bestbooties:
Reddesertfox:
I may be wrong but if my memory serves me correct M& C were one of the first from the UK to run with super singles on their trailers to the ME… I am sure Steve will put me right …if I am wrong
ATVB …RDFRDF,
When would this be?
When I was on for Expo Freight in 1980 we had some 13.6 metre tri axle trailers running on super singles.
On one occasion I blew one off in Brussels on the way out and I found a little tyre dealer just off the motorway in Belgium
that sold them at a very competative price,so the next couple of trips I did with one of those trailers,I shipped out with just 2 spare rims and had new tyres fitted as I went past
sorry ian but that comment is hilarious
So what did folk do after the ME. I never drove a truck round the UK before. All I knew was that, whilst my new (NOW FIVE YEARS OLD) Daf, cost £12,000, it would cost about £ 40. 000, to replace it. Internal in Saudi had dried up, Rates to ME remained about the same. Tried the uk for a bit. Even put three loads one one top of other, but still it did not pay.
Plus the fact, I’d been used to a bar and swimming pool at the other end, all I got now, was a little window to poke my head in, before it being slammed shut, with the message. Cant deal with you till Monday.
Never the less, the training of the ME, taught me that I could deal with most anything, also the long hours of driving, gave me time to think.
Thoughts were a bit jumbled, but sort of said, A jeweler dont need a 56 ton truck, to flog a bit of jewelry.
Long story and not all easy. But the mess UK manufacturing was in, no wonder the Germans were taking over.
I started flogging a specialist form of plastic, soon learned that the British manufactures, were not up to the job.
Maggie Thatcher paid a big roll, planning permission was swiped to one side. Experts seconded to me for little money and grants for machinery and electronics, with no rigmarole…
We manufactured our own. All self taught.
So what did other foks do.
The job boomed for twenty years, no financial help or training.
Hi Mike Sargent are you the same Mick Sargent that worked for NEDU.BV the same one That tried to make out you were dutch because you thought it was big to your Dutch mates …ie don’t tell the English that i am English because you did not want to talk to them but drop big hints that you were you were bloody sad then and you still are and you told me the only company you would work for in England was Astran because you worked for them before yet when I rang allison moss to ask about you she said you had never ever worked for them and never even heard of you I see your giving the old ■■■■■■■■ again don’t you ever give up. like Roy Butler on Geoff Gilbert called you a traitor. Now you trying to impress the English because the Dutch found you out.ps were do you get these story’s from some imagination !!!ANY ONE THAT DENIES THEIR HERITAGE IS A TRAITOR
Steamhammer747:
Hi Mike Sargent are you the same Mick Sargent that worked for NEDU.BV the same one That tried to make out you were dutch because you thought it was big to your Dutch mates …ie don’t tell the English that i am English because you did not want to talk to them but drop big hints that you were you were bloody sad then and you still are and you told me the only company you would work for in England was Astran because you worked for them before yet when I rang allison moss to ask about you she said you had never ever worked for them and never even heard of you I see your giving the old [zb] again don’t you ever give up. like Roy Butler on Geoff Gilbert called you a traitor. Now you trying to impress the English because the Dutch found you out.ps were do you get these story’s from some imagination !!!ANY ONE THAT DENIES THEIR HERITAGE IS A TRAITOR
Hi,
I don’t know, but I think you may have the wrong bloke there mate. The last time I saw Mike he was on for a Dutch company and he made a point of stopping, invited me into his luxurious Volvo cab and made the Coffee. There was a bloke called Roly from Geoff Gilbert’s that went onto a Dutch I seem to remember. But as I say I don’t really know.
Cheers, Archie.
I don’t think so. And roly you talk about wouldn’t be Roland Sanderson would it. If it is he is ok a genuine bloke
Steamhammer747:
I don’t think so. And roly you talk about wouldn’t be Roland Sanderson would it. If it is he is ok a genuine bloke
Hullo again,
It could have been that bloke, I don’t know, I only ever recall meeting him once, I just knew he was called Roly and was on for G.G. But you amaze me at your description of Mike Sargeant, that really does’nt sound like him at all.
Although I am sure he will answer on here for himself sooner or later.
Cheers, Archie.
Mike Sargent did three trips to Kuwait for Astran with this!!
Hi Ron
Mike was some hero to drive that old shed, he has my utmost admiration. I consider it is not important how many trips people did but rather the conditions they underwent to achieve what they did.
I have a picture of an old Atkinson that was driven down to Doha, albeit not by me.
I will dig it out when I get to RSA and post it.
