Spent many weekends at Lisbon and Porto TIR customs parks from 1991 to customs finished and borders open to freight clearence.There was a cheap cafe at both places and a dirty caravan that sold “biffanas”,steak sandwhichs washed down with “Tango”,or cerveiza con gruzella,Red Bock lager,with red syrup.I would go solo to one the shopping centres and watch films in English with Portuguese subtitles,sometimes seeing 3 films in a row,if the weather turned bad,and couldnt go to beach.Caparica,south of Lisbon,first resort over the big bridge in Lisbon,was good,and Setubal,further south.In Porto,the international restaurant opposite the TER TIR park,allways found someone to share a meal with.Apparently,years before i got there,a German driver had his throat cut in his sleeper cab by the TIR park,as a jealous husband mistook him for another driver and killed the wrong driver.As the guy was having an affair with his wife.What did the rest of you get up to at weekends waiting for customs to clear your loads.Do you remember the big mosqitoes in Lisbon,by the very smelly sewer,the smell was so bad,you could not sleep,and the heat in the Summer months.Plus a big head ache in the morning.I was an owner driver for Sholing and Matosinhos based British International.My best place was Playa de Guincho,near Cascais and Estoril,where the government and VIP`s would dine,on UK EU tax money,with sirens and blue light police escorts to the very expensive fish restaurants,im sure it was world prime ministers being wined and dined.Guincho beach is windy all year,and hosts surfing and land kite cars competions.Good camping around the corner,where i would sneak in and use the free showers and buy provisions.Working girls,are tucked away in the woods along the beach road.
toby1234abc:
Spent many weekends at Lisbon and Porto TIR customs parks from 1991 to customs finished and borders open to freight clearence.There was a cheap cafe at both places and a dirty caravan that sold “biffanas”,steak sandwhichs washed down with “Tango”,or cerveiza con gruzella,Red Bock lager,with red syrup.I would go solo to one the shopping centres and watch films in English with Portuguese subtitles,sometimes seeing 3 films in a row,if the weather turned bad,and couldnt go to beach.Caparica,south of Lisbon,first resort over the big bridge in Lisbon,was good,and Setubal,further south.In Porto,the international restaurant opposite the TER TIR park,allways found someone to share a meal with.Apparently,years before i got there,a German driver had his throat cut in his sleeper cab by the TIR park,as a jealous husband mistook him for another driver and killed the wrong driver.As the guy was having an affair with his wife.What did the rest of you get up to at weekends waiting for customs to clear your loads.Do you remember the big mosqitoes in Lisbon,by the very smelly sewer,the smell was so bad,you could not sleep,and the heat in the Summer months.Plus a big head ache in the morning.I was an owner driver for Sholing and Matosinhos based British International.My best place was Playa de Guincho,near Cascais and Estoril,where the government and VIP`s would dine,on UK EU tax money,with sirens and blue light police escorts to the very expensive fish restaurants,im sure it was world prime ministers being wined and dined.Guincho beach is windy all year,and hosts surfing and land kite cars competions.Good camping around the corner,where i would sneak in and use the free showers and buy provisions.Working girls,are tucked away in the woods along the beach road.
Hullo toby1234abc,
Wow! yes you are quite correct, the best part of the Lisbon area is certainly Estoril and Cascais. And as you say most especially the Praia de Guincho (This means the cry of a Seagull in the wind). They hold the World Windsurfing Championships here also. I am lucky, I live there for a good part of the year now, I have a bungalow at Areia, on the Campsite that you mentioned, just 500 meters up from the Praia de Guincho and I wake up every morning to view the beach, sand dunes and the sea, fantastic. You would`nt recognise that area now outside the camp entrance, there is now two bus stops in laybyes, a large roundabout and a slip road to enter the camp, the road to the beach is well tarmaced and there are good footpaths as well. I never went to Portugal in my Trucks, I prefered to go east rather than west in those days.
Cheers, Archie.
weekend-ed■■? try weeked! not good when on trip money , but the company was great Chris ‘I’ll have a port wine’ Offer. AKA cubre libre kid. 
Alan[yuppie]…Cant belive that you did’nt like it? all i remember is you havin a good time with the rest of us.
I can recall one night in Lisbon when we told you to go back to the truck and SLEEP and not to take it back to the TIR.You were very much the worse the wear for drink that night,but when we got back in the morning there you were all sound asleep.That if i remember was one of your first trips for Phil Horridge■■? I cant remember the year but you mite… 
This wonderful trailer was the one that broke her back…RGP008… 
I used to test drive Super Bock if weekended ,in Alverca I used to use the restaurant up hill where the proprietor would come and pick you up in the van (a la Fred ),there was a very nice girl who worked there (with a very large chest) and i think her name was Julia.
