading bay, it was very tight as there was a truck both sides of where I was to go so lots of manoeuvrings and shunting and when you hit the loading bay dock a green light would come on and that was you ,[you had opened the back doors before you stated to back up to the bay] so it was tight getting in as their own company trucks were parked everywhere just where you wanted to be another driver got out of his cab and help you back up to the bay and that is what a driver did for me.
Time and time again I wished the driver had left me to do it myself, as we were chatting and reversing at the same time using the brakes, backwards then forwards, and when I eventually got on to the unloading bay the green light come on , so still chatting the truck made no move to move forward ,I was on the bay I jumped out with the deliver tickets and walked up the 10 steps at the corner of the loading bay into the freezing warehouse, as you walk up the steps you are as high as the roofs of all the trailers parked on the loading bays so it looks like a flat field of roofs ,and all the fridges are off.
All the drivers all strangers, to me, are drinking coffee and eating sandwiches, mostly home made, the meal for the night workers does not start until 3am in the subsided canteen , I hope I am away before the crew eat as it makes it all get later and they get slower the longer they work.
The odd driver gets told he is finished, and new ones arrive, and at last they call me to say all is good and the unloading is finished just wait for the empty pallets to be reloaded, so off I go down the steps, talk to driver next door to me, jump in the cab, put the key in the ignition ,start the engine and let it tick over , i jump out the cab again, say something to the driver again [being cocky I expect as I was unloaded before him] I then make for the steps again in to the warehouse to see if the pallets are loaded ,and collect the paper work, and I was told 2/3 minutes and they will be ready so I waited like all the others do.
At that moment I was a happy bunny, soon be away and home I was handed all the correct paperwork all signed correct
and opened the door to go down the steps and looked over the trailer roofs again and there was a empty loading bay where I was parked, i thought well what a good chap [the driver next to me] he had pulled my truck off the unloading bay so as someone else can get in to the space I had… well that was what I thought my unit as I got past the truck alongside the walkway I could hear a commotion ,i did not what it was but as I got further round I could see the Rokold unit parked on a strange angle, I thought oh no !!!he has hit another truck ,and as I run round the front of the Rokold cab it is empty, no one is in it, and I run back around the way I had just come and Jesus, the left hand side of my trailer door was stuck in to the cab of the truck next to me, ■■■■ me what has happened… ohh- no ,i run back to my drivers side jump in the cab, and there is the evidence looking at me, the ■■■■■■■ hand brake was not on!!!ohh no that is me ■■■■■■. In the mean time out comes the driver who s cab I have just ■■■■■■, going ■■■■■■■ bananas.
What has happened is -that when I reached the loading dock doors just by luck or unlucky the air has all gone out of the air reservoirs connected to the trailer brakes and they are firmly on completely empty so it means that all the brakes on the 3 axles are on, I FORGOT TO PUT THE HAND BRAKE ON[silly me].
He said he had only just had it repaired “look mate I said” it has happened it is a accident I did it, sorry I turned to sharp , I will back up the truck and you hold the door open then I will park up over there and come back and sort it out . what the blessing was the chap parked next door had gone to see another driver so no one knows what actual happened . if the truck had not stopped where it did and not got caught up on his front, parked up were 3 trucks of bejams dead in line ,where it would have rolled to, now that would have been a major incident [ no health and safety yet]phew lucky or what…
After I had sorted all the paper work out truck numbers names extra I had to go and tell the night foreman what I had done so if they had a inquiry they would know. I eventually got away and made my way back to Bedford no damage to our truck and trailer , BUT MY GOD IT SORT OF PUT THE DAMPENERS ON ME.
I parked back up at Bedford in the fitters yard, I wrote out all that had happened on the back of a envelope [a big brown one] and stuck it in the window and asked John the fitter if he would tell Mr East what I had written down and I would ring after dinner…[so everyone would know now] no more could I do, but go home and expect the sack, at least I had given the office a heads up if the other driver rang first thing ,they would know what had happened.
About 2 pm I made the dreaded telephone call asked for the boss, told he was out but not to worry the insurance would sort it out, have the rest of the day off ring tomorrow. I could not believe it just like that all the thinking I was going to get the sack and that was that…OR WAS IT.
THIS I rang the next day, all seemed ok I asked if Robin wanted to speak to me and the traffic manager so no, all ok here this is what we want you to do I think it was Wednesday[ not sure]anyway I had to drive the car to Guildford and go to Steve Chities abattoir and there is a trailer that will be loaded with beef for Rung-is, market Paris,
Jesus Christ, after what I did, they have given me a load that I have never done before , only briefly in France ,i have no idea what to do, where to go, ■■■■ me out of the pan into the fire, I thought it is a joke they know I have not had a load of beef before, let alone deliver it, it is either a test to see what I do, if I take it or not, that is what it has got to be, so I thought right, ■■■■ it get on with it, learn as you go, and that is what I done…
Once at the abattoir the other driver a relief driver said thank god you have arrived, he thought he was going to have to go with the load ,and he had less experience than me, I thought well that is two of us but never said a word The load had all been sealed up and he gave me the custom papers, and off he went, I put my gear in the cab checked all around ,checked both diesel tanks and the fridge was set at +1 the correct temperature ,all seemed good I did not know who,s truck it was as the cab was empty, of any personal goods I made sure the company book was in it with all the relevant company credit cards for fuel and I had the company cash float that they gave you so all was goo i made my way to Dover I knew what agent to go to once there. NO GOING BACK NOW.
.
I knew where to park in the customs bay on the docks, and I went to the agents ,they sort of knew me and handed me a envelope with customs forms for me to produce ,also another one marked with my name and it said open in rung -is, market Paris with loading instructions after you are empty.
When I had found space for parking [customs] lots of other fridges there, roaring away, very noisy i queued up to present my paper work like the other drivers up the stairs, feeling a bit lost and apprehensive, but you would not know it, when a shout behind me called out Rokold! ,i looked behind as you do ,another driver a few behind me said ,we are going to the same place ,i will see you on the ferry ,right I said, and at that moment my inner nerve went away.
It turned out he had also loaded at the same place but had stopped on the way down to Dover ,but I did not know anyway after driving on the ferry ,fridge plugged in, I went up to the drivers eating area and waited for my new mate.
It turned out he knew that I was a first solo tripper as he was a subcontractor to Rokold as they had told him, so I was glad I did not refuse to take this load, and he proceeded to give me as much information you could take in a short time, however he did say that if we got split up he would wait for me, once through the last road toll pay station near Paris, I said how will I know if it is the last one ,he said it will be chocker block with cars and lorries, and the service station is just as you start to see the toll booth and it was as he said mad ,but that was just the start.
Once I had got through the toll, there were trucks parked every where,i found him and walked up ,he had got his kettle on so tea was the first thing then he proceeded to tell me, what to expect, and he told me where to get off the ring road and what to do once I approached the market…
The Paris city has 2 ring roads they are called [peripherque] [F] one outer for all the transit traffic and a inner for local. the outer has 4 lanes like a race track and that is what it is. As our trucks are right hand drive ,it was the only time it was to our advantage as the 4 lanes has no hard shoulder, masses of twists turns tunnels ,some dark some bright and all exits on the same road as the entrance and being on the right we always had a better view as to what was going on than the normal left hand drive
. LATER After years of using that road and all Frances I used to enjoy going round the peripherque. All the exits are named as [a-port-de -lyon or similar ] It used to get really fast and dangerous as the French would never ever give way they would just keep going, what they did not know was we could see them in our driving mirrors, as being right hand drive , not left sometimes they would have to go back the up exit as the lane for them to join the main road was the same stretch for anyone to get off ,because we/I would not let them in as they could see they would go under the wheels they would just be hanging on their hooters and if you were left hand driver you would slow up and give way because you would not be able to see them
. That was the rule in the city [give way] to cars trying to get on to the main road from a minor road. it was only our ever victory over the French driver, it was even funnier if two of us trucks were very close together. Sad but true all the bumps would be in the fast lane not ours All though it was a free way, we always stick in the slow lane
Yes I was given the insight of what to do and very pleased I was of having been given information, by the other driver also he said do not worry if you catch sight of a aeroplane going overhead, as the Auto route [motorway] goes under the runway of the Charles de Gaul Paris Airport, and many times I have seen planes going over the road in fact after time you took no notice but for then it was a sight…
Also he told me the Motorway signs are very different from ours in ENGLAND because they will show you mileage[in kilometres] and place names miles away from where you are however they are excellent to follow if you are going long distance example=signs showing all routes ,from where you have come from, as if to give you the chance to turn around and go any direction.
the signs show places a long distances away from Paris however they were the main and only routes.
Bordeaux direction to [Spain]
Marseilles v [ Italy ]
Nice v [ Italy]
Perpignan v [spain]
Calais. v6 [ GB]
LYON [F] another important sign .swiss.
What I am trying to say is that so as long you know your final destination you will never go wrong they all give you a 360.chance of turning around ,and when you enter France from other boarders Paris is always signed from where every good French thinking …signposts…
I hope you have grasped as what I have tried to explain …., back to going in to the Rungis market
now the nightmare does begin.
As Rungis is the biggest wholesale market of all the products imported you can imagine into France
it is like its own city, with restaurants/bars buses, and it is serviced by the major roads sign posts to all places in Europe ,it puts you in the right direction from there, as they know most of the trucks will go out to deliver all over France ,however I did not know any of this, I managed to follow the other driver in to the market, and we had to go and pay a entrance fee, it was all very new. once done at the barrier ,we went down to the customs parking bays well !it was like the biggest area you could imagine all numbered with a letter then a numeral. I later over time, found that there were maps of the market in the bars but the locals did not need them ,so hardly anyone knew…
I was taken up to the agents office about 5 floors up and presented the paperwork and we were both told we could be to late for to days market, meaning the customs had stopped clearing trucks for today [.clearing ]means processing the paper work and making sure all monies have been paid b
1983/4. First job at rokold fridge work. Other company name VHB EUROPEAN ROBIN EAST.
It was a Sunday afternoon about 2 o clock the phone rang, it was MR Webb [Alan] he said you have got the job sorry for the delay Would you be in for 6 0clock Monday evening also bring your sleeping bag, we like all the drivers to have their passports with them at all times so that as well I had a passport why do I need a passport ??so that gets the old brain working. [no computers then or else i could have googled Rokold.] I would have to wait until Monday night.
It was a 22mile drive, using back roads to Northampton from my village slower drive than the main road but shorter distance less petrol.
Time to leave home, I had sandwiches and flask, not that much cash I took a sleeping bag pillow wash bag. Just in case [famous last words].
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I arrived at the depot and the nice new lorry is not there, but a older D A F make of truck a 2800 model a smaller cab ,”not a big sleeper cab” it had 2 bunks also had was a 3 axles unit[truck front end .
I walked around the back of the trailer and Alan,[the boss] is in the back of the trailer helping push up pallets to the front with a pallet truck of the trailer with another man ,as the forklift went back in to the warehouse I was at the back of the trailer i shouted up “Hello”, they were both chattering away and the noise of the pallet truck being pushed up on the metal floor, it sounds like a rumbling train, the other chap looks round ,[as if to say what the do you want] he nudges Alan and points to me , not saying anything,.
Alan turns and comes to greet me, with his hand out stretched to shake my hand [again] I only seen him 3 days before ,I was not used to handshaking, he said his greeting ,then asked me to jump on up into the trailer , not the easiest thing to do , but with some scrabbling I manage it, usually they use the fork lift, but I was ■■■■■■■■ trained not to JUMP ON FORK LIFTS, [THAT WAS SOON TO GO]
He then introduced me to TOM who was the driver of the lorry Alan said he would be showing me the ropes, however I could tell that TOM did not want to know ,however he shook my hand rather limp, like a wet fish so I gave his hand a good squeeze like as if to say ■■■■ you too, another pallet arrived to the back of the trailer we then all 3 of us pushed it in to position , the trailer was getting full what looked like all kinds of vegetables, and boxes Tom and Alan carried on with their chatter ,but not with me involved they were talking double Dutch as far as I understood , using foreign sounding words in sentences .[they were place names]i found out later . after a while the trailer was loaded, we all jumped down off the back of the trailer then the last two pallets were pushed on with not a lot of room to spare for the trailer doors to be closed Tom shut the doors then went to the front of the trailer and started the engine for the fridge that kept all the produce inside the trailer at the required temperature [another new procedure for me to learn.
I went in the office with Alan he took my p45 then told me about the duties, and hours and pay ,and that it was as temporary position that could lead up to permanent, however they as a company use mostly owner drivers[with their own tractor units] to do the majority of work ,and used the companies trailers , the company only have 3 lorries of their own, and they are utilised by casual drivers mostly [part time firemen]on their leave to cover a lot of their work .
He told me i would work sometimes 5 days ,6 days, or 2 days whatever the requirement , it was paid as a monthly salary ,it would be the same pay so do not worry if you have days not at work .[as I found out later you make up for it] they gave you £50 for expensive s for anything you had to pay for while on company work, also if you had a night out away from home that would be paid in to your wages tax free.
If the company get really busy, they would hire another tractor unit, as they have a new job delivering to a super market, and will need me as a extra driver.
Also they take on European work when required that could be without notice, however I would be shown the procedures by going out with another driver first, it would be with a owner driver it looked promising for me if the truth was known then [I should have went out and gone home and forget about the job,] but I did not and ended up driving about 21 years on the continental untill 2002/3[however I did not know it then]
It was like a new challenge and 100% different from the road haulage that I was used to i would give it a go.
Tom was slightly, you could say, grumpy, but I do understand now [then I did not] that it was a pain in the arse having a driver with you let alone a new one like me, at least we both smoked so that was all right.
We eventually left NORTHAMPTON apparently we were already running late for a timed booking to unload at Hemel Hemp-stead at a food store distribution centre ,it was over a one hour drive, and the company we were delivering to were strict on time for booking times at 9o clock at night , Tom told me.
This is going to be a different work environment I am embarking on
Tom was driving he pushed the truck to its limits not at the required 58 mph then on the Motorways .
I must say this is the first time I have ever been working at night time in all my previous driving years I had no idea that there was such a amount of trucks working on nights ,it was unheard of unless you were employed as a night driver and not many were ,times are changing it is 1982.
We arrived at the delivery I was all eyes watching the procedures that tom went through and there were many as the pallets were loaded right to the back doors, you would not be able to back the articulated lorry down[on a slope] to get backed on to a unloading bay ,as when you hit the stops [ you knew when you were backed on the loading bay a green light came on ,from red ]on the warehouse wall /unloading dock, the red light came on telling you to stop.] you could see in your review mirror .
As the pallets were loaded at the back of the trailer you had a problem ,a ramp inside would not come down, that allowed the people inside to move in and out of the trailer to take pallets off, you had to drive the lorry off the unloading bay, with the doors open and pinned back to back to where you started from, then go into the warehouse and ask if they would use the outside fork lift truck to take the back two pallets off,
then you would be able to do the original move again, if!![1]if you could find the fork lift driver . [2] he was not obliged to do it. [3] he would for a small price£5 He would take them off and deposit them inside the warehouse via the door you should have been backed on i found out all this in a matter of 10 minutes.
First lesson learnt do not leave the base if the pallets are rammed up to the back trailer doors, and make sure there is a restraining strap around them [why did we leave like it then] Ahh! Tom had got the hump and he forgot, While all this is going on, other lorry’s coming in the area where we are trying to get unloaded outside ,to then go back on to the bay we just come off however this chap wanted to go where we wanted to go, as he must have thought we had just come off the unloading dock finished unloading[wrong], I kept back and let Tom deal with it I found out he had a very usefully tongue on him and would not back off, eventually the pallets were unloaded, we pull off the bay ,close the rear doors then we are able to get on with the journey and drive down into London ,as I was look at the delivery tickets [notes] we had i asked Tom ,what are Samples?? to Baker street.that is by Kings Cross Rail Station in Baker Street, LONDON
It is Sainsbury head office, It is samples of all the fruit and veg that the a company wants to sell to Sainsbury, it is produce for their quality control of products sold in stores of Sainsbury it is either accept or rejected, it is for the next nights delivery’s to Sainsbury depots apparently this is the way they have been doing it for years.
The only problem is that we were on the wrong side of the main A 40 road from Oxford to London, streaming with cars, we had to carry on find a place to turn around ,so were able to drive down to outside the office doors and the best of all you just leave it in the door foyer ,with a lot of other goods, you do not get it signed for you, we now have to go around again as our next deliver is Spitalfields market in the city ,I did know where it was as you passed it every day as it was on a main transit route towards tower bridge, I had no idea it was a indoor fruit market.
At this point if I start to tell you the roads we used to get into places within the city of London I would need a A to Z map.
Once inside the Spitafields market, it was built for horse and carts a absolute night mare, a mass of wire cages that people had all there produce in ,there were only a few fork lift drivers around and Tom taught me the art of Spitalfields Market .
He told me never drive inside ,stay outside, and walk in, have a look to see if you will be able to get to the stall you want to get to, once in there you will not get to be able to drive out until all the lorry in front of you are unloaded it is a rabbit warren of small lanes and a working area for hand carts …I was for ever gratefully for Toms knowledge that night believe me.
.Once you drove in and parked at the stall you walked around and found the forklift man then you told him who you were delivering to how many pallets and give him £5 for him to unload your pallets apparently they were all independent men on the fork lifts who owned them, I have no idea I suspect the forklifts are for all people to use free, it was soon sorted that was £10 in less than 2 hours spent on using forklifts[all money used in market or any other work to get unloaded or loaded was repaid by the company.
When finished inside there we then went to the worlds most smallest market in LONDON called THE BOROUGH just over London bridge
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Another EDWARDIAN MASTERPIECE inside the entrance there is a[ open all hours pub], inside the market , what a place to get inside the market, we use the same wholesaler at every market also they had their own fork lift driver they are called “Porters” after they have seen your delivery notes, [another load of the laziest ■■■■■■■■ you ever met ] you never had to pay them…well not on a week day, however as I learnt later on ,when you went to deliver on a Sunday night there was not the slightest sign of man or beast to be seen one fork lift was left out for all the drivers to unload themselves, as they were all in the pub in the market the pup is still there this day, you drove out a different way than you drove in.
It was about 2am by now we set off for the next Market New COVENT GARDEN at a place called “nine elms “just passed Vauxhall bridge, tom let me drive I found out later on that he had been up and working since 9am Monday it was now TUESDAY 3.30am
I was shown short cuts around London city streets and how to arrive at the Markets you have to pay a entrance fee to get in Covent garden ,£3 [all lorry s] T he company had regular customers there.
This is now another world very noisy ,every other word[■■■■] most of the men are dressed in the same type clothes, flat caps, brown boots it looked as if it was a uniform at least the men at the stall are pleased to see us ,well ,Tom.
they did not speak to me when they put the pallet truck upon the trailer and we start pulling loaded pallets of all kinds of fruit to the back of the trailer they are taken away in to their store, after a time we are putting full loaded pallets back on. [strange] I push them up to the front of the trailer, after a cup of tea and a sandwich from the market café we made our way out.
By this time we have left the market and back over the north side of the Thames I am driving and Tom tells me to head for HESTON by Heathrow airport and wake him up as we pass the service station, he is soon well asleep and I am driving past Harrods on the A40 I had never been this way before. Lots of people still around at 4 30 am what are they doing, god knows certainly not working
I wake tom up he has been asleep on the bottom of the bunk he jumps up as if he has been mugged, wow!! tom it is me I shout its Vic, we are at the Heston services on the M4 sorry he said
he was dreaming ,he told me to drive to the next exit and come off the Motorway and go to the market well signposted.
At the gate the guard ask where is my delivery how many pallets, Tom shouts 4 only, to some name, and I drive around the market to about the last [pitch] market stall and park up, we both jumped out of the cab , tom told to me open the trailer doors and a fork lift will be right here with a pallet truck tom went inside the market.
I started to pull all the remaining pallets to the rear of the trailer the forklift truck took them away we went to another stall with 1 pallet and then we were empty, it was by now 6am and the market traders were streaming in their vans, Tom came back closed the back doors he said to me quick as you can drive out of the market and head for home.
Once out of the mad house Tom told me it was a regular thing for whoever unloaded at Fen and Hexton the stall we were delivering to in Covent garden you will load up any pallets they have to be delivered to the Heston market for them and do not say anything as it was a arrangement between Alan at the office and them .
We arrived back to Northampton me driving Tom was fast asleep I parked up woke Tom up and went home as no one else was around. I found out later was Tom slept in his lorry as he had another delivery job to do at lunch time I had first learned about the procedure of Double Manning a lorry,
“Explanation”
This is about the driving hours and duty hours of one driver =
A driver can be on duty for 15 hours in one 24 period.
Within that period, he can drive literally drive for 10 hours.
But must take at least 2x30 minutes rest period within that 10rs.driving.
And the rest of 5 hours is for unloading whatever
This is a basic explanation.
After the 15 hours duty a driver must take a 9 our rest period.
All these hours have different combinations of how you do them, and how much they were fiddled.
Before any driver moves anywhere in the lorry by law he must complete, his vehicle checks, oil water tyres, excreta then you must fill in the Tachograph you start writing in the top spaces of the Tachograph provided you have to use a pen placing your name ,where you are [town]etc and the currant reading of the speedometer mileage However if you are double manning you must both put a completed Tachograph card in the Tachograph head that has 2 compartments you must put the same mileage and place of start. [[this will be exploited later]]
A tachograph is a piece of carbon type of paper card easier marked both side so you have to be gently with it, it has a complex series of broken lines printed on and marked as the 24 hour clock.]It records just like a graph [used in lie detector tests] or a doctors heart monitor print out ,it records every movement the lorry makes ,the slightest forward or backward movement on the tachograph disc , once it is inserted [the disc] the only way you can cover any illegal movement is just remove
the disc, throw it away, and start again and take a chance of not getting caught.
Tachograph insertion=
On the tachograph inside the dashboard ,you turn a small key and it opens up [like a ladies powder compact] and it is hinged and it pulls back about6 inches away from the dashboard ,and it splits in to two compartments, when looking in the back all you see is very fine needle pints sticking out but they are retracted so then you get your paper round disc tachograph that has a circle cut out in the middle that you push gently over a protruding knob .that is if you are driving on your own
If you are what is called double manning, two drivers in the same cab on the same run you put another tachograph in the other compartment now they are separate but in the same place as the protruding knob goes through both [well sort of] so what it means all the lorry movement however minuet will be recorded on both the discs at the same time. Anything connected to the electrical power source to the tachograph will be recorded. Like fuses being pulled I will elaborate on the fiddling later…
The regulations were always interpreted in different ways at different company s.
Drivers ARE their OWN worst enemy when breaking the law. It was worse than a minefield.
If it suited you as a driver you did it right or wrong we used to exploit our self sometimes for the company glory, bragging rights various reasons .to be talked about status and best of all of all you never stop moaning about it and never tell the truth lying you were skilled at because a transport office wherever you worked would never every tell you the full story or the truth I took me years to learn, not quite all but a lot, you learned something new every day However more later I have jumped the gun, as I have only just done my first run.
This was in 1980s it all has changed dramatical I arrived home and i really enjoyed it, it did not seem like work the hours and pay did not then seem to matter I realised we had been double manning.
After getting home from my trip with Tom I did not get a phone call until Wednesday would i be in for 1 pm .
I put the same gear in my car and got there for 1pm and the brand-new truck was in the outside loading bay with it refrigerated unit roaring away.
I later found out it takes a while for the fridge unit to cool the goods and trailer down to the required temperature that the goods inside should be transported at and to be excepted at the delivery point, where they would have a quality control person checking all the goods coming off at their premise ,that is why the refrigerated unit on the trailer is running hours before you leave, as to get the produce down to the accepted temperature.
[very important] then though it did not mean so much as I was not really aware of the importance however I would soon learn.
As I walked towards the office to see Alan, a man I had seen briefly when I was at the interview was there, he said to me, can I help you, i replied, I would like to Alan ,why he asked ,I explained to him who I was, he said to me please just hold on a minute ,he went into the office and closed the door.
After a while Alan came out and said to me Vic,! I am really sorry ,but I should have employed another man, not you and the boss, who you have just seen Mr Robin East is fuming at me because he wanted a younger man than you.
Alan asked me to go and have a coffee elsewhere give him half a hour and then come back. i was mad but did not show it and off I went.
I went back to the office and it had all been sorted out, Alan told me your job is safe ,a hand shake ,in comes MR East another handshake ,and welcomed me into the company.
I thought , do not ■■■■ it up ,do as your told and learn ,and that is what I did, they gave me the keys to the new truck outside and off I go, with the biggest grin in Northampton ,if only my old mates could see me now, yes I know it is only a lorry however one of the best then in England…one delivery only on the other side of Birmingham ,do not forget the empty pallets the last words said to me ,then come back here ,fill up and then go home.
I arrived at the supermarket depot delivery warehouse after a bit of a run around but arrived there in the end it is difficult to get it right first time or even second, [ finding delivery places] lots of other lorry s waiting all with their fridges roaring away I checked the temperature gauge is hovering on + 4 that was right ,well that is what I was told ,I thought nothing of it.
Walking up to the outside security office with my loads delivery notes still grinning, hand them in. then I came down to earth with a ■■■■■■■ great bang Your late !!, you have missed your delivery slot .
No one told me it should have been 3 pm.
No wonder it was a ■■■■ up at the depot all I could do was wait for a [slot] = [ term used for getting a unloading bay to back on to if there is time or if someone else is late]
The security man said they would see when they could get me in it maybe 9 o clock tonight I waited, and i learned that to have something to eat and drink
and to read was the way to go…
Eventually I get unloaded, the empty pallets are put back on the front of the trailer. [[Two mistakes I made however I did not know it at the time,]]i drove home to the depot filled up with diesel at the public garage, with the company s card, hid the card and put the keys where I was told to ,I had parked up, no one was around , I arrived home around 2am.
On the way home I am starting to think about the hours I have done for basic pay and trying to think is this the right thing to be doing, and I am trying to talk myself out of doing what I am doing, something I am fairly good at most times I have got this thing in my head that the work and job, also the time off is it worth it, the new lorry s , plus clean job, just pushing a few pallets around clean clothes. I have made my mind up , there are no more jobs around in transport I am lucky to be working get on with and just do it.
There is a phone call at home around11 am ,asking me to come in please ,i collected my gear together and drove to work arriving around 1pm Alan asked me to come in to the office,
I went in and I could tell something is not right
,
Vic, what about the pallets, !![Alan]
What about them they were on the front of the trailer,
Yes [Alan]
well,
you are ten pallets short also they are not the correct pallets. [Alan],
Alan what are you talking about when I left the lorry this morning at 2am there were 15 pallets in that truck /
Are you 100%sure [Alan
yes of course I am i might be new here ,but I have not had the pallets, where would I get rid of pallets ,look at my Tachograph I came straight back here from the delivery, from the other side of BIRMINGHAM
After he had checked the graph over, he apologised he told me to go home we have no work tonight for you so it is all o k ,they found out much later that a man from the warehouse team was coming in early a taking the pallets to sell, at that time there was big money in pallets.
PALLETS=
A pallet must have 9square blocks of wood about6 inches all round. 1 at each corners and the others in the middle. and the slats of good wood about a 1inch gap on the top so they are solid and the underneath have just wider gaps and less slate so the pallet can take a 1 metric ton in weight good for a 1 for 1 exchange when at whare -houses.
The other system is the same pallets that are painted blue and are made by a company called GKN and are governed by a 1 for 1 system also a tickets system ie=if you leave 20 or later 21 pallets at a warehouse and they cannot give you the same in return ,you then get a stamped ticket saying that you are owed them pallet and they were transferable at any depot in the country. or you can go to a pallets collection yard and collect that number of pallets from them, only G K N yards ,however there was a black market trading in blue pallets as well as ordinary ones ,country wide ,CASH.
Also there were the fruit pallets that the fruit was imported from Spain, excreta they were flimsy good for nothing however if you did not keep at eye on what people were giving you in exchange you would end with some, and when you went to re exchange them you were basically ■■■■■■ and you own fault. But over time as it went on for me you got very good at dealing with pallets .
There was a lot of money in 20 pallets, then1983/4£ 60+ black market.
Well! that is sorted and the blue pallets system is massive every product that needs pallets are on G KN blue pallets not just Europe the world.
Work seemed to pick up as it was nearly every night I would be doing market runs or a late supermarket delivery to their main distribution depots also I got to meet and see the other driver s and the owner drivers who worked for the company all the owner drivers were all clean and smart, the same as their tractor units .
I had no idea that men were doing regular runs [trips ] to Spain and bringing all kinds of fresh and frozen goods back to the UK they would talk about the ferry ports they used ,driving through FRANCE down to the Spanish boarder .
They were mentioning all kinds of names of Spanish and French places they went to , to unload or reload ,talking about customs procedures ,delays border hold ups, police stops, getting fined in FRANCE, all kinds of what to me at the time was a new type of job.
A few of the other drivers were very young just 21 years old, no driving experience at all ,even I could tell that they had not done any haulage company driving at all, just the way they were however they were there the same as me it was nothing to do with me. they were very friendly with Alan as if mates i did think well, that could be my downfall but I would have to wait and see.
Two of the drivers were full time firemen and drove for the company on their 4 days off, my next thought was? not a lot of future in this job for me as they do not need the job they get a nights work and not me ,no wonder the pay was not extra for nights. But as men they were adaptable and would help when needed what I did not realise was that if I stayed at home for 4 nights I was still getting paid ,not being used to a monthly salary it took me a time to not bother if there was no work for me.
The company seemed to me to have quite a lot of new trailers but not with the name painted on so after a time I got to know that they were all hired from a big trailer rent company on a monthly basis all this new to me, some of the tractor units were the same even the nice blue painted D A F
so what it meant in company terms they did not own anything all hired this was a completely new idea of working so they could just fold up and move on. also a lot of the owner drivers were doing the same hiring trailers ,and tractor units.
THE REFRIGERATED TRAILER.= THIS IS LATER ON WHEN I WAS ON FRIDGES PERMANENT==LIKE A SHORT HISTORY OF WHAT FRIDGES WERE USED FOR AND HOW WE LOADED THEM WHEN I WAS A DRIVING.
The trailers built before 1983/4 had just a fridge unit control box on the front side of the fridge and all the workings and blowers on the inside of the trailer ,so if you looked in side the trailer from the back doors at the front you would have seen a metal blower fan unit sticking out, just about the size of a modern set of two Chester draws hanging down from the front sticking about 2 foot out ,meaning that you were not able to push pallets right to the front headboard flat they would have to be half size, sif you had boxes you would have to take half of them off in the trailer ,push the other to the front under the fridge blowers ,then try to re stack the rest around the blowers , the ones you were left with you would re-distribute on the pallets as they were in the trailer …meaning no matter how tired you were you had to be with the loading all the while…
The next awkward thing was the meat hooks meat hooks yes, each fridge had meat hooks .i had completely no idea how or when they were used and by what or why, I knew that there were about 330 meat hooks hanging down along 5 rails in the roof of the trailer, what was holding them up I do not know [I still wonder today what was unseen in the fridge roofs] , the meat rails were like [example]- if you look at a zip any zip, undo it and look at the sliding thing ,one is attached to the zip and the other not look down at the side not attached ,and you see the hole that you attach the other piece of the zip to, turn it towards you and you see [like a rail]. The thin gap, that is what the meat rails were like and you threaded the meat hooks along the thin gap from the door end ,to where you wanted them all at the front out of use and the way. Along these rails the whole length of the roof ,at intervals attached ,were small steel clips that you could put down inside the rail to stop the hooks from sliding back or forward ,these were very important Especially when we were loading all the different meats.
FRIDGE SIZE AND WEIGHTS.
The first fridges were on 2 axles,[8wheels] on the rear a Fridge box trailer.
[ The cooling system] inside on the front of the trailer.
A steel ribbed floor , thick heavy doors and side walls, Overall weight with tractor 17.000k gs[17 tons].
Around 19834/5 new fridge trailers arrived ,with 3 rear axles ,singular tyres new type refrigerated unit outside , fitted on the front of the trailer a lightweight chassis, flat [not ribbed] chequered steel floors with visible screw heads, also a thin steel holed strip attached to the side wall to put restraining bars in [ to hold loads back from falling] they were about 4 foot high off the floo.
Later they built under slung boxes underneath the trailers to hold 24 empty pallets and the meat hooks in plastic boxes. and various other features as years went on and of course the lighter the trailers weighed the better. in the end there was no chassis as of now very lightweight, that was the ultimate aim years ago lighter net weight higher pay load.
I AM GOING A BIT FORWARD IN MY STORY,HOWEVER IF I DESCRIBE THE USE OF THE FRIDGES,AND PRODUCTS WE /I CARRIED AND TRAILER DEVELOPMENT YOU WILL HAVE SOME IDEA ?
I will just start with the loading of all meat , carcasses were loaded not by the driver at all it was done at the abattoirs by loaders [porters] ,it was a very hard job ,you would not have wanted to have loaded meat then have to do your driving work ,it was all ways very clinical ,we had to wash the trailers out with high powered jet washes, either before arriving at the abattoir , or when there using their power wash that all abattoir had also the temperature of the trailer had to be cooled down inside the trailer if possible before loading as you backed on to a loading bay that is cooler inside the abattoir than outside temperature where all the meat is cooled down in the large holding fridges ready for loading , the trailers were meticulously inspected by [ 1] the VET, [2]A MINISTRY OF HEALTH INSPECTOR NOW [ M. A F. F] before any loading took place at all.
DIFFERENT MEATS EXPORTED I CARRIED
BEEF= steers breed especial for eating fore quarters [front legs /shoulder …
Hind quarters [rear leg]1animal could weight 1 ton [1000gks]
COW BEEF,= OLD MILKING COWS. AS ABOVE SLIGHTLY LIGHTER.
SHEEP,LAMBS= to FRANCE SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM .HOLLAND GERMANY. ITALY. GREECE.
EWES. MUMS. = MUTTON. LARGE size 3 to 4 years old for ITALY SPAIN. A very fatty product.
PIGS, =FAT OLD SOWS,LARGE. For ITALY, SPAIN. GERMANY. FRANCE.
PIGS=SMALLER =BACON,HAM. For SPAIN. ITALY ,AUSTRIA .FRANCE
BOAR MEAT,= HAD TO BE TRANSPORT SEPARATIVE FROM ANY OTHER MEAT, AS VERY ODOROUS .Mostly loaded that in Germany for ITALY
BULL MEAT=ALSO CARRIED ON THERE OWN. MOSTLY to Italy
SOME TIMES BOXES OF ALL GAME BIRDS, VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF WOOD -PIGEON ALSO VENISON NOT HUNG UP BUT STACKED UP BECAUSE IT WAS FROZEN
WHEN LOADED FOR ITALY, FROM ANY COUNTRY YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE MIDDLE HANGING RAIL EMPTY,SO AS THE VETS COULD WALK ALL THE WAY DOWN THROUGH THE LOAD TO CHECK WHAT YOU HAD ON THE LORRY CORRESPONDED WITH THE PAPER WORK,THEY WERE LITTLE ■■■■■■ IN OTHER WORDS ABSOLUTE ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ WOULD HOLD YOU UP TO 2 DAYS.
It was because the way the meat markets were going if more imports were in the country, the local prices would be higher . Without imports ,it would not be only me waiting there would be up to 20/30 lorry s, waiting to unload all over a ITALY .however if you were in Transit ,going outside ITALY, to GREECE for delivering you would soon be out of the customs /vet the Italians call their vets doctors, so the first time I went there I took me ages to find out what were they on about…
Basically we took fresh chilled hanging meat all over Europe most frozen meat that was what was called INTERVENTION [remember the butter ,wine mountains] yes ,there was a meat mountain but it all went abroad ,we never got the benefit of it, when ROMANIAN was free1989, trucks from the UK took loads of meat to GERMANY to cold stores close to the old east German boarder that was then transferred from the cold stores to the ROMANIANS they had very poor lorry to take it back to ROMANIA.
when you saw what a sorry state the men [drivers ]were in and their pathetic lorries they had absolutely nothing, not even cups to drink out of they used old tin cans or jam jars ,we drivers all give loads of tinned food and all old clothes even some dirty washing of ours to them. I will elaborate later…
That was later on I will go back to 1982/3
Work seemed to be very busy, I did get a lot of the evening or whole nights work, but I never minded as it got me learning more about markets and the way they worked, I have been in Covent garden unloading and I would see another Rokold company trailer ,unloading ,naturally I would go over to see who it was and it was rarely any one I knew it would be a owner driver on contract using his own tractor unit and pulling a Rokold trailer .
I get chatting -as you do ,well I did ,and the response would be the same from the other driver, ohh are you one of the Northampton temps !i used to say yes, yes !I am the new boy just started driving , just finding my feet and then move to the lorry I was driving away from him. And leave it at that, and go about my other deliverers.
One afternoon and I was asked to be in for 5 pm and bring your gear with you your washing gear, change of clothes, sleeping bag and passport , that was all I was told.
I parked my car ,Alan came over to me and told me ,when you get back tonight there will be a owner driver here , you are going with him on a trip to Holland.
You have a short run tonight! and will be back easy as far as time, I thought this is the start, and it was, the driver PETE he seemed fine he explained it all where we were going ,it sounded unbelievable [at the time it was for me], first we did the tachographs ,and I said what about the 5 hours I have done on this disk, he said ohh just put it away, no one will give a ■■■■ about a quick trip you have just done.
First time I had done anything illegal with the tachograph , I was learning…
His trailer was loaded with a few delivers at the markets once we were empty we started to make our way down to Dover for shipping out on the Townsend Thorsen Zeebrugge ferry.
It must have been around 4am when he pulled into a lay by and he said its time for a kip[sleep] the cab had two bunks, normal in most lorry s that did European trips .
It seem after 5 minutes and Pete was up ,and he had the small gas cylinder stove with a kettle boiling on small wooden shaped shelf that fitted on the dash board, I was completely amazed ,undeliverable ,and he said I only have coffee, that is fine I said bursting for the toilet.
Next, still amazed, he had a small type of mesh with a wooden handle and was toasting some bread if you can make tea ,coffee and toast ,what more do you want .
I later on found a device for toasting bread on the small gas stove, you can by them today 2014called a DEFUSER. Look it up.[goggle].
After having the snack/breakfast he educated me by telling me that is how you live once abroad you look after yourself you use all facilities provided by factory’s or border service stations wherever you can ,he said hygiene is not our standard in some countries but always remember ,that it is you that is the foreign visitor in another country and if you respect that you will get along fine
I did ask about the Tachograph card and he said we are starting fresh from where we are ,he took the two tachograph discs out of the tachograph head and tore them up he said if you do not get a police check through the night, then no one else is checking lorry s [or so everyone thought], who knows what you are doing where he booked off on his previous card I did not worry.
I was only a second driver he said he would just use his tachograph card and use mine later if needed when we get back in Dover that meant we now had 15 hours to do collection and get back to a port for the ferry back to Englan
DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR SHIPPING OUT ON A FERRY.
SHIPPING OUT =meaning going to Europe with a load of goods.
First piece of paper or booklet you needed was a TRAILER GARNET. That is the trailers own passport. it is a customs required document for all Country’s in Europe. It means that temporary excise duty has been paid. And the chassis number is used as well as whatever number the company uses for their own purpose and it cannot be changed, also on the trailers front are two photographs of the trailer in sealed plastic holders also legal requirement however [never needed in England by our U.K .trailers however all foreign lorry s within the U.K.] needed them ,but I must point out at that time in the 1980s early 1990s that EUROPEAN lorry s driving over in the U. K. was very limited as Self drive i.e. foreign drivers actually driving.
shipped over
Next stop the ticket office then passports to be shown .
Two drivers one lorry, you will have to pay for the extra bunk bed and food , Apparently when the ticket was booked, two drivers were not mentioned.[i could be a hitch hiker]
They rang the office to get conformation it was 2 drivers It was all-right in the end however I did produce my HGV but they still wanted conformation,
that practice was in still force all the years I crossed the channel from whatever port and country , a named passenger ,for a second drivers ticket… to stop people even then bringing any one to the UK ,because if there was any problems , with the police ,immigration abroad, and trying to get in here the fall back was the Ferry company they were held responsible…
So then round to the customs, having no goods to clear a “transit empty “form has to be filled in and stamped as Belgium is in Benelux there are different boarder controls needed ,not a lot. so it is easy to enter and transit. Then off down to queue up for boarding ,there were two types of ferries for Zeebrugge one freight only ,slower and limited cabins .and the other normal but smaller than now roll on ,roll off that was a faster crossing ,as drivers ,we also had a bunk and drivers only eating lounge.[privilege].L
Loading of the lorry s was a job done by shore staff on the dock and once inside by the ships crew
……=…
,[[just a diverse peace of information, what I did not know at the time when I was using… TOWNSEND THORRESON ,AND LATER P and O ferries to ZEEBRUGGE one of my old ship mates was working on the same ships as a bosun, quartermaster .and we never bumped into one another .we were definitely on the same ferry at the same time as when the HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE SANK IN THE ZEEBRUGGE HARBOUR on march the 9th 1987 WE HAD BOTH CAME OVER THE DAY BEFORE IN ANOTHER FERRY. And we did not meet up un till 2005 .He was a lucky man as crews used to rotate to the two different ships .i did not know of anyone personally who died.
So the ships crew parked you up then proceeded to put chains on the lorry from the deck to stop any movement. Then out we got, went up the stairs to the drivers compartments, and I can tell you I am, ecstatic I never ever thought I would set foot on a ship again ever. just being there brought a lot of memories back[good ones] but I did not let on to PETE he would not a given a rats arse anyway. It did not take long to suss him out , a Ladies man. when round the table eating he never stopped flowing from him .where he had been what he did. chatting to the stewardesses , we went to our cabins and had a sleep for 3 hours how bad was that, and getting paid for it ,well that was the way you had to look at it .I could not believe that for years some drivers had had jobs like I was now privy to ,not all that ■■■■ we used to do, and a lot of them were young men. Well good luck to them but I was envious of them that is all they new ,i expect it was the luck of the draw where you lived and the company you worked for.
After the sleep up for tea and sandwich all free. And then duty free ,what a bonus. But did say to me
be careful how many cigarettes you buy as you are only allowed 200 hundred that is the U K. limit
also you can buy them on the passage home, also all the men buying large quantities of cigarettes
are going home or on long trips ,not back to the UK like we will be so point taken and I waited for the return ferry. after a call over the ships T ANNOY “all drivers proceed to the lorry s”off we went.
Once down in the lorry deck there seemed a lot of lorry s to the amount of drivers who went up into the passenger area so I mentioned it to Pete ,ho arr , he said a lot of the men .do not leave their cabs they get in there own bunk and get to sleep quicker, also if there is a snorer in the same cabin you might just as well give up. Also you get longer in bed.
It did after time turn out to be a practice that all shipping company s on all routes rule out as a non practice to be used after the 1987 disaster at Zeebrugge ,in fact all drivers had to report with ticket to the stewards office .as the loss of drivers life s trapped in the cabs was very high .however `that was to come later.
So we start winding our way out of the ships bowl’s and into the ■■■■■■■ rain in a very orderly queue. For the first bend in the road , all lorry s from different countries I had never seen so many ,what I noticed straight away all the nice hellos heads nodding Pete telling me who was from where etc all smiles , as soon as we got off the ship it was one for all no quarter given horns blowing, Jesus they were like Jekyll and hide. When we eventually got parked up outside the customs and immigration office ,[all in one] it was like a football crowd coming out of a match. no order at all ,so I just stuck with Pete and no one was saying anything to each other ,it was strange however I was learning that was what I was there for.
Ye, I got my passport stamped. My first foreign stamp. They do not bother now ,well they did not years ago, for drivers.
First stop Pete said was diesel .it was the second cheapest in the Euro union , Luxembourg was the cheapest and it still is to this very day, how .■■■■ knows ,but it is.
He would not let me drive until I had got my eye in so to say, he told me.
After 10 minutes we were at the first garage, it was packed with nearly all the lorries off the ferry ,so we queued again ,I can see now why the big rush to get first was to get to the diesel stop first.
After years, I had got it all sussed out , driving down to Dover the more lorry s you overtook they would be behind you whatever queue in the dock you took I would more or less know if they were going for the Zeebrugge or Calais ,as the same companies usually kept to there regular trips to the same countries… you knew you would always be in front of them ,and be at the diesel tank stop n at ZEEBRUGGE before them, how? Because you would be in front of them in the queue at Dover and get on the ferry earlier than them, and we were mostly empty going in to Zeebrugge so quick customs at Dover, and better position on the ferry for getting off to the diesel and the horrible coffee. always luke -warm but drivers used to love it, afraid I never did.
It was the practice of all the different nationality’s while filling up was to have no sense of hurry at all ,they were like mad men to get to the diesel then once there they would put the fill up hose in the tank and ■■■■ off,[automatic fuel cut off]into the garage shop that had chairs, table, and free coffee and not a care in the world .i expect it was something I would have to get used to.
We were at lest 1 ½ hours there …mind you Pete was as bad as the others once at the diesel tank ,he was then speaking in pidgin English , lots of back slapping, and the now classic hand shaking ,it was like a epidemic, they were all shaking hands, if they knew one person, and you were near you all got a handshake .that was to me , well different, being English how many times in your life do you shake hands very little …it was a new form of greeting I would become very at ease with after time.
All I could hear was lots of WE!E, SAV!A,MESSU!E ] then unintelligible rubbish .it was if I had been transported to another world, however after time I found that the Belgians, and the French used a lot of the same words in their greetings language also handshakes .
Also the new smells of strange cigarettes , lots of different nick Knacks in the shop ,nothing English ,for a while yes ,i was like a kid in a sweet shop. You were able to buy all different kinds of goods for a lorry not seen in the U k mostly for owner drives. one thing did catch my eye was like the small well made wooden very neat table top ,that would fit around the inside of the windscreen like a small writing desk with little small draws ,for all the pens , on the passenger side of the cab i thought how good a idea. they were labelled up for all the European makes of lorry cabs.[[little did I know then that I would know more about them]…
There was a air of I will get going when I am ready! no sense of hurry at all ,as I could then see that Pete was blending in, I expect you do as they do !unless you were all on the same firm and running together or just widening his circle of [I met you before mates].?
When at last we made a attempt to get moving, the tank full of diesel all so the tank under the trailer that runs the fridge engine ,that uses RED diesel ,even more cheaper than England, as that diesel is tax exempt in England for Agriculture use only ,however it was used legally by hauliers using refrigerated trailers ,as no direct profit is made from it…[more on diesel later]
Once clear of Zeebrugge ,you never went through the actual town, I was on the learning look out, all the different signs ,road marking and of course wrong side of the road ,well for me, however it did not seemed normal ,well it was .Pete made a point for me to keep well sat back in my seat as not to block his view from the inside mirror .as that was his now important mirror for all his overtaking if he needed to.
The direction signs I were seeing were way far beyond the distance from where we going. I thought we were going into Holland I had no idea of where we were as Pete seemed to have no map and I did not have one however he knew the road and did not need a map we soon turned off the main highway [like our Motorways] and headed for Antwerp. I did notice that on top of the road signs there was a large green E number I found out later the E number on the signs are main transit through routes to all countries throughout Europe.
We passed a most famous truck stop [with EUROPEAN DRIVERS] called” Lokern “on the way out of Belgium towards the Dutch boarder The Boarder when we arrived was just like a pull in lay bye with a few brick huts [agents offices] and a coffee shop.
I followed Pete into a transit type large room with lots of open type rooms with uniformed female and male customs. immigration, Police all lounging around, all with a side arm not to busy, so Pete told me the procedures of entering Holland and what form to fill in and who to go to first then it followed on. Easy, He said nearly all boarders work on the same principle. Police Immigration, Customs.
If you were loaded, and delivering into Holland you had to use a AGENT to process your paper work Roklod company used the same AGENT at all Benelux country’s that means that there is a automatic payment account. As we were empty it was quick and straight forward piece of paper stamped up ready to hand to the gate man who lifted the barrier so you could region the main highway as we did, and me keeping well back in my seat as there were cars travelling fast along the road so Pete could see.
He told me that we had not far to go, I was rather disappointment I would have like to have gone for mile we did cross one massive bridge over like a lake/inland sea, the signposts coming up said to Arnhem the 2nd world war battle for the bridges it looked as if we were going near there so that kept me busy writing place names down. For future reference, there were hardly any trees, no hedges, all dykes, canals and lots of people riding bicycles not on the main road we were on but on the other country roads, Holland is known for bikes and tall people i can see why now it all looked rural and flat.
We soon arrived at our collection point all nicely flat sandy earth round the edges of the hard standing you could see the indentations in the base, where the lorry s have been backed on to loading bays overtime ,unstable ground.
The time was getting on and getting dark I was surprise that we would be loading at that time ,however we were on the continent and their work time patterns were different to hours , as years went by factory’s in the U. K did introduce continental work patterns much to the disappointment of the unions.
Pete seemed well known at the cold store [massive store holding all kings of deep frozen foods ] at temperatures minus -25 we were and loading different vegetables ,and they were ready on pallets. I was told we would not be long, then asked would I like a coffee, in the mess room, with some other Dutch- men and Pete, after another round of handshakes and grunts and black coffee out of a massive pump flask[ never seen one before] they did have a tin of carnation condensed milk , [nice and creamy also a big jar of sugar on the table [not in ENGLAND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STOLEN ] THAT,S US ALL OVER… ]and the smell of all the different tobaccos was ,intoxicating I loved it ,[THE HOME OF GOOD SMELLING TOBACCO]
made it taste better however Luke warm it was quite for a factory for its size, I could see through the door widow lots of workers with white coats and head scarf’s big good looking warm boots on , you could not tell whether they were male or female. they were sorting and packing chips on a conveyor belt .it looked cold in there however that was not the freezer just a packing line also I noticed a stand on riding, like pallet /fork lifts they were using to load our trailer another first the men were whizzing around with a loaded pallet on the front and they were standing on the back with a like a bicycle handlebar steering it. Another first, lots of factory s just about have a fork lift and all loading is done by hand [not now, after 1990s] we got modern.
After I had took as much of the new goings on in i went and found Pete back at the coffee he told me that we were not allowed in the loading area in some factory, you had to stay in your cab in 2013 you have to hand your keys in to a office [so I am told]. We are loaded so we are told and asked to pull of the loading bay and Pete lets me do it and close the doors. When they are shut we go round to the front of the trailer and he shows me how to work the refrigerated unit, all the dials and different functions I thought ■■■■ me, we have been sat about ■■■■■■■ around he could have given me the full tour of the fridge engine,[maybe he did not want me to know to much yet]?
So I get the basic of the fridge control workings, and then we go in and get the papers for the load and a very important paper called a C .M. R. ,That is the drivers legal travel document with the load it has all relevant in -formation typed on it, about 30 sections ,and it was never used in England ever ,unless like us delivering to England from Europe, then it is sealed up by the customs man,[ all the factories in Holland, Belgium, have a designated customs officer at the factory at all times] also the Benelux Country,s never bothered with the trailer garnet, so we were ready for the off .
Pete went and done his last handshaking routine ,i kept in the cab ,[load of ■■■■■■■■] it was now dark and I wondered if I would get a drive ,or do we park up, he said we will get back to the boarder do the customs ,and I could have a drive when we leave the customs after that was finished for the Dutch side all was required at the boarder was a entry stamp into Belgium and we would be on our way back to a ferry which ferry port I had no idea.
I noticed straight away how heavy the trailer seemed to be, but the tractor unit was more than able to cope with the weight so I just drove on, Once we were clear and out of the customs area we drove along a bit ,he said just keep a good lookout in you nearside mirror ,and keep in lane , now I am chuffed, and he said when you see the sign for Ostend turn on to that road do not follow BRUSSELES ,and then goes and lies down on the bottom bunk and leaves me to it i was thinking how many more hours are we going to be working??
we had two small breaks one for 7 hours before the ferry ,then the ferry 4/5 hours we had been working since 5pm on the Monday evening ,it was now 8/9 pm Tuesday evening, and we were not yet finished for the day , we had been working for 28 hours with a 11 break .total illegal and no time to do what you wanted yourself as if you were at home on a break…,i was beginning to have doubts about what I was letting my self in to .but I thought if this is what they do to get around Europe , I will have to give it a try it was certainly different from cattle trucks or dock work, clean work ,cheap ■■■■, just carry on and see how it goes…
As we neared the road junction for the turn off I gave Pete a call , we were now on the road to Ost-end and he started to move around ,where are we ,he said, I told him ,and he said just follow the Ost-end sign, and give me a shout when you start to get near the town you will see all the lights in the distance, and you will come to a service station as soon as you get in to the outskirts.
Now I had pulled in the parking area ,a few lorries parked up. Pete once up, ■■■ on the go, he told me the options we had,of what to do now, I asked what he meant, the Zeebrugge would have gone by the time we had got there, not another sailing untill8am, so,!the Ostend ferry goes at midnight,or we could go to Dunkirk, however you need a pre-booking number for a ticket ,where as Ostend, ,Zeebrugge,the company has two pre reserved tickets for every crossing ,guaranteed. It was a game of where do we get the most time off without moving the lorry.[time off]
So Ostend it is ,he lets me still drive , I am following instructions ,however I did see the signs to the ferry port clearly signposted through the town, to the port , we arrive at the gate Pete told me what to say ,then we parked up then go into the ticket office, where Pete tells the staff that he would like a[ Plug in ]on the ferry , yes “ok it will be done,” I have no idea what he was on about , I would find out later ,no handshakes, very different from Zeebrugge we collect our tickets, and then go to the loading bays for loading on the ship and wait
I then asked what PLUG IN was,=
It is when you want the refrigerated unit on the trailer to keep going to keep the temperature correct while you are on the ferry ,you switch off the diesel engine that runs the engine,and you then plug into a electrical socket at the bottom of the engine with a electrical cable supplied by the ship into the ships electrician system .The ships run on a DC system ,not like our houses that are AC. How it all works I still am not sure, however when the cable [ just like the caravan 3 pin system] is connected you have to be in attendance with the ships electrician, as YOU! have to make sure that the fan that the engine has on the front of the fridge unit ,is on the right phase, that it is sucking in air to cool and work the fridge and not blowing out i.e. sucking the cold air out from the inside of the trailer and blowing the minus-24 air out ,it was a common occurrence if not checked…all you did was to stand at the front ,of the trailer fridge unit and throw a piece of tissue paper up to the front grill air intake if it sticks to the front all was well it if blew away you had a problem.[i got to know all this later on] …as you had to wait for the electrician, that took time, you could be first on the ferry loading deck but the last to go up, or down as on the Ostend ferry’s for food or a bed…waiting for a electrician…
The diesel fumes would eventually leave the bottom decks and creep up to the others decks [also the other reason the noise, fumes if any drivers are sleeping in their cabs] another option was to turn the fridge off ,and take a chance that the frozen goods temperature did not drop to much, if you had a long distance to travel after leaving Dover the temperature would drop to the required one. The only thing was you were unable to open the trailer back doors to check the produce temperature as the customs seal was not undone until at the delivery, if you had a customs check in Dover ,that was frequent , they would reseal the trailer and mark the C .M. R. as resealed ,and it was not unusual for the customs to be at Cold Stores around the country and to be checking all European imported goods
history cont. SATURDAY…
We eventuality get to a cabin with 4 bunks ,after a meal at midnight- ish. We are soon roused by the banging of doors grunts and groans, up we get and troop in to the drivers room for yet again something to eat and coffee ,god not more coffee, it is all like a non stop unreal adventure for me ,it is something I had no idea at all existed [the work] how come it had been kept away from me ,it was just like being back at sea, all the unusual hours ,coffee and food at odd hour. a kind this is different it is not a job, it was not what you call regular, the whole package, and I liked it, out of the ordinary , I expect that sort of sums me up I do not like being put in to boxes, if that makes sense.
