Pulleyens as a transport company had some very good work ,anything anywhere you never knew from one week to another what you would be doing or where you would end up, the whole of EUROPE WAS THEIR WORK PLACE and of course good back up, TOP OF THE RANGE trucks and trailers as a driver for me to say there was not one thing wrong with PULLEYNS transport ,you could not fault it and the new yard was all you needed.
The dry goods work was as good as the fridge work the TIR tilts had all the mod cons you needed you were able to load any load thrown at you ,there were wells in the floor for carrying steel coils up to 20 ton one coil, side bars for loading steel bars ,lots of floor hooks, for straps to be tied to and best of all sliding roofs, now if you have never stripped a tilt down and rebuilt, you never forget how to do it.
None of you curtain side trailers with clips ,like now days all though. with a sliding roof you are in heaven .If you dropped a fridge trailer in the yard or any other trailer or even a small van anything you could guarantee that all trucks trailers would be in the most immaculate condition as you left it they had their own full truck wash ,all serviced in the workshops.
One of the main sources of work was from Basingstoke, for dry,white goods, there could be a small camera that was needed in the anywhere and a van or small truck or even a 40 foot trailer would do the job more often some of the younger men on the small stuff would get as much flight time as driving as soon as the deliver was made if not needed to race back one driver would fly home.
They also had their own low loader I did a few loads with it mostly down in to France to AiR-ESPATIALAL in TOULISE where `they built Concord it was oversize for parts for the massive front loading cargo plane called the [Guupie] or similar name 1992 ish we did drive right in to the hanger it was unbelievable to see such a thing up close.
One job was a classic it was the yearly MONTREUX festival in Swiss everyone driver available was on it , they used to hire a warehouse outside the town and men would be there all the time unloading and loading Pulleyns men ,goods to go to the large exhibition centre, all drivers, warehouse staff would stop in a the hotel even us drivers who brought a 40 ft trailer down you just did as you were told, we were all dressed the same smart PULLEYN TOPS SHORTS /TROUSERS SHIRTS, all embossed when we were told to go anywhere we would all have to drive back through the town all trucks nice and clean
We would all use the small border south of Besancon, Pontillier called [ Vallorb] then ,on to Lausanne Montreux.it was a cracking job,if anyone no matter who upset anyone there they would be sent back home.
They even paid us our night out money when we were in the hotel ,all meals free we would all shower, dress smart then in with the boss in the main lounge and have what you wanted to eat even a sweet and drinks however we all watched the drink as you might all have to drive back to get another load at short notice like ,now…
I did get to travel to some amazing places with Pulleyns Moscow was the talk for a long time ,other firms were doing dry goods and the Dutch ,Danes etc were doing fridge work but hardly any from the UK, Fransens had not yet started to go to Russia yet.
I did some Poland for them that was not as easy and good as you would think as it was still the classed as east commie block ,also East German was still GDR. i was in WARSAW after the Berlin wall came down, i have one entry stamp for the .G.D.R and no exit stamp as it all collapsedwhen I was unloading I did get caught up in the mass exodus of all the east Germans and their old smokey beat up [trIbants] cars the people had never been outside their towns and city ,it was manic.
Good job i had my own food and water it was 3 deep in cars for as far as you could see people were just stopped anywhere on the roads ,the fumes from their old cars was choking kids all climbing on the truck steps, hanging off the mirrors, it was a unbelievable site however after a time it wore a bit thin ,i had a load of FROZEN PORK BACKS for a well know pie and sausage maker? temperature minus -20/
Them people had never seen trucks like what i had and other Dutch trucks ,i was the only Englishman .that I know off it was not the normal run of the mill run for English trucks [to much hassle] in the end it got to much you just wanted to get away, some of the Dutch and German not G.D.R .started to blow their horns to get a passage through the beat up mêlée of cars i did the same
After hours and hours and hours of non stop we eventually reached the boarder “FrankFurt Oder” luckily there was no customs procedures THE EAST German side was empty, who would ever had believed it they made us all go out on the MILITARY lane up the hill,
The military lane was for all the military going to Berlin and back not civilian
At the top of the hill, now we were in Germany ,who were normally the worst of any police rule enforcers, in Europe for foreign drivers, however they made every truck just keep going, we never stopped anywhere , hard to believe they just pushed us on,and out so it was go for it, the border area was just like a football crowd hundreds of people never before been in to free Germany it was manic,the fumes from, the old two stroke car engines was chocking you could see the clouds of fumes just hanging ,
My route was Aachen and the driver in front was from BELGUIM [ the office had no idea where I was at all ]so following him .knowing the Belgium’s they are masters at running bent and long hours so i hoped he lived up to that.
