Astran / Middle East Drivers

[hlb]

Wheel Nut:

hlb:
Lets face it, there was never any real money in the job, each trip that was supposed to take three weeks, always ended up at six or eight weeks.

I asked one mate how he was going on, he said great, I’ve just put a new kitchen in the house and done this and that.

Next time I met him, I asked, what you doing driving some on else’s truck.

He said, I could not afford anew set of tyres.

That isn’t the job, that is called a wife!

Thats not the point, my first new Daf cost around 12 grand, If I was going to buy another. five years later, it was around 40 grand.
Inflation was rampant.

Yet the rates were about the same.

By the way, my DAF was fantastic and never ailed a thing, even though totally abused, with 150 tons on it’s back some of the time and 140 deg. or minus 40 some times. It got a service in the UK which was very rare.

I got a letter from the Irish man that bought it, what a fab truck he said.

The RORO came into Jeddah, about 1980/1. It totally finished the job. It’s first load was about 50, or maybe a hundred Volvo’s (white cabs)… So whilst there had been loads of work, for mabe a dozen of us, at good prices. Even the compound full of Volvo’s hardly ever moved.

Some of the loads I got from Salisbury were absolutely silly, three tons of foam rubber, on pallets, six foot wide and three foot high, course they could only be loaded. two high. I did three loads of them. But they all ended up with a heap on the floor.

But though I was always involved with the loading. (and thought some sort of an expert)

I was never told what the crane was dropping on my truck. Well for the newbies that dont know. The weight limit then was 32 tons.

But with all the gear, my truck weighed 18 tons, before adding diesel and load.

So I could only really carry about 14 tons, but only if i kept tanks empty.

Trouble was, you had no idea, what had been craned on to it.

Used to creep out the country some times, with about 50 tons on the back.

[adr]

Found another pic’!

[dave75]

harry:
My mate Tony on SCA packed in TIR in & bought a pub in Sotton . He had to redecorate the living quarters when he moved in because the previous owner had papered & decorated around the furniture so when he moved there were big gaps all over the place.His first customer was an old time copper - Tony had a heart attack & fell down dead!

Cheers Harry, the chap mentioned in the book was called Tony Meddings. Maybe it is the same man and what a shame.

[gram67]

Tony Meddings also appears in Graham Coster’s book ‘A Thousand Miles from Nowhere’ 1996, The author travels with him to Moscow and back for Fransens. I recall them chatting about Tony’s history on the Middle East run and his wife giving him the job or me ultimatum

[wheel_nut]

Tony Meddings hasn’t fallen down dead, unless it was in the last 6 months.

[endit]

adr:
Found another pic’!

This old beast, an S26, apparently belonged to Bob Poiganni [sp?]
The last lime I saw it, it was on green Qatari plates, and the Union Jack
on the front had been removed. I have a photo somewhere, and if I can find
it, I will post it up.

[hutpik]

Hi Fred.Iworked with Chris Bolt in the early 70s for a company called Seahorse Int.running out of the transit camp at Harwich as we both came from the same area.Later,when i was pulling for Astran i was a surprise to meet him again often running M.E.Great lad.After i moved to Holland i first lived in the south in a town called Terneuzen and Chris stayed a couple of times at my house when he was loading at Dow Chemicals.Iheard later that he bought his own motor and was running it together with his son.IIRC he also done a few trips for George the Pole in the mid 70s before he went on to Oryx.Mike

[harry]

dave75:

harry:
My mate Tony on SCA packed in TIR in & bought a pub in Sotton . He had to redecorate the living quarters when he moved in because the previous owner had papered & decorated around the furniture so when he moved there were big gaps all over the place.His first customer was an old time copper - Tony had a heart attack & fell down dead!

Cheers Harry, the chap mentioned in the book was called Tony Meddings. Maybe it is the same man and what a shame.

Definitely not the same Tony . The SCA Tony was tall with dark wavy hair & came from Sotton.

[truckerash]

adr:
Found another pic’!