Lorry drivers are called ,over the ships tannoy (ships communication system}to proceed to their lorry’s, do not start you engine until told to by the ships crew , yeh ,all the foreigners under stood that, [not] The diesel fumes were terrible by the time we got down as the ferry had not berthed yet and the doors were not opened
Pete pulled the electrical lead out and switched the fridge back to diesel, but did not start it up that would wait until we were outside from the ferry, as the fridge used red diesel that gives out so much black smoke when started it is like a chimney on fire.
It think we must have had about 3 hours in bed, ,it was all a new way of working ,that was sure.
Once Pete had drove off the ferry you go through numerous checks. Boarder control customs. asking questions where country have you come from ,where did you load, what did you take out, when did you leave England, all relevant I expect even back then it was impossible to bring anyone into England without anyone knowing, and while you were inside doing the customs, there were customs men searching your cab ,for any contraband, 200 cigarettes ,and 1 bottle of spirits, 6 bottles of wine ,any anything else you should not have, ■■■■ was a instant arrest . and to get inside a load on a lorry as they do now was unheard of.
After I got more experienced I found out that problems escalate if you are not truthful to customs if you get caught with extra cigarettes and not declared them and do not want to pay the duty you are subjected ,” ell the lorry is “what they call [impounded] that means, your load does not get customs cleared until the whole load is taken and inspected in a loading bay by them. It was known to take a day sometimes, and if it was caused by you the drivers fault for smuggling ■■■■ or spirts too much beer you were in deep ■■■■ with any boss, as you would more than likely lose a delivery time and date also a fine for importing extra goods it was a big deal back then and tabaco was1pack of 6 sachets any more and big trouble for you the driver It did not happen to me i was not that daft .some did.
.Once clear of the interrogations from customs and immigration, every driver was treated the same ,the “port of Poole was the worst ”I found out as time went bye , we went and parked up, then you had to go and put you custom papers into a clearing office ,that was run by the clearing agents, however theses were only [runners]working for the agents that were at the other end of the dock, so it was them who took your paper work down to them, it could take 1 to 4 hours on a good shift
The clearing of paper work for any load is the payment of any duties needed to be paid by the importer for importing, so most companies use the agents who serve them best and the agents hold a monetary fund on the importers be -halve to pay the duties. However the money sometimes get used up before the end of each month, and that causes delays for loads to get customs cleared allowing the lorry to go to the delivery time slot they have [Sometimes after all the effort you put in to get the load back to a port so as you can meet a delivery time was a waste of your time.
It is now about 6 am with the hour turned back from continental time,[ your tachograph stays at UK time at all times] time for another sleep, we had had about 3 hours [rest -sleep]as the agents runner knocks your door if your load is cleared, so you can get your pass to exit the dock . now you have to go and get some stamps on your paper work from the dock -board to let you out the gate, no stamps =no exit. [stamps=franks like the post office use] not postage stamps…
Also Pete was doing some routine lorry checks before going on to the roads ,oil, tyres, lights ,flashers make sure the fridge has diesel and nothing hanging off, as he told me if you go out of the main gate at Dover on theA2 towards LONDON there are always Ministry of Transport checks along that road, so if your Tachographs are suspect, you go out to Folkstone and take a chance, there are not as many lay-by s to be pulled over along that road ,all though Folkstone was a busy cross channel port as well,[ more later]
By this time we were ready to leave and we left Dover behind, the time in my body clock was utterly upside down but it was getting near 12 noon and we were going back via Northampton as someone else was going to get the lorry unloaded for Pete while he went home also me.
It was about 4 in the afternoon when we arrived back at the depot .all handshakes all round,[again]i met another driver ,he did not look old enough to drive ,obviously he was, I collected my gear, said my goodbye , more [handshakes I have not got it yet] and home I go, still full of the experience I have just had. It must have been about 48 hours on duty.
It was then ,at that moment, I should have thought hang on !,i,!me!, have just worked ,like as if I was a owner driver, and that that lorry was mine , it was not.! think about the pay rate ratio- per hour you knob! ,work it out the money is ■■■■, dummy! But I did not, not one of those thoughts crossed my mind, I must have been star struck ,glory hunter, ■■■■■■! I remember getting home and I was full of it ,plus 200 cigarettes duty free ,bonus.
Life and work went on as usual not a lot of market runs for me it seemed to be supermarket timed delivers in different lorry s, and it was working all right however I did seem to be getting the Sunday run on a regular basis that was a job to get used to however I was now getting into the rhythm of not thinking what day it was ,a Sunday could be the same as a Wednesday, also the pay was the same, no extra for weekends and I had now excepted that as now normal, the same as the others that were not owner drivers but like me.
There were story’s going around by different drivers about other drivers .what they had done ,different countries they collected goods , all stories, however one Sunday at Northampton there was this “ left hand drive” D A F, English number plates in lorry terms it did not get much better, I had never seen anything like it, the driver was about my age ,well dressed ,as if on holiday, and he had brought a full load of Oranges from Spain.[[little did I know then]] we got chatting after the handshakes, and it turned out he was the longest serving driver ,and a employee like me, the lorry was Rokold s, it was the flagship as they called it ,a high -line cab perfect inside, i did sit in it, it felt funny left hand drive he did say that he was the only driver of that unit but sometimes when needed it was used by others just to do short jobs[GOD FORBID] I thought it must take years to get used to that.[left hand drive].
So my load was ready , more hand shakes, and away I go ,and get delivering ,that went as normal, no problems ,when I got back the yard was quite, I parked up and went home.
Next thing I know the phone was ringing 11 am ,down to answer the phone, I knew who it would be ,and I was right . Could I be back to Northampton by 2 o clock, without hesitation said yes ,it was not normal for me, but I had realised if I show willing, things would be good for me and I might progress on to the Continental work eventually .
Pete had asked if I could be his second driver again ,so I took a few extra clothes this time .
When I arrived it seemed as if he was waiting for me , but there was no lorry there ,none anywhere, only a old white Volvo car.
After hand shakes and small talk ,the story was we were both going in the car[the company drivers runabout] to a place called Lamberhurst in Sussex, where Pete s truck [not lorry now. a truck] was being loaded and it needed 2 drivers as it was a urgent load ,so off we go and go down the Motorway
next we know the car is chugging ,spluttering, running out of petrol, ■■■■ me ,we just left the yard next door to a petrol station, there should be a can in the back, Pete said, !yes there was ,■■■■■■■ empty. so we are now stuck, pushed for time out of petrol Pete has to ring Alan via the breakdown service telephone on the side of the motorway and they relayed the messageat the yard ,and ask him to bring us some petrol.
While we are waiting Pete then told me the story of this VOLVO dive rs runabout company car
When drivers are anywhere, in England and they are due a proper legal break [rest]or want 2 days off for any reason , and they are loading a Export load and it is their own lorry ,or a company lorry ,a spare driver such as what I am [no company lorry of my own]will go wherever they are in the Volvo car stay and load the lorry or whatever, and the driver goes back in the car .then the loaded truck gets brought back to wherever place for Export .and the driver goes to meet it in the car again because he has kept the Volvo with him to use as he pleases ,and then the question of petrol arises.
Company men like me who use the car ,put the petrol on their expense sheet , and get reimbursed the money ,however owner drivers that use it ,like Pete had ,have to stand the cost themselves as the bonus for them is that they are getting there lorry loaded for free ,by the company s spare drivers[ as they are contracting hauliers to Rokold].
So Pete thought the car had been filled up, but it had not .so who will pay for the petrol from Alan ,as it turned out Pete was given some money to fill the car up on the company, another lesson learned check the petrol…i was under the impression that Pete was the owner of the unit and he subcontracted to Rokold, how wrong I was, he was a employee just the same as me ,however very experienced .
I had never met anyone before so dedicated to Rokold and a boss before god! I knew how I was to be ,and act ,from now on not easy for me. But i would try, and say the right things
in front of Pete from now on, as I suspect he has a influence over a drivers future within Rokold. It turned out he did
When we got to our destination, a abattoir in a village on the main road to the south coast if you were to blink you would have missed the entrance I was pleased I was taken there and not had to look for it. You drove in between two houses , just enough room for a lorry. a few houses built close around it, seemed a strange place for a abattoir to be. Once there it was a very large establishment.
There were two trailers parked up close on the loading bay and the fridge units were roaring away ,Pete was met by another of Roklolds drivers I had not met ,he been loading the trailer[well not actually fiscally but in charge of the movement when required he told us that that it was not finished loading yet, as they had to wait until the temperature of the lamb carcasses had reached -0 to +2/3 in the chill rooms inside the abattoir, and then the vets would release them for loading ,[could be a while he said],
The program was for the driver to take the car and go home ,or he might have to drive somewhere else to relive another driver who needed to go home? It was now about 6 o-clock in the evening. After the driver had left Pete put his gear in to the cab and he brewed a cup of tea up as he said the small canteen would be closed here.[[i would get to know this abattoir very well in the future]]
Pete then asked me if I would like to walk around the abattoir, i declined and he sort of said ,what is it do you not like Animals .are you squeamish. i laughed ,and proceeded to tell him about my butcher boy work when not at school working down the local abattoir, and all my cattle truck days, that sort of shut him up ,and he never said any more about it …
The plan was we were to go to a port that was going to be Rams gate to Dunkirk we had deliverers in Belgian and then one in Koln Germany and we had to have the tachographs right as we could get a check at the German boarder at [Aachen] and if they were not correct we would be in trouble so we did not put tachographs in until we were ready to leave, for the reason it would give us 22 hours to get the job done [we hope].and not lose time .He did tell me this job we were doing was very hard [ i.e. pushing for time]and it was the first time that they let a novice like me to double man driving.[that was supposed to make me feel good] Pete did tell me both bosses asked him how I had been on the other trip and did I moan, and he told the truth and said I was keen to learn .
It must have been around 8 pm and we pulled of the loading bay, got sealed up and made our way ,i was told it was best if I got most of the England driving done as Europe around back roads could be tricky ,so my first taste of driving 18 tons of hand meat, he told me I would get the feel of it once I got going and the sensation of being pushed when slowing down and the corners were tricky. If you look at a map of Sussex ,you will see Lamberhurst A27 and country roads over to Rams-gate via the narrowest villages you could find the most narrowest place ever ,so I was a bit tongue in cheek for a start, it was a test really to see if I could handle it.[ Pete did not know me] as well as he thought .after my time on cattle trucks.
It was getting on for midnight when we pulled into the dock and the Ferry line was called SALLY LINE. we did the export checks that was new to me, so I was all eyes and ears different procedures.
The food was really good steaks sausage, veg chips, sweets, all hours of the night and day, so we really tucked in as I had not eaten pro-ply all day also they let you take and make sausage sandwiches for later .not a lot of drivers on board however some were very regulars on this run so they said. and the crew were mostly from Mauritius .it was a French owned Ferry. It was about a 2 hour crossing from the start until getting off.
The reason we used this route was that you did not need a French Permit to use this route as it was called a FREE ZONE a very short coast journey from France to Belgian the place was called Aden-kirk , the road only allowed you drive that way and not into France.
Once off the ferry [after the routine of unplugging the refrigerated trailer] at the boarder limited controls ,and away we went i was driving ,just to get back in the hang of left hand drive, and heading for Brussels, but going to a place called Kortreck .our first delivery, the roads were very quite,and once off the duel track ,at the right place ,Pete took over driving as we were now into very narrow country roads that looked like water dykes each side no margin for error. it was pitch black except for the truck lights we seemed to be skirting a town and sort of looking for a back entrance in to a housing estate, once we had turned in we pulled up outside a butchers shop all lights blazing one person standing outside, the fridge unit blaring away, just what you wanted in a housing estate, Pete jumped out of the drivers seat, shut the fridge off ,but kept the truck running ,so as we had lights. And it looked just us 3 there, and that was it I did see that the man had some white coats over his arm as we had the handshakes ,and some gruntie noises from the massive chap ,the butcher, and a few pigeon Belgian words from Pete ,that seemed as understood by the butcher.
I was still Puzzled as what was going on, but once the butcher had broken the seal on the back door and opened it ,i new then what the coats were for ,we had to get up and pass the meat down to this man, nice first time for everything, I could not believe what we were doing but I kept quiet ,and followed what Pete was doing.
We knew when we had to stop passing the meat down as the abattoir had tied a string, around the next delivery so as you new when to stop but Pete new that, and I did now [learning].The unloading done we went into his house ,washed our hands they were covered in grease, and given some horrible Luke warm Belgian coffee.
All ready to go handshakes and grunting again and off we go towards Brussels, it was starting to get light ,and I said I could eat something to Pete and he assured me when we get to the next place it is a proper arbitrator and we would eat then. and maybe get 2 hours sleep, just what I needed.
What I can say about the Europe roads they are so well signposted ,as you approach BRUSSELS it tells you the way to go for GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG ,and all kinds of different new names of places I had never heard of, also 3 lane roads and they are not like our motorway.ys people are changing lanes ,overtaking and undertaking as it is normal ,also this area of the country Pete told me that you give way when you are on a roundabout, to let traffic come on to it when you are going round it is the wrong way for us English we had just gone past the High Zell football stadium that was a good future reference point to remember.
Before we arrived, after we had to do a massive roundabout route that put us the right way for going out back to the duel road, this delivery was on a slope once Pete had backed up to the doors for the meat to be unloaded , the ground had such a slope on it there was no way you would stay in a bunk, let alone sleep i realised weeks later that Pete knew that we would not get a sleep but doze off in the seats. but he never said .After a hot dog type sandwiches called [ a frickadella] we sat uncomfortable in our seats with feet on the dashboard /windscreen dozing off.
Once finished paperwork signed ,and they shut the back doors once we pulled of the loading bay, Pete never got out to check anything so he said to me ,you drive gave me directions then promptly lay on his bunk ,it did not bother me because I was still full of it ,me driving in Europe, unbelievable.
We headed for a place called Luige on the way to the German boarder it was to be our last Delivery in Belgium, he told me to go to the 3 rd turn off [city centre] but he said you will go down this massive hill, be careful, other traffic will try to push you faster than you want to go, but keep slow ,and ■■■■ -em. so that is what I did when I got there ,and the hill was massive, the odd truck went past and blew its horn in disgust; I expect, the weight of the meat was pushing us down the hill without much effort from the engine I just did a royal wave and ■■■■ you to the foreigners ,well, !they were foreigners to me ,not thinking I was the actual foreigner.
We were running along side a massive river of canal, so I gave Pete call ,as I did not want to get to a junction and have to make a decision which way to go , so he rolled out of the bottom bunk, took a look to where we were and said just carry on ,he seemed not to happy, perhaps he was tired because I was.
After time we arrived at the unloading place ,just like a warehouse , a few men rolled up , I opened the trailer doors ,and ■■■■ me we seemed to have gained more meat than we had before, it seemed it was a normal practice for companies to use transport that was going to the same company to move meat around without paying for it unless Pete had a backhander from the company I would find out later.
Pete walked round to the back and started the handshake routine, they all seemed to know him and he said to me go and have a lay- down we might be here a while. I did not need telling twice.
I felt as if I had been asleep about 5 minutes once I was woken up by the engine starting, Pete said we have now go to the Belgian customs to get sealed up for going into Germany, all good new stuff for me learn, I did ask about the extra meat we had on from Brussels to Leagie , and was told it was a regular thing ,that was in fact illegal ,for a English truck to do internal delivers within any country but your own country that also applies to any foreign truck in any foreign country. No internal work done at all .but some people know no one is going to check.
What it does it is supposed to protected your own home haulage market ,who wants johnny foreigner doing our work. The Belgians did not give two monkeys . The practice of doing that internal haulage is called [CABOT AGE] that was in the whole customs era now , since borders are open anything goes in 2014. trucks can go any where and load anything.
So there must have been some reward for Pete but he never said, or parted with any cash, I expect I will find out my self later on He did say that they were the same company so no harm done ,yeh:!
As we approach the turn off for trucks at the boarder ,after going up this massive hill ,we had to go off into a parking area that was full of all kinds of foreigners trucks it was like being in a toy shop. So, Pete then went on to explain what was to happen next .
First we had a GERMAN PERMIT that was to be stamped, then we had to make a fuel declaration[ 200 litres only allowed in the country]then passports, the go to a agent to clear the customs forms T2forms from Dover. III had never in my life seen anything like it ,inside the massive clean hall because that what it was , loads of different uniforms all armed , imposing loads of load talking real gruff GERMAN , as I /we were not used to this is was imposing ,and I thought jesus, it looked as they would lock you up for nothing,[[ no wonder they frightened the foreigners during the war]] and I had never seen such long name above offices ,in German, nothing in English or any other language so intimating, I was pleased we won the war…
Pete took me to a hut and had a coffee and bratwurst sausage and mustard in a crispy roll, lots of different cigarette smoke ,and language all around, no handshakes ,no greetings just grunts , to me any way,it was After about 1 hour Pete said lets go and see if we are cleared from the customs I did ask him why we did not stay in the truck and not sit in the café, and his words of wisdom! this time true, said, if you stay in your cab, and being English,[they tell by your number plate and the GB sticker /sign[obligatory] , the police will want to see you tachograph records, including the previous days, and they walk around the parking area just for that. A nice easy form of collecting fine money, if the discs are not correct, however our get out now is that if you have fresh meat of any kind you are told to leave the parking area with all the paper work given back to to you by the Agent ,and all you forms stamped ,and they did not check the amount of diesel we had and leave by a back road and proceed to the German veterinary for them to inspect the meat, and get clearance to leave for your delivery.
I had no idea of where I was ,and I was driving
[God knows what was happening with the tachographs. Who was driving etc Pete was switching the mode switch around all the time he was obviously on top of it] we were following a sign that said [schlachthof] that was abattoir, we got there in the end but we were far away from the motorway in the town of old Aachen, Aachen was one of the first towns to be conquered by the British army in 1945 ,when you see the hills around you thing how the hell did they do it.
Once cleared by the veterinary ,who did thoroughly check the meat as we were backed on to a unloading bay ,so they could walk into the trailer, I stopped in the cab ,Pete waited on the loading bay [ or dock] eventually we were cleared to go ,to Koln ,[ cologne] to the meat market called the Grober market Pete knew the way I had no idea ,where to go Pete , Pete was going up in my esteem as a man, but I know it was all going in my head , night time or not, what I could see to remember for maybe future reference, [who knows] and that works well for me ,once seen not forgotten.
I had completely given up on the time, and how much rest we have had ,it was if it was not a job at all it just seemed normal to do what we were doing,
Pete told me we will come up to the motorway again ,and cross 2 rivers then we follow the signs for the zoo, and that takes us to the market for unloading.
After time I eventually found the Grober market told where to back up to by Pete , he jumped out lots of ,[good -an-tarts] German for Hello] and he opened the trailer doors, and I backed up on his instruction on to their ramp/unloading bay ,and that was it, i thought ■■■■ me what a day all day ,Pete was inside having a coffee with some one and I could feel the movement of men walking in the trailer unloading, and a feeling of tiredness s seemed to come over me, ready for some proper sleep■■?
Next thing I know we are moving again, I must have dropped off, like a stone, I asked Pete where are we ,what we doing ,when do we sleep, all in one go ,the answer was we will just get out of Germany ,then park at the next service station ,as we are loading in Holland in the morning. But we have to wash the trailer out before we can do anything else but we will sort that out after a sleep The inside of the trailer is covered in blood and snot and grease we come again to the customs at Aachen and we still have to go to all the small offices for a stamp on our pieces of paper to get a complete set of stamps then you get a exit stamp and off you go .and think thank god for that.
We now make for the first service station in Belgium and sleep, it did not take long once there to get in that top bunk, I let Pete worry about the waking up time, I was sure he is on the ball.
It seemed like a very short time before I was being woken up, and I could hear the kettle making a noise , on the small gas prim-us- stove. And Pete, welcome back to the living was !we can not be long as we have to wash the trailer out and be loading by 2pm today, a 3 hour drive away.
I had no idea at all what Pete had done about the Tachographs and I was not bothered a far as anyone would know we had not been in to Germany, in fact if we do not get stopped in Holland or Belgian we have not been anywhere as far as the Tachographs are concerned, he obviously knows how to work [ fiddle]them to his and the company’s advantage and they must also know ,so I hope he will show me what to do.
Apparently the service stations in Holland supply more services than just fuel, you can get the use of a high power jet wash to wash the inside of a trailer out so all traces of meat are gone, and ready for another load, so long as you pay, payment by us was by a credit card ,very rare even now in the UK called a D. K. V. card , it is renown all through Europe within the transport industry you can get anything with it I mean anything, even in red light districts the card is taken ,like a transport only Visa. It was the first time I had seen or heard of it, once you are a established European driver for Rokold you get issued it only to be used when necessary .
The transit from Belgium to Holland ,because we were empty was very quick as if they were not bothered at all and we made our way to a service station that had a wash area ,Pete went into the payment office and came out with some bought tokens to put into the wash machine and he said we have 10 minutes of hot water and power the house was the longest I had seen ,my god these foreigners do not need any lessons in doing the job correct. Next thing Pete comes around from the cab with Wellington’s on ,and a pair of water proof leggings and a long raincoat/sou’wester jacket I was amazed, how much more am I going to learn, it seems as if you have to be self-sufficient.
His water profs were just what was needed and he did a complete through wash of the inside of the fridge it was perfect in side ,no trace of meat at all and as the lambs had been hung on string and not directly on the meat hooks they were clean. Once done he quickly went over his tractor unit with the hose before the time went out, and we were done, en-route to where I did not know. We went in to the coffee shop and had a machine coffee ,not bad ,a cup of tea would have been better ,but not enough time. Pete asked to use the phone ,and that was a yes and they passed him the phone from the office ,another !i cannot believe it they let him use their phone, never in England would that ever happen ,so this is Europe everything I have seen up to yet has opened my eyes ,why are we at home so behind ,god knows. he paid for the phone in cash and given a receipt
Pete comes back with loading instructions, we are to go towards the place we loaded at before to load near there today , I have no idea how far it is we do not have a map but Pete knows the way ,so he lets me drive ,and he dozes off, but he tells me which way to head for and just keep following the signposts until we get there or you have to have a break after 4 ½ hours [ that was joke]
It did not take long before I come to a junction where a decision was needed, left or right, so I had to pullover and shake Pete awake [not best pleased] go left ,towards, Eindhoven ,then pick up the sign for Tilburg, and he lays down again ,so I plod on now overtaking slower trucks , not that many slow ones were on the road ,speed did not seem to matter in Holland.
We got to the outskirts of the place we should be at for loading and I was given directions , to the factory gate ,the factory had a massive turning area for the trucks to get ready for backing down to a ramp onto a loading bay, once Pete came out of the office told me to back on to a bay as loading would start straight away, pallets loaded with frozen chips and we would not be long and the front pallets were smalls so they would fit under the meat hooks and the rear ones would make up the extra.
In no time we were loaded, custom sealed the rear doors that the factory paper work in order so next stop a ferry.
Time has flown from when I got up at 11am Tuesday morning it was now Thursday with no proper rest and now off again to a ferry Pete thinks we will miss the late Zeebrugge so to Ostend .
God knows what he is doing with the tachographs but I am sure he knows as he has changed the cards again. The fridge was set at -25 and roaring away however Pete said they were good at where we have just loaded and their product is nearly always down to the right temperature.
We move on to the road that soon took us to the boarder for Belgium customs , when we parked up I asked Pete if I could go and produce the paper work and get the feel of it ,and yes it was fine , so I went into the large foyer and could see only one office open with a sign DOUNE above the open door, I knocked ,walked in was met by grunts, passed the paper work over to the uniform/gun holstered ,no idea what was said, a couple of stamps later on the paper work I was out and back into the cab. I relayed what happened and was told that it was very rare to have any problems with the Dutch or Belgium’s authority, it was all the others.[countries].
I had now got used to the routine[for this trip] that I was doing the most driving, I treated it as a test to see if I would moan i did not , and carried on driving to Ostend I drove all the way up to the dock gate and booked us in to the ferry terminal, apparently we were not booked for the ferry now but a later one, but we would get on this one as Roklod was a good customer.
I thought that was a bit strange ,it clicked to me that we were ahead of our time, the office expected us to be later by about 6 hours, that was unusual ,later I would find out that Pete had done better than other drivers by not having the proper breaks, it was to show me ,”this is the way you do it ”and that he did the same when he was on his own ,no second driver.
Once off the ferry at Dover ,the routine was the same as last week I was feeling as if I was Mr experience,! no one else would and 200 cigarettes ,they would be sold. It sort of seemed all right to be working all these strange hours as every one else was doing the same , all though not many English seemed to be on the ferry.
Once cleared by the customs, the agents brought the clearance paper to us, and we then went for something to eat ready to make our way home, or not, Pete said we had to go to Frigo Scania in Kings Lynn a cold store that stored ,and processed ,and distribution of all frozen products from all Europe and was used by very big new supper markets ,and they work 24 hours shifts.
Was this another test I said ok no problem , I had no other choice really ,but to divert back to Northampton from Dover would have been ridiculous.
,it was the load first driver second, and you had to be prepared to do as the office would like or you will not last. I now see the important owner driver part of the company
I was now getting a good idea of what this job was and they want there own drivers to be exactly the same. I expect
you have two choices Stay or leave , for now, the job it seemed just for me I liked the running around different countries and the unsocial sleeping times ,the general way you were left to get on with the job and be left alone ,yes I knew the hour pay ratio was not that good however we were on a salary, so hopefully ,yes maybe in the middle of the week, that you would get more time at home, it would be worth a try if I get offered a job on European.
We made good time and I drove ,Pete said it would keep him clear to ship out again if I used my Tachograph. =The plan was that I had just arrived by car into Dover to take this lorry to unload and drop the driver [PETE]off at his house and I was to carry on and get it unloaded and back to base
if we got stopped by the ministry of transport for a tachograph card check.
He had got the previous tachograph cards we both had used and sorted them as if he had just been to Belgium yesterday, I had not been near that truck… so that is how they do it,total disregard for the law, however we were in Europe and no one cared a rats arse so do as the others do, do not forget the new Motorways were not built, the A2 .M . one Dartford tunnel, no Ministry check points at all , the only time you would have had a check if you were involved in a accident.
We had arrived at the cold store and drove straight on to a weigh bridge and the gross weight is record and when you finish you have to go back on to the bridge to get your tare weight ,then the load weight is taken from the gross and then you have the weight of the load, as you could have the right number of boxes but not the correct weight the senders of the goods has said [short weight, not uncommon].
We were told we had a booking in time of 12 o clock that night so park up , and wait. Pete looked a bit sheepish we could have gone to Northampton ,and I am sure he knew when the delivery was, but he is in charge of the truck if I was not with him he would have done exactly the same ,so I said ,good have another sleep, there were lots of other trucks parked up the noise of the fridges roaring away was tremendous, but no one seemed to care at all ,and I was getting used to the noise as well.
While waiting to get on to a unloading bay, the foreman unload er came and took the seal of the back doors , and climbed in as far as he could go and collected 1 box of goods, so he could go and check that the correct temperature had been kept and the product was the right temperature.
Before we had a sleep we kept getting lots of door knocking from workers asking if we had any duty free to sell, cigarettes or spirits wine anything cheap Pete told me more about the selling of any goods at most of the cold stores you would go to. He said, what you do is let the fork lift drivers have first choice of anything you may have ,and they will ask you if you are going back to Europe, and if it is for a load back to where they are as it was a regular run for Rokold trucks ,sometimes you will go back empty from Kings Lynn to Dover to load the next day in Belgium or Holland then straight back to Kings Lynn and they would put a order in if [1] you have the cash to buy goods, and [2] do you want to bring in more than your allowance [3] if you are caught by a customs officer anywhere and you are selling duty free goods you are in deep ■■■■. So it was up to you.
As it was ,I was not interested as I had no control of what I did ,also Pete would not commit himself ,as he did not know what he would be doing next ,if he did he would not tell me, as I expect he will be glad to get rid of me, and I do not blame him I would not fancy having a second driver with me ,however if the bosses say you will you will it is their truck, end of.
After getting unloaded, and the trailer swept out and weighed [by me ] before we made our way back to the depot . One thing Pete impressed on me was to make sure that when you collect your c.m.r note up from the office when the unloading is finished make sure they do not write any remarks on the paper work as that c m r is a legal document, and it is the only way a company can get paid for the load by that note ,with a clear signature, meaning that the load count is correct ,the load temperature was correct, and the given weight , when you arrived and the time , that done home.
When we arrived back at the depot it did not take long for me to get my gear together, and say good by and [handshake],as it was all closed up ,no empty pallets ,or nothing around, only our two cars.
What Pete was going to do I have no idea.
I soon travelled home, quick wash and to bed.
After my European trip work seemed to by very quiet not that many night runs and no market runs at all just the supermarket work and the pallet loads seemed a lot less than before, however I just enjoyed the time off as I knew when the time come it would be longer hours than normal!.
On one run to a few different supermarkets I was told that I had to have the night out and collect some pallets in the morning, yes fine by me i was now used to doing as I was told and not re -bell or moan .
As it was ,I had no idea what was going to happened next, as I was loaded ,i needed to ring the office to see if the pallets were for home base or somewhere else I was told to bring them back to the yard as quick as I could Mr East wants to see me, I thought another trip over the water.
Once in the yard ,i parked up ,went in to the office and asked for Mr East ,i was told to go in to his office, he stood up shook my hand ,and said Vic I am sorry we are going to let you go, work has got bad and there is not enough for all the men .last in first out…Then he said we may have got you some work with a local contractor, he gave me the details ,sorted my wages out ,said if any thing comes up again he would call me ,that was me finished at Northampton and that was that I said my good bys ,Alan said sorry,i new they would keep the young men on, so I went to find my new employee ,i hoped.
The new employer lived and worked at Milton just out side Northampton, I rang him up and he told me to meet him at the Ipec depot ,he gave me the address. after getting through security, I was told where to go and he had a small office at the end of a massive loading bay, that had about 20 trailers parked on it.
The job was first to be shunting the trailers on and off the loading bay as a contractor for the company running the job .Ipec , that turned in to T.N.T the massive parcel and goods distribution.
After time ,also when required you will have to drive a trailer up to the Glasgow depot, that would be a night job once there you go into a bed and breakfast in Glasgow while the lorry and trailer is taken around Scotland all the delivers done then it is reloaded back up for you to run back down to the Northampton through the night, you get back to Northampton park it up in the depot we are in then you go home. If you are required for the next night we ring you by 2pm to let you know.
Yes that sounded good, but the money was Tax free ,that meant you had to do the tax yourself.[self-employed] also he does some containers runs to and from Felixstowe, well it was a job I would go for it .I started the next day at lest I understood what the job was and you got told what to do, and they had a canteen.
I was busy for a time then it would slow down. The man I worked for was a ex middle east driver, photographs all around ,early 1970s he must have been very young. However most men that did that work deserved all they had made out of the jobs it was not for everyone.
It kept me busy for a week, then I thought all the travelling by car and shunting ,i had had enough so I said I am going to finish. No likely Scotland trips so I am off!, ooh hang on a minute, he said you are down for the Sunday night run , was he telling porkies or I was down for the job ,he said no you are on the job all next week ,yes I will stay then and that was the start of another fine mess…
The tractor units we used were from MANN HIRE and they were flying machines 70 mph was the normal speed once on the Motorway well if you did not get caught. Once you left Northampton you drove for 4and half hours had 45 minutes break then another 4 ½ drive and you should be in Bellshill Glasgow that was how fast them trucks were ,really in day time you would not have done it ,even in 1 days drive of 10 hours , however at night ,unbelievable distances were covered the trucks had the power as if you were driving a car, you could accelerate just like a car with a full load .of 20 tons quite remarkable even now when I thing about it, in actual fact when I do like now it was so, so, dangerous I shudder. However once again by luck I came off all right .
Once in Glasgow you would leave the truck in the IPEC yard and a man would take you up to your bed and breakfast, have a breakfast ,then bed, he would collect you again at 6 o clock at night, you had no dinner there, after the first time I soon got myself organised when home I brought a small gas cooker, pan. And tins of food, and cooked it in there rest room when I was back there it caused quite a show as they had never seen a driver cook before. not as I was experienced, I got the idea off of Pete ,never go hungry when you can do it yourself…
I started to get used to the pattern of work on the Glasgow the boss and his partner did have a small issue as we were only working in total driving 9 hours the boss wanted us to do some more work when we got back to Northampton, small local work just to fill the hours in as we got paid a days rate ,night or day and the hours were never defined ,so I think he thought we were getting away with money for no work, so I did what he asked ,then went home to bed later than usual,[not good
One evening just before I was leaving Glasgow the boss phoned me and said when I get back to Northampton ,drop the trailer at the depot then pick another trailer up and go and deliver it to the car factory in Luton. Vauxhall I never gave it much thought about 1 hour from Northampton to LUTON, tip the trailer then out and home I thought it would be a couple of hours.
i When I eventually arrived at the car factory the parts I had on the trailer were marked urgent production line, it did not mean a thing, I was told to park up and would be called in when they were ready. I knew from previous car factory experience that once you got into the queue going around the production area that was you basically ■■■■■■, end of. It is like going around a supermarket following 2 mobile scooters ,with blind people driving.
After god knows how many hours still at Luton ,it was getting that I would not have time to drive back, so there and then I made my mind up that was me finished when I got back , no way to ring anyone up no public phones within the factory for drivers use…
Once on my way ,non stop straight to the depot, I was met by the boss, all full of sorry, I did not realise they said it was urgent, I said no problem ,get some other mug, bye that is me done, he protested ,ore look I gave you a job a favour for Mr East ,i replied you get Mr East to come and do it then, off I went ,to the nearest phone box and rang Roklold at the depot at Oxford and told them what I had done ,and said thanks for the job but no thanks ,and whenever they want me ring home…
Now started another episode of driver with out a job, I first called in at S. T Challis as it was on the way home and explained my situation and could they help they would ring, never did, so I had to look further afield from home ,in the local paper drivers wanted at Aylesbury ,that was nearly 35 miles away, however I thought I would ring, and ask for a interview, it was in a village called Aston Clinton, did not mean nothing to me , i got a day for a interview , in two days time, i have no idea what sort of work they do or anything but I had seen the lorries around and no way of finding out .
I arrived at the village and found the yard , I drove in ,and looked around for a parking place, found a visitors one and parked. Little did I know that I was being observed to see where I left my car.
However I reported to the office explained who I was and was told to sit and wait. I had dressed
with some smart clothes and a tie ,a bit over the top for a drivers job but I wanted work.
I was shown into a office and a young -ish man sat at a desk very smartly dressed, he did not get up just looked and there was a chair pulled out my side, but I did not sit I just stood there.
He then said who he was ,and what did I want so I said a driving job if they have any vacancies,
then where have you been working? . I said I can give you my full working record since I left school, and got out my discharge book with various bits of paper and certificates also my HGV driving licence, Ohh he said you have a class one licence all self-explanatory , so I told him everything from school until that day. While I was in mid flow a older man come in to the room. Also very well dressed and sat on the edge of the desk ,never said a word.
When I had finished talking ,my history, the other man Mr Fowler ,the big boss , said we never employ any men who do not live within a 10 mile radius from Aylesbury ,however if you can start tomorrow we will overlook that rule, and that was me at Aston Clinton Haulage, A. C .H.
I had to be at the yard for 6 am , to start then take it from there it was a good 40 minutes drive from home on back roads, after a short time I started to try other routes, but it was nearly always the same time of travelling.
The work was varied ,from local shunting to unloading in the yard, and loading boxes of cereal for delivery, then delivering it ,you had no time at all, but I stuck with it, they were very long hours if I had known more then I would have stopped in the yard the odd night and sleep in a cab ,with no pay but it would have made life a lot easier ,as all the trucks the ran were sleeper cabs and of the full speck,[the most powerful].
The son David who interviewed me was what you called unfair, a prick ,thoughtless, and all the other meanings, but that was his way and people accepted it, me also as I thought I would get on to having a truck of my own and get some good work even with my limited European experience. Sadly it was not to be then i wanted to leave, but I had to do it right and not just finish ,so one day I got half way to Aylesbury stopped in a village, and said my car has just blew the piston, or valve and I could not make it in, and gave them the local phone box number so they could ring me back…[ no mobile then].
After time Dennis , David’s assistant, rang the call box back, and said if you cannot get in you are no good for us so you will have to finish, so I said fine and they would send my wages and p 45 and that was that for then It was what I wanted to happen in case I ever wanted to go back in the future .
Once home, car all good ,I decided to go S T Challis to see if they have any work, once in the yard straight to the drivers place outside of the office, i knocked the hatch, and was greeted by what the ■■■■ to you want, from the traffic clerk, laughing, nothing from you, but a job, he told me to wait `1 ,i will go to see the boss, after a short time Brian the boss came out and said we have a bit of tipper work if you want it , only local runs ,you can start Monday, and that was the way it worked in my area, straight to the point, the best way.
The tipper work was easy but long hours you were moving earth that was being dug out by machines for a new road ,and once loaded ,you then tipped it where you were told, most times it was to make a bank further back along the road ,or just to fill in holes [massive holes] left by pipes .
It was going good , I used to take a lot of sandwiches and 2 flasks i knew most of the drivers ,some from my village, and we would have a laugh. Plenty of time to eat, and drink all was good the money was manageable, but beggars cannot be choosers
.
I think I must have been there for about3 months and getting bored but nothing else to do ,i was not getting enough out of it if you know what I mean but no weekend work maybe the odd Saturday morning ,sometimes, they wanted you to help the fitters if they had a big job on, nothing technical but I was still learning about trucks ,engines and most of what went with the job, rewiring lights, all though the diesel engine had come on with the future there was still a lot of old basics and common sense .also I had had the ■■■■■■■■ engine workings to help me if I needed it. To a small degree.
Life was plodding on ,getting my self resigned to being on a tipper until they increased the fleet, when out of the blue my wife gets a urgent phone call from no other than Mr Robin East, from the depot in Oxford, asking where, and what I was doing, and asked would I ring as soon as possible, urgent. It was 7 o clock at night and I spoke to Robin .
Tom ,the first driver I went with had ,had a brain haemorrhage and passed away , he was on the service station by Liverpool, the trailer had been taken away to be unloaded ,however ,the unit was still on the service station the keys were in the mangers office ,was the any chance I could go up with another driver and bring the tractor, and the trailer [when empty] back down to Oxford. the lorry was leaving at 5am in the morning to get you to Liverpool later in the day are you able to go with it, also we would now need a relief driver ,if I wanted the job it was mine on Rokold not the other company J C. S. ,it would be reliving the European drivers on a regular basis and the previous man would have Toms truck permanently. I explained that I was permanent where I was and they would not take kindly to me leaving just like that, he said he new Mr ■■■■ who was the boss and he would square it with him, as they were on the road haulage association together and he would explain the situation .
It was a chance not to be missed it could be the break for me to get into European work so I accepted the offer.
I had to leave home at 4 am to get to Oxford before 5 am good job I did as the driver slept overnight at the depot and was ready to leave when I arrived, after a few delivers we made our way to the Liverpool area, I found out a lot more about the job some bits were good ,others I knew about [ the hours] the driver Geoff , who was Toms friend, also from Northampton still could not believe Toms death ,it only happened yesterday so it was shock all round ,well not for me but sad as he left a wife and children, all though when I knew him you would have thought he was single , I hope that is not the way this type of driving changes you, also he was ex army so he knew his way around.
I went and collected the truck keys ,from a office , they knew my name but wanted some ID ,that was all done .i rang the office ,and was told to pick the trailer up at Trafford park Manchester at a refrigerated depot. I was told check it over for any damage in the outside and inside, count the meat hooks that were hanging on the rails at the front, tyres, fuel in the fridge ,and all the trucks paper work was still in the cab folder, I was given a list to check, that all worked out correct, and to record the hours recorded on the fridge, [ a dial on the front cover of the hours the fridge has been run],make sure all the lights were working, as people will steal the lenses and bulbs, yes, the bulbs…
When that was done I rang the office ,and they said make your way to Dover and ring first thing in the morning from there. Yes that was what I wanted i knew it would be late by the time I get there
but I never put a tachograph card in until I left Liverpool so I had got plenty of time, well I thought I had.
I made it to the last service station, on the A2 Farthing Corner, before Dover and had a break by the time I got into Dover and parked outside the Agents office ,went in ,and the ■■■■ had hit the fan, what I was not told I was booked on the 6am crossing to Zeebrugge [when I had phoned from Manchester] [no cab or mobile phones] they had expected my to drive into Dover gone in to the Agents and they would have given me my loading instructions without parking up where I did and I could have booked off once inside Dover ,and by the time I had got off in Zeebrugge I would have had the proper break, also I would have had lots of broken sleep.! Moving on to the ferry etc I had no a clue, that was what I should have done.
I rang the office explained they more of less said it was their fault but told me if you ever have to get to Dover you must try to get there, as there is always a reason why. I think the traffic manager Peter Melcombe thought I was a old hand at the European way of working I had never met him I took a instant dislike to him, by his phone manner to me, one to watch.
Once I was on the ferry ,booked into my cabin and had a meal, it was time to go to bed for about 3 hours ,trouble was you never knew who your cabin mate was , so as Pete told me get to bed first and hope they do not snore.
Once off of the ferry the routine started as before ,and it all went well ,even the fuelling up as the credit diesel card all worked on the same pin number [so long as you knew it] I did not ,but Tom had it written down in the trucks book of paper work ,so I was soon away to get to the loading place. It was the same one as before when I was with Pete ,so I felt very confident that it would all be good and load without any hassle, and after a time of me getting there I was soon striding in to the loading office, full of it, until the Dutch man said in perfect English, you are late ,your load has been given to another driver so you will have to wait until the product [frozen chips] are down to the correct loading temperature , well what could I say but ok thank you I will be in the cab…
And that is where I went, I never said another word, I thought well ■■■■ you too. And laid on the bunk, it did not seem long when loud banging was on the door and shouting to me ,back on to the loading bay so I opened the rear doors , started up the fridge, ■■■■ !!I had forgot to do that before I arrived so as the trailer would be cold, [whoops] I was getting to cocky, and forgot the first rule. To get the fridge temperature down as low as possible, it will never get to minus -20 as there is not product in the trailer to hold the temperature but once the frozen goods are in the trailer and the trailer is all ready cold it will soon be down to -20
Also I think I learned another thing, other people do not like to see you go and lie on the bunk and read a book… [over time I learnt it really ■■■■■■ other people off especially if you have had a disagreement with them and it was your fault, and you shown that it does not bother you at all .]
Once loaded, I was told to pull off the loading bay, collect my paper work from the office and the customs will seal the back doors and I was ready to go. I did stop and think have I done all the right things , checked both diesel tanks. Fridge running ok , god knows what I would do if the fridge stops, I have not been told yet ,i must put that on a list ,of to ask instructions for if a brake -down occurs.
I made my way to the Belgium boarder and then the ferry port. Ohh no I forgot to ask what ferry to go back on, ■■■■ ,i stopped and tried to work the time out, and thought I was at about the same time as when with Pete, so I will go to Ostend ,then I had thought , [dangerous]look at what the T2 customs form said , and it was Ostend, so I now knew the office must have told the Dutch that was my port of exit.
I made my way there without any problems it was easy to find the port as the signs post were very good you just followed the sign with a ship on and it took you straight to the port gate, I completed all the paper work, and went and queued up with all the other trucks , that was not hard to accomplish, as I had been shown before what to do if I had not It would have been a different story.
Once on the ferry I asked the crew for a electrical plug in , and was told yes ok ,but wait for the ships electrician , that is what I did it seemed like hours however he came and sorted the plug in out and it worked the correct way ,that ,the way to test to see that it did not ■■■■ air out of the fridge was by holding some light tissue paper up to the front air intake so that it blew the paper and not ■■■■ it in, , as ships electricity system can vary so I was told? I was the last driver to leave the car deck eventually, I climbed my way up to the accommodation area found the driver only restaurant the food was English looking but cooked by Belgians as it was a Belgian crew, I had some food then straight down to the cabins for a sleep, I had the cabin number on my ticket, but the first thing was to find them , it seemed as if they were right down under the engine, and the noise was bad, Jesus I had spent a long time on ships ,never this noisy!!
I did find the cabin, and the bunk, and it was the top bunk as the other 3 were occupied so clothes on into the bed, I did learn a lesson, all ways strip off when ever you have a chance to sleep ,even for a hour ,as with clothes on you soon get roasting and cannot rest…
Next thing lots of noise, blokes burping and ■■■■■■■, coughing sounded like a cattle market and foreign language ,to me, I understood it was time to get up .and that was what I did and followed the herd up to the coffee, tea and ■■■, bar, also more food it seemed only 5 minutes before that I was eating, but we all seemed to get stuck in, mostly sausages, and hard boiled eggs , then the tannoy came over [all drivers report to the car deck and do not start your engines please until told to by the staff, ■■■■■■■■, by the time I got down to the truck ,the rear door was still down, and all these ■■■■■■■ ,stupid foreign drivers had the engines roaring away it was choking, and they did not give one ■■■■, what they did not realise as the deck crew could not take the safety chains off of the front of the trucks so they would be able to leave the ship, because they wanted to be first off what they did not realize that once they got to the customs they were going nowhere,.
Yes I had done it, I did all the right things parked up put my paper work in the agents box wrote on it where I was parked, and smartly went and got into bed again sleep seemed the main think lacking in this type of work
The next thing I know there is rapping on the cab door, i flew up pulled the curtain back and there was one of our drivers there, hanging off the wing mirror with his arms, shouting something, so I got dressed and opened the door and the first thing he said are we clear what! I said I have not long got in bed, he said well they usually clear this customer straight away, he said he would go and check, in the office where you get your exit stamp ,and the paper work to go .
He came back full of it and said it has been cleared 1 hour -ago, you should have been gone by now as the customer is waiting for the load,” hang on” I said I have only been here 3 hours and not had my full break, he replied, that he was taking the load and I was to be the passenger, ok that made sense. well sort of until I thought about it so off we go with me not driving so it did not matter any-more how much rest or sleep I had the load came first…
I asked the driver how he got here and he said he came down last night with another of our drivers and went in to a bed and breakfast, got up this morning to deliver the load ,and take me back because the office new I would not be able to drive for some time as my break hours were not up one thing was wrong no one told me alarm bells should have been ringing, this is no way to work ,however it was all new to me completely different from any other type of driving I knew .
so in fact I was off duty in the passenger seat basically it does not matter where you take your off duty break so long as you are not working …as time went by it was considered that if you were in a company vehicle you were classed as on duty, but that was much later .in the 1990s in actual fact if you were driving a company car to or from work of to relive another driver you were technically on duty, however who new , unless you had a accident in that car.
We arrived at “Bejams”at large “cold store” full of deep frozen food at a place called Frimley near Guilford to unload the pallets of chips, after time we were told to back on to the loading bay ,and wait for the green light , it was right by your cab when you were backed on the loading bay [or dock]you could not miss it to tell you that you were on the loading bay correctly , you would feel the ramp inside the store go down on to the deck of the trailer so they could start unloading.
But first the quality control would take off the first 6 pallets then on the 7th they would open the boxes for the correct temperature of the product and it had to be between minus-18 and -22, they would take all the boxes of the pallet and check the very bottom ones, just to make sure that the chips had been loaded at the correct temperature also that you had had your frigerated trailer running at the correct temperature -20 If not someone would be in trouble and the first would be the driver, as not checking the product temperature before loading, and was the fridge running correct, it was a bloody minefield this I learnt later through my own experiences you would never believe the checks you had to make and do while loading any product .
Once the load had been cleared to unload it did not take very long to get unloaded and get the correct amount of pallets returned, and we were on our way again, so where now for me I asked myself? we were going to Bedford for a truck and trailer service and I was to pick up a company car and go home and wait for the phone call. At least I had some duty free cigarettes.
I was asked at the cold store [what have you got on] I did not know what they were on about until the other driver, said some drivers bring in Beer, and tobacco for the cold store unloading staff to buy [in bulk] apparently they knew the lorry was Toms, and he looked after the lads at the store , well sadly no more ,they did not know about his death, but it was something to think about , however I never did bother for anyone, as I never had the cash to buy goods…
We soon arrived at Bedford, and the trailer was dropped in a service bay and the unit taken for a service next door, I was taken to see the boss of the work shops and asked if there were any outstanding faults on the truck or trailer i did say some of the tyres on the trailer were a bit short of rubber meaning the tread was low, all the other gauges on the unit were working oil and water was good ,there was no more to say, so I was shown the car I had to go home in and that was it, I was away… it was the same old Volvo first thing was I checked the petrol, and it was nearly empty, what a surprise, why would drivers leave a car with hardly any petrol in I did not know ,however I will now do the same.
I got home there was a telephone message for me to phone the office, Jesus they never left you alone for any length of time, it was something I was going to have to get used to that was for sure ,it was my instructions for tomorrow, I had to be down in Lamberhust the name of the village where the loading was for 5 pm and deliver the load of lambs that I had done with Pete before, on my own, I remember feeling pleased with myself as they were trusting me with a Export load for the first time, also inside I was really ■■■■■■■■ myself but no one knew only me.
After a good drive around the Motorways, the M25 was not yet built, under the Dartford tunnel and down to Lamberhurst ,i arrived in plenty of time, and I had brought a small gas burner and some food ,saucepan, tea ,excreta, just to keep me going and from spending any money on foreign food, the more I did not spend the more for me and home, well that was the thought I had not got round to finding a toaster, but I would.
The unit was the one I had driven before the old 2800 D. A.F, [Ex toms] the driver with the truck wanted to get off home ,and I did ask him why he was not doing the job instead of me, he gave me some story about his wife so I left it at that, anyway it was nothing to me ,he told me it was ¾ loaded and the last of the lambs would be soon loaded ,the truck fridge was roaring away trying to keep the inside of the fridge with the already loaded lambs down to a cool +1 as the doors were open being backed on to the loading bay of the slaughter house it was cold inside, the premises the lambs [meat]were kept inside special cool rooms to get the meat down to the temperature ready for transport. Vets were the only people who can allow any meat from leaving a premise also vets are employed all the while the process of slaughter takes place .
In side the slaughter house there are a series of tracks that run all around the ceilings that the meat hooks run on in and out of the cool rooms for the method of getting meat moved from place to place once the meat arrives by men pushing sliding the carcass at the loading doors in to the trailers, the carcass is lifted off and placed on to the meat hooks inside the trailer there are 5 different rails inside the trailer roof with about 60 hooks on each rail .with lambs being small one lamb is placed on the hook then another is hung underneath by a string so there are 2 lambs to each hook, quite a swinging load ,if you have more than one delivery string is placed around the whole load of lambs to let the unloaders plus the driver where that delivery starts so as not to get them mixed up or extra taken by the first customer as you would have no way of knowing when to stop taking the lambs ,also counting, but the driver is never allowed inside most abattoirs.
I went and checked the diesel for the fridge that is under the trailer it wanted filling up, I realised the truck tank was half full and I would be able to syphon some diesel out of the tank and put it in to the fridge tank, I thought yes I will do it.
So know I needed a piece of hose pipe at lest 6 foot long, and a container of sorts to transfer the diesel, easier said than done believe me, I knew how to do it as I have done it many times before but it can be a smelly dirty job, plus diesel tastes awful. If the trailer had not been loaded and the weight on the front end of it ,the easiest way would have been to drop the trailer where it was and back the unit alongside of the trailer so as the tanks are alongside each other, if the tanks are not on the same side you turn the unit around so as it is ,also you need a lot of room, so all that was out . It meant sucking the diesel up the pipe that you have pushed down , well down inside the trucks diesel tank, and you start sucking “ syphoning” until the diesel flows out ,and then you have to catch it in some form of container a old plastic oil can, and make sure you can tip it into the trailer diesel tank [not easy] it needs 2 people really as once you have filled your oil can the diesel is still flowing ,you have to lift the pipe up so it is above the level of the diesel in the tank, but make sure you have a bend in the pipe so as the pipe is not empty or else you have to start sucking again, believe me it is a pain in the arse and you get covered I did get a hand from one of their drivers and we managed to get a few gallons in the tank, no thanks to the other driver, [■■■■■
Now I had to get cleaned up and once the unit was under the trailer they started to load the last delivery, What I did not know was one of drivers from the abattoir was also going down to the docks on a export load he was going direct to the delivery at leige, and then into Germany and I was to follow him down to Dover the ship over to Calais [F] and I would follow him through to Belgium and then we would go our different ways, this was new to me ,apparently all things change when meat is involved ,and the office knew what was happening .
I was to pick a French permit up from the agent in Dover ,and Jimmy[ THE DRIVER ]was going to show me the route out of Calais, and how to go through the customs at Calais all straight forward well it is supposed to be. After time we were ready to go and he said we were going the back roads down to FOLKSTONE, the on to Dover I did not have a map with me .god!! it was the most fastest switch back ride I have ever had ,god knows where we went, but I did not let his rear lights out of my sight, and he warned me that when you get to Folkstone we will go up this massive hill ,and if it is wet if you miss a gear near at the top you will be ■■■■■■, as the steepness of the hill lets all the weight of the lambs hang back at angle, taking your traction away from your drive wheels as if you are skidding on ice, well that did not do me much good ,all I could thing about was missing a gear, so I thought right, I will put the truck in a low gear at the bottom and then I had no worry ,I expect I lacked a bit of confidence in my own ability and that is what I did and I did not have a problem ,i was slow, yes, but I never got stuck, when I caught Jimmy up at the docks he said I thought you were stuck, but I would not have been any help so I carried on, that was the right thing to do so he said .