I just kept on and on the |“old nodding dog” [wanting to fall asleep,] kept creeping up so open the windows at start singing, once you get it that tiredness come over you common séance says stop ,you know you have to have your wits about you or else that will be it, off the road
I would do the most silly things to keep awake ,like having a dry shave ,or wash with out water rubbing your head ,or change your clothes without looking what you are doing ,concentrating of the road ahead ,you try taking your shoes off and drive , try to reach something that is out of reach that was my favourite until it got that it was impossible cab radio full blast ,or tape I only had one as I do not like cab music never have .and of course smoke a lot[this is what I did] it would end up that I was smoking nearly 24 hours ,we started to get on the outskirts of KOLON so i knew we had cracked it, the only thing would be the customs but i new to follow the driver in front and if needed he would tell all .
It must have been about 9 am Monday and the traffic was building that is the last thing you need when you are zb ed, another day gone, when we reached the exit from Germany the barriers were up in the truck lane [I COULD NOT SEE],as i was behind the other truck, he did no more carried on and went straight through ,no challenge nothing at that moment , it was one of those things you would not believe it if you was not there ,however that was the way it was that Sunday ,I did not give two zb s,I was what you called bushed.FATIGUE IS THE WORD. and pulled in to a lay by and crashed out, the tachograph was a mass unreadable lines and stating to crunch up in the head ,I did keep, it as they liked us to run straight but “this was a exception,” it never happened to many uk drivers that weekend.
Again another trip i can honestly say that, the day to day life of me ,i am talking about me only, was never dull ,every day had a “drama” not in the theoretical way , just nothing was ever straight forward ,and i now realise that was the way i liked it it kept you on your toes .
I was always 100% aware of all my surroundings no matter where i was or what i was doing.[just a self observation] now! back then i never realised it, most drivers doing what i did and there were hundreds of us were nearly all same minded.
A few European drivers were the men ,that when they were children they were maybe" hyper-active ,they would just be sleep-less, when they grew up they would become a good asset as drivers to any company as sleep was not their priority.i was pleased to say there were none at that time working for PULLEYNS. running bent was the last thing you did, unless you got asked to then they would take full responsibility.
PULLEYNS had a lot of meat export jobs mostly subbed i would imagine, down to one man who worked in the office i will not name him however he was a Scotsman and had lots of connections and he was brought in to PULLEYNS for that reason, he was there when i started and we got on very well, he did not "suffer fools gladly "
The job i am going to tell you about is 100% true and maybe a bit long winded ,so if you do not want to read it is up to you.
The job was hanging meat PORK , BUT SOW MEAT the big old pig, maybe 4/5 years old very heavy and long they would hang down from the meat hooks and the heads would touch the floor ,so when fully loaded you knew you had got your weight on board,[if the sea was rough the ferry captains would not take you, you had to wait until the sea calmed down ,as there was 20 tons plus swinging around that was at POOLE
The place of loading was a back and beyond place behind Sneterton race track[motorbikes ,cars, etc]in a village called BANHAM, not to far from DISS. NORFOLK.
The abattoir was just outside the village on a country road in the middle of fields, just down the road ,from a proper [ drinking pup called “cider house”] you could see the village church spire from where you were parked for loading, that was about it all for at least 2 miles around, you used to go to the village to tare off at the weighbridge at BANHAM CHICKEN FACTORY then when finished loading back weigh off .
