well its d-day,ive finnally got myself a driving job,i blame me dad he,s been a driver all his life workin for the bass brewary in burton.ever since i were a kid ive been fasinated by trucks dads drove em all but his favourite is the borderer.when i left school i trained as a mechanic and worked for bass in the garage.it was a good job but it wernt drivin so as soon as my aprenticeship finished i started looking for a job behind the wheel.cuz of my mechanicle background and the fact the boss drank with my dad i got a job at burton crate and box driving a bedford tk 7 ton flat.the firm produced crates and boxes for the food and drinks industry allover the uk.so here i am sat at the wheel of my tk on a cold but sunny autumn day in 1970 looking at me map and thinking fraserborough is along way a way.ive got a full load of crates for putting fish in when the come off the boats,there going to a firm called gibbs.cuppa finished turn the key put her in gear and off we go.the route im taking is the a38 the m1 to leeds then the a64 outta leeds to the great north road or the a1.the tk is only a year old so its really tidy, and it motors on, in no time im at the top of the a38 and joining the m1 at mansfield.just north of chesterfield theres a strange smell im sure its the pit.im sat at a steady 50 but theres still alot of big motors passing me,them new scanias and volvo f86,s are nice,me dad says there rubbish and will never last.its strange being on here on my own and to be honest im a little nervous im coming upto leeds and ive gotta find my way through it,its alot easier when dad were driving and i were riding shotgun.thankfully i did actually take notice when i were with me dad and i got through leeds with no trouble its been a few hours since breakfast so i crack open the sarnie box and the flask just as id poured me tea and put it on the engine cover i hit a pot hole in the road and the bloody cup fell off and spilt all over my leg it looked like id peed myself oh well thatll teach me i,ll not do that again i,ll put the sandwich down first.the 64 is a nice road for scenery and just before the a1 i pull in and change me trousers in full view of everyone passing including a coach load of old dears.before i set off i had a cuppa as i planned on having it a little bit earliar another look at the map and its a straight run up the a1 past scotch corner upto newcastle and then bewick on tweed,ive never been further than newcastle so that should be fun past there this road has some great scenery which reminds me to buy a camera .trucks from allover use this road the scotch boys know how to paint a lorry the atki borderers of pollock pass me in a blaze of blue and tarton and heading south theres the volvos of barbour european and gibbs borderers heading for the ports in the south.this tk has got a radio so i tune it into the bbc and listen to songs from david bowie elton john and my favourite band slade go on noddy give it some son,just after scotch corner i stop for a break at barton park egg n chips and a cuppa and top up the flask.the suns out and i av a walk round the lorry park dreaming of being a big trucker driving a mandator or lv erf or foden or of course the old mans favourite the borderer and although he dont agree i do like them volvos.break over and im rolling again in no time im skirting newcastle and up towards ashington.i pass a sign for for coldstream and wonder if thats were the guard come from.the tk aint missed a beat and im soon catching up with a leyland belonging to chas alexander from abberdeen he must be loaded cuz the old hippo is struggling.theres no weight in these crates really so i criuse past the leyland and give the driver a wave.coming into berwick i go over the old bridge over the river then a few miles later the a1 turns left towards scotland its a clear day and the view of the north sea with the sun on it looks fantastic and i realise this is one of them moments i must remember for the rest of me days and one of the reasons i became a driver the wanderlust its a great thing.i pass through the scottish border and head for edinburgh the veiw of the sea to my right is great and then on the left theres wide open fields and mountains just brilliant it makes me wonder why folk would want to leave scotland.edinburgh well i got lost some how i ended up on the royal mile the castle is nice i know this cuz i passed it 3 times i got so wound up i made me self sick with nerves which didnt go down well with the folk at the bus stop nor the bobby that were stood behind me either.after telling him my predicerment he took pitty on me by taking his note book out and drawing me directions to the way out and the forth road bridge, by the time id got here i were hungry and tired so i stopped at a parking area by the bridge ate a sandwich from the sarnie box well i ate the middle bit cuz the end had gone hard and resembled planes wings, me mom cut the bread in triangles bless her.sleeping in the tk involved lying across the seats im not that tall but im a stocky lad and theres no way id fit on that shelf behind the seats so covered in plenty of blankets and a set of moms old curtains around the cab windows i settled down for my first night kip on me own in a wagon