We parked outside the agents and collected the paper work for me and a permit for France, then round to the customs part ,this time we had to queue up to go into the customs sheds for a seal check and a port health check, ]MAFF],to make sure we were veterinary sealed up [the trailer] .
That all done we then had to go queue up for the next ferry to Calais, they were nearly every 2 hours leaving Dover , I could see the point of coming this way instead of Ramsgate as it was quicker here, once we were loaded on to the ferry we had to ask for a Electric Plug , as no diesel engines were allowed to be run, once that was sorted and it was working the correct way we made our way up stairs for food in the drivers lounge.
We were on Sea-link ferries and the food was good . Jimmy asked if I had any French money at all, and no I did not he said we would need at least 5 French Francs for the customs as you go out of the gate, for the bung, for the excess diesel we had, you are only allowed 200 litres in France, I changed £10 sterling and received just over 10 Francs, and Jimmy told me do not give that much you must change it as they would take it all that… I am learning more, and we talked about my delivers and he told me about the Belgian border so as I was sure where to go ,he was a great help, I would have been struggling with out him, but that is why they sent me with him I expect…
Once the ferry docked we were about the last to get off as the electrician did not hurry himself, anyway there would be a massive queue waiting to get out of the dock after the customs. Once in the customs hall I just followed what jim said and I did not speak, there was no need to, the customs men all looked the same in massive coats , lots of chatter, stinking of French ■■■■, talking in grunts, and laughter, well they were in charge , after the stamp on the permit backing paper ,jim said he hoped they would stamp that, and not the actual permit as it could be used again [ I will explain later] I watched as the trucks drove up to the last barrier where you gave them the money ,[they called it coffee] the man jumped up onto the step hung on the mirror arm and looked at the fuel gauge on the dash board to see what it read ,full, or half full. Anyway they still had the coffee money whatever, and when it was my turn I drove up stopped and he did what I have said took the 5 francs said [Aur vior]
That was my first of many giving of French francs to the customs men ,only in Calais I must say no where else bothered with the fuel coming in to the country .they were the French Mafia. That practice carried on until the customs frontier controls finished in the 1990s.
Once clear, before I was let loose on my own , Jimmy gave me my last instructions , I crossed the same border in to Belgium as when I was on the other ferry, however I had to clear the customs there as it was my boarder of destination, apparently the veterinary clearance was done at the first delivery but Jimmy was there at the boarder to assist me so it went well
He told me all the deliverers will be waiting for me, as drivers for the abattoir. Company they did this run every 2 days for years and if there are no lights on at the premises ,knock the doors ,and they will soon be out as they were local Butchers shops, in towns obviously this was a regular run .
Once I found the first delivery I would be taken to the next one when I was ready by following a car, I think this job must have been another test as it was non stop full-go ,at the first delivery one man jumped up on the back of the trailer to take the lambs of the hooks and pass them down ,and I was given a white coat, to get up and do the same, as two men were on the road taking the meat inside, so no lay down, and that was the pattern of the nights work, i had lost track of time and it was getting light, and I ended up somewhere near Brussels Airport with a empty trailer, and the inside needed a wash out, so that was my next move find a truck stop with a high power hose, that was normal in Belgium as they seem to think of everything jim did tell me that I should ring the office by 1pm our time and get loading instruction, so sleep was the second priority.
There was so much noise going on at the service station I made amental point of never stopping
there again ,i must have had about 5 hours sleep and my alarm was screaming, first eat then phone thank god I had my toaster, and tea making things, and I sorted my self out.
The office told me I was loading tonight not far from the Dutch boarder in Belgium so make my way there whenever, as the load was ready, full load of frozen vegetables
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After 2hours I had found the loading factory a large compound lots of other trucks were there no other English, once I had been to their office I was given a loading bay number to back on the wait in the cab as the load was handball [meaning not on pallets in paper sacks] so it would be a while, and they would knock the cab when finished, so it was time to get a brew of tea on ,and then lie down and get some rest ,sleep. It was after 4 hours and I was woken up and told to go to the office, I collected my paper work, customs paper, and pulled off the loading bay for the rear doors to be custom sealed up, and they told me that the office said I was to go to Zeebrugge for the midnight ferry, that was good for me no rush, and I would be able to fill all tanks up with diesel unbelievable but it all worked out .i was in plenty of time for the ferry, and another time to get in bed, I had already sussed out that if you can get a lay down take it…
Once the ferry arrived it did not take long for the off load of trucks and then we were soon brought up from lanes for loading ,it is not straight forward ,as heavy lorries have to get put in different places, the loading ticket office know all the trucks weights when booking in…also I wanted a electrical plug in ,so I seemed to be kept waiting to load with other fridge drivers as we were all on the same level deck where all the plug connections were, once loaded on and sorted ,in to get your bed number/cabin, no single berth, so you have 2 choices either go straight to bed , or eat a dinner.
For me it was a no brainier /bed, before the snoring started, and just hoped you did not get a cabin with foreigners .
All went well ,the crew wake you up in time for breakfast nice full English then the unloading starts
passport control/ customs, all done on the dock ,as before, it was still dark.
Once parked up , my paper work lodged in the agents in box ,i wrote on it the number of the lane I was parked in, and would they knock me when finished please… so back in the bunk again…
It was not long before the knock on the door come and I was cleared to go after I got my paper work, and allowed out of the dock gate and on my way to Frimly again to get the load off loaded
I new it would take a while as it all had to be put on pallets ,a long job I expect. Once there I report to the office and they told me to ring my office as soon as I can…
Once again I was told that a driver was coming down in the car to relive me and I could go home and ring tomorrow dinner so now it was a waiting game, the more time I spent here the less at home.
Another driver I did not know, arrived ,and I told him what was going on and that they would let him know when to get on to a unloading bay ,and that was me, away, petrol check seemed ok, so home for me…
After rest at home, I rang the office at dinner time to be told to go to Bedford service depot no later than 5pm to collect the truck, I arrived on time, to be told that at 8 o clock in the morning I was to load a load of lambs from near Bedford and ring from there, I had to get the car back that night as it was needed for someone else, so I had a night at the garage in Bedford ,i slept well …
Once I arrived at the Abattoir I was told to go and wash the trailer out ready for loading they had a very high powered wash hose, it would blow your clothes off if it was pointed at you, anyway that done I put the trailer on the bay and waited, there was a lot of movement in the trailer they seemed to be loading non stop.
Eventually it went all quiet inside the trailer as the loaders stopped i walking up and down the trailer floor in stopped rocking around so I assumed it was loaded i got out of the cab and went to the office, yes it was finished and the customs and veterinary would soon be finished and I could soon be on my way ,so I thought…after ring the office it seemed I was only loading it for another driver I was to take it back to the Bedford garage, leave the truck ,the fridge going at the correct temperature, and the car would soon be there for me to go home again ,and the other driver would be taking the load, yes well I was only the relive driver, so that is what I am doing although I did not like it.
That seemed for a while the pattern of work I was doing, unloading or loading for someone else and it was sort of getting to me, so in the end I asked to speak to the boss Mr East [robin] the office men tried to keep fobbing me off that he was never in the office, so I let it go a week and one Friday I was home with the company car, i thought right and I drove to Oxford to the depot ,and there he was on Saturday morning in the yard ,well it was in a forest, no joke , in a forest called Tubbney wood ,off the Swindon road out of Oxford, it had some hard standing for a few trailers and a wooden cabin type office ,after handshakes I said if I do not get a truck of my own soon I am leaving I had been doing the relive for about a year, with the occasional run abroad and I had had enough…
Once home the phone rang Saturday after noon, and I was told they would be getting another hire truck a new Scania and it would be mine in 2 weeks, however it would be mostly on European work and I would have to do the same as the others and go anywhere I was told, if I could not do it they would have to let me go a catch 22… situation, it could be 2 /3weeks away at a time, I knew some of the other men were very rarely home for long as the export and import ruled… it was a no brainier I told my wife what the score was , I could do it or leave and go to nothing ,obliviously I wanted to do it however was not my own decision so we decided to do it and take a chance.
So the 2 weeks went into 3 and I was getting slightly cautious as to they were telling me the truth but when I did bump into other drivers they said yes the fitter at Bedford had been told another truck was coming and it was the first Scania not a D.AF so I carried on as normal unloading other people’s loads day and night[ not at the same time] one load comes to my mind that nearly come to my down fall and getting to big for my boots ,it is funny how life puts you down to ground very easy…
This load I had to collect ,[I had the company car] from the Bedford fitters premises,[i did not like john’s, the fitters wife she was always saying Robin this, and that, she was dangerous she could get you finished on her say, so ,[example if the truck was not oil up and cleaned up] cab dirty,]anyway=
I had to deliver this load of frozen goods at 12 midnight at Bejams Frimly I knew it very well as a lot of our loads ended up there so I knew some of the unloaders and the canteen ladies and felt at home while there, however it was different at night ,different people but they new the company well [as regulars] so we had no problem getting in past the security to get parked up as times it was very difficult to get on the premises ,if you were early, or more so late but Rokold seemed to breeze it…
“”2
This trailer I collected was a knew one to the fleet it had a new system for the brakes called “progressive breaking” meaning when you put your foot on the brake pedal and it sent air down the air line to the brakes on the 3 axles the brakes did not all come on at the same time ,there was progressive breaking one would come on then another then the last one, so as there was no skidding, gently braking however it used the air in the system up quicker, so the engine needed to be at a high reeving speed to keep the air cylinders up to maximum pressure… when you were slowly manoeuvring and using your brakes the air would be going out ,but the brakes would not be jammed on, but one axle would stop you in a road situation .
I was told to go on to a loading bay, it was very tight as there was a truck both sides of where I was to go so lots of manoeuvrings and shunting and when you hit the loading bay dock a green light would come on and that was you ,[you had opened the back doors before you stated to back up to the bay] so it was tight getting in as their own company trucks were parked everywhere just where you wanted to be another driver got out of his cab and help you back up to the bay and that is what a driver did for me.
Time and time again I wished the driver had left me to do it myself, as we were chatting and reversing at the same time using the brakes, backwards then forwards, and when I eventually got on to the unloading bay the green light come on , so still chatting the truck made no move to move forward ,I was on the bay I jumped out with the deliver tickets and walked up the 10 steps at the corner of the loading bay into the freezing warehouse, as you walk up the steps you are as high as the roofs of all the trailers parked on the loading bays so it looks like a flat field of roofs ,and all the fridges are off.
All the drivers all strangers, to me, are drinking coffee and eating sandwiches, mostly home made, the meal for the night workers does not start until 3am in the subsided canteen , I hope I am away before the crew eat as it makes it all get later and they get slower the longer they work.
The odd driver gets told he is finished, and new ones arrive, and at last they call me to say all is good and the unloading is finished just wait for the empty pallets to be reloaded, so off I go down the steps, talk to driver next door to me, jump in the cab, put the key in the ignition ,start the engine and let it tick over , i jump out the cab again, say something to the driver again [being cocky I expect as I was unloaded before him] I then make for the steps again in to the warehouse to see if the pallets are loaded ,and collect the paper work, and I was told 2/3 minutes and they will be ready so I waited like all the others do.
At that moment I was a happy bunny, soon be away and home I was handed all the correct paperwork all signed correct
and opened the door to go down the steps and looked over the trailer roofs again and there was a empty loading bay where I was parked, i thought well what a good chap [the driver next to me] he had pulled my truck off the unloading bay so as someone else can get in to the space I had… well that was what I thought my unit as I got past the truck alongside the walkway I could hear a commotion ,i did not what it was but as I got further round I could see the Rokold unit parked on a strange angle, I thought oh no !!!he has hit another truck ,and as I run round the front of the Rokold cab it is empty, no one is in it, and I run back around the way I had just come and Jesus, the left hand side of my trailer door was stuck in to the cab of the truck next to me, ■■■■ me what has happened… ohh- no ,i run back to my drivers side jump in the cab, and there is the evidence looking at me, the ■■■■■■■ hand brake was not on!!!ohh no that is me ■■■■■■. In the mean time out comes the driver who s cab I have just ■■■■■■, going ■■■■■■■ bananas.
What has happened is -that when I reached the loading dock doors just by luck or unlucky the air has all gone out of the air reservoirs connected to the trailer brakes and they are firmly on completely empty so it means that all the brakes on the 3 axles are on, I FORGOT TO PUT THE HAND BRAKE ON[silly me].
He said he had only just had it repaired “look mate I said” it has happened it is a accident I did it, sorry I turned to sharp , I will back up the truck and you hold the door open then I will park up over there and come back and sort it out . what the blessing was the chap parked next door had gone to see another driver so no one knows what actual happened . if the truck had not stopped where it did and not got caught up on his front, parked up were 3 trucks of bejams dead in line ,where it would have rolled to, now that would have been a major incident [ no health and safety yet]phew lucky or what…
After I had sorted all the paper work out truck numbers names extra I had to go and tell the night foreman what I had done so if they had a inquiry they would know. I eventually got away and made my way back to Bedford no damage to our truck and trailer , BUT MY GOD IT SORT OF PUT THE DAMPENERS ON ME.
I parked back up at Bedford in the fitters yard, I wrote out all that had happened on the back of a envelope [a big brown one] and stuck it in the window and asked John the fitter if he would tell Mr East what I had written down and I would ring after dinner…[so everyone would know now] no more could I do, but go home and expect the sack, at least I had given the office a heads up if the other driver rang first thing ,they would know what had happened.
About 2 pm I made the dreaded telephone call asked for the boss, told he was out but not to worry the insurance would sort it out, have the rest of the day off ring tomorrow. I could not believe it just like that all the thinking I was going to get the sack and that was that…OR WAS IT.
THIS I rang the next day, all seemed ok I asked if Robin wanted to speak to me and the traffic manager so no, all ok here this is what we want you to do I think it was Wednesday[ not sure]anyway I had to drive the car to Guildford and go to Steve Chities abattoir and there is a trailer that will be loaded with beef for Rung-is, market Paris,
Jesus Christ, after what I did, they have given me a load that I have never done before , only briefly in France ,i have no idea what to do, where to go, ■■■■ me out of the pan into the fire, I thought it is a joke they know I have not had a load of beef before, let alone deliver it, it is either a test to see what I do, if I take it or not, that is what it has got to be, so I thought right, ■■■■ it get on with it, learn as you go, and that is what I done…
Once at the abattoir the other driver a relief driver said thank god you have arrived, he thought he was going to have to go with the load ,and he had less experience than me, I thought well that is two of us but never said a word The load had all been sealed up and he gave me the custom papers, and off he went, I put my gear in the cab checked all around ,checked both diesel tanks and the fridge was set at +1 the correct temperature ,all seemed good I did not know who,s truck it was as the cab was empty, of any personal goods I made sure the company book was in it with all the relevant company credit cards for fuel and I had the company cash float that they gave you so all was goo i made my way to Dover I knew what agent to go to once there. NO GOING BACK NOW.
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I knew where to park in the customs bay on the docks, and I went to the agents ,they sort of knew me and handed me a envelope with customs forms for me to produce ,also another one marked with my name and it said open in rung -is, market Paris with loading instructions after you are empty.
When I had found space for parking [customs] lots of other fridges there, roaring away, very noisy i queued up to present my paper work like the other drivers up the stairs, feeling a bit lost and apprehensive, but you would not know it, when a shout behind me called out Rokold! ,i looked behind as you do ,another driver a few behind me said ,we are going to the same place ,i will see you on the ferry ,right I said, and at that moment my inner nerve went away.
It turned out he had also loaded at the same place but had stopped on the way down to Dover ,but I did not know anyway after driving on the ferry ,fridge plugged in, I went up to the drivers eating area and waited for my new mate.
It turned out he knew that I was a first solo tripper as he was a subcontractor to Rokold as they had told him, so I was glad I did not refuse to take this load, and he proceeded to give me as much information you could take in a short time, however he did say that if we got split up he would wait for me, once through the last road toll pay station near Paris, I said how will I know if it is the last one ,he said it will be chocker block with cars and lorries, and the service station is just as you start to see the toll booth and it was as he said mad ,but that was just the start.
Once I had got through the toll, there were trucks parked every where,i found him and walked up ,he had got his kettle on so tea was the first thing then he proceeded to tell me, what to expect, and he told me where to get off the ring road and what to do once I approached the market…
The Paris city has 2 ring roads they are called [peripherque] [F] one outer for all the transit traffic and a inner for local. the outer has 4 lanes like a race track and that is what it is. As our trucks are right hand drive ,it was the only time it was to our advantage as the 4 lanes has no hard shoulder, masses of twists turns tunnels ,some dark some bright and all exits on the same road as the entrance and being on the right we always had a better view as to what was going on than the normal left hand drive
. LATER After years of using that road and all Frances I used to enjoy going round the peripherque. All the exits are named as [a-port-de -lyon or similar ] It used to get really fast and dangerous as the French would never ever give way they would just keep going, what they did not know was we could see them in our driving mirrors, as being right hand drive , not left sometimes they would have to go back the up exit as the lane for them to join the main road was the same stretch for anyone to get off ,because we/I would not let them in as they could see they would go under the wheels they would just be hanging on their hooters and if you were left hand driver you would slow up and give way because you would not be able to see them
. That was the rule in the city [give way] to cars trying to get on to the main road from a minor road. it was only our ever victory over the French driver, it was even funnier if two of us trucks were very close together. Sad but true all the bumps would be in the fast lane not ours All though it was a free way, we always stick in the slow lane
Yes I was given the insight of what to do and very pleased I was of having been given information, by the other driver also he said do not worry if you catch sight of a aeroplane going overhead, as the Auto route [motorway] goes under the runway of the Charles de Gaul Paris Airport, and many times I have seen planes going over the road in fact after time you took no notice but for then it was a sight…
Also he told me the Motorway signs are very different from ours in ENGLAND because they will show you mileage[in kilometres] and place names miles away from where you are however they are excellent to follow if you are going long distance example=signs showing all routes ,from where you have come from, as if to give you the chance to turn around and go any direction.
the signs show places a long distances away from Paris however they were the main and only routes.
Bordeaux direction to [Spain]
Marseilles v [ Italy ]
Nice v [ Italy]
Perpignan v [spain]
Calais. v6 [ GB]
LYON [F] another important sign .swiss.
What I am trying to say is that so as long you know your final destination you will never go wrong they all give you a 360.chance of turning around ,and when you enter France from other boarders Paris is always signed from where every good French thinking …signposts…
I hope you have grasped as what I have tried to explain …., back to going in to the Rungis market
now the nightmare does begin.
As Rungis is the biggest wholesale market of all the products imported you can imagine into France
it is like its own city, with restaurants/bars buses, and it is serviced by the major roads sign posts to all places in Europe ,it puts you in the right direction from there, as they know most of the trucks will go out to deliver all over France ,however I did not know any of this, I managed to follow the other driver in to the market, and we had to go and pay a entrance fee, it was all very new. once done at the barrier ,we went down to the customs parking bays well !it was like the biggest area you could imagine all numbered with a letter then a numeral. I later over time, found that there were maps of the market in the bars but the locals did not need them ,so hardly anyone knew…
I was taken up to the agents office about 5 floors up and presented the paperwork and we were both told we could be to late for to days market, meaning the customs had stopped clearing trucks for today [.clearing ]means processing the paper work and making sure all monies have been paid b
1983/4. First job at rokold fridge work. Other company name VHB EUROPEAN ROBIN EAST.
It was a Sunday afternoon about 2 o clock the phone rang, it was MR Webb [Alan] he said you have got the job sorry for the delay Would you be in for 6 0clock Monday evening also bring your sleeping bag, we like all the drivers to have their passports with them at all times so that as well I had a passport why do I need a passport ??so that gets the old brain working. [no computers then or else i could have googled Rokold.] I would have to wait until Monday night.
It was a 22mile drive, using back roads to Northampton from my village slower drive than the main road but shorter distance less petrol.
Time to leave home, I had sandwiches and flask, not that much cash I took a sleeping bag pillow wash bag. Just in case [famous last words].
.
I arrived at the depot and the nice new lorry is not there, but a older D A F make of truck a 2800 model a smaller cab ,”not a big sleeper cab” it had 2 bunks also had was a 3 axles unit[truck front end .
I walked around the back of the trailer and Alan,[the boss] is in the back of the trailer helping push up pallets to the front with a pallet truck of the trailer with another man ,as the forklift went back in to the warehouse I was at the back of the trailer i shouted up “Hello”, they were both chattering away and the noise of the pallet truck being pushed up on the metal floor, it sounds like a rumbling train, the other chap looks round ,[as if to say what the do you want] he nudges Alan and points to me , not saying anything,.
Alan turns and comes to greet me, with his hand out stretched to shake my hand [again] I only seen him 3 days before ,I was not used to handshaking, he said his greeting ,then asked me to jump on up into the trailer , not the easiest thing to do , but with some scrabbling I manage it, usually they use the fork lift, but I was ■■■■■■■■ trained not to JUMP ON FORK LIFTS, [THAT WAS SOON TO GO]
He then introduced me to TOM who was the driver of the lorry Alan said he would be showing me the ropes, however I could tell that TOM did not want to know ,however he shook my hand rather limp, like a wet fish so I gave his hand a good squeeze like as if to say ■■■■ you too, another pallet arrived to the back of the trailer we then all 3 of us pushed it in to position , the trailer was getting full what looked like all kinds of vegetables, and boxes Tom and Alan carried on with their chatter ,but not with me involved they were talking double Dutch as far as I understood , using foreign sounding words in sentences .[they were place names]i found out later . after a while the trailer was loaded, we all jumped down off the back of the trailer then the last two pallets were pushed on with not a lot of room to spare for the trailer doors to be closed Tom shut the doors then went to the front of the trailer and started the engine for the fridge that kept all the produce inside the trailer at the required temperature [another new procedure for me to learn.
I went in the office with Alan he took my p45 then told me about the duties, and hours and pay ,and that it was as temporary position that could lead up to permanent, however they as a company use mostly owner drivers[with their own tractor units] to do the majority of work ,and used the companies trailers , the company only have 3 lorries of their own, and they are utilised by casual drivers mostly [part time firemen]on their leave to cover a lot of their work .
He told me i would work sometimes 5 days ,6 days, or 2 days whatever the requirement , it was paid as a monthly salary ,it would be the same pay so do not worry if you have days not at work .[as I found out later you make up for it] they gave you £50 for expensive s for anything you had to pay for while on company work, also if you had a night out away from home that would be paid in to your wages tax free.
If the company get really busy, they would hire another tractor unit, as they have a new job delivering to a super market, and will need me as a extra driver.
Also they take on European work when required that could be without notice, however I would be shown the procedures by going out with another driver first, it would be with a owner driver it looked promising for me if the truth was known then [I should have went out and gone home and forget about the job,] but I did not and ended up driving about 21 years on the continental untill 2002/3[however I did not know it then]
It was like a new challenge and 100% different from the road haulage that I was used to i would give it a go.
Tom was slightly, you could say, grumpy, but I do understand now [then I did not] that it was a pain in the arse having a driver with you let alone a new one like me, at least we both smoked so that was all right.
We eventually left NORTHAMPTON apparently we were already running late for a timed booking to unload at Hemel Hemp-stead at a food store distribution centre ,it was over a one hour drive, and the company we were delivering to were strict on time for booking times at 9o clock at night , Tom told me.
This is going to be a different work environment I am embarking on
Tom was driving he pushed the truck to its limits not at the required 58 mph then on the Motorways .
I must say this is the first time I have ever been working at night time in all my previous driving years I had no idea that there was such a amount of trucks working on nights ,it was unheard of unless you were employed as a night driver and not many were ,times are changing it is 1982.
We arrived at the delivery I was all eyes watching the procedures that tom went through and there were many as the pallets were loaded right to the back doors, you would not be able to back the articulated lorry down[on a slope] to get backed on to a unloading bay ,as when you hit the stops [ you knew when you were backed on the loading bay a green light came on ,from red ]on the warehouse wall /unloading dock, the red light came on telling you to stop.] you could see in your review mirror .
As the pallets were loaded at the back of the trailer you had a problem ,a ramp inside would not come down, that allowed the people inside to move in and out of the trailer to take pallets off, you had to drive the lorry off the unloading bay, with the doors open and pinned back to back to where you started from, then go into the warehouse and ask if they would use the outside fork lift truck to take the back two pallets off,
then you would be able to do the original move again, if!![1]if you could find the fork lift driver . [2] he was not obliged to do it. [3] he would for a small price£5 He would take them off and deposit them inside the warehouse via the door you should have been backed on i found out all this in a matter of 10 minutes.
First lesson learnt do not leave the base if the pallets are rammed up to the back trailer doors, and make sure there is a restraining strap around them [why did we leave like it then] Ahh! Tom had got the hump and he forgot, While all this is going on, other lorry’s coming in the area where we are trying to get unloaded outside ,to then go back on to the bay we just come off however this chap wanted to go where we wanted to go, as he must have thought we had just come off the unloading dock finished unloading[wrong], I kept back and let Tom deal with it I found out he had a very usefully tongue on him and would not back off, eventually the pallets were unloaded, we pull off the bay ,close the rear doors then we are able to get on with the journey and drive down into London ,as I was look at the delivery tickets [notes] we had i asked Tom ,what are Samples?? to Baker street.that is by Kings Cross Rail Station in Baker Street, LONDON
It is Sainsbury head office, It is samples of all the fruit and veg that the a company wants to sell to Sainsbury, it is produce for their quality control of products sold in stores of Sainsbury it is either accept or rejected, it is for the next nights delivery’s to Sainsbury depots apparently this is the way they have been doing it for years.
The only problem is that we were on the wrong side of the main A 40 road from Oxford to London, streaming with cars, we had to carry on find a place to turn around ,so were able to drive down to outside the office doors and the best of all you just leave it in the door foyer ,with a lot of other goods, you do not get it signed for you, we now have to go around again as our next deliver is Spitalfields market in the city ,I did know where it was as you passed it every day as it was on a main transit route towards tower bridge, I had no idea it was a indoor fruit market.
At this point if I start to tell you the roads we used to get into places within the city of London I would need a A to Z map.
Once inside the Spitafields market, it was built for horse and carts a absolute night mare, a mass of wire cages that people had all there produce in ,there were only a few fork lift drivers around and Tom taught me the art of Spitalfields Market .
He told me never drive inside ,stay outside, and walk in, have a look to see if you will be able to get to the stall you want to get to, once in there you will not get to be able to drive out until all the lorry in front of you are unloaded it is a rabbit warren of small lanes and a working area for hand carts …I was for ever gratefully for Toms knowledge that night believe me.
.Once you drove in and parked at the stall you walked around and found the forklift man then you told him who you were delivering to how many pallets and give him £5 for him to unload your pallets apparently they were all independent men on the fork lifts who owned them, I have no idea I suspect the forklifts are for all people to use free, it was soon sorted that was £10 in less than 2 hours spent on using forklifts[all money used in market or any other work to get unloaded or loaded was repaid by the company.
When finished inside there we then went to the worlds most smallest market in LONDON called THE BOROUGH just over London bridge
.
Another EDWARDIAN MASTERPIECE inside the entrance there is a[ open all hours pub], inside the market , what a place to get inside the market, we use the same wholesaler at every market also they had their own fork lift driver they are called “Porters” after they have seen your delivery notes, [another load of the laziest ■■■■■■■■ you ever met ] you never had to pay them…well not on a week day, however as I learnt later on ,when you went to deliver on a Sunday night there was not the slightest sign of man or beast to be seen one fork lift was left out for all the drivers to unload themselves, as they were all in the pub in the market the pup is still there this day, you drove out a different way than you drove in.
It was about 2am by now we set off for the next Market New COVENT GARDEN at a place called “nine elms “just passed Vauxhall bridge, tom let me drive I found out later on that he had been up and working since 9am Monday it was now TUESDAY 3.30am
I was shown short cuts around London city streets and how to arrive at the Markets you have to pay a entrance fee to get in Covent garden ,£3 [all lorry s] T he company had regular customers there.
This is now another world very noisy ,every other word[■■■■] most of the men are dressed in the same type clothes, flat caps, brown boots it looked as if it was a uniform at least the men at the stall are pleased to see us ,well ,Tom.
they did not speak to me when they put the pallet truck upon the trailer and we start pulling loaded pallets of all kinds of fruit to the back of the trailer they are taken away in to their store, after a time we are putting full loaded pallets back on. [strange] I push them up to the front of the trailer, after a cup of tea and a sandwich from the market café we made our way out.
By this time we have left the market and back over the north side of the Thames I am driving and Tom tells me to head for HESTON by Heathrow airport and wake him up as we pass the service station, he is soon well asleep and I am driving past Harrods on the A40 I had never been this way before. Lots of people still around at 4 30 am what are they doing, god knows certainly not working
I wake tom up he has been asleep on the bottom of the bunk he jumps up as if he has been mugged, wow!! tom it is me I shout its Vic, we are at the Heston services on the M4 sorry he said
he was dreaming ,he told me to drive to the next exit and come off the Motorway and go to the market well signposted.
At the gate the guard ask where is my delivery how many pallets, Tom shouts 4 only, to some name, and I drive around the market to about the last [pitch] market stall and park up, we both jumped out of the cab , tom told to me open the trailer doors and a fork lift will be right here with a pallet truck tom went inside the market.
I started to pull all the remaining pallets to the rear of the trailer the forklift truck took them away we went to another stall with 1 pallet and then we were empty, it was by now 6am and the market traders were streaming in their vans, Tom came back closed the back doors he said to me quick as you can drive out of the market and head for home.
Once out of the mad house Tom told me it was a regular thing for whoever unloaded at Fen and Hexton the stall we were delivering to in Covent garden you will load up any pallets they have to be delivered to the Heston market for them and do not say anything as it was a arrangement between Alan at the office and them .
We arrived back to Northampton me driving Tom was fast asleep I parked up woke Tom up and went home as no one else was around. I found out later was Tom slept in his lorry as he had another delivery job to do at lunch time I had first learned about the procedure of Double Manning a lorry,
“Explanation”
This is about the driving hours and duty hours of one driver =
A driver can be on duty for 15 hours in one 24 period.
Within that period, he can drive literally drive for 10 hours.
But must take at least 2x30 minutes rest period within that 10rs.driving.
And the rest of 5 hours is for unloading whatever
This is a basic explanation.
After the 15 hours duty a driver must take a 9 our rest period.
All these hours have different combinations of how you do them, and how much they were fiddled.
Before any driver moves anywhere in the lorry by law he must complete, his vehicle checks, oil water tyres, excreta then you must fill in the Tachograph you start writing in the top spaces of the Tachograph provided you have to use a pen placing your name ,where you are [town]etc and the currant reading of the speedometer mileage However if you are double manning you must both put a completed Tachograph card in the Tachograph head that has 2 compartments you must put the same mileage and place of start. [[this will be exploited later]]
A tachograph is a piece of carbon type of paper card easier marked both side so you have to be gently with it, it has a complex series of broken lines printed on and marked as the 24 hour clock.]It records just like a graph [used in lie detector tests] or a doctors heart monitor print out ,it records every movement the lorry makes ,the slightest forward or backward movement on the tachograph disc , once it is inserted [the disc] the only way you can cover any illegal movement is just remove
the disc, throw it away, and start again and take a chance of not getting caught.
Tachograph insertion=
On the tachograph inside the dashboard ,you turn a small key and it opens up [like a ladies powder compact] and it is hinged and it pulls back about6 inches away from the dashboard ,and it splits in to two compartments, when looking in the back all you see is very fine needle pints sticking out but they are retracted so then you get your paper round disc tachograph that has a circle cut out in the middle that you push gently over a protruding knob .that is if you are driving on your own
If you are what is called double manning, two drivers in the same cab on the same run you put another tachograph in the other compartment now they are separate but in the same place as the protruding knob goes through both [well sort of] so what it means all the lorry movement however minuet will be recorded on both the discs at the same time. Anything connected to the electrical power source to the tachograph will be recorded. Like fuses being pulled I will elaborate on the fiddling later…
The regulations were always interpreted in different ways at different company s.
Drivers ARE their OWN worst enemy when breaking the law. It was worse than a minefield.
If it suited you as a driver you did it right or wrong we used to exploit our self sometimes for the company glory, bragging rights various reasons .to be talked about status and best of all of all you never stop moaning about it and never tell the truth lying you were skilled at because a transport office wherever you worked would never every tell you the full story or the truth I took me years to learn, not quite all but a lot, you learned something new every day However more later I have jumped the gun, as I have only just done my first run.
This was in 1980s it all has changed dramatical I arrived home and i really enjoyed it, it did not seem like work the hours and pay did not then seem to matter I realised we had been double manning.
After getting home from my trip with Tom I did not get a phone call until Wednesday would i be in for 1 pm .
I put the same gear in my car and got there for 1pm and the brand-new truck was in the outside loading bay with it refrigerated unit roaring away.
I later found out it takes a while for the fridge unit to cool the goods and trailer down to the required temperature that the goods inside should be transported at and to be excepted at the delivery point, where they would have a quality control person checking all the goods coming off at their premise ,that is why the refrigerated unit on the trailer is running hours before you leave, as to get the produce down to the accepted temperature.
[very important] then though it did not mean so much as I was not really aware of the importance however I would soon learn.
As I walked towards the office to see Alan, a man I had seen briefly when I was at the interview was there, he said to me, can I help you, i replied, I would like to Alan ,why he asked ,I explained to him who I was, he said to me please just hold on a minute ,he went into the office and closed the door.
After a while Alan came out and said to me Vic,! I am really sorry ,but I should have employed another man, not you and the boss, who you have just seen Mr Robin East is fuming at me because he wanted a younger man than you.
Alan asked me to go and have a coffee elsewhere give him half a hour and then come back. i was mad but did not show it and off I went.
I went back to the office and it had all been sorted out, Alan told me your job is safe ,a hand shake ,in comes MR East another handshake ,and welcomed me into the company.
I thought , do not ■■■■ it up ,do as your told and learn ,and that is what I did, they gave me the keys to the new truck outside and off I go, with the biggest grin in Northampton ,if only my old mates could see me now, yes I know it is only a lorry however one of the best then in England…one delivery only on the other side of Birmingham ,do not forget the empty pallets the last words said to me ,then come back here ,fill up and then go home.
I arrived at the supermarket depot delivery warehouse after a bit of a run around but arrived there in the end it is difficult to get it right first time or even second, [ finding delivery places] lots of other lorry s waiting all with their fridges roaring away I checked the temperature gauge is hovering on + 4 that was right ,well that is what I was told ,I thought nothing of it.
Walking up to the outside security office with my loads delivery notes still grinning, hand them in. then I came down to earth with a ■■■■■■■ great bang Your late !!, you have missed your delivery slot .
No one told me it should have been 3 pm.
No wonder it was a ■■■■ up at the depot all I could do was wait for a [slot] = [ term used for getting a unloading bay to back on to if there is time or if someone else is late]
The security man said they would see when they could get me in it maybe 9 o clock tonight I waited, and i learned that to have something to eat and drink
and to read was the way to go…
Eventually I get unloaded, the empty pallets are put back on the front of the trailer. [[Two mistakes I made however I did not know it at the time,]]i drove home to the depot filled up with diesel at the public garage, with the company s card, hid the card and put the keys where I was told to ,I had parked up, no one was around , I arrived home around 2am.
On the way home I am starting to think about the hours I have done for basic pay and trying to think is this the right thing to be doing, and I am trying to talk myself out of doing what I am doing, something I am fairly good at most times I have got this thing in my head that the work and job, also the time off is it worth it, the new lorry s , plus clean job, just pushing a few pallets around clean clothes. I have made my mind up , there are no more jobs around in transport I am lucky to be working get on with and just do it.
There is a phone call at home around11 am ,asking me to come in please ,i collected my gear together and drove to work arriving around 1pm Alan asked me to come in to the office,
I went in and I could tell something is not right
,
Vic, what about the pallets, !![Alan]
What about them they were on the front of the trailer,
Yes [Alan]
well,
you are ten pallets short also they are not the correct pallets. [Alan],
Alan what are you talking about when I left the lorry this morning at 2am there were 15 pallets in that truck /
Are you 100%sure [Alan
yes of course I am i might be new here ,but I have not had the pallets, where would I get rid of pallets ,look at my Tachograph I came straight back here from the delivery, from the other side of BIRMINGHAM
After he had checked the graph over, he apologised he told me to go home we have no work tonight for you so it is all o k ,they found out much later that a man from the warehouse team was coming in early a taking the pallets to sell, at that time there was big money in pallets.
PALLETS=
A pallet must have 9square blocks of wood about6 inches all round. 1 at each corners and the others in the middle. and the slats of good wood about a 1inch gap on the top so they are solid and the underneath have just wider gaps and less slate so the pallet can take a 1 metric ton in weight good for a 1 for 1 exchange when at whare -houses.
The other system is the same pallets that are painted blue and are made by a company called GKN and are governed by a 1 for 1 system also a tickets system ie=if you leave 20 or later 21 pallets at a warehouse and they cannot give you the same in return ,you then get a stamped ticket saying that you are owed them pallet and they were transferable at any depot in the country. or you can go to a pallets collection yard and collect that number of pallets from them, only G K N yards ,however there was a black market trading in blue pallets as well as ordinary ones ,country wide ,CASH.
Also there were the fruit pallets that the fruit was imported from Spain, excreta they were flimsy good for nothing however if you did not keep at eye on what people were giving you in exchange you would end with some, and when you went to re exchange them you were basically ■■■■■■ and you own fault. But over time as it went on for me you got very good at dealing with pallets .
There was a lot of money in 20 pallets, then1983/4£ 60+ black market.
Well! that is sorted and the blue pallets system is massive every product that needs pallets are on G KN blue pallets not just Europe the world.
Work seemed to pick up as it was nearly every night I would be doing market runs or a late supermarket delivery to their main distribution depots also I got to meet and see the other driver s and the owner drivers who worked for the company all the owner drivers were all clean and smart, the same as their tractor units .
I had no idea that men were doing regular runs [trips ] to Spain and bringing all kinds of fresh and frozen goods back to the UK they would talk about the ferry ports they used ,driving through FRANCE down to the Spanish boarder .
They were mentioning all kinds of names of Spanish and French places they went to , to unload or reload ,talking about customs procedures ,delays border hold ups, police stops, getting fined in FRANCE, all kinds of what to me at the time was a new type of job.
A few of the other drivers were very young just 21 years old, no driving experience at all ,even I could tell that they had not done any haulage company driving at all, just the way they were however they were there the same as me it was nothing to do with me. they were very friendly with Alan as if mates i did think well, that could be my downfall but I would have to wait and see.
Two of the drivers were full time firemen and drove for the company on their 4 days off, my next thought was? not a lot of future in this job for me as they do not need the job they get a nights work and not me ,no wonder the pay was not extra for nights. But as men they were adaptable and would help when needed what I did not realise was that if I stayed at home for 4 nights I was still getting paid ,not being used to a monthly salary it took me a time to not bother if there was no work for me.
The company seemed to me to have quite a lot of new trailers but not with the name painted on so after a time I got to know that they were all hired from a big trailer rent company on a monthly basis all this new to me, some of the tractor units were the same even the nice blue painted D A F
so what it meant in company terms they did not own anything all hired this was a completely new idea of working so they could just fold up and move on. also a lot of the owner drivers were doing the same hiring trailers ,and tractor units.
THE REFRIGERATED TRAILER.= THIS IS LATER ON WHEN I WAS ON FRIDGES PERMANENT==LIKE A SHORT HISTORY OF WHAT FRIDGES WERE USED FOR AND HOW WE LOADED THEM WHEN I WAS A DRIVING.
The trailers built before 1983/4 had just a fridge unit control box on the front side of the fridge and all the workings and blowers on the inside of the trailer ,so if you looked in side the trailer from the back doors at the front you would have seen a metal blower fan unit sticking out, just about the size of a modern set of two Chester draws hanging down from the front sticking about 2 foot out ,meaning that you were not able to push pallets right to the front headboard flat they would have to be half size, sif you had boxes you would have to take half of them off in the trailer ,push the other to the front under the fridge blowers ,then try to re stack the rest around the blowers , the ones you were left with you would re-distribute on the pallets as they were in the trailer …meaning no matter how tired you were you had to be with the loading all the while…
The next awkward thing was the meat hooks meat hooks yes, each fridge had meat hooks .i had completely no idea how or when they were used and by what or why, I knew that there were about 330 meat hooks hanging down along 5 rails in the roof of the trailer, what was holding them up I do not know [I still wonder today what was unseen in the fridge roofs] , the meat rails were like [example]- if you look at a zip any zip, undo it and look at the sliding thing ,one is attached to the zip and the other not look down at the side not attached ,and you see the hole that you attach the other piece of the zip to, turn it towards you and you see [like a rail]. The thin gap, that is what the meat rails were like and you threaded the meat hooks along the thin gap from the door end ,to where you wanted them all at the front out of use and the way. Along these rails the whole length of the roof ,at intervals attached ,were small steel clips that you could put down inside the rail to stop the hooks from sliding back or forward ,these were very important Especially when we were loading all the different meats.
FRIDGE SIZE AND WEIGHTS.
The first fridges were on 2 axles,[8wheels] on the rear a Fridge box trailer.
[ The cooling system] inside on the front of the trailer.
A steel ribbed floor , thick heavy doors and side walls, Overall weight with tractor 17.000k gs[17 tons].
Around 19834/5 new fridge trailers arrived ,with 3 rear axles ,singular tyres new type refrigerated unit outside , fitted on the front of the trailer a lightweight chassis, flat [not ribbed] chequered steel floors with visible screw heads, also a thin steel holed strip attached to the side wall to put restraining bars in [ to hold loads back from falling] they were about 4 foot high off the floo.
Later they built under slung boxes underneath the trailers to hold 24 empty pallets and the meat hooks in plastic boxes. and various other features as years went on and of course the lighter the trailers weighed the better. in the end there was no chassis as of now very lightweight, that was the ultimate aim years ago lighter net weight higher pay load.
I AM GOING A BIT FORWARD IN MY STORY,HOWEVER IF I DESCRIBE THE USE OF THE FRIDGES,AND PRODUCTS WE /I CARRIED AND TRAILER DEVELOPMENT YOU WILL HAVE SOME IDEA ?
I will just start with the loading of all meat , carcasses were loaded not by the driver at all it was done at the abattoirs by loaders [porters] ,it was a very hard job ,you would not have wanted to have loaded meat then have to do your driving work ,it was all ways very clinical ,we had to wash the trailers out with high powered jet washes, either before arriving at the abattoir , or when there using their power wash that all abattoir had also the temperature of the trailer had to be cooled down inside the trailer if possible before loading as you backed on to a loading bay that is cooler inside the abattoir than outside temperature where all the meat is cooled down in the large holding fridges ready for loading , the trailers were meticulously inspected by [ 1] the VET, [2]A MINISTRY OF HEALTH INSPECTOR NOW [ M. A F. F] before any loading took place at all.
DIFFERENT MEATS EXPORTED I CARRIED
BEEF= steers breed especial for eating fore quarters [front legs /shoulder …
Hind quarters [rear leg]1animal could weight 1 ton [1000gks]
COW BEEF,= OLD MILKING COWS. AS ABOVE SLIGHTLY LIGHTER.
SHEEP,LAMBS= to FRANCE SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM .HOLLAND GERMANY. ITALY. GREECE.
EWES. MUMS. = MUTTON. LARGE size 3 to 4 years old for ITALY SPAIN. A very fatty product.
PIGS, =FAT OLD SOWS,LARGE. For ITALY, SPAIN. GERMANY. FRANCE.
PIGS=SMALLER =BACON,HAM. For SPAIN. ITALY ,AUSTRIA .FRANCE
BOAR MEAT,= HAD TO BE TRANSPORT SEPARATIVE FROM ANY OTHER MEAT, AS VERY ODOROUS .Mostly loaded that in Germany for ITALY
BULL MEAT=ALSO CARRIED ON THERE OWN. MOSTLY to Italy
SOME TIMES BOXES OF ALL GAME BIRDS, VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF WOOD -PIGEON ALSO VENISON NOT HUNG UP BUT STACKED UP BECAUSE IT WAS FROZEN
WHEN LOADED FOR ITALY, FROM ANY COUNTRY YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE MIDDLE HANGING RAIL EMPTY,SO AS THE VETS COULD WALK ALL THE WAY DOWN THROUGH THE LOAD TO CHECK WHAT YOU HAD ON THE LORRY CORRESPONDED WITH THE PAPER WORK,THEY WERE LITTLE ■■■■■■ IN OTHER WORDS ABSOLUTE ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ WOULD HOLD YOU UP TO 2 DAYS.
It was because the way the meat markets were going if more imports were in the country, the local prices would be higher . Without imports ,it would not be only me waiting there would be up to 20/30 lorry s, waiting to unload all over a ITALY .however if you were in Transit ,going outside ITALY, to GREECE for delivering you would soon be out of the customs /vet the Italians call their vets doctors, so the first time I went there I took me ages to find out what were they on about…
Basically we took fresh chilled hanging meat all over Europe most frozen meat that was what was called INTERVENTION [remember the butter ,wine mountains] yes ,there was a meat mountain but it all went abroad ,we never got the benefit of it, when ROMANIAN was free1989, trucks from the UK took loads of meat to GERMANY to cold stores close to the old east German boarder that was then transferred from the cold stores to the ROMANIANS they had very poor lorry to take it back to ROMANIA.
when you saw what a sorry state the men [drivers ]were in and their pathetic lorries they had absolutely nothing, not even cups to drink out of they used old tin cans or jam jars ,we drivers all give loads of tinned food and all old clothes even some dirty washing of ours to them. I will elaborate later…
That was later on I will go back to 1982/3
Work seemed to be very busy, I did get a lot of the evening or whole nights work, but I never minded as it got me learning more about markets and the way they worked, I have been in Covent garden unloading and I would see another Rokold company trailer ,unloading ,naturally I would go over to see who it was and it was rarely any one I knew it would be a owner driver on contract using his own tractor unit and pulling a Rokold trailer .
I get chatting -as you do ,well I did ,and the response would be the same from the other driver, ohh are you one of the Northampton temps !i used to say yes, yes !I am the new boy just started driving , just finding my feet and then move to the lorry I was driving away from him. And leave it at that, and go about my other deliverers.
One afternoon and I was asked to be in for 5 pm and bring your gear with you your washing gear, change of clothes, sleeping bag and passport , that was all I was told.
I parked my car ,Alan came over to me and told me ,when you get back tonight there will be a owner driver here , you are going with him on a trip to Holland.
You have a short run tonight! and will be back easy as far as time, I thought this is the start, and it was, the driver PETE he seemed fine he explained it all where we were going ,it sounded unbelievable [at the time it was for me], first we did the tachographs ,and I said what about the 5 hours I have done on this disk, he said ohh just put it away, no one will give a ■■■■ about a quick trip you have just done.
First time I had done anything illegal with the tachograph , I was learning…
His trailer was loaded with a few delivers at the markets once we were empty we started to make our way down to Dover for shipping out on the Townsend Thorsen Zeebrugge ferry.
It must have been around 4am when he pulled into a lay by and he said its time for a kip[sleep] the cab had two bunks, normal in most lorry s that did European trips .
It seem after 5 minutes and Pete was up ,and he had the small gas cylinder stove with a kettle boiling on small wooden shaped shelf that fitted on the dash board, I was completely amazed ,undeliverable ,and he said I only have coffee, that is fine I said bursting for the toilet.
Next, still amazed, he had a small type of mesh with a wooden handle and was toasting some bread if you can make tea ,coffee and toast ,what more do you want .
I later on found a device for toasting bread on the small gas stove, you can by them today 2014called a DEFUSER. Look it up.[goggle].
After having the snack/breakfast he educated me by telling me that is how you live once abroad you look after yourself you use all facilities provided by factory’s or border service stations wherever you can ,he said hygiene is not our standard in some countries but always remember ,that it is you that is the foreign visitor in another country and if you respect that you will get along fine
I did ask about the Tachograph card and he said we are starting fresh from where we are ,he took the two tachograph discs out of the tachograph head and tore them up he said if you do not get a police check through the night, then no one else is checking lorry s [or so everyone thought], who knows what you are doing where he booked off on his previous card I did not worry.
I was only a second driver he said he would just use his tachograph card and use mine later if needed when we get back in Dover that meant we now had 15 hours to do collection and get back to a port for the ferry back to Englan
DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR SHIPPING OUT ON A FERRY.
SHIPPING OUT =meaning going to Europe with a load of goods.
First piece of paper or booklet you needed was a TRAILER GARNET. That is the trailers own passport. it is a customs required document for all Country’s in Europe. It means that temporary excise duty has been paid. And the chassis number is used as well as whatever number the company uses for their own purpose and it cannot be changed, also on the trailers front are two photographs of the trailer in sealed plastic holders also legal requirement however [never needed in England by our U.K .trailers however all foreign lorry s within the U.K.] needed them ,but I must point out at that time in the 1980s early 1990s that EUROPEAN lorry s driving over in the U. K. was very limited as Self drive i.e. foreign drivers actually driving.
shipped over
Next stop the ticket office then passports to be shown .
Two drivers one lorry, you will have to pay for the extra bunk bed and food , Apparently when the ticket was booked, two drivers were not mentioned.[i could be a hitch hiker]
They rang the office to get conformation it was 2 drivers It was all-right in the end however I did produce my HGV but they still wanted conformation,
that practice was in still force all the years I crossed the channel from whatever port and country , a named passenger ,for a second drivers ticket… to stop people even then bringing any one to the UK ,because if there was any problems , with the police ,immigration abroad, and trying to get in here the fall back was the Ferry company they were held responsible…
So then round to the customs, having no goods to clear a “transit empty “form has to be filled in and stamped as Belgium is in Benelux there are different boarder controls needed ,not a lot. so it is easy to enter and transit. Then off down to queue up for boarding ,there were two types of ferries for Zeebrugge one freight only ,slower and limited cabins .and the other normal but smaller than now roll on ,roll off that was a faster crossing ,as drivers ,we also had a bunk and drivers only eating lounge.[privilege].L
Loading of the lorry s was a job done by shore staff on the dock and once inside by the ships crew
……=…
,[[just a diverse peace of information, what I did not know at the time when I was using… TOWNSEND THORRESON ,AND LATER P and O ferries to ZEEBRUGGE one of my old ship mates was working on the same ships as a bosun, quartermaster .and we never bumped into one another .we were definitely on the same ferry at the same time as when the HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE SANK IN THE ZEEBRUGGE HARBOUR on march the 9th 1987 WE HAD BOTH CAME OVER THE DAY BEFORE IN ANOTHER FERRY. And we did not meet up un till 2005 .He was a lucky man as crews used to rotate to the two different ships .i did not know of anyone personally who died.
So the ships crew parked you up then proceeded to put chains on the lorry from the deck to stop any movement. Then out we got, went up the stairs to the drivers compartments, and I can tell you I am, ecstatic I never ever thought I would set foot on a ship again ever. just being there brought a lot of memories back[good ones] but I did not let on to PETE he would not a given a rats arse anyway. It did not take long to suss him out , a Ladies man. when round the table eating he never stopped flowing from him .where he had been what he did. chatting to the stewardesses , we went to our cabins and had a sleep for 3 hours how bad was that, and getting paid for it ,well that was the way you had to look at it .I could not believe that for years some drivers had had jobs like I was now privy to ,not all that ■■■■ we used to do, and a lot of them were young men. Well good luck to them but I was envious of them that is all they new ,i expect it was the luck of the draw where you lived and the company you worked for.
After the sleep up for tea and sandwich all free. And then duty free ,what a bonus. But did say to me
be careful how many cigarettes you buy as you are only allowed 200 hundred that is the U K. limit
also you can buy them on the passage home, also all the men buying large quantities of cigarettes
are going home or on long trips ,not back to the UK like we will be so point taken and I waited for the return ferry. after a call over the ships T ANNOY “all drivers proceed to the lorry s”off we went.
Once down in the lorry deck there seemed a lot of lorry s to the amount of drivers who went up into the passenger area so I mentioned it to Pete ,ho arr , he said a lot of the men .do not leave their cabs they get in there own bunk and get to sleep quicker, also if there is a snorer in the same cabin you might just as well give up. Also you get longer in bed.
It did after time turn out to be a practice that all shipping company s on all routes rule out as a non practice to be used after the 1987 disaster at Zeebrugge ,in fact all drivers had to report with ticket to the stewards office .as the loss of drivers life s trapped in the cabs was very high .however `that was to come later.
So we start winding our way out of the ships bowl’s and into the ■■■■■■■ rain in a very orderly queue. For the first bend in the road , all lorry s from different countries I had never seen so many ,what I noticed straight away all the nice hellos heads nodding Pete telling me who was from where etc all smiles , as soon as we got off the ship it was one for all no quarter given horns blowing, Jesus they were like Jekyll and hide. When we eventually got parked up outside the customs and immigration office ,[all in one] it was like a football crowd coming out of a match. no order at all ,so I just stuck with Pete and no one was saying anything to each other ,it was strange however I was learning that was what I was there for.
Ye, I got my passport stamped. My first foreign stamp. They do not bother now ,well they did not years ago, for drivers.
First stop Pete said was diesel .it was the second cheapest in the Euro union , Luxembourg was the cheapest and it still is to this very day, how .■■■■ knows ,but it is.
He would not let me drive until I had got my eye in so to say, he told me.
After 10 minutes we were at the first garage, it was packed with nearly all the lorries off the ferry ,so we queued again ,I can see now why the big rush to get first was to get to the diesel stop first.
After years, I had got it all sussed out , driving down to Dover the more lorry s you overtook they would be behind you whatever queue in the dock you took I would more or less know if they were going for the Zeebrugge or Calais ,as the same companies usually kept to there regular trips to the same countries… you knew you would always be in front of them ,and be at the diesel tank stop n at ZEEBRUGGE before them, how? Because you would be in front of them in the queue at Dover and get on the ferry earlier than them, and we were mostly empty going in to Zeebrugge so quick customs at Dover, and better position on the ferry for getting off to the diesel and the horrible coffee. always luke -warm but drivers used to love it, afraid I never did.
It was the practice of all the different nationality’s while filling up was to have no sense of hurry at all ,they were like mad men to get to the diesel then once there they would put the fill up hose in the tank and ■■■■ off,[automatic fuel cut off]into the garage shop that had chairs, table, and free coffee and not a care in the world .i expect it was something I would have to get used to.