The abattoir doubled up as what is called a knackers -yard that meant they had the licence to kill “anything,” and they did, from horses to donkeys ,bulls, yes i did go into the slaughter house to watch, a very slick organisation ,you name and they slaughtered they had the licences also they did prime pork nice 1 yearold pork ,we all like to eat ,so next time you get big slices of bacon, it is from a old bird ,a sow pig…
Once you were ready to be loaded ,Your trailer would be inspected by the vet for hygiene ,you could used their wash if needed ,however most times we were ready to load, also they had the euro loading system the we just clipped our joining pieces from our trailer rails to theirs in the loading bays, very quick loading, the only draw back was our units are so long a ,twin steer daf 95, also the 40 ft trailer, Cherua,[make] we used to stick out into the road ,only a small narrow road, a car could just get passed anything bigger would cause big trouble, loading would have to stop, = unclip the hooks pull off or try to jack knife around to allow transit, it was a pain. But very rare as most people knew the crack Most loading was early morning or late in the evening .you had just enough room to pull off the bay straight so the doors could be shut then you could drive back on to the bay doors up to theirs
Providing no one was parked next to you there were 3 bays but only one used for export all in all it was a good job, you would load up, do all the weighing off and go out the village way, and the make you way down to Poole you were always booked on the night boat ,[ferry] .sometimes you might have to drive down to the yard or maybe swap over trailers, you never knew ,but it was never a problem, you may have to take your 3 day break .
However they liked to keep the same drivers on a job if all was going good until
it was time for your home time then swapping around would happen that was never a problem for even me all the trucks and trailers were kept very clean.
So if you could you would ship out on the Friday night boat Poole -Cherbourg .Saturday morning off you would drive to either Le-mans or Vanes’ they were regular unloading abattoirs so by early afternoon you would be parked up in the compound by the loading bays suture, to do whatever…
Both places had a brilliant hot wash for the trailer when you were unloaded so you could go and load anything anywhere and we did if you had the blue EEC BOOK[no permits] you knew you would be going down to spain or even down and across to Italy ,if there were loads to be collected by PULLEYNS distance when empty, was never a problem in the end, i just never thought about it just did it it was brilliant. T
Having been on the same run as i have just written about, it did get a bit like i could do with a change and you only had to say and the office would do their best for you this certain time i had my wife with me so we were back loading the pork at BANHAM i ,and also other drivers had got to know most of the loaders and some slaughter men as we were a regular men there and all was good.
As normal on Friday all the same procedures ,loaded ready to go ,i phoned to office and asked them to book my wife on the ferry it was never any problem sometime they might charge me, not all the time so all went well that trip tipped ok ,reloaded frozen vegetables from Belgium back to kings lynn then back for the meat again, all was not ok a delay loading the frozen vegetables meant that i would not be able to load the pork[ just what i wanted] so somon else would and that would get me off the routine for me that was ok
Pulleyns were very good at giving new drivers a chance, a good job some companies did ,they had a new ish driver from MILTON KYNES who i had sort of [the new word is mentored] i was showing him the ropes so they made sure most of time, to new countries he was with someone if there was 2 loads and it was me a lot and he took to it very well ,most new drivers problem is the time away from home, if you want to be home every week do not drive into Europe, well not with PULLEYNS
Some companies do have regular Sunday to Friday runs in Europe but i never have .
I was asked by the office they said do you think he will be able to do the pork run ok, and yes was the answer he was a carful driver no ■■■■■■■■, nice and steady we had done loads of lambs before together ,but pork was a bit different but take his time ,no rush ,yes he will be fine ,end of story…
I get on with my load tip and go else where, my wife has another week with me as i reminded the office ,however if something comes up ,she will not be able to come with me we always get her home as then i lived about 40 miles from reading…
All was going good it was Saturday morning i was loaded from Doncaster ,local ■■■■, for Peterborough dog food, the cab phone rang, it was Adrian Pulleyn ,i thought this is not normal and he said there has been a problem with the meat load from BANHAM he said he has been Hijacked, what ! I replyed and he told me what they knew also he was pumping me as well.
The true story was he half loaded his trailer Friday night and there was a problem with the meat temperature so it would be delayed until Saturday morning it had happened before to me, that was fine so as i said before ,once you pulled off the bay shut the doors back back, again you unit is still on the road, his fridge was running ok +1 so the meat was ok in the trailer and the next bay to him was the local delivery meat lorry, a 4 wheeler that was loaded with the good pork, how i knew as it was al ways being loaded the same time as us and you could see the small young pork, for Smithfield meat market in london.or eles where.