Hi adr; This is a cracking pic which was taken by the late John Williams (he had the Volvo F88). Seated are Bob Pogianni (left) who owned the Scammell and Barrie Barnes (right) who owned the 142.

BTW: By all accounts, the Scammell is still “alive and kicking” in Doha. If anyone fancies bringing her home have a word with Graham Ball on here.

[newmercman]

hutpik:
Hi Fred.Iworked with Chris Bolt in the early 70s for a company called Seahorse Int.running out of the transit camp at Harwich as we both came from the same area.Later,when i was pulling for Astran i was a surprise to meet him again often running M.E.Great lad.After i moved to Holland i first lived in the south in a town called Terneuzen and Chris stayed a couple of times at my house when he was loading at Dow Chemicals.Iheard later that he bought his own motor and was running it together with his son.IIRC he also done a few trips for George the Pole in the mid 70s before he went on to Oryx.Mike

I worked with and was good friends with a Chris Bolt, he died in 94 just after his 50th birthday, Colin Berry worked at the same firm and I know he had been on Oryx (I saw the pictures) I don’t remember them knowing each other before that, but I’m positive Chris had done M/E as something from there went on to kill him

[freshir]

hutpik:
Hi Fred.Iworked with Chris Bolt in the early 70s for a company called Seahorse Int.running out of the transit camp at Harwich as we both came from the same area.Later,when i was pulling for Astran i was a surprise to meet him again often running M.E.Great lad.After i moved to Holland i first lived in the south in a town called Terneuzen and Chris stayed a couple of times at my house when he was loading at Dow Chemicals.Iheard later that he bought his own motor and was running it together with his son.IIRC he also done a few trips for George the Pole in the mid 70s before he went on to Oryx.Mike

freshir wrote :- Interesting bit of background info Mike - terrific chap was Chris - I lost touch with him in later years but he will always be remembered, I went to a party at his house house in Colchester MANY years ago with such characters as Charlie Robinson (Oryx) as I remember Charlie always wore a lot of jewellery even when we were down the road, I don’t know if you knew Charlie but the last time I see him he was in Dover driving 3 ton van for an antiques dealer. I later learnt that Chris had passed on (RIP) valued memories eh ? - - Regards Fred

[bestbooties]

freshir:
Hi David - As a matter of interest. did you know of Chris Bolt from Oryx,s whom I often ran with, he came from Colchester, unfortunately he is no longer with us (RIP) - Regards Fred

I met up with Chris Bolt on several occasions,in the mid 70’s,long before he was on Oryx,usually on the Tapline,where we’d share a pot of coffee.
So sad to hear he did not make a good age like many of us have managed.
There but for the Grace of God…

[sinbin31]

Check out my pics of John Neville’s funeral and you might find Tony Meddins has not departed us yet,

Roger Haywood

[freshir]

bestbooties:

freshir:
Hi David - As a matter of interest. did you know of Chris Bolt from Oryx,s whom I often ran with, he came from Colchester, unfortunately he is no longer with us (RIP) - Regards Fred

I met up with Chris Bolt on several occasions,in the mid 70’s,long before he was on Oryx,usually on the Tapline,where we’d share a pot of coffee.
So sad to hear he did not make a good age like many of us have managed.
There but for the Grace of God…

True Ian - he left us at a very early age, his son was very young when I met the family and I often wonder if he gets on the forum, I would like to hear from him if he is out there. i recall you mentioning George the Pole in an earlier post, I was on Grangewood’s with him, I heard that he went back to Poland many years back and that he had lost his eyesight by natural causes, as you mentioned perhaps we are lucky with age, I have just turned 80 (April) and in pretty good nick - I think that I would have a problem getting up into a 141 now - Regards Fred

[dinger_bell]

Great article mr, thats real life, and in my book true.Thanks Dinger.