We were at lest 1 ½ hours there …mind you Pete was as bad as the others once at the diesel tank ,he was then speaking in pidgin English , lots of back slapping, and the now classic hand shaking ,it was like a epidemic, they were all shaking hands, if they knew one person, and you were near you all got a handshake .that was to me , well different, being English how many times in your life do you shake hands very little …it was a new form of greeting I would become very at ease with after time.
All I could hear was lots of WE!E, SAV!A,MESSU!E ] then unintelligible rubbish .it was if I had been transported to another world, however after time I found that the Belgians, and the French used a lot of the same words in their greetings language also handshakes .
Also the new smells of strange cigarettes , lots of different nick Knacks in the shop ,nothing English ,for a while yes ,i was like a kid in a sweet shop. You were able to buy all different kinds of goods for a lorry not seen in the U k mostly for owner drives. one thing did catch my eye was like the small well made wooden very neat table top ,that would fit around the inside of the windscreen like a small writing desk with little small draws ,for all the pens , on the passenger side of the cab i thought how good a idea. they were labelled up for all the European makes of lorry cabs.[[little did I know then that I would know more about them]…
There was a air of I will get going when I am ready! no sense of hurry at all ,as I could then see that Pete was blending in, I expect you do as they do !unless you were all on the same firm and running together or just widening his circle of [I met you before mates].?
When at last we made a attempt to get moving, the tank full of diesel all so the tank under the trailer that runs the fridge engine ,that uses RED diesel ,even more cheaper than England, as that diesel is tax exempt in England for Agriculture use only ,however it was used legally by hauliers using refrigerated trailers ,as no direct profit is made from it…[more on diesel later]
Once clear of Zeebrugge ,you never went through the actual town, I was on the learning look out, all the different signs ,road marking and of course wrong side of the road ,well for me, however it did not seemed normal ,well it was .Pete made a point for me to keep well sat back in my seat as not to block his view from the inside mirror .as that was his now important mirror for all his overtaking if he needed to.
The direction signs I were seeing were way far beyond the distance from where we going. I thought we were going into Holland I had no idea of where we were as Pete seemed to have no map and I did not have one however he knew the road and did not need a map we soon turned off the main highway [like our Motorways] and headed for Antwerp. I did notice that on top of the road signs there was a large green E number I found out later the E number on the signs are main transit through routes to all countries throughout Europe.
We passed a most famous truck stop [with EUROPEAN DRIVERS] called” Lokern “on the way out of Belgium towards the Dutch boarder The Boarder when we arrived was just like a pull in lay bye with a few brick huts [agents offices] and a coffee shop.
I followed Pete into a transit type large room with lots of open type rooms with uniformed female and male customs. immigration, Police all lounging around, all with a side arm not to busy, so Pete told me the procedures of entering Holland and what form to fill in and who to go to first then it followed on. Easy, He said nearly all boarders work on the same principle. Police Immigration, Customs.
If you were loaded, and delivering into Holland you had to use a AGENT to process your paper work Roklod company used the same AGENT at all Benelux country’s that means that there is a automatic payment account. As we were empty it was quick and straight forward piece of paper stamped up ready to hand to the gate man who lifted the barrier so you could region the main highway as we did, and me keeping well back in my seat as there were cars travelling fast along the road so Pete could see.
He told me that we had not far to go, I was rather disappointment I would have like to have gone for mile we did cross one massive bridge over like a lake/inland sea, the signposts coming up said to Arnhem the 2nd world war battle for the bridges it looked as if we were going near there so that kept me busy writing place names down. For future reference, there were hardly any trees, no hedges, all dykes, canals and lots of people riding bicycles not on the main road we were on but on the other country roads, Holland is known for bikes and tall people i can see why now it all looked rural and flat.
We soon arrived at our collection point all nicely flat sandy earth round the edges of the hard standing you could see the indentations in the base, where the lorry s have been backed on to loading bays overtime ,unstable ground.
The time was getting on and getting dark I was surprise that we would be loading at that time ,however we were on the continent and their work time patterns were different to hours , as years went by factory’s in the U. K did introduce continental work patterns much to the disappointment of the unions.
Pete seemed well known at the cold store [massive store holding all kings of deep frozen foods ] at temperatures minus -25 we were and loading different vegetables ,and they were ready on pallets. I was told we would not be long, then asked would I like a coffee, in the mess room, with some other Dutch- men and Pete, after another round of handshakes and grunts and black coffee out of a massive pump flask[ never seen one before] they did have a tin of carnation condensed milk , [nice and creamy also a big jar of sugar on the table [not in ENGLAND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STOLEN ] THAT,S US ALL OVER… ]and the smell of all the different tobaccos was ,intoxicating I loved it ,[THE HOME OF GOOD SMELLING TOBACCO]
made it taste better however Luke warm it was quite for a factory for its size, I could see through the door widow lots of workers with white coats and head scarf’s big good looking warm boots on , you could not tell whether they were male or female. they were sorting and packing chips on a conveyor belt .it looked cold in there however that was not the freezer just a packing line also I noticed a stand on riding, like pallet /fork lifts they were using to load our trailer another first the men were whizzing around with a loaded pallet on the front and they were standing on the back with a like a bicycle handlebar steering it. Another first, lots of factory s just about have a fork lift and all loading is done by hand [not now, after 1990s] we got modern.
After I had took as much of the new goings on in i went and found Pete back at the coffee he told me that we were not allowed in the loading area in some factory, you had to stay in your cab in 2013 you have to hand your keys in to a office [so I am told]. We are loaded so we are told and asked to pull of the loading bay and Pete lets me do it and close the doors. When they are shut we go round to the front of the trailer and he shows me how to work the refrigerated unit, all the dials and different functions I thought ■■■■ me, we have been sat about ■■■■■■■ around he could have given me the full tour of the fridge engine,[maybe he did not want me to know to much yet]?
So I get the basic of the fridge control workings, and then we go in and get the papers for the load and a very important paper called a C .M. R. ,That is the drivers legal travel document with the load it has all relevant in -formation typed on it, about 30 sections ,and it was never used in England ever ,unless like us delivering to England from Europe, then it is sealed up by the customs man,[ all the factories in Holland, Belgium, have a designated customs officer at the factory at all times] also the Benelux Country,s never bothered with the trailer garnet, so we were ready for the off .
Pete went and done his last handshaking routine ,i kept in the cab ,[load of ■■■■■■■■] it was now dark and I wondered if I would get a drive ,or do we park up, he said we will get back to the boarder do the customs ,and I could have a drive when we leave the customs after that was finished for the Dutch side all was required at the boarder was a entry stamp into Belgium and we would be on our way back to a ferry which ferry port I had no idea.
I noticed straight away how heavy the trailer seemed to be, but the tractor unit was more than able to cope with the weight so I just drove on, Once we were clear and out of the customs area we drove along a bit ,he said just keep a good lookout in you nearside mirror ,and keep in lane , now I am chuffed, and he said when you see the sign for Ostend turn on to that road do not follow BRUSSELES ,and then goes and lies down on the bottom bunk and leaves me to it i was thinking how many more hours are we going to be working??
we had two small breaks one for 7 hours before the ferry ,then the ferry 4/5 hours we had been working since 5pm on the Monday evening ,it was now 8/9 pm Tuesday evening, and we were not yet finished for the day , we had been working for 28 hours with a 11 break .total illegal and no time to do what you wanted yourself as if you were at home on a break…,i was beginning to have doubts about what I was letting my self in to .but I thought if this is what they do to get around Europe , I will have to give it a try it was certainly different from cattle trucks or dock work, clean work ,cheap ■■■■, just carry on and see how it goes…
As we neared the road junction for the turn off I gave Pete a call , we were now on the road to Ost-end and he started to move around ,where are we ,he said, I told him ,and he said just follow the Ost-end sign, and give me a shout when you start to get near the town you will see all the lights in the distance, and you will come to a service station as soon as you get in to the outskirts.
Now I had pulled in the parking area ,a few lorries parked up. Pete once up, ■■■ on the go, he told me the options we had,of what to do now, I asked what he meant, the Zeebrugge would have gone by the time we had got there, not another sailing untill8am, so,!the Ostend ferry goes at midnight,or we could go to Dunkirk, however you need a pre-booking number for a ticket ,where as Ostend, ,Zeebrugge,the company has two pre reserved tickets for every crossing ,guaranteed. It was a game of where do we get the most time off without moving the lorry.[time off]
So Ostend it is ,he lets me still drive , I am following instructions ,however I did see the signs to the ferry port clearly signposted through the town, to the port , we arrive at the gate Pete told me what to say ,then we parked up then go into the ticket office, where Pete tells the staff that he would like a[ Plug in ]on the ferry , yes “ok it will be done,” I have no idea what he was on about , I would find out later ,no handshakes, very different from Zeebrugge we collect our tickets, and then go to the loading bays for loading on the ship and wait
I then asked what PLUG IN was,=
It is when you want the refrigerated unit on the trailer to keep going to keep the temperature correct while you are on the ferry ,you switch off the diesel engine that runs the engine,and you then plug into a electrical socket at the bottom of the engine with a electrical cable supplied by the ship into the ships electrician system .The ships run on a DC system ,not like our houses that are AC. How it all works I still am not sure, however when the cable [ just like the caravan 3 pin system] is connected you have to be in attendance with the ships electrician, as YOU! have to make sure that the fan that the engine has on the front of the fridge unit ,is on the right phase, that it is sucking in air to cool and work the fridge and not blowing out i.e. sucking the cold air out from the inside of the trailer and blowing the minus-24 air out ,it was a common occurrence if not checked…all you did was to stand at the front ,of the trailer fridge unit and throw a piece of tissue paper up to the front grill air intake if it sticks to the front all was well it if blew away you had a problem.[i got to know all this later on] …as you had to wait for the electrician, that took time, you could be first on the ferry loading deck but the last to go up, or down as on the Ostend ferry’s for food or a bed…waiting for a electrician…
The diesel fumes would eventually leave the bottom decks and creep up to the others decks [also the other reason the noise, fumes if any drivers are sleeping in their cabs] another option was to turn the fridge off ,and take a chance that the frozen goods temperature did not drop to much, if you had a long distance to travel after leaving Dover the temperature would drop to the required one. The only thing was you were unable to open the trailer back doors to check the produce temperature as the customs seal was not undone until at the delivery, if you had a customs check in Dover ,that was frequent , they would reseal the trailer and mark the C .M. R. as resealed ,and it was not unusual for the customs to be at Cold Stores around the country and to be checking all European imported goods
history cont. SATURDAY…
We eventuality get to a cabin with 4 bunks ,after a meal at midnight- ish. We are soon roused by the banging of doors grunts and groans, up we get and troop in to the drivers room for yet again something to eat and coffee ,god not more coffee, it is all like a non stop unreal adventure for me ,it is something I had no idea at all existed [the work] how come it had been kept away from me ,it was just like being back at sea, all the unusual hours ,coffee and food at odd hour. a kind this is different it is not a job, it was not what you call regular, the whole package, and I liked it, out of the ordinary , I expect that sort of sums me up I do not like being put in to boxes, if that makes sense.
Lorry drivers are called ,over the ships tannoy (ships communication system}to proceed to their lorry’s, do not start you engine until told to by the ships crew , yeh ,all the foreigners under stood that, [not] The diesel fumes were terrible by the time we got down as the ferry had not berthed yet and the doors were not opened
Pete pulled the electrical lead out and switched the fridge back to diesel, but did not start it up that would wait until we were outside from the ferry, as the fridge used red diesel that gives out so much black smoke when started it is like a chimney on fire.
It think we must have had about 3 hours in bed, ,it was all a new way of working ,that was sure.
Once Pete had drove off the ferry you go through numerous checks. Boarder control customs. asking questions where country have you come from ,where did you load, what did you take out, when did you leave England, all relevant I expect even back then it was impossible to bring anyone into England without anyone knowing, and while you were inside doing the customs, there were customs men searching your cab ,for any contraband, 200 cigarettes ,and 1 bottle of spirits, 6 bottles of wine ,any anything else you should not have, ■■■■ was a instant arrest . and to get inside a load on a lorry as they do now was unheard of.
After I got more experienced I found out that problems escalate if you are not truthful to customs if you get caught with extra cigarettes and not declared them and do not want to pay the duty you are subjected ,” ell the lorry is “what they call [impounded] that means, your load does not get customs cleared until the whole load is taken and inspected in a loading bay by them. It was known to take a day sometimes, and if it was caused by you the drivers fault for smuggling ■■■■ or spirts too much beer you were in deep ■■■■ with any boss, as you would more than likely lose a delivery time and date also a fine for importing extra goods it was a big deal back then and tabaco was1pack of 6 sachets any more and big trouble for you the driver It did not happen to me i was not that daft .some did.
.Once clear of the interrogations from customs and immigration, every driver was treated the same ,the “port of Poole was the worst ”I found out as time went bye , we went and parked up, then you had to go and put you custom papers into a clearing office ,that was run by the clearing agents, however theses were only [runners]working for the agents that were at the other end of the dock, so it was them who took your paper work down to them, it could take 1 to 4 hours on a good shift
The clearing of paper work for any load is the payment of any duties needed to be paid by the importer for importing, so most companies use the agents who serve them best and the agents hold a monetary fund on the importers be -halve to pay the duties. However the money sometimes get used up before the end of each month, and that causes delays for loads to get customs cleared allowing the lorry to go to the delivery time slot they have [Sometimes after all the effort you put in to get the load back to a port so as you can meet a delivery time was a waste of your time.
It is now about 6 am with the hour turned back from continental time,[ your tachograph stays at UK time at all times] time for another sleep, we had had about 3 hours [rest -sleep]as the agents runner knocks your door if your load is cleared, so you can get your pass to exit the dock . now you have to go and get some stamps on your paper work from the dock -board to let you out the gate, no stamps =no exit. [stamps=franks like the post office use] not postage stamps…
Also Pete was doing some routine lorry checks before going on to the roads ,oil, tyres, lights ,flashers make sure the fridge has diesel and nothing hanging off, as he told me if you go out of the main gate at Dover on theA2 towards LONDON there are always Ministry of Transport checks along that road, so if your Tachographs are suspect, you go out to Folkstone and take a chance, there are not as many lay-by s to be pulled over along that road ,all though Folkstone was a busy cross channel port as well,[ more later]
By this time we were ready to leave and we left Dover behind, the time in my body clock was utterly upside down but it was getting near 12 noon and we were going back via Northampton as someone else was going to get the lorry unloaded for Pete while he went home also me.
It was about 4 in the afternoon when we arrived back at the depot .all handshakes all round,[again]i met another driver ,he did not look old enough to drive ,obviously he was, I collected my gear, said my goodbye , more [handshakes I have not got it yet] and home I go, still full of the experience I have just had. It must have been about 48 hours on duty.
It was then ,at that moment, I should have thought hang on !,i,!me!, have just worked ,like as if I was a owner driver, and that that lorry was mine , it was not.! think about the pay rate ratio- per hour you knob! ,work it out the money is ■■■■, dummy! But I did not, not one of those thoughts crossed my mind, I must have been star struck ,glory hunter, ■■■■■■! I remember getting home and I was full of it ,plus 200 cigarettes duty free ,bonus.
Life and work went on as usual not a lot of market runs for me it seemed to be supermarket timed delivers in different lorry s, and it was working all right however I did seem to be getting the Sunday run on a regular basis that was a job to get used to however I was now getting into the rhythm of not thinking what day it was ,a Sunday could be the same as a Wednesday, also the pay was the same, no extra for weekends and I had now excepted that as now normal, the same as the others that were not owner drivers but like me.
There were story’s going around by different drivers about other drivers .what they had done ,different countries they collected goods , all stories, however one Sunday at Northampton there was this “ left hand drive” D A F, English number plates in lorry terms it did not get much better, I had never seen anything like it, the driver was about my age ,well dressed ,as if on holiday, and he had brought a full load of Oranges from Spain.[[little did I know then]] we got chatting after the handshakes, and it turned out he was the longest serving driver ,and a employee like me, the lorry was Rokold s, it was the flagship as they called it ,a high -line cab perfect inside, i did sit in it, it felt funny left hand drive he did say that he was the only driver of that unit but sometimes when needed it was used by others just to do short jobs[GOD FORBID] I thought it must take years to get used to that.[left hand drive].
So my load was ready , more hand shakes, and away I go ,and get delivering ,that went as normal, no problems ,when I got back the yard was quite, I parked up and went home.
Next thing I know the phone was ringing 11 am ,down to answer the phone, I knew who it would be ,and I was right . Could I be back to Northampton by 2 o clock, without hesitation said yes ,it was not normal for me, but I had realised if I show willing, things would be good for me and I might progress on to the Continental work eventually .
Pete had asked if I could be his second driver again ,so I took a few extra clothes this time .
When I arrived it seemed as if he was waiting for me , but there was no lorry there ,none anywhere, only a old white Volvo car.
After hand shakes and small talk ,the story was we were both going in the car[the company drivers runabout] to a place called Lamberhurst in Sussex, where Pete s truck [not lorry now. a truck] was being loaded and it needed 2 drivers as it was a urgent load ,so off we go and go down the Motorway
next we know the car is chugging ,spluttering, running out of petrol, ■■■■ me ,we just left the yard next door to a petrol station, there should be a can in the back, Pete said, !yes there was ,■■■■■■■ empty. so we are now stuck, pushed for time out of petrol Pete has to ring Alan via the breakdown service telephone on the side of the motorway and they relayed the messageat the yard ,and ask him to bring us some petrol.
While we are waiting Pete then told me the story of this VOLVO dive rs runabout company car
When drivers are anywhere, in England and they are due a proper legal break [rest]or want 2 days off for any reason , and they are loading a Export load and it is their own lorry ,or a company lorry ,a spare driver such as what I am [no company lorry of my own]will go wherever they are in the Volvo car stay and load the lorry or whatever, and the driver goes back in the car .then the loaded truck gets brought back to wherever place for Export .and the driver goes to meet it in the car again because he has kept the Volvo with him to use as he pleases ,and then the question of petrol arises.
Company men like me who use the car ,put the petrol on their expense sheet , and get reimbursed the money ,however owner drivers that use it ,like Pete had ,have to stand the cost themselves as the bonus for them is that they are getting there lorry loaded for free ,by the company s spare drivers[ as they are contracting hauliers to Rokold].
So Pete thought the car had been filled up, but it had not .so who will pay for the petrol from Alan ,as it turned out Pete was given some money to fill the car up on the company, another lesson learned check the petrol…i was under the impression that Pete was the owner of the unit and he subcontracted to Rokold, how wrong I was, he was a employee just the same as me ,however very experienced .
I had never met anyone before so dedicated to Rokold and a boss before god! I knew how I was to be ,and act ,from now on not easy for me. But i would try, and say the right things
in front of Pete from now on, as I suspect he has a influence over a drivers future within Rokold. It turned out he did
When we got to our destination, a abattoir in a village on the main road to the south coast if you were to blink you would have missed the entrance I was pleased I was taken there and not had to look for it. You drove in between two houses , just enough room for a lorry. a few houses built close around it, seemed a strange place for a abattoir to be. Once there it was a very large establishment.
There were two trailers parked up close on the loading bay and the fridge units were roaring away ,Pete was met by another of Roklolds drivers I had not met ,he been loading the trailer[well not actually fiscally but in charge of the movement when required he told us that that it was not finished loading yet, as they had to wait until the temperature of the lamb carcasses had reached -0 to +2/3 in the chill rooms inside the abattoir, and then the vets would release them for loading ,[could be a while he said],
The program was for the driver to take the car and go home ,or he might have to drive somewhere else to relive another driver who needed to go home? It was now about 6 o-clock in the evening. After the driver had left Pete put his gear in to the cab and he brewed a cup of tea up as he said the small canteen would be closed here.[[i would get to know this abattoir very well in the future]]
Pete then asked me if I would like to walk around the abattoir, i declined and he sort of said ,what is it do you not like Animals .are you squeamish. i laughed ,and proceeded to tell him about my butcher boy work when not at school working down the local abattoir, and all my cattle truck days, that sort of shut him up ,and he never said any more about it …
The plan was we were to go to a port that was going to be Rams gate to Dunkirk we had deliverers in Belgian and then one in Koln Germany and we had to have the tachographs right as we could get a check at the German boarder at [Aachen] and if they were not correct we would be in trouble so we did not put tachographs in until we were ready to leave, for the reason it would give us 22 hours to get the job done [we hope].and not lose time .He did tell me this job we were doing was very hard [ i.e. pushing for time]and it was the first time that they let a novice like me to double man driving.[that was supposed to make me feel good] Pete did tell me both bosses asked him how I had been on the other trip and did I moan, and he told the truth and said I was keen to learn .
It must have been around 8 pm and we pulled of the loading bay, got sealed up and made our way ,i was told it was best if I got most of the England driving done as Europe around back roads could be tricky ,so my first taste of driving 18 tons of hand meat, he told me I would get the feel of it once I got going and the sensation of being pushed when slowing down and the corners were tricky. If you look at a map of Sussex ,you will see Lamberhurst A27 and country roads over to Rams-gate via the narrowest villages you could find the most narrowest place ever ,so I was a bit tongue in cheek for a start, it was a test really to see if I could handle it.[ Pete did not know me] as well as he thought .after my time on cattle trucks.
It was getting on for midnight when we pulled into the dock and the Ferry line was called SALLY LINE. we did the export checks that was new to me, so I was all eyes and ears different procedures.
The food was really good steaks sausage, veg chips, sweets, all hours of the night and day, so we really tucked in as I had not eaten pro-ply all day also they let you take and make sausage sandwiches for later .not a lot of drivers on board however some were very regulars on this run so they said. and the crew were mostly from Mauritius .it was a French owned Ferry. It was about a 2 hour crossing from the start until getting off.
The reason we used this route was that you did not need a French Permit to use this route as it was called a FREE ZONE a very short coast journey from France to Belgian the place was called Aden-kirk , the road only allowed you drive that way and not into France.
Once off the ferry [after the routine of unplugging the refrigerated trailer] at the boarder limited controls ,and away we went i was driving ,just to get back in the hang of left hand drive, and heading for Brussels, but going to a place called Kortreck .our first delivery, the roads were very quite,and once off the duel track ,at the right place ,Pete took over driving as we were now into very narrow country roads that looked like water dykes each side no margin for error. it was pitch black except for the truck lights we seemed to be skirting a town and sort of looking for a back entrance in to a housing estate, once we had turned in we pulled up outside a butchers shop all lights blazing one person standing outside, the fridge unit blaring away, just what you wanted in a housing estate, Pete jumped out of the drivers seat, shut the fridge off ,but kept the truck running ,so as we had lights. And it looked just us 3 there, and that was it I did see that the man had some white coats over his arm as we had the handshakes ,and some gruntie noises from the massive chap ,the butcher, and a few pigeon Belgian words from Pete ,that seemed as understood by the butcher.
I was still Puzzled as what was going on, but once the butcher had broken the seal on the back door and opened it ,i new then what the coats were for ,we had to get up and pass the meat down to this man, nice first time for everything, I could not believe what we were doing but I kept quiet ,and followed what Pete was doing.
We knew when we had to stop passing the meat down as the abattoir had tied a string, around the next delivery so as you new when to stop but Pete new that, and I did now [learning].The unloading done we went into his house ,washed our hands they were covered in grease, and given some horrible Luke warm Belgian coffee.
All ready to go handshakes and grunting again and off we go towards Brussels, it was starting to get light ,and I said I could eat something to Pete and he assured me when we get to the next place it is a proper arbitrator and we would eat then. and maybe get 2 hours sleep, just what I needed.
What I can say about the Europe roads they are so well signposted ,as you approach BRUSSELS it tells you the way to go for GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG ,and all kinds of different new names of places I had never heard of, also 3 lane roads and they are not like our motorway.ys people are changing lanes ,overtaking and undertaking as it is normal ,also this area of the country Pete told me that you give way when you are on a roundabout, to let traffic come on to it when you are going round it is the wrong way for us English we had just gone past the High Zell football stadium that was a good future reference point to remember.
Before we arrived, after we had to do a massive roundabout route that put us the right way for going out back to the duel road, this delivery was on a slope once Pete had backed up to the doors for the meat to be unloaded , the ground had such a slope on it there was no way you would stay in a bunk, let alone sleep i realised weeks later that Pete knew that we would not get a sleep but doze off in the seats. but he never said .After a hot dog type sandwiches called [ a frickadella] we sat uncomfortable in our seats with feet on the dashboard /windscreen dozing off.
Once finished paperwork signed ,and they shut the back doors once we pulled of the loading bay, Pete never got out to check anything so he said to me ,you drive gave me directions then promptly lay on his bunk ,it did not bother me because I was still full of it ,me driving in Europe, unbelievable.
We headed for a place called Luige on the way to the German boarder it was to be our last Delivery in Belgium, he told me to go to the 3 rd turn off [city centre] but he said you will go down this massive hill, be careful, other traffic will try to push you faster than you want to go, but keep slow ,and ■■■■ -em. so that is what I did when I got there ,and the hill was massive, the odd truck went past and blew its horn in disgust; I expect, the weight of the meat was pushing us down the hill without much effort from the engine I just did a royal wave and ■■■■ you to the foreigners ,well, !they were foreigners to me ,not thinking I was the actual foreigner.
We were running along side a massive river of canal, so I gave Pete call ,as I did not want to get to a junction and have to make a decision which way to go , so he rolled out of the bottom bunk, took a look to where we were and said just carry on ,he seemed not to happy, perhaps he was tired because I was.
After time we arrived at the unloading place ,just like a warehouse , a few men rolled up , I opened the trailer doors ,and ■■■■ me we seemed to have gained more meat than we had before, it seemed it was a normal practice for companies to use transport that was going to the same company to move meat around without paying for it unless Pete had a backhander from the company I would find out later.
Pete walked round to the back and started the handshake routine, they all seemed to know him and he said to me go and have a lay- down we might be here a while. I did not need telling twice.
I felt as if I had been asleep about 5 minutes once I was woken up by the engine starting, Pete said we have now go to the Belgian customs to get sealed up for going into Germany, all good new stuff for me learn, I did ask about the extra meat we had on from Brussels to Leagie , and was told it was a regular thing ,that was in fact illegal ,for a English truck to do internal delivers within any country but your own country that also applies to any foreign truck in any foreign country. No internal work done at all .but some people know no one is going to check.
What it does it is supposed to protected your own home haulage market ,who wants johnny foreigner doing our work. The Belgians did not give two monkeys . The practice of doing that internal haulage is called [CABOT AGE] that was in the whole customs era now , since borders are open anything goes in 2014. trucks can go any where and load anything.
So there must have been some reward for Pete but he never said, or parted with any cash, I expect I will find out my self later on He did say that they were the same company so no harm done ,yeh:!
As we approach the turn off for trucks at the boarder ,after going up this massive hill ,we had to go off into a parking area that was full of all kinds of foreigners trucks it was like being in a toy shop. So, Pete then went on to explain what was to happen next .
First we had a GERMAN PERMIT that was to be stamped, then we had to make a fuel declaration[ 200 litres only allowed in the country]then passports, the go to a agent to clear the customs forms T2forms from Dover. III had never in my life seen anything like it ,inside the massive clean hall because that what it was , loads of different uniforms all armed , imposing loads of load talking real gruff GERMAN , as I /we were not used to this is was imposing ,and I thought jesus, it looked as they would lock you up for nothing,[[ no wonder they frightened the foreigners during the war]] and I had never seen such long name above offices ,in German, nothing in English or any other language so intimating, I was pleased we won the war…
Pete took me to a hut and had a coffee and bratwurst sausage and mustard in a crispy roll, lots of different cigarette smoke ,and language all around, no handshakes ,no greetings just grunts , to me any way,it was After about 1 hour Pete said lets go and see if we are cleared from the customs I did ask him why we did not stay in the truck and not sit in the café, and his words of wisdom! this time true, said, if you stay in your cab, and being English,[they tell by your number plate and the GB sticker /sign[obligatory] , the police will want to see you tachograph records, including the previous days, and they walk around the parking area just for that. A nice easy form of collecting fine money, if the discs are not correct, however our get out now is that if you have fresh meat of any kind you are told to leave the parking area with all the paper work given back to to you by the Agent ,and all you forms stamped ,and they did not check the amount of diesel we had and leave by a back road and proceed to the German veterinary for them to inspect the meat, and get clearance to leave for your delivery.
I had no idea of where I was ,and I was driving
[God knows what was happening with the tachographs. Who was driving etc Pete was switching the mode switch around all the time he was obviously on top of it] we were following a sign that said [schlachthof] that was abattoir, we got there in the end but we were far away from the motorway in the town of old Aachen, Aachen was one of the first towns to be conquered by the British army in 1945 ,when you see the hills around you thing how the hell did they do it.
Once cleared by the veterinary ,who did thoroughly check the meat as we were backed on to a unloading bay ,so they could walk into the trailer, I stopped in the cab ,Pete waited on the loading bay [ or dock] eventually we were cleared to go ,to Koln ,[ cologne] to the meat market called the Grober market Pete knew the way I had no idea ,where to go Pete , Pete was going up in my esteem as a man, but I know it was all going in my head , night time or not, what I could see to remember for maybe future reference, [who knows] and that works well for me ,once seen not forgotten.
I had completely given up on the time, and how much rest we have had ,it was if it was not a job at all it just seemed normal to do what we were doing,
Pete told me we will come up to the motorway again ,and cross 2 rivers then we follow the signs for the zoo, and that takes us to the market for unloading.
After time I eventually found the Grober market told where to back up to by Pete , he jumped out lots of ,[good -an-tarts] German for Hello] and he opened the trailer doors, and I backed up on his instruction on to their ramp/unloading bay ,and that was it, i thought ■■■■ me what a day all day ,Pete was inside having a coffee with some one and I could feel the movement of men walking in the trailer unloading, and a feeling of tiredness s seemed to come over me, ready for some proper sleep■■?
Next thing I know we are moving again, I must have dropped off, like a stone, I asked Pete where are we ,what we doing ,when do we sleep, all in one go ,the answer was we will just get out of Germany ,then park at the next service station ,as we are loading in Holland in the morning. But we have to wash the trailer out before we can do anything else but we will sort that out after a sleep The inside of the trailer is covered in blood and snot and grease we come again to the customs at Aachen and we still have to go to all the small offices for a stamp on our pieces of paper to get a complete set of stamps then you get a exit stamp and off you go .and think thank god for that.
We now make for the first service station in Belgium and sleep, it did not take long once there to get in that top bunk, I let Pete worry about the waking up time, I was sure he is on the ball.
It seemed like a very short time before I was being woken up, and I could hear the kettle making a noise , on the small gas prim-us- stove. And Pete, welcome back to the living was !we can not be long as we have to wash the trailer out and be loading by 2pm today, a 3 hour drive away.
I had no idea at all what Pete had done about the Tachographs and I was not bothered a far as anyone would know we had not been in to Germany, in fact if we do not get stopped in Holland or Belgian we have not been anywhere as far as the Tachographs are concerned, he obviously knows how to work [ fiddle]them to his and the company’s advantage and they must also know ,so I hope he will show me what to do.
Apparently the service stations in Holland supply more services than just fuel, you can get the use of a high power jet wash to wash the inside of a trailer out so all traces of meat are gone, and ready for another load, so long as you pay, payment by us was by a credit card ,very rare even now in the UK called a D. K. V. card , it is renown all through Europe within the transport industry you can get anything with it I mean anything, even in red light districts the card is taken ,like a transport only Visa. It was the first time I had seen or heard of it, once you are a established European driver for Rokold you get issued it only to be used when necessary .
The transit from Belgium to Holland ,because we were empty was very quick as if they were not bothered at all and we made our way to a service station that had a wash area ,Pete went into the payment office and came out with some bought tokens to put into the wash machine and he said we have 10 minutes of hot water and power the house was the longest I had seen ,my god these foreigners do not need any lessons in doing the job correct. Next thing Pete comes around from the cab with Wellington’s on ,and a pair of water proof leggings and a long raincoat/sou’wester jacket I was amazed, how much more am I going to learn, it seems as if you have to be self-sufficient.
His water profs were just what was needed and he did a complete through wash of the inside of the fridge it was perfect in side ,no trace of meat at all and as the lambs had been hung on string and not directly on the meat hooks they were clean. Once done he quickly went over his tractor unit with the hose before the time went out, and we were done, en-route to where I did not know. We went in to the coffee shop and had a machine coffee ,not bad ,a cup of tea would have been better ,but not enough time. Pete asked to use the phone ,and that was a yes and they passed him the phone from the office ,another !i cannot believe it they let him use their phone, never in England would that ever happen ,so this is Europe everything I have seen up to yet has opened my eyes ,why are we at home so behind ,god knows. he paid for the phone in cash and given a receipt
Pete comes back with loading instructions, we are to go towards the place we loaded at before to load near there today , I have no idea how far it is we do not have a map but Pete knows the way ,so he lets me drive ,and he dozes off, but he tells me which way to head for and just keep following the signposts until we get there or you have to have a break after 4 ½ hours [ that was joke]
It did not take long before I come to a junction where a decision was needed, left or right, so I had to pullover and shake Pete awake [not best pleased] go left ,towards, Eindhoven ,then pick up the sign for Tilburg, and he lays down again ,so I plod on now overtaking slower trucks , not that many slow ones were on the road ,speed did not seem to matter in Holland.
We got to the outskirts of the place we should be at for loading and I was given directions , to the factory gate ,the factory had a massive turning area for the trucks to get ready for backing down to a ramp onto a loading bay, once Pete came out of the office told me to back on to a bay as loading would start straight away, pallets loaded with frozen chips and we would not be long and the front pallets were smalls so they would fit under the meat hooks and the rear ones would make up the extra.
In no time we were loaded, custom sealed the rear doors that the factory paper work in order so next stop a ferry.
Time has flown from when I got up at 11am Tuesday morning it was now Thursday with no proper rest and now off again to a ferry Pete thinks we will miss the late Zeebrugge so to Ostend .
God knows what he is doing with the tachographs but I am sure he knows as he has changed the cards again. The fridge was set at -25 and roaring away however Pete said they were good at where we have just loaded and their product is nearly always down to the right temperature.
We move on to the road that soon took us to the boarder for Belgium customs , when we parked up I asked Pete if I could go and produce the paper work and get the feel of it ,and yes it was fine , so I went into the large foyer and could see only one office open with a sign DOUNE above the open door, I knocked ,walked in was met by grunts, passed the paper work over to the uniform/gun holstered ,no idea what was said, a couple of stamps later on the paper work I was out and back into the cab. I relayed what happened and was told that it was very rare to have any problems with the Dutch or Belgium’s authority, it was all the others.[countries].
I had now got used to the routine[for this trip] that I was doing the most driving, I treated it as a test to see if I would moan i did not , and carried on driving to Ostend I drove all the way up to the dock gate and booked us in to the ferry terminal, apparently we were not booked for the ferry now but a later one, but we would get on this one as Roklod was a good customer.
I thought that was a bit strange ,it clicked to me that we were ahead of our time, the office expected us to be later by about 6 hours, that was unusual ,later I would find out that Pete had done better than other drivers by not having the proper breaks, it was to show me ,”this is the way you do it ”and that he did the same when he was on his own ,no second driver.
Once off the ferry at Dover ,the routine was the same as last week I was feeling as if I was Mr experience,! no one else would and 200 cigarettes ,they would be sold. It sort of seemed all right to be working all these strange hours as every one else was doing the same , all though not many English seemed to be on the ferry.
Once cleared by the customs, the agents brought the clearance paper to us, and we then went for something to eat ready to make our way home, or not, Pete said we had to go to Frigo Scania in Kings Lynn a cold store that stored ,and processed ,and distribution of all frozen products from all Europe and was used by very big new supper markets ,and they work 24 hours shifts.
Was this another test I said ok no problem , I had no other choice really ,but to divert back to Northampton from Dover would have been ridiculous.
,it was the load first driver second, and you had to be prepared to do as the office would like or you will not last. I now see the important owner driver part of the company
I was now getting a good idea of what this job was and they want there own drivers to be exactly the same. I expect
you have two choices Stay or leave , for now, the job it seemed just for me I liked the running around different countries and the unsocial sleeping times ,the general way you were left to get on with the job and be left alone ,yes I knew the hour pay ratio was not that good however we were on a salary, so hopefully ,yes maybe in the middle of the week, that you would get more time at home, it would be worth a try if I get offered a job on European.
We made good time and I drove ,Pete said it would keep him clear to ship out again if I used my Tachograph. =The plan was that I had just arrived by car into Dover to take this lorry to unload and drop the driver [PETE]off at his house and I was to carry on and get it unloaded and back to base
if we got stopped by the ministry of transport for a tachograph card check.
He had got the previous tachograph cards we both had used and sorted them as if he had just been to Belgium yesterday, I had not been near that truck… so that is how they do it,total disregard for the law, however we were in Europe and no one cared a rats arse so do as the others do, do not forget the new Motorways were not built, the A2 .M . one Dartford tunnel, no Ministry check points at all , the only time you would have had a check if you were involved in a accident.
We had arrived at the cold store and drove straight on to a weigh bridge and the gross weight is record and when you finish you have to go back on to the bridge to get your tare weight ,then the load weight is taken from the gross and then you have the weight of the load, as you could have the right number of boxes but not the correct weight the senders of the goods has said [short weight, not uncommon].
We were told we had a booking in time of 12 o clock that night so park up , and wait. Pete looked a bit sheepish we could have gone to Northampton ,and I am sure he knew when the delivery was, but he is in charge of the truck if I was not with him he would have done exactly the same ,so I said ,good have another sleep, there were lots of other trucks parked up the noise of the fridges roaring away was tremendous, but no one seemed to care at all ,and I was getting used to the noise as well.
While waiting to get on to a unloading bay, the foreman unload er came and took the seal of the back doors , and climbed in as far as he could go and collected 1 box of goods, so he could go and check that the correct temperature had been kept and the product was the right temperature.
Before we had a sleep we kept getting lots of door knocking from workers asking if we had any duty free to sell, cigarettes or spirits wine anything cheap Pete told me more about the selling of any goods at most of the cold stores you would go to. He said, what you do is let the fork lift drivers have first choice of anything you may have ,and they will ask you if you are going back to Europe, and if it is for a load back to where they are as it was a regular run for Rokold trucks ,sometimes you will go back empty from Kings Lynn to Dover to load the next day in Belgium or Holland then straight back to Kings Lynn and they would put a order in if [1] you have the cash to buy goods, and [2] do you want to bring in more than your allowance [3] if you are caught by a customs officer anywhere and you are selling duty free goods you are in deep ■■■■. So it was up to you.
As it was ,I was not interested as I had no control of what I did ,also Pete would not commit himself ,as he did not know what he would be doing next ,if he did he would not tell me, as I expect he will be glad to get rid of me, and I do not blame him I would not fancy having a second driver with me ,however if the bosses say you will you will it is their truck, end of.
After getting unloaded, and the trailer swept out and weighed [by me ] before we made our way back to the depot . One thing Pete impressed on me was to make sure that when you collect your c.m.r note up from the office when the unloading is finished make sure they do not write any remarks on the paper work as that c m r is a legal document, and it is the only way a company can get paid for the load by that note ,with a clear signature, meaning that the load count is correct ,the load temperature was correct, and the given weight , when you arrived and the time , that done home.
When we arrived back at the depot it did not take long for me to get my gear together, and say good by and [handshake],as it was all closed up ,no empty pallets ,or nothing around, only our two cars.
What Pete was going to do I have no idea.
I soon travelled home, quick wash and to bed.
After my European trip work seemed to by very quiet not that many night runs and no market runs at all just the supermarket work and the pallet loads seemed a lot less than before, however I just enjoyed the time off as I knew when the time come it would be longer hours than normal!.
On one run to a few different supermarkets I was told that I had to have the night out and collect some pallets in the morning, yes fine by me i was now used to doing as I was told and not re -bell or moan .
As it was ,I had no idea what was going to happened next, as I was loaded ,i needed to ring the office to see if the pallets were for home base or somewhere else I was told to bring them back to the yard as quick as I could Mr East wants to see me, I thought another trip over the water.
Once in the yard ,i parked up ,went in to the office and asked for Mr East ,i was told to go in to his office, he stood up shook my hand ,and said Vic I am sorry we are going to let you go, work has got bad and there is not enough for all the men .last in first out…Then he said we may have got you some work with a local contractor, he gave me the details ,sorted my wages out ,said if any thing comes up again he would call me ,that was me finished at Northampton and that was that I said my good bys ,Alan said sorry,i new they would keep the young men on, so I went to find my new employee ,i hoped.
The new employer lived and worked at Milton just out side Northampton, I rang him up and he told me to meet him at the Ipec depot ,he gave me the address. after getting through security, I was told where to go and he had a small office at the end of a massive loading bay, that had about 20 trailers parked on it.
The job was first to be shunting the trailers on and off the loading bay as a contractor for the company running the job .Ipec , that turned in to T.N.T the massive parcel and goods distribution.
After time ,also when required you will have to drive a trailer up to the Glasgow depot, that would be a night job once there you go into a bed and breakfast in Glasgow while the lorry and trailer is taken around Scotland all the delivers done then it is reloaded back up for you to run back down to the Northampton through the night, you get back to Northampton park it up in the depot we are in then you go home. If you are required for the next night we ring you by 2pm to let you know.
Yes that sounded good, but the money was Tax free ,that meant you had to do the tax yourself.[self-employed] also he does some containers runs to and from Felixstowe, well it was a job I would go for it .I started the next day at lest I understood what the job was and you got told what to do, and they had a canteen.
I was busy for a time then it would slow down. The man I worked for was a ex middle east driver, photographs all around ,early 1970s he must have been very young. However most men that did that work deserved all they had made out of the jobs it was not for everyone.
It kept me busy for a week, then I thought all the travelling by car and shunting ,i had had enough so I said I am going to finish. No likely Scotland trips so I am off!, ooh hang on a minute, he said you are down for the Sunday night run , was he telling porkies or I was down for the job ,he said no you are on the job all next week ,yes I will stay then and that was the start of another fine mess…
The tractor units we used were from MANN HIRE and they were flying machines 70 mph was the normal speed once on the Motorway well if you did not get caught. Once you left Northampton you drove for 4and half hours had 45 minutes break then another 4 ½ drive and you should be in Bellshill Glasgow that was how fast them trucks were ,really in day time you would not have done it ,even in 1 days drive of 10 hours , however at night ,unbelievable distances were covered the trucks had the power as if you were driving a car, you could accelerate just like a car with a full load .of 20 tons quite remarkable even now when I thing about it, in actual fact when I do like now it was so, so, dangerous I shudder. However once again by luck I came off all right .
Once in Glasgow you would leave the truck in the IPEC yard and a man would take you up to your bed and breakfast, have a breakfast ,then bed, he would collect you again at 6 o clock at night, you had no dinner there, after the first time I soon got myself organised when home I brought a small gas cooker, pan. And tins of food, and cooked it in there rest room when I was back there it caused quite a show as they had never seen a driver cook before. not as I was experienced, I got the idea off of Pete ,never go hungry when you can do it yourself…
I started to get used to the pattern of work on the Glasgow the boss and his partner did have a small issue as we were only working in total driving 9 hours the boss wanted us to do some more work when we got back to Northampton, small local work just to fill the hours in as we got paid a days rate ,night or day and the hours were never defined ,so I think he thought we were getting away with money for no work, so I did what he asked ,then went home to bed later than usual,[not good
One evening just before I was leaving Glasgow the boss phoned me and said when I get back to Northampton ,drop the trailer at the depot then pick another trailer up and go and deliver it to the car factory in Luton. Vauxhall I never gave it much thought about 1 hour from Northampton to LUTON, tip the trailer then out and home I thought it would be a couple of hours.
i When I eventually arrived at the car factory the parts I had on the trailer were marked urgent production line, it did not mean a thing, I was told to park up and would be called in when they were ready. I knew from previous car factory experience that once you got into the queue going around the production area that was you basically ■■■■■■, end of. It is like going around a supermarket following 2 mobile scooters ,with blind people driving.
After god knows how many hours still at Luton ,it was getting that I would not have time to drive back, so there and then I made my mind up that was me finished when I got back , no way to ring anyone up no public phones within the factory for drivers use…
Once on my way ,non stop straight to the depot, I was met by the boss, all full of sorry, I did not realise they said it was urgent, I said no problem ,get some other mug, bye that is me done, he protested ,ore look I gave you a job a favour for Mr East ,i replied you get Mr East to come and do it then, off I went ,to the nearest phone box and rang Roklold at the depot at Oxford and told them what I had done ,and said thanks for the job but no thanks ,and whenever they want me ring home…
Now started another episode of driver with out a job, I first called in at S. T Challis as it was on the way home and explained my situation and could they help they would ring, never did, so I had to look further afield from home ,in the local paper drivers wanted at Aylesbury ,that was nearly 35 miles away, however I thought I would ring, and ask for a interview, it was in a village called Aston Clinton, did not mean nothing to me , i got a day for a interview , in two days time, i have no idea what sort of work they do or anything but I had seen the lorries around and no way of finding out .
I arrived at the village and found the yard , I drove in ,and looked around for a parking place, found a visitors one and parked. Little did I know that I was being observed to see where I left my car.
However I reported to the office explained who I was and was told to sit and wait. I had dressed
with some smart clothes and a tie ,a bit over the top for a drivers job but I wanted work.
I was shown into a office and a young -ish man sat at a desk very smartly dressed, he did not get up just looked and there was a chair pulled out my side, but I did not sit I just stood there.
He then said who he was ,and what did I want so I said a driving job if they have any vacancies,
then where have you been working? . I said I can give you my full working record since I left school, and got out my discharge book with various bits of paper and certificates also my HGV driving licence, Ohh he said you have a class one licence all self-explanatory , so I told him everything from school until that day. While I was in mid flow a older man come in to the room. Also very well dressed and sat on the edge of the desk ,never said a word.
When I had finished talking ,my history, the other man Mr Fowler ,the big boss , said we never employ any men who do not live within a 10 mile radius from Aylesbury ,however if you can start tomorrow we will overlook that rule, and that was me at Aston Clinton Haulage, A. C .H.
I had to be at the yard for 6 am , to start then take it from there it was a good 40 minutes drive from home on back roads, after a short time I started to try other routes, but it was nearly always the same time of travelling.
The work was varied ,from local shunting to unloading in the yard, and loading boxes of cereal for delivery, then delivering it ,you had no time at all, but I stuck with it, they were very long hours if I had known more then I would have stopped in the yard the odd night and sleep in a cab ,with no pay but it would have made life a lot easier ,as all the trucks the ran were sleeper cabs and of the full speck,[the most powerful].
The son David who interviewed me was what you called unfair, a prick ,thoughtless, and all the other meanings, but that was his way and people accepted it, me also as I thought I would get on to having a truck of my own and get some good work even with my limited European experience. Sadly it was not to be then i wanted to leave, but I had to do it right and not just finish ,so one day I got half way to Aylesbury stopped in a village, and said my car has just blew the piston, or valve and I could not make it in, and gave them the local phone box number so they could ring me back…[ no mobile then].
After time Dennis , David’s assistant, rang the call box back, and said if you cannot get in you are no good for us so you will have to finish, so I said fine and they would send my wages and p 45 and that was that for then It was what I wanted to happen in case I ever wanted to go back in the future .
Once home, car all good ,I decided to go S T Challis to see if they have any work, once in the yard straight to the drivers place outside of the office, i knocked the hatch, and was greeted by what the ■■■■ to you want, from the traffic clerk, laughing, nothing from you, but a job, he told me to wait `1 ,i will go to see the boss, after a short time Brian the boss came out and said we have a bit of tipper work if you want it , only local runs ,you can start Monday, and that was the way it worked in my area, straight to the point, the best way.
The tipper work was easy but long hours you were moving earth that was being dug out by machines for a new road ,and once loaded ,you then tipped it where you were told, most times it was to make a bank further back along the road ,or just to fill in holes [massive holes] left by pipes .
It was going good , I used to take a lot of sandwiches and 2 flasks i knew most of the drivers ,some from my village, and we would have a laugh. Plenty of time to eat, and drink all was good the money was manageable, but beggars cannot be choosers
.
I think I must have been there for about3 months and getting bored but nothing else to do ,i was not getting enough out of it if you know what I mean but no weekend work maybe the odd Saturday morning ,sometimes, they wanted you to help the fitters if they had a big job on, nothing technical but I was still learning about trucks ,engines and most of what went with the job, rewiring lights, all though the diesel engine had come on with the future there was still a lot of old basics and common sense .also I had had the ■■■■■■■■ engine workings to help me if I needed it. To a small degree.
Life was plodding on ,getting my self resigned to being on a tipper until they increased the fleet, when out of the blue my wife gets a urgent phone call from no other than Mr Robin East, from the depot in Oxford, asking where, and what I was doing, and asked would I ring as soon as possible, urgent. It was 7 o clock at night and I spoke to Robin .
Tom ,the first driver I went with had ,had a brain haemorrhage and passed away , he was on the service station by Liverpool, the trailer had been taken away to be unloaded ,however ,the unit was still on the service station the keys were in the mangers office ,was the any chance I could go up with another driver and bring the tractor, and the trailer [when empty] back down to Oxford. the lorry was leaving at 5am in the morning to get you to Liverpool later in the day are you able to go with it, also we would now need a relief driver ,if I wanted the job it was mine on Rokold not the other company J C. S. ,it would be reliving the European drivers on a regular basis and the previous man would have Toms truck permanently. I explained that I was permanent where I was and they would not take kindly to me leaving just like that, he said he new Mr ■■■■ who was the boss and he would square it with him, as they were on the road haulage association together and he would explain the situation .
It was a chance not to be missed it could be the break for me to get into European work so I accepted the offer.
I had to leave home at 4 am to get to Oxford before 5 am good job I did as the driver slept overnight at the depot and was ready to leave when I arrived, after a few delivers we made our way to the Liverpool area, I found out a lot more about the job some bits were good ,others I knew about [ the hours] the driver Geoff , who was Toms friend, also from Northampton still could not believe Toms death ,it only happened yesterday so it was shock all round ,well not for me but sad as he left a wife and children, all though when I knew him you would have thought he was single , I hope that is not the way this type of driving changes you, also he was ex army so he knew his way around.
I went and collected the truck keys ,from a office , they knew my name but wanted some ID ,that was all done .i rang the office ,and was told to pick the trailer up at Trafford park Manchester at a refrigerated depot. I was told check it over for any damage in the outside and inside, count the meat hooks that were hanging on the rails at the front, tyres, fuel in the fridge ,and all the trucks paper work was still in the cab folder, I was given a list to check, that all worked out correct, and to record the hours recorded on the fridge, [ a dial on the front cover of the hours the fridge has been run],make sure all the lights were working, as people will steal the lenses and bulbs, yes, the bulbs…
When that was done I rang the office ,and they said make your way to Dover and ring first thing in the morning from there. Yes that was what I wanted i knew it would be late by the time I get there
but I never put a tachograph card in until I left Liverpool so I had got plenty of time, well I thought I had.
I made it to the last service station, on the A2 Farthing Corner, before Dover and had a break by the time I got into Dover and parked outside the Agents office ,went in ,and the ■■■■ had hit the fan, what I was not told I was booked on the 6am crossing to Zeebrugge [when I had phoned from Manchester] [no cab or mobile phones] they had expected my to drive into Dover gone in to the Agents and they would have given me my loading instructions without parking up where I did and I could have booked off once inside Dover ,and by the time I had got off in Zeebrugge I would have had the proper break, also I would have had lots of broken sleep.! Moving on to the ferry etc I had no a clue, that was what I should have done.
I rang the office explained they more of less said it was their fault but told me if you ever have to get to Dover you must try to get there, as there is always a reason why. I think the traffic manager Peter Melcombe thought I was a old hand at the European way of working I had never met him I took a instant dislike to him, by his phone manner to me, one to watch.
Once I was on the ferry ,booked into my cabin and had a meal, it was time to go to bed for about 3 hours ,trouble was you never knew who your cabin mate was , so as Pete told me get to bed first and hope they do not snore.
Once off of the ferry the routine started as before ,and it all went well ,even the fuelling up as the credit diesel card all worked on the same pin number [so long as you knew it] I did not ,but Tom had it written down in the trucks book of paper work ,so I was soon away to get to the loading place. It was the same one as before when I was with Pete ,so I felt very confident that it would all be good and load without any hassle, and after a time of me getting there I was soon striding in to the loading office, full of it, until the Dutch man said in perfect English, you are late ,your load has been given to another driver so you will have to wait until the product [frozen chips] are down to the correct loading temperature , well what could I say but ok thank you I will be in the cab…
And that is where I went, I never said another word, I thought well ■■■■ you too. And laid on the bunk, it did not seem long when loud banging was on the door and shouting to me ,back on to the loading bay so I opened the rear doors , started up the fridge, ■■■■ !!I had forgot to do that before I arrived so as the trailer would be cold, [whoops] I was getting to cocky, and forgot the first rule. To get the fridge temperature down as low as possible, it will never get to minus -20 as there is not product in the trailer to hold the temperature but once the frozen goods are in the trailer and the trailer is all ready cold it will soon be down to -20
Also I think I learned another thing, other people do not like to see you go and lie on the bunk and read a book… [over time I learnt it really ■■■■■■ other people off especially if you have had a disagreement with them and it was your fault, and you shown that it does not bother you at all .]
Once loaded, I was told to pull off the loading bay, collect my paper work from the office and the customs will seal the back doors and I was ready to go. I did stop and think have I done all the right things , checked both diesel tanks. Fridge running ok , god knows what I would do if the fridge stops, I have not been told yet ,i must put that on a list ,of to ask instructions for if a brake -down occurs.
I made my way to the Belgium boarder and then the ferry port. Ohh no I forgot to ask what ferry to go back on, ■■■■ ,i stopped and tried to work the time out, and thought I was at about the same time as when with Pete, so I will go to Ostend ,then I had thought , [dangerous]look at what the T2 customs form said , and it was Ostend, so I now knew the office must have told the Dutch that was my port of exit.
I made my way there without any problems it was easy to find the port as the signs post were very good you just followed the sign with a ship on and it took you straight to the port gate, I completed all the paper work, and went and queued up with all the other trucks , that was not hard to accomplish, as I had been shown before what to do if I had not It would have been a different story.
