LIFE AFTER TRANSPORT.
IF YOU HAVE READ MY PREVIOUS WRITING,[MY DRIVING HISTORY ]ON TRUCKNET[DECKBOYPEGGY],YOU WILL HAVE FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT ME ,HOWEVER ,YES, I AM STILL AROUND ALSO READING TRUCKNET MOST DAYS.
It got me thinking,blimey left the caps- lock o again,never mind,no different than going in to a cupboard and forget what you went for,you will all get there in the end , you do not have to learn it it just arrives another skill.
I will just recap quickly as how i became to lose my HGV driving licence,no not alcohol,although we/me used to have our fare share .and someone else s…
[recap]it is in my previous, [My Driving History,] peggydeckboy
I was involved in a major traffic accident around Stafford,a bulk tanker driver hit the rear end of my [hanger] [trailer], a road train …he turned over,caught fire ,another man/car driver and my self pulled him from the burning cab, drivers door window, not the windscreen ,he was ok, we got him out with a struggle,as the two front tyres burst ,well exploded,as we pulled him on the ground to safety, fire and police arrive, after some questions from the police ,i am told to drop the trailer on the carriageway [slow lane] as the rear cargo of domestic boilers were hanging out of the damaged side, the whole load needed attention .
The front end ,a six wheeler Volvo was fine no damage at all,i drove back to the depot on police instructions i could leave the trailer where it was and go after telling the police what happened they were satisfied,leaving the trailer on the motorway it would be collected by the recovery- crew and parked safe,in they had been in contact with recovery people…via the police also BOWKERS
Why the police would not let me pull the whole lot on to the hard shoulder i do not know as there was no other traffic in front of me.
Back to work 2,half days later l am fine, i have another trailer, [fast forward] ,after more ITALY trips i am driving on the M62 heading for Bamber Bridge, my home depot,after getting off the ZEBRUGGE -HULL ferry around 9am,a FRIDAY morning.
Driving passed the Manchester[Rochdale] area, in the slow lane, i had no need to look at road signs ,as the route was second nature there were no hazard lights flashing,however it seemed as if the signs i was passing were flashing for a quick second, and I am thinking ,my bloody glasses they need replacing ,as the road signs ,seemed to sort of blend in to one ,all the letters, all jumbled up as if one big word, i never thought no more about it…
Back to the yard, i do not fill up ,as we always fill up in Belgium i park up ,went in to the office,i was told to go home to get my weekend break ,rest hours to[catch up] i have to unload Monday morning ,i drive home .
What was so good at W.H. Bowkers if you were not needed until you had to tip you own truck, you went home,even if you did not have to make hours up, no silly messing about the yard ,to fill in your day in like other companies i have worked for, if you get a full break in you are all set to do another 3 weeks if you want to.
Once home just after noon,my wife was at work until; 1400, i decided i would go down to the local opticians,5 minutes away take a chance with out a appointment and a little bit of[ bull] and see how it goes, luckily i waited about 30 minutes i was called in, i explained what had happened to my sight and my glasses they had supplied to me.as i was a regular customer.
Within 30 minutes my driving life was all over for me,YES THAT QUICK,after a sight test, i had a test in the complete dark ,spotting dots,peace of ■■■■ i thought ,how wrong could i be, the optician [lady] said wait here 10 minutes and she went, i thought shes going to fix theses glasses, out she comes with my records ,she knew what i did for my living,she said to me,i have made you a appointment with your doctor, as soon as you get there, I ASKED WHY she replied you have had a T.I.A. meaning blood vessels behind your eyes have burst ,just like a stoke…a TRANISENT -ESCAMIC- ATTACK and it is notifiable to the D.V.L.A.the Doctor must have told her.
The rest is easy ,after 10 minutes with the doctor,he checked me out,and said as from now your HGV has been withdrawn .I will notify SWANSEA D.V.L.A.as soon as possible, also i will sign you on the sick for as long as it takes.and that was that all so he did say that you will never get your HGV back,because it is classed as a stroke.you will be able to the courts to try to get your licence back.I wondered how a Doctor would know the rules he then produced a large form from D.V.L.A and proceeded to fill it it.
I was not given any.no extra tablets nothing, i was already on blood pressure tablets and smoked and drank a lot of beer, when possible so i expect i did not help myself ,but i felt ok.
Once i got home my wife was home and the usual ,greeting ,when you going back and where is your washing,i said no rush i am not going back ,what!she said you have not jacked again have you ,i thought you liked Bowkers, then she said,when will you stop roaming around looking for the perfect job,[I thought you had found it] I had…
I let her go on then i said,STOP,and i then told her what had happened ,she was a stunned as i was ,i said i better tell BOWKERS now and i did, they did not believe me ,I would be able to driver a car but nothing larger, i can see the difference.
To get finished like that it was a bit to take in,i went in Saturday cleaned my gear out, I never thought to ask if they had any yard work or warehouse work ,I doubt if I would have done it done it maybe yes if I was proper retired and looking for a bit of extra cash but as job no,i said good bye and that was the finish my driving 2002.
I was living at Cleveleys in between BLACKPOOL and FLEETWOOD LANASHIRE,i liked the area and the people , the ones i met in TRANSPORT l would never become a Northerner as my accent give it away in the NORTH i was a Southerner ,ie from around the LONDON area, my previous home was 120 miles from LONDON who cared, i never did,there was more ribbing,between LANKASHIRE [RED ROSE]and the WHITE ROSE of YORKSHIRE Bowkers ,[HULL DEPOT[ all in jes.t
I heard one of the lads ,who was making a pot of tea out side his cab,saying this err Yorkshire watter,is miles better than that LANASHIRE MUCK,I WOULD NOT DRINK IT IF YOU PAID ME… when i made tea he would drink it and it was LANKASHIRE watter, but he would never ask me where my water was from, i did not qualify, to come in to it.
.Also i found north, and south, town and city s, staunch football affiliation,went in to a lot of the working mans banter, where your affiliation was ,I had none what so ever,never have.
A ship i was on ,the deck crew come from all over LONDON AREA the banter was good until it got to going ashore, after a belly full of foreign beer the loyalty came out ,and the war would start i used to just back away has i did not have any affiliation to any city ,club , or religion .
Now living on the south coast 2018,my neighbours call me a NORTHENER, ironic…
Back at home with all my gear, and bedding ,cooking equipment,food,tv video,all kinds of junk I carried just in case I was amazed at what I did have,heavy winter clothes ,boots ,gloves ,hats ,wellies,like a idiot i used to carry all the gear I used years ,metal bars ,hammers large nails,spanners,rope,[ no snow chains] yes, I always had a rope, if I ever had to pull the tilt cover from back to front,you always needed a rope [or a crane].double cooker burner ,single burner,5kg gas bottle plus small canisters ,I used to work on the theory [you never knew] I was all ways well prepared ,like all drivers I did know, at Bowkers that I would not need half the equipment ,all the straps were bowkers, but someone else just might nned it.