Wonderful photos cannonhaul. Love every one of them. More please but can you name the drivers for me as most are before my time.
My copy of Mickieās book āTrucking Magicā has just been delivered by Amazon. Really looking forward to getting stuck into it this evening in bed. (no, the book igiot).
sandway:
My copy of Mickieās book āTrucking Magicā has just been delivered by Amazon. Really looking forward to getting stuck into it this evening in bed. (no, the book igiot).
Hi Mr. Sandway. Just to let you know that I am going to Truckfest, at Paddock Wood Hop Farm on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd September.
I will be taking a few copies of the book with me as both myself and Andy McLean, author of Fifty Shades of Tarmac are sharing a pitch.
If you are going then do come and see us.
Hope that you enjoy the book.
Mick
OK, drivers namesā¦the first is Roger Graber,second not sure but looks like Barry Ward,third looks like Johnny Mantle, fourth is John(welly) ward, and the fifth is the one and only Stevie Smith(lovable rogue along with Billy Heath!). The Transcon on the left is the old Brighton Van Hire one I think, it used to be red. Peter C had it on a long term hire then bought it and got it repaintedā¦could be wrong though !! Also the Afro- Camion that Stevie is sitting in is the truck I took to Israel in 1981, it used to be two-tone chocolate and fawn but when it was realised that it was NEVER going to see āAfroā it got re-painted. Dont ask me why it still carried those graphics, I,m pretty sure it still had them when I went to Israel with it.
Vodka Cola Cowboy:
sandway:
My copy of Mickieās book āTrucking Magicā has just been delivered by Amazon. Really looking forward to getting stuck into it this evening in bed. (no, the book igiot).Hi Mr. Sandway. Just to let you know that I am going to Truckfest, at Paddock Wood Hop Farm on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd September.
I will be taking a few copies of the book with me as both myself and Andy McLean, author of Fifty Shades of Tarmac are sharing a pitch.
If you are going then do come and see us.Hope that you enjoy the book.
Mick
Morning Micky T. In the early 70ās, whilst working for Mitchell & Robertson, Paddock Wood was the epicentre of the Kent Fruit Business. I spent a good number of years working the farms, railhead and distribution centres in that part of the world. Great days.
The last time I was in Paddock Wood was about 94. Just after I had retired from Promotor. The attached photo shows our American RV, a Georgie Boy Pursuit. We took it to the Hop Farm for the weekend and invited friends for lunch on the Saturday. Peter Calderwood and Sara his girlfriend, Graham āBlueā Bertram or Bugsy as a lot of you called him, his lovely Philipino wife and two adorable children were all there as well as others. The weather was great and we sat outside under the awning enjoying the company and the food my wife had prepared. Unfortunately it was the last time I saw Graham as he died of a heart attack later.
I hope you and Andy have a good day. Corse if I did come to the event I could bring your book Iāve already purchased and you could sign it for me. Do you think it would appreciate in value if you did that!!!
sandway:
Vodka Cola Cowboy:
sandway:
My copy of Mickieās book āTrucking Magicā has just been delivered by Amazon. Really looking forward to getting stuck into it this evening in bed. (no, the book igiot).Hi Mr. Sandway. Just to let you know that I am going to Truckfest, at Paddock Wood Hop Farm on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd September.
I will be taking a few copies of the book with me as both myself and Andy McLean, author of Fifty Shades of Tarmac are sharing a pitch.
If you are going then do come and see us.Hope that you enjoy the book.
Mick
Morning Micky T. In the early 70ās, whilst working for Mitchell & Robertson, Paddock Wood was the epicentre of the Kent Fruit Business. I spent a good number of years working the farms, railhead and distribution centres in that part of the world. Great days.
The last time I was in Paddock Wood was about 94. Just after I had retired from Promotor. The attached photo shows our American RV, a Georgie Boy Pursuit. We took it to the Hop Farm for the weekend and invited friends for lunch on the Saturday. Peter Calderwood and Sara his girlfriend, Graham āBlueā Bertram or Bugsy as a lot of you called him, his lovely Philipino wife and two adorable children were all there as well as others. The weather was great and we sat outside under the awning enjoying the company and the food my wife had prepared. Unfortunately it was the last time I saw Graham as he died of a heart attack later.
I hope you and Andy have a good day. Corse if I did come to the event I could bring your book Iāve already purchased and you could sign it for me. Do you think it would appreciate in value if you did that!!!
Morning Mr. Sandway. I would think that it would be likely to go down a couple of quid in value, to be fair. 
I expect that was quite a gathering at the Hop Farm. I was out in Russia when Buggsy passed away. I heard about it from a couple of ex Pro-Motor drivers. Very sad.
Hope that you enjoy the book !!!
Itāll double the value Brian! Why donāt you come up for the weekend?
If you need accomodation you can always stay at ours!
Looking at those drivers again and having second thoughts on two of them!..the second one could be Jeff Douglas and the third is probably āBigā John McFall, the clue being the roof rack on the Scania . Johns Scania was ex-Promotor and at that time I,m sure Peter was not keen on them. Looks a lot like Johnny Mantle though!
Clue No. 2 is the Union Jack flag on the side of the cab, Peter absolutely refused to allow stickers on the paintwork, I had a couple of āRoutiersā triangles one each end of the front bumper and just about got away with it !!
Nottsnortherner:
Looking at those drivers again and having second thoughts on two of them!..the second one could be Jeff Douglas and the third is probably āBigā John McFall, the clue being the roof rack on the Scania . Johns Scania was ex-Promotor and at that time I,m sure Peter was not keen on them. Looks a lot like Johnny Mantle though!
The gentleman checking his oil is a young Roger Graber. Itās unusual seeing him without a clipboard and obviously quite confusing to those with fading memories.
