A good story Bob, Thank you. Like everybody else I look forward to the next instalment. Well done.
Cheers, Archie.
Just over seven and a half years 
The ultimate in cliff hangers,but I bet the next one will be even better 
Coming back from Turkey one trip i was told to load in Bulgaria…full load of wine for the uk (tesco) anyway it was in the middle of winter and just as i got past Plovdiv decided to park for the night on what i thought was a safe area…well as you do, i opened a beer.and as it was getting chilly i put the cooker on…i never had a night heater and the temperature was around the 10 degree below zero Fffffreezing…my gas bottle was on the passenger side of the cab so it was warm and stopped the bottle from freezing up
…after about the 6th beer decided to go to bed…was woken up in the early hours by a young girl (about 15) asking me if i wanted ■■■…i wasnt into that scene and told her to go away (politely) they seem to come from thin air in the middle of nowhere…well i awoke the next morning and went to unload my bladder (as you do) and noticed a very bad diesel leak under the trailer…on close examination realised my belly tank had been emptied…checked my main tanks and they were untouched…so i pulled away cursing and swearing that i now had to pay again out of my own pocket, i was an o/d then…so i ran down towards the town i was going to load in Russe (Ruse) (where my wife comes from)
i had terrible trouble in getting there because of the weather, accidents, blocked roads etc and i had plenty of time cos it was a friday and i wasnt loading till Monday morning 10.00am…so just inside the town on the main highway was a garage…i asked if i could park and all was agreed and so i pulled in…the guy in the garage left me alone and i cooked a meal…got ■■■■■■■■■■ went to bed…the snow was really thick and fast but who cares. in the morning i tried to light the cooker…gas was frozen…tried to start the truck a few groans from the motor and then nothing…a few swearwords didnt make any difference either…well i was situated on a slight incline on the forecourt so i got up got dressed and thought i could roll enough to jump start the old girl (the old T plate F12 volvo) no luck…the brakes were frozen on…thats what i thought or maybe the built up snow was the cause…well thats what i was hoping…checked the obvious…air gauges…all up…got to investigate…so tools out…air pipes off the main tanks after draining them…full of ice…solid ice…so i eventually took all the pipes off…cleaned them…by this time the man in the garage had made me a coffee and called me into his office.
.i explained about the battery and went outside to put spirit down all the air lines and into the main air tanks…a car pulled up a while later with 2 batteries…i bought them for £20…put them on and put the others in the trailer…well the old girl started.i went for yet another coffee…then switched off and tilted the cab…i wanted to check the alternator…sure enough there was a wire that had become detached so i bodged that and hoped all would be ok (it was) for i never had a warning light on the dash that showed whether it was charging or not…it was there but never glowed the warning.although it did when the ignition was switched on.
.the old boy had sent out for some special spirit that burned in a little dish which he supplied and kept the cab nice and warm…but never gave off any fumes…lubbly…jubbly…so i was ok for the rest of that day and night…the next morning before i got up i lit the little dish to warm the cab and when it was nice and warm tried the cooker out…it lit ok although there was ice on the outside of the gas bottle…then the big moment came…to start the ol girl…bbbrrrooom away she went…i grinned to myself as i filled the kettle and put my head back on the pillow for a few more minutes…
an hour later the cab was full of steam as the kettle boiled its head off…and the horrible whistle blew…got up…dressed…enjoyed my first cuppa and an omelette…just sitting there reading an old truck and driver magazine (better mention them eh ) when a truck pulled in beside me…i looked…left ■■■■■■…middle aged driver nodded in my direction…and got out…i looked in my mirrors in case it was a fellow brit but i couldnt recognise the trailer or unit …not from where i was sitting anyway…but too late he was opening the passenger door…English he said…yes i said proudly…i am Russian he explained and asked if he could get in…i let him in and made him a coffee (black) he asked why i was parked here and why i didnt park down the road at the truck stop(well not really it was a lorry park and a few bars dotted around…so i explained about my problems and we decided to pull out to the parking…i said my goodbyes to the garage man and followed the russian.
.on the way we stopped in the yard of Somat where we topped up with anti freeze (free) and he topped up with fuel and we drove into the stop…we stayed there for a couple of hours and he invited me to a comrade of his birthday party…which was a unnending supply of wodka in the local bar.supplied by the russians themselves and food cooked in the bar, we drank and drank and one of the russians became very aggressive and wanted to fight this enemy of his…me…i was outnumbered anyway.so agreed to an arm wrestle instead…it was a draw but he wouldnt let up and wanted a fight to prove who was the better…i decided it was time to go…but my original friend said to stay and he would sort him out…but others did before he had the chance and he went to his cab to sleep it off…i went a while after to fetch some ciggies from the cab…
whilst i was there i bumped into a man i knew.he was a Bulgarian and always supplied my diesel…tyres…whatever i wanted really.he started his business by buying off the russians and selling to the europeans…me included…i explained i wanted 1000 litres of red…and he promised me it the next day…just a short drive away…he offered me a very nice night heater taken out of a russian truck and said he could fit it also the next day…for £150 with the diesel…what an offer …i couldnt refuse and paid him there and then.