I wonder if those blue Volvos are still there in Alverca behind the fence in the parking area ,rumour had it they had been impounded for smuggling cigarettes from Gib.
shady- ‘when we got back in the morning’, blimey was it all night?(you were out all night!!!) all i remember is someone hanging on to the mirrors in a rocking motion.'87 & it went downjill from there!!! your mate ‘bell fruit’ used to crack me up.
That R and G company,didnt Stevie Holland,(Was with Elite containers at Eling Wharf,Southampton),and Ian,used to do Portugal roundtrips,they were joined at the hip,those two,allways heard them chatting on the CB.What is Ian and stevie Holland up to,last time saw Steve,he mentioned driving BUPA mobile medical trailers in the UK.Anyone recall Grant,with a Pegasso,liked the malibu and cokes,his accountant got done for fraud,while running his truck,skimmed the paperwork,as Grant liked the one armed bandit game machines,he had a key to turn in public coin phone boxes,where you get free worldwide calls.Recall John Povey from Liverpool,The “Aninmal”,Stuart Smith,killed in bus crash,en route to Morocco.British International drivers and super jumbo step frame trailers.The EXPO in Lisbon,went with my Columbian girlfriend,after we went to Madrid,to visit a sister in a convent,who was a media representive for FARC activity in Columbia,where daily life there is kidnapping,extortion,etc.Spent day in water park near Navalmoral de Nata,on road from Badajoz to Madrid,had to dump her,after a few drinks,she would wack me in the face for no reason,in public places.In Porto,used to love going tractor solo in to the mountains around Guimaraes,Braga,Braganza,etc,big meals,with huge steaks the size of a steering wheels.Hated the warehouses that would allow the Portuguse to go home,while the foreign drivers had to stay with the laoding all Friday/Saturday am`s,cab rocking all night and shunting on and off bays,knackered on the "Highway of death"that was the IP5,where the builders fled to Brazil with the construction money.And that twisty mountain,before you got to Irun border,now it is all tunnels by Sunbilla.
Toby,you have answered your own question ,guess who Shady might be !. Grant with a Pegasso sounds to me if he was employed by Mr Tapper.
kerbut:
I used to test drive Super Bock if weekended ,in Alverca I used to use the restaurant up hill where the proprietor would come and pick you up in the van (a la Fred ),there was a very nice girl who worked there (with a very large chest) and i think her name was Julia.
I wonder if those blue Volvos are still there in Alverca behind the fence in the parking area ,rumour had it they had been impounded for smuggling cigarettes from Gib.
That would be the owners daughter ,beautiful girl . I don’t think they lived in the restaurant . The Owner & his wife took me back to the parking one night .In the van also was his daughter & a drunken Dutch driver.The Dutchman had stepped out of his Magnum the night before & more or less broken his ankle. But being Dutch & drunk that didn’t stop him putting his hand on the girls knee.She was terrified ;I could have killed the little scrote. Whether she ever told her mother I will never know ?
harry:
kerbut:
I used to test drive Super Bock if weekended ,in Alverca I used to use the restaurant up hill where the proprietor would come and pick you up in the van (a la Fred ),there was a very nice girl who worked there (with a very large chest) and i think her name was Julia.
I wonder if those blue Volvos are still there in Alverca behind the fence in the parking area ,rumour had it they had been impounded for smuggling cigarettes from Gib.That would be the owners daughter ,beautiful girl . I don’t think they lived in the restaurant . The Owner & his wife took me back to the parking one night .In the van also was his daughter & a drunken Dutch driver.The Dutchman had stepped out of his Magnum the night before & more or less broken his ankle. But being Dutch & drunk that didn’t stop him putting his hand on the girls knee.She was terrified ;I could have killed the little scrote. Whether she ever told her mother I will never know ?
Porto was always lazy days & crazy nights in Matoshinos. Not much beach life for me ,I was mostly wagon & drag.
Last time i was in Porto,and Matosinhos,the government have transformed the tram and bus network,to modern tramlines.There used to be that big saw mill by Porto`s TIR park.In 1992 got nicked on that dreaded IP5 for 81kmh in a 80kmh limit.Undercover car behind me,refused to pay,untill i was driven in the car 30 kms away to find an ATM machine to make life difficult for those GNR cops.Lot of cops did jail time for various scams on foreifn drivers,such as false weighbridges,running on a fictious holiday ban,using a truck ban road,etc,cash for bribes.Apparently cops had viilas with pools,expensive jewellry,nice cars and holidays on low incomes.Villa Formosa was allways busy with trucks,wonder if the restaurant before the Portuguse border is still there.Was it a “Galp” or “Cepsa” garage.
