Hi all…i havnt been on here a lot lately mainly because i did two trips to spain…back to back…and to cap it all…ive ended up with a trapped nerve in my back which is absolute agony..and bearing in mind im shipping out again on sunday to barcelona…but there you go…back to the trip…
To start off with i had 2 collections for madrid…and shipped out via my usual route Poole - Cherbourg…had a pleasant trip down and found myself on the outskirts of madrid on saturday afternoon…i noticed a truckstop but passed it so decided to turn around and go back.it was the ideal spot to stay for the weekend…once parked i went inside to the bar for a well earned ice cold san miguel…i noticed there was a reastaurant attached.and all the parking area was under cctv. i met a couple of drivers who worked for Augustin from austria and who spoke very good english. We shared a few beers and when i told one of them the name of the town i wanted which was Coslada, they put my mind at rest by saying it was only 10 kilometers up the road and well signposted.
Later that evening we got kicked out of the bar and we headed for my fridge where i had a good supply of stella, and being in my side locker was easy to get to. We were also involved with an estonian driver who was parked next door. He decided to get his cooker out and cook some chicken to go with the beer so all in all a good time was had and i hit the sack about 02.30am. I didnt get up till about 11am and headed to the bar once again for a wash and some breakfast…and to watch Real Madrid on the t.v. of course i couldnt go mad with the beer because i had an early start on Monday morning. I got up about 06.00 had my wash and joined the heavy traffic heading into madrid which was almost at a standstill, but crawled along with the rest of the motorists until i spotted the turn off i wanted. The signs to the industrial area was well sign posted and i soon found myself amongst some very large factories and after stopping to ask where Fraans Maas was found myself one turning away. I reported to the office and was told to wait on the road until i was called…which was an hour…i reversed onto the bay and they un-loaded me within the hour…but it took longer to check the load, in the mean time i received a phone call telling me of my re-load address…that happened to be 5 minutes away, and after finding the place i had to wait for 3 hours before i could get onto their own loading bay…one hour to load and i was on my way back to blighty without a hiccup…although i was told that i had to collect a bit of groupage from Irun on the way back…i dont know this town at all and promptly stopped at the local police station to ask directions…i couldnt believe it when a policeman offered to take me directly to the company i wanted…can you imagine that happening over here…they would probably give you a parking ticket whilst giving directions…anyway i soon got loaded and headed for the border…there was lots of traffic and my phone rang just as i was approaching a police control…i answered it and it was the freight forwarders asking how i was getting on…i got a nasty look from the police as i passed with the phone against my ear…but they were too busy with the traffic otherwise i would have got a ticket…i aproached the border with caution…and as usual they spotted the english registration…and ran out in front of me whistles blowing…where did you load what have you got on..can i see the cmrs…and promptly said i could get on my way. I headed for Bordeaux which would be my overnight stop…it seems that france has the same parking problems as we do over here…if your not parked up early…then yopu dont get a space…so i headed to the other side of Bordeaux and pulled into an Aire and quickly found a space…i raided the fridge once again for a stella and was quickly joined by an english speaking german who lived and worked out of Portugal…turns out he was married to a girl from sunderland…so i told him someone had to marry them…ha ha.
