This hot arid area of Spain we are in has had drought conditions for best part of a year. The ones suffering most are the animals and our local farmer has a small flock of sheep or goats or are they shoats? A couple of weeks ago he had a load of oranges tipped in the field which they enjoyed but yesterday a large amount of olive tree pruning’s turned up. Should keep them going for another week or two.
I’ve already said the Tehran Fair in, I think 92, was my last big exhibition before I got out of the business. It was another big job for us as can be seen by the number of local bods we had working for us.
Although ■■■■■■■ Engine Co were our biggest customer that year there were plenty of others but try as I may I cannot recall the name of the ■■■■■■■ guy who was in charge that year. I think his name was Geoff but not necessarily. So I’m going to have to appeal (I got a feeling I’m gonna regret this) to our competitor at that time, Jazzandy to ask if he remembers him. I know Andy remembers most things like how many wheel nuts on his beloved Mack but lets see if he can remember the name of the ■■■■■■■ Engine Company export manager for Iran and who’s picture I have displayed in many of the photos.
I’ve also been trying to remember where he was based? It was off the M1 somewhere. Leighton Buzzard comes to mind. I visited the company there and they had very modern premises.
Please click on a photo to enlarge.
Sorry Brian. Can’t help on the name but remember the face. I think they were based in Banbury.
I remember;-------- During the 12 day Tehran Fair, when it was up and running and we had little to do, we would wander around other pavilions, meet up with colleagues or pop into the cafeteria, such as the one down by the South Gate.
Popped in there one day and saw Jazzandy sitting at a table together with a distinguished looking gentleman. I made my way across to them just to say hello and Andy introduced me to his friend. I shook hands, passed the time of day and left them to continue with their conversation.
Next day I saw Andy again and he asked if I’d recognised the guy he had introduced me to. I had to say no as I just thought it was another contact of which Andy had many. That he said was ‘Orhan Sertel’ owner of OHS Transport and various other companies.
Oh well, I at least got to shake the great mans hand!
I remember;---------the close of the Tehran Fair, the door to the pavilion and the slope leading up to the door.
This was to be my last big exhibition. Not that I knew it then. Just another one and there had been many. This one was no different. The show closed at 1700hrs and as usual we had men standing by to bring in the empty cases for the exhibitors to pack their own goods where possible. Of course any large items would be packed by us over the course of the next few days.
Just turned five o’clock the public were being urged to vacate the pavilion. By 5.10 we had the Mack and a trailer load of empties parked at the bottom of the slope together with a forklift, pallet truck and our Iranian crew. As the forklift driver started to unload the cases we had men running up the slope, some carrying cases others pulling the loaded pallet truck taking them to the various stands. By 5.30 the lorry had gone back to the store for another load of empties.
However, the Fair Authority had said all pavilions had to be closed by 6 o’clock but we were determined to get our empties in. The guard started to close the door so I had a couple of large cases dropped in the entrance. All the while I was hollering at the guard not to close the door and at the same time hollering at our crew to bring in the remainder of the cases from the first load. At 5.55 the lorry returned with some more cases and I had our crew unload them and carry them up the slope. By now the guard had managed to close the door a bit more. We now only had room to carry small cartons in. I was still hollering at everyone but finally Bijan our agent came to me and said the doors had to be closed otherwise the guard would be in trouble.
I had to admit defeat. We would start again in the morning. But hey, thats the way exhibitions go. At least we had an early night and could have a night on the town. Yes, even in Tehran it was possible.
I remember;-------------- A phone call I made to Warsaw. The Tehran Fair was over and Bob Keen and I had repacked most of the exhibits. Some were staying in Iran having been sold whilst others were returning to the UK. The pressure was off and we could relax. A couple of days after the close I was wandering around the fairground and found myself on the southside near the Fair’s admin offices.
There were some public phones on a wall and I wondered if it was possible to ring abroad. Back then it sometime took days to get a call through. Now I had an Iraqi friend by the name of Hanan. I have mentioned her before on here as well as posting photos of her. Hanan was a very strong willed and independent person who had met Chris a Polish guy working in Baghdad and she said she would leave Iraq and make her way to Poland to be with him. I carried letters from her to him whenever I left Baghdad and posted them in the UK. It’s a long story but Chris immigrated to Canada before Hanan got out of Iraq. However, she did get out and made her way to Warsaw where she stayed with Chris’s mother. The mother didn’t speak English and Hanan didn’t speak Polish so it was a difficult time.
