Dave Duxbury was a true professional and did the M/E for quite a long time, I think he had a chap named Colin Johnson driving for him for a while who was also a very good guy.
Thought the Javanese would bring a chuckle 
Rita
This jog any memories, courtesy of Rick Ellis.
Dave.
davemackie:
This jog any memories, courtesy of Rick Ellis.
Dave.
looks like one of the guys from the 118 118 advert
Reddesertfox:
Dave Duxbury was a true professional and did the M/E for quite a long time, I think he had a chap named Colin Johnson driving for him for a while who was also a very good guy.
Colin is over near Hull living and working now, see him occasionally, also used to see Bob who worked with Colin on Trans Arabian
davemackie:
This jog any memories, courtesy of Rick Ellis.
Dave.
Might need a clue on this one Dave, have you ever seen him eating rice or noodles 
.
Regards Steve.
Saw someone similar wearing a Red Boiler and chains around his ankles on Fox news. 
SheepLady:
mushroomman:
Reddesertfox:
Sheep Lady got it right about John Abraham (J.A.V.A.) so nice to see some accuracyâs postedâŠHi Reddesertfox and Sheep Lady, thanks for answering a question that I wondered about nearly thirty years ago, so John wasnât Oriental after all
Regards Steve.Mushroomman⊠did you know John back then? He had quite a chuckle when I told him of his âsuggested by Rogerâ roots⊠By the way, whereâs Roger gone!
Hi SheepLady, itâs good to know that John is still around 
canât you ask him to share some of his many experiences on here 
.
Is Sinbin Rogers username or where he spends most of his time nowadays .
I remember Rogerâs first post on this website as though it was only
quoteRoger Haywood
by sinbin31 Ă» Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:17 am
Hi to all ex ME drivers have just discovered this site I have read all the commentsabout Astran drivers some are not exctly correct unquote.
Isnât he a little Tinker or something similar.
Yes, I think that I met John in 1980/81 in the National of all places and I.I.R.C. in the morning about four of us ran down as far as Nis where we split up. I was running with Jim Smethurst who was with Falcongate at the time, Jim appeared to know John fairly well and as far as I remember John seemed the quite type. You can ask him if he remembers Steve from Dow Freight but I wont hold my breath.
Regards Steve.
mushroomman:
davemackie:
This jog any memories, courtesy of Rick Ellis.
Dave.
Might need a clue on this one Dave, have you ever seen him eating rice or noodles
Regards Steve.
Java John.
Dave.
sinbin31:
Thought the Javanese would bring a chuckleRita
Thought Javanese was one of those fancy sauces you could order with a steakâŠ
Mushroomman
Steve⊠(Steve who?)⊠I told John about the site - he said heâd look, but I doubt heâll join in the fun! Pity really cos I think he was well though of amongst drivers. Iâve copied your last post to himâŠ
Did Dow Freight become RJ International?
mushroomman:
âŠI bet when bullit started this thread nearly four years ago he probably didnât realise how many people would be interested in itâŠquote]â â â â right there steve!!
Lets hope it runs for at least another 4!!..its good to hear the tales from all you âold handsâ
Please keep the tales and pics coming and if we still have any âlurkersâ viewing then join up, jump in and post some stuff!!
As an aside, does anyone have any pics of the âmirrorsâ restaurant on the Tapline??
The only ones I have seen were in the Cola Cowboys book, anyone got any more??
Keep posting chaps,
Bullitt.
bullitt:
As an aside, does anyone have any pics of the âmirrorsâ restaurant on the Tapline??The only ones I have seen were in the Cola Cowboys book, anyone got any more??
Bullitt.
Bullitt,
Iâm sure there has been a picture of the âMirrorsâ posted on one of these threads,but as it shows Wing Commander Long itâs probably the one from the book.
Hi Ian, yes I think your`re right, a black and white (can we still say that!! ) picture of a bloke swigging out of a can of coke presumably, in a room surrounded by mirrors!!
Have heard you guys mention it a few times as apparently it was or still is a bit of a landmarkâŠturn left / right / striaght ahead etc âat the mirrorsâ!!
