Hi Phill are you the Phill that is seen talking to Ritchie Thorne on the Ritchie Thorne thread? If so the last time we met you had just imported your new wife from the ‘containers’ and were living up the northwest somewhere you had put a driver on your truck and were driving yourself for Nijman on Rockware. If this is you (by the looks of the later pics you have been on the pies!) can you tell me if ‘Old Phill’ ( Horton /Houghton ) is your father he always led me to believe that he was but now I see that the surnames are different ( doesn’t mean a lot ) I am beginning to wonder.
Gavin
Hi some more pics, the first two show an MAN carrying reinforceing mesh internally, the driver (I think he may have been UK Asian i cant remember) had a front wheel blowout and rolled it, it was said that a tyre rep came and took the other wheel away for testing. Unlikely in the middle of the desert but you never know! Some stories say that the driver was unhurt others that he was thrown out but reached into the cab to get his belongings when the headboard collapsed and the cab crushed him, I don’t know I had met the driver before and I never saw him again.
this one shows another MAN that an UK driver had driven down to Jeddah then a muslim driver was to take it into Mecca ( infidels are not allowed into Mecca or Medina)the local driver rolled it on a bend just outside of Jeddah and was killed. Luckily the UK driver heard about it and managed to get on a plane before the police found him or else he would have been liable for the ‘blood money’ at least £4,000.
One of these trucks ( I am not sure which now) belonged to Wilkes from Leicester area the other may have been an associate company.
Another mishap. It must take some doing to park the truck upside down but keep the trailer upright!. We joked that it was an bit extreme just to grease the propshaft but I see that Hoyers are now doing something similar in the UK.
Two on their wheels. The first a load of matresses, every where you went there would be trucks going in either direction carrying matresses!
This one shows a load of timber, according to the driver about 30 tons, hand balled on and off!
This is the interior headlining of the Merc.
Hi Gavin,nice pictures matey. Your write gavin my dad is Phil Houghton,long story about the surname differences.Its gotta be 15-20 years since i last saw you in istanbul,times flyin bud.And yes ive had a few pies,well you got to living near wigan,pie capital of britain.
Hi Ash has e-mailed me some pics of Bromilow trucks that I have never seen before, its got the grey matter churning.
two stories come to mind.
Johnny Robbins had an F86 with a perch behind the seats. One time at the Londra they decided to turn the cellar underneath the hotel reception into a nightclub (probably thought they were losing too much money to the West Berliner) and put on some entertainment, a belly dancer and a sqawker ( if you have heard a bad Turkish singer you’ll know what I mean). The room was entirely covered in marble including the stair case, in the mid 80’s it was used as the shop.
Robbo was a typical ex squaddie and always wore hob-nail boots, and did not like the Effes. Robbo Kelvin and I duly attended this emporium ordered a beer each but Robbo only had his to get a glass because he had a bottle of whisky in his pocket! As the evening wore on the entertainment got louder and worse, Robbo said ‘Yer young’un I can’t stand this bloody row any longer I’m going to bed’ The sight of a well oiled man trying to climb a marble staircase in hob-nails was much more entertaining than the cabaret!
About half an hour later the carpark ahbi came up to us and said ‘come quick big problem’. we ran out thinking Robbo had been mugged or something to find that he was knelt on the drivers seat of the F86 with his head in his sleeping bag but the door was open and it was raining. We tried to push him up onto the perch but he got angry and lashed out with his boots catching Kelvin in the face, sod this we thought and managed to get the door shut.
We went to bed and in the morning got up to find Robbo still in the same position, his back had ‘froze’ with the cold and wet and we had to cancel a day while he recovered, we did not go back down the cellar though!
The second story happened in Budapest on the same trip. At that time coming home you drove along the river bank into the town under a low bridge then round and over the bridge across the river. I had had Bromilows Foden and trailer topped on my trailer for some time but for some reason Robbo had decided to pull it with his F86 and share the driving with Kelvin who should have been driving the Foden. I had gone under the bridge first, then stopped and walked back to help guide the Foden under. Just as I came to see the Foden I shouted Stop Stop, Robbo had climbed up on the headboard and was standing on the tiltcord rail looking over the head board and shouted its OK I can see. No I said STOP, Kelvin who always had a short fuse said 'make up your ******* minds am I going or not ? I had reached the drivers door by then and Robbo turned around and said ‘I can see’ and promptly banged his head on a girder, he had put his head up between the girders under the bridge , a few more inches in it would have taken his head off!
We had to stop for a brew laced with ‘Scottish Milk’
Gavin
philipmceveley:
Hi Gavin,nice pictures matey. Your write gavin my dad is Phil Houghton,long story about the surname differences.Its gotta be 15-20 years since i last saw you in istanbul,times flyin bud.And yes ive had a few pies,well you got to living near wigan,pie capital of britain.
Hi Phill nice to hear from you. I always new your fathers situation was a bit complicated, ( it would be knowing him!) I have known him for a long time he claims from about 76 in Jeddah but I am not sure about that. I’ve run with him many times and had many a ■■■■ good night out with him, but you need to keep your wits about you!!!
Glad to see your keeping well I’ll watch for your posts.
