Hi Harry,
A couple of old BRS hands like you and Norm, would have no problem dodging these modern heavies,just get a red sledge. 
Cheers Dave.
Got good news fellows, 7 years of pension so I have Ā£14 in the kitty, so at that rate to have a cheap cruise for one, will take me to 165 years old, I think I will have to win the lottery soon, last night I had Ā£5 of lucky numbers, I had two lote of three numbers, I swore %*$%~@, because I had the six numbers on two lines instead of having them on one! 
At the rate of freezing at the moment you could all skate over to the IOM,save a fortune not using ferry and cheaper than a cruise.Best way would be from Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway to Point of Ayre Isle of Man as itās only 22 miles and downhill on tāmap 
Let me know if you are coming and Iāll put tākettle on as Iāve stopped drinking,smoking and going out with strange women and will be in all dayā¦now where did I put me ā ā ā ā ,oh,at side of Bells.Hope that woman doesnāt ring up while our lass is in.
Hmm I donāt trust you sheffield lads, Chris you would tell us it is safe to skate across, then chuck the ciggy in, it would melt, and poor old Norman would go to his watery grave. 
hiya,
Bit chilly Manxside just yet Chris, but throw open the offer of a cuppa when it warms up a bit and iāll chip the barnacles of me canoe, iāll be putting her in the water at Silloth so should make it before the kettle boils.
thanks harry long retired.
Hi Harry & Norm,
You want to keep away from the I O M,thereās no foxes or badgers there,I reckon theyāve ate them all,it could be they are short of grub,thatās why Chris is trying to lure you two over. 
Cheers Dave.
hiya,
Old Norm being a former M/E sand wobbler would be OK i reckon must be as tough as old boots whereas me on the other hand having been a pampered old red and ruster might be prone to cannibalism and might return home with a leg or two missing then iād have to spend the rest of my days arseing about.
thanks harry long retired.
Dave the Renegade:
Hi Harry & Norm,
You want to keep away from the I O M,thereās no foxes or badgers there,I reckon theyāve ate them all,it could be they are short of grub,thatās why Chris is trying to lure you two over.
Cheers Dave.
If we get short of snap over here we just go and pillage in ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā at night.
No squirrels or snakes either,except bloody snakes in the grass.
Chris Webb:
Dave the Renegade:
Hi Harry & Norm,
You want to keep away from the I O M,thereās no foxes or badgers there,I reckon theyāve ate them all,it could be they are short of grub,thatās why Chris is trying to lure you two over.
Cheers Dave.
If we get short of snap over here we just go and pillage in ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā at night.
No squirrels or snakes either,except bloody snakes in the grass.
And trouser wormās.
Re NFC shares and union briefings.
I had to brief the company position and benefits available Ā£200 interest free loan etc, monitored by the depot shop steward who then gave his briefing which went along the following line:" The union is opposed to the company being bought out and workers buying shares, but Iām off to see my bank manager to arrange as big a loan as possible to buy shares!"
He and many of the characters I have encountered within BRS, then Exel have kept me loyal from changing companys, because loyalty rests with fellow employees not a company name.
Loyalty is earned by good management and the love of the job, and most people I have spoken to in my life, see to have a fondness for BRS, once they have worked on it, maybe it is a pity it was sold out, but I am glad that some of the workers made money out of it, even if I didnāt, it makes a change that all the city money men did not take it all.
Norman Ingram:
Loyalty is earned by good management and the love of the job, and most people I have spoken to in my life, see to have a fondness for BRS, once they have worked on it, maybe it is a pity it was sold out, but I am glad that some of the workers made money out of it, even if I didnāt, it makes a change that all the city money men did not take it all.
Hi Norman,
I still work with a lot of guys from the BRS days, although we have changed to Exel now DHL there is a little bit of the team spirit left.
Maybe we are just clinging to the wreckage but on our contract we still use a lot of the old opās forms (although ops 6 has gone) and fortunately on the customers insistance we donāt have to wear the clown suites
Had some good laughs over the years , no big wage but Iāve lived comfortable but will be ready to hang up my hat soon before I need to carry a lawyer with me and spend half a day doing paperwork. Modern trucks have got every comfort you could wish for (even microwave,tv and fridge) from the old days but are totally boring to drive, I would swap my new FH globetrotter for a Big J, crusader or marathon tomorrow.
hiya,
Norm you should know that loyalty goes out of the window when wonga is waved under the nose, much as i enjoyed my time with the BRS had i had the funds and been in the know at sell off time iād have been in there like a shot and possibly soaking my feet in some warm country now instead of freezing my b******s off in this awful weather weāve got right now, and at pushing 74 thatās better than ferrying my old lady around from 6.30 in the morning until 9.30 at night with a couple of hours break for good behaviour and she does that four days a week, and no she wonāt pack in she says she enjoys working and some of the clients on her rota are younger than herself, and so long as this bad weather holds her firm are getting two for the price of one and guess who isnāt being paid.
thanks harry long retired.
Harry your trouble is youare used to having a mate when your driving, and you still cannot get out of the habit! 
hiya,
And yes Norm there was more work in a sick note than some of the mates i got lumbered with, some of them thought they was there just for the run out and to keep the driver company, but the knotted rope deftly wielded by my goodself soon showed them who the guvnor was, but i wouldānt dream of using the rope on my old lady, sheād most likely beat me to a pulp, must be getting soft in my old age.
thanks harry long retired.
Hi Harry & Norm,
You red & rust boys were nearly off the main page,all these taleās of your mispent youth on the other threads is taking the toll on the red & rust.Frenchy must be lay in the sun in steamy France,cause heās gone awol again,Harry you will have to be promoted to gangmaster and flay em with the knotted rope. 
Cheers Dave.
hiya,
Dave if Frenchy has found a drop of currant bun to lounge about in i wish him well, just wish i could find some of the same iāve been frozen solid for a fortnight, a couple of weeks in Tenerife would do, just hope old Norm manages to win the lottery soon and the cruise materialises.
thanks harry long retired.
Quite agree Harry,it has been bloody cold,not quite as cold today here,we did have another 3 inches of snow last night,more expected tomorrow,so they say,will just wait and see. Been on a job like yours today,my lady does care work with elderly, some needed shopping,so I drove her around collecting and delivering groceries etc,did the same a fortnight ago. I donāt mind,makes me feel more useful,than sat at home,quite like an excuse to go out.
Cheers Dave.
hiya,
Dave the snow has just about gone round these parts, but you have only to travel five miles West of here and itās still quite bad, it was thawing all through last night and the back streets are now passable which will let me off the hook when my good lady is well enough to return to work, itāll most likely be Saturday next when she starts back, sheāll take tomorrow off then Wed, Thurs and Fri are her rest days and she reports sheās feeling better and if i didānt put my foot down sheād be back tomorrow.
thanks harry long retired.
Thats it Harry,make her rest and get better,its easy to think your ok,then go out and catch more cold.When I was working for a tipper firm years ago,an old driver had the flu,they asked me to drive his lorry over the weekend,as he was on permanant hire to the council,who had no lorries of their own in those days. I drove the lorry,gritting over the weekend,the TM said,call by on monday morning and see if heās still off,as he didnāt think heād be back for a while,you continue on his lorrry for te next week. Monday morning I get to his place ( we took the lorries home in those days ) there he was waiting for me,grub bag over his shoulder ready to go,so I go back on my lorry. A couple of days later,heās in Hereford Hospital with pneumonia,he did survive,but was off work for three months.
Cheers Dave.