The next evening saw me pulling into Cherbourg which is a 8-9 hour drive from Bordeaux and i caught the 23.45 ferry. I had 2 deliveries the first being in Belvedere and the second in Greenford…after the first drop i decided to meet my wife who works nearby to give her a case of bulgarian wine i had picked up for her…otherwise it meant i would have to carry it with me because i was turning round. I headed across the woolwich ferry as the ministry was out in force in Erith…i got caught in very heavy traffic on the north circular and it put me so far behing that i missed my 3 o.clock deadline at Wincanton on the A40, so i was re-directed to a place called Shepperton…what a nightmare that place was to get to…all the signs pointed to shepperton which took me through very small villages barely widew enough for 2 cars to pass …let alone a truck…and when i eventually found where the industrial park was.it was almost impossible to get into…it was near the station…where all the rail travellers leave their cars while commuting…it was a total headache…but i eventually found a way in and gladly got unloaded. The trailer i had at the time was a rental trailer and the rear axle kept locking up when i was empty…this in turn wore through the tyres and so much that the wires were showing…i told my boss we had to get rid of it…so he arranged for me to drop it at Purfleet…and collect another from the same area…T.I.P. i parked overnight in ferry lane and changed over the next morning…this new trailer was a proper euroliner…with boards…sliding roof etc…a much better trailer…i had to meet my boss on the M40 to give him all the paperwork for thje previous trips, so he could send them off and get paid for the last 3 trips. He phoned me prior to me arriving to say he was in the supermarket and what shopping did i need…he ended up buying me loads of stuff to fill the fridge…meats…buter.milk…bread rolls.cheese…meats etc and beer…and wouldnt take a penny…WHAT A BOSS eh.hes the greatest…anyway it was time to get on my way and i had 3 collections…the first was 4 pallets from Banbury for delivery to Montpelier in the south of france…the second was 19 pallets from G.E.C. brackmills in northampton.for delivery to Hostalric on the costa brava…then top up with groupage from Fraans Maas for their depot in Barcelona…but at fraans maas they were supposed to offload everything and re-stack with the groupage up the front…they didnt do it…and although i arrived at 19.45 on friday…i never left there until 09.30 on saturday for a dover - calais crossing. I only made it as far as Rouen on saturday night before the driving ban came into force. I parked in the dock area and opened a beer or two whilst i watched as the gay community toured around trying to pick each other up, and getting glancing looks as they went past…even getting blown a kiss by one of them…in that situation it was better to close the curtains and enjoy ones own company…along with the beer. Sunday morning after the rain had stopped i took a walk over one of the bridges to a hotel i had spotted…as i walked inside i could hear the talk of english voices…and decided to join them. It turned out these five guys work all over the world on oil rigs and ships, they were here re-wiring a ships electrical system…we had a meal and a few beers before i said my farewell and headed back to the truck…i decided to drive off as soon as it was 10.00 and get 3 hours down the road where i parked for my 9 hour rest. It wasnt worth driving all night otherwise i would have had to rest during the day. I travelled mostly down the national roads to try and save toll money…but this is getting more and more difficult as most of the autoroute exits have a weight limit…therefore keeping anything over 7.5 ton on the motorways. After a shower and a bit of breakfast i headed for Montpelier and soon found the address i needed…when i opened the trailer up i found the four pallets on the rear end…but realised that the next delivery was impossible to get to…because the groupage was in the way…this meant i had to go into barcelona first…then come back to hostalric to get rid of the 19 pallets…this company only un-loads through the back…so i phoned my boss to tell him to claim extra as it cost us an extra 100 ks and 2 extra tolls…plus the 13 odd hours that fraans maas had taken to load in the first place. Whilst in Fraans Maas depot i noticed a huge amount of roll cages and their contents all over the floor…which was towels…the kind that go into washrooms…rolls of them…anyway it seems that this driver had loaded them just to go the other end of the warehouse complex…and as the loading bays have a steep incline…they all came tumbling out the back as soon as he pulled away. So all the warehouse guys had offered to help him re-load the trolleys and their contents which took a couple of hours. I spoke to the driver who was sweating buckets in the spanish sun, and he explained that he used to be on international work but due to family problems he decided to do local work. However all the roll cages were placed back on the loading area…and he then reversed back onto the ramp…once again he got loaded…and used a ratchet strap to hold them in place…and with doors still open…pulled away…Wallop…crash…they all rolled out again into the midday sun…this time the warehouse told him he would have to pick them all up on his own…the poor guy was almost in tears…and he wasnt a youngster either…by this time i had been off loaded and was in a hurry to get back to hostalric to finish emptying my own trailer…but i was too late anyway…although they work all night…they dont unload…so i was told 0800 in the morning…so because i was in the middle of nowhere…decided to cook a curry…and sat in