Once on the ferry I asked the crew for a electrical plug in , and was told yes ok ,but wait for the ships electrician , that is what I did it seemed like hours however he came and sorted the plug in out and it worked the correct way ,that ,the way to test to see that it did not ■■■■ air out of the fridge was by holding some light tissue paper up to the front air intake so that it blew the paper and not ■■■■ it in, , as ships electricity system can vary so I was told? I was the last driver to leave the car deck eventually, I climbed my way up to the accommodation area found the driver only restaurant the food was English looking but cooked by Belgians as it was a Belgian crew, I had some food then straight down to the cabins for a sleep, I had the cabin number on my ticket, but the first thing was to find them , it seemed as if they were right down under the engine, and the noise was bad, Jesus I had spent a long time on ships ,never this noisy!!
I did find the cabin, and the bunk, and it was the top bunk as the other 3 were occupied so clothes on into the bed, I did learn a lesson, all ways strip off when ever you have a chance to sleep ,even for a hour ,as with clothes on you soon get roasting and cannot rest…
Next thing lots of noise, blokes burping and ■■■■■■■, coughing sounded like a cattle market and foreign language ,to me, I understood it was time to get up .and that was what I did and followed the herd up to the coffee, tea and ■■■, bar, also more food it seemed only 5 minutes before that I was eating, but we all seemed to get stuck in, mostly sausages, and hard boiled eggs , then the tannoy came over [all drivers report to the car deck and do not start your engines please until told to by the staff, ■■■■■■■■, by the time I got down to the truck ,the rear door was still down, and all these ■■■■■■■ ,stupid foreign drivers had the engines roaring away it was choking, and they did not give one ■■■■, what they did not realise as the deck crew could not take the safety chains off of the front of the trucks so they would be able to leave the ship, because they wanted to be first off what they did not realize that once they got to the customs they were going nowhere,.
Yes I had done it, I did all the right things parked up put my paper work in the agents box wrote on it where I was parked, and smartly went and got into bed again sleep seemed the main think lacking in this type of work
The next thing I know there is rapping on the cab door, i flew up pulled the curtain back and there was one of our drivers there, hanging off the wing mirror with his arms, shouting something, so I got dressed and opened the door and the first thing he said are we clear what! I said I have not long got in bed, he said well they usually clear this customer straight away, he said he would go and check, in the office where you get your exit stamp ,and the paper work to go .
He came back full of it and said it has been cleared 1 hour -ago, you should have been gone by now as the customer is waiting for the load,” hang on” I said I have only been here 3 hours and not had my full break, he replied, that he was taking the load and I was to be the passenger, ok that made sense. well sort of until I thought about it so off we go with me not driving so it did not matter any-more how much rest or sleep I had the load came first…
I asked the driver how he got here and he said he came down last night with another of our drivers and went in to a bed and breakfast, got up this morning to deliver the load ,and take me back because the office new I would not be able to drive for some time as my break hours were not up one thing was wrong no one told me alarm bells should have been ringing, this is no way to work ,however it was all new to me completely different from any other type of driving I knew .
so in fact I was off duty in the passenger seat basically it does not matter where you take your off duty break so long as you are not working …as time went by it was considered that if you were in a company vehicle you were classed as on duty, but that was much later .in the 1990s in actual fact if you were driving a company car to or from work of to relive another driver you were technically on duty, however who new , unless you had a accident in that car.
We arrived at “Bejams”at large “cold store” full of deep frozen food at a place called Frimley near Guilford to unload the pallets of chips, after time we were told to back on to the loading bay ,and wait for the green light , it was right by your cab when you were backed on the loading bay [or dock]you could not miss it to tell you that you were on the loading bay correctly , you would feel the ramp inside the store go down on to the deck of the trailer so they could start unloading.
But first the quality control would take off the first 6 pallets then on the 7th they would open the boxes for the correct temperature of the product and it had to be between minus-18 and -22, they would take all the boxes of the pallet and check the very bottom ones, just to make sure that the chips had been loaded at the correct temperature also that you had had your frigerated trailer running at the correct temperature -20 If not someone would be in trouble and the first would be the driver, as not checking the product temperature before loading, and was the fridge running correct, it was a bloody minefield this I learnt later through my own experiences you would never believe the checks you had to make and do while loading any product .
Once the load had been cleared to unload it did not take very long to get unloaded and get the correct amount of pallets returned, and we were on our way again, so where now for me I asked myself? we were going to Bedford for a truck and trailer service and I was to pick up a company car and go home and wait for the phone call. At least I had some duty free cigarettes.
I was asked at the cold store [what have you got on] I did not know what they were on about until the other driver, said some drivers bring in Beer, and tobacco for the cold store unloading staff to buy [in bulk] apparently they knew the lorry was Toms, and he looked after the lads at the store , well sadly no more ,they did not know about his death, but it was something to think about , however I never did bother for anyone, as I never had the cash to buy goods…
We soon arrived at Bedford, and the trailer was dropped in a service bay and the unit taken for a service next door, I was taken to see the boss of the work shops and asked if there were any outstanding faults on the truck or trailer i did say some of the tyres on the trailer were a bit short of rubber meaning the tread was low, all the other gauges on the unit were working oil and water was good ,there was no more to say, so I was shown the car I had to go home in and that was it, I was away… it was the same old Volvo first thing was I checked the petrol, and it was nearly empty, what a surprise, why would drivers leave a car with hardly any petrol in I did not know ,however I will now do the same.
I got home there was a telephone message for me to phone the office, Jesus they never left you alone for any length of time, it was something I was going to have to get used to that was for sure ,it was my instructions for tomorrow, I had to be down in Lamberhust the name of the village where the loading was for 5 pm and deliver the load of lambs that I had done with Pete before, on my own, I remember feeling pleased with myself as they were trusting me with a Export load for the first time, also inside I was really ■■■■■■■■ myself but no one knew only me.
After a good drive around the Motorways, the M25 was not yet built, under the Dartford tunnel and down to Lamberhurst ,i arrived in plenty of time, and I had brought a small gas burner and some food ,saucepan, tea ,excreta, just to keep me going and from spending any money on foreign food, the more I did not spend the more for me and home, well that was the thought I had not got round to finding a toaster, but I would.
The unit was the one I had driven before the old 2800 D. A.F, [Ex toms] the driver with the truck wanted to get off home ,and I did ask him why he was not doing the job instead of me, he gave me some story about his wife so I left it at that, anyway it was nothing to me ,he told me it was ¾ loaded and the last of the lambs would be soon loaded ,the truck fridge was roaring away trying to keep the inside of the fridge with the already loaded lambs down to a cool +1 as the doors were open being backed on to the loading bay of the slaughter house it was cold inside, the premises the lambs [meat]were kept inside special cool rooms to get the meat down to the temperature ready for transport. Vets were the only people who can allow any meat from leaving a premise also vets are employed all the while the process of slaughter takes place .
In side the slaughter house there are a series of tracks that run all around the ceilings that the meat hooks run on in and out of the cool rooms for the method of getting meat moved from place to place once the meat arrives by men pushing sliding the carcass at the loading doors in to the trailers, the carcass is lifted off and placed on to the meat hooks inside the trailer there are 5 different rails inside the trailer roof with about 60 hooks on each rail .with lambs being small one lamb is placed on the hook then another is hung underneath by a string so there are 2 lambs to each hook, quite a swinging load ,if you have more than one delivery string is placed around the whole load of lambs to let the unloaders plus the driver where that delivery starts so as not to get them mixed up or extra taken by the first customer as you would have no way of knowing when to stop taking the lambs ,also counting, but the driver is never allowed inside most abattoirs.
I went and checked the diesel for the fridge that is under the trailer it wanted filling up, I realised the truck tank was half full and I would be able to syphon some diesel out of the tank and put it in to the fridge tank, I thought yes I will do it.
So know I needed a piece of hose pipe at lest 6 foot long, and a container of sorts to transfer the diesel, easier said than done believe me, I knew how to do it as I have done it many times before but it can be a smelly dirty job, plus diesel tastes awful. If the trailer had not been loaded and the weight on the front end of it ,the easiest way would have been to drop the trailer where it was and back the unit alongside of the trailer so as the tanks are alongside each other, if the tanks are not on the same side you turn the unit around so as it is ,also you need a lot of room, so all that was out . It meant sucking the diesel up the pipe that you have pushed down , well down inside the trucks diesel tank, and you start sucking “ syphoning” until the diesel flows out ,and then you have to catch it in some form of container a old plastic oil can, and make sure you can tip it into the trailer diesel tank [not easy] it needs 2 people really as once you have filled your oil can the diesel is still flowing ,you have to lift the pipe up so it is above the level of the diesel in the tank, but make sure you have a bend in the pipe so as the pipe is not empty or else you have to start sucking again, believe me it is a pain in the arse and you get covered I did get a hand from one of their drivers and we managed to get a few gallons in the tank, no thanks to the other driver, [■■■■■
Now I had to get cleaned up and once the unit was under the trailer they started to load the last delivery, What I did not know was one of drivers from the abattoir was also going down to the docks on a export load he was going direct to the delivery at leige, and then into Germany and I was to follow him down to Dover the ship over to Calais [F] and I would follow him through to Belgium and then we would go our different ways, this was new to me ,apparently all things change when meat is involved ,and the office knew what was happening .
I was to pick a French permit up from the agent in Dover ,and Jimmy[ THE DRIVER ]was going to show me the route out of Calais, and how to go through the customs at Calais all straight forward well it is supposed to be. After time we were ready to go and he said we were going the back roads down to FOLKSTONE, the on to Dover I did not have a map with me .god!! it was the most fastest switch back ride I have ever had ,god knows where we went, but I did not let his rear lights out of my sight, and he warned me that when you get to Folkstone we will go up this massive hill ,and if it is wet if you miss a gear near at the top you will be ■■■■■■, as the steepness of the hill lets all the weight of the lambs hang back at angle, taking your traction away from your drive wheels as if you are skidding on ice, well that did not do me much good ,all I could thing about was missing a gear, so I thought right, I will put the truck in a low gear at the bottom and then I had no worry ,I expect I lacked a bit of confidence in my own ability and that is what I did and I did not have a problem ,i was slow, yes, but I never got stuck, when I caught Jimmy up at the docks he said I thought you were stuck, but I would not have been any help so I carried on, that was the right thing to do so he said .
We parked outside the agents and collected the paper work for me and a permit for France, then round to the customs part ,this time we had to queue up to go into the customs sheds for a seal check and a port health check, ]MAFF],to make sure we were veterinary sealed up [the trailer] .
That all done we then had to go queue up for the next ferry to Calais, they were nearly every 2 hours leaving Dover , I could see the point of coming this way instead of Ramsgate as it was quicker here, once we were loaded on to the ferry we had to ask for a Electric Plug , as no diesel engines were allowed to be run, once that was sorted and it was working the correct way we made our way up stairs for food in the drivers lounge.
We were on Sea-link ferries and the food was good . Jimmy asked if I had any French money at all, and no I did not he said we would need at least 5 French Francs for the customs as you go out of the gate, for the bung, for the excess diesel we had, you are only allowed 200 litres in France, I changed £10 sterling and received just over 10 Francs, and Jimmy told me do not give that much you must change it as they would take it all that… I am learning more, and we talked about my delivers and he told me about the Belgian border so as I was sure where to go ,he was a great help, I would have been struggling with out him, but that is why they sent me with him I expect…
Once the ferry docked we were about the last to get off as the electrician did not hurry himself, anyway there would be a massive queue waiting to get out of the dock after the customs. Once in the customs hall I just followed what jim said and I did not speak, there was no need to, the customs men all looked the same in massive coats , lots of chatter, stinking of French ■■■■, talking in grunts, and laughter, well they were in charge , after the stamp on the permit backing paper ,jim said he hoped they would stamp that, and not the actual permit as it could be used again [ I will explain later] I watched as the trucks drove up to the last barrier where you gave them the money ,[they called it coffee] the man jumped up onto the step hung on the mirror arm and looked at the fuel gauge on the dash board to see what it read ,full, or half full. Anyway they still had the coffee money whatever, and when it was my turn I drove up stopped and he did what I have said took the 5 francs said [Aur vior]
That was my first of many giving of French francs to the customs men ,only in Calais I must say no where else bothered with the fuel coming in to the country .they were the French Mafia. That practice carried on until the customs frontier controls finished in the 1990s.
Once clear, before I was let loose on my own , Jimmy gave me my last instructions , I crossed the same border in to Belgium as when I was on the other ferry, however I had to clear the customs there as it was my boarder of destination, apparently the veterinary clearance was done at the first delivery but Jimmy was there at the boarder to assist me so it went well
He told me all the deliverers will be waiting for me, as drivers for the abattoir. Company they did this run every 2 days for years and if there are no lights on at the premises ,knock the doors ,and they will soon be out as they were local Butchers shops, in towns obviously this was a regular run .
Once I found the first delivery I would be taken to the next one when I was ready by following a car, I think this job must have been another test as it was non stop full-go ,at the first delivery one man jumped up on the back of the trailer to take the lambs of the hooks and pass them down ,and I was given a white coat, to get up and do the same, as two men were on the road taking the meat inside, so no lay down, and that was the pattern of the nights work, i had lost track of time and it was getting light, and I ended up somewhere near Brussels Airport with a empty trailer, and the inside needed a wash out, so that was my next move find a truck stop with a high power hose, that was normal in Belgium as they seem to think of everything jim did tell me that I should ring the office by 1pm our time and get loading instruction, so sleep was the second priority.
There was so much noise going on at the service station I made amental point of never stopping
there again ,i must have had about 5 hours sleep and my alarm was screaming, first eat then phone thank god I had my toaster, and tea making things, and I sorted my self out.
The office told me I was loading tonight not far from the Dutch boarder in Belgium so make my way there whenever, as the load was ready, full load of frozen vegetables
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After 2hours I had found the loading factory a large compound lots of other trucks were there no other English, once I had been to their office I was given a loading bay number to back on the wait in the cab as the load was handball [meaning not on pallets in paper sacks] so it would be a while, and they would knock the cab when finished, so it was time to get a brew of tea on ,and then lie down and get some rest ,sleep. It was after 4 hours and I was woken up and told to go to the office, I collected my paper work, customs paper, and pulled off the loading bay for the rear doors to be custom sealed up, and they told me that the office said I was to go to Zeebrugge for the midnight ferry, that was good for me no rush, and I would be able to fill all tanks up with diesel unbelievable but it all worked out .i was in plenty of time for the ferry, and another time to get in bed, I had already sussed out that if you can get a lay down take it…
Once the ferry arrived it did not take long for the off load of trucks and then we were soon brought up from lanes for loading ,it is not straight forward ,as heavy lorries have to get put in different places, the loading ticket office know all the trucks weights when booking in…also I wanted a electrical plug in ,so I seemed to be kept waiting to load with other fridge drivers as we were all on the same level deck where all the plug connections were, once loaded on and sorted ,in to get your bed number/cabin, no single berth, so you have 2 choices either go straight to bed , or eat a dinner.
For me it was a no brainier /bed, before the snoring started, and just hoped you did not get a cabin with foreigners .
All went well ,the crew wake you up in time for breakfast nice full English then the unloading starts
passport control/ customs, all done on the dock ,as before, it was still dark.
Once parked up , my paper work lodged in the agents in box ,i wrote on it the number of the lane I was parked in, and would they knock me when finished please… so back in the bunk again…
It was not long before the knock on the door come and I was cleared to go after I got my paper work, and allowed out of the dock gate and on my way to Frimly again to get the load off loaded
I new it would take a while as it all had to be put on pallets ,a long job I expect. Once there I report to the office and they told me to ring my office as soon as I can…
Once again I was told that a driver was coming down in the car to relive me and I could go home and ring tomorrow dinner so now it was a waiting game, the more time I spent here the less at home.
Another driver I did not know, arrived ,and I told him what was going on and that they would let him know when to get on to a unloading bay ,and that was me, away, petrol check seemed ok, so home for me…
After rest at home, I rang the office at dinner time to be told to go to Bedford service depot no later than 5pm to collect the truck, I arrived on time, to be told that at 8 o clock in the morning I was to load a load of lambs from near Bedford and ring from there, I had to get the car back that night as it was needed for someone else, so I had a night at the garage in Bedford ,i slept well …
Once I arrived at the Abattoir I was told to go and wash the trailer out ready for loading they had a very high powered wash hose, it would blow your clothes off if it was pointed at you, anyway that done I put the trailer on the bay and waited, there was a lot of movement in the trailer they seemed to be loading non stop.
Eventually it went all quiet inside the trailer as the loaders stopped i walking up and down the trailer floor in stopped rocking around so I assumed it was loaded i got out of the cab and went to the office, yes it was finished and the customs and veterinary would soon be finished and I could soon be on my way ,so I thought…after ring the office it seemed I was only loading it for another driver I was to take it back to the Bedford garage, leave the truck ,the fridge going at the correct temperature, and the car would soon be there for me to go home again ,and the other driver would be taking the load, yes well I was only the relive driver, so that is what I am doing although I did not like it.
That seemed for a while the pattern of work I was doing, unloading or loading for someone else and it was sort of getting to me, so in the end I asked to speak to the boss Mr East [robin] the office men tried to keep fobbing me off that he was never in the office, so I let it go a week and one Friday I was home with the company car, i thought right and I drove to Oxford to the depot ,and there he was on Saturday morning in the yard ,well it was in a forest, no joke , in a forest called Tubbney wood ,off the Swindon road out of Oxford, it had some hard standing for a few trailers and a wooden cabin type office ,after handshakes I said if I do not get a truck of my own soon I am leaving I had been doing the relive for about a year, with the occasional run abroad and I had had enough…
Once home the phone rang Saturday after noon, and I was told they would be getting another hire truck a new Scania and it would be mine in 2 weeks, however it would be mostly on European work and I would have to do the same as the others and go anywhere I was told, if I could not do it they would have to let me go a catch 22… situation, it could be 2 /3weeks away at a time, I knew some of the other men were very rarely home for long as the export and import ruled… it was a no brainier I told my wife what the score was , I could do it or leave and go to nothing ,obliviously I wanted to do it however was not my own decision so we decided to do it and take a chance.
So the 2 weeks went into 3 and I was getting slightly cautious as to they were telling me the truth but when I did bump into other drivers they said yes the fitter at Bedford had been told another truck was coming and it was the first Scania not a D.AF so I carried on as normal unloading other people’s loads day and night[ not at the same time] one load comes to my mind that nearly come to my down fall and getting to big for my boots ,it is funny how life puts you down to ground very easy…
This load I had to collect ,[I had the company car] from the Bedford fitters premises,[i did not like john’s, the fitters wife she was always saying Robin this, and that, she was dangerous she could get you finished on her say, so ,[example if the truck was not oil up and cleaned up] cab dirty,]anyway=
I had to deliver this load of frozen goods at 12 midnight at Bejams Frimly I knew it very well as a lot of our loads ended up there so I knew some of the unloaders and the canteen ladies and felt at home while there, however it was different at night ,different people but they new the company well [as regulars] so we had no problem getting in past the security to get parked up as times it was very difficult to get on the premises ,if you were early, or more so late but Rokold seemed to breeze it…
“”2
This trailer I collected was a knew one to the fleet it had a new system for the brakes called “progressive breaking” meaning when you put your foot on the brake pedal and it sent air down the air line to the brakes on the 3 axles the brakes did not all come on at the same time ,there was progressive breaking one would come on then another then the last one, so as there was no skidding, gently braking however it used the air in the system up quicker, so the engine needed to be at a high reeving speed to keep the air cylinders up to maximum pressure… when you were slowly manoeuvring and using your brakes the air would be going out ,but the brakes would not be jammed on, but one axle would stop you in a road situation .
I was told to go on to a loading bay, it was very tight as there was a truck both sides of where I was to go so lots of manoeuvrings and shunting and when you hit the loading bay dock a green light would come on and that was you ,[you had opened the back doors before you stated to back up to the bay] so it was tight getting in as their own company trucks were parked everywhere just where you wanted to be another driver got out of his cab and help you back up to the bay and that is what a driver did for me.
Time and time again I wished the driver had left me to do it myself, as we were chatting and reversing at the same time using the brakes, backwards then forwards, and when I eventually got on to the unloading bay the green light come on , so still chatting the truck made no move to move forward ,I was on the bay I jumped out with the deliver tickets and walked up the 10 steps at the corner of the loading bay into the freezing warehouse, as you walk up the steps you are as high as the roofs of all the trailers parked on the loading bays so it looks like a flat field of roofs ,and all the fridges are off.
All the drivers all strangers, to me, are drinking coffee and eating sandwiches, mostly home made, the meal for the night workers does not start until 3am in the subsided canteen , I hope I am away before the crew eat as it makes it all get later and they get slower the longer they work.
The odd driver gets told he is finished, and new ones arrive, and at last they call me to say all is good and the unloading is finished just wait for the empty pallets to be reloaded, so off I go down the steps, talk to driver next door to me, jump in the cab, put the key in the ignition ,start the engine and let it tick over , i jump out the cab again, say something to the driver again [being cocky I expect as I was unloaded before him] I then make for the steps again in to the warehouse to see if the pallets are loaded ,and collect the paper work, and I was told 2/3 minutes and they will be ready so I waited like all the others do.
At that moment I was a happy bunny, soon be away and home I was handed all the correct paperwork all signed correct
and opened the door to go down the steps and looked over the trailer roofs again and there was a empty loading bay where I was parked, i thought well what a good chap [the driver next to me] he had pulled my truck off the unloading bay so as someone else can get in to the space I had… well that was what I thought my unit as I got past the truck alongside the walkway I could hear a commotion ,i did not what it was but as I got further round I could see the Rokold unit parked on a strange angle, I thought oh no !!!he has hit another truck ,and as I run round the front of the Rokold cab it is empty, no one is in it, and I run back around the way I had just come and Jesus, the left hand side of my trailer door was stuck in to the cab of the truck next to me, ■■■■ me what has happened… ohh- no ,i run back to my drivers side jump in the cab, and there is the evidence looking at me, the ■■■■■■■ hand brake was not on!!!ohh no that is me ■■■■■■. In the mean time out comes the driver who s cab I have just ■■■■■■, going ■■■■■■■ bananas.
What has happened is -that when I reached the loading dock doors just by luck or unlucky the air has all gone out of the air reservoirs connected to the trailer brakes and they are firmly on completely empty so it means that all the brakes on the 3 axles are on, I FORGOT TO PUT THE HAND BRAKE ON[silly me].
He said he had only just had it repaired “look mate I said” it has happened it is a accident I did it, sorry I turned to sharp , I will back up the truck and you hold the door open then I will park up over there and come back and sort it out . what the blessing was the chap parked next door had gone to see another driver so no one knows what actual happened . if the truck had not stopped where it did and not got caught up on his front, parked up were 3 trucks of bejams dead in line ,where it would have rolled to, now that would have been a major incident [ no health and safety yet]phew lucky or what…
After I had sorted all the paper work out truck numbers names extra I had to go and tell the night foreman what I had done so if they had a inquiry they would know. I eventually got away and made my way back to Bedford no damage to our truck and trailer , BUT MY GOD IT SORT OF PUT THE DAMPENERS ON ME.
I parked back up at Bedford in the fitters yard, I wrote out all that had happened on the back of a envelope [a big brown one] and stuck it in the window and asked John the fitter if he would tell Mr East what I had written down and I would ring after dinner…[so everyone would know now] no more could I do, but go home and expect the sack, at least I had given the office a heads up if the other driver rang first thing ,they would know what had happened.
About 2 pm I made the dreaded telephone call asked for the boss, told he was out but not to worry the insurance would sort it out, have the rest of the day off ring tomorrow. I could not believe it just like that all the thinking I was going to get the sack and that was that…OR WAS IT.
THIS I rang the next day, all seemed ok I asked if Robin wanted to speak to me and the traffic manager so no, all ok here this is what we want you to do I think it was Wednesday[ not sure]anyway I had to drive the car to Guildford and go to Steve Chities abattoir and there is a trailer that will be loaded with beef for Rung-is, market Paris,
Jesus Christ, after what I did, they have given me a load that I have never done before , only briefly in France ,i have no idea what to do, where to go, ■■■■ me out of the pan into the fire, I thought it is a joke they know I have not had a load of beef before, let alone deliver it, it is either a test to see what I do, if I take it or not, that is what it has got to be, so I thought right, ■■■■ it get on with it, learn as you go, and that is what I done…
Once at the abattoir the other driver a relief driver said thank god you have arrived, he thought he was going to have to go with the load ,and he had less experience than me, I thought well that is two of us but never said a word The load had all been sealed up and he gave me the custom papers, and off he went, I put my gear in the cab checked all around ,checked both diesel tanks and the fridge was set at +1 the correct temperature ,all seemed good I did not know who,s truck it was as the cab was empty, of any personal goods I made sure the company book was in it with all the relevant company credit cards for fuel and I had the company cash float that they gave you so all was goo i made my way to Dover I knew what agent to go to once there. NO GOING BACK NOW.
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I knew where to park in the customs bay on the docks, and I went to the agents ,they sort of knew me and handed me a envelope with customs forms for me to produce ,also another one marked with my name and it said open in rung -is, market Paris with loading instructions after you are empty.
When I had found space for parking [customs] lots of other fridges there, roaring away, very noisy i queued up to present my paper work like the other drivers up the stairs, feeling a bit lost and apprehensive, but you would not know it, when a shout behind me called out Rokold! ,i looked behind as you do ,another driver a few behind me said ,we are going to the same place ,i will see you on the ferry ,right I said, and at that moment my inner nerve went away.
It turned out he had also loaded at the same place but had stopped on the way down to Dover ,but I did not know anyway after driving on the ferry ,fridge plugged in, I went up to the drivers eating area and waited for my new mate.
It turned out he knew that I was a first solo tripper as he was a subcontractor to Rokold as they had told him, so I was glad I did not refuse to take this load, and he proceeded to give me as much information you could take in a short time, however he did say that if we got split up he would wait for me, once through the last road toll pay station near Paris, I said how will I know if it is the last one ,he said it will be chocker block with cars and lorries, and the service station is just as you start to see the toll booth and it was as he said mad ,but that was just the start.
Once I had got through the toll, there were trucks parked every where,i found him and walked up ,he had got his kettle on so tea was the first thing then he proceeded to tell me, what to expect, and he told me where to get off the ring road and what to do once I approached the market…
The Paris city has 2 ring roads they are called [peripherque] [F] one outer for all the transit traffic and a inner for local. the outer has 4 lanes like a race track and that is what it is. As our trucks are right hand drive ,it was the only time it was to our advantage as the 4 lanes has no hard shoulder, masses of twists turns tunnels ,some dark some bright and all exits on the same road as the entrance and being on the right we always had a better view as to what was going on than the normal left hand drive
. LATER After years of using that road and all Frances I used to enjoy going round the peripherque. All the exits are named as [a-port-de -lyon or similar ] It used to get really fast and dangerous as the French would never ever give way they would just keep going, what they did not know was we could see them in our driving mirrors, as being right hand drive , not left sometimes they would have to go back the up exit as the lane for them to join the main road was the same stretch for anyone to get off ,because we/I would not let them in as they could see they would go under the wheels they would just be hanging on their hooters and if you were left hand driver you would slow up and give way because you would not be able to see them
. That was the rule in the city [give way] to cars trying to get on to the main road from a minor road. it was only our ever victory over the French driver, it was even funnier if two of us trucks were very close together. Sad but true all the bumps would be in the fast lane not ours All though it was a free way, we always stick in the slow lane
Yes I was given the insight of what to do and very pleased I was of having been given information, by the other driver also he said do not worry if you catch sight of a aeroplane going overhead, as the Auto route [motorway] goes under the runway of the Charles de Gaul Paris Airport, and many times I have seen planes going over the road in fact after time you took no notice but for then it was a sight…
Also he told me the Motorway signs are very different from ours in ENGLAND because they will show you mileage[in kilometres] and place names miles away from where you are however they are excellent to follow if you are going long distance example=signs showing all routes ,from where you have come from, as if to give you the chance to turn around and go any direction.
the signs show places a long distances away from Paris however they were the main and only routes.
Bordeaux direction to [Spain]
Marseilles v [ Italy ]
Nice v [ Italy]
Perpignan v [spain]
Calais. v6 [ GB]
LYON [F] another important sign .swiss.
What I am trying to say is that so as long you know your final destination you will never go wrong they all give you a 360.chance of turning around ,and when you enter France from other boarders Paris is always signed from where every good French thinking …signposts…
I hope you have grasped as what I have tried to explain …., back to going in to the Rungis market
now the nightmare does begin.
As Rungis is the biggest wholesale market of all the products imported you can imagine into France
it is like its own city, with restaurants/bars buses, and it is serviced by the major roads sign posts to all places in Europe ,it puts you in the right direction from there, as they know most of the trucks will go out to deliver all over France ,however I did not know any of this, I managed to follow the other driver in to the market, and we had to go and pay a entrance fee, it was all very new. once done at the barrier ,we went down to the customs parking bays well !it was like the biggest area you could imagine all numbered with a letter then a numeral. I later over time, found that there were maps of the market in the bars but the locals did not need them ,so hardly anyone knew…
I was taken up to the agents office about 5 floors up and presented the paperwork and we were both told we could be to late for to days market, meaning the customs had stopped clearing trucks for today [.clearing ]means processing the paper work and making sure all monies have been paid b
1983/4. First job at rokold fridge work. Other company name VHB EUROPEAN ROBIN EAST.
It was a Sunday afternoon about 2 o clock the phone rang, it was MR Webb [Alan] he said you have got the job sorry for the delay Would you be in for 6 0clock Monday evening also bring your sleeping bag, we like all the drivers to have their passports with them at all times so that as well I had a passport why do I need a passport ??so that gets the old brain working. [no computers then or else i could have googled Rokold.] I would have to wait until Monday night.
It was a 22mile drive, using back roads to Northampton from my village slower drive than the main road but shorter distance less petrol.
Time to leave home, I had sandwiches and flask, not that much cash I took a sleeping bag pillow wash bag. Just in case [famous last words].
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I arrived at the depot and the nice new lorry is not there, but a older D A F make of truck a 2800 model a smaller cab ,”not a big sleeper cab” it had 2 bunks also had was a 3 axles unit[truck front end .
I walked around the back of the trailer and Alan,[the boss] is in the back of the trailer helping push up pallets to the front with a pallet truck of the trailer with another man ,as the forklift went back in to the warehouse I was at the back of the trailer i shouted up “Hello”, they were both chattering away and the noise of the pallet truck being pushed up on the metal floor, it sounds like a rumbling train, the other chap looks round ,[as if to say what the do you want] he nudges Alan and points to me , not saying anything,.
Alan turns and comes to greet me, with his hand out stretched to shake my hand [again] I only seen him 3 days before ,I was not used to handshaking, he said his greeting ,then asked me to jump on up into the trailer , not the easiest thing to do , but with some scrabbling I manage it, usually they use the fork lift, but I was ■■■■■■■■ trained not to JUMP ON FORK LIFTS, [THAT WAS SOON TO GO]
He then introduced me to TOM who was the driver of the lorry Alan said he would be showing me the ropes, however I could tell that TOM did not want to know ,however he shook my hand rather limp, like a wet fish so I gave his hand a good squeeze like as if to say ■■■■ you too, another pallet arrived to the back of the trailer we then all 3 of us pushed it in to position , the trailer was getting full what looked like all kinds of vegetables, and boxes Tom and Alan carried on with their chatter ,but not with me involved they were talking double Dutch as far as I understood , using foreign sounding words in sentences .[they were place names]i found out later . after a while the trailer was loaded, we all jumped down off the back of the trailer then the last two pallets were pushed on with not a lot of room to spare for the trailer doors to be closed Tom shut the doors then went to the front of the trailer and started the engine for the fridge that kept all the produce inside the trailer at the required temperature [another new procedure for me to learn.
I went in the office with Alan he took my p45 then told me about the duties, and hours and pay ,and that it was as temporary position that could lead up to permanent, however they as a company use mostly owner drivers[with their own tractor units] to do the majority of work ,and used the companies trailers , the company only have 3 lorries of their own, and they are utilised by casual drivers mostly [part time firemen]on their leave to cover a lot of their work .
He told me i would work sometimes 5 days ,6 days, or 2 days whatever the requirement , it was paid as a monthly salary ,it would be the same pay so do not worry if you have days not at work .[as I found out later you make up for it] they gave you £50 for expensive s for anything you had to pay for while on company work, also if you had a night out away from home that would be paid in to your wages tax free.
If the company get really busy, they would hire another tractor unit, as they have a new job delivering to a super market, and will need me as a extra driver.
Also they take on European work when required that could be without notice, however I would be shown the procedures by going out with another driver first, it would be with a owner driver it looked promising for me if the truth was known then [I should have went out and gone home and forget about the job,] but I did not and ended up driving about 21 years on the continental untill 2002/3[however I did not know it then]
It was like a new challenge and 100% different from the road haulage that I was used to i would give it a go.
Tom was slightly, you could say, grumpy, but I do understand now [then I did not] that it was a pain in the arse having a driver with you let alone a new one like me, at least we both smoked so that was all right.
We eventually left NORTHAMPTON apparently we were already running late for a timed booking to unload at Hemel Hemp-stead at a food store distribution centre ,it was over a one hour drive, and the company we were delivering to were strict on time for booking times at 9o clock at night , Tom told me.
This is going to be a different work environment I am embarking on
Tom was driving he pushed the truck to its limits not at the required 58 mph then on the Motorways .
I must say this is the first time I have ever been working at night time in all my previous driving years I had no idea that there was such a amount of trucks working on nights ,it was unheard of unless you were employed as a night driver and not many were ,times are changing it is 1982.
We arrived at the delivery I was all eyes watching the procedures that tom went through and there were many as the pallets were loaded right to the back doors, you would not be able to back the articulated lorry down[on a slope] to get backed on to a unloading bay ,as when you hit the stops [ you knew when you were backed on the loading bay a green light came on ,from red ]on the warehouse wall /unloading dock, the red light came on telling you to stop.] you could see in your review mirror .
As the pallets were loaded at the back of the trailer you had a problem ,a ramp inside would not come down, that allowed the people inside to move in and out of the trailer to take pallets off, you had to drive the lorry off the unloading bay, with the doors open and pinned back to back to where you started from, then go into the warehouse and ask if they would use the outside fork lift truck to take the back two pallets off,
then you would be able to do the original move again, if!![1]if you could find the fork lift driver . [2] he was not obliged to do it. [3] he would for a small price£5 He would take them off and deposit them inside the warehouse via the door you should have been backed on i found out all this in a matter of 10 minutes.
First lesson learnt do not leave the base if the pallets are rammed up to the back trailer doors, and make sure there is a restraining strap around them [why did we leave like it then] Ahh! Tom had got the hump and he forgot, While all this is going on, other lorry’s coming in the area where we are trying to get unloaded outside ,to then go back on to the bay we just come off however this chap wanted to go where we wanted to go, as he must have thought we had just come off the unloading dock finished unloading[wrong], I kept back and let Tom deal with it I found out he had a very usefully tongue on him and would not back off, eventually the pallets were unloaded, we pull off the bay ,close the rear doors then we are able to get on with the journey and drive down into London ,as I was look at the delivery tickets [notes] we had i asked Tom ,what are Samples?? to Baker street.that is by Kings Cross Rail Station in Baker Street, LONDON
It is Sainsbury head office, It is samples of all the fruit and veg that the a company wants to sell to Sainsbury, it is produce for their quality control of products sold in stores of Sainsbury it is either accept or rejected, it is for the next nights delivery’s to Sainsbury depots apparently this is the way they have been doing it for years.
The only problem is that we were on the wrong side of the main A 40 road from Oxford to London, streaming with cars, we had to carry on find a place to turn around ,so were able to drive down to outside the office doors and the best of all you just leave it in the door foyer ,with a lot of other goods, you do not get it signed for you, we now have to go around again as our next deliver is Spitalfields market in the city ,I did know where it was as you passed it every day as it was on a main transit route towards tower bridge, I had no idea it was a indoor fruit market.
At this point if I start to tell you the roads we used to get into places within the city of London I would need a A to Z map.
Once inside the Spitafields market, it was built for horse and carts a absolute night mare, a mass of wire cages that people had all there produce in ,there were only a few fork lift drivers around and Tom taught me the art of Spitalfields Market .
He told me never drive inside ,stay outside, and walk in, have a look to see if you will be able to get to the stall you want to get to, once in there you will not get to be able to drive out until all the lorry in front of you are unloaded it is a rabbit warren of small lanes and a working area for hand carts …I was for ever gratefully for Toms knowledge that night believe me.
.Once you drove in and parked at the stall you walked around and found the forklift man then you told him who you were delivering to how many pallets and give him £5 for him to unload your pallets apparently they were all independent men on the fork lifts who owned them, I have no idea I suspect the forklifts are for all people to use free, it was soon sorted that was £10 in less than 2 hours spent on using forklifts[all money used in market or any other work to get unloaded or loaded was repaid by the company.
When finished inside there we then went to the worlds most smallest market in LONDON called THE BOROUGH just over London bridge
.
Another EDWARDIAN MASTERPIECE inside the entrance there is a[ open all hours pub], inside the market , what a place to get inside the market, we use the same wholesaler at every market also they had their own fork lift driver they are called “Porters” after they have seen your delivery notes, [another load of the laziest ■■■■■■■■ you ever met ] you never had to pay them…well not on a week day, however as I learnt later on ,when you went to deliver on a Sunday night there was not the slightest sign of man or beast to be seen one fork lift was left out for all the drivers to unload themselves, as they were all in the pub in the market the pup is still there this day, you drove out a different way than you drove in.
It was about 2am by now we set off for the next Market New COVENT GARDEN at a place called “nine elms “just passed Vauxhall bridge, tom let me drive I found out later on that he had been up and working since 9am Monday it was now TUESDAY 3.30am
I was shown short cuts around London city streets and how to arrive at the Markets you have to pay a entrance fee to get in Covent garden ,£3 [all lorry s] T he company had regular customers there.
This is now another world very noisy ,every other word[■■■■] most of the men are dressed in the same type clothes, flat caps, brown boots it looked as if it was a uniform at least the men at the stall are pleased to see us ,well ,Tom.
they did not speak to me when they put the pallet truck upon the trailer and we start pulling loaded pallets of all kinds of fruit to the back of the trailer they are taken away in to their store, after a time we are putting full loaded pallets back on. [strange] I push them up to the front of the trailer, after a cup of tea and a sandwich from the market café we made our way out.
By this time we have left the market and back over the north side of the Thames I am driving and Tom tells me to head for HESTON by Heathrow airport and wake him up as we pass the service station, he is soon well asleep and I am driving past Harrods on the A40 I had never been this way before. Lots of people still around at 4 30 am what are they doing, god knows certainly not working
I wake tom up he has been asleep on the bottom of the bunk he jumps up as if he has been mugged, wow!! tom it is me I shout its Vic, we are at the Heston services on the M4 sorry he said
he was dreaming ,he told me to drive to the next exit and come off the Motorway and go to the market well signposted.
At the gate the guard ask where is my delivery how many pallets, Tom shouts 4 only, to some name, and I drive around the market to about the last [pitch] market stall and park up, we both jumped out of the cab , tom told to me open the trailer doors and a fork lift will be right here with a pallet truck tom went inside the market.
I started to pull all the remaining pallets to the rear of the trailer the forklift truck took them away we went to another stall with 1 pallet and then we were empty, it was by now 6am and the market traders were streaming in their vans, Tom came back closed the back doors he said to me quick as you can drive out of the market and head for home.
Once out of the mad house Tom told me it was a regular thing for whoever unloaded at Fen and Hexton the stall we were delivering to in Covent garden you will load up any pallets they have to be delivered to the Heston market for them and do not say anything as it was a arrangement between Alan at the office and them .
We arrived back to Northampton me driving Tom was fast asleep I parked up woke Tom up and went home as no one else was around. I found out later was Tom slept in his lorry as he had another delivery job to do at lunch time I had first learned about the procedure of Double Manning a lorry,
“Explanation”
This is about the driving hours and duty hours of one driver =
A driver can be on duty for 15 hours in one 24 period.
Within that period, he can drive literally drive for 10 hours.
But must take at least 2x30 minutes rest period within that 10rs.driving.
And the rest of 5 hours is for unloading whatever
This is a basic explanation.
After the 15 hours duty a driver must take a 9 our rest period.
All these hours have different combinations of how you do them, and how much they were fiddled.
Before any driver moves anywhere in the lorry by law he must complete, his vehicle checks, oil water tyres, excreta then you must fill in the Tachograph you start writing in the top spaces of the Tachograph provided you have to use a pen placing your name ,where you are [town]etc and the currant reading of the speedometer mileage However if you are double manning you must both put a completed Tachograph card in the Tachograph head that has 2 compartments you must put the same mileage and place of start. [[this will be exploited later]]
A tachograph is a piece of carbon type of paper card easier marked both side so you have to be gently with it, it has a complex series of broken lines printed on and marked as the 24 hour clock.]It records just like a graph [used in lie detector tests] or a doctors heart monitor print out ,it records every movement the lorry makes ,the slightest forward or backward movement on the tachograph disc , once it is inserted [the disc] the only way you can cover any illegal movement is just remove
the disc, throw it away, and start again and take a chance of not getting caught.
Tachograph insertion=
On the tachograph inside the dashboard ,you turn a small key and it opens up [like a ladies powder compact] and it is hinged and it pulls back about6 inches away from the dashboard ,and it splits in to two compartments, when looking in the back all you see is very fine needle pints sticking out but they are retracted so then you get your paper round disc tachograph that has a circle cut out in the middle that you push gently over a protruding knob .that is if you are driving on your own
If you are what is called double manning, two drivers in the same cab on the same run you put another tachograph in the other compartment now they are separate but in the same place as the protruding knob goes through both [well sort of] so what it means all the lorry movement however minuet will be recorded on both the discs at the same time. Anything connected to the electrical power source to the tachograph will be recorded. Like fuses being pulled I will elaborate on the fiddling later…
The regulations were always interpreted in different ways at different company s.
Drivers ARE their OWN worst enemy when breaking the law. It was worse than a minefield.
If it suited you as a driver you did it right or wrong we used to exploit our self sometimes for the company glory, bragging rights various reasons .to be talked about status and best of all of all you never stop moaning about it and never tell the truth lying you were skilled at because a transport office wherever you worked would never every tell you the full story or the truth I took me years to learn, not quite all but a lot, you learned something new every day However more later I have jumped the gun, as I have only just done my first run.
This was in 1980s it all has changed dramatical I arrived home and i really enjoyed it, it did not seem like work the hours and pay did not then seem to matter I realised we had been double manning.
After getting home from my trip with Tom I did not get a phone call until Wednesday would i be in for 1 pm .
I put the same gear in my car and got there for 1pm and the brand-new truck was in the outside loading bay with it refrigerated unit roaring away.
I later found out it takes a while for the fridge unit to cool the goods and trailer down to the required temperature that the goods inside should be transported at and to be excepted at the delivery point, where they would have a quality control person checking all the goods coming off at their premise ,that is why the refrigerated unit on the trailer is running hours before you leave, as to get the produce down to the accepted temperature.
[very important] then though it did not mean so much as I was not really aware of the importance however I would soon learn.
As I walked towards the office to see Alan, a man I had seen briefly when I was at the interview was there, he said to me, can I help you, i replied, I would like to Alan ,why he asked ,I explained to him who I was, he said to me please just hold on a minute ,he went into the office and closed the door.
After a while Alan came out and said to me Vic,! I am really sorry ,but I should have employed another man, not you and the boss, who you have just seen Mr Robin East is fuming at me because he wanted a younger man than you.
Alan asked me to go and have a coffee elsewhere give him half a hour and then come back. i was mad but did not show it and off I went.
I went back to the office and it had all been sorted out, Alan told me your job is safe ,a hand shake ,in comes MR East another handshake ,and welcomed me into the company.
I thought , do not ■■■■ it up ,do as your told and learn ,and that is what I did, they gave me the keys to the new truck outside and off I go, with the biggest grin in Northampton ,if only my old mates could see me now, yes I know it is only a lorry however one of the best then in England…one delivery only on the other side of Birmingham ,do not forget the empty pallets the last words said to me ,then come back here ,fill up and then go home.
I arrived at the supermarket depot delivery warehouse after a bit of a run around but arrived there in the end it is difficult to get it right first time or even second, [ finding delivery places] lots of other lorry s waiting all with their fridges roaring away I checked the temperature gauge is hovering on + 4 that was right ,well that is what I was told ,I thought nothing of it.
Walking up to the outside security office with my loads delivery notes still grinning, hand them in. then I came down to earth with a ■■■■■■■ great bang Your late !!, you have missed your delivery slot .
No one told me it should have been 3 pm.
No wonder it was a ■■■■ up at the depot all I could do was wait for a [slot] = [ term used for getting a unloading bay to back on to if there is time or if someone else is late]
The security man said they would see when they could get me in it maybe 9 o clock tonight I waited, and i learned that to have something to eat and drink
and to read was the way to go…
Eventually I get unloaded, the empty pallets are put back on the front of the trailer. [[Two mistakes I made however I did not know it at the time,]]i drove home to the depot filled up with diesel at the public garage, with the company s card, hid the card and put the keys where I was told to ,I had parked up, no one was around , I arrived home around 2am.
On the way home I am starting to think about the hours I have done for basic pay and trying to think is this the right thing to be doing, and I am trying to talk myself out of doing what I am doing, something I am fairly good at most times I have got this thing in my head that the work and job, also the time off is it worth it, the new lorry s , plus clean job, just pushing a few pallets around clean clothes. I have made my mind up , there are no more jobs around in transport I am lucky to be working get on with and just do it.
There is a phone call at home around11 am ,asking me to come in please ,i collected my gear together and drove to work arriving around 1pm Alan asked me to come in to the office,
I went in and I could tell something is not right
,
Vic, what about the pallets, !![Alan]
What about them they were on the front of the trailer,
Yes [Alan]
well,
you are ten pallets short also they are not the correct pallets. [Alan],
Alan what are you talking about when I left the lorry this morning at 2am there were 15 pallets in that truck /
Are you 100%sure [Alan
yes of course I am i might be new here ,but I have not had the pallets, where would I get rid of pallets ,look at my Tachograph I came straight back here from the delivery, from the other side of BIRMINGHAM
After he had checked the graph over, he apologised he told me to go home we have no work tonight for you so it is all o k ,they found out much later that a man from the warehouse team was coming in early a taking the pallets to sell, at that time there was big money in pallets.
PALLETS=
A pallet must have 9square blocks of wood about6 inches all round. 1 at each corners and the others in the middle. and the slats of good wood about a 1inch gap on the top so they are solid and the underneath have just wider gaps and less slate so the pallet can take a 1 metric ton in weight good for a 1 for 1 exchange when at whare -houses.
The other system is the same pallets that are painted blue and are made by a company called GKN and are governed by a 1 for 1 system also a tickets system ie=if you leave 20 or later 21 pallets at a warehouse and they cannot give you the same in return ,you then get a stamped ticket saying that you are owed them pallet and they were transferable at any depot in the country. or you can go to a pallets collection yard and collect that number of pallets from them, only G K N yards ,however there was a black market trading in blue pallets as well as ordinary ones ,country wide ,CASH.
Also there were the fruit pallets that the fruit was imported from Spain, excreta they were flimsy good for nothing however if you did not keep at eye on what people were giving you in exchange you would end with some, and when you went to re exchange them you were basically ■■■■■■ and you own fault. But over time as it went on for me you got very good at dealing with pallets .
There was a lot of money in 20 pallets, then1983/4£ 60+ black market.
Well! that is sorted and the blue pallets system is massive every product that needs pallets are on G KN blue pallets not just Europe the world.
Work seemed to pick up as it was nearly every night I would be doing market runs or a late supermarket delivery to their main distribution depots also I got to meet and see the other driver s and the owner drivers who worked for the company all the owner drivers were all clean and smart, the same as their tractor units .
I had no idea that men were doing regular runs [trips ] to Spain and bringing all kinds of fresh and frozen goods back to the UK they would talk about the ferry ports they used ,driving through FRANCE down to the Spanish boarder .
They were mentioning all kinds of names of Spanish and French places they went to , to unload or reload ,talking about customs procedures ,delays border hold ups, police stops, getting fined in FRANCE, all kinds of what to me at the time was a new type of job.
A few of the other drivers were very young just 21 years old, no driving experience at all ,even I could tell that they had not done any haulage company driving at all, just the way they were however they were there the same as me it was nothing to do with me. they were very friendly with Alan as if mates i did think well, that could be my downfall but I would have to wait and see.
Two of the drivers were full time firemen and drove for the company on their 4 days off, my next thought was? not a lot of future in this job for me as they do not need the job they get a nights work and not me ,no wonder the pay was not extra for nights. But as men they were adaptable and would help when needed what I did not realise was that if I stayed at home for 4 nights I was still getting paid ,not being used to a monthly salary it took me a time to not bother if there was no work for me.
The company seemed to me to have quite a lot of new trailers but not with the name painted on so after a time I got to know that they were all hired from a big trailer rent company on a monthly basis all this new to me, some of the tractor units were the same even the nice blue painted D A F
so what it meant in company terms they did not own anything all hired this was a completely new idea of working so they could just fold up and move on. also a lot of the owner drivers were doing the same hiring trailers ,and tractor units.
THE REFRIGERATED TRAILER.= THIS IS LATER ON WHEN I WAS ON FRIDGES PERMANENT==LIKE A SHORT HISTORY OF WHAT FRIDGES WERE USED FOR AND HOW WE LOADED THEM WHEN I WAS A DRIVING.
The trailers built before 1983/4 had just a fridge unit control box on the front side of the fridge and all the workings and blowers on the inside of the trailer ,so if you looked in side the trailer from the back doors at the front you would have seen a metal blower fan unit sticking out, just about the size of a modern set of two Chester draws hanging down from the front sticking about 2 foot out ,meaning that you were not able to push pallets right to the front headboard flat they would have to be half size, sif you had boxes you would have to take half of them off in the trailer ,push the other to the front under the fridge blowers ,then try to re stack the rest around the blowers , the ones you were left with you would re-distribute on the pallets as they were in the trailer …meaning no matter how tired you were you had to be with the loading all the while…
The next awkward thing was the meat hooks meat hooks yes, each fridge had meat hooks .i had completely no idea how or when they were used and by what or why, I knew that there were about 330 meat hooks hanging down along 5 rails in the roof of the trailer, what was holding them up I do not know [I still wonder today what was unseen in the fridge roofs] , the meat rails were like [example]- if you look at a zip any zip, undo it and look at the sliding thing ,one is attached to the zip and the other not look down at the side not attached ,and you see the hole that you attach the other piece of the zip to, turn it towards you and you see [like a rail]. The thin gap, that is what the meat rails were like and you threaded the meat hooks along the thin gap from the door end ,to where you wanted them all at the front out of use and the way. Along these rails the whole length of the roof ,at intervals attached ,were small steel clips that you could put down inside the rail to stop the hooks from sliding back or forward ,these were very important Especially when we were loading all the different meats.
FRIDGE SIZE AND WEIGHTS.
The first fridges were on 2 axles,[8wheels] on the rear a Fridge box trailer.
[ The cooling system] inside on the front of the trailer.
A steel ribbed floor , thick heavy doors and side walls, Overall weight with tractor 17.000k gs[17 tons].
Around 19834/5 new fridge trailers arrived ,with 3 rear axles ,singular tyres new type refrigerated unit outside , fitted on the front of the trailer a lightweight chassis, flat [not ribbed] chequered steel floors with visible screw heads, also a thin steel holed strip attached to the side wall to put restraining bars in [ to hold loads back from falling] they were about 4 foot high off the floo.
Later they built under slung boxes underneath the trailers to hold 24 empty pallets and the meat hooks in plastic boxes. and various other features as years went on and of course the lighter the trailers weighed the better. in the end there was no chassis as of now very lightweight, that was the ultimate aim years ago lighter net weight higher pay load.
I AM GOING A BIT FORWARD IN MY STORY,HOWEVER IF I DESCRIBE THE USE OF THE FRIDGES,AND PRODUCTS WE /I CARRIED AND TRAILER DEVELOPMENT YOU WILL HAVE SOME IDEA ?
I will just start with the loading of all meat , carcasses were loaded not by the driver at all it was done at the abattoirs by loaders [porters] ,it was a very hard job ,you would not have wanted to have loaded meat then have to do your driving work ,it was all ways very clinical ,we had to wash the trailers out with high powered jet washes, either before arriving at the abattoir , or when there using their power wash that all abattoir had also the temperature of the trailer had to be cooled down inside the trailer if possible before loading as you backed on to a loading bay that is cooler inside the abattoir than outside temperature where all the meat is cooled down in the large holding fridges ready for loading , the trailers were meticulously inspected by [ 1] the VET, [2]A MINISTRY OF HEALTH INSPECTOR NOW [ M. A F. F] before any loading took place at all.
DIFFERENT MEATS EXPORTED I CARRIED
BEEF= steers breed especial for eating fore quarters [front legs /shoulder …
Hind quarters [rear leg]1animal could weight 1 ton [1000gks]
COW BEEF,= OLD MILKING COWS. AS ABOVE SLIGHTLY LIGHTER.
SHEEP,LAMBS= to FRANCE SWITZERLAND, BELGIUM .HOLLAND GERMANY. ITALY. GREECE.
EWES. MUMS. = MUTTON. LARGE size 3 to 4 years old for ITALY SPAIN. A very fatty product.
PIGS, =FAT OLD SOWS,LARGE. For ITALY, SPAIN. GERMANY. FRANCE.
PIGS=SMALLER =BACON,HAM. For SPAIN. ITALY ,AUSTRIA .FRANCE
BOAR MEAT,= HAD TO BE TRANSPORT SEPARATIVE FROM ANY OTHER MEAT, AS VERY ODOROUS .Mostly loaded that in Germany for ITALY
BULL MEAT=ALSO CARRIED ON THERE OWN. MOSTLY to Italy
SOME TIMES BOXES OF ALL GAME BIRDS, VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF WOOD -PIGEON ALSO VENISON NOT HUNG UP BUT STACKED UP BECAUSE IT WAS FROZEN
WHEN LOADED FOR ITALY, FROM ANY COUNTRY YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE MIDDLE HANGING RAIL EMPTY,SO AS THE VETS COULD WALK ALL THE WAY DOWN THROUGH THE LOAD TO CHECK WHAT YOU HAD ON THE LORRY CORRESPONDED WITH THE PAPER WORK,THEY WERE LITTLE ■■■■■■ IN OTHER WORDS ABSOLUTE ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ WOULD HOLD YOU UP TO 2 DAYS.
