Loose-wire:
Well Well what a load of brown stuff ,certain people on here need to stop posting dont knock me or you will get it back ,most of my posts have been in jest but if drivers are no longer MEN and cant hack it my middle finger is raised high in the air
Roger Haywood
Oh dear!
Does it really matter, who turned left in Ankara or who had colder winters, or who had the most difficulties. Sure the winters were harsher when you turned left and many of us experienced minus 35 ā 40.
In reality we who did the job did it because we wanted to do it. It was an adventure for those of us who did it in the early daysā¦ā¦ā¦.Most of us did it for the adventure or for the escapism or maybe both.
Sure it was difficult at times and for many of us when things got tough we questioned what the hell we were doing. But at the end of the day, it was what we chose to do and I for one, look back with fond memories of the good times.
Sinbin / Loose wireā¦ā¦or whatever you call yourselfā¦.For sure you were ā ā ā ā good at what you did and no one can dispute thatā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦Fishing can never beat pioneering in the MEā¦ā¦I Knowā¦ I am still thereā¦ā¦ā¦.would I change it for fishingā¦Neverā¦
ATVBā¦RDF
rita does it really matter at the end of the day your memories are yours alonr no doubt they coincide with many of the others of us who were privileged to travel to these far flung lands enjoy your sojorn in the land of the midnight sun and as a professional funeral goer remember the clock is ticking regards Crow
rita does it really matter at the end of the day your memories are yours alonr no doubt they coincide with many of the others of us who were privileged to travel to these far flung lands enjoy your sojorn in the land of the midnight sun and as a professional funeral goer remember the clock is ticking regards Crow
I will tell you one thing, when drivers were going off to far flung places without roads, sanitation or satellites, we were young, we were foolish and we didnt care if people thought we were mad.
I will tell you who is mad, it is the blokes who are still doing it in their 50ās. Just look at the happenings in Woolwich, no one could ever imagine that happening in the UK. It rarely happened in the middle east to Westerners either.
Respect to the Astran men and others who are still pedalling up and down!
Loose-wire:
Well Well what a load of brown stuff ,certain people on here need to stop posting dont knock me or you will get it back ,most of my posts have been in jest but if drivers are no longer MEN and cant hack it my middle finger is raised high in the airRoger Haywood
Will miss the banter Rita!
David 
Iām sure they have the interweb in Sweeden. And Iām sure Mr Haywood still has plenty to chat about, it would be a shame if he didnāt.
Jeffā¦
Jelliot:
Iām sure they have the interweb in Sweeden. And Iām sure Mr Haywood still has plenty to chat about, it would be a shame if he didnāt.Jeffā¦
He has had more returns than Argos 
I doubt you have seen or heard the last of him
Reddesertfox:
Does it really matter, who turned left in Ankara or who had colder winters, or who had the most difficulties. Sure the winters were harsher when you turned left and many of us experienced minus 35 ā 40.
In reality we who did the job did it because we wanted to do it. It was an adventure for those of us who did it in the early daysā¦ā¦ā¦.Most of us did it for the adventure or for the escapism or maybe both.
Sure it was difficult at times and for many of us when things got tough we questioned what the hell we were doing. But at the end of the day, it was what we chose to do and I for one, look back with fond memories of the good times.
Sinbin / Loose wireā¦ā¦or whatever you call yourselfā¦.For sure you were ā ā ā ā good at what you did and no one can dispute thatā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦Fishing can never beat pioneering in the MEā¦ā¦I Knowā¦ I am still thereā¦ā¦ā¦.would I change it for fishingā¦Neverā¦ATVBā¦RDF
At the time we did this,we were all much younger men who thought they were going to live forever and looked on the job as an adventure,not so much a job.Those who couldnāt hack it soon fell by the wayside while those of us to whom the job was meat and drink soldiered on,enjoying the adventure.
As RDF says, " Sure it was difficult at times and for many of us when things got tough we questioned what the hell we were doing. But at the end of the day, it was what we chose to do and I for one, look back with fond memories of the good times."
If we were asked today,at the age we are,but the conditions were the same as back then,would we think a bit longer before we took on the task?
Jelliot:
I got a call one day form a guy I knew that had a motor dumped as the driver had botteled it. ( I assumed it was in Turkey or somewhere down that way ) I couldnāt do the job as I was doing something else, but passed on my mates name. The job was Greece via ferry, reload Istanbull and the truck was dumped at Reims by a first timer, I kicked my self after.I also knew some Scottish drivers that wouldnāt go past Shap.