the sun eating it and drinking my well earned beer…what a hard life i thought as my phone rang…and it was my wife to have her usual chat. She told me about how the repairs were going to my motorhome which was undergoing bodywork repairs after being hit whilst parked by an 80 year old in her brand new mercedes. well it turns out that the repairs are going to take 6-8 weeks because a body panel has to be specially made as they dont make my style of van anymore…ive had arguements with the insurance company because although my insurance states that im entitled to a hire car…they say its only if im with an approved repairer..so as i pointed out ..they gave me the name and address of the repairers..so it must be approved...wrong..they say its a specialist repairers..not an approved one..so it looks like i will have to get the train back and forth to oxford..and also consider changing my insurance company..my boss offered to bring the truck down to london..but im a bit stubborn…and proud…that i cant let him waste valuable diesel in doing this…even though he offered to… and get the train himself back home…like i said before…WHAT A BOSS…my re-load was just outside Barcelona…and the industrial area was so huge…that i had trouble finding where the company was that i wanted…imagine the river thames…with baren land on one side…and the other side was the industrial area…i drove around for quite a while and stopped to ask several people…some said its this side of the river…some said the other side…well i spotted a Willie Betz depot.and thought i would pull in there to ask…i thought they must know it if no one else does…so the gate house keeper came running out…to stop me entering…i showed him my piece of paper with the address on…but he wouldnt take any notice…he kept gesturing for me to get out…so i said i would go in and turn around…no ! he wasnt having that…and wanted me to reverse out onto the main road…so i thought **** you mister im turning round..so he stood in front of the truck to stop me moving forward..so this got my back up..i jumped out of the truck..grabbed him around the throat..drew my fist back..and was just going to clock him one..when i thought better of it..so hazards on..and i reversed promising that if ever i saw a willy betz (spain) in trouble..i would drive past..just past this depot was a roundabout..and o it was a police car..so i stopped..and asked directions..the policewoman..apart from being attractive (well most policewomen are normally dogs) was very helpful..she got a map of the area out..and pointed me in the right direction..the area i wanted was an industrial estate within an industrial estate..2 different names..and of course my one wasnt signposted.in fact there wasnt a signat all..but i found the company i wanted. This company was a printing works..and they loaded me with 22 tons of magazines destined for scotland although they would eventually be delivered to leeds. My next and last collection was in Zona Franca in Barcelona..so i thought there cant be too much groupage from here as i already have 22 ton. They off loaded everything..then put a stack of groupage up the front..then 2 pallets of magazines on..then groupage on top..this was done all through the trailer..but once i got my c.m.rs after handing over the original..the weight of the magazines had dropped considerably..the delivery note now showed 14 ton..and all of the pallets had been put back on..so someone was lying. Prior to leaving this company..i promised them that i would find a weighbridge in the u.k. and if i was overweight..they would have to pay to trans ship it ..and pay the extra cost of transporting it up to leeds..they didnt like me saying that..but who cares anyway..i also noticed a 5 litre drum of hazardous..so i could have made a bit of money out of that if i wanted to ..or if i was that way inclined..one phone call to say ive been stopped by the police and theyve found the hazardous drum..its 500 euros without a receipt..or 2000 with one..what do you want to pay..if they chose the latter..i would obviously find a policeman and tell him anyway..but im too honest for my own good…and proud…but it sometimes makes you want to teach them a lesson…so thats it for now…im shipping out on sunday evening from poole to cherbourg and down to Barcelona once again..same deliveries as well..Hostalric..and Fraans Maas..so if your shipping that way too..come and say hello to ol trucky..cant miss me..im the best looking guy on the boat…short blondish hair (with grey streaks) and a moustache…driving a DAF left ■■■■■■ with 5 orange lights on the front and a michelin man either side…hope to see ya there…
nice story trucky 
Welcome back Bob. Good read, I enjoyed that.
TRUCKBOY;Nice story about your trip, for your problems with the locateing
of your loading places. try useing a LAPTOP with FULL MAP& GUIDE
PROGRAMME this will solve your problem with finding the places .
I FIND SUCH PROGRAMMES VERY HELPFUL WHEN ON THE ROAD;
Good read Truckboy, Is there still a big custom’s op at the peage at Bayonne, got stopped there a few times, If I remember i mentioned i had reloaded in Castellon and for some reason, that caused a mixture of smiles and a willingness to get in the back !!! ,all clear. Also that day i got stopped 4 other times at various peage’s, Is it true if u r stopped and checked, u can ask for a form saying that all doc’s and load is ok, so when stopped again you show the form and they let you go ?
Good story Bob,but just let me relate to you something that happened a few weeks ago with one of our trucks.
One of our Belgian drivers loaded groupage in Spain a few weeks ago for the UK and bought the trailer back to Genk as it was due to be tipped the following Monday.