mushroomman:
I wonder how many hours we spent over the years waiting to load, waiting for paperwork, waiting for a ferry, waiting for a visa, waiting at a borders etc.
What did most of us do while we were waiting, get some sleep, read a book, maybe have a meal and a beer or talk to some other driver who we had never met before.
These strangers could in some instances end up becoming life long friends but what did we talk about ? very often we would talk about anything. Most of the time we would talk about the job, some times about trucks, often about women and a lot of the times about personal things that you would never even discuss with your best mate.
I met a guy once pulling for Whittles, I can’t remember his name but as it was nearly thirty years ago I think that’s understandable. It was his first trip that he was doing back down to the Middle East after a break of several months. He had stopped doing continental work while trying to save his marriage but in the end he had to accept that it was not going to workout. That night sat in a lay-by near Nis he poured his heart out to me about how upset he was about his marriage breaking down. He had only been married three years and luckily they had no kids, he had spent the last three years working night and day, week after week running down to the Middle East and making some good money. They had bought a new house and were trying to pay off most of the mortgage before they hoped to start a family.
It was only when he was home one night and had been in the local pub that he thought every body seemed different towards him and after a couple of more trips one of the locals took him to one side and told him that his wife was having an affair. He confronted her and she admitted it and confessed that it had been going on for a few months. She blamed him for not giving her enough attention and like he said, he had only spent weeks away from her so that they could be happy in the future.
I bet there are one or two drivers reading this who have spent a few hours with a total stranger and sat listening to a few sad stories but have thought he just wants somebody to share it with.
The job wasn’t always about sitting on a nice beach or having an Efes Control, we often forget about the number of marriages that broke up and the effect it had on drivers kids and other loved ones.
Meeting somebody with a sense of humour and sharing a few jokes with them was in I.M.H.O. a far better way to spend an evening.

Regards Steve.

[freshir]

dinger bell:
Great article mr, thats real life, and in my book true.Thanks Dinger.

mushroomman:
I wonder how many hours we spent over the years waiting to load, waiting for paperwork, waiting for a ferry, waiting for a visa, waiting at a borders etc.
What did most of us do while we were waiting, get some sleep, read a book, maybe have a meal and a beer or talk to some other driver who we had never met before.
These strangers could in some instances end up becoming life long friends but what did we talk about ? very often we would talk about anything. Most of the time we would talk about the job, some times about trucks, often about women and a lot of the times about personal things that you would never even discuss with your best mate.
I met a guy once pulling for Whittles, I can’t remember his name but as it was nearly thirty years ago I think that’s understandable. It was his first trip that he was doing back down to the Middle East after a break of several months. He had stopped doing continental work while trying to save his marriage but in the end he had to accept that it was not going to workout. That night sat in a lay-by near Nis he poured his heart out to me about how upset he was about his marriage breaking down. He had only been married three years and luckily they had no kids, he had spent the last three years working night and day, week after week running down to the Middle East and making some good money. They had bought a new house and were trying to pay off most of the mortgage before they hoped to start a family.

Hi Steve, so true mate, we have all been in that situation listening to others pouring their heart out with probs: at home, as you mentioned they were more often than not complete strangers. and not embarrassed to shed a tear and to talk to someone
who would listen usually when waiting for clearance etc:and that was when the mind thinks of home and family, I recall when I was lumbered I used to make a crossword to pass the time, it was really sad to listen to some of those chaps and you are not able to offer advice but just listen and it sometimes seemed to comfort them by having someone to listen, it made me realize how lucky I was because it was a risky job that we had being away for so long, I reckon some of our wives deserved a medal for putting up with us, I am sure that my wife accepted the fact that I enjoyed my job and she was happy with that - enough said.
Steve, Regards Fred
. .

It was only when he was home one night and had been in the local pub that he thought every body seemed different towards him and after a couple of more trips one of the locals took him to one side and told him that his wife was having an affair. He confronted her and she admitted it and confessed that it had been going on for a few months. She blamed him for not giving her enough attention and like he said, he had only spent weeks away from her so that they could be happy in the future.
I bet there are one or two drivers reading this who have spent a few hours with a total stranger and sat listening to a few sad stories but have thought he just wants somebody to share it with.
The job wasn’t always about sitting on a nice beach or having an Efes Control, we often forget about the number of marriages that broke up and the effect it had on drivers kids and other loved ones.
Meeting somebody with a sense of humour and sharing a few jokes with them was in I.M.H.O. a far better way to spend an evening.