Chris would phone Hanan from Canada at a set time every week and the phone was in a property owned by his mother but for some reason nobody lived there. Hanan had given me the phone number a year or so beforehand but I hadn’t bothered ringing and we’d almost lost touch with one another. Anyway I decided to try ringing the number from the fairground. It was early afternoon in Tehran and I could hear the ringing tones in Warsaw. Nobody answered so I rang again. I was just about to give up when Hanan came on the line. I said hello but she couldn’t make out who it was. I had to repeat Brian a couple of times before she realised it was me. She was incredulous that I had got hold of her. She said she only went to the property once a week for an hour but she was over the moon that I had rang. She then asked where I was ringing from and when I told her Tehran she hit the roof. “WHERE” she shouted. Brian you must be careful. They are the enemy!!!
A few months later Chris and Hanan were married in Warsaw and she finally followed him to Toronto where she still lives.
Back in the mid to late 70’s we had acquired a car transporter. It was a Carrimor trailer and was often used on the Spanish work we had at that time. That entailed bringing wrecked cars back to the UK. When we lost that work there wasn’t much need for it and in the early 80’s it was disposed of.
In the early 90’s, after we had acquired the Ford contract, any large movements of cars and vans were subbed out but every now and again a small job would come up that involved maybe half a dozen cars to be moved around so we purchased an old trailer from Glendinning’s.
It was an old trailer but just about usable. We had it resprayed in our colours and it looked quite respectable. Now, I had never pulled one of these trailers before and one of our drivers suggested I take it out on the road to see what it was like. Ha, a challenge, I could see I was being set up, but hey, I liked a challenge so off we went.
Of course it wasn’t around the M25. Oh no. It was up the high street, turn left here turn right there. Anywhere that looked awkward I had to go and what a revelation. I did not enjoy it one bit. The overhang was the worst part as everyone knows whose driven those multi deck trailers. You might turn the corner but the overhang above the cab goes straight on. Very confusing. I was quite happy to take it back to the yard and hand it over to someone who was paid to drive it.
That was the Carrimore trailer that when you released the hydraulics to lower the back end if you weren’t careful only one side would come down leaving the cars hanging hard over to one side and the trailer leaning at a horrible angle. To negate this it was important to have a timber to keep the side that came down faster blocked up to allow the other side to come down… Bloody awful thing. And the dreadful front overhang…
Yes, it seemed to end up in my hands more than most but at least it took me to Spain which was always a treat. Having said that I was stopped by the Spanish police demanding paperwork for the wrecked cars which was actually unnecessary. I explained this to them in my (at the time) pidgen Spanish and they roared off on their motorbikes with my passport and left me at the side of the road all morning… When the eventually returned a few hours - yes hours later - they told me very forcibly that paperwork was NOT necessary if transporting wrecked cars - as if I had been in the wrong!
Leaving Spain presented similar stupidity. So I didn’t bother to stop at the border. Explaining to the terminally dim is always hard work. I zoomed through the Spanish side but was observed by some kind of uniformed person who blew his whistle loudly… I carried on… Then got stuck in the queue the French side (this whistling carried on). Various lorry driver pedestrians pointed behind me as an irate overweight Spanish guard came puffing up the road to grab me. Again I feigned ignorance till he started rattling the door… Lots of shouting and demands of paperwork and I remained calm and just shook me head and said “no necessito”! He didn’t like that much. I was taken back to the Spanish side and I explained calmly to another officer “no neccesito documentos”… He agreed and I went on my way. I didn’t bother stopping the French side either.
I loved those trips to Spain. The garages from where the wrecked cars were collected were always shut for their endless religious holidays (added to which local holidays). This meant hanging around and going out and about to all those great bars and fiestas and mixing with the local talent - which was everywhere… What fun I had!
I’ve mentioned Bob Keen quite a bit recently. One of the great characters who worked for Promotor over the years. He was still working for the company when I departed in 93/4. My son Chris kept in touch with him after I had left but Bob moved from Orpington to Margate and he finally lost touch with him.
Bob loved to party and when there were ‘birds, booze and backy’ around he was in his element.
Another one of our drivers, Frank Gough, has just confirmed Bob died a few years back. He and a couple more Promotor men attended his funeral. Another one gone much to soon.
Please click on a photo to enlarge.
A bit more info regarding our Bobby Keen thanks to Ray Bradbury and Frank Gough.
Been talking recently to Ray Mitchell. Seems his family have been involved in the haulage business over the years and he has sent me a few photos. He is also the cousin of our long serving driver Steve Smith. He mentioned the names of his brothers, Jimmy, Gary and Michael and said Michael also worked for Promotor in the 70’s. Now Michael’s name didn’t register until finally I shortened it to Mick.
Mick who passed away over twenty years ago was one of those drivers who came and went a number of times. Either through being sacked or looking for a different adventure. His name appears on the driver/lorries list which I have attached. The first photo of Mick standing in front of one of our lorries together with a young lady was given to me by Ray. The second photo shows him with Micky Martin whose photo that is.
The last three photos are from Rays collection and show some of the lorries his family where involved with. Does anyone remember them.
Please click on a photo to enlarge.