When he gets to Genk the office tell him that it has to be delivered Saturday morning,well as he’d booked the weekend off they arranged for a Willi-Betz unit to come down from the Eupen depot with a pair of Bulgarian drivers and they would take the trailer to the UK and unload Saturday morning.
The drivers duly arrived at the unloading address and a guy from the office comes out to break the seal and the drivers put it on the bay.
The drivers wander around the back to watch the groupage being unloaded and notice a strange looking pallet.They call the supervisor out of his office and he calls the police.
When they arrive,they confirm that it’s a pallet of drugs,all shrinkwrapped on the pallet.Luckily the trailer had been sealed when it was loaded and the supervisor confirmed that the seal was intact when the trailer arrived and that he broke the seal.
Later that day two of the fork truck drivers were arrested and charged,and our office was informed that some staff from the loading point in Spain had also been detained.
If our Belgian driver had have been stopped in France and the drugs found,then he would be in gaol by now with little chance of proving his innocence.
It’s so difficult to check every pallet that’s loaded,especially when you’re loading groupage somewhere where they tell you to go and get something to eat whilst they load it.
Be careful.Be very careful.
Hello… Very good story, it is interesting also bad to hear Willi Betz Guard Gate 
Barcenola Willi Betz Depot it is huge depot or small, do u see lots of fleet or trailer parking, any chances of take photos 
Cheers Ben
A very good read Truckboy
truckyboy:
Hi all…i havnt been on here a lot lately mainly because i did two trips to spain…back to back…and to cap it all…ive ended up with a trapped nerve in my back which is absolute agony..and bearing in mind im shipping out again on sunday to barcelona…but there you go…back to the trip…
To start off with i had 2 collections for madrid…and shipped out via my usual route Poole - Cherbourg…had a pleasant trip down and found myself on the outskirts of madrid on saturday afternoon…i noticed a truckstop but passed it so decided to turn around and go back.it was the ideal spot to stay for the weekend…once parked i went inside to the bar for a well earned ice cold san miguel…i noticed there was a reastaurant attached.and all the parking area was under cctv. i met a couple of drivers who worked for Augustin from austria and who spoke very good english. We shared a few beers and when i told one of them the name of the town i wanted which was Coslada, they put my mind at rest by saying it was only 10 kilometers up the road and well signposted.
Later that evening we got kicked out of the bar and we headed for my fridge where i had a good supply of stella, and being in my side locker was easy to get to. We were also involved with an estonian driver who was parked next door. He decided to get his cooker out and cook some chicken to go with the beer so all in all a good time was had and i hit the sack about 02.30am. I didnt get up till about 11am and headed to the bar once again for a wash and some breakfast…and to watch Real Madrid on the t.v. of course i couldnt go mad with the beer because i had an early start on Monday morning. I got up about 06.00 had my wash and joined the heavy traffic heading into madrid which was almost at a standstill, but crawled along with the rest of the motorists until i spotted the turn off i wanted. The signs to the industrial area was well sign posted and i soon found myself amongst some very large factories and after stopping to ask where Fraans Maas was found myself one turning away. I reported to the office and was told to wait on the road until i was called…which was an hour…i reversed onto the bay and they un-loaded me within the hour…but it took longer to check the load, in the mean time i received a phone call telling me of my re-load address…that happened to be 5 minutes away, and after finding the place i had to wait for 3 hours before i could get onto their own loading bay…one hour to load and i was on my way back to blighty without a hiccup…although i was told that i had to collect a bit of groupage from Irun on the way back…i dont know this town at all and promptly stopped at the local police station to ask directions…i couldnt believe it when a policeman offered to take me directly to the company i wanted…can you imagine that happening over here…they would probably give you a parking ticket whilst giving directions…anyway i soon got loaded and headed for the border…there was lots of traffic and my phone rang just as i was approaching a police control…i answered it and it was the freight forwarders asking how i was getting on…i got a nasty look from the police as i passed with the phone against my ear…but they were too busy with the traffic otherwise i would have got a ticket…i aproached the border with caution…and as usual they spotted the english registration…and ran out in front of me whistles blowing…where did you loadwhat have you got on..can i see the cmrs…and promptly said i could get on my way. I headed for Bordeaux which would be my overnight stop…it seems that france has the same parking problems as we do over here…if your not parked up early…then yopu dont get a space…so i headed to the other side of Bordeaux and pulled into anAireand quickly found a space…i raided the fridge once again for astellaand was quickly joined by an english speaking german who lived and worked out of Portugal…turns out he was married to a girl from sunderland…so i told himsomeone had to marry them…ha ha.