day 2
i wake up at 6 take the curtains down and its still dark,i must get some differant curtains as these ones have flowers all over em and well there just not me.i get the primoss stove fired up and the kettle on the primoss also helps heat the cab the good thing about these bedfords is the shelf behind the seats.on this shelf ive got everything i need in the cab my box of food my stove my kettle and my bedding and maps fit on there in some cases its got a bigger cab than some of the big lorries.i make a brew and then get out to check the sheet and ropes i need to tighten a few but nothings moved so i finsh my cuppa refill the flask and i get under way.its still dark and i cant see much when i go over the bridge, my route up takes me up the a90 past dunfermline kelty past loch leven, kinross and then turn right at perth.it doesnt start getting light till im nearly at perth and what a sight greets ya with the mountains looming in the background,now when i looked at the map this morning there seemed to be 2 ways up through perth and up thea94 or across to dundee on the a90,i chose the a94 so i went through perth on the a85 and then on the a94 perth is a lovley place im deffinatley coming back here.by now the sun was shining again and i go past scone which has a very nice palace not that ive got time to stop.this road goes upto couper angus and finnally rejoins the a90 at forfar.theres quite alot of trucks on this road every single one scottish and most have refridgerated bodies or trailers.gibbs who im delivering to must have a big fleet cuz i counted 9 of theirs borderers,erfs, leylands and an f86 also chas alexander all shook my mirrors as they went by.i decided to stop in coupar to phone in to base and also to ring home and let them know i was ok and enjoying my new found way of life.mom was concerned i was eating properly and i assured her that i was and her sandwichs were loveley,not as lovley as the fryup i had in the cafe at coupar but hey she,ll never know.base said i was doing well and to give them a ring when im empty and i,ll get my reload details.on the road again,this road is fantastic the scenary amazing but i wouldnt fancy it in winter, at forfar i turned left up the a90 towards brechin and then laurencekirk,stonehaven and then abberdeen the scots drivers really do get spoilt for scenary on this road also and i begin to wander if all of scotland is like this .from stonehaven its time to see the sea again and i realise how lucky i am this is my first run and only my second day behind the wheel .the little tk is bustling along ive got the window down without a care in the world then suddenly bang what the ffff was that.i knew things were going to well,id got a blow on the rear nearside,luckily id got a jack and a wheelbrace so limped it into a layby to change it.just as i got my jack out a leyland octopus wagon n drag pulled in behind me belonging to t brady of barrow in furness the first english truck id seen today,he had stuff on for the oil industry.get kettle on son were his first words,they call me jim how are ya so while the kettle was boiling me and my new mate jim set about changing the wheel,jim was a cracking old boy and we changed the wheel in no time,over a cuppa jim told me he,d worked for brady,s all his life and would be retireing soon hed been all over including ireland on the ferry out of preston in the 60,s.jim said hed follow me up as far as aberdeen which he did and we had another cuppa with each other before we went our seperate ways.through aberdeen on the a90 and i punched on i honestly thought i was never gonna get there at one point.the one thing about long distance driving is that youve gotta be happy being alone and on this run it definatley comes in handy,just south of peterhead i stop at a cafe for some dinner and get some takeaway sandwichs i have aberdeen angus pie and chips and peas and i swear to ya the plate needed side boards.the place was full of scots men i were the on englishmen in that part of scotland i reckon.the woman that bought my dinner asked where i were from when i told her she just smiled and said oh,she hadnt got a bloody clue but at least she was polite, then a scottish bloke who heard me said thats the beer town is it not.jock well he would be wouldnt he,said he used to drive a tanker down to burton and then back upto the brewary in glasgow.he did this for 5 years and recently changed jobs,when i told him i used to work there and my dad still drove for bass he said he new my dad and described him to a tee.amazing you can be miles from nowhere and you bump into someone that either knows you or ya dad.i could barley move after me dinner which wernt good as id gotta do this last stint to fraserburgh.it were late afternoon when i rolled into fraserburgh,gibbs are based on the fish dock so once i found that id find them i were told and jock were right.the scottish accent is really strong up there and at one point i needed an interprator.i got the boxes off and used the phone in their traffic office to ring base for my reload details.the boss was glad i got there and everthing was ok he told me to make my way back to peterhead and ring in from there in the morning.