It was because the way the meat markets were going if more imports were in the country, the local prices would be higher . Without imports ,it would not be only me waiting there would be up to 20/30 lorry s, waiting to unload all over a ITALY .however if you were in Transit ,going outside ITALY, to GREECE for delivering you would soon be out of the customs /vet the Italians call their vets doctors, so the first time I went there I took me ages to find out what were they on about…
Basically we took fresh chilled hanging meat all over Europe most frozen meat that was what was called INTERVENTION [remember the butter ,wine mountains] yes ,there was a meat mountain but it all went abroad ,we never got the benefit of it, when ROMANIAN was free1989, trucks from the UK took loads of meat to GERMANY to cold stores close to the old east German boarder that was then transferred from the cold stores to the ROMANIANS they had very poor lorry to take it back to ROMANIA.
when you saw what a sorry state the men [drivers ]were in and their pathetic lorries they had absolutely nothing, not even cups to drink out of they used old tin cans or jam jars ,we drivers all give loads of tinned food and all old clothes even some dirty washing of ours to them. I will elaborate later…
That was later on I will go back to 1982/3
Work seemed to be very busy, I did get a lot of the evening or whole nights work, but I never minded as it got me learning more about markets and the way they worked, I have been in Covent garden unloading and I would see another Rokold company trailer ,unloading ,naturally I would go over to see who it was and it was rarely any one I knew it would be a owner driver on contract using his own tractor unit and pulling a Rokold trailer .
I get chatting -as you do ,well I did ,and the response would be the same from the other driver, ohh are you one of the Northampton temps !i used to say yes, yes !I am the new boy just started driving , just finding my feet and then move to the lorry I was driving away from him. And leave it at that, and go about my other deliverers.
One afternoon and I was asked to be in for 5 pm and bring your gear with you your washing gear, change of clothes, sleeping bag and passport , that was all I was told.
I parked my car ,Alan came over to me and told me ,when you get back tonight there will be a owner driver here , you are going with him on a trip to Holland.
You have a short run tonight! and will be back easy as far as time, I thought this is the start, and it was, the driver PETE he seemed fine he explained it all where we were going ,it sounded unbelievable [at the time it was for me], first we did the tachographs ,and I said what about the 5 hours I have done on this disk, he said ohh just put it away, no one will give a ■■■■ about a quick trip you have just done.
First time I had done anything illegal with the tachograph , I was learning…
His trailer was loaded with a few delivers at the markets once we were empty we started to make our way down to Dover for shipping out on the Townsend Thorsen Zeebrugge ferry.
It must have been around 4am when he pulled into a lay by and he said its time for a kip[sleep] the cab had two bunks, normal in most lorry s that did European trips .
It seem after 5 minutes and Pete was up ,and he had the small gas cylinder stove with a kettle boiling on small wooden shaped shelf that fitted on the dash board, I was completely amazed ,undeliverable ,and he said I only have coffee, that is fine I said bursting for the toilet.
Next, still amazed, he had a small type of mesh with a wooden handle and was toasting some bread if you can make tea ,coffee and toast ,what more do you want .
I later on found a device for toasting bread on the small gas stove, you can by them today 2014called a DEFUSER. Look it up.[goggle].
After having the snack/breakfast he educated me by telling me that is how you live once abroad you look after yourself you use all facilities provided by factory’s or border service stations wherever you can ,he said hygiene is not our standard in some countries but always remember ,that it is you that is the foreign visitor in another country and if you respect that you will get along fine
I did ask about the Tachograph card and he said we are starting fresh from where we are ,he took the two tachograph discs out of the tachograph head and tore them up he said if you do not get a police check through the night, then no one else is checking lorry s [or so everyone thought], who knows what you are doing where he booked off on his previous card I did not worry.
I was only a second driver he said he would just use his tachograph card and use mine later if needed when we get back in Dover that meant we now had 15 hours to do collection and get back to a port for the ferry back to Englan
DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR SHIPPING OUT ON A FERRY.
SHIPPING OUT =meaning going to Europe with a load of goods.
First piece of paper or booklet you needed was a TRAILER GARNET. That is the trailers own passport. it is a customs required document for all Country’s in Europe. It means that temporary excise duty has been paid. And the chassis number is used as well as whatever number the company uses for their own purpose and it cannot be changed, also on the trailers front are two photographs of the trailer in sealed plastic holders also legal requirement however [never needed in England by our U.K .trailers however all foreign lorry s within the U.K.] needed them ,but I must point out at that time in the 1980s early 1990s that EUROPEAN lorry s driving over in the U. K. was very limited as Self drive i.e. foreign drivers actually driving.
shipped over
Next stop the ticket office then passports to be shown .
Two drivers one lorry, you will have to pay for the extra bunk bed and food , Apparently when the ticket was booked, two drivers were not mentioned.[i could be a hitch hiker]
They rang the office to get conformation it was 2 drivers It was all-right in the end however I did produce my HGV but they still wanted conformation,
that practice was in still force all the years I crossed the channel from whatever port and country , a named passenger ,for a second drivers ticket… to stop people even then bringing any one to the UK ,because if there was any problems , with the police ,immigration abroad, and trying to get in here the fall back was the Ferry company they were held responsible…
So then round to the customs, having no goods to clear a “transit empty “form has to be filled in and stamped as Belgium is in Benelux there are different boarder controls needed ,not a lot. so it is easy to enter and transit. Then off down to queue up for boarding ,there were two types of ferries for Zeebrugge one freight only ,slower and limited cabins .and the other normal but smaller than now roll on ,roll off that was a faster crossing ,as drivers ,we also had a bunk and drivers only eating lounge.[privilege].L
Loading of the lorry s was a job done by shore staff on the dock and once inside by the ships crew
……=…
,[[just a diverse peace of information, what I did not know at the time when I was using… TOWNSEND THORRESON ,AND LATER P and O ferries to ZEEBRUGGE one of my old ship mates was working on the same ships as a bosun, quartermaster .and we never bumped into one another .we were definitely on the same ferry at the same time as when the HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE SANK IN THE ZEEBRUGGE HARBOUR on march the 9th 1987 WE HAD BOTH CAME OVER THE DAY BEFORE IN ANOTHER FERRY. And we did not meet up un till 2005 .He was a lucky man as crews used to rotate to the two different ships .i did not know of anyone personally who died.
So the ships crew parked you up then proceeded to put chains on the lorry from the deck to stop any movement. Then out we got, went up the stairs to the drivers compartments, and I can tell you I am, ecstatic I never ever thought I would set foot on a ship again ever. just being there brought a lot of memories back[good ones] but I did not let on to PETE he would not a given a rats arse anyway. It did not take long to suss him out , a Ladies man. when round the table eating he never stopped flowing from him .where he had been what he did. chatting to the stewardesses , we went to our cabins and had a sleep for 3 hours how bad was that, and getting paid for it ,well that was the way you had to look at it .I could not believe that for years some drivers had had jobs like I was now privy to ,not all that ■■■■ we used to do, and a lot of them were young men. Well good luck to them but I was envious of them that is all they new ,i expect it was the luck of the draw where you lived and the company you worked for.
After the sleep up for tea and sandwich all free. And then duty free ,what a bonus. But did say to me
be careful how many cigarettes you buy as you are only allowed 200 hundred that is the U K. limit
also you can buy them on the passage home, also all the men buying large quantities of cigarettes
are going home or on long trips ,not back to the UK like we will be so point taken and I waited for the return ferry. after a call over the ships T ANNOY “all drivers proceed to the lorry s”off we went.
Once down in the lorry deck there seemed a lot of lorry s to the amount of drivers who went up into the passenger area so I mentioned it to Pete ,ho arr , he said a lot of the men .do not leave their cabs they get in there own bunk and get to sleep quicker, also if there is a snorer in the same cabin you might just as well give up. Also you get longer in bed.
It did after time turn out to be a practice that all shipping company s on all routes rule out as a non practice to be used after the 1987 disaster at Zeebrugge ,in fact all drivers had to report with ticket to the stewards office .as the loss of drivers life s trapped in the cabs was very high .however `that was to come later.
So we start winding our way out of the ships bowl’s and into the ■■■■■■■ rain in a very orderly queue. For the first bend in the road , all lorry s from different countries I had never seen so many ,what I noticed straight away all the nice hellos heads nodding Pete telling me who was from where etc all smiles , as soon as we got off the ship it was one for all no quarter given horns blowing, Jesus they were like Jekyll and hide. When we eventually got parked up outside the customs and immigration office ,[all in one] it was like a football crowd coming out of a match. no order at all ,so I just stuck with Pete and no one was saying anything to each other ,it was strange however I was learning that was what I was there for.
Ye, I got my passport stamped. My first foreign stamp. They do not bother now ,well they did not years ago, for drivers.
First stop Pete said was diesel .it was the second cheapest in the Euro union , Luxembourg was the cheapest and it still is to this very day, how .■■■■ knows ,but it is.
He would not let me drive until I had got my eye in so to say, he told me.
After 10 minutes we were at the first garage, it was packed with nearly all the lorries off the ferry ,so we queued again ,I can see now why the big rush to get first was to get to the diesel stop first.
After years, I had got it all sussed out , driving down to Dover the more lorry s you overtook they would be behind you whatever queue in the dock you took I would more or less know if they were going for the Zeebrugge or Calais ,as the same companies usually kept to there regular trips to the same countries… you knew you would always be in front of them ,and be at the diesel tank stop n at ZEEBRUGGE before them, how? Because you would be in front of them in the queue at Dover and get on the ferry earlier than them, and we were mostly empty going in to Zeebrugge so quick customs at Dover, and better position on the ferry for getting off to the diesel and the horrible coffee. always luke -warm but drivers used to love it, afraid I never did.
It was the practice of all the different nationality’s while filling up was to have no sense of hurry at all ,they were like mad men to get to the diesel then once there they would put the fill up hose in the tank and ■■■■ off,[automatic fuel cut off]into the garage shop that had chairs, table, and free coffee and not a care in the world .i expect it was something I would have to get used to.
We were at lest 1 ½ hours there …mind you Pete was as bad as the others once at the diesel tank ,he was then speaking in pidgin English , lots of back slapping, and the now classic hand shaking ,it was like a epidemic, they were all shaking hands, if they knew one person, and you were near you all got a handshake .that was to me , well different, being English how many times in your life do you shake hands very little …it was a new form of greeting I would become very at ease with after time.
All I could hear was lots of WE!E, SAV!A,MESSU!E ] then unintelligible rubbish .it was if I had been transported to another world, however after time I found that the Belgians, and the French used a lot of the same words in their greetings language also handshakes .
Also the new smells of strange cigarettes , lots of different nick Knacks in the shop ,nothing English ,for a while yes ,i was like a kid in a sweet shop. You were able to buy all different kinds of goods for a lorry not seen in the U k mostly for owner drives. one thing did catch my eye was like the small well made wooden very neat table top ,that would fit around the inside of the windscreen like a small writing desk with little small draws ,for all the pens , on the passenger side of the cab i thought how good a idea. they were labelled up for all the European makes of lorry cabs.[[little did I know then that I would know more about them]…
There was a air of I will get going when I am ready! no sense of hurry at all ,as I could then see that Pete was blending in, I expect you do as they do !unless you were all on the same firm and running together or just widening his circle of [I met you before mates].?
When at last we made a attempt to get moving, the tank full of diesel all so the tank under the trailer that runs the fridge engine ,that uses RED diesel ,even more cheaper than England, as that diesel is tax exempt in England for Agriculture use only ,however it was used legally by hauliers using refrigerated trailers ,as no direct profit is made from it…[more on diesel later]
Once clear of Zeebrugge ,you never went through the actual town, I was on the learning look out, all the different signs ,road marking and of course wrong side of the road ,well for me, however it did not seemed normal ,well it was .Pete made a point for me to keep well sat back in my seat as not to block his view from the inside mirror .as that was his now important mirror for all his overtaking if he needed to.
The direction signs I were seeing were way far beyond the distance from where we going. I thought we were going into Holland I had no idea of where we were as Pete seemed to have no map and I did not have one however he knew the road and did not need a map we soon turned off the main highway [like our Motorways] and headed for Antwerp. I did notice that on top of the road signs there was a large green E number I found out later the E number on the signs are main transit through routes to all countries throughout Europe.
We passed a most famous truck stop [with EUROPEAN DRIVERS] called” Lokern “on the way out of Belgium towards the Dutch boarder The Boarder when we arrived was just like a pull in lay bye with a few brick huts [agents offices] and a coffee shop.
I followed Pete into a transit type large room with lots of open type rooms with uniformed female and male customs. immigration, Police all lounging around, all with a side arm not to busy, so Pete told me the procedures of entering Holland and what form to fill in and who to go to first then it followed on. Easy, He said nearly all boarders work on the same principle. Police Immigration, Customs.
If you were loaded, and delivering into Holland you had to use a AGENT to process your paper work Roklod company used the same AGENT at all Benelux country’s that means that there is a automatic payment account. As we were empty it was quick and straight forward piece of paper stamped up ready to hand to the gate man who lifted the barrier so you could region the main highway as we did, and me keeping well back in my seat as there were cars travelling fast along the road so Pete could see.
He told me that we had not far to go, I was rather disappointment I would have like to have gone for mile we did cross one massive bridge over like a lake/inland sea, the signposts coming up said to Arnhem the 2nd world war battle for the bridges it looked as if we were going near there so that kept me busy writing place names down. For future reference, there were hardly any trees, no hedges, all dykes, canals and lots of people riding bicycles not on the main road we were on but on the other country roads, Holland is known for bikes and tall people i can see why now it all looked rural and flat.
We soon arrived at our collection point all nicely flat sandy earth round the edges of the hard standing you could see the indentations in the base, where the lorry s have been backed on to loading bays overtime ,unstable ground.
The time was getting on and getting dark I was surprise that we would be loading at that time ,however we were on the continent and their work time patterns were different to hours , as years went by factory’s in the U. K did introduce continental work patterns much to the disappointment of the unions.
Pete seemed well known at the cold store [massive store holding all kings of deep frozen foods ] at temperatures minus -25 we were and loading different vegetables ,and they were ready on pallets. I was told we would not be long, then asked would I like a coffee, in the mess room, with some other Dutch- men and Pete, after another round of handshakes and grunts and black coffee out of a massive pump flask[ never seen one before] they did have a tin of carnation condensed milk , [nice and creamy also a big jar of sugar on the table [not in ENGLAND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STOLEN ] THAT,S US ALL OVER… ]and the smell of all the different tobaccos was ,intoxicating I loved it ,[THE HOME OF GOOD SMELLING TOBACCO]
made it taste better however Luke warm it was quite for a factory for its size, I could see through the door widow lots of workers with white coats and head scarf’s big good looking warm boots on , you could not tell whether they were male or female. they were sorting and packing chips on a conveyor belt .it looked cold in there however that was not the freezer just a packing line also I noticed a stand on riding, like pallet /fork lifts they were using to load our trailer another first the men were whizzing around with a loaded pallet on the front and they were standing on the back with a like a bicycle handlebar steering it. Another first, lots of factory s just about have a fork lift and all loading is done by hand [not now, after 1990s] we got modern.
After I had took as much of the new goings on in i went and found Pete back at the coffee he told me that we were not allowed in the loading area in some factory, you had to stay in your cab in 2013 you have to hand your keys in to a office [so I am told]. We are loaded so we are told and asked to pull of the loading bay and Pete lets me do it and close the doors. When they are shut we go round to the front of the trailer and he shows me how to work the refrigerated unit, all the dials and different functions I thought ■■■■ me, we have been sat about ■■■■■■■ around he could have given me the full tour of the fridge engine,[maybe he did not want me to know to much yet]?
So I get the basic of the fridge control workings, and then we go in and get the papers for the load and a very important paper called a C .M. R. ,That is the drivers legal travel document with the load it has all relevant in -formation typed on it, about 30 sections ,and it was never used in England ever ,unless like us delivering to England from Europe, then it is sealed up by the customs man,[ all the factories in Holland, Belgium, have a designated customs officer at the factory at all times] also the Benelux Country,s never bothered with the trailer garnet, so we were ready for the off .
Pete went and done his last handshaking routine ,i kept in the cab ,[load of ■■■■■■■■] it was now dark and I wondered if I would get a drive ,or do we park up, he said we will get back to the boarder do the customs ,and I could have a drive when we leave the customs after that was finished for the Dutch side all was required at the boarder was a entry stamp into Belgium and we would be on our way back to a ferry which ferry port I had no idea.
I noticed straight away how heavy the trailer seemed to be, but the tractor unit was more than able to cope with the weight so I just drove on, Once we were clear and out of the customs area we drove along a bit ,he said just keep a good lookout in you nearside mirror ,and keep in lane , now I am chuffed, and he said when you see the sign for Ostend turn on to that road do not follow BRUSSELES ,and then goes and lies down on the bottom bunk and leaves me to it i was thinking how many more hours are we going to be working??
we had two small breaks one for 7 hours before the ferry ,then the ferry 4/5 hours we had been working since 5pm on the Monday evening ,it was now 8/9 pm Tuesday evening, and we were not yet finished for the day , we had been working for 28 hours with a 11 break .total illegal and no time to do what you wanted yourself as if you were at home on a break…,i was beginning to have doubts about what I was letting my self in to .but I thought if this is what they do to get around Europe , I will have to give it a try it was certainly different from cattle trucks or dock work, clean work ,cheap ■■■■, just carry on and see how it goes…
As we neared the road junction for the turn off I gave Pete a call , we were now on the road to Ost-end and he started to move around ,where are we ,he said, I told him ,and he said just follow the Ost-end sign, and give me a shout when you start to get near the town you will see all the lights in the distance, and you will come to a service station as soon as you get in to the outskirts.
Now I had pulled in the parking area ,a few lorries parked up. Pete once up, ■■■ on the go, he told me the options we had,of what to do now, I asked what he meant, the Zeebrugge would have gone by the time we had got there, not another sailing untill8am, so,!the Ostend ferry goes at midnight,or we could go to Dunkirk, however you need a pre-booking number for a ticket ,where as Ostend, ,Zeebrugge,the company has two pre reserved tickets for every crossing ,guaranteed. It was a game of where do we get the most time off without moving the lorry.[time off]
So Ostend it is ,he lets me still drive , I am following instructions ,however I did see the signs to the ferry port clearly signposted through the town, to the port , we arrive at the gate Pete told me what to say ,then we parked up then go into the ticket office, where Pete tells the staff that he would like a[ Plug in ]on the ferry , yes “ok it will be done,” I have no idea what he was on about , I would find out later ,no handshakes, very different from Zeebrugge we collect our tickets, and then go to the loading bays for loading on the ship and wait
I then asked what PLUG IN was,=
It is when you want the refrigerated unit on the trailer to keep going to keep the temperature correct while you are on the ferry ,you switch off the diesel engine that runs the engine,and you then plug into a electrical socket at the bottom of the engine with a electrical cable supplied by the ship into the ships electrician system .The ships run on a DC system ,not like our houses that are AC. How it all works I still am not sure, however when the cable [ just like the caravan 3 pin system] is connected you have to be in attendance with the ships electrician, as YOU! have to make sure that the fan that the engine has on the front of the fridge unit ,is on the right phase, that it is sucking in air to cool and work the fridge and not blowing out i.e. sucking the cold air out from the inside of the trailer and blowing the minus-24 air out ,it was a common occurrence if not checked…all you did was to stand at the front ,of the trailer fridge unit and throw a piece of tissue paper up to the front grill air intake if it sticks to the front all was well it if blew away you had a problem.[i got to know all this later on] …as you had to wait for the electrician, that took time, you could be first on the ferry loading deck but the last to go up, or down as on the Ostend ferry’s for food or a bed…waiting for a electrician…
The diesel fumes would eventually leave the bottom decks and creep up to the others decks [also the other reason the noise, fumes if any drivers are sleeping in their cabs] another option was to turn the fridge off ,and take a chance that the frozen goods temperature did not drop to much, if you had a long distance to travel after leaving Dover the temperature would drop to the required one. The only thing was you were unable to open the trailer back doors to check the produce temperature as the customs seal was not undone until at the delivery, if you had a customs check in Dover ,that was frequent , they would reseal the trailer and mark the C .M. R. as resealed ,and it was not unusual for the customs to be at Cold Stores around the country and to be checking all European imported goods
history cont. SATURDAY…
We eventuality get to a cabin with 4 bunks ,after a meal at midnight- ish. We are soon roused by the banging of doors grunts and groans, up we get and troop in to the drivers room for yet again something to eat and coffee ,god not more coffee, it is all like a non stop unreal adventure for me ,it is something I had no idea at all existed [the work] how come it had been kept away from me ,it was just like being back at sea, all the unusual hours ,coffee and food at odd hour. a kind this is different it is not a job, it was not what you call regular, the whole package, and I liked it, out of the ordinary , I expect that sort of sums me up I do not like being put in to boxes, if that makes sense.
Lorry drivers are called ,over the ships tannoy (ships communication system}to proceed to their lorry’s, do not start you engine until told to by the ships crew , yeh ,all the foreigners under stood that, [not] The diesel fumes were terrible by the time we got down as the ferry had not berthed yet and the doors were not opened
Pete pulled the electrical lead out and switched the fridge back to diesel, but did not start it up that would wait until we were outside from the ferry, as the fridge used red diesel that gives out so much black smoke when started it is like a chimney on fire.
It think we must have had about 3 hours in bed, ,it was all a new way of working ,that was sure.
Once Pete had drove off the ferry you go through numerous checks. Boarder control customs. asking questions where country have you come from ,where did you load, what did you take out, when did you leave England, all relevant I expect even back then it was impossible to bring anyone into England without anyone knowing, and while you were inside doing the customs, there were customs men searching your cab ,for any contraband, 200 cigarettes ,and 1 bottle of spirits, 6 bottles of wine ,any anything else you should not have, ■■■■ was a instant arrest . and to get inside a load on a lorry as they do now was unheard of.
After I got more experienced I found out that problems escalate if you are not truthful to customs if you get caught with extra cigarettes and not declared them and do not want to pay the duty you are subjected ,” ell the lorry is “what they call [impounded] that means, your load does not get customs cleared until the whole load is taken and inspected in a loading bay by them. It was known to take a day sometimes, and if it was caused by you the drivers fault for smuggling ■■■■ or spirts too much beer you were in deep ■■■■ with any boss, as you would more than likely lose a delivery time and date also a fine for importing extra goods it was a big deal back then and tabaco was1pack of 6 sachets any more and big trouble for you the driver It did not happen to me i was not that daft .some did.
.Once clear of the interrogations from customs and immigration, every driver was treated the same ,the “port of Poole was the worst ”I found out as time went bye , we went and parked up, then you had to go and put you custom papers into a clearing office ,that was run by the clearing agents, however theses were only [runners]working for the agents that were at the other end of the dock, so it was them who took your paper work down to them, it could take 1 to 4 hours on a good shift
The clearing of paper work for any load is the payment of any duties needed to be paid by the importer for importing, so most companies use the agents who serve them best and the agents hold a monetary fund on the importers be -halve to pay the duties. However the money sometimes get used up before the end of each month, and that causes delays for loads to get customs cleared allowing the lorry to go to the delivery time slot they have [Sometimes after all the effort you put in to get the load back to a port so as you can meet a delivery time was a waste of your time.
It is now about 6 am with the hour turned back from continental time,[ your tachograph stays at UK time at all times] time for another sleep, we had had about 3 hours [rest -sleep]as the agents runner knocks your door if your load is cleared, so you can get your pass to exit the dock . now you have to go and get some stamps on your paper work from the dock -board to let you out the gate, no stamps =no exit. [stamps=franks like the post office use] not postage stamps…
Also Pete was doing some routine lorry checks before going on to the roads ,oil, tyres, lights ,flashers make sure the fridge has diesel and nothing hanging off, as he told me if you go out of the main gate at Dover on theA2 towards LONDON there are always Ministry of Transport checks along that road, so if your Tachographs are suspect, you go out to Folkstone and take a chance, there are not as many lay-by s to be pulled over along that road ,all though Folkstone was a busy cross channel port as well,[ more later]
By this time we were ready to leave and we left Dover behind, the time in my body clock was utterly upside down but it was getting near 12 noon and we were going back via Northampton as someone else was going to get the lorry unloaded for Pete while he went home also me.
It was about 4 in the afternoon when we arrived back at the depot .all handshakes all round,[again]i met another driver ,he did not look old enough to drive ,obviously he was, I collected my gear, said my goodbye , more [handshakes I have not got it yet] and home I go, still full of the experience I have just had. It must have been about 48 hours on duty.
It was then ,at that moment, I should have thought hang on !,i,!me!, have just worked ,like as if I was a owner driver, and that that lorry was mine , it was not.! think about the pay rate ratio- per hour you knob! ,work it out the money is ■■■■, dummy! But I did not, not one of those thoughts crossed my mind, I must have been star struck ,glory hunter, ■■■■■■! I remember getting home and I was full of it ,plus 200 cigarettes duty free ,bonus.
Life and work went on as usual not a lot of market runs for me it seemed to be supermarket timed delivers in different lorry s, and it was working all right however I did seem to be getting the Sunday run on a regular basis that was a job to get used to however I was now getting into the rhythm of not thinking what day it was ,a Sunday could be the same as a Wednesday, also the pay was the same, no extra for weekends and I had now excepted that as now normal, the same as the others that were not owner drivers but like me.
There were story’s going around by different drivers about other drivers .what they had done ,different countries they collected goods , all stories, however one Sunday at Northampton there was this “ left hand drive” D A F, English number plates in lorry terms it did not get much better, I had never seen anything like it, the driver was about my age ,well dressed ,as if on holiday, and he had brought a full load of Oranges from Spain.[[little did I know then]] we got chatting after the handshakes, and it turned out he was the longest serving driver ,and a employee like me, the lorry was Rokold s, it was the flagship as they called it ,a high -line cab perfect inside, i did sit in it, it felt funny left hand drive he did say that he was the only driver of that unit but sometimes when needed it was used by others just to do short jobs[GOD FORBID] I thought it must take years to get used to that.[left hand drive].
So my load was ready , more hand shakes, and away I go ,and get delivering ,that went as normal, no problems ,when I got back the yard was quite, I parked up and went home.
Next thing I know the phone was ringing 11 am ,down to answer the phone, I knew who it would be ,and I was right . Could I be back to Northampton by 2 o clock, without hesitation said yes ,it was not normal for me, but I had realised if I show willing, things would be good for me and I might progress on to the Continental work eventually .
Pete had asked if I could be his second driver again ,so I took a few extra clothes this time .
When I arrived it seemed as if he was waiting for me , but there was no lorry there ,none anywhere, only a old white Volvo car.
After hand shakes and small talk ,the story was we were both going in the car[the company drivers runabout] to a place called Lamberhurst in Sussex, where Pete s truck [not lorry now. a truck] was being loaded and it needed 2 drivers as it was a urgent load ,so off we go and go down the Motorway
next we know the car is chugging ,spluttering, running out of petrol, ■■■■ me ,we just left the yard next door to a petrol station, there should be a can in the back, Pete said, !yes there was ,■■■■■■■ empty. so we are now stuck, pushed for time out of petrol Pete has to ring Alan via the breakdown service telephone on the side of the motorway and they relayed the messageat the yard ,and ask him to bring us some petrol.
While we are waiting Pete then told me the story of this VOLVO dive rs runabout company car
When drivers are anywhere, in England and they are due a proper legal break [rest]or want 2 days off for any reason , and they are loading a Export load and it is their own lorry ,or a company lorry ,a spare driver such as what I am [no company lorry of my own]will go wherever they are in the Volvo car stay and load the lorry or whatever, and the driver goes back in the car .then the loaded truck gets brought back to wherever place for Export .and the driver goes to meet it in the car again because he has kept the Volvo with him to use as he pleases ,and then the question of petrol arises.
Company men like me who use the car ,put the petrol on their expense sheet , and get reimbursed the money ,however owner drivers that use it ,like Pete had ,have to stand the cost themselves as the bonus for them is that they are getting there lorry loaded for free ,by the company s spare drivers[ as they are contracting hauliers to Rokold].
So Pete thought the car had been filled up, but it had not .so who will pay for the petrol from Alan ,as it turned out Pete was given some money to fill the car up on the company, another lesson learned check the petrol…i was under the impression that Pete was the owner of the unit and he subcontracted to Rokold, how wrong I was, he was a employee just the same as me ,however very experienced .
I had never met anyone before so dedicated to Rokold and a boss before god! I knew how I was to be ,and act ,from now on not easy for me. But i would try, and say the right things
in front of Pete from now on, as I suspect he has a influence over a drivers future within Rokold. It turned out he did
When we got to our destination, a abattoir in a village on the main road to the south coast if you were to blink you would have missed the entrance I was pleased I was taken there and not had to look for it. You drove in between two houses , just enough room for a lorry. a few houses built close around it, seemed a strange place for a abattoir to be. Once there it was a very large establishment.
There were two trailers parked up close on the loading bay and the fridge units were roaring away ,Pete was met by another of Roklolds drivers I had not met ,he been loading the trailer[well not actually fiscally but in charge of the movement when required he told us that that it was not finished loading yet, as they had to wait until the temperature of the lamb carcasses had reached -0 to +2/3 in the chill rooms inside the abattoir, and then the vets would release them for loading ,[could be a while he said],
The program was for the driver to take the car and go home ,or he might have to drive somewhere else to relive another driver who needed to go home? It was now about 6 o-clock in the evening. After the driver had left Pete put his gear in to the cab and he brewed a cup of tea up as he said the small canteen would be closed here.[[i would get to know this abattoir very well in the future]]
Pete then asked me if I would like to walk around the abattoir, i declined and he sort of said ,what is it do you not like Animals .are you squeamish. i laughed ,and proceeded to tell him about my butcher boy work when not at school working down the local abattoir, and all my cattle truck days, that sort of shut him up ,and he never said any more about it …
The plan was we were to go to a port that was going to be Rams gate to Dunkirk we had deliverers in Belgian and then one in Koln Germany and we had to have the tachographs right as we could get a check at the German boarder at [Aachen] and if they were not correct we would be in trouble so we did not put tachographs in until we were ready to leave, for the reason it would give us 22 hours to get the job done [we hope].and not lose time .He did tell me this job we were doing was very hard [ i.e. pushing for time]and it was the first time that they let a novice like me to double man driving.[that was supposed to make me feel good] Pete did tell me both bosses asked him how I had been on the other trip and did I moan, and he told the truth and said I was keen to learn .
It must have been around 8 pm and we pulled of the loading bay, got sealed up and made our way ,i was told it was best if I got most of the England driving done as Europe around back roads could be tricky ,so my first taste of driving 18 tons of hand meat, he told me I would get the feel of it once I got going and the sensation of being pushed when slowing down and the corners were tricky. If you look at a map of Sussex ,you will see Lamberhurst A27 and country roads over to Rams-gate via the narrowest villages you could find the most narrowest place ever ,so I was a bit tongue in cheek for a start, it was a test really to see if I could handle it.[ Pete did not know me] as well as he thought .after my time on cattle trucks.
It was getting on for midnight when we pulled into the dock and the Ferry line was called SALLY LINE. we did the export checks that was new to me, so I was all eyes and ears different procedures.
The food was really good steaks sausage, veg chips, sweets, all hours of the night and day, so we really tucked in as I had not eaten pro-ply all day also they let you take and make sausage sandwiches for later .not a lot of drivers on board however some were very regulars on this run so they said. and the crew were mostly from Mauritius .it was a French owned Ferry. It was about a 2 hour crossing from the start until getting off.
The reason we used this route was that you did not need a French Permit to use this route as it was called a FREE ZONE a very short coast journey from France to Belgian the place was called Aden-kirk , the road only allowed you drive that way and not into France.
Once off the ferry [after the routine of unplugging the refrigerated trailer] at the boarder limited controls ,and away we went i was driving ,just to get back in the hang of left hand drive, and heading for Brussels, but going to a place called Kortreck .our first delivery, the roads were very quite,and once off the duel track ,at the right place ,Pete took over driving as we were now into very narrow country roads that looked like water dykes each side no margin for error. it was pitch black except for the truck lights we seemed to be skirting a town and sort of looking for a back entrance in to a housing estate, once we had turned in we pulled up outside a butchers shop all lights blazing one person standing outside, the fridge unit blaring away, just what you wanted in a housing estate, Pete jumped out of the drivers seat, shut the fridge off ,but kept the truck running ,so as we had lights. And it looked just us 3 there, and that was it I did see that the man had some white coats over his arm as we had the handshakes ,and some gruntie noises from the massive chap ,the butcher, and a few pigeon Belgian words from Pete ,that seemed as understood by the butcher.
I was still Puzzled as what was going on, but once the butcher had broken the seal on the back door and opened it ,i new then what the coats were for ,we had to get up and pass the meat down to this man, nice first time for everything, I could not believe what we were doing but I kept quiet ,and followed what Pete was doing.
We knew when we had to stop passing the meat down as the abattoir had tied a string, around the next delivery so as you new when to stop but Pete new that, and I did now [learning].The unloading done we went into his house ,washed our hands they were covered in grease, and given some horrible Luke warm Belgian coffee.
All ready to go handshakes and grunting again and off we go towards Brussels, it was starting to get light ,and I said I could eat something to Pete and he assured me when we get to the next place it is a proper arbitrator and we would eat then. and maybe get 2 hours sleep, just what I needed.
What I can say about the Europe roads they are so well signposted ,as you approach BRUSSELS it tells you the way to go for GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG ,and all kinds of different new names of places I had never heard of, also 3 lane roads and they are not like our motorway.ys people are changing lanes ,overtaking and undertaking as it is normal ,also this area of the country Pete told me that you give way when you are on a roundabout, to let traffic come on to it when you are going round it is the wrong way for us English we had just gone past the High Zell football stadium that was a good future reference point to remember.
Before we arrived, after we had to do a massive roundabout route that put us the right way for going out back to the duel road, this delivery was on a slope once Pete had backed up to the doors for the meat to be unloaded , the ground had such a slope on it there was no way you would stay in a bunk, let alone sleep i realised weeks later that Pete knew that we would not get a sleep but doze off in the seats. but he never said .After a hot dog type sandwiches called [ a frickadella] we sat uncomfortable in our seats with feet on the dashboard /windscreen dozing off.
Once finished paperwork signed ,and they shut the back doors once we pulled of the loading bay, Pete never got out to check anything so he said to me ,you drive gave me directions then promptly lay on his bunk ,it did not bother me because I was still full of it ,me driving in Europe, unbelievable.
We headed for a place called Luige on the way to the German boarder it was to be our last Delivery in Belgium, he told me to go to the 3 rd turn off [city centre] but he said you will go down this massive hill, be careful, other traffic will try to push you faster than you want to go, but keep slow ,and ■■■■ -em. so that is what I did when I got there ,and the hill was massive, the odd truck went past and blew its horn in disgust; I expect, the weight of the meat was pushing us down the hill without much effort from the engine I just did a royal wave and ■■■■ you to the foreigners ,well, !they were foreigners to me ,not thinking I was the actual foreigner.
We were running along side a massive river of canal, so I gave Pete call ,as I did not want to get to a junction and have to make a decision which way to go , so he rolled out of the bottom bunk, took a look to where we were and said just carry on ,he seemed not to happy, perhaps he was tired because I was.
After time we arrived at the unloading place ,just like a warehouse , a few men rolled up , I opened the trailer doors ,and ■■■■ me we seemed to have gained more meat than we had before, it seemed it was a normal practice for companies to use transport that was going to the same company to move meat around without paying for it unless Pete had a backhander from the company I would find out later.
Pete walked round to the back and started the handshake routine, they all seemed to know him and he said to me go and have a lay- down we might be here a while. I did not need telling twice.
I felt as if I had been asleep about 5 minutes once I was woken up by the engine starting, Pete said we have now go to the Belgian customs to get sealed up for going into Germany, all good new stuff for me learn, I did ask about the extra meat we had on from Brussels to Leagie , and was told it was a regular thing ,that was in fact illegal ,for a English truck to do internal delivers within any country but your own country that also applies to any foreign truck in any foreign country. No internal work done at all .but some people know no one is going to check.
What it does it is supposed to protected your own home haulage market ,who wants johnny foreigner doing our work. The Belgians did not give two monkeys . The practice of doing that internal haulage is called [CABOT AGE] that was in the whole customs era now , since borders are open anything goes in 2014. trucks can go any where and load anything.
So there must have been some reward for Pete but he never said, or parted with any cash, I expect I will find out my self later on He did say that they were the same company so no harm done ,yeh:!
As we approach the turn off for trucks at the boarder ,after going up this massive hill ,we had to go off into a parking area that was full of all kinds of foreigners trucks it was like being in a toy shop. So, Pete then went on to explain what was to happen next .
First we had a GERMAN PERMIT that was to be stamped, then we had to make a fuel declaration[ 200 litres only allowed in the country]then passports, the go to a agent to clear the customs forms T2forms from Dover. III had never in my life seen anything like it ,inside the massive clean hall because that what it was , loads of different uniforms all armed , imposing loads of load talking real gruff GERMAN , as I /we were not used to this is was imposing ,and I thought jesus, it looked as they would lock you up for nothing,[[ no wonder they frightened the foreigners during the war]] and I had never seen such long name above offices ,in German, nothing in English or any other language so intimating, I was pleased we won the war…
Pete took me to a hut and had a coffee and bratwurst sausage and mustard in a crispy roll, lots of different cigarette smoke ,and language all around, no handshakes ,no greetings just grunts , to me any way,it was After about 1 hour Pete said lets go and see if we are cleared from the customs I did ask him why we did not stay in the truck and not sit in the café, and his words of wisdom! this time true, said, if you stay in your cab, and being English,[they tell by your number plate and the GB sticker /sign[obligatory] , the police will want to see you tachograph records, including the previous days, and they walk around the parking area just for that. A nice easy form of collecting fine money, if the discs are not correct, however our get out now is that if you have fresh meat of any kind you are told to leave the parking area with all the paper work given back to to you by the Agent ,and all you forms stamped ,and they did not check the amount of diesel we had and leave by a back road and proceed to the German veterinary for them to inspect the meat, and get clearance to leave for your delivery.
I had no idea of where I was ,and I was driving
[God knows what was happening with the tachographs. Who was driving etc Pete was switching the mode switch around all the time he was obviously on top of it] we were following a sign that said [schlachthof] that was abattoir, we got there in the end but we were far away from the motorway in the town of old Aachen, Aachen was one of the first towns to be conquered by the British army in 1945 ,when you see the hills around you thing how the hell did they do it.
Once cleared by the veterinary ,who did thoroughly check the meat as we were backed on to a unloading bay ,so they could walk into the trailer, I stopped in the cab ,Pete waited on the loading bay [ or dock] eventually we were cleared to go ,to Koln ,[ cologne] to the meat market called the Grober market Pete knew the way I had no idea ,where to go Pete , Pete was going up in my esteem as a man, but I know it was all going in my head , night time or not, what I could see to remember for maybe future reference, [who knows] and that works well for me ,once seen not forgotten.
I had completely given up on the time, and how much rest we have had ,it was if it was not a job at all it just seemed normal to do what we were doing,
Pete told me we will come up to the motorway again ,and cross 2 rivers then we follow the signs for the zoo, and that takes us to the market for unloading.
After time I eventually found the Grober market told where to back up to by Pete , he jumped out lots of ,[good -an-tarts] German for Hello] and he opened the trailer doors, and I backed up on his instruction on to their ramp/unloading bay ,and that was it, i thought ■■■■ me what a day all day ,Pete was inside having a coffee with some one and I could feel the movement of men walking in the trailer unloading, and a feeling of tiredness s seemed to come over me, ready for some proper sleep■■?
Next thing I know we are moving again, I must have dropped off, like a stone, I asked Pete where are we ,what we doing ,when do we sleep, all in one go ,the answer was we will just get out of Germany ,then park at the next service station ,as we are loading in Holland in the morning. But we have to wash the trailer out before we can do anything else but we will sort that out after a sleep The inside of the trailer is covered in blood and snot and grease we come again to the customs at Aachen and we still have to go to all the small offices for a stamp on our pieces of paper to get a complete set of stamps then you get a exit stamp and off you go .and think thank god for that.
We now make for the first service station in Belgium and sleep, it did not take long once there to get in that top bunk, I let Pete worry about the waking up time, I was sure he is on the ball.
It seemed like a very short time before I was being woken up, and I could hear the kettle making a noise , on the small gas prim-us- stove. And Pete, welcome back to the living was !we can not be long as we have to wash the trailer out and be loading by 2pm today, a 3 hour drive away.
I had no idea at all what Pete had done about the Tachographs and I was not bothered a far as anyone would know we had not been in to Germany, in fact if we do not get stopped in Holland or Belgian we have not been anywhere as far as the Tachographs are concerned, he obviously knows how to work [ fiddle]them to his and the company’s advantage and they must also know ,so I hope he will show me what to do.
Apparently the service stations in Holland supply more services than just fuel, you can get the use of a high power jet wash to wash the inside of a trailer out so all traces of meat are gone, and ready for another load, so long as you pay, payment by us was by a credit card ,very rare even now in the UK called a D. K. V. card , it is renown all through Europe within the transport industry you can get anything with it I mean anything, even in red light districts the card is taken ,like a transport only Visa. It was the first time I had seen or heard of it, once you are a established European driver for Rokold you get issued it only to be used when necessary .
The transit from Belgium to Holland ,because we were empty was very quick as if they were not bothered at all and we made our way to a service station that had a wash area ,Pete went into the payment office and came out with some bought tokens to put into the wash machine and he said we have 10 minutes of hot water and power the house was the longest I had seen ,my god these foreigners do not need any lessons in doing the job correct. Next thing Pete comes around from the cab with Wellington’s on ,and a pair of water proof leggings and a long raincoat/sou’wester jacket I was amazed, how much more am I going to learn, it seems as if you have to be self-sufficient.
His water profs were just what was needed and he did a complete through wash of the inside of the fridge it was perfect in side ,no trace of meat at all and as the lambs had been hung on string and not directly on the meat hooks they were clean. Once done he quickly went over his tractor unit with the hose before the time went out, and we were done, en-route to where I did not know. We went in to the coffee shop and had a machine coffee ,not bad ,a cup of tea would have been better ,but not enough time. Pete asked to use the phone ,and that was a yes and they passed him the phone from the office ,another !i cannot believe it they let him use their phone, never in England would that ever happen ,so this is Europe everything I have seen up to yet has opened my eyes ,why are we at home so behind ,god knows. he paid for the phone in cash and given a receipt
Pete comes back with loading instructions, we are to go towards the place we loaded at before to load near there today , I have no idea how far it is we do not have a map but Pete knows the way ,so he lets me drive ,and he dozes off, but he tells me which way to head for and just keep following the signposts until we get there or you have to have a break after 4 ½ hours [ that was joke]
It did not take long before I come to a junction where a decision was needed, left or right, so I had to pullover and shake Pete awake [not best pleased] go left ,towards, Eindhoven ,then pick up the sign for Tilburg, and he lays down again ,so I plod on now overtaking slower trucks , not that many slow ones were on the road ,speed did not seem to matter in Holland.
We got to the outskirts of the place we should be at for loading and I was given directions , to the factory gate ,the factory had a massive turning area for the trucks to get ready for backing down to a ramp onto a loading bay, once Pete came out of the office told me to back on to a bay as loading would start straight away, pallets loaded with frozen chips and we would not be long and the front pallets were smalls so they would fit under the meat hooks and the rear ones would make up the extra.
In no time we were loaded, custom sealed the rear doors that the factory paper work in order so next stop a ferry.
Time has flown from when I got up at 11am Tuesday morning it was now Thursday with no proper rest and now off again to a ferry Pete thinks we will miss the late Zeebrugge so to Ostend .
God knows what he is doing with the tachographs but I am sure he knows as he has changed the cards again. The fridge was set at -25 and roaring away however Pete said they were good at where we have just loaded and their product is nearly always down to the right temperature.
We move on to the road that soon took us to the boarder for Belgium customs , when we parked up I asked Pete if I could go and produce the paper work and get the feel of it ,and yes it was fine , so I went into the large foyer and could see only one office open with a sign DOUNE above the open door, I knocked ,walked in was met by grunts, passed the paper work over to the uniform/gun holstered ,no idea what was said, a couple of stamps later on the paper work I was out and back into the cab. I relayed what happened and was told that it was very rare to have any problems with the Dutch or Belgium’s authority, it was all the others.[countries].
I had now got used to the routine[for this trip] that I was doing the most driving, I treated it as a test to see if I would moan i did not , and carried on driving to Ostend I drove all the way up to the dock gate and booked us in to the ferry terminal, apparently we were not booked for the ferry now but a later one, but we would get on this one as Roklod was a good customer.
I thought that was a bit strange ,it clicked to me that we were ahead of our time, the office expected us to be later by about 6 hours, that was unusual ,later I would find out that Pete had done better than other drivers by not having the proper breaks, it was to show me ,”this is the way you do it ”and that he did the same when he was on his own ,no second driver.
Once off the ferry at Dover ,the routine was the same as last week I was feeling as if I was Mr experience,! no one else would and 200 cigarettes ,they would be sold. It sort of seemed all right to be working all these strange hours as every one else was doing the same , all though not many English seemed to be on the ferry.
Once cleared by the customs, the agents brought the clearance paper to us, and we then went for something to eat ready to make our way home, or not, Pete said we had to go to Frigo Scania in Kings Lynn a cold store that stored ,and processed ,and distribution of all frozen products from all Europe and was used by very big new supper markets ,and they work 24 hours shifts.
Was this another test I said ok no problem , I had no other choice really ,but to divert back to Northampton from Dover would have been ridiculous.
,it was the load first driver second, and you had to be prepared to do as the office would like or you will not last. I now see the important owner driver part of the company
I was now getting a good idea of what this job was and they want there own drivers to be exactly the same. I expect
you have two choices Stay or leave , for now, the job it seemed just for me I liked the running around different countries and the unsocial sleeping times ,the general way you were left to get on with the job and be left alone ,yes I knew the hour pay ratio was not that good however we were on a salary, so hopefully ,yes maybe in the middle of the week, that you would get more time at home, it would be worth a try if I get offered a job on European.
We made good time and I drove ,Pete said it would keep him clear to ship out again if I used my Tachograph. =The plan was that I had just arrived by car into Dover to take this lorry to unload and drop the driver [PETE]off at his house and I was to carry on and get it unloaded and back to base
if we got stopped by the ministry of transport for a tachograph card check.
He had got the previous tachograph cards we both had used and sorted them as if he had just been to Belgium yesterday, I had not been near that truck… so that is how they do it,total disregard for the law, however we were in Europe and no one cared a rats arse so do as the others do, do not forget the new Motorways were not built, the A2 .M . one Dartford tunnel, no Ministry check points at all , the only time you would have had a check if you were involved in a accident.
We had arrived at the cold store and drove straight on to a weigh bridge and the gross weight is record and when you finish you have to go back on to the bridge to get your tare weight ,then the load weight is taken from the gross and then you have the weight of the load, as you could have the right number of boxes but not the correct weight the senders of the goods has said [short weight, not uncommon].
We were told we had a booking in time of 12 o clock that night so park up , and wait. Pete looked a bit sheepish we could have gone to Northampton ,and I am sure he knew when the delivery was, but he is in charge of the truck if I was not with him he would have done exactly the same ,so I said ,good have another sleep, there were lots of other trucks parked up the noise of the fridges roaring away was tremendous, but no one seemed to care at all ,and I was getting used to the noise as well.
While waiting to get on to a unloading bay, the foreman unload er came and took the seal of the back doors , and climbed in as far as he could go and collected 1 box of goods, so he could go and check that the correct temperature had been kept and the product was the right temperature.
Before we had a sleep we kept getting lots of door knocking from workers asking if we had any duty free to sell, cigarettes or spirits wine anything cheap Pete told me more about the selling of any goods at most of the cold stores you would go to. He said, what you do is let the fork lift drivers have first choice of anything you may have ,and they will ask you if you are going back to Europe, and if it is for a load back to where they are as it was a regular run for Rokold trucks ,sometimes you will go back empty from Kings Lynn to Dover to load the next day in Belgium or Holland then straight back to Kings Lynn and they would put a order in if [1] you have the cash to buy goods, and [2] do you want to bring in more than your allowance [3] if you are caught by a customs officer anywhere and you are selling duty free goods you are in deep ■■■■. So it was up to you.
As it was ,I was not interested as I had no control of what I did ,also Pete would not commit himself ,as he did not know what he would be doing next ,if he did he would not tell me, as I expect he will be glad to get rid of me, and I do not blame him I would not fancy having a second driver with me ,however if the bosses say you will you will it is their truck, end of.
After getting unloaded, and the trailer swept out and weighed [by me ] before we made our way back to the depot . One thing Pete impressed on me was to make sure that when you collect your c.m.r note up from the office when the unloading is finished make sure they do not write any remarks on the paper work as that c m r is a legal document, and it is the only way a company can get paid for the load by that note ,with a clear signature, meaning that the load count is correct ,the load temperature was correct, and the given weight , when you arrived and the time , that done home.
When we arrived back at the depot it did not take long for me to get my gear together, and say good by and [handshake],as it was all closed up ,no empty pallets ,or nothing around, only our two cars.
What Pete was going to do I have no idea.
I soon travelled home, quick wash and to bed.
After my European trip work seemed to by very quiet not that many night runs and no market runs at all just the supermarket work and the pallet loads seemed a lot less than before, however I just enjoyed the time off as I knew when the time come it would be longer hours than normal!.
On one run to a few different supermarkets I was told that I had to have the night out and collect some pallets in the morning, yes fine by me i was now used to doing as I was told and not re -bell or moan .
As it was ,I had no idea what was going to happened next, as I was loaded ,i needed to ring the office to see if the pallets were for home base or somewhere else I was told to bring them back to the yard as quick as I could Mr East wants to see me, I thought another trip over the water.
Once in the yard ,i parked up ,went in to the office and asked for Mr East ,i was told to go in to his office, he stood up shook my hand ,and said Vic I am sorry we are going to let you go, work has got bad and there is not enough for all the men .last in first out…Then he said we may have got you some work with a local contractor, he gave me the details ,sorted my wages out ,said if any thing comes up again he would call me ,that was me finished at Northampton and that was that I said my good bys ,Alan said sorry,i new they would keep the young men on, so I went to find my new employee ,i hoped.
The new employer lived and worked at Milton just out side Northampton, I rang him up and he told me to meet him at the Ipec depot ,he gave me the address. after getting through security, I was told where to go and he had a small office at the end of a massive loading bay, that had about 20 trailers parked on it.
The job was first to be shunting the trailers on and off the loading bay as a contractor for the company running the job .Ipec , that turned in to T.N.T the massive parcel and goods distribution.
After time ,also when required you will have to drive a trailer up to the Glasgow depot, that would be a night job once there you go into a bed and breakfast in Glasgow while the lorry and trailer is taken around Scotland all the delivers done then it is reloaded back up for you to run back down to the Northampton through the night, you get back to Northampton park it up in the depot we are in then you go home. If you are required for the next night we ring you by 2pm to let you know.
Yes that sounded good, but the money was Tax free ,that meant you had to do the tax yourself.[self-employed] also he does some containers runs to and from Felixstowe, well it was a job I would go for it .I started the next day at lest I understood what the job was and you got told what to do, and they had a canteen.
I was busy for a time then it would slow down. The man I worked for was a ex middle east driver, photographs all around ,early 1970s he must have been very young. However most men that did that work deserved all they had made out of the jobs it was not for everyone.
It kept me busy for a week, then I thought all the travelling by car and shunting ,i had had enough so I said I am going to finish. No likely Scotland trips so I am off!, ooh hang on a minute, he said you are down for the Sunday night run , was he telling porkies or I was down for the job ,he said no you are on the job all next week ,yes I will stay then and that was the start of another fine mess…
The tractor units we used were from MANN HIRE and they were flying machines 70 mph was the normal speed once on the Motorway well if you did not get caught. Once you left Northampton you drove for 4and half hours had 45 minutes break then another 4 ½ drive and you should be in Bellshill Glasgow that was how fast them trucks were ,really in day time you would not have done it ,even in 1 days drive of 10 hours , however at night ,unbelievable distances were covered the trucks had the power as if you were driving a car, you could accelerate just like a car with a full load .of 20 tons quite remarkable even now when I thing about it, in actual fact when I do like now it was so, so, dangerous I shudder. However once again by luck I came off all right .
Once in Glasgow you would leave the truck in the IPEC yard and a man would take you up to your bed and breakfast, have a breakfast ,then bed, he would collect you again at 6 o clock at night, you had no dinner there, after the first time I soon got myself organised when home I brought a small gas cooker, pan. And tins of food, and cooked it in there rest room when I was back there it caused quite a show as they had never seen a driver cook before. not as I was experienced, I got the idea off of Pete ,never go hungry when you can do it yourself…
I started to get used to the pattern of work on the Glasgow the boss and his partner did have a small issue as we were only working in total driving 9 hours the boss wanted us to do some more work when we got back to Northampton, small local work just to fill the hours in as we got paid a days rate ,night or day and the hours were never defined ,so I think he thought we were getting away with money for no work, so I did what he asked ,then went home to bed later than usual,[not good
One evening just before I was leaving Glasgow the boss phoned me and said when I get back to Northampton ,drop the trailer at the depot then pick another trailer up and go and deliver it to the car factory in Luton. Vauxhall I never gave it much thought about 1 hour from Northampton to LUTON, tip the trailer then out and home I thought it would be a couple of hours.
i When I eventually arrived at the car factory the parts I had on the trailer were marked urgent production line, it did not mean a thing, I was told to park up and would be called in when they were ready. I knew from previous car factory experience that once you got into the queue going around the production area that was you basically ■■■■■■, end of. It is like going around a supermarket following 2 mobile scooters ,with blind people driving.
After god knows how many hours still at Luton ,it was getting that I would not have time to drive back, so there and then I made my mind up that was me finished when I got back , no way to ring anyone up no public phones within the factory for drivers use…
Once on my way ,non stop straight to the depot, I was met by the boss, all full of sorry, I did not realise they said it was urgent, I said no problem ,get some other mug, bye that is me done, he protested ,ore look I gave you a job a favour for Mr East ,i replied you get Mr East to come and do it then, off I went ,to the nearest phone box and rang Roklold at the depot at Oxford and told them what I had done ,and said thanks for the job but no thanks ,and whenever they want me ring home…
Now started another episode of driver with out a job, I first called in at S. T Challis as it was on the way home and explained my situation and could they help they would ring, never did, so I had to look further afield from home ,in the local paper drivers wanted at Aylesbury ,that was nearly 35 miles away, however I thought I would ring, and ask for a interview, it was in a village called Aston Clinton, did not mean nothing to me , i got a day for a interview , in two days time, i have no idea what sort of work they do or anything but I had seen the lorries around and no way of finding out .