The next evening saw me pulling into Cherbourg which is a 8-9 hour drive from Bordeaux and i caught the 23.45 ferry. I had 2 deliveries the first being in Belvedere and the second in Greenford…after the first drop i decided to meet my wife who works nearby to give her a case of bulgarian wine i had picked up for her…otherwise it meant i would have to carry it with me because i was turning round. I headed across the woolwich ferry as the ministry was out in force in Erith…i got caught in very heavy traffic on the north circular and it put me so far behing that i missed my 3 o.clock deadline at Wincanton on the A40, so i was re-directed to a place called Shepperton…what a nightmare that place was to get to…all the signs pointed to shepperton which took me through very small villages barely widew enough for 2 cars to pass …let alone a truck…and when i eventually found where the industrial park was.it was almost impossible to get into…it was near the station…where all the rail travellers leave their cars while commuting…it was a total headache…but i eventually found a way in and gladly got unloaded. The trailer i had at the time was a rental trailer and the rear axle kept locking up when i was empty…this in turn wore through the tyres and so much that the wires were showing…i told my boss we had to get rid of it…so he arranged for me to drop it at Purfleet…and collect another from the same area…T.I.P. i parked overnight in ferry lane and changed over the next morning…this new trailer was a proper euroliner…with boards…sliding roof etc…a much better trailer…i had to meet my boss on the M40 to give him all the paperwork for thje previous trips, so he could send them off and get paid for the last 3 trips. He phoned me prior to me arriving to say he was in the supermarket and what shopping did i need…he ended up buying me loads of stuff to fill the fridge…meats…buter.milk…bread rolls.cheese…meats etc and beer…and wouldnt take a penny…WHAT A BOSS eh.hes the greatest…anyway it was time to get on my way and i had 3 collections…the first was 4 pallets from Banbury for delivery to Montpelier in the south of france…the second was 19 pallets from G.E.C. brackmills in northampton.for delivery to Hostalric on the costa brava…then top up with groupage from Fraans Maas for their depot in Barcelona…but at fraans maas they were supposed to offload everything and re-stack with the groupage up the front…they didnt do it…and although i arrived at 19.45 on friday…i never left there until 09.30 on saturday for a dover - calais crossing. I only made it as far as Rouen on saturday night before the driving ban came into force. I parked in the dock area and opened a beer or two whilst i watched as the gay community toured around trying to pick each other up, and getting glancing looks as they went past…even getting blown a kiss by one of them…in that situation it was better to close the curtains and enjoy ones own company…along with the beer. Sunday morning after the rain had stopped i took a walk over one of the bridges to a hotel i had spotted…as i walked inside i could hear the talk of english voices…and decided to join them. It turned out these five guys work all over the world on oil rigs and ships, they were here re-wiring a ships electrical system…we had a meal and a few beers before i said my farewell and headed back to the truck…i decided to drive off as soon as it was 10.00 and get 3 hours down the road where i parked for my 9 hour rest. It wasnt worth driving all night otherwise i would have had to rest during the day. I travelled mostly down the national roads to try and save toll money…but this is getting more and more difficult as most of the autoroute exits have a weight limit…therefore keeping anything over 7.5 ton on the motorways. After a shower and a bit of breakfast i headed for Montpelier and soon found the address i needed…when i opened the trailer up i found the four pallets on the rear end…but realised that the next delivery was impossible to get to…because the groupage was in the way…this meant i had to go into barcelona first…then come back to hostalric to get rid of the 19 pallets…this company only un-loads through the back…so i phoned my boss to tell him to claim extra as it cost us an extra 100 ks and 2 extra tolls…plus the 13 odd hours that fraans maas had taken to load in the first place. Whilst in Fraans Maas depot i noticed a huge amount of roll cages and their contents all over the floor…which was towels…the kind that go into washrooms…rolls of them…anyway it seems that this driver had loaded them just to go the other end of the warehouse complex…and as the loading bays have a steep incline…they all came tumbling out the back as soon as he pulled away. So all the warehouse guys had offered to help him re-load the trolleys and their contents which took a couple of hours. I spoke to the driver who was sweating buckets in the spanish sun, and he explained that he used to be on international work but due to family problems he decided to do local work. However all the roll cages were placed back on the loading area…and he then reversed back onto the ramp…once again he got loaded…and used a ratchet strap to hold them in place…and with doors still open…pulled away…Wallop…crash…they all rolled