He is sat in the passenger seat of a Mercedes A 2014 pr-select or something like that [at one time there was a lot of Mercedes in the yard]with his feet across the middle area between the seats , in his underpants ,getting ready for bed and his telly going, no curtains drawn as it was as dark as it could get about 10pm.
Next thing he knows there is a baseball bat smashing the drivers window in ,he starts to jump up and the same happens to the passenger window and they are both smashed out, next he is grabbed from outside and he is pulled out of the cab via the window as the doors are locked [normal procedure when parked up anywhere] he is bounced to the ground 2 men grab him and throw him in the back of a van, by the time he bounces inside, the van doors are slammed he is ■■■■■■■■ himself and only in underpants [ he is very slightly built] and the drive him around he does not know where, like over fields so he was getting thrown around like a rag doll, he does not have anything with him at all not even a watch, and he passes out.
It must have been at least a hour ,he wakes up doors left open in the pitch black with no clothes he is very cold, he goes around to the drivers door ,falls in and lays on the hooter with his hands that does not work so he starts shouting and banging ,and after time someone heard him and called the police…it must have been a very harrowing experience ,i know it took him a long time to get over it if he ever did…
The truck was found in a barn in a field near great Yarmouth at least a week after, and all of the meat was still inside all gone rotten as the fridge had run out of diesel…The load was taken and disposed of, the trailer had mega washing out ,the unit repaired they would not have got him out of a DAF cab to high.
The conclusion by us drivers was that it was a inside job, however THEY TOOK THE WRONG TRUCK. The one with the good meat on ,why have I told you this is because it was only by chance that it should have been me and my wife there loading for FRANCE it did not do, to think about .after time it all faded away, however i never went back there to load for different reasons?
I have not named the driver and not many will know about what happened to him ,if by chance he has read this ,or someone knows him well ,ask him to private email me on here thanks.
After about 3 years I had been with PULLEYNS a long term driver went in to the office to work as a traffic clerk years ago it was the natural progress of older drivers to go in the office but this man was not old, however he had been with them from the start-ish ,and he was not my favourite person PULLEYNS fleet had really grown at least 20 units if not more and all the smaller trucks they had a contract with TESCO to bring fresh chicken out from FRANCE and deliver it to all TESCOS hub depots for onward shop delivers ,some of the trucks were dedicated just for that work any overflow and general fridge men like me ,would do the odd load.
. My so called ex best buddy gave me so much local work that in the end ,i just rolled in one day asked to speak to BOB NEDOMER the 2nd boss one of the nicest men you could ever meet and told him my problem with all the local work, but as management they have to back each other up so he said nothing he can do give it time, it will work out i did appreciate what he said and could see his side of the story but my mind was made up, time to go that all happened within a week.
So it was goodbye .if any one was leaving and put notice in they would have to go there and then ,no notice worked ,you would be paid up in full there and then, get your gear and seen out of the yard i do not blame ADRIAN one bit as some one with a grudge could do thousands pounds worth of damage to the fleet ,but we all new the system you were told when you started and if anyone was ever stroppy or threaten anyone drivers or staff ,no matter who you would be escorted off, and you would not mess with the man . Not for me
So now i was slightly zbed I had done it as i had only just started back on my 3 week turn around i had all my gear in to my car and drove away …my own fault but you can only do so many inter cold stores it was like a van boys job some of the lads loved it but they had done zb all before, in transport anyway, and that is the type of driver they wanted now so i was better off away ,or so thought.
I had some cash all my monies due were paid ,and my salary went into the bank to keep the wife and home going ,so it was now down to me to get a job
IT WAS NOW 1990.
I knew in myself i could go and work anywhere on dry goods or fridge haulage on European and the reason for leaving was not nothing to do with conduct or problems I just did not want uk work.
.OPTIONS not a lot ,i had a diary with lots of companies and drivers names and phone numbers, i did not have mobile phone so i had to use the public phones s i will start nearest to my home… nr Banbury,