And the first BP garage in to Portugal after Villa Formoso,local women would cook at home and drive the food to the resturant,fresh stews,casseroles,etc.Large portions.There was an unwritten rule not to eat fish,if you were in inland and not near the sea,due to long distances to transport fresh fish inland.
toby1234abc:
Last time i was in Porto,and Matosinhos,the government have transformed the tram and bus network,to modern tramlines.There used to be that big saw mill by Porto`s TIR park.In 1992 got nicked on that dreaded IP5 for 81kmh in a 80kmh limit.Undercover car behind me,refused to pay,untill i was driven in the car 30 kms away to find an ATM machine to make life difficult for those GNR cops.Lot of cops did jail time for various scams on foreifn drivers,such as false weighbridges,running on a fictious holiday ban,using a truck ban road,etc,cash for bribes.Apparently cops had viilas with pools,expensive jewellry,nice cars and holidays on low incomes.Villa Formosa was allways busy with trucks,wonder if the restaurant before the Portuguse border is still there.Was it a “Galp” or “Cepsa” garage.
Hullo toby1234abc,
Thanks for the message, yes thats quite right as you drive up from the Praia de Guincho the campsite is on the right, on the left where there was waste ground with an open sewer going through it, it is now landscaped and tidies the place up no end, at the junction into Areia there is now a nice looking roundabout and a link road from it going back towards the beach, but going to the opposite side of the road to the campsite gates, so that caravans turning left into the camp dont cause any congestion. As you say in the village of Areia there are five good and cheap restaraunts, my favourite being “O Biscoita”, a big favorite with all the surfers, mind you I only ever go there in the Winter so I dont see too many of those. Yes the small Cafe in the cove (if its the one I am thinking about) is still there, the large house opposite is now some sort of museum. Yes from the campsite / Areia it is just 2.5 kms to the A5 motorway, thats all nicely finished now and looks quite good. Jumbo is still there opposite the Station in Cascais, (part of the Auchan group) and certainly the best place to do the shopping, and afterwards leave your car in the car park, cross over the road to Cascais Villa ( the Mall) have a meal, see a film. Yes you are absolutely right its a fantastic place to be, just the place for retirement. Hope to see you down there one day, just ask for me at the camp reception.
Hullo again, Ive just been thinking and I believe there was some misunderstanding on my part in certain areas of my message. There was about 300 mtrs before that small cafe in the cove a beautiful Pink or Rose House, this was where the deposed King Umberto of Italy fled to and consequently lived for many years afterwards, This is not opposite anything though, only the Sea. Was this the house you were thinking of ?. Then I thought about the racing cars, and being a motor sport fiend I should ve thought of this immediately. There is a large shopping area “Cascais Shopping” on the road to Sintra, and yes if you look to your left you can see the Circuit de Estoril, I know these two places very well, I sometimes go to the shopping centre to a large supermarket “Continent”, and I spend many happy hours up at the Autodrome. Unfortunately we dont have f1 there anymore or even practising as nowdays they all go to Jerez, there are some club events but they are mostly motor bikes, we did have GP2 there in 2007 but it was so poorly attended that it will never ever return. Anyway as I said if you or any body else for that matter and its Winter time, drop in, but call first as I seem to be spending more time in Brasil now. Home in the Summer hoping to do my usual holiday relief jobs.
Cheers, Archie.Archie Paice SXC 100Archie Paice
Hi All
There used to be a guesthouse/bar in Estoril called The Founders Inn, does anyone remember it ? I used to like going there for the weekend if stuck. That would have been around 1986/87. It was run by an Englishman, his name was Dave I think.
GS
Used to go in the pub run by English by the square in Cascais town,with tha bay behind you,pass the big hotel on the right,pass the shops and up the alley.Did roast dinners,think there was MOD staff used it,some sort of listening post down that way.Parking in Estoril on the beach,or in Cascais,opposite some Army base with cannons.Was tight with a trailer but passable.
The Founders inn was a place for ex-pats to haunt,don’t remember the guys name as Dave,but i will find out,he was a lawyer back in the UK.Went there many times between '79-'95 when the beer was a good price…Used to stay in the Touring Club of Portugal on the next road over…
Hullo all,
I dont remember the Founders Inn as Im very new to Portugal, I didnt go there until five years ago, but I have lived there for a great part of each year since. However I leave Sao Paulo on Wednesday and shall be back in Cascais on Thursday morning, so I will ask some of my friends there, they will I am sure know where it was and what happened to it.
Cheers, Archie.