out again into the midday sun…this time the warehouse told him he would have to pick them all up on his own…the poor guy was almost in tears…and he wasnt a youngster either…by this time i had been off loaded and was in a hurry to get back to hostalric to finish emptying my own trailer…but i was too late anyway…although they work all night…they dont unload…so i was told 0800 in the morning…so because i was in the middle of nowhere…decided to cook a curry…and sat in the sun eating it and drinking my well earned beer…what a hard life i thought as my phone rang…and it was my wife to have her usual chat. She told me about how the repairs were going to my motorhome which was undergoing bodywork repairs after being hit whilst parked by an 80 year old in her brand new mercedes. well it turns out that the repairs are going to take 6-8 weeks because a body panel has to be specially made as they dont make my style of van anymore…ive had arguements with the insurance company because although my insurance states that im entitled to a hire car…they say its only if im with an approved repairer..so as i pointed out ..they gave me the name and address of the repairers..so it must be approved...wrong..they say its a specialist repairers..not an approved one..so it looks like i will have to get the train back and forth to oxford..and also consider changing my insurance company..my boss offered to bring the truck down to london..but im a bit stubborn…and proud…that i cant let him waste valuable diesel in doing this…even though he offered to… and get the train himself back home…like i said before…WHAT A BOSS…my re-load was just outside Barcelona…and the industrial area was so huge…that i had trouble finding where the company was that i wanted…imagine the river thames…with baren land on one side…and the other side was the industrial area…i drove around for quite a while and stopped to ask several people…some said its this side of the river…some said the other side…well i spotted a Willie Betz depot.and thought i would pull in there to ask…i thought they must know it if no one else does…so the gate house keeper came running out…to stop me entering…i showed him my piece of paper with the address on…but he wouldnt take any notice…he kept gesturing for me to get out…so i said i would go in and turn around…no ! he wasnt having that…and wanted me to reverse out onto the main road…so i thought **** you mister im turning round..so he stood in front of the truck to stop me moving forward..so this got my back up..i jumped out of the truck..grabbed him around the throat..drew my fist back..and was just going to clock him one..when i thought better of it..so hazards on..and i reversed promising that if ever i saw a willy betz (spain) in trouble..i would drive past..just past this depot was a roundabout..and o it was a police car..so i stopped..and asked directions..the policewoman..apart from being attractive (well most policewomen are normally dogs) was very helpful..she got a map of the area out..and pointed me in the right direction..the area i wanted was an industrial estate within an industrial estate..2 different names..and of course my one wasnt signposted.in fact there wasnt a signat all..but i found the company i wanted. This company was a printing works..and they loaded me with 22 tons of magazines destined for scotland although they would eventually be delivered to leeds. My next and last collection was in Zona Franca in Barcelona..so i thought there cant be too much groupage from here as i already have 22 ton. They off loaded everything..then put a stack of groupage up the front..then 2 pallets of magazines on..then groupage on top..this was done all through the trailer..but once i got my c.m.rs after handing over the original..the weight of the magazines had dropped considerably..the delivery note now showed 14 ton..and all of the pallets had been put back on..so someone was lying. Prior to leaving this company..i promised them that i would find a weighbridge in the u.k. and if i was overweight..they would have to pay to trans ship it ..and pay the extra cost of transporting it up to leeds..they didnt like me saying that..but who cares anyway..i also noticed a 5 litre drum of hazardous..so i could have made a bit of money out of that if i wanted to ..or if i was that way inclined..one phone call to say ive been stopped by the police and theyve found the hazardous drum..its 500 euros without a receipt..or 2000 with one..what do you want to pay..if they chose the latter..i would obviously find a policeman and tell him anyway..but im too honest for my own good…and proud…but it sometimes makes you want to teach them a lesson…so thats it for now…im shipping out on sunday evening from poole to cherbourg and down to Barcelona once again..same deliveries as well..Hostalric..and Fraans Maas..so if your shipping that way too..come and say hello to ol trucky..cant miss me..im the best looking guy on the boat…short blondish hair (with grey streaks) and a moustache…driving a DAF left ■■■■■■ with 5 orange lights on the front and a michelin man either side…hope to see ya there…
And I thought mine were bad 
I’m sure you’ll take in the nicest way possible knowing what a cheeky monkey I am but can I suggest having a look here. 