day3
i stopped at a cafe last night just north of peterhead,i was in need of a wash and a phone and the cafe provided both and on top of that the breakfast wernt bad either.i knew the weather couldnt last i were bloody cold in the cab last night i had to put the primoss on for a while,then it started raining at one point it were that hard it sounded like someone was pouring ball bearing on me cab roof.the one good thing about this truck though is the seats are wide and its a bench seat on the passenger side.so if you can sleep you sleep well,i get up at 7 theres no rush this morning the office staff dont get in till 8 so theres no point ringing base yet.by 8 im washed fed and got fresh sandwichs and me flask refilled the rains stopped but its bloody cold and the old dear that runs the caff tells me it,ll not be long fore it snows young un.i ring base and im told theres nothing this far up so run to the brewary in glasgow and pick up aload of empty beer kegs for bass.im back in the cab and studying the map,i decide to retrace my route back down as far as perth then take the a9 towards auchterader what a name for a place id love to know what that means.now this road is just like every other in this part of scotland the veiws from it are fantastic and for all you golf fans you get to go by gleneagles,further down you go through a town called bridge of allan beutiful town and i wonder who allan was.then i hit stirling you cant miss it with the castle taking pride of place at the top of the town from stirling its the a8 into glasgow and it starts to get very industrial and looks like every other city.cold n grey skys meet me in glasgow and so do my nerves my palms get sweaty as i drive round glasgow looking for this bloody brewary.i stop at a shop and ask for directions,oh nee bother big man its just doon the ruud and he follows me out the shop and points at it.i was only 500 yards away from it sods law.i stop at the gate house and tell them what ive come for and they tell me im loading round the back,when i get round the back theres a que,lorries from allover the uk are in here and theres everthing frombedfords like mine to atkis, seddons,an old albion rigid and a guy big j with a 220 ■■■■■■■ with the exhaust under the front bumper ya shouldve heard it,mind you with the smoke it kicked out youd need to here it cuz youd never see the bloody thing.it was finnally my turn and my kegs were only littleuns and stacked 3 high so it wernt to bad putting the sheet over by now it were mid afternoon and i really wanted to make carlisle,i set off outta glasgow on the a74 and this would take me all the way to to carlisle going through some super scenary again and some nice villages at one point im racing a train down a valley both of us going over river clyde near a place called crawford oh i with i had a camera,this 74 is a busy road and trucks from the west use it alot i see leyland wagon n drags from t brady, mandator artics from brs and some big bedford removal vans from pickfords.a bit further down i come to the climb at beatock and the little bedford struggles abit but not as much as the mckelvie 6x4 foden s20 heavy hauler coming the other way what a site tho.down past lockerbie its starting to become dusk and i now its gonna be dark by the time i reach carlisle,so this is gretna i say to myself why would people elope here theres bugger all here.im getting tired now so i look for somwhere to park,i call it a day at a cafe on the very end of the 74 past a place called metal bridge mmmm.i feel like a big lorry driver tonight as the place is full of artics i park next to an erf belonging to one of my favourite fleets harris and miners from somerset this fella really paints his trucks well and theyre always imaculate next to him is an erf from jack richards from a place called fakenham wherever that is just sounds like a swear word ah fakenham all i have a chuckle to meself and walk into the caff ,well i nearly choked on the diesel fumes i sat down at a table with some old boys.i had dumplings peas n gravy and a big mug of tea and i swear when i came out of there at about 11 oclock id done more miles than every truck in the park.boy them fellas av been about.
day4 homeward bound
im up at 6 and after a quick was n brew im rolling ,now the a74 turns into the m6 and most of its finished so i stay on it as far as penrith then head over shap,now you can call me daft but id heard about shap and every driver and his dog has been over it and i wernt being no differant,i looked at as a rite of passage i even stopped at the summit and had a drink at the cafe there.i stayed on the a6 all the way down through kendal (sorry mom no mint cake)its a nice place its just full of touring coaches and old dears.i get back on the m6 at croocklands and sit at 50mphall the way down past lancaster and call in at one of these new motorway service areas im glad id got some sarnies and a full flask cuz the food aint cheap there.its mid morning and its time to press on this time past preston and the home of leyland trucks leyland that name didnt take much thinking up did it ,could you imagine erf being called sandbach or aec being called southall oh well ,the things you think about when your driving.these motorways are dead boring and i start wishing i were still in scotland oh dear.well its on past liverpool and manchester and then sanbach or is it erf town anyway its not far to stoke where im coming off the m6 and onto the a50 which takes you around the bottom of the 5 towns which make up stoke.from stoke then the next town is uttoxeter which isnt far from the home of john charles bamford or mr jcb to you and me,the staffordshire moorlands are beutiful and the sun shining now aswell the a50 takes me straight into burton past the saltbox cafe at hatton through tutbury by the castle and right upto bass,s gates.the brewary sits both sides of the 50 and my kegs come off on the right side the main building.while im tipping this old boy comes over and says well whats it like being a lorry driver young un,i tell him its great dad whats mom doing for tea
hope you enjoyed reading this fellas cheers