Regards Steve.

[hlb]

freshir:

dinger bell:
Great article mr, thats real life, and in my book true.Thanks Dinger.

mushroomman:
I wonder how many hours we spent over the years waiting to load, waiting for paperwork, waiting for a ferry, waiting for a visa, waiting at a borders etc.
What did most of us do while we were waiting, get some sleep, read a book, maybe have a meal and a beer or talk to some other driver who we had never met before.
These strangers could in some instances end up becoming life long friends but what did we talk about ? very often we would talk about anything. Most of the time we would talk about the job, some times about trucks, often about women and a lot of the times about personal things that you would never even discuss with your best mate.
I met a guy once pulling for Whittles, I can’t remember his name but as it was nearly thirty years ago I think that’s understandable. It was his first trip that he was doing back down to the Middle East after a break of several months. He had stopped doing continental work while trying to save his marriage but in the end he had to accept that it was not going to workout. That night sat in a lay-by near Nis he poured his heart out to me about how upset he was about his marriage breaking down. He had only been married three years and luckily they had no kids, he had spent the last three years working night and day, week after week running down to the Middle East and making some good money. They had bought a new house and were trying to pay off most of the mortgage before they hoped to start a family.

Hi Steve, so true mate, we have all been in that situation listening to others pouring their heart out with probs: at home, as you mentioned they were more often than not complete strangers. and not embarrassed to shed a tear and to talk to someone
who would listen usually when waiting for clearance etc:and that was when the mind thinks of home and family, I recall when I was lumbered I used to make a crossword to pass the time, it was really sad to listen to some of those chaps and you are not able to offer advice but just listen and it sometimes seemed to comfort them by having someone to listen, it made me realize how lucky I was because it was a risky job that we had being away for so long, I reckon some of our wives deserved a medal for putting up with us, I am sure that my wife accepted the fact that I enjoyed my job and she was happy with that - enough said.
Steve, Regards Fred
. .

It was only when he was home one night and had been in the local pub that he thought every body seemed different towards him and after a couple of more trips one of the locals took him to one side and told him that his wife was having an affair. He confronted her and she admitted it and confessed that it had been going on for a few months. She blamed him for not giving her enough attention and like he said, he had only spent weeks away from her so that they could be happy in the future.
I bet there are one or two drivers reading this who have spent a few hours with a total stranger and sat listening to a few sad stories but have thought he just wants somebody to share it with.
The job wasn’t always about sitting on a nice beach or having an Efes Control, we often forget about the number of marriages that broke up and the effect it had on drivers kids and other loved ones.
Meeting somebody with a sense of humour and sharing a few jokes with them was in I.M.H.O. a far better way to spend an evening.

Regards Steve.

I could have written all this myself, either I would have been sat under the trailer blubbering my problems out. Or it was the other guy blubbering to me.

Strange how you could let your heart out, to some one you only met five minutes before.

I thought when Whittles was mentioned, it might have been me, but then the other stuff did not add up.

Mind, think we spent half our time counseling each other, between drinking a thousand cups of tea under the trailer.

[wheel_nut]

I was talking to an old guy in the pub last night and he mentioned a story like this.

Old Fred was in the pub and everyone was whispering, when he asked the barmaid why, they said it is your wife Fred, she is seeing someone else.

Fred pondered this news, took a sip of his pint and said, “well, she has been a good mother to my kids, and I doubt anyone will miss a slice of bread out of a full loaf.”

Fred and his wife were in the pub together the following weekend!

[sheeplady]

Ashley - did you ever find Mike Walker?

adr:
Just traweling through old mags again!

[truckerash]

SheepLady:
Ashley - did you ever find Mike Walker?

Hi Ali; I saw the pic too and it prompted me to have another search. Someone told me where they thought he was nowadays…but i cant recall who said it. DOH Have to get my thinking cap on.