I arrived at the village and found the yard , I drove in ,and looked around for a parking place, found a visitors one and parked. Little did I know that I was being observed to see where I left my car.
However I reported to the office explained who I was and was told to sit and wait. I had dressed
with some smart clothes and a tie ,a bit over the top for a drivers job but I wanted work.
I was shown into a office and a young -ish man sat at a desk very smartly dressed, he did not get up just looked and there was a chair pulled out my side, but I did not sit I just stood there.
He then said who he was ,and what did I want so I said a driving job if they have any vacancies,
then where have you been working? . I said I can give you my full working record since I left school, and got out my discharge book with various bits of paper and certificates also my HGV driving licence, Ohh he said you have a class one licence all self-explanatory , so I told him everything from school until that day. While I was in mid flow a older man come in to the room. Also very well dressed and sat on the edge of the desk ,never said a word.
When I had finished talking ,my history, the other man Mr Fowler ,the big boss , said we never employ any men who do not live within a 10 mile radius from Aylesbury ,however if you can start tomorrow we will overlook that rule, and that was me at Aston Clinton Haulage, A. C .H.
I had to be at the yard for 6 am , to start then take it from there it was a good 40 minutes drive from home on back roads, after a short time I started to try other routes, but it was nearly always the same time of travelling.
The work was varied ,from local shunting to unloading in the yard, and loading boxes of cereal for delivery, then delivering it ,you had no time at all, but I stuck with it, they were very long hours if I had known more then I would have stopped in the yard the odd night and sleep in a cab ,with no pay but it would have made life a lot easier ,as all the trucks the ran were sleeper cabs and of the full speck,[the most powerful].
The son David who interviewed me was what you called unfair, a prick ,thoughtless, and all the other meanings, but that was his way and people accepted it, me also as I thought I would get on to having a truck of my own and get some good work even with my limited European experience. Sadly it was not to be then i wanted to leave, but I had to do it right and not just finish ,so one day I got half way to Aylesbury stopped in a village, and said my car has just blew the piston, or valve and I could not make it in, and gave them the local phone box number so they could ring me back…[ no mobile then].
After time Dennis , David’s assistant, rang the call box back, and said if you cannot get in you are no good for us so you will have to finish, so I said fine and they would send my wages and p 45 and that was that for then It was what I wanted to happen in case I ever wanted to go back in the future .
Once home, car all good ,I decided to go S T Challis to see if they have any work, once in the yard straight to the drivers place outside of the office, i knocked the hatch, and was greeted by what the ■■■■ to you want, from the traffic clerk, laughing, nothing from you, but a job, he told me to wait `1 ,i will go to see the boss, after a short time Brian the boss came out and said we have a bit of tipper work if you want it , only local runs ,you can start Monday, and that was the way it worked in my area, straight to the point, the best way.
The tipper work was easy but long hours you were moving earth that was being dug out by machines for a new road ,and once loaded ,you then tipped it where you were told, most times it was to make a bank further back along the road ,or just to fill in holes [massive holes] left by pipes .
It was going good , I used to take a lot of sandwiches and 2 flasks i knew most of the drivers ,some from my village, and we would have a laugh. Plenty of time to eat, and drink all was good the money was manageable, but beggars cannot be choosers
.
I think I must have been there for about3 months and getting bored but nothing else to do ,i was not getting enough out of it if you know what I mean but no weekend work maybe the odd Saturday morning ,sometimes, they wanted you to help the fitters if they had a big job on, nothing technical but I was still learning about trucks ,engines and most of what went with the job, rewiring lights, all though the diesel engine had come on with the future there was still a lot of old basics and common sense .also I had had the ■■■■■■■■ engine workings to help me if I needed it. To a small degree.
Life was plodding on ,getting my self resigned to being on a tipper until they increased the fleet, when out of the blue my wife gets a urgent phone call from no other than Mr Robin East, from the depot in Oxford, asking where, and what I was doing, and asked would I ring as soon as possible, urgent. It was 7 o clock at night and I spoke to Robin .
Tom ,the first driver I went with had ,had a brain haemorrhage and passed away , he was on the service station by Liverpool, the trailer had been taken away to be unloaded ,however ,the unit was still on the service station the keys were in the mangers office ,was the any chance I could go up with another driver and bring the tractor, and the trailer [when empty] back down to Oxford. the lorry was leaving at 5am in the morning to get you to Liverpool later in the day are you able to go with it, also we would now need a relief driver ,if I wanted the job it was mine on Rokold not the other company J C. S. ,it would be reliving the European drivers on a regular basis and the previous man would have Toms truck permanently. I explained that I was permanent where I was and they would not take kindly to me leaving just like that, he said he new Mr ■■■■ who was the boss and he would square it with him, as they were on the road haulage association together and he would explain the situation .
It was a chance not to be missed it could be the break for me to get into European work so I accepted the offer.
I had to leave home at 4 am to get to Oxford before 5 am good job I did as the driver slept overnight at the depot and was ready to leave when I arrived, after a few delivers we made our way to the Liverpool area, I found out a lot more about the job some bits were good ,others I knew about [ the hours] the driver Geoff , who was Toms friend, also from Northampton still could not believe Toms death ,it only happened yesterday so it was shock all round ,well not for me but sad as he left a wife and children, all though when I knew him you would have thought he was single , I hope that is not the way this type of driving changes you, also he was ex army so he knew his way around.
I went and collected the truck keys ,from a office , they knew my name but wanted some ID ,that was all done .i rang the office ,and was told to pick the trailer up at Trafford park Manchester at a refrigerated depot. I was told check it over for any damage in the outside and inside, count the meat hooks that were hanging on the rails at the front, tyres, fuel in the fridge ,and all the trucks paper work was still in the cab folder, I was given a list to check, that all worked out correct, and to record the hours recorded on the fridge, [ a dial on the front cover of the hours the fridge has been run],make sure all the lights were working, as people will steal the lenses and bulbs, yes, the bulbs…
When that was done I rang the office ,and they said make your way to Dover and ring first thing in the morning from there. Yes that was what I wanted i knew it would be late by the time I get there
but I never put a tachograph card in until I left Liverpool so I had got plenty of time, well I thought I had.
I made it to the last service station, on the A2 Farthing Corner, before Dover and had a break by the time I got into Dover and parked outside the Agents office ,went in ,and the ■■■■ had hit the fan, what I was not told I was booked on the 6am crossing to Zeebrugge [when I had phoned from Manchester] [no cab or mobile phones] they had expected my to drive into Dover gone in to the Agents and they would have given me my loading instructions without parking up where I did and I could have booked off once inside Dover ,and by the time I had got off in Zeebrugge I would have had the proper break, also I would have had lots of broken sleep.! Moving on to the ferry etc I had no a clue, that was what I should have done.
I rang the office explained they more of less said it was their fault but told me if you ever have to get to Dover you must try to get there, as there is always a reason why. I think the traffic manager Peter Melcombe thought I was a old hand at the European way of working I had never met him I took a instant dislike to him, by his phone manner to me, one to watch.
Once I was on the ferry ,booked into my cabin and had a meal, it was time to go to bed for about 3 hours ,trouble was you never knew who your cabin mate was , so as Pete told me get to bed first and hope they do not snore.
Once off of the ferry the routine started as before ,and it all went well ,even the fuelling up as the credit diesel card all worked on the same pin number [so long as you knew it] I did not ,but Tom had it written down in the trucks book of paper work ,so I was soon away to get to the loading place. It was the same one as before when I was with Pete ,so I felt very confident that it would all be good and load without any hassle, and after a time of me getting there I was soon striding in to the loading office, full of it, until the Dutch man said in perfect English, you are late ,your load has been given to another driver so you will have to wait until the product [frozen chips] are down to the correct loading temperature , well what could I say but ok thank you I will be in the cab…
And that is where I went, I never said another word, I thought well ■■■■ you too. And laid on the bunk, it did not seem long when loud banging was on the door and shouting to me ,back on to the loading bay so I opened the rear doors , started up the fridge, ■■■■ !!I had forgot to do that before I arrived so as the trailer would be cold, [whoops] I was getting to cocky, and forgot the first rule. To get the fridge temperature down as low as possible, it will never get to minus -20 as there is not product in the trailer to hold the temperature but once the frozen goods are in the trailer and the trailer is all ready cold it will soon be down to -20
Also I think I learned another thing, other people do not like to see you go and lie on the bunk and read a book… [over time I learnt it really ■■■■■■ other people off especially if you have had a disagreement with them and it was your fault, and you shown that it does not bother you at all .]
Once loaded, I was told to pull off the loading bay, collect my paper work from the office and the customs will seal the back doors and I was ready to go. I did stop and think have I done all the right things , checked both diesel tanks. Fridge running ok , god knows what I would do if the fridge stops, I have not been told yet ,i must put that on a list ,of to ask instructions for if a brake -down occurs.
I made my way to the Belgium boarder and then the ferry port. Ohh no I forgot to ask what ferry to go back on, ■■■■ ,i stopped and tried to work the time out, and thought I was at about the same time as when with Pete, so I will go to Ostend ,then I had thought , [dangerous]look at what the T2 customs form said , and it was Ostend, so I now knew the office must have told the Dutch that was my port of exit.
I made my way there without any problems it was easy to find the port as the signs post were very good you just followed the sign with a ship on and it took you straight to the port gate, I completed all the paper work, and went and queued up with all the other trucks , that was not hard to accomplish, as I had been shown before what to do if I had not It would have been a different story.
Once on the ferry I asked the crew for a electrical plug in , and was told yes ok ,but wait for the ships electrician , that is what I did it seemed like hours however he came and sorted the plug in out and it worked the correct way ,that ,the way to test to see that it did not ■■■■ air out of the fridge was by holding some light tissue paper up to the front air intake so that it blew the paper and not ■■■■ it in, , as ships electricity system can vary so I was told? I was the last driver to leave the car deck eventually, I climbed my way up to the accommodation area found the driver only restaurant the food was English looking but cooked by Belgians as it was a Belgian crew, I had some food then straight down to the cabins for a sleep, I had the cabin number on my ticket, but the first thing was to find them , it seemed as if they were right down under the engine, and the noise was bad, Jesus I had spent a long time on ships ,never this noisy!!
I did find the cabin, and the bunk, and it was the top bunk as the other 3 were occupied so clothes on into the bed, I did learn a lesson, all ways strip off when ever you have a chance to sleep ,even for a hour ,as with clothes on you soon get roasting and cannot rest…
Next thing lots of noise, blokes burping and ■■■■■■■, coughing sounded like a cattle market and foreign language ,to me, I understood it was time to get up .and that was what I did and followed the herd up to the coffee, tea and ■■■, bar, also more food it seemed only 5 minutes before that I was eating, but we all seemed to get stuck in, mostly sausages, and hard boiled eggs , then the tannoy came over [all drivers report to the car deck and do not start your engines please until told to by the staff, ■■■■■■■■, by the time I got down to the truck ,the rear door was still down, and all these ■■■■■■■ ,stupid foreign drivers had the engines roaring away it was choking, and they did not give one ■■■■, what they did not realise as the deck crew could not take the safety chains off of the front of the trucks so they would be able to leave the ship, because they wanted to be first off what they did not realize that once they got to the customs they were going nowhere,.
Yes I had done it, I did all the right things parked up put my paper work in the agents box wrote on it where I was parked, and smartly went and got into bed again sleep seemed the main think lacking in this type of work
The next thing I know there is rapping on the cab door, i flew up pulled the curtain back and there was one of our drivers there, hanging off the wing mirror with his arms, shouting something, so I got dressed and opened the door and the first thing he said are we clear what! I said I have not long got in bed, he said well they usually clear this customer straight away, he said he would go and check, in the office where you get your exit stamp ,and the paper work to go .
He came back full of it and said it has been cleared 1 hour -ago, you should have been gone by now as the customer is waiting for the load,” hang on” I said I have only been here 3 hours and not had my full break, he replied, that he was taking the load and I was to be the passenger, ok that made sense. well sort of until I thought about it so off we go with me not driving so it did not matter any-more how much rest or sleep I had the load came first…
I asked the driver how he got here and he said he came down last night with another of our drivers and went in to a bed and breakfast, got up this morning to deliver the load ,and take me back because the office new I would not be able to drive for some time as my break hours were not up one thing was wrong no one told me alarm bells should have been ringing, this is no way to work ,however it was all new to me completely different from any other type of driving I knew .
so in fact I was off duty in the passenger seat basically it does not matter where you take your off duty break so long as you are not working …as time went by it was considered that if you were in a company vehicle you were classed as on duty, but that was much later .in the 1990s in actual fact if you were driving a company car to or from work of to relive another driver you were technically on duty, however who new , unless you had a accident in that car.
We arrived at “Bejams”at large “cold store” full of deep frozen food at a place called Frimley near Guilford to unload the pallets of chips, after time we were told to back on to the loading bay ,and wait for the green light , it was right by your cab when you were backed on the loading bay [or dock]you could not miss it to tell you that you were on the loading bay correctly , you would feel the ramp inside the store go down on to the deck of the trailer so they could start unloading.
But first the quality control would take off the first 6 pallets then on the 7th they would open the boxes for the correct temperature of the product and it had to be between minus-18 and -22, they would take all the boxes of the pallet and check the very bottom ones, just to make sure that the chips had been loaded at the correct temperature also that you had had your frigerated trailer running at the correct temperature -20 If not someone would be in trouble and the first would be the driver, as not checking the product temperature before loading, and was the fridge running correct, it was a bloody minefield this I learnt later through my own experiences you would never believe the checks you had to make and do while loading any product .
Once the load had been cleared to unload it did not take very long to get unloaded and get the correct amount of pallets returned, and we were on our way again, so where now for me I asked myself? we were going to Bedford for a truck and trailer service and I was to pick up a company car and go home and wait for the phone call. At least I had some duty free cigarettes.
I was asked at the cold store [what have you got on] I did not know what they were on about until the other driver, said some drivers bring in Beer, and tobacco for the cold store unloading staff to buy [in bulk] apparently they knew the lorry was Toms, and he looked after the lads at the store , well sadly no more ,they did not know about his death, but it was something to think about , however I never did bother for anyone, as I never had the cash to buy goods…
We soon arrived at Bedford, and the trailer was dropped in a service bay and the unit taken for a service next door, I was taken to see the boss of the work shops and asked if there were any outstanding faults on the truck or trailer i did say some of the tyres on the trailer were a bit short of rubber meaning the tread was low, all the other gauges on the unit were working oil and water was good ,there was no more to say, so I was shown the car I had to go home in and that was it, I was away… it was the same old Volvo first thing was I checked the petrol, and it was nearly empty, what a surprise, why would drivers leave a car with hardly any petrol in I did not know ,however I will now do the same.
I got home there was a telephone message for me to phone the office, Jesus they never left you alone for any length of time, it was something I was going to have to get used to that was for sure ,it was my instructions for tomorrow, I had to be down in Lamberhust the name of the village where the loading was for 5 pm and deliver the load of lambs that I had done with Pete before, on my own, I remember feeling pleased with myself as they were trusting me with a Export load for the first time, also inside I was really ■■■■■■■■ myself but no one knew only me.
After a good drive around the Motorways, the M25 was not yet built, under the Dartford tunnel and down to Lamberhurst ,i arrived in plenty of time, and I had brought a small gas burner and some food ,saucepan, tea ,excreta, just to keep me going and from spending any money on foreign food, the more I did not spend the more for me and home, well that was the thought I had not got round to finding a toaster, but I would.
The unit was the one I had driven before the old 2800 D. A.F, [Ex toms] the driver with the truck wanted to get off home ,and I did ask him why he was not doing the job instead of me, he gave me some story about his wife so I left it at that, anyway it was nothing to me ,he told me it was ¾ loaded and the last of the lambs would be soon loaded ,the truck fridge was roaring away trying to keep the inside of the fridge with the already loaded lambs down to a cool +1 as the doors were open being backed on to the loading bay of the slaughter house it was cold inside, the premises the lambs [meat]were kept inside special cool rooms to get the meat down to the temperature ready for transport. Vets were the only people who can allow any meat from leaving a premise also vets are employed all the while the process of slaughter takes place .
In side the slaughter house there are a series of tracks that run all around the ceilings that the meat hooks run on in and out of the cool rooms for the method of getting meat moved from place to place once the meat arrives by men pushing sliding the carcass at the loading doors in to the trailers, the carcass is lifted off and placed on to the meat hooks inside the trailer there are 5 different rails inside the trailer roof with about 60 hooks on each rail .with lambs being small one lamb is placed on the hook then another is hung underneath by a string so there are 2 lambs to each hook, quite a swinging load ,if you have more than one delivery string is placed around the whole load of lambs to let the unloaders plus the driver where that delivery starts so as not to get them mixed up or extra taken by the first customer as you would have no way of knowing when to stop taking the lambs ,also counting, but the driver is never allowed inside most abattoirs.
I went and checked the diesel for the fridge that is under the trailer it wanted filling up, I realised the truck tank was half full and I would be able to syphon some diesel out of the tank and put it in to the fridge tank, I thought yes I will do it.
So know I needed a piece of hose pipe at lest 6 foot long, and a container of sorts to transfer the diesel, easier said than done believe me, I knew how to do it as I have done it many times before but it can be a smelly dirty job, plus diesel tastes awful. If the trailer had not been loaded and the weight on the front end of it ,the easiest way would have been to drop the trailer where it was and back the unit alongside of the trailer so as the tanks are alongside each other, if the tanks are not on the same side you turn the unit around so as it is ,also you need a lot of room, so all that was out . It meant sucking the diesel up the pipe that you have pushed down , well down inside the trucks diesel tank, and you start sucking “ syphoning” until the diesel flows out ,and then you have to catch it in some form of container a old plastic oil can, and make sure you can tip it into the trailer diesel tank [not easy] it needs 2 people really as once you have filled your oil can the diesel is still flowing ,you have to lift the pipe up so it is above the level of the diesel in the tank, but make sure you have a bend in the pipe so as the pipe is not empty or else you have to start sucking again, believe me it is a pain in the arse and you get covered I did get a hand from one of their drivers and we managed to get a few gallons in the tank, no thanks to the other driver, [■■■■■
Now I had to get cleaned up and once the unit was under the trailer they started to load the last delivery, What I did not know was one of drivers from the abattoir was also going down to the docks on a export load he was going direct to the delivery at leige, and then into Germany and I was to follow him down to Dover the ship over to Calais [F] and I would follow him through to Belgium and then we would go our different ways, this was new to me ,apparently all things change when meat is involved ,and the office knew what was happening .
I was to pick a French permit up from the agent in Dover ,and Jimmy[ THE DRIVER ]was going to show me the route out of Calais, and how to go through the customs at Calais all straight forward well it is supposed to be. After time we were ready to go and he said we were going the back roads down to FOLKSTONE, the on to Dover I did not have a map with me .god!! it was the most fastest switch back ride I have ever had ,god knows where we went, but I did not let his rear lights out of my sight, and he warned me that when you get to Folkstone we will go up this massive hill ,and if it is wet if you miss a gear near at the top you will be ■■■■■■, as the steepness of the hill lets all the weight of the lambs hang back at angle, taking your traction away from your drive wheels as if you are skidding on ice, well that did not do me much good ,all I could thing about was missing a gear, so I thought right, I will put the truck in a low gear at the bottom and then I had no worry ,I expect I lacked a bit of confidence in my own ability and that is what I did and I did not have a problem ,i was slow, yes, but I never got stuck, when I caught Jimmy up at the docks he said I thought you were stuck, but I would not have been any help so I carried on, that was the right thing to do so he said .
We parked outside the agents and collected the paper work for me and a permit for France, then round to the customs part ,this time we had to queue up to go into the customs sheds for a seal check and a port health check, ]MAFF],to make sure we were veterinary sealed up [the trailer] .
That all done we then had to go queue up for the next ferry to Calais, they were nearly every 2 hours leaving Dover , I could see the point of coming this way instead of Ramsgate as it was quicker here, once we were loaded on to the ferry we had to ask for a Electric Plug , as no diesel engines were allowed to be run, once that was sorted and it was working the correct way we made our way up stairs for food in the drivers lounge.
We were on Sea-link ferries and the food was good . Jimmy asked if I had any French money at all, and no I did not he said we would need at least 5 French Francs for the customs as you go out of the gate, for the bung, for the excess diesel we had, you are only allowed 200 litres in France, I changed £10 sterling and received just over 10 Francs, and Jimmy told me do not give that much you must change it as they would take it all that… I am learning more, and we talked about my delivers and he told me about the Belgian border so as I was sure where to go ,he was a great help, I would have been struggling with out him, but that is why they sent me with him I expect…
Once the ferry docked we were about the last to get off as the electrician did not hurry himself, anyway there would be a massive queue waiting to get out of the dock after the customs. Once in the customs hall I just followed what jim said and I did not speak, there was no need to, the customs men all looked the same in massive coats , lots of chatter, stinking of French ■■■■, talking in grunts, and laughter, well they were in charge , after the stamp on the permit backing paper ,jim said he hoped they would stamp that, and not the actual permit as it could be used again [ I will explain later] I watched as the trucks drove up to the last barrier where you gave them the money ,[they called it coffee] the man jumped up onto the step hung on the mirror arm and looked at the fuel gauge on the dash board to see what it read ,full, or half full. Anyway they still had the coffee money whatever, and when it was my turn I drove up stopped and he did what I have said took the 5 francs said [Aur vior]
That was my first of many giving of French francs to the customs men ,only in Calais I must say no where else bothered with the fuel coming in to the country .they were the French Mafia. That practice carried on until the customs frontier controls finished in the 1990s.
Once clear, before I was let loose on my own , Jimmy gave me my last instructions , I crossed the same border in to Belgium as when I was on the other ferry, however I had to clear the customs there as it was my boarder of destination, apparently the veterinary clearance was done at the first delivery but Jimmy was there at the boarder to assist me so it went well
He told me all the deliverers will be waiting for me, as drivers for the abattoir. Company they did this run every 2 days for years and if there are no lights on at the premises ,knock the doors ,and they will soon be out as they were local Butchers shops, in towns obviously this was a regular run .
Once I found the first delivery I would be taken to the next one when I was ready by following a car, I think this job must have been another test as it was non stop full-go ,at the first delivery one man jumped up on the back of the trailer to take the lambs of the hooks and pass them down ,and I was given a white coat, to get up and do the same, as two men were on the road taking the meat inside, so no lay down, and that was the pattern of the nights work, i had lost track of time and it was getting light, and I ended up somewhere near Brussels Airport with a empty trailer, and the inside needed a wash out, so that was my next move find a truck stop with a high power hose, that was normal in Belgium as they seem to think of everything jim did tell me that I should ring the office by 1pm our time and get loading instruction, so sleep was the second priority.
There was so much noise going on at the service station I made amental point of never stopping
there again ,i must have had about 5 hours sleep and my alarm was screaming, first eat then phone thank god I had my toaster, and tea making things, and I sorted my self out.
The office told me I was loading tonight not far from the Dutch boarder in Belgium so make my way there whenever, as the load was ready, full load of frozen vegetables
.
After 2hours I had found the loading factory a large compound lots of other trucks were there no other English, once I had been to their office I was given a loading bay number to back on the wait in the cab as the load was handball [meaning not on pallets in paper sacks] so it would be a while, and they would knock the cab when finished, so it was time to get a brew of tea on ,and then lie down and get some rest ,sleep. It was after 4 hours and I was woken up and told to go to the office, I collected my paper work, customs paper, and pulled off the loading bay for the rear doors to be custom sealed up, and they told me that the office said I was to go to Zeebrugge for the midnight ferry, that was good for me no rush, and I would be able to fill all tanks up with diesel unbelievable but it all worked out .i was in plenty of time for the ferry, and another time to get in bed, I had already sussed out that if you can get a lay down take it…
Once the ferry arrived it did not take long for the off load of trucks and then we were soon brought up from lanes for loading ,it is not straight forward ,as heavy lorries have to get put in different places, the loading ticket office know all the trucks weights when booking in…also I wanted a electrical plug in ,so I seemed to be kept waiting to load with other fridge drivers as we were all on the same level deck where all the plug connections were, once loaded on and sorted ,in to get your bed number/cabin, no single berth, so you have 2 choices either go straight to bed , or eat a dinner.
For me it was a no brainier /bed, before the snoring started, and just hoped you did not get a cabin with foreigners .
All went well ,the crew wake you up in time for breakfast nice full English then the unloading starts
passport control/ customs, all done on the dock ,as before, it was still dark.
Once parked up , my paper work lodged in the agents in box ,i wrote on it the number of the lane I was parked in, and would they knock me when finished please… so back in the bunk again…
It was not long before the knock on the door come and I was cleared to go after I got my paper work, and allowed out of the dock gate and on my way to Frimly again to get the load off loaded
I new it would take a while as it all had to be put on pallets ,a long job I expect. Once there I report to the office and they told me to ring my office as soon as I can…
Once again I was told that a driver was coming down in the car to relive me and I could go home and ring tomorrow dinner so now it was a waiting game, the more time I spent here the less at home.
Another driver I did not know, arrived ,and I told him what was going on and that they would let him know when to get on to a unloading bay ,and that was me, away, petrol check seemed ok, so home for me…
After rest at home, I rang the office at dinner time to be told to go to Bedford service depot no later than 5pm to collect the truck, I arrived on time, to be told that at 8 o clock in the morning I was to load a load of lambs from near Bedford and ring from there, I had to get the car back that night as it was needed for someone else, so I had a night at the garage in Bedford ,i slept well …
Once I arrived at the Abattoir I was told to go and wash the trailer out ready for loading they had a very high powered wash hose, it would blow your clothes off if it was pointed at you, anyway that done I put the trailer on the bay and waited, there was a lot of movement in the trailer they seemed to be loading non stop.
Eventually it went all quiet inside the trailer as the loaders stopped i walking up and down the trailer floor in stopped rocking around so I assumed it was loaded i got out of the cab and went to the office, yes it was finished and the customs and veterinary would soon be finished and I could soon be on my way ,so I thought…after ring the office it seemed I was only loading it for another driver I was to take it back to the Bedford garage, leave the truck ,the fridge going at the correct temperature, and the car would soon be there for me to go home again ,and the other driver would be taking the load, yes well I was only the relive driver, so that is what I am doing although I did not like it.
That seemed for a while the pattern of work I was doing, unloading or loading for someone else and it was sort of getting to me, so in the end I asked to speak to the boss Mr East [robin] the office men tried to keep fobbing me off that he was never in the office, so I let it go a week and one Friday I was home with the company car, i thought right and I drove to Oxford to the depot ,and there he was on Saturday morning in the yard ,well it was in a forest, no joke , in a forest called Tubbney wood ,off the Swindon road out of Oxford, it had some hard standing for a few trailers and a wooden cabin type office ,after handshakes I said if I do not get a truck of my own soon I am leaving I had been doing the relive for about a year, with the occasional run abroad and I had had enough…
Once home the phone rang Saturday after noon, and I was told they would be getting another hire truck a new Scania and it would be mine in 2 weeks, however it would be mostly on European work and I would have to do the same as the others and go anywhere I was told, if I could not do it they would have to let me go a catch 22… situation, it could be 2 /3weeks away at a time, I knew some of the other men were very rarely home for long as the export and import ruled… it was a no brainier I told my wife what the score was , I could do it or leave and go to nothing ,obliviously I wanted to do it however was not my own decision so we decided to do it and take a chance.
So the 2 weeks went into 3 and I was getting slightly cautious as to they were telling me the truth but when I did bump into other drivers they said yes the fitter at Bedford had been told another truck was coming and it was the first Scania not a D.AF so I carried on as normal unloading other people’s loads day and night[ not at the same time] one load comes to my mind that nearly come to my down fall and getting to big for my boots ,it is funny how life puts you down to ground very easy…
This load I had to collect ,[I had the company car] from the Bedford fitters premises,[i did not like john’s, the fitters wife she was always saying Robin this, and that, she was dangerous she could get you finished on her say, so ,[example if the truck was not oil up and cleaned up] cab dirty,]anyway=
I had to deliver this load of frozen goods at 12 midnight at Bejams Frimly I knew it very well as a lot of our loads ended up there so I knew some of the unloaders and the canteen ladies and felt at home while there, however it was different at night ,different people but they new the company well [as regulars] so we had no problem getting in past the security to get parked up as times it was very difficult to get on the premises ,if you were early, or more so late but Rokold seemed to breeze it…
“”2
This trailer I collected was a knew one to the fleet it had a new system for the brakes called “progressive breaking” meaning when you put your foot on the brake pedal and it sent air down the air line to the brakes on the 3 axles the brakes did not all come on at the same time ,there was progressive breaking one would come on then another then the last one, so as there was no skidding, gently braking however it used the air in the system up quicker, so the engine needed to be at a high reeving speed to keep the air cylinders up to maximum pressure… when you were slowly manoeuvring and using your brakes the air would be going out ,but the brakes would not be jammed on, but one axle would stop you in a road situation .
I was told to go on to a loading bay, it was very tight as there was a truck both sides of where I was to go so lots of manoeuvrings and shunting and when you hit the loading bay dock a green light would come on and that was you ,[you had opened the back doors before you stated to back up to the bay] so it was tight getting in as their own company trucks were parked everywhere just where you wanted to be another driver got out of his cab and help you back up to the bay and that is what a driver did for me.
Time and time again I wished the driver had left me to do it myself, as we were chatting and reversing at the same time using the brakes, backwards then forwards, and when I eventually got on to the unloading bay the green light come on , so still chatting the truck made no move to move forward ,I was on the bay I jumped out with the deliver tickets and walked up the 10 steps at the corner of the loading bay into the freezing warehouse, as you walk up the steps you are as high as the roofs of all the trailers parked on the loading bays so it looks like a flat field of roofs ,and all the fridges are off.
All the drivers all strangers, to me, are drinking coffee and eating sandwiches, mostly home made, the meal for the night workers does not start until 3am in the subsided canteen , I hope I am away before the crew eat as it makes it all get later and they get slower the longer they work.
The odd driver gets told he is finished, and new ones arrive, and at last they call me to say all is good and the unloading is finished just wait for the empty pallets to be reloaded, so off I go down the steps, talk to driver next door to me, jump in the cab, put the key in the ignition ,start the engine and let it tick over , i jump out the cab again, say something to the driver again [being cocky I expect as I was unloaded before him] I then make for the steps again in to the warehouse to see if the pallets are loaded ,and collect the paper work, and I was told 2/3 minutes and they will be ready so I waited like all the others do.
At that moment I was a happy bunny, soon be away and home I was handed all the correct paperwork all signed correct
and opened the door to go down the steps and looked over the trailer roofs again and there was a empty loading bay where I was parked, i thought well what a good chap [the driver next to me] he had pulled my truck off the unloading bay so as someone else can get in to the space I had… well that was what I thought my unit as I got past the truck alongside the walkway I could hear a commotion ,i did not what it was but as I got further round I could see the Rokold unit parked on a strange angle, I thought oh no !!!he has hit another truck ,and as I run round the front of the Rokold cab it is empty, no one is in it, and I run back around the way I had just come and Jesus, the left hand side of my trailer door was stuck in to the cab of the truck next to me, ■■■■ me what has happened… ohh- no ,i run back to my drivers side jump in the cab, and there is the evidence looking at me, the ■■■■■■■ hand brake was not on!!!ohh no that is me ■■■■■■. In the mean time out comes the driver who s cab I have just ■■■■■■, going ■■■■■■■ bananas.
What has happened is -that when I reached the loading dock doors just by luck or unlucky the air has all gone out of the air reservoirs connected to the trailer brakes and they are firmly on completely empty so it means that all the brakes on the 3 axles are on, I FORGOT TO PUT THE HAND BRAKE ON[silly me].
He said he had only just had it repaired “look mate I said” it has happened it is a accident I did it, sorry I turned to sharp , I will back up the truck and you hold the door open then I will park up over there and come back and sort it out . what the blessing was the chap parked next door had gone to see another driver so no one knows what actual happened . if the truck had not stopped where it did and not got caught up on his front, parked up were 3 trucks of bejams dead in line ,where it would have rolled to, now that would have been a major incident [ no health and safety yet]phew lucky or what…
After I had sorted all the paper work out truck numbers names extra I had to go and tell the night foreman what I had done so if they had a inquiry they would know. I eventually got away and made my way back to Bedford no damage to our truck and trailer , BUT MY GOD IT SORT OF PUT THE DAMPENERS ON ME.
I parked back up at Bedford in the fitters yard, I wrote out all that had happened on the back of a envelope [a big brown one] and stuck it in the window and asked John the fitter if he would tell Mr East what I had written down and I would ring after dinner…[so everyone would know now] no more could I do, but go home and expect the sack, at least I had given the office a heads up if the other driver rang first thing ,they would know what had happened.
About 2 pm I made the dreaded telephone call asked for the boss, told he was out but not to worry the insurance would sort it out, have the rest of the day off ring tomorrow. I could not believe it just like that all the thinking I was going to get the sack and that was that…OR WAS IT.
THIS I rang the next day, all seemed ok I asked if Robin wanted to speak to me and the traffic manager so no, all ok here this is what we want you to do I think it was Wednesday[ not sure]anyway I had to drive the car to Guildford and go to Steve Chities abattoir and there is a trailer that will be loaded with beef for Rung-is, market Paris,
Jesus Christ, after what I did, they have given me a load that I have never done before , only briefly in France ,i have no idea what to do, where to go, ■■■■ me out of the pan into the fire, I thought it is a joke they know I have not had a load of beef before, let alone deliver it, it is either a test to see what I do, if I take it or not, that is what it has got to be, so I thought right, ■■■■ it get on with it, learn as you go, and that is what I done…
Once at the abattoir the other driver a relief driver said thank god you have arrived, he thought he was going to have to go with the load ,and he had less experience than me, I thought well that is two of us but never said a word The load had all been sealed up and he gave me the custom papers, and off he went, I put my gear in the cab checked all around ,checked both diesel tanks and the fridge was set at +1 the correct temperature ,all seemed good I did not know who,s truck it was as the cab was empty, of any personal goods I made sure the company book was in it with all the relevant company credit cards for fuel and I had the company cash float that they gave you so all was goo i made my way to Dover I knew what agent to go to once there. NO GOING BACK NOW.
.
I knew where to park in the customs bay on the docks, and I went to the agents ,they sort of knew me and handed me a envelope with customs forms for me to produce ,also another one marked with my name and it said open in rung -is, market Paris with loading instructions after you are empty.
When I had found space for parking [customs] lots of other fridges there, roaring away, very noisy i queued up to present my paper work like the other drivers up the stairs, feeling a bit lost and apprehensive, but you would not know it, when a shout behind me called out Rokold! ,i looked behind as you do ,another driver a few behind me said ,we are going to the same place ,i will see you on the ferry ,right I said, and at that moment my inner nerve went away.
It turned out he had also loaded at the same place but had stopped on the way down to Dover ,but I did not know anyway after driving on the ferry ,fridge plugged in, I went up to the drivers eating area and waited for my new mate.
It turned out he knew that I was a first solo tripper as he was a subcontractor to Rokold as they had told him, so I was glad I did not refuse to take this load, and he proceeded to give me as much information you could take in a short time, however he did say that if we got split up he would wait for me, once through the last road toll pay station near Paris, I said how will I know if it is the last one ,he said it will be chocker block with cars and lorries, and the service station is just as you start to see the toll booth and it was as he said mad ,but that was just the start.
Once I had got through the toll, there were trucks parked every where,i found him and walked up ,he had got his kettle on so tea was the first thing then he proceeded to tell me, what to expect, and he told me where to get off the ring road and what to do once I approached the market…
The Paris city has 2 ring roads they are called [peripherque] [F] one outer for all the transit traffic and a inner for local. the outer has 4 lanes like a race track and that is what it is. As our trucks are right hand drive ,it was the only time it was to our advantage as the 4 lanes has no hard shoulder, masses of twists turns tunnels ,some dark some bright and all exits on the same road as the entrance and being on the right we always had a better view as to what was going on than the normal left hand drive
. LATER After years of using that road and all Frances I used to enjoy going round the peripherque. All the exits are named as [a-port-de -lyon or similar ] It used to get really fast and dangerous as the French would never ever give way they would just keep going, what they did not know was we could see them in our driving mirrors, as being right hand drive , not left sometimes they would have to go back the up exit as the lane for them to join the main road was the same stretch for anyone to get off ,because we/I would not let them in as they could see they would go under the wheels they would just be hanging on their hooters and if you were left hand driver you would slow up and give way because you would not be able to see them
. That was the rule in the city [give way] to cars trying to get on to the main road from a minor road. it was only our ever victory over the French driver, it was even funnier if two of us trucks were very close together. Sad but true all the bumps would be in the fast lane not ours All though it was a free way, we always stick in the slow lane
Yes I was given the insight of what to do and very pleased I was of having been given information, by the other driver also he said do not worry if you catch sight of a aeroplane going overhead, as the Auto route [motorway] goes under the runway of the Charles de Gaul Paris Airport, and many times I have seen planes going over the road in fact after time you took no notice but for then it was a sight…
Also he told me the Motorway signs are very different from ours in ENGLAND because they will show you mileage[in kilometres] and place names miles away from where you are however they are excellent to follow if you are going long distance example=signs showing all routes ,from where you have come from, as if to give you the chance to turn around and go any direction.
the signs show places a long distances away from Paris however they were the main and only routes.
Bordeaux direction to [Spain]
Marseilles v [ Italy ]
Nice v [ Italy]
Perpignan v [spain]
Calais. v6 [ GB]
LYON [F] another important sign .swiss.
What I am trying to say is that so as long you know your final destination you will never go wrong they all give you a 360.chance of turning around ,and when you enter France from other boarders Paris is always signed from where every good French thinking …signposts…
I hope you have grasped as what I have tried to explain …., back to going in to the Rungis market
now the nightmare does begin.
As Rungis is the biggest wholesale market of all the products imported you can imagine into France
it is like its own city, with restaurants/bars buses, and it is serviced by the major roads sign posts to all places in Europe ,it puts you in the right direction from there, as they know most of the trucks will go out to deliver all over France ,however I did not know any of this, I managed to follow the other driver in to the market, and we had to go and pay a entrance fee, it was all very new. once done at the barrier ,we went down to the customs parking bays well !it was like the biggest area you could imagine all numbered with a letter then a numeral. I later over time, found that there were maps of the market in the bars but the locals did not need them ,so hardly anyone knew…
I was taken up to the agents office about 5 floors up and presented the paperwork and we were both told we could be to late for to days market, meaning the customs had stopped clearing trucks for today [.clearing ]means processing the paper work and making sure all monies have been paid bY the importer.
STAR,unable to send private message through trucknet ?found book ,world books ,only 1 left, to expansive .
also wrote my way on the highway .dbp.
Thanks, Vic, for taking the time to write all that down and for sharing it with us. 
I am sure that every driver can relate to some of your experiences at one time or another on the road.
I remember reading an article in a newspaper, it must have been in the early sixties which was written by a student journalist, who was hitch hiking home from Cambridge one Friday night.
It seems that a lorry driver had stopped to give him a lift and after about an hour they came up to some road works.
The road workers had obviously gone home for the night and had left some of their tools laying around. Apparently, the driver stopped the lorry, got out and threw a wheelbarrow onto the back of the lorry.
When he got back in the cab he said to the student, “you wouldn’t believe what some people dump at the side of the road”. 
So has anybody got any tales of things that ‘fell on the back of a lorry’ or about the hitch hiker who you once picked up.
Meanwhile, here is a classic story from The Trucknet Archives from Hughie Ashton, a.k.a. Trucknet member Biffo.
LAST OUT OF IRAN.
I did 2 trips to Teheran after the Shah was disposed this was the second and last as you read on you will understand why. While working for Funstons I was offered loads of money to do a quick trip, loaded up and an uneventful trip down to Teheran, as I had been previously I knew what to expect at the border. Not many trucks about kept a low profile dont make eye contact with anyone, yes Sir no Sir paper work done off to teheran. Hard drive down but with a thermos full of hot water for in cab refreshments and cassette playing I was flying.Pushed as far as the eyes would let me until I saw some Turks parked up,had a chat with them they were sleeping and then on to customs in Teheran so I stayed with them, safety in numbers.Next morning we all had cay together and I said I would see them in the parking at customs. Arrived customs paperwork done tipped no problem.Now it gets interesting,from my previous trip I knew that diesel was a problem to buy,and also to get it out of Iran,the border guards were not to keen seeing 400 gallons leaving but a bit of bribery and you never know,the worst that could happen is thay would empty your tanks.I had been driving M/E for a few years and had been to Iran several times and I had met a man who owned a filling station and the last time I was there filled me up for hard currency, so off I went to see him.Yes he says I will fill you up tonight when its dark, price was negotiated,terrific.Come into the office for a drink so we chatted and drank the Irani version of Coke,the real stuff was banned,darkness fell I drew up to the pump and he sends out his man to creep under the trailer and fill the belly tank up and then the two road tanks,job done the price for the diesel had been in £ sterling so I very happily paid him.We had another coke and he tells me he has a son who owns a hotel in London thats nice I said,he says to me could I take a small gift to him.Oh,oh I hear you say DRUGS,no a simple tea set tea glasses and silver plated holders you would find anywhere and a book of the Koran,it all seemed ok and having taken his diesel I felt obliged and it would only be a bit out of my way home,and of course the price that I had paid for the diesel wouldn’t be what was on the expense sheet.
Back to the border now to get through with the fuel, I had travelled back alone and was hoping not to draw to much attention to myself,cleared the customs at the bottom of the hill now for passport control at the top of the hill, final control and out into Turkey.Arrive at the top of the hill lots of Turkish trucks as usual not any European trucks I try and mingle in with the Turks nip across and get my passport signed out.Every thing is done free to go no body has shown any interest in diesel I think I have cracked it.As usual its a bit chaotic with trucks pushing and shoving I’m sitting there waiting for a gap to shoot through when I spot a group of militia coming my way and by the way everybody is jumping to attention they aren’t the normal squaddies.I pretend I haven’t seen them I try shunting forward but this nasty man indicates with his rifle which is pointing at me to stop.Control meester! I try to explain all finished,Bos(turkish for empty) no Meester control,ball ■■■■■ I thought nearly got away with the diesel,no its not the diesel they want to check but a cab control,not a problem have a look, they rummage around the cab lose interest and just about to go when one of them spots the trailer boxes,Open I’m told,Ok again I have no reason to worry nothing in there except tins of food dented with no labels gas stove usual drivers stuff all except a box containing a tea set for a bloke who has a hotel in London.I hadn’t tried to hide it as I hadn’t considered it to be an issue,well these guys who were from the Revolutionary Guard certainly were making it an issue.Greed is a funny thing, I was still worrying about the diesel that would have been nothing compared to what was about to happen.
I still had my passport from earlier and my wallet,and being a smoker a packet of ■■■■ in my pocket.This was going nowhere fast lots of raised voices and looking at me lots of guns when one who seemed to be in charge leads me off to a block of buildings by the pI still had my passport from earlier and my wallet,and being a smoker a packet of ■■■■ in it.
Another bloke in army uniform speaks some English and tells me they are sending teaset to Tabriz to be valued,and meanwhile I would stay in a room next door.He is not to keen to talk with me and keeps looking at the other man and appeared to be scared of him.
Anyway best keep quiet and let them decide whats going to happen I decided against offering any form of bribe in case I made the situation worse.They put me into a room (cell) where to my surprise were several Asian looking men teens and older both of us wary of each other.Time for a ■■■ and review the situation, I offered the ■■■■ round but only one person took one the rest looked like I had offered them a poison pill,the one who had taken my ■■■ introduced himself and said he was a student Doctor he spoke good English I asked him why he was there and he explained he wanted to go to England but he didn’t have a passport,so why are you here and how do you expect to get to England I asked.I had met for the first time illegal immigrants going to Europe,20 dollars bung the Irani guards would put them on a bus for Turkey no passport the Turks would send them on to Bulgaria and so on.He also informed me that the British embassy was closed in Teheran but the Swiss embassy would help any British passport holder,how he knew all this I have either forgotten or it didn’t sink in with what was going on.We chatted off and on its getting to afternoon and he says to me that if I gave him my name and address he would notify the Swiss embassy when he got to Turkey,I thought about this and gave him my name and address but the wrong house number,I thought that might be giving him too much information as I really didn’t think he would do what he said.It was sometime after I got home that I discovered that my wife had a strange call from the Board of Trade asking her if she knew my where abouts, I can only assume that the Asian guy did what he said he would do and that was a lesson that I have carried with me ever since.
They came for me a little later and took me to a Revolutionary Guard HQ in Tabriz no talking just a shove and a little aggresion and I was in a proper cell on my own with just an old matteress on the floor and some large cardboard boxes.Here I stayed for several days no contact with anyone but the guards who used to come in shout at me in Farsi show me their guns I would tell them to f….k off and that’s how it continued Iwas getting a touch scared but the only thing they would say in English was who had given me the stuff to take to England and if I told them they would let me go,I thought that if I told who it was I could well be up against the firing squad as well as him so I said I didn,t know it was just a man in the Customs in Teheran.I had been round the cell looking for a camera but I couldn’t see one and after a couple of hours decided that there wasn’t one.I was getting bored so I decided to have a look in the cardboard boxes so I moved the matteress over and leant against them so if they looked in they would see I was using them as a back rest I very carefully opened up the boxes to have a look and you would never guess,they were full of Condoms,Durex to be precise,this was before aids was really known about so they could only be used to prevent little Iranis. I sat there with a smile on my face it seemed to have a touch of irony about it.I sat there for a while playing with a staple I had removed from one of the boxes when I realised it had a sharp point to it.
I sat there for several hours jabbing the sharp staple into the foil packets and then resealing the boxes,hoping I wasn’t going to be around when there was a population explosion.No worries there the next day I was taken to court and accused of smuggling antiquities from Iran, no defence I was fined 10,000 US dollars ,you pay,no I cant I said well that will be 5 years then.I knew that eventually I could get the money so I could get out but I hung on to see what would happen.I had been adopted by some Turkish drivers who were in for bringing in watches, gold, any thing that could be sold.They couldn’t speak English but a bit of German they asked the guards for a blackboard and I wrote words in English and they put the Turkish word so after a while we were able to make sense of each other,they were absolute diamonds they would never let me pay for anything like food,Turks are very fussy they will only eat fresh food so a trustee was used to go to a local restaurant and get a takeaway 3 square meals a day all the chai I could drink and all the Marlboro I could smoke.They used to tease me that today I would be taken to the barber and hair shaved off to be ready for my prison photo,this happened every morning and sure enough the guard appeared one morning and called me out my mates were all cheering and laughing I said I will see you later.The guards took me right out of the prison which I thought was strange one of them spoke really good english he said to me today you go home when I asked him where we were going, I was staggered, as we walked towards the court there in front of me was an old pal from Pan Express, Dave Telford and a the little fat guy who worked for The Company up on the border as a helper through Customs for drivers. He said when Judge says you pay you say yes,I looked at Dave through tears he’s saying its ok just say yes I have the money.I am straight into court and its done I am free,outside court the guards are shaking my hand these were just regular guys doing a job and wishing me well.I spoke to the one who could speak English to say to my Turkish friends goodbye and thanks.Dave and the fat Irani get me in the car and we make back to the border.Dave explains that if you work the fine into Irani Rials the exchange rate on the black market was only something like £300 and that there were several drivers from Pans up at the border who had chipped in to make the money,I was absolutely gutted with love for those guys.
One of Funstons.
One of Pan Express.
Another couple of great stories here from Brian, a.k.a. Grumpy Old Man and Jim, taken from The Oldest Member, Wit and Wisdom Thread.
I might have told this before but…
Fred Chappell had a tanker division and one of the old drivers was Edgar Bradshaw (long gone), He was an old school man, Phenol in his blood 
, 
drove an old Atky. (Gardner and a DB) but he’d only got one good leg (right one, the left one was wood), he only EVER used the clutch for standing starts. He was a good man. Well one night a gang of us (and Edgar) were in digs in London somewhere and us young uns thought it would be good fun to nick Edgars false leg and hide it(he always took it off at night) while he was asleep. Following morning …a loud bellowing “where’s me 'kin leg you bar stewards”.
Bottom line is we left him looking for the leg band eventually we all got home to Batley, Edgar was furious (10 o’clock before he found the leg…Fred went ballistic with us young uns and threatened to sack us all if there was ever a repeat performance.
And one from Jim, a.k.a. jmc jnr.
Many years ago I was filling in the school holidays as a regular stand-in trailer boy for Fridged Freight.
The driver was a Streetwise Scot who was always telling everybody who would listen what a hard-case he was.
We were trundling down the old A45 on the road just before the A11 split roundabout outside Newmarket Race-course when a 8 legger tipper carved us up and disappeared up the Cambridge road. Jimmy had to stand on the brakes early, lost all momentum and had to use crawler round the roundabout, then creep up the A45 . He was furious.
Lo and behold! The tipper was parked up the road in the lay-by where the caravan cafe was end on to the road, so Jimmy pulled in past him and leapt out. I hopped over the bonnet to watch the fun in his mirror.
He ran up to the Atki and wrenched the drivers door open, whereapon a huge hairy arm snaked out and a fist as big as the door grabbed him by the throat and pulled him off his feet. He hung there for a few seconds before being tossed onto his backside and the door slammed shut.
I went back to my seat and acted all innocent as he climbed back in announcing " That told him!!" It was a quiet journey to Liverpool. Jim.
Bestbooties a.k.a. Ian Taylor, posted this very interesting story on the Trucking In The Eighties thread many years ago. I think that if there is somebody who missed it the first time around, then they might enjoy it.
Bestbooties wrote.
On one ocassion,when I was running the garage for Simon International in Stoke,I had to fly out to Istanbul to recover a Volvo F89,that some new driver we had started,blew all his running money ,then at the Mocamp decided it was a good idea to chuck a handfull of nuts and bolts into the inlet manifold then drive off down the road and see how far he could get.He got as far as the Bosphorous bridge before the engine complained.Then he had to be towed back to the Mocamp.He knew that our agent in Istanbul was Taji Kochman,a real gent,but not one to cross!Anyway,this geezer phoned Taji and said he had "broken down"and had no money.Taji came,paid the tow bill then took the paperwork for the truck and the load and the drivers passport,then told him he could have his papers and passport back when the bill was squared.We got a phone call here to say the driver had broken down,had no money and all his papers and passport had been taken!Now this driver had taken over two weeks to get to Istanbul,and had run out of money twice on the way!
Well we smelled a rat,so I was on the next flight to Istanbul,and a taxi to the Mocamp.I had taken my overalls with me and after borrowing a few tools from drivers I knew,I soon found out what had caused the problem,of course,this [zb] said he knew nothing about it!
In the restauraunt that evening,I was talking with a couple of Dayson’s drivers I knew,telling them what I was up to,and they said to me that if they told Alan Dayson this geezer was here,Alan would be on the next flight and come over and have this blokes legs off!
Apparently,he was well practiced in this sort of thing.He had worked for Dayson,and on his only trip for them,had got as far as Paulines at Golling in Austria,where he took a bolt out of the oil filter and drove round the car park untill the engine siezed,then did a runner with the money!
This so called driver decided that as he had no money and the truck was not mobile,he took all his gear out and booked into the Mocamp!
During the next day,I was comleting my check over of the engine,then getting one of the English drivers to drop his trailer and tow the F89 back to Aydin’s place.There is no job Aydin could not do!When genuine spares cost an arm and a leg,you have to work with what you have.When I showed him the damage,that was limited to one piston and bore and the two valves,and asked him what HE thought had caused it,he looked at me sideways and and asked if I hadn’t worked it out for myself!We both agreed,it was sabotage!
Aydin took out the piston,took it into his back workshop where he had an old lathe.He set the piston in his lathe,and turned up the damaged piston top and ring grooves.He fitted new rings and two new valves and rebuilt it the following day,taking some more loose nut and bolts out of the inlet manifold!When he fired her up the next day,it was impossible to say there had been anything that serious wrong.
While I had been down at Aydin’s all day,this pillock of a driver had been down town.I later found out he was in the Pudding Shop,keeping company with some unsavoury characters who HE thought felt sorry for him when he told them he had broken down and his boss had sent somewone from England to shoot him in the legs!
The first I knew about this was when I was in my room in the Mocamp,and hearing a knock on the door,I said come in,and this [zb] came in and said he had a message for me from “his friends”.With which,he put a live 9mm bullet on my bedside table and told me that this could have my name on it!
Now I’m ex army myself,and it takes more than some [zb] with a bullet to upset me,after all,it’s no good without a [zb] gun is it?!
I told him to save HIMSELF any more trouble,see me at breakfast time.
First thing next morning,we went down to Taji Kachman’s office,which overlooks the Bosphorous to the Istanbul prison.When I told Taji about the sabotage and then the bullet,he was speechless,fuming.He pointed across the water to the prison and told this bloke that his life was in MY hands,if I wished to press charges,he could get 20 years in the Istanbul slammer,with a Turk shagging him every night!That’s the only time this bloke showed any emotion,I thought I saw a tear in his eye,but I may have been mistaken.
Over the couple of days that this had been going on,I had decided that this bloke was going no further,and I’d arranged for another driver,my mate Ray Bailey,to fly out and take the truck on to Baghdad.When Ray turned up,I had Taji ,make out all the paperwork into his name and on his passport,and I took our errant drivers passport.
When we got back to the Mocamp,I gave Ray the paperwork and truck keys,and gave the ex driver his passport back,cleared to leave the country,without a vehicle.When Ray drove out of the Mocamp,destination Baghdad,and I ordered a taxi to the airport,this pratt said to me,"What about me,I’m living in the Mocamp,and I’ve no money,how do I get home?"To which I replied,“Tough luck [zb],find your own way home!”
This story has a couple of twists.
A few months later,I’d just landed in Dover from somewhere,and I’m in DFG,and who do you think I saw?Right on![zb].He did a smart about turn when he saw me,and I never got to find out who he was driving for,otherwise I would have grassed him up.
My mate Ray drove down to Iraq,and was driving through Mosul,overtaking a stationary taxi, when a blind geezer 90 years old gets out of the taxi on the wrong side and steps right under Ray’s wheels.DEAD!
Anyway,Ray ends up in jail in Baghdad for 6 months,and we have to fly another driver out to tip the load and bring the truck home.
Looking back,it would have made more sense for me to have taken the truck on from Istanbul,but hindsight is a great thing.
Aydin, the brilliant Turkish mechanic. Photo courtesy of John West.
One from Russia.
From Trucknet member, sitev
food for thought!