Jeff
jelliot Iām scottish and my old man was m/e driver ,he used to do shap all the time just to get to his load for Baghdad,Oman ,Saudi etc just like many other scots lads sounds like youāre a bit racist towards scots lads there ,did you ever drive an old Erf or foden up shap fully laden in winter time? or are u just an ignorant prick
Formworker:
:?:Jelliot:
I got a call one day form a guy I knew that had a motor dumped as the driver had botteled it. ( I assumed it was in Turkey or somewhere down that way ) I couldnāt do the job as I was doing something else, but passed on my mates name. The job was Greece via ferry, reload Istanbull and the truck was dumped at Reims by a first timer, I kicked my self after.I also knew some Scottish drivers that wouldnāt go past Shap.
Jeff
jelliot Iām scottish and my old man was m/e driver ,he used to do shap all the time just to get to his load for Baghdad,Oman ,Saudi etc just like many other scots lads sounds like youāre a bit racist towards scots lads there ,did you ever drive an old Erf or foden up shap fully laden in winter time? or are u just an ignorant prick
Whoosh
Formworker:
:?:Jelliot:
I got a call one day form a guy I knew that had a motor dumped as the driver had botteled it. ( I assumed it was in Turkey or somewhere down that way ) I couldnāt do the job as I was doing something else, but passed on my mates name. The job was Greece via ferry, reload Istanbull and the truck was dumped at Reims by a first timer, I kicked my self after.I also knew some Scottish drivers that wouldnāt go past Shap.
Jeff
jelliot Iām scottish and my old man was m/e driver ,he used to do shap all the time just to get to his load for Baghdad,Oman ,Saudi etc just like many other scots lads sounds like youāre a bit racist towards scots lads there ,did you ever drive an old Erf or foden up shap fully laden in winter time? or are u just an ignorant prick
Sorry thatās not what I meant at all, it wasnāt a back handed comment, no I wouldnāt call my self ignorant at all, yes I have driven EFRās Fodens and the like. I was draw bars as soon as I got through my test. I originate from the Scottish Borders, and I have had many adventures in trucks through my long driving career. Iāve driven professionally on 5 continents, in many and varied trucks. I would of loved to have done the ME in the 70ās and try as I might no one was hiring 10 year old boys. When I was a lad all I wanted to do was drive trucks to the ME and couldnāt understand why everyone else on the planet didnāt want to do the same thing.
I really did know drivers from my area that didnāt want to go past Shap or Scotch corner. They had a different a out look on life, they wanted to be back home each night, and were quite content doing what they did. I did some RDC work for Tesco 3 drops a day and it drove me nuts. Each to their own, I wouldnāt never think any less of a man for having his own mind, and doing what he wanted to do.
Dave Mackie like me is also from Scotland and like me he also did the M/E as well as Kaz, and I know /knew many other Scottish driver that went to far flung place as well. As for driving up Shap in the winter time, yes it might have been tough, try towing your mate along the M32 500kās across Kaz at -40c with an 80kph side wind.
Jeffā¦
Formworker:
ā¦sounds like youāre a bit racist towards scots lads there ā¦
Scottish people are a separate āRACEāā ā ?
I didnāt know there was a Scottish race. A person who is a citizen of Scotland would be a Scottish by āNationalityā not by being of a different race from the rest of pink skinned northern Europeans! āRacistāā¦that bloody word gets everywhere nowadays for anything!! 
On separate note, PLEASE donāt let this thread develop into a slanging match. So many people enjoy reading of the heydays when the M/E was a fantastic experience. The lads who have done it have earned the right to banter between themselves about what they did and where they went.
Mr Formworker, please, there is no need to verbally abuse someone by using that language. Enjoy the thread, read the stories and tales from long ago and enjoy the pictures, but please, donāt use foul language to express your point! 
On a lighter note, this thread will have been going for 8 years in September, thanks to all who have contributed!
Nowā¦Can we have some more pics please?? 
Jelliot:
Formworker:
:?:Jelliot:
I got a call one day form a guy I knew that had a motor dumped as the driver had botteled it. ( I assumed it was in Turkey or somewhere down that way ) I couldnāt do the job as I was doing something else, but passed on my mates name. The job was Greece via ferry, reload Istanbull and the truck was dumped at Reims by a first timer, I kicked my self after.I also knew some Scottish drivers that wouldnāt go past Shap.
Jeff
jelliot Iām scottish and my old man was m/e driver ,he used to do shap all the time just to get to his load for Baghdad,Oman ,Saudi etc just like many other scots lads sounds like youāre a bit racist towards scots lads there ,did you ever drive an old Erf or foden up shap fully laden in winter time? or are u just an ignorant prick
Sorry thatās not what I meant at all, it wasnāt a back handed comment, no I wouldnāt call my self ignorant at all, yes I have driven EFRās Fodens and the like. I was draw bars as soon as I got through my test. I origionate from the Scottish Borders, and I have had many adventures in trucks through my long driving career. Iāve driven professionally on 5 continents, in many and varied trucks. I would of loved to have done the ME in the 70ās and try as I might no one was hiring 10 year old boys. When I was a lad all I wanted to do was drive trucks to the ME and couldnāt understand why everyone else on the planet didnāt want to do the same thing. I really did know drivers from my area that didnāt want to go past Shap or Scotch corner. They had a differant a out look on life, they wanted to be back home each night, and were quite content doing what they did. I did some RDC work for Tesco 3 drops a day and it drove me nuts. Each to their own, I wouldn never think any less of a man for having his own mind, and doing what he wanted to do.