I spoke to him recently and did a little driving job with him (an inflatable pub) to a job up North. A fun night out.
Spot on Tony the other driver is Johnny Barclay
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I couldn,t see enough of him Roy! if you,d shown me a pic of him alongside some of the other reprobates then his 5ft 4 would have given the game away!!!. My missus was just asking how old you are, you probably don,t remember but we came to a party at your place once! I,ll be 70 next year.I can still remember how you loved that Cortina estate you had! Can,t remember where you went after you gave the O/D game away but I think you became a transport manager didn,t you?
Nottsnortherner:
I couldn,t see enough of him Roy! if you,d shown me a pic of him alongside some of the other reprobates then his 5ft 4 would have given the game away!!!. My missus was just asking how old you are, you probably don,t remember but we came to a party at your place once! I,ll be 70 next year.I can still remember how you loved that Cortina estate you had! Can,t remember where you went after you gave the O/D game away but I think you became a transport manager didn,t you?
I was 70 back in February and I became transport manager for a company called Hepworth. I stayed with them for 14 years and I had a brain storm and bought a bar in spain. Stayed there for 10 years came back and now working 2 days a week delivering car spares. It doesnāt seem that long ago we were punching up and down all those autoroutes and autobahns. It would be great if one day those that are left could get together somewhere.
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Jazzandy:
Itāll double the value Brian! Why donāt you come up for the weekend?If you need accomodation you can always stay at ours!
The moneys tempting Jazzandy but to tell the truth I donāt do crowds anymore. Hope you both have a great weekend.
sandway:
Jazzandy:
Itāll double the value Brian! Why donāt you come up for the weekend?If you need accomodation you can always stay at ours!
The moneys tempting Jazzandy but to tell the truth I donāt do crowds anymore. Hope you both have a great weekend.
Thanks Sandway. I am sure that we will. Jazzandy used to be an English teacher and he is going to teach me how to speak and write English properly.
I think that it will be a long weekend. 
My wife informs me I joined the driving staff at Promotor (Europe) Ltd in the summer of 1978 and she is never wrong! Many of the early drivers had left because they didnāt get on with āStaggieā our transport manager. Cannonhaulās photo of Roger Graber has set me thinking. Did he leave the company as a driver and then come back a few years later as āExhibition Managerā. He held that position in the early 80ās I know as I worked on a couple of events he was involved with. One was in Budapest where I flew out to handle the onsite work. Roger handled the UK side of things and also arranged my accommodation in private digs in Pest. I also remember Promotor handled the freight at the Bogota Trade Fair. Roger flew out to South America and handled the onsite work himself. Well he wasnāt going to miss that little trip was he.
I think possibly he left the company for good after a problem we had at a medical equipment exhibition in Jedda. I canāt remember the year but it was again early 80ās. I was there with the head of the Medical Equipment Trade Association who was looking after and heading up the British companies exhibiting at the event. It was a fairly simple job for me. Clear customs, unpack and position the exhibits on the stands and clear up afterwards. What could go wrong!!! Unfortunately Roger forgot or didnāt realise that a bank guarantee had to be lodged with customs to cover, I think, five times the value of the cost of the exhibits. Alarm bells started when I discovered there was no guarantee in place and of course I had to contact the company back in the UK to arrange for one. You canāt do that overnight but luckily we had a few days to spare. Finally it came through and I had the exhibits on the stands with a day to spare.
After that I think Roger got a job at Stormonts in Tonbridge in charge of their truck hire division. Efes will no doubt put me right on that one as he knows him and when you reply Efes will you explain what an āinflatable barā is, or am I missing something here.
Hi Brian,I think you,re wrong about Roger Graber leaving and coming back but right about Stormonts. About 10 years ago I caught up with Roger whilst I had the IBM trailer on display at IBM Bedfont Lakes offices. By then he was working at a Volvo dealership over Heathrow somewhere in sales, probably someone will come on and tell us which dealership I,m referring to.
Morning Nottsnortherner. I didnāt explain very well about Roger leaving and coming back later as Exhibition Manager. I have edited my last post to make it clearer. I just canāt place him as a driver during the late 70ās but there were other drivers that I never saw as I was away so much. In those days we didnāt pay income tax on our salary on the days we were out of the country. My best, or was it worst years, were 79 and 80 when I had roughly 315 to 320 days out of the country as well as nights out in the UK. Unfortunately Maggie stopped that loophole a few years later.
sandway:
After that I think Roger got a job at Stormonts in Tonbridge in charge of their truck hire division. Efes will no doubt put me right on that one as he knows him and when you reply Efes will you explain what an āinflatable barā is, or am I missing something here.
A couple of years back - with Roger Graber - we drove this āinflatable pubā in a little hired van to a venue at Sutton Bonnington (the University) where we inflated it and filled the bar with booze for the students. Next day the young lady students came and dismantled it and lifted into the back of the van (bloody heavy it wasā¦). The young male students were too tired from the previous evening and Roger & I too old and unfit (also following a long CMR - Chauffeur Must Rest - traditon). The girls were all farmers daughters and didnāt mind a bit of hard work. Bugsy would have enjoyed this particular job.
Roger called me for a chat recently asking about George F whom I last talked to some years ago after I discovered a list of National Front mumbers that had been hacked and published online and, lo and behold, Georgeās name was on the list with his phone number! So I called him and we had a long chat. He told me he was far worse that the NF typesā¦ I think that was about 2008 or 2009 and George had been illā¦
George was truly a sterling character.
Looks like he has been kept very busy.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4332749.stm
sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/ge ā¦ d-1-907880
exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/it ā¦ -1-1667832