.i returned to the bar for a wonderful eventful evening…and eventually went back to the truck… i was drinking coffee and noticed the russian friend of mine getting into his…he opened the window and passed me a bottle of vodka…we were talking for a while…his english was excellent…and then 2 ladies of the night approached…i declined but one got into his cab…the other walked towards the bar as he closed his curtains…the other girl returned minutes later and asked if she could get in as it was freezing outside…i felt sorry for her waiting for her friend and let her in…we shared coffee and wodka and i felt very sleepy all of a sudden…and told her i was getting on the bed…i struggled to keep my eyes open and looked towards my friends cab as if asking for re-assurance…but it was not to be…i awoke some hours afterwards with a mouth like a camels backside…and although i was aware something had gone on, i immediately checked my wallet…which had been emptied previously of hard cash and only left a few deutz marks and some mickey mouse drachma which i always carried when i went out.i had heard of so many drivers getting robbed that i trusted no one and had a spare wallet just for that purpose…my hidden cash was still there but i had been robbed nonetheless…i was one of the lucky ones.
.my concern now was my friend and after getting dressed got out and banged on his door…his cab was locked and i started to panic…for his safety…i couldnt rouse him…so went to the bar to raise the alarm with his friends…one of them…the guy who wanted to fight me…came out with me i couldnt make him understand for he spoke no english…we reached the cab of my friend who by now was opening his curtains…they spoke together i russian for a bit and then panic seem to set in as he turned his cab upside down…inside out…looking for his money i suspect…sure enough …he had been robbed…of everything…i explained that i had too…and had been drugged…so had he…we went for coffee and he sat there forlorn and i assume explaining his predicament to all of his friends…he never carried a great deal he explained as the company allowed them to draw funds as and when needed from various depots…but he had lost quite a bit…later that day he had arranged a draw from Somat and everything was back to normal and the wodka flowed again…
i filled up with diesel as promised and enjoyed the wonderful heat from my new machine…but it wasnt a normal night heater,it was one that heated the water up from the radiator and distributed it through the normal heater vents…a fantastic machine and for a very small price…that night we went to the bar for the last time and as a farewell…exchanging names and addresses and i receiving an apology from my enemy the fighter…i got really drunk and soon it was time to go to bed…it was about 1am when i walked through the door of the bar…once outside i started to walk over the large boulders of ice that had formed towards my (by now) warm cab when i heard a voice say excuse me mister, can i help you i politely told her i wasnt interested to which she replied in a very good english accent im not a slapper i was dumbstruck.pardon i said..do you know Ivan? Ivan who?` i replied…the guy who supplies you with diesel she said…so we got talking and it turned out she was his sister in law and they had been out for a meal when ivan told her there was an englishman in the parking who had been in a bit of trouble…
he had told her not to go there as it was a dangerous place for a lady like her…and that it was full of slappers…but after the taxi dropped ivan and his wife at home decided to take a look for herself at this poor un-fortunate englishman…well the taxi driver decided to wait and watch out for her as he too knew what a place this was…so she declined my offer of a coffee in a nice warm cab and promised to visit the next day after she finished school ,she is a school teacher, and our romance began and eventually she became my wife and a british citizen…
ivan became a multi millionaire who owns many businesses in Russe…an ice cream factory in Russia and various projects throughout europe…and we met up this year on holiday in Bulgaria where he told us he had been smuggling cheap cigarettes to Russia and had to pay half a million euros to get his drivers out of trouble and home and had the trucks confiscated to which he smiled and said thats business…hope you enjoyed this tale…watch this space for more exploits of ol trucky
have a nice day
Top story Bob, that is the sort of stuff I love reading, thank you for sharing it.
Excellent tale, bob, just the type of thing that people want to hear. Hope there are plenty more!!
No night heater in the middle of winter, I remember that!! Two sleeping bags and a wooly hat, get up and scrape the ice off the inside of the screen!! Lovely!!
Keep em coming Bob,
Cheers, bullitt.
I enjoyed reading that too 
it looks better when its written…i like to read others too…so dont you let up either neil…anyway have a great weekend and i`ll post more next week for as you know too much of a good thing makes you go blind but thanks for the compliments…
regards to all
trucky
Excellent read truckyboy ,
A wonderful story of which i hope that you will let us have more of
your tales from your travels .as I am not alone when I say it was
good please write some more,
Great story Bob.
When I get the time I may share a tale or two.
Keith
Thanks again Truckyboy,great tale,sitting in front of the computer getting frostbite!! regards derek
awesome story. the hospitality and seediness of eastern europe is mind blowing. keep on with your story telling