Gavin
Gavin
I remember that shop and the bloody stairs can u remember Graham Soper
I sure it was him who tried on a leather Jacket then calmly walked up the stairs went to the resturant had a meal a few FS then went to his truck without paying for the Jacket .he had an old Marathon non sleeper for a few trips to Baghdad .He lost a load of Bikes on a return load I got for him not sure where they went (Nod Nod Wink Wink) caused me loads of trouble never saw or heard from him again .
cheers
Roger
Love the photos gavin ive seen better roads than that on landfill sites than the ones in your photos
Hi Roger, Are you sure that was Graham Soper? The Graham Soper I knew was a smashing bloke. He worked for Taffy Davis for a bit, then worked for Taffys ex Wife Audry Davis, (A Line). He was the guy that gave Gordon Crisp a bit of a hiding one evening in the National. You might also remember him from when you came onto Anglo Greek for a while. He was on there with his own motor, an old very small Renault, a bit under powered to pull those loads of Hoggys, a full load of International Marine Paint topped up with five tons of Groupage. The last time I heard anything of Graham, he was so I believe doing some sort of Frieght Forwarding in the Midland. But that was a long time ago now. All the best, Archie.
Gavin
[/quote
The second story happened in Budapest on the same trip. At that time coming home you drove along the river bank into the town under a low bridge then round and over the bridge across the river. I had had Bromilows Foden and trailer topped on my trailer for some time but for some reason Robbo had decided to pull it with his F86 and share the driving with Kelvin who should have been driving the Foden. I had gone under the bridge first, then stopped and walked back to help guide the Foden under. Just as I came to see the Foden I shouted Stop Stop, Robbo had climbed up on the headboard and was standing on the tiltcord rail looking over the head board and shouted its OK I can see. No I said STOP, Kelvin who always had a short fuse said 'make up your ******* minds am I going or not ? I had reached the drivers door by then and Robbo turned around and said ‘I can see’ and promptly banged his head on a girder, he had put his head up between the girders under the bridge , a few more inches in it would have taken his head off!
We had to stop for a brew laced with ‘Scottish Milk’
Gavin[/quote]
Hi Gavin, that bridge that you had the problem with as you were about to cross the Danube in Budapest, was it this one the Stephen Petofi Bridge on the old E5. 
I took this picture while travelling south and if you remember you crossed the river and curved around to your left and ran along the embankment. From this direction it sounds like the first bridge that you came to was the one that you were referring to. In this direction it was sign posted 3. 8 metres and you had to be very careful not to hit the overhead tram wires. 
I don’t suppose that you pulled onto the car park at the Hotel Wien just up the road, to have your drink of tea with Scottish milk did you. 
I wonder how many guys reading this have sent a telex or parked up for the night at The Hotel Wien just before Budapest.
Hi Archie
My story about Graham Soper in the Londra camp might not be correct
but im sure it was him if not sorry to Graham, yes I do remember his little
Renault and he was a nice guy but he had a wicked side to him as well
im still waiting for all the clothes I gave him when he was robbed in southern Turkey ,such a shame to be left with a pair of desert boots and shorts .little bit funny now I remind myself of it.Yes the paint had a great multicoloured floor on my trailer left a big splodge on that parking on the one way split befor the Greek
border in yugo ,had multicoloured wheels looked like a rainbow goodtimes no border problems great pals sadly missed.
Roger
My new roof being made in Aksaray, Turkey.
Here are a few pics of my trip to Doha in December 08
Met these guys at the Syrian border. They left England in September 08, they were off to Israel for Xmas 08 than on to Kenya.
Just filling up at Haditha, Saudi border, 6p a litre
Top of Saudi, only 1800 kms to Doha
Hotel Wien eh? What a good place to stop at, never got too crowded as you could only get about six wagons parked up outside. A really good bar and restuarant up on the top floor. I spent a brilliant New Year ( Silvester they call it) there in 1979.
Hi Mushroom, That looks like the bridge but I’m not sure about turning left when going south it would have meant crossing the carriageway. Perhaps thats where i used to go wrong I always went straight on onto the town (doh!) through the squares before coming out on to a main road , turn right follow the trams and you join the proper road.
Perhaps Ash would be good enough to post the pics for me.
Hi Gavin G.S. Where you been hiding lately? Re your mention of us meeting in Portugal I’ve been trying to agitate the grey matter, I can remember a red Irish reg scania but can’t place you yet. Where did you run to and for who? Got any pics to jog my memory?
Gavin (t’other one)
Archie Paice:
Hotel Wien eh? What a good place to stop at, never got too crowded as you could only get about six wagons parked up outside. A really good bar and restuarant up on the top floor. I spent a brilliant New Year ( Silvester they call it) there in 1979.
I discovered the delights of the Hotel Aero too 
a bit closer to the old town and the trams
sinbin31:
Gavin
I remember that shop and the bloody stairs can u remember Graham Soper
I sure it was him who tried on a leather Jacket then calmly walked up the stairs went to the resturant had a meal a few FS then went to his truck without paying for the Jacket .he had an old Marathon non sleeper for a few trips to Baghdad .He lost a load of Bikes on a return load I got for him not sure where they went (Nod Nod Wink Wink) caused me loads of trouble never saw or heard from him again .
cheers
Roger
Hi remember the name but I can’t place the man. Sounds like 3or4 DT drivers heard of that trick and decided to do it full time in Germany, when running weekly to Austria. It got so bad in the southeast near the Austrian border that when you pulled into a service ares with a Davies Turner tilt on they called the police to watch you! It got so embarrassing that i tried not to stop there. They pulled all the tricks changing clothes and shoes etc. in fact anything not nailed down! I remember one of them saying that he saw a new tyre pressure gauge and airline attached to the outlet he tried to undo it but couldn’t so he went back into the shop and stole some spanners went back took the complete airline and left with the air escaping.
Gavin