thanks for all the replies… its certainly frightening when your loading groupage and dont know whats on the load…but thank god that the freight forwarders we use have never encountered any problems…fingers crossed…anyway its also a relief when you get through the borders and everything seems ok…i do seal the trailer at the final loading point and ask for the seal number to be put on the cmr…it may give some protection…
anyway pete…my boss bought me a sat navigation system last week…so can try it out this trip…
jonboy…what are you doing these days…thought you had retired.?/
Ben…its quite a big depot…and next time i will take some photos…if the stupid guard will let me in,
next…i have a lot of photos from america…and ive yet to put them on the site..ive been told how to do it…its just the time i need…maybe when i come back.
once again thanks everyone…maybe have a tale to tell when i get back next weekend…
Just read the story now - very good Bob, and interesting.
I like reading about how you go places and instantly make friends with people even though they can’t speak English, I don’t think I’ve got the confidence to do that and even when you do try over here you get ignored more often than not . Wasn’t so long back I stopped at Colsterworth Diner on the A1 there and there were no tables free so I asked a chap sat on his own if I could join him, he said okay so I got my meal and sat down. After a few attempts at striking up a conversation with him, you know, usual small talk, he pulled out his newspaper and sprawled it across the table, some of it over my meal and carried on ignoring me 
. I’ll put up with a lot of things, but ignorance isn’t one of them.
How do you do making conversation with drivers who speak no English then 
Do you speak many other languages to compensate
Rob, when you park at a French Routier (truckstop) and go in for a meal, they usualy won’t let you sit at a table on your own. They want you to fill an available space at a part filled table. It saves them wiping down every table 
.
The point being, you can find yourself at a table with a German an Italian and a Frenchman. You could sit there, stuff your face and ignore everyone. But wine is served with every meal, which tends to make me talkative anyway, and meal times are a social occasion so people all around you are talking, usualy quite animated talk too (tie an Italians hands together and he struck dumb ). Even if the four of you barely have a word in common, you manage to make conversation somehow. Its almost as much fun as [zb]!!!
Simon:
Rob, when you park at a French Routier (truckstop) and go in for a meal, they usualy won’t let you sit at a table on your own. They want you to fill an available space at a part filled table. It saves them wiping down every tableThe point being, you can find yourself at a table with a German an Italian and a Frenchman. You could sit there, stuff your face and ignore everyone. But wine is served with every meal, which tends to make me talkative anyway, and meal times are a social occasion so people all around you are talking, usualy quite animated talk too
I got stuck in France on wednesday night because I was too late to load, There was a holiday on /thursday and all trucks had to be off the road by 2200, I went to a Routier I had used before at Vivy near Saumur, there were only about 9 trucks there as all France had managed to get home 
I went in the bar and had my usual Kir, Blackcurrant Syrup with chilled white whine. I then went into the restaurant and sat down with the other drivers.
We had a good mix, A Belgian, a Dane, a German and me an Englishman, 2 Dutch drivers and a couple of French guys who were driving a wide load,
When I walked in and sat down, it is polite to say “bon appetit” to everyone. this got a response of eet smakkelijk, enjoy your meal, guten appetite to some danish expression about meatballs
Within minutes we were all talking trucks and trucking, watching TV and discussing the news, in any language we felt was understood.
After out meal we retired to the bar to sample the delights of France, We started with beers and martinis before progresssing to Calvados Brandy with coffee.
It was an excellent evening, considering that we all thought we would be alone the next day because the restaurant was closed.
Before we left the Patron said that if we wanted to use the showers in the morning, his daughter would open the bar at 10am and that he would make us some lunch at 1300. not bad for a restaurant that was closed.
Thats the difference between Colsterworth Diner and a French Relais Routier
Sorry Bob for nicking your thread, great tale anyway