Postby sitev » Sun Dec 25, 2005 10:07 am
hi guys
I’m a newby at this, but thought i might have a tale or two which you might find interesting (or not,i’ve told some tales so many times, even i fall asleep halfway through!!)
Anyway, i was working for kepstow at the time, doing russia and the like, in fact i had what was probably the best job on kepstows at the time, delivering brand new scania’s with empty fridge’s (yes empty!) for pepsi cola all over russia,khazakstan ect.
Right, the story.
When we left moscow to go east towards penza,samara, we used to pass a village which was completely full of sashlik stalls (kebab stalls). We’d already passed the village that sold only socks, but had yet to come to the village selling dried fish!
The sashlik village was a marker on our journey,ie we’d have done a few hours, was ready for a snack, and a chicken kebab just hit the spot nicely.
so on one particular trip, i’m off and running, and looking forward to a nice kebab with a coffee that defies gravity!
when i get to the village, there’s not a stall to be seen, so i think to myself that i got the wrong village, it must be the next one (you’ve all been there, what junction was that i just passed? or, how did i get here?)
The sashlik village never appeared, so i end up in samara, got to the pepsi factory and met with the man in charge, a big irish lad who had just come out of university,saw this as a big adventure,and did’nt have a clue!! All he wanted to do was get ■■■■■■ and show the boys off around town. Well, i couldn’t find any holes in his way of thinking! and was glad of the local knowledge.
I was normally in these places for a few days, waiting for the carnet to clear customs, so was quite willing to be led about by my new best friend, plying me with vodka and beer.
I asked him one day we were out , about the sad demise of sashlik village as it vwas known, and he calmly told me “oh they closed that all down cos they found human meat in one of the kebabs!”
D’OH!!
One from Dave Miller. R.I.P.
‘PLAIN JOHN SMITH’.
Postby David Miller » Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:20 am
I was just replying to a post by 240 Gardner and I remembered this incident. maybe someone else does too.
It would have been in '74 or '75, the summer if I remember right, that the News of the World sent a ‘journalist’ who rejoiced in the name of Plain John Smith for a trip to Tehran with one of the London firms. It might have been Cantrells or Simons I don’t exactly remember - one of them. I, all innocent, stopped off in the mocamp in Istanbul on my way out and there was this ‘journalist’ who must have had a very large expense account because he had everybody in the place canned and the bull was thick enough to cut with a knife. I stayed away from the crowd of first-trippers and story tellers that he had collected but to no avail. He came over to our table and said ‘You are David Miller aren’t you?’ Now I’d been doing the job a while then so I knew better than to admit anything so I said ‘No, not me’. ‘Oh’ he said ‘you look just like a bloke that smuggled another driver through the Turkish border recently’ Now as it happened I had, the last trip, got an Austrian driver who had had his passport confiscated after an accident and who was in such a state he was about to top himself on a moody through Kopicule and got him home and someone had been talking about this to him. To make a long story short he had me dead to rights so in the end I was forced to admit that I might have been in some way involved, made light of it and thought no more about it. So off I go, tip and then re-load in Girisun - usual routine - and arrive back in Dover. Well to say that HM Customs gave me a seeing-to would be a complete understatement. I think the only thing they did not do was drain the oil from the dif. When it was over and they had found that there was nothing to find I asked what that had been all about. ‘Well we are hardly going to let a bloke like you through unchecked are we?’ said the Customs. ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean’ say I and they produce the previous Sunday’s News of the World. This Smith has got me written up like a one-man Miami Vice. Not only did he get my photograph - which I don’t remember (might have been the pints of Efes) but he quoted me (supposedly) talking about how much gear I smuggled, Heroin from Afgan etc etc.
When I got tipped at Mars I went round to the News of the World (with the truck)and tried to see his boss but ended seeing some bloke who dribbled on about the ‘freedom of the press’, the importance of making a good story and so on but they never apologised. I also spent some time trying to find out where the prat lived or drank but never got anywhere and in the end HMC&E stopped giving me a turn-out every single time they saw me.
In the story he claimed to have gone to Tehran and back but that was a lie. He swiftly became enamoured of the ■■■■■-house across the road from the Mocamp, stayed there and flew home from there. I just hope he took a present home for his wife.
Moral? Never, ever talk to journalists!
Thanks for that tale, MMM, from David Miller (much missed!). A salutary yarn and a firm reminder of how the press is constantly ruined by unscrupulous sods who never let the truth get in the way of a good story. And like ‘perfect’ drivers, they leave carnage in their wake. Captions editors are the worst! This attitude was the main reason I quitted freelance journalism for the trade press.
Only just been made aware of this thread by Mushroomman and, at his request and especially for Star Down Under, I relate below my adventures with Noel Buntine and the events leading up to them. I should say that this is a conflation of several months so not all the journeys, and what occurred during them, happened at the same time. Also, I see that I have confused Kevin, mentioned by me before, with Graham. This only came to light on reading through before posting this. As this was written in the '90s only 30 years after the events and a much younger man I defer to my younger self’s more reliable memory. 
So Graham it is. Kevin was there though. Finally, I have done a little editing, from the orginal in the book, where I saw good reason to do so. This does not, however, affect the narrative.
Northern Territory
I arrived in the ‘Top End’, as Territorians call the Territory, at four o’clock one morning in May 1967, or thereabouts. The flight from Hong Kong had been uneventful, but the captain’s announcement regarding the temperature and humidity in Darwin did not prepare me for what lay beyond the cabin door. As it swung open it was like walking into a damp brick wall. The heat and the moisture-laden air were oppressive and I almost felt the need of an aqualung. Presenting myself at the immigration desk with my meagre belongings, a small battered suitcase and a ‘swag roll’ – a sleeping bag and blanket rolled up in a dusty tarpaulin held together by a rough looking leather strap – I looked thoroughly undesirable. A creased check shirt with rolled up sleeves, well worn denim shorts with rolled up legs, unsuccessfully hiding their full length jeans origins, odd socks, roughly the same colour but one inside out displaying the longitudinal ribs, and suede desert boots. The appearance did not belie the reality, an international hobo but not a complete vagrant; I did have five pounds sterling in my wallet. But none of this mattered, none that is except for the leather strap, for in those halcyon days when a British passport meant something, to be British was to be Australian and entitled to all that that great country could offer. The only thing that delayed my embracing of the Southern Cross was that strap, bought in the bazaar in Baghdad and now the subject of detailed scrutiny, for the Territory is full of cattle (well, really it’s full of flies but the cows come a distant second with humans well down the list) and the only thing they fear in cattle country is anthrax. I told them that really I wasn’t all that attached to the strap and that if it would save trouble they could burn it, but no, they wanted to be sure. Looking back I suppose they thought that if it did have anthrax, then so probably did I, and thus presented an even deadlier threat to the precious beef. When it, and I, was cleared a couple of hours later I contemplated the wide open spaces and the lightening sky with eager anticipation. Even now, over a quarter of a century later I can still taste the impending adventure. How could I forget it? I have never lost that taste to this day and it tantalises my senses every time I embark on something new, new roads, wild places. Alas, the frequency of that taste is much less experienced by an old married man with a mortgage and a car and a credit card to feed.
The small airport complex was almost deserted and I wondered about my next move. Before long a taxi drove up to disgorge some new travellers and the driver eyed me rather doubtfully as a prospect for a return load. I explained that I needed accommodation and work in either order but both in short order. He took me to town which was a couple of miles away and agreed to look after my bags until I got both priorities settled and at the same time granted me a weeks credit on the fare. I never had any difficulty getting on with Australians except the bigots, and I’ve had problems with them in all races. His trust and generosity was the best welcome anyone could have to a new country and I never once entertained the thought that he wasn’t risking anything, he was going back to town anyway and there was no-one else around.
Darwin was a small dusty town with wide streets and a tropical harbour. Whilst I sat in the Commonwealth Employment Office waiting my turn, a fellow job seeker who had just come in from the outback told me of the room he had obtained which had one spare bed in it. The clerk, when told that I was a transport driver, enquired if I knew Darwin because there was a vacancy for one who did to drive for a grocery wholesaler. I was honest with my answer and after only momentary hesitation she gave me the ticket anyway. Within the hour I had fulfilled both priorities, rung the taxi office to ask the driver to deliver my gear and begun to earn his fare.
S.C. Eyles was the main supplier to all the delis and milk bars in the Darwin area. They had two trucks, both Bedfords, a bonneted petrol of the type exported all over the third world and still to be seen in the nineties in many primitive places, and one of the more up-to-date TK diesels, which are rarely seen these days. I loved the job and quickly felt at home with the friendly locals though it wasn’t long before the feet got itchy and the horizon beckoned. What didn’t help was the sight of the big long distance artics and road trains rumbling in and out of town. Eyles also used to supply many of the small settlements to the south hundreds of miles away and to this end would load up the trailer of an owner driver who hailed originally from Scotland. With his Park Royal fibre-glass cabbed AEC tractor unit and flat trailer he would arrive every few days and I together with him and his mate would load all the varied essentials to life in the outback. Salt and soap, beer and bicarb, powder and paint – you name it, we loaded it and he carried it. Unlike their British counterparts who secured loads with sheets and ropes, the Aussie truckers have a system of metal gates which slot into the side of the trailer and between which everything is stacked. Onto these, long side sheets are hung and short ropes, one for each crossover, are tightened between continuous bars under the chock rails to prevent the gates from bowing outwards. A fly sheet is then secured over the top of the lot. It has its advantages, there are no rope grooves or burns on the cargo for instance, but if the load goes higher than the rope length two have to be joined together. The British system is for hooks under the chock rail so that one or two long ropes can be used with the intermediate hitches simply hooked over. The hitch is essentially the same with an important variation to accommodate the different anchorages and I still today put my knowledge to good use now and then to show my modern drivers how to secure to a ring bolt. The AEC cab with its wrap-around windscreen got unbearably hot in the northern sun so Jock had fixed large pieces of ply to the non-standard ‘west coast’ mirrors which acted as cool-air scoops as long as the truck was rolling. It got a bit hot on the ‘jump-ups’ (short, steep hills) though and also meant the driver and his mate were prone to a sock in the eye from large flying nasties sucked in by the flow.
The digs my outback friend had volunteered turned out to be Spartan but clean. We shared a large room with two beds, a chest of drawers and a couple of chairs. Down the corridor was a shower and toilet. No matter how primitive the conditions, no Australian is ever without his shower, unless of course there is no water. We ate out and passed the time in reading and tales of travel and experience. His were of driving north to Darwin over several hundred miles in an old Land Rover through the tail end of ‘the wet’, the northern monsoon season when much of the Territory grinds to a standstill. He made it but the vehicle didn’t, and he completed the last few miles on foot. Mine were of the journey overland from England, of bandits in Iraq and gun barrel tension on the India-Pakistan frontier. Whilst there I had the alarming experience of looking out of our ground floor window onto a street which was suddenly whipped into a swirling frenzy in which the banging of hoardings, buckets and anything else not tied down was almost drowned by the howling of the wind. It lasted only a few minutes but the sight and sound was vividly recalled to me some years later when, safely back in England, Darwin was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy. Within a week or two we had moved to a Commonwealth hostel on the outskirts of town with a large, cooling fan overhead which had the added advantage of stopping the lizards from dropping onto our pillows with a thud at night.
The stories of Jock and another bush driver were getting to me and I had to see beyond the horizon once again. They told of a road train base at Katherine about two hundred miles south on the Stuart Highway and the lure proved too great. My interest aroused some amusement and I was asked, or so I thought, ‘have you ever driven a twin steer?’ This baffled me because the inference was that this was something complicated and out of the normal way of heavy truck driving. It wasn’t till I got to Katherine and fronted up to the soon to be legendary Noel Buntine, that I realised that they had meant twin stick. A very different kettle of fish. Noel asked of my experience, looked dubious, and when in answer to his spoken doubt I replied ‘well, nobody was born in a truck, twin stick or otherwise’, he said he would give me a go. Now in Australian parlance that means a chance, a full blown experience of a lifetime with seventy tons of bucking steel, wood, and cow on sixty wheels.
But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. I continued to work at Eyles for a few weeks but as time went on the local runs began to pall. I think the last straw was when I was given the job of loading and taking to the town dump all the cardboard boxes which were stockpiled in a large heap behind the warehouse. As I threw them on the wagon I realised that the place was alive with cockroaches. I worked very fast, loading driving and tipping but then had to get a broom to clear the lorry of the remaining livestock. I bought a bus ticket the next day. The Redline bus bound for Alice Springs was shiny and aluminium just like the famous Greyhound buses which criss-crossed America. I didn’t get it at the terminus but at the stop outside the hostel which as I have said was on the edge of town. The driver arrived on time, stopped the engine to load our luggage, there were one or two others waiting with me, and then, all settled jumped back behind the wheel. Nothing. The engine was as dead as a dodo. My heart sank, it was already mid morning and I wanted to get to Katherine with plenty of the day left to fix a job and a place to sleep. I thought we would have to wait till a relief arrived but, to my surprise the driver suggested we all get out and give him a push to bump start it. This we did and soon we were on our way. I couldn’t believe that the man was happily setting out on a one thousand mile journey with this hanging over him at every stop, or was he just going to keep the engine running all the way to ‘The Alice?’
After arriving Katherine in the late afternoon, I decided to get a room and a feed at the hotel and, afterwards in the bar got directions for the road train base. The next morning, bright and early, saw me walking the mile back along the ‘track’ to Buntine’s. After the meeting with Noel, described above, I bounced back to town in the company ‘ute’ (pick-up truck) to get my gear and deposit it in the bunkhouse, a long low building with several bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. Then straight to work. I had, quite by accident arrived at just the right time. As I have said, during the wet most operations stop in The Territory and Buntine retains only a few drivers who go south to haul grain and other farm related products. Now was the time to be setting on the cattle season workforce and this week prior to the start was taken up getting all the trucks and trailers ready. The biggest job is rooting out all the scrap tyres which are then sent to the meat works down the road for the furnaces. The borderline tyres, ‘rags’, are all fitted to one truck and its trailers, and guess who gets that truck. Why, the newest driver of course! I did not have time to ponder the real import of that for I had been given the unenviable job of collecting an International four wheel flat (the Aussies call them ‘trays’) from the far end of the compound where it had been parked for months, to load up with tyres at the workshop. The trouble was that the cab was full of cobwebs and little redback spiders which can give a nasty, and sometimes fatal, bite. After clearing a few of the webs I drove it across the yard very gingerly from the running board and then blew the rest of the beasties out with an airline.
I didn’t know it then, but the man I was working for was to become a legend in the Top End. Starting out in the fifties, first in partnership and then on his own with one truck, he had built up to a fleet of some fifty road trains by the end of the seventies before selling out and then buying back the business a couple of years later. Renamed as Road Trains of Australia it is still in existence although he was soon to retire, but the Buntine name lives on with his son Denis, who founded Victoria River Transport in the hiatus between Buntine Roadways and RTA.
The first trip with ‘semi and dogs’ – an artic and two forty foot trailers – was as offsider to a young driver of about my own age, then 24, who taught me the intricacies of the ‘quad box’ in the Mack B61 Thermodyne, the glamour wagon of the sixties in the Territory. Quoting from John Maddock’s excellent book ‘A History of Road Trains in the Northern Territory 1934-1988’ I realise how much of an experience of a lifetime I had been offered. ‘(the B61)…had power and complexity – sufficient of the latter to set a Mack driver apart from the rest of the mob. The blokes who could two-stick a quad box – that is, could manipulate the two gear levers simultaneously without making grating noises or selecting the wrong compound ratio – were accorded grudging respect by their road colleagues who were trundling along in less technically advanced examples of the automotive engineer’s efforts.’ He then goes on to describe in detail the complex method of starting off and changing up through the gears which, whenever I read it, brings a thrill of nostalgia to me. It is almost word for word how I have been describing it in the intervening years and is almost like confirmation of an apocryphal story told and retold. Almost as if I had begun to doubt the truth myself and here at last was the eradication of that doubt. I reproduce the passage here with apologies to those not interested in such detail but in the certain knowledge that the real trucking enthusiasts will be fascinated. John included a diagram of the layout but I will content myself with a word picture. Imagine three large aitches on the page. One, on its own to the left, and the other two joined so they share a common vertical centre line. The left hand aitch represents the compound, or splitter, box. The double aitch is the main box. The neutrals in each case are in the centre of the horizontals. Then, reading from left to right at the top, the gear positions are lo-lo, hi-split, reverse, 2nd, and 4th, and at the bottom – lo-split, direct, 1st, 3rd, and 5th. I’ll now let John take up the story.
‘Disregard the lo-lo position in the compound box. It’s rarely needed.
Select lo-split with the left hand lever and 1st with the right.
Once the vehicle is mobile move the lever across to direct, gain speed and then move it up to hi-split.
Next, using both hands, move the left stick back to lo-split and the right stick up to 2nd. Leave the main box in 2nd and move the left stick to direct and hi-split, as speed dictates. Using one hand this time, move both levers back towards the seat so that lo-split and 3rd are brought into action.
Then do the next two changes with the left hand lever.
Return the left hand lever to lo-split and simultaneously push the main box stick up towards the dash to 4th, where it remains while the compound is put through the next two stages (direct and hi-split) to bring everything together in 0.84:1 overdrive.
If a bit more speed is needed bring the right hand (main box) lever back towards the seat to 5th position and the B61 should be moving along in 0.70:1 overdrive at 100km/hour (62mph) with about 2100 rpm on the engine tachometer.
The procedure was reversed for changing down on hills. It wasn’t necessary to use every ratio; some of them were fairly close and didn’t contribute a great deal to momentum. Thus drivers quickly learned how to skip shift and it took quite a long time for even the best of them to get to the stage where they could two stick a quad box and talk to a passenger at the same time’.
Perhaps I should add that double de-clutching and hitting precisely the correct engine revs were essential every time, which is bad enough, but when you think that some of these shifts were a combination of a down change in one box (hi-split to lo-split compound) and an up change (1st to 2nd main) and required different revs, then you will see that it gets even more interesting! Both levers would be neutralised at the same time but the throttle blipped as the lo-split was engaged seconds before the revs were allowed to die for the main up shift to be made.
All this bouncing about on potholed dirt roads for much of the time in clouds of bulldust which often obscured from the driver’s view the rearmost trailer which he was trying hard not to flip by any untoward movement of the steering wheel. One reason why all road trains had hefty bull bars was because the policy was to stop or swerve for nothing lest the whip effect was started which would travel to the rear of the train with disastrous consequences.
After that first solo trip with Kevin I was transferred to the tender care of a much older and sadder man. In his fifties, George was small in stature but looked strong and wiry without an ounce of fat. He never seemed to change the faded grey shorts and singlet but apart from the daily layer of dust which we all carried appeared clean and gave no offence to any of the senses. On his feet were the ‘thongs’ (flip flops) which most of us wore, inadvisably because of the scorpions which rested in the dust. But it was above the neck that gave away his lifestyle, dark, thinning hair and equally dark stubble surrounded the vacant stare of tired eyes. A minor fugitive from Melbourne justice of several years standing he was watched but tolerated by the law as long as he remained in the Territory. He longed to go home but was afraid of arrest in the ‘civilised’ south. He ate very little apart from the occasional steak sandwich and seemed to exist on a diet of pills and rum. I have watched with apprehension as, whilst driving, he would carefully unscrew the top of a Beenleigh or Bunderberg rum bottle jammed between the seats, do the same with a canvas water bottle resting on the floor, and then in three lightning moves grab a handful of pills from the glove box into his mouth, take a great swig of the rum and then follow with a substantial water chaser. That done he would carefully rescrew his bottles, shut the glove box and settle down for another one hundred miles of expressionless staring through the screen. When the rest of us stopped at a roadside store to stock up on tinned beans and sausages George would not bother and back in Katherine he would decline the offer of a feed and a beer in town with a request for a steak sandwich, a carton of ‘stubbies’ and a bottle of Beenleigh to be brought back for him. One night after going to bed leaving him working on the gearbox of the truck, I woke next morning to find him fast asleep on the floor of the cab with his arms dangling through the hole above the box. But he could handle that wagon. His was the only body truck in the fleet at that time, a six wheel rigid with three drawbar trailers hooked up. Because he had double drive axles and good traction his was the job of pulling any of the single drive tractors which were stranded in the river beds. On the first trip out we stopped and set about large termite mounds with axes to use as ballast on his truck. We did the same on the front of the first trailer pulled by the latest addition to the fleet, a bogie drive R series Mack which was driven by Noel himself.
My first trip solo was nearly four hundred miles west on the Victoria Highway, although I never heard it called that at the time and if I had I would have laughed out loud. Nothing could be further from the popular concept of a highway than this. Only the first seventy five miles were bitumen, and that no wider than a truck, the rest dirt, soft, hard, potholed, corrugated, bulldust, but – dirt. Our destination was a cattle station called Carlton Hill, which was between Kunanurra and Wyndham in Western Australia. I reckon there were more than half a dozen road trains in the convoy strung out at about twenty mile intervals to allow the bulldust, which we knew awaited us at the end of the bitumen, to settle in the still air. The first of the two large rivers we had to ford was the Victoria River, still flowing quite strongly so soon after the wet. With short, steep banks and about fifty yards wide, we crossed without problem, although the two ballasted double drives stood by in case of need. We arrived at our first real communal stop, Timber Creek post office, in the late evening. The place was in darkness but soon came to light as the proprietor roused himself to pump hundreds of gallons of diesel, cook steak sandwiches, and pour rum and beer down dust-parched throats. After about an hour or so we pressed on into the night.
Even by mid morning the sun was blazing hot as we approached the West Australian town of Kunanurra. Many of us who had driven during the night in bare feet were forced to don thongs, that simplest of all footwear with its flat rubber sole and single split strap, to protect us from the furnace heat of the metal cab floor and pedals. Now even in the sixties Kunanurra had a by-pass, that still much sought after feature of small towns all over the world some thirty years later. But this was a genuine by-pass, that is to say it passed by the town completely. I had the feeling that it was there first and some far sighted person created the settlement a mile or so away in the bush. All I know for certain is that road trains were forbidden in the main street and although granted that was a hundred yards wide that was all there was. Well it’s all that I saw anyway. Our long walk down this dusty baking thoroughfare was for but one purpose only, to get to the pub. Fortunately it was the first building albeit half a mile away, unfortunately, there were licensing laws, something quite foreign to us seasoned Territorians (a very friendly race, Aussies, I had been mildly criticised after only a week on the job for referring to England as ‘home’). All that was on offer was Coke and barbied chook. We forewent the chicken and began the long march back with armfuls of frozen cans. Perhaps we felt too much affinity with the crisp brown creatures as we rapidly roasted in our mobile ovens back on the track. Vainly we opened both windows despite, probably apocryphal, dark warnings of poisonous snakes run over by the front wheels and flicked into the cab with fatal consequences. At the Carlton River each cab stopped in the centre of the flow as its driver fell out of the doorway with a splash. Those tin boxes were so hot that we almost felt drier in the water, but it definitely felt cooler, well, at least to the far bank anyway. At last, around noon we pulled up at Carlton Hill Station, or at least that part of it where we were to load the cows. Nothing to be seen for miles beyond the pens and crushes, the narrow runs between wooden fences which lead to the side doors of each crate as the trains are pulled slowly past. This was yet to come; however, the station owner and his wife were on hand with a side of beef roasting on an open fire next to a three ton truck. Other fires nearby roared under five gallon billies containing variously, potatoes and tea. The latter was the first object of our desire, great mugs of steaming hot black sweet nectar. Only then were the former tackled and then, like bloated, blackened carcasses, we collapsed in the shade under our trailers into a deep sleep. Our first in almost twenty hours. Any heed of dark warnings of vicious scorpions burrowed in the bulldust ignored. Were these stories also apocryphal? So much of Aussie life seems to consist of tall stories. But some must be true.
It seemed only seconds before someone was shaking us awake with another mug of the black stuff but the sun was dying in the west and now was the time to start loading. The mainly wild cattle are reputedly calmer and more manageable at this time of day but what was to come was very hard work. The Aboriginal stockmen drove the beasts into the crush and we were on hand hanging on the insides of the crates to drive them up the other end to allow more to enter. Memory fades at this distance but I think we carried some thirty animals in a forty foot trailer, seems quite a lot if true but today’s modern stock crates, double decked and through loaded from the rearmost trailer must carry far more.
With whoops and waves from bosses and stockmen alike, we turned east once more into the gathering gloom. Weary from lack of sleep but elated with the experiences I was encountering I almost shook with excitement and anticipation of yet more adventure to come. Little did I know of the difference between empty and loaded in these harsh conditions. I’d had a couple of punctures on the way out and had changed them with no more than usual jumping and straining at wheelbrace extensions. But now loaded, the rag tyres really came into their own. Before dawn I must have changed another three or four, each more tiring than the last. Dragging the heavy jack and base block from its box, clearing bulldust down to a reasonably firm base, the arm-breaking pumping to lift the heavy trailers lurching and creaking with the stamping and banging of the unhappy cargo. Tight wheel nuts, impossibly heavy wheels to pull, lower, raise, push, and secure. All seemed worlds away from the glamour of transcontinental road trains. And it was, I thought little of glamour as I crawled back behind the wheel each time with no more respite than a quick swig and douse from the water bottle and never even remembered the thrill of roaring past the lens-clicking tourists, lined up by their air conditioned coach as we convoyed away from the Victoria River the previous day. Air conditioned or not, they knew what bulldust was after we had passed!
After fording the Carlton River we congregated again to check the passengers. Cattle can last for quite arduous journeys without water but they must not be allowed to lie down. The others soon trampled them and if we killed them, what would slaughterhouses have to do? The method of getting the fallers on their feet is simple. Annoy them so much that they want to have a go at you. As they can’t do this sitting down, they have to get up. All the driver has to do is make sure he’s not there when they do. A fine line. I had already had some experience of lone rescue on the journey so far and did not like the job. To start with you swing your legs down from above, straight-armed on the tubular bows every few feet or so over the top of the crate, kicking the backs or heads of the recalcitrant beasts. This usually works, but if not more drastic methods are needed. As far as possible drive the other animals away (this is easier if the fallen one is near an end) then climb down and punch or blow into its nose. This is apparently so offensive that a lightning escape up the side is essential. Mission accomplished. With all this in mind at Carlton River when we divided up for a communal effort trailer by trailer I volunteered to be one of those that stood on terra firma with a stick poking through the slats. At least one of my bulls was so large that the tips of his horns reached the top of the crate with a spread of about five feet. I remember being a little surprised therefore that there was no competition for this job, most people falling over each other to scramble up the sides and over the top. Of course, if you were a cow and a lot of people came into your crowded gathering and started throwing their weight about, you’d be pretty annoyed and stamp your feet a bit. These were no different, and as I lay down afterwards under the trailer water tank and waited for the dark brown layer to leave my body along, I hoped, with its aroma, I began to plan the quickest way to the top of a crate ready for the next time.
The single large spotlight set in the centre of the bull bars, wired into the full beam switch and for all the world like a wartime searchlight, cast a powerful shaft of light hundreds of yards ahead. But this one did not capture tiny bombers in its glare, just the ghostly clouds of settling bulldust and an occasional pair of reflecting wild eyes. Against the encroaching glow from the east which was brightening my windscreen something else came into view. The loom of large vehicles and small pinpoints of red light told me of another group halt so I eased down through the box and brought the Mack to rest behind the last trailer. Leaving the lights on to warn those behind I walked forward slowly past the line of sleeping giants, blinking tired eyes and stretching weary limbs. The reason for the obstruction soon became clear when I reached the lead truck. Graham’s last crate had slewed into a depression at the side of the track and tilted over to about forty five degrees, lifting the nearside rear bogie and spilling half its contents bellowing into the bush. The front bogie was more or less on the ground and the couplings were still good, so it was decided to pull the whole train forward onto firm ground. George’s rigid body truck was detached from its trailers and placed ahead of the stricken vehicle with a chain tow. Then Noel dropped two of his trailers, leaving the semi coupled for traction, and headed out at angle of about eleven o’clock to the track with a chain attached to the chassis of the tilted trailer. At the signal both crawled forward with Graham assisting in similar fashion and within minutes the whole lot was back in business on level ground. About half the cows had escaped from the crate but the ones that were left appeared to be no worse for wear despite some of them being pitched sideways with their legs through the slatted sides. The whole operation had taken a couple of hours and so as it was now full light it was decided to start the breakfast fire. Soon the billy was boiled and the hot black tea was washing down dusty throats followed by beans and sausages. Another hour saw the fire doused and the snaking procession grinding laboriously into motion. In the mirrors, just before the bulldust blotted the view, a few yellow-brown shapes slunk from the bush to investigate the feeding possibilities of the blackened cans by the still smouldering ashes. My first sight of dingoes.
After another ten or so punctures, exhausting the twelve spares I carried and borrowing from following drivers (at least this provides an opportunity for someone to make a can of tea), I circled the Katherine meatworks in the late afternoon and began the task of unloading, I expect this was easier, and it must have been, because I don’t remember a thing about it. I suppose my mind was on other things. Like mending, yes mending, those sixteen punctures the old fashioned way by pressing a hot patch on and dusting with French chalk before stuffing the tube back in the tyre and re-inflating. After that a quick oil and filter change, into town for a steak sandwich and a beer, briefly bed and then – back on the road.
The next trip was less arduous and involved shifting the cows from Victoria River Downs Station to a government inspection point at a place called Black Gin Bull. This was no more than a series of pens in the middle of nowhere where the beasts were inspected by a vet and certified or otherwise for onward shipment out of the Territory. The trains moved back and forth until all had arrived and then started reloading for the final destination, I think in Queensland. I say think because I was rested at Black Gin Bull after my first load in and didn’t take part in the subsequent movement. This did not mean no work but did mean reasonable sleep. In fact it was quite enjoyable and a pleasant change although some aspects were distressing. The vet was a likeable chap named Davey of about my own age and we got on well. He was originally from England too but had left with his parents when very young. Several of the animals were in poor condition, for various reasons; injury, illness, and dehydration, and Davey had to decide the likelihood of their recovering sufficiently for the remainder of the journey. Apart from animal welfare considerations his prime duty was public health. Any animal not up to scratch had to be destroyed and for this purpose he had a large six shot revolver which he pressed to the forehead with a steady hand. The result was instantaneous and although it was obvious no suffering was involved it was to me the least acceptable part of the job. All his apparatus and our gear was stored in a standard concrete garage but at night we preferred the softness of the bulldust to the hard floor when laying out our ‘swags’. It was very pleasant to sleep under the stars in the clear sky to the sound of the shuffling cattle nearby.
This few days respite was over all too soon and I was back on the road. I realised it wouldn’t be too long before I had to move on again. It was hard and very tiring work and I was anxious again for new horizons and to renew old acquaintances. Before making the break though I had several opportunities to see further aspects of this extreme version of road transport.
The biggest impression was the Mack truck itself. The B61 is rightly preserved in many locations throughout the world and is still spoken of by many truck drivers in America and Australia today. It marked the beginning of the end for the predominance of English ‘heavies’ in Australia, and particularly the Territory. The famous air starter. A wonderful idea, perfect in an environment where the driver might be out of touch with civilisation for days on end with no communication. No mobile phones or radios in trucks in those days. A flat battery on a cold desert morning could spell disaster. There was a button in the floor of the cab which had to be whacked very hard with a metal handle which emerged from under the driver’s seat. There was a banshee scream as a blast of compressed air was fed to the starter motor and the beast roared into life. ‘Ah yes,’ I hear you cry, ‘how many trucks leak air overnight, what are you going to do then?’ Simple, Mr. Mack kindly supplies an air line which connects both to the reservoir and the tyre valves. There should be enough air in more than thirty odd tyres to top up enough to set the starter spinning. As soon as you get the motor running the increased pressure in the tanks sends air back down the line to replenish the tyre. I never understood why the idea was not more widely used and could have done with such a system when, back in England, I had a ■■■■■■■ 180 which repeatedly flattened batteries on cold winter mornings and a boss who refused to sanction the use of an air intake spray. The same airline I also saw used to force the last dregs of fuel through from the auxiliary tank to the main, just enough to get back to base. And of course, there was never an excuse for running under-inflated!
Transport driving is a lonely profession, which I suppose is what attracts many of us to it. Independent minds. That is not to say though that drivers don’t appreciate the times when their paths do cross and those days in the Territory were no exception. I recall with great fondness the tales told round the camp fire, and Australians have a great tradition of (tall) story telling. My favourite was ‘Black Bob at Stringybark Creek’:
Have you heard about Black Bob who carried a cow up the bank of Stringybark Creek?
No.
Well I’m the bloke who was carrying Black Bob!
It puts into perspective the warnings of scorpions in the bulldust and snakes under the wheels, of snakes crawling into sleeping bags at night (this really did happen one night but I didn’t know it till he followed me out in the morning 
), and crocodiles in the rivers. They just might be true but must be put to the back of the mind if you are not to become a nervous wreck.
© David Marker
Thanks David this chapter from your book brings back some memories of my own adoption of the cattle carting industry some 5 or six years after your induction ,it hadn’t changed a great deal except the ``B models had been replaced by the R models and the Buntine fleet had grown to 30plus triples with the arrival of the first Double deckers and there was plenty of the roads still made of bull dust.
Thanks mate.
Cheers Dig .
The Canning Stock Rout has no river crossings and only one creek called Savory Creek which is dry most of the time but when running it flows into Lake Disappointment a huge salt lake that would swallow anyone silly enough to try and walk on its surface.
I think the theory that the ticks would drop off in the desert may have been a furphy.
Dig
Thanks David, most entertaining and very well written. I only wish I could write as creatively as you.
Thanks both, wasn’t sure that such a long missive would be acceptable. Emboldened by your approval, I wonder if you would enjoy the following bit of fiction. Still transport related but, you will be pleased to know, much shorter.
Country Coppers
The young man walked along the pavement of the small Welsh town, he was searching for something looking left and right but obviously without success. At the corner of the street he spotted a lone constable slowly pacing and nodding occasionally to passing citizens, in the usual fashion of country policemen.
‘Can you help me’ said the stranger, ‘I’m looking for a phone box and the only one I’ve seen so far doesn’t seem to be working?’
‘And you won’t find another’ came the apologetic reply ‘that’s the only one and has been out of order for some time, if it’s urgent you can phone from the station. I know the sergeant won’t mind.’
Accepting gratefully with the explanation that he must phone the boss to explain a delay, the two of them walked the few yards to the police station. Once inside the equally friendly desk sergeant gestured to the phone on the desk in front of him. ‘Help yourself mate, but don’t be too long, Division checks the bills from time to time and we don’t have much call for long distance conversations.’ This with a twinkle in his eye which seemed to relax the visitor into a making a lowered confidence, ‘I hope it isn’t going to be a problem but I’ve left my wagon round the corner on double yellows, there was nowhere else but I reckon 60 feet of metal and rubber is a little difficult to overlook.’
‘Don’t you worry about a thing son, we all have our jobs to do, I’ll get Panda One on the radio and tell him to stand guard until you return, we only have one Warden and he can explain the circumstances to him. Fancy a cuppa while you’re here?’
The radio crackled in the background and a cheery voice could just be made out agreeing to the task. The tea shortly arrived just as Rob got through to the governor, no mean task what with switchboards and office temps en route.
‘Got a problem boss, I left Llangwllgoch last night after my last drop and headed down towards the coast, but then there must have been some sort of incident because I got picked up by the police there and held all night and most of today.’ At this revelation the sergeant’s ears pricked up but he said nothing, he’d heard that his colleagues in the larger force were sometimes inclined to overlook the niceties of citizens’ rights, and his lips pursed in disapproval.
‘Anyway’ the story continued, ‘they didn’t allow me a call and today in these mountains I couldn’t get a signal for love or money on the mobile. I should be down at the Wilson drop by tomorrow morning first thing though.’
This was followed by faint animated cursing from the other end of the line but finally the receiver was replaced and Rob turned his full attention to the, now rapidly cooling, tea.
‘You really oughtn’t to leave it at that you know’ said the sergeant, ‘it isn’t the first time those buggers have played fast and loose with strangers.’ He didn’t, however, offer to facilitate this course of action, knowing the complications which can arise from such perceived disloyalty.
‘Oh that’s ok sarge’ airily at ease with this amiable fellow ‘that was just a yarn I spun to keep ‘em sweet, truth is I met an old mate last night, quite by chance, and spent most of the night downing the contents of his fridge. Didn’t wake up ‘till half an hour ago and the first stop before here was the chemist.’
The twin roars of laughter that followed this revelation were still ringing in his ears as he shook hands and sought the exit to the street. The pain in his head was replaced by the warm glow of friendship as a result of this fraternal experience. ‘Coppers ain’t so bad, when you get to know them’ he mused to himself.
The radio in the little blue and white ■■■■■■ parked by the shiny Scania crackled again.
‘Get your breathalyser sorted out Pete,’ the sergeant growled, ‘I think we’ve got a customer.’
© David Marker
In a similar, but totally different vein:
The police car was surreptitiously parked behind the post office, watching the pub carpark, at closing time.
Predictably a fellow staggers out, weaving and staggering his way to the carpark. He fumbles in his pockets for his keys, unable to stand still. The third car he tries unlocks.
Eventually he gets the car started and runs it at full revs for several seconds. After stalling the car a few times, he finally gets the car moving, doing a good impression of a kangaroo. As he turned out of the parking area, the policemen noted that none of the car lights were on, but despite it being a clear and fine evening, the wipers were on.
The inevitable occurred and barely five hundred metres from the pub, the police had intercepted the car.
The driver was politely asked to submit to a breathalyzer test. With equal politeness, but much slurring, the driver agreed. Understanding the driver’s difficulty with coordination, the policemen displayed much patience, taking ten minutes to complete the test.
The policemen were shocked at the reading. Zero!
The policemen looked at each other, with one asking the other how the reading could be correct when the motorist displayed every classic sign of a drink driver.
The man in the car interjected “That’s easy, I’m the dedicated decoy.”
Star down under.:
In a similar, but totally different vein:The police car was surreptitiously parked behind the post office, watching the pub carpark, at closing time.
Predictably a fellow staggers out, weaving and staggering his way to the carpark. He fumbles in his pockets for his keys, unable to stand still. The third car he tries unlocks.
Eventually he gets the car started and runs it at full revs for several seconds. After stalling the car a few times, he finally gets the car moving, doing a good impression of a kangaroo. As he turned out of the parking area, the policemen noted that none of the car lights were on, but despite it being a clear and fine evening, the wipers were on.
The inevitable occurred and barely five hundred metres from the pub, the police had intercepted the car.
The driver was politely asked to submit to a breathalyzer test. With equal politeness, but much slurring, the driver agreed. Understanding the driver’s difficulty with coordination, the policemen displayed much patience, taking ten minutes to complete the test.
The policemen were shocked at the reading. Zero!
The policemen looked at each other, with one asking the other how the reading could be correct when the motorist displayed every classic sign of a drink driver.
The man in the car interjected “That’s easy, I’m the dedicated decoy.”
Star down under.:
Thanks David, most entertaining and very well written. I only wish I could write as creatively as you.
I have to agree with you Ian, Spardo makes you feel like you are sat in the cab with him, I wish that I had that ‘gift’.
THE TOP END.
Hi David, I must have read your story several times over the years and whenever I do, I always get a feeling of the dust, the heat, the fly’s and of course a thirst for an ice-cold beer.
I presume that they still had ‘The Darwin Stubbies’ back then or did you just forget to mention them, along with the all the ‘Bottle Trees’ and ‘The Boabs’ that seemed to be prolific around that area.
I thought that I had loads of photos of The Northern Territory, with some of the places which you might still recognise but after taking ages to try and find them, I was reminded by my wife that that was the time when I had just bought a Sony Cinecam.
The small cassette had to be placed into a larger cassette holder, which then could be inserted into a video player, so that we could watch it on a television set. Sadly now, I don’t have a video player, so I haven’t been able to see the video of that trip that we did over twenty years ago.
I also wondered if you ever paid a visit to Katherine Gorge, whenever you got a bit of time off. It was probably only used by the locals when you were there and now it has become a popular tourist stop on ‘The Ghan Railway’, on its way from Adelaide to Darwin.
You mentioned a couple of posts back about ‘Territory humour’ so I thought that I would mention this as it made me chuckle, at the time.
We were doing a croc spotting trip down Katherine Gorge, in an aluminum flat bottom boat, which held about twenty passengers.
It had a canvas top which gave us a bit of shade, and there were half a dozen life buoys placed on the roof, I remember that it was powered by a really noisy two stroke engine.
The safety briefing consisted of the skipper saying that “in the case of the vessel tipping over, there are life buoys on the roof and if you all form a circle around me, then we should be O.K.”
An American woman who was sat in front of us, said to her husband “is he serious” to which her husband replied. “If he is, then he will be fighting me to get into the middle.
I didn’t forget about the Darwin Stubbies, it is a term I hadn’t heard till now, but I do recognise the word stubbies and the beer within them, as I probably mentioned above it was the favourite tipple, along with Beenleigh rum, of George.
I am the world’s worst tourist, in fact I always felt embarrassed if I thought I might look like one, which explains why, when I had to leave my worldly belongings in a storage facility in Delhi, too much for the plane, in amongst all my stuff was my camera. Thus for all the years I was in Australia I never owned a camera and so no photos of all the wonders I saw. Which brings me to your mention, and video (which I have just watched on my smart tv but couldn’t understand a word the bloke said because I haven’t worked out how to get subtitles on it yet 
) of the Katherine Gorge. Not only did I never go there, well I was full on working and sleeping, but I had never heard of it either till I got back to Blighty. Although I regret never seeing it, I might have been just a tad put off if someone had pointed out all the interesting wildlife I would meet. The thought of being only being a boat tip away from those snapping jaws, be they ‘freshies’ or’ salties’, could just have tipped the balance.
BTW, the camera that got left in Delhi, a Kodak Retinette 1A which I have still got somewhere, I bought in an earlier life as a seafarer on a Shell tanker in Kuwait. When I later jumped that ship in Sydney I was hauled off to Kings Cross police station by a big brute of a bloke who was suspicious of my attempts to pawn it on William Street. Perhaps that traumatic experience was subconciously why, some years later, I decided against re-introducing it to Oz.
mushroomman:
Star down under.:
Thanks David, most entertaining and very well written. I only wish I could write as creatively as you.
I have to agree with you Ian, Spardo makes you feel like you are sat in the cab with him, I wish that I had that ‘gift’.
THE TOP END.
Hi David, I must have read your story several times over the years and whenever I do, I always get a feeling of the dust, the heat, the fly’s and of course a thirst for an ice-cold beer.I presume that they still had ‘The Darwin Stubbies’ back then or did you just forget to mention them, along with the all the ‘Bottle Trees’ and ‘The Boabs’ that seemed to be prolific around that area.
I thought that I had loads of photos of The Northern Territory, with some of the places which you might still recognise but after taking ages to try and find them, I was reminded by my wife that that was the time when I had just bought a Sony Cinecam.
The small cassette had to be placed into a larger cassette holder, which then could be inserted into a video player, so that we could watch it on a television set. Sadly now, I don’t have a video player, so I haven’t been able to see the video of that trip that we did over twenty years ago.I also wondered if you ever paid a visit to Katherine Gorge, whenever you got a bit of time off. It was probably only used by the locals when you were there and now it has become a popular tourist stop on ‘The Ghan Railway’, on its way from Adelaide to Darwin.
You mentioned a couple of posts back about ‘Territory humour’ so I thought that I would mention this as it made me chuckle, at the time.We were doing a croc spotting trip down Katherine Gorge, in an aluminum flat bottom boat, which held about twenty passengers.
It had a canvas top which gave us a bit of shade, and there were half a dozen life buoys placed on the roof, I remember that it was powered by a really noisy two stroke engine.The safety briefing consisted of the skipper saying that “in the case of the vessel tipping over, there are life buoys on the roof and if you all form a circle around me, then we should be O.K.”
An American woman who was sat in front of us, said to her husband “is he serious” to which her husband replied. “If he is, then he will be fighting me to get into the middle.australianfoodtimeline.com.au/darwin-stubby/
youtube.com/watch?v=2txHuKPBeXU
0
MRM did you do Geikie gorge on the Fitzroy river as well?
Dig
It was good to see that Chris Arbon had logged on yesterday morning, I used to really enjoy his posts on here. If you have never read Chris’s book ‘Roadtrip Ramatueelle’, then I think that it’s a great read about his travelling life and it might make a good Christmas present for any ex-driver.
I don’t think that I ever met Chris, unless he was the driver who I took to try and find a doctor in Turkey one Boxing Day morning, back in the early eighties. This driver had fallen out of his cab while he was having a pee and his arm had come out of its socket. He said that it had happened a couple of times, which was due to him falling off his motorbike some years before. He blamed my mate Roy for putting too much Asbach Brandy on the tinned Christmas Pudding that we had the day before. I shall never forget the screams that he made, as the Turkish doctor tried several times to put the arm back into the socket, but he did manage it in the end.
On the same trip, I remember meeting up with two other drivers who Chris worked with at Fred Archers, Noddy Bob and Mickey Chinnock.
I met Bob at the Fallujah customs just outside Baghdad on New Year’s Day and Mickey, when we were coming out of Iraq at the Turkish border at Zacho, on the way home.
I heard that Mickey ended up in a Turkish prison for quite a while a few years later.
As Chris’s post mentions Aid to Poland, I have a feeling that Sandway or one of the Promotors drivers did a similar job around the same time so I shall try and see if I can find it and repost it on this thread.
by ChrisArbon » Fri Jun 22, 2012 12:17 pm
FIRST TRIP TO POLAND.
First thing Wednesday morning, I was at an old RAF airfield, near Royston in Hertfordshire. The aeroplanes had long gone but the buildings were still used by the Ministry of Defence for storage. The people who were paying for the lorry to go to Poland was a Charity called “Medical Aid for Poland”, who raised money to buy hospital equipment, which it then shipped out to the Communist state. Fred Archer had done some work for them before and, this time, the charity had purchased a load of nurses’ uniforms from Government Surplus. One of the security guards at the store reckoned the stuff was from the Second World War, and had been kept at Royston for longer than he had worked there. The thousands of brown paper parcels containing the uniforms were all neatly ■■■■■■■ with string, but the two car loads of charity workers got stuck into loading and passed the parcels into the trailer, loading it to the roof, from front to back. All the helpers were Polish or sons of Poles who lived in Britain. I wondered which one was going to be my ■■■■■■. It came as a shock when Mr Bronsky, the top man, told me my ■■■■■■ wasn’t at Royston, but that she would meet me at Dover.
When the trailer was loaded, I was given instructions that the vehicle was booked on that evening’s Dover to Ostend ferry. The arrangements gave me plenty of time, so I took it easy, plodding down to the Channel port. On the A2 dual carriageway, a silver Cortina came alongside, flashing its headlights and blowing its hooter. The passenger was gesticulating that I should pull over. Thinking that there was something wrong with the trailer, I pulled in at the first opportunity, which happened to be a transport café. The young guy from the Cortina came running over to ask if I was going to Poland. It then clicked that my ■■■■■■ had seen the Archer lorry and thought it would save time if they could get me to stop.
My ■■■■■■ was the passenger of the car, not at all what I had been expecting. Irena was well over 60 years old. Over a cup of tea, I found out the lady had been born in Poland, but had lived in Britain since the end of the Second World War. The car driver was her grandson. This was Irena’s fourth trip as an ■■■■■■ for “Medical Aid for Poland” and she seemed quite at ease with the prospect of sleeping in a lorry cab. My ■■■■■■ was keen to spend Saturday and Sunday with old friends in Warsaw, so she was pleased to hear I wasn’t in any particular hurry to complete the trip — visiting friends was the only perk from the unpaid ■■■■■■’s job.
It was an uneventful Channel crossing, which disembarked at just after midnight. I parked on the quay at Ostend for the night. As I had slept in my cabin during the voyage, I was up early and across Belgium before dawn. Transiting Holland did not take long either, as we made our way east, entering Germany at the border town of Venlo. The Mercedes truck made good time across the flat terrain. The nurses’ uniforms did not weigh much, which suited the 260 horsepower v-eight engine. It looked as if we would just have enough driving time to cross into East Germany on the first full day. Even with a complete vehicle search at the East-West German border, my plan looked to be on schedule; but, when I came to stop for the night, Irena was most upset.
“You cannot stop here, not in Germany. I hate the Germans. You must continue to Poland. I will not sleep a night in Germany, especially East Germany,” exclaimed Irena.
“But I have driven my permitted hours. We have to stop for nine hours,” I explained, taken aback by the strength of the lady’s protest.
“You do not understand. I was in Auschwitz concentration camp during the war. I cannot stay in Germany longer than necessary,” continued Irena, in the same distraught tone.
“Okay. We’ll have a coffee and then push on to the Polish border,” I replied.
“Thank you,” sighed Irena.
You have a have a pretty good excuse to break the tachograph laws. The situation would take a lot of explaining, if I was caught; but this was good enough for me. The last thing I wanted, was to argue with Irena and after what she had said, going against her wishes was unthinkable. During the evening, as we drove on towards Poland, Irena told me about Auschwitz and how she went there as a Jewish teenager, from Warsaw. The only reason Irena had survived was because she spoke German and was used as a translator. The ■■■■■■ trips on behalf of the “Medical Aid for Poland” charity were the first time since the war that Irena had been to Germany, or spoken German. The way Irena had been able to rise above the hatred and do something positive for the people of her homeland was remarkable. That night, I felt humble to be in the company of someone who had been through so much and was still willing to do her bit for a country she had left 40 years ago.
Fortunately, East Germany was not a wide country and was crossed in a few hours. Although the state of the road from Berlin, eastwards, to Frankfurt am der Oder was terrible, the concrete slabs that made up the dual carriageway all seemed to have subsided at one end, which gave the lorry a back-jarring jolt every two lengths that it travelled. At the Polish border, the East German formalities were quick and easy, as it seemed the authorities did not expect anyone would be trying to escape into Poland. However, it was a different story two hundred years up the road, on the Polish side. Irena took charge of things so, as she went off with the paperwork, I thought I would catch up on some sleep. But I was soon woken up and told to drive into a Customs’ examination shed. It seemed that a charity truck from Holland had been caught trying to smuggle in a printing press and, since then, every aid shipment was completely unloaded for a thorough check. It looked like a squad of young Polish soldiers had been especially roused for the job. They did not look very happy. Irena told me to get some rest, while she kept an eye on things to make sure none of the nurses’ uniform went missing.
I slept well, as I was tired enough not to notice the rocking of the trailer, but I woke to find Irena was still supervising the Polish army, as they tried to get all the packages back on the vehicle. Why they needed more space than the loaders at Royston, I do not know. When the boy soldiers had finished, the canvas canopy of the trailer looked like a sack of spuds. We got underway as soon as possible after the examination. The sun was coming up, as Irena reclined on the passenger seat, to get some well-earned rest. The lady slept all morning, as I drove eastwards, on the poorly surfaced, single carriageway. There was no need for maps, as Warsaw was sign posted all the way from the frontier. Traffic was light, tractors and trailers shared the road with local Polish trucks. There was the occasional west-bound, Russian registered TIR outfit, but not many cars. Most Polish cars seemed to be 124 Fiat look-a-likes that spent most of their life parked beside blocks of flats in drab Polish towns. Progress was steady, rather than spectacular, while I soon learned to slow down to a walking pace when negotiating level crossings. They were anything but level, with sections of wooden sleepers between the tracks often missing. With just one stop for lunch, it was still after dark when we reached the outskirts of Warsaw. I had not expected it to take so long; but on taking a second look at the map of Poland in my European road atlas, I realised, not only was Warsaw three-quarters of the way across the country, but the Polish map was drawn to a smaller scale than that of Germany and the rest of Western Europe
Irena then produced a street map of Warsaw from her handbag and, while telling me the story of how she had acquired this rare item, she showed me our final destination. It was a Catholic church, on the banks of the river, opposite the zoo, upstream from the third road bridge. I found it with no trouble. The church was at the centre of a complex that included a convent, a school and a meeting hall. There was just enough room to reverse into the playground beside the school. The unloading of the trailer had been arranged for the Saturday morning so, while Irena went off to stay with her friends, I was given room in the convent. It was smartly furnished with a bed, wardrobe and desk. A decorative star-shaped light-fitting illuminated the room. There were places for five bulbs, only one of the three worked. That summed up Poland perfectly.
An enthusiastic crew of helpers turned up in the morning to unload the uniforms. Great fun was had by all, throwing the brown paper parcels off the trailer and into the church hall, through an open window. I did not know Poland had so many talented Rugby players. In the afternoon, I wandered around the city. It was overcast and cold: the weather was the same. Warsaw seemed to have little to offer, or was I in the wrong part of town? Dressed in an old bomber jacket and jeans, I thought I would blend in with the crowd, but so many people stopped me, to ask if I wanted to exchange any dollars for zlotys, I took off my jacket to check if someone had chalked USA on the back.
My meals at the convent were brought to my room by the nuns - big portions of meat and vegetables that I knew they would not be having themselves. It was a difficult situation. I wanted to tell them I did not want special treatment, that they should not give all their rations to me, but I did not want to seem ungrateful or waste anything. I tried to make the nuns feel happy, by eating everything up and thanking them profusely. The fact was, I had three weeks’ worth of food in the lorry and had not been expecting a bed, let alone full board.
When I was washing the lorry on the Sunday morning, Irena came to see me, in order to discuss our departure time. She talked me into staying the Sunday night so she could see more of her friends. The couple drove Irena round to the church in their beat-up old Polish Fiat. The old man had fought with the RAF during the war and could have stayed on to live in Britain, but had chosen to return to his native Poland. He was a nice bloke, who spoke perfect English. He could have certainly done better for himself than a rusty Lada clone if he had been like Irena and so many other Poles who settled in Britain after 1945. My three friends were pleased to hear that I did not intend to move out until Monday morning. I figured that I could drive to the East German border by Monday night and cross, first thing Tuesday, load in West Germany in the afternoon and the get across, into Holland, by the end of the day. This plan, I hoped, would keep Irena happy: in and out of both East and West German in one day. It was not a plan of which Fred Archer would have approved, as it did not make for good economic transport operations, but sitting about on a Sunday was the least I could do for someone like Irena. As it was, the plan worked perfectly, even with a hiccup of a broken fuel pipe. German efficiency in repairing the engine and in loading the trailer at Hanover meant that we were able to catch the midnight fright ferry from Zeebrugge to Dover.
When I got back to Ipswich, after tipping in Leicester, Fred asked why I had taken so long. I told him about the Dutch printing press and the full turnout at the border, which seemed to satisfy his curiosity.
ChrisArbon
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