In fact I think it was you wasnt it who was having a minor "misunderstanding " a few months ago, with another ex M/E driver, about turning left or right or somewhere at the mirrors with regard to a particular desert crossing (H4â â ) 
Big Al:
mushroomman:
Hi Al, I shall pass on the message, I hope that you will be taking Mildred to Birch and please take loads of photos.
I shall be over there in April so I might pop in to see Gertie, Mildred and yourself.
I better get off this thread now before we have another Albanian uprising
Best regards Steve.Well to bring it back on track does any one remember either David Meadows or Dave Duxbury both Preston lads
who ran middle east. regards Big Al
Hi Al, a couple of months back somebody posted an article from Truck Blog ( I think that it might of been Mr 141 ). On the same page of the Truck Blog article that he posted there was a brilliant photo of a very dirty David Duxbury motor parked up in Dover on his way home. I thought that I had sent you a P.M. about it to bring it to your attention but after doing a lot of searches I canât find it anywhere. Itâs somewhere on that site dating back to July 2007 or there abouts.
Doesnât Davidâs lad call into your yard anymore ?, it would be great if you could try and contact him to see if he has got any of his Dadâs old photos. As far as I can remember David Duxburyâs motors were some of the smartest looking motors doing the Middle East and always carried the right equipment. Now that would make a very interesting restoration project .
What are you doing for the next couple of years Big Al .
Best regards Steve.
bullitt:
Hi Ian, yes I think your`re right, a black and white (can we still say that!!Have heard you guys mention it a few times as apparently it was or still is a bit of a landmarkâŠturn left / right / striaght ahead etc âat the mirrorsâ!!
In fact I think it was you wasnt it who was having a minor "misunderstanding
Mmmm H4 / Mirrors only about 700 KM apart, so I guess pretty close
Reddesertfox:
Mmmm H4 / Mirrors only only about 700 KM apart, so I guess pretty close
I wouldnt have a clue as i have never been down that way but im sure it was ian and another ex M/E chap who couldnt agree which way you turned to go someway or another!!
mushroomman:
Big Al:
mushroomman:
Hi Al, I shall pass on the message, I hope that you will be taking Mildred to Birch and please take loads of photos.
I shall be over there in April so I might pop in to see Gertie, Mildred and yourself.
I better get off this thread now before we have another Albanian uprising
Best regards Steve.Well to bring it back on track does any one remember either David Meadows or Dave Duxbury both Preston lads
who ran middle east. regards Big AlHi Al, a couple of months back somebody posted an article from Truck Blog ( I think that it might of been Mr 141 ). On the same page of the Truck Blog article that he posted there was a brilliant photo of a very dirty David Duxbury motor parked up in Dover on his way home. I thought that I had sent you a P.M. about it to bring it to your attention but after doing a lot of searches I canât find it anywhere. Itâs somewhere on that site dating back to July 2007 or there abouts.
Doesnât Davidâs lad call into your yard anymore ?, it would be great if you could try and contact him to see if he has got any of his Dadâs old photos. As far as I can remember David Duxburyâs motors were some of the smartest looking motors doing the Middle East and always carried the right equipment. Now that would make a very interesting restoration project
What are you doing for the next couple of years Big Al
Best regards Steve.
Well Steve I should be enjoying retirement right now but Big Boyz Toys cost a pretty penny. Add to this 15 grandchildren
and 3 great grandkids who all think grandad & grandma are a big big money tree ? I have been working away from our
main depot at Preston for the past 6 months, I actually went past Ian Duxburyâs yard this afternoon to pick up the mail
and saw his tidy fleet lined up and loaded ready for a Monday start. I will be back in Red Scar depot in a couple of weeks
and will try to call in and see if I can get any pictures. Regards Big Al
The actual crossroads was often referred to as the mirrors; however for those who actually went into the restaurant for the chicken, rice and potato soup will still remember the Yemeni waiters shouting their orders through to the kitchen. The biggest challenge was to eat the food before the cockroaches landed on it.
Middle East Images from GS Overland.
davemackie.jalbum.net/Gavin%20Smith/
Dave.