Just read your excellent book Paul and it was very hard to put down, mainly because i can relate to so much of what is in it! Having done the job my self at the same time as you it brings it all back - in glorious technicolour!i I would give it 5 stars!
I have just been on Amazon to order a copy … and the price is £99.99 … think i will look about lol
cockney:
I have just been on Amazon to order a copy … and the price is £99.99 … think i will look about lol
You can borrow mine for a score!
That’s cheap, 120 on ebay!!!
Just had a flyer from Old Pond Publishing they’re going to do it in paper back, it’s either out now or will be soon.
Jeff
I thought I would resurrect this thread about this great book.
I posted about it in 2010 when I got my copy. At the time I splashed out and bought 4 “Mid-East” books together from Amazon and for some reason this one got “filed away” by my wife in the garage and I didn’t get round to reading it at the time.
2 days ago I came across it by chance, buried under piles of other stuff, and promptly began reading it.
Having now finished it I must say that it is a terrific read and I looked up this thread on here to bring it to anyone’s attention who may not have discovered it yet.
I would also like to ask Paul (if he is still on TruckNet) if he got enough positive feedback in the ensuing time which has lapsed since it was first published to encourage him to write a follow-up book. He stated at the time that he had more than enough material to do this and I am sure that I am not alone in looking forward to hearing more of his experiences, be they on doing the long haul runs or just about the rest of his driving career. He has a great way of telling his stories.
I would rate this book as one of the best I have come across on the subject of past experiences told by drivers, about what I consider to be the best time to have been a driver, the 70’s and 80’s.
I consider myself lucky to have experienced my time as a driver since 1971, at age 25, when I first passed my Class 1 test until my retirement in 2011.
What is your favourite book about past driving experiences?
Les.
(enjoying retirement, but not the medical problems that come with advancing years!)
Than you Les. Glad you got round to it in the end! Pleased you enjoyed it as well and thanks for the complimentary remarks. Just finishing a book at the moment but it’s about my first holiday with three mates back in 67, best holiday ever touring Europe in a van and camping. Publisher is interested. Have got a couple of other things on the go as well including second book on Me but finding the time to finish stuff off not always easy as still driving for a living and still abroad quite a bit…
Hi Paul,
I’m glad to hear that you are still driving for a living and therefore, presumably, still in good health.
As mentioned, I am now retired and due to arthritis in back, both hips and both knees I don’t think I could even manage to get into a wagon cab now if I wanted to.
I seemed to fall apart medically as soon as I retired at age 65 just over 3 years ago, including type 2 diabetes which was discovered when I went for my medical for my HGV and PCV licence renewal.
Nowadays I seem to be spending more and more time reading on my Kindle Paperwhite (Xmas replacement for original 4 year old Kindle Keyboard, and truly brilliant) and regularly scour the internet for books of interest, especially anything to do with road haulage or even travel adventures such as your latest production.
I hope you are successful in getting it published, as I am sure it would be well worth reading.
Don’t forget to put the details on here if it is indeed published.
Les.
Really sorry to hear about health issues Les, one of the concerns I have about calling it a day is exactly that, at the mo in reasonable nick… Kindle seems the way to go and the one you’ve just read is now available as E-book, hopefully new one will as well. Hope you are able to keep health gremlins at bay and will let you know if and when new book gets published.
Best regards
Paul.
Hi PROWLANDS, Just brought your book from Amazon kindle £4 …77P Looking forward to read it, i will give you my critique .dbp
Hope you enjoy it DBP, thanks for buying it. Would appreciate a review on Amazon if you have the time…
Yes PROWLAndas it will be done,if you would like on page 13 on “old time lorries” you will find MY DRIVING HISTORY HALF WAY DOWN THE PAGE this is me only one page then go to page 8 and there is the follow on about 3 pages . i have stopped posting as i was having problems posting from all ready typed documents not direct like now .let me know what you think?i have done about 56000 words as yet and only up to about 1984.1 page 20x45words.ish
Ok will try and find it and gave a shufti…
Morning DBP,
Did as you suggested and read your timeline thread, very, very interesting, exceptional in depth info, and you’ve a great way of expressing yourself, something that is I ate and not easy to learn. Without a doubt there is a brilliant book in there that needs publishing as not enough stuff is being written about transport life from drivers end.
Best regards
Paul.
Sorry. Not I ate, inate…
AAH Paul i wish i could write [rite, right,] i am laughing!! thanks …well as i previously guessed ,you did not say that you went to a grammar school .i more or less can tell by the proper way you write .
However i am still leaning how to spell and write,punctuation,etc ,and god bless spell checker…and i do know what the 3 dots mean, aah
most people who have known me would, i assume say," orr that ■■■■ that never stops chopsing"i am afraid it is one of my traits,i seem to have so much to say, maybe to much but who care,s at 70 not me, as i used to say “ah ■■■■ um” once i get trigger words i am away,mostly world wide place names, i know why ,as i am away from my original area now,and any old work mates[colleagues] , in fact i am a alien where i am, as they are all southerners, i am from the midlands it might as well be outermongola…so i talk on here…as i have no male friends with any connection to what i have done down here …dbp
Ah, trigger words, the most important thing in your armoury, worked for me as well, and once I was away the stuff kept flowing from the recesses of my walnut sized brain. You need to write a book mate, you’ve all the attributes regardless of your spelling and grammatical skills. I did mine for my kids initially, so they sort of knew me, from there it became a book…
Best Regards
Paul.
I’m hearing you Vic !!!
Sorry I didn’t know there was a code for 3 dots… what is it… had I better stop using it…■■?
Is it like the first time some one told me he was guy and said I was happy as well ? things like that tend to go over my head… Living in a truck on my own for most of my life I tend to miss out on trends and street speak
Jeff…
Jelliot:
I’m hearing you Vic !!!Sorry I didn’t know there was a code for 3 dots… what is it… had I better stop using it…■■?
Is it like the first time some one told me he was guy and said I was happy as well ? things like that tend to go over my head… Living in a truck on my own for most of my life I tend to miss out on trends and street speak
Jeff…
It’s used at the end of a sentence, as a trailing off of thought. Or left open for the reader to reach their own conclusions. Also left open, in readiness for the next instalment of a serial. I think… 
yes ARCHIE it is called"ellipsis" you are correct in your comment.i only knew because i all ways wondered why myself and others use it,my reason was not the correct one, it just split the writing up, now i know i was nearly right.for once.