Driver Frank Gough joined Promotor in 1989 but its only recently that I’ve heard from him again. Now we all know my ‘little grey cells’ are not what they were but Frank has really got me worried. He’s told me he was flown out to Baghdad in 89 to help Dave Lloyd and myself do the pullout of that years Baghdad Fair. I couldn’t even remember Dave being there let alone Frank. Anyway, it seems Frank shared a hotel room with Dave but after only a couple of days went down with Baghdad belly and kept disappearing off to the loo. I assume Dave and I ended up doing the bulk of the work.
I have attached a few photos. Frank’s hobby now is doing up Transit vans so I’ve added a couple of recent pics of his. I’ve also found a couple of photos taken at the close of the 89 Baghdad Fair when we had a big party which proves Dave Lloyd was there and gives me a year for the photo.
We don’t hear much from those drivers who were around during the 90’s, the Ford era but three names have been mentioned recently. Frank of course, Stevie Davie aka Scottish Stevie and Trevor Newman. Hopefully I will have more information regarding the last two soon.
Please click on a photo to enlarge.
I said in my last post a few drivers from the Promotor Ford era, which was from about 92/3 onwards, have shown up. Stevie Davie aka Scottish Stevie is one of them. He joined Pro’s in 89 and was still there in 2005. Of course by then we had been taken over by Ontime. Stevie reckons there was no longer the happy family atmosphere that we enjoyed at Pro’s. However, he stayed on for a total of 16 years so cant have been to bad. I posted the only photo I have of Stevie taken in our yard at Childerditch near Brentwood in which he is sorting out some ramps whilst I was talking to Bob Keen.
I have very few photos of Childerditch depot. If anyone has any please share them with us.
Please click on a photo to enlarge.
I was talking about Frank Gough a post or two back. He’s in the attached photo on the left of the drivers next to the young lady. The multi deck car transporter was hired in.
Frank Gough has found some Promotor photos in his collection. Attached is one of Bob Keen in Florence. We did a lot of work at the ‘Fashion Shows’ at that time. Drivers certainly enjoyed themselves. Unfortunately Bob has his customary cigarette in his hand.
Frank Gough supplied the photos. It wasn’t long ago we lost Bob. Only 69. Those blo-dy cigarettes were his downfall. The booze, the birds and the pills didn’t help but he enjoyed himself.
Shame I didn’t know. I would have attended.
As George Best said “I spent all my money on booze and women and the rest I wasted”
Friends of ours new home is on its way to southern Portugal. It was loaded at Surf Bay Leisure, Winkleigh, Devon.
Do you remember your first trip on a new firm? When I joined Promotor in August 78 my first trip was to Bologna with a load of general cargo. I think this outbound load was taken on to get me out there as I had a reload lined up before I departed the UK. The reload from down Arrezzo way was knockdown kitchen units. When I arrived to collect the reload I was told I was a week early. When I rang Staggie to tell him all he did was tell me to enjoy myself. Usually when you gave him bad news you knew he would throw one of his tantrums and the phone often as not was thrown at the wall. However, on this occasion he was as calm as the proverbial mill pond. I can only assume he had a clause in the reload agreement whereby we would be paid demurrage for any hanging about.
Frank Gough tell’s me his first job on joining the company in 89 was a nice little job to Oslo in one of our Showhaul rigids. Can’t have been many better ways to ease yourself into a new job but a little later in the year he was told he was on his way to Baghdad. Not the overland route but flying out to assist Dave Lloyd and myself at the pullout of the Baghdad Fair. This is the occasion that I still cant remember. However, Frank took some photos of the 89 Baghdad Fair catalogue so can’t dispute the fact he was there.
I’ve just remembered a little anecdote from around 89. I may have told the story before but it was interesting so here it is again. I met up with a Brit who was working for an Italian firm who had a contract to service and maintain helicopters for the Iraqi military. This guy was staying in the new Babylon Oberoi Hotel which was situated near the Yugo Club. The Yugo Club by the late 80’s was possibly the best place in town for a good meal. Pivo was also available. Anyway, back to my guy. One evening we were in his room up on the 14th floor when he said lets go out onto the balcony. Once there he said he wasn’t sure if his room was bugged but he wanted to ask me if I would deliver a large envelope to the British Embassy. In it would be details of a Russian helicopter including schematic drawings and maintenance procedures. I of course said yes and two days later he visited the British Pavilion at the Fair. He came to our office where he handed over the envelope which I put in my briefcase and immediately left the fairground, caught a taxi and went direct to the embassy. I had already made an appointment to meet the Military Attache who upon my arrival took me to an office in the heart of the embassy. He sat at his desk whilst I sat opposite wondering what to say. I pointed to my ears then around the room! “Oh, thats not a problem here in this room” he said, “we have it swept every day so we’re confident nobodies listening in”. With that I handed over the envelope and said my goodbyes. And that was my James Bond moment.