Dave Mackie like me is also from Scotland and like me he also did the M/E as well as Kaz, and I know /knew many other Scottish driver that went to far flung place as well. As for driving up Shap in the winter time, yes it might have been tough, try towing your mate along the M32 500kās across Kaz at -40c with an 80kph side wind.Jeffā¦
You proved what I was trying to tell you Jeff, if someone decides they want to do something they will.
bestbooties:
Reddesertfox:
Does it really matter, who turned left in Ankara or who had colder winters, or who had the most difficulties. Sure the winters were harsher when you turned left and many of us experienced minus 35 ā 40.
In reality we who did the job did it because we wanted to do it. It was an adventure for those of us who did it in the early daysā¦ā¦ā¦.Most of us did it for the adventure or for the escapism or maybe both.
Sure it was difficult at times and for many of us when things got tough we questioned what the hell we were doing. But at the end of the day, it was what we chose to do and I for one, look back with fond memories of the good times.
Sinbin / Loose wireā¦ā¦or whatever you call yourselfā¦.For sure you were ā ā ā ā good at what you did and no one can dispute thatā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦Fishing can never beat pioneering in the MEā¦ā¦I Knowā¦ I am still thereā¦ā¦ā¦.would I change it for fishingā¦Neverā¦ATVBā¦RDF
At the time we did this,we were all much younger men who thought they were going to live forever and looked on the job as an adventure,not so much a job.Those who couldnāt hack it soon fell by the wayside while those of us to whom the job was meat and drink soldiered on,enjoying the adventure.
As RDF says, " Sure it was difficult at times and for many of us when things got tough we questioned what the hell we were doing. But at the end of the day, it was what we chose to do and I for one, look back with fond memories of the good times."
If we were asked today,at the age we are,but the conditions were the same as back then,would we think a bit longer before we took on the task?
In hind sight and most of the time I was doing it I loved every minute of it. If I was still single, the job, conditions, and kit was still the same, I would still be at either the M/E or Kaz /China. I would love to have done Pakistan, but that door close long before I was able to get there.
I was soon tired of Australia, and America as they didnāt offer the same challenges. Itās not the same getting out the truck a week away from home and the language and everything else is still the same.
I applied for a job last week driving a Huggland transporter for the Australian Antarctic Division at Mawson station in the Antarctic, interview next week.
Jeffā¦
bullitt:
I didnāt know there was a Scottish race. A person who is a citizen of Scotland would be a Scottish by āNationalityā not by being of a different race from the rest of pink skinned northern Europeans! āRacistāā¦that bloody word gets everywhere nowadays for anything!!On separate note, PLEASE donāt let this thread develop into a slanging match. So many people enjoy reading of the heydays when the M/E was a fantastic experience. The lads who have done it have earned the right to banter between themselves about what they did and where they went.
Mr Formworker, please, there is no need to verbally abuse someone by using that language. Enjoy the thread, read the stories and tales from long ago and enjoy the pictures, but please, donāt use foul language to express your point!
On a lighter note, this thread will have been going for 8 years in September, thanks to all who have contributed!
Nowā¦Can we have some more pics please??
Well said that manā¦
OK,I was parked a couple of trucks behind some one we know,seen here,in the queue at Habour to get into Iraq.Two days if memory serves!
bestbooties:
OK,I was parked a couple of trucks behind some one we know,seen here,in the queue at Habour to get into Iraq.Two days if memory serves!
Hullo Ian,
Could have been, but I thought he was always a Volvo man. I maybe wrong, both on Truck and Driver.
Cheers, Archie.
Archie Paice:
bestbooties:
OK,I was parked a couple of trucks behind some one we know,seen here,in the queue at Habour to get into Iraq.Two days if memory serves!
Hullo Ian,
Could have been, but I thought he was always a Volvo man. I maybe wrong, both on Truck and Driver.
Cheers, Archie.
Hi Ian, how many āfixesā of earl grey did you have in that time. regards jamie.
M&C Jamie:
Archie Paice:
bestbooties:
OK,I was parked a couple of trucks behind some one we know,seen here,in the queue at Habour to get into Iraq.Two days if memory serves!
Hullo Ian,
Could have been, but I thought he was always a Volvo man. I maybe wrong, both on Truck and Driver.
Cheers, Archie.Hi Ian, how many āfixesā of earl grey did you have in that time. regards jamie.
Amazed you got a picture of him parkedā¦