The picture I plan to post was taken at an old watering hole between Hofuf and the border.
All the very best…RDF
by Reddesertfox
Mon Jun 13, 2011 1:56 pm
Forum: OLD TIME LORRIES, COMPANIES AND DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
Topic: Astran / Middle East Drivers.
Replies: 3770
Views: 263196
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Re: Astran / Middle East Drivers.
bigr250 wrote:
brenics77 wrote
Would this be the same one you talk about
Wheel Nut:
M&C steve:
Steve does John still live in Mistley haven’t seen him for years? Hughie ex FunstonsHughie, would that be Hughie Ashton as that rings a bell ■■ If so then you used to have the cleanest cab interior know to man !! Not a speck of dust could be found anywhere and you had the knack of being able to flick your ■■■ ash out of the window, whilst driving, without a single speck blowing back in…
John lives in Snaith, Yorkshire, ( the promised land as he calls it ! ) has done for many a year now. But has plans to rent to the local council and come and retire here.
Steve.
I never met him to my knowledge but the name certainly rings a big bell.
Us Yorkshire folk stuck together, Goolies, and Gilberdyke Folk mixed with the Westies
Thats me Steve if and when you see John give him my best regards I last saw him when he and Shirley came to my house for a drink. If Johns memory hasn’t faded he should have lots of stories to tell. Malcom I pulled for Landfast and we have met before Hughie
biffo:
Malcom I pulled for Landfast and we have met before Hughie
I know we have met Hughie. You were the smooth one 
Sorry I was referring to John Mclung, Was it through Ken Tommo that I heard of John.
[quote="biffoThats me Steve if and when you see John give him my best regards I last saw him when he and Shirley came to my house for a drink. If Johns memory hasn’t faded he should have lots of stories to tell. Malcom I pulled for Landfast and we have met before Hughie[/quote]
Well, another result for my faded memory !!!
Hughie, i will gladly pass on your regards to John, i think it will be around Christmas or early in the new year before he returns here again.
He was still with Shirley when you last met him ■■ That was MANY years ago !!
John looks on this forum, but he is a man of few words, in type at least. He gave me a few old photos and asked me to post them on here as he is a little internet illiterate. Yes he has many stories to tell, but i very much doubt if he will ever get around to putting them on here, shame…
I will PM you his e-mail and phone number.
Steve.
Hi steamhammer 747.If as you say i am sad then it is only because i read such utter tripe written by someone.
First.If you phoned Alison it is quite logical that she does not know me as we have never met since i worked for Astran in 1974 75 when they still had the office in Chiselhurst.As to saying that i would only work for Astrans that is quite possible but would have been said in the context of '‘if i returned to the UK and wished to continue driving to the M.E.’'Whilst i was living in the UK i did work in 1975 76 for Simon int and again have no negative comments to make about them.
I moved to Holland in 1977 and drove,until 1980 for I.T.Holland\Afghan International.
Yes i did work for NEDU.BV.from 1980 until 1985 and considered it an excellent company.
If you have lived abroad,in particular Holland you will know that even if you live there for 100yrs you will NEVER be considered Dutch.The most you can expect is to be accepted as '‘the Englishman who speaks Dutch’'I lived in Holland from 1977 until 2008 when i moved up here to Lappland and in all that time i never felt Dutch.
Strange though it may sound,i feel more at home here in Lappland after 3yrs than 30yrs in Holland.
Yes roland Sanderson did work for NEDU for a while then he bought a second hand Danish truck which blew up in Holland on the way to Romania and then he stayed with my wife and me for a week while the truck was repaired.
If at any time in the past i wished to be taken for a Dutchman so as to avoid talking to Englishmen it must have been because they were people like yourself.It would be nice to identify yourself so we can make our own judgments upon the veracity of your critisisms.Mike
Hi Mike
Well put I know who you are so no need to worry ,by the way Had 2 x15kg Salmon in the Largan near Halmstadt 3 weeks ago on a dry fly,had amassive barby in oskarstrom ,with my Swedish trucking buddies ,will soon be there for good, cant wait. take care ,
Roger Haywood
Hi Roger.Well done,excellent fish,i imagine they went down well on the grill with a few beers. 
