I remember Barry. Good bloke.
Also was talking to Mappo at Gaydon and you and the firm came up for complements.
David
Buzzer:
Saw Barry Barnes the other day at Pat Duffyâs funeral RIP in Southampton, he said he had been working with Astran for 35 years driving and as an OD does any one on here know him, latterly as a buy load drive sell fly home man, Buzzer.
Nice chap. Really knows the work. Last met him at Haditha clearing customs into Saudi twelve years ago. Robert 
David MillerâŚhi mate, good to see ya at Gaydon. 
My round if we meet againâŚ
HarryâŚI like the way you turned that into a holiday snap⌠
Meanwhile here,s another of Grahamâs pics.
I reckon there,s a good chance someone will recognise these two.
harry:
rondavies:
harry:
postman paul:
Taken Two weeks ago,Itâs still there.I wonder how old the Pudding Shop is, must be at least 50yrs. And theyâ changed nothing.
Yeah! I first went there 45 yearâs ago as a hitch-hiker. Didnât think I would be back as a wagon driver 5 years later!
How far did you hitch?
Hate to admit that I bottled out from going any further at the time after listening to all the âhorrorâ stories at the Pudding Shop from fellow travellers returning from India.
Having re-checked dates, it was actually 6 years later (1975) that I did my first trip into Asia on Simons.
rondavies:
harry:
rondavies:
harry:
postman paul:
Taken Two weeks ago,Itâs still there.I wonder how old the Pudding Shop is, must be at least 50yrs. And theyâ changed nothing.
Yeah! I first went there 45 yearâs ago as a hitch-hiker. Didnât think I would be back as a wagon driver 5 years later!
How far did you hitch?
Hate to admit that I bottled out from going any further at the time after listening to all the âhorrorâ stories at the Pudding Shop from fellow travellers returning from India.
Having re-checked dates, it was actually 6 years later (1975) that I did my first trip into Asia on Simons.
Hullo Ron,
And there was me thinking youâde kept on walking and wound up in Kanchanaburi
Archie Paice:
rondavies:
harry:
rondavies:
harry:
postman paul:
Taken Two weeks ago,Itâs still there.I wonder how old the Pudding Shop is, must be at least 50yrs. And theyâ changed nothing.
Yeah! I first went there 45 yearâs ago as a hitch-hiker. Didnât think I would be back as a wagon driver 5 years later!
How far did you hitch?
Hate to admit that I bottled out from going any further at the time after listening to all the âhorrorâ stories at the Pudding Shop from fellow travellers returning from India.
Having re-checked dates, it was actually 6 years later (1975) that I did my first trip into Asia on Simons.Hullo Ron,
And there was me thinking youâde kept on walking and wound up in Kanchanaburi
You pipped me there.Archie. I was going to say âAt least you ended up in LOSâ
Buzzer, Are you sure it was Barry Barnes ,never known Barry go to any funeral ,I spoke to Barry a couple of months ago maybe he has grown a heart in his old age
Roger Haywood
mappo:
David MillerâŚhi mate, good to see ya at Gaydon.HarryâŚI like the way you turned that into a holiday snapâŚ
Meanwhile here,s another of Grahamâs pics.
I reckon there,s a good chance someone will recognise these two.â â â â Snow + Bobby Vallas ?
Itâs certainly Bobbi (I can hear him saying âOh you Eeenglish are so sillyâ) but I canât see well enough to say whether that is Mr Snow or not.
David
0Hello all, very interesting reading. Just seen Barry Barnes mentioned, I have only done one trip to the Middle east, it was quite a few years ago when I worked for George Hall in Ramsgate. I was lucky enough to travel there and back with Barry, he baby sat me for a month. Alovely man who taught me a lot.If I can find some photos I will post them. Cheers John
Loose-wire:
Buzzer, Are you sure it was Barry Barnes ,never known Barry go to any funeral ,I spoke to Barry a couple of months ago maybe he has grown a heart in his old age
Roger Haywood
Hi Roger, yes it was definitely Barry. He said he was not going to renew his HGV anymore. Went to the same schoolâs as Barry only he is a little older than me, he was a chippy before doing M/E, in fact his mother who is in her 90âs is in hospital at the moment and he goes to see her every day (no heart, what you mean), His mother used to be one of the cookâs in my primary school and if you filled the coke buckets for her in the morning break she would give you a piece of jam tart left over from the day before, cheers Buzzer.
Hi Buzzer Yep that sounds like Barry I knew he had something to do with wood in his early days ,but the chipping he did was of the cost of everything he laid his hands on,Barry better known as (Fiddler Barnesy) as I found out on several occasions ,most canât be mentioned on here,but believe me I had a squeaky bum on many occasions ,the things he got up to to save some money ,and I have to say he was and still is a very clever guy ,Barry and I got on extremely well on Astrans ,he was one driver it was a pleasure to run with .
Roger
Ron Bryant RIP, collecting a trailer at Rentco Slough, showing off his new Union Jack wind deflector. You couldnât miss him coming the other way!
Parking Area behind the football stadium in Istanbul.
I have found a few more photos recently so I thought Iâd try to put them on here.
All the very best
Mick B
A cutting from a mag. The picture shows the customs sheds at Haditha on the Saudi side of the Jordanian border. Robert
Wow
Tarmac, dust sht sand and rubbish last time I was there,a slight improvement I suppose
Roger
Given the basket case that that whole part of the world is turning into, are the âsellersâ still doing there stuff and running down that way? 
If they are then itâs probably a good thing to swerve the Union Flag roof spoilers.
Although I have seen pics from some of the lads that have had â â â â take sign writing stickers made up. Some of them were very funny.
Loose-wire:
Wow
Tarmac, dust sht sand and rubbish last time I was there,a slight improvement I suppose
Roger
I was last there 12 years ago and Iâm sure it was a bit more civilised than when you last saw it, Roger. Nonetheless, it was strewn with sheep limbs, being the Eid al-Adhar season. Whoever took the picture was a braver man than me (Gungadin!), but I wish I had taken a picture there when I was parked next to Graham Ballâs Astran Scania 143, piloted by Trevor Dodwell. But there: Iâve had cameras confiscated from me at more interesting borders than Haditha! To compensate, hereâs a pic I took at the crossroads near Ceyhan in southern Turkey, of a Fiat parked outside a mosque! Robert 