Pleased to hear you’r moving lock,stock and Roger soon.Before i moved up here i worked for Pilkington out of Holland.We loaded quite a lot from Pilkington in Halmstad.Nice factory,nice people,but that applies all over Sweden. We’ve had the first snowfall up here today,still only another 6 months to go 
Take care.Mike
Hi Mike,
like Roger I understand why there have been times when you would not want to be taken for englishman especially when trying to have a quiet meal in a good restaurant that is unfortunately frequented by noisy drunk british drivers. Also having run with you in the m/e in the early 70’s I know that you were on Astran and had that old red F88 and I can only imagine that steamhammer747 is one of those people that one would not wish to be stuck with while weekended somewhere. It’s not a question of denying our heritage it’s more about being proud of it and then being embarrassed by your fellow countrymen whilst abroad, what did you ever do to upset this man so much.
so winter has arrived, I expect you’ve got wood stacked up as far as the eye can see.
regards
Hi Chazzer.How’s life in Obamaland.I assume by now that you are somewhere in the upper managerial ranks with a key to the executive loo 
Where’s my photos 
As you say we have all,at some time, wished we could change our nationality due to an adverse environment full of bs.or antisocial behaviour by our fellow countrymen,but in this instance i really have no idea what the rectal ■■■■■■ is on about. 
As for the comments about being a traitor i find those quite ludicrous.The only thing which concerns me a little is,if i go to the UK sometime in the future am i going to be arrested and thrown in the tower of London to await my fate under the headsmans axe. .
As you quite rightly say i have logs as far as the eye can see so i aint gettin cold.Ihave also purchased,this summer a Can Am 800cc mud racing quad with a plough attachment so should have some fun ploughing the road round the house clear this winter. 
Take care.Mike
Chazzer.
Now I know why I cant remember many names, there were plenty of prats on the job, so most of the time I traveled on my own.
Besides the loud mouths.
There was the guy infront of me, in a snow storm in Bulgaria. The queue did not move for three days, so I invited him back for a meal, quite a few times. Then I felt a bit guilty and said, let’s go back to your truck and have what you like. He said, I only bring a cup, some one always looks after me.
I said well, you’d better find another mug then.
Another guy in Turkey had come with no spare wheel, so of course he wanted mine.
Then there was the bloke on the train back to Germany, who thought I should sell him my diesel for the 4p a gallon that I paid for in Saudi. Then he wanted a row, because I’d not been driving a truck long, so should not be allowed to go to the ME!!
Yep, there were plenty of good guys, but also many to be avioded. It was hard to know whether to have your guard up or down.
you only have to hear some of them open their mouths once. Wherever you happen to be abroad and you know that you would have them think you were anything but english. This guy sounds like he might be one of them Hutpik.
hlb:
Chazzer.Now I know why I cant remember many names, there were plenty of prats on the job, so most of the time I traveled on my own.
Besides the loud mouths.
There was the guy in-front of me, in a snow storm in Bulgaria. The queue did not move for three days, so I invited him back for a meal, quite a few times. Then I felt a bit guilty and said, let’s go back to your truck and have what you like. He said, I only bring a cup, some one always looks after me.
I said well, you’d better find another mug then.
Another guy in Turkey had come with no spare wheel, so of course he wanted mine.
Then there was the bloke on the train back to Germany, who thought I should sell him my diesel for the 4p a gallon that I paid for in Saudi. Then he wanted a row, because I’d not been driving a truck long, so should not be allowed to go to the ME!!
Yep, there were plenty of good guys, but also many to be avoided. It was hard to know whether to have your guard up or down.
I have met all the above & used to run on my own - one bloke that wanted to run with me boasted that he used to run M/E & not even carry a screwdriver . He used to make the tea while other drivers did the spanner work on his truck. Another in no-mans-land at the top of the Cenis had no permit ,no diesel & no money." Fank fck you turned up." He said .I bought him a meal & fcked off. Another on a Xmas Eve was stuck in the middle of the night in France had run out of diesel & only had Italian lire. I didn’t know the exchange rate with French but I still changed for him. I tailgated him from Reims to the the boat & when we got on the boat I realised he had done me over on the rate & the little sod disappeared -& he was black. I drove on Swiss, Italian, Dutch plates & would avoid the Brits like the plague unless I knew them.
We should start a thread about the nasty scroungers on TIR & name & shame 'em.
Not forgetting the time I picked up a Fords driver in UK who wanted to know if I was in the union altho I was driving on Swiss plates!
harry:
Not forgetting the time I picked up a Fords driver in UK who wanted to know if I was in the union altho I was driving on Swiss plates!
You should have thrown him out and told him it was a closed cab
Wheel Nut:
harry:
Not forgetting the time I picked up a Fords driver in UK who wanted to know if I was in the union altho I was driving on Swiss plates!You should have thrown him out and told him it was a closed cab
Remind me, what has happened to all the car factories in the UK?