Just wondering how many have been stuck abroad over the Christmas period ? What did you get up to and where were you ?
Christmas can be a strange time especially for ones being away from family etc and stuck on yer own.
Anyhow Merry Christmas to all and if you find yourself stuck away from family or cant get back, chin up!
I have spent a couple of Christmas days away. I spent Christmas and New Year in Ludwigshafen once but was looked after by a couple of Brit drivers who lived out there. It was a bit like home, the shops were only closed for one day.
I had a mad new year throwing plates at the wall in Greece until it became a war between a few other drivers. We ended up launching plates at them until it became a bit silly 
Returning from Kuwait on onr trip,I was stuck on the border of Jordan and Syria,on the Jordan side.My wife had suspected that I may not make it home and had packed me a box of Christmas goodies.I ate my Christmas dinner of tinned chicken,potatoes and veg followed by Christmas pud and reading a good book,while listening to Christmas carols from Bethlehem,that was only a few miles away.After dinner,I opened the presents from my wife and kids.Did I blub?Course I did!
Being at home with your loved one’s is the only place to be at this time.
Parked in a petrol station with an armed guard in Novgorod one Christmas Eve, drove from there to Moscow on Christmas Day, arrived late afternoon then went round my girlfriend’s.
It’s just a normal day there, they do their Christmas in January, the 6th IIRC.
It felt really weird writing 25/12 on the tacho card but at least I had a white christmas.
Tangiers ; it was just a normal working day but I still had a good time.
And Spain ; had Christmas dinner at the only Restuarant open at Victors , the one on the far right.It was excellent .I was on my way home from Maroc.
Yes, I did a one hit from Barcelona to Cherbourg (as one did ) and blew a tyre on the coast road on the way up,after sorting it arrived in Cherbourg to wave bye bye to the ferry. I then phoned my then wife to say I would not be back ,and immediately went on the p**ss 
On another ocassion,I had flown out to Belgrade where the Mack of Chapman and Ball was on the National hotel car park with the driver,Billy Hamm,in hospital.The trailer was loaded with service equipment for the Saudi Air Force at Dahran.It was the beginning of December,and there was plenty of snow in Yugo,in fact,the Mack was chained up when it was recovered to the National.
My instructions were to take over the truck and paperwork and get the load delivered before Christmas.Before I left the UK,I asked other drivers that knew Billy,if there would be sufficient grub on the truck,as one is obviously limited as to how much you can carry on the flight.I was told that Billy ate like a pig and there would be enough grub for 2!
One thing I was partial to and that was my breakfast cereal,so I put two packets of muesli and 10 pints of long life milk in my case.
When I arrived in a snowbound Belgrade,my case had gone missing!It had got my working clothes,sleeping bag and my cereal and milk in!
I had to go to the lost luggage office and fill in a form with an inventory of the contents of my case.They could not understabd why an Englishman flys with 2 packets of muesli and 10 pints of milk in his case!
I was walking slowly out of the airport past the carousel wondering how I was going to drive from Yugo to Saudi and back to UK with only the clothes I stood up in,when the carousel kicked up as they started to unload a flight that had just landed from Athens,and the first case to land on the carousel,WAS MINE!
Relief!
I got myself down to the National,booked in then went to the restauraunt to order a mixed grill from “George”,and talk to a few mates to get the lowdown on the situation regarding the Mack.
The following morning,I went over to the hospital to collect the keys to the truck and the paperwork so I could hit the road.
Now Billy Hamm thought he was the only guy that could drive a Mack,(he only got it all to himself on C and B’s because no one else wanted it).He held the truck keys up and asked me if I knew how to drive a Mack!
I said,“Billy,if I haven’t got it off the car park in two days,I’m going home!”
When I went and unlocked the truck and checked it over,there was almost no grub aboard!Something very fishy,but that’s another story.
Anyway,I flogged it down to Dahran,got tipped and started running for home.It was obvious I was not going to be home for Christmas,I had to pick up a load of yarn in Greece on Christmas eve and just loaded that by the skin of my teeth.Parked up at Gevghelia border on Christmas eve,then started driving up through Yugo on Christmas morning.While I was loading,I met another English guy,can’t remember who it was now,and we decided to run back together.The problem was,we were both almost out of grub.We stopped on a snowy layby and opened our last two tins for Christmas dinner,one tin of luncheon meat with some stale bread,and a tin of jam sponge pudding.What a feast for Christmas!
At least we made it to the National that night and were able to have a decent meal and a few Pivo’s.I was able to phone the wife and make it home before the New Year.
When I got home,Billy was at home,“recupperating”!and ■■■■ Chapman thanked me for getting the job done and asked me if I’d like to keep the Mack!
I had to decline his kind offer,I couldn’t have spent another day in the ■■■■■■■ thing,it’s the most uncomfortable truck I’ve EVER sat in!
That’s ANOTHER chapter of my book you’ve had for free!
Thats a good story there!
bestbooties:
On another ocassion,I had flown out to Belgrade where the Mack of Chapman and Ball was on the National hotel car park with the driver,Billy Hamm,in hospital.The trailer was loaded with service equipment for the Saudi Air Force at Dahran.It was the beginning of December,and there was plenty of snow in Yugo,in fact,the Mack was chained up when it was recovered to the National.
My instructions were to take over the truck and paperwork and get the load delivered before Christmas.Before I left the UK,I asked other drivers that knew Billy,if there would be sufficient grub on the truck,as one is obviously limited as to how much you can carry on the flight.I was told that Billy ate like a pig and there would be enough grub for 2!
One thing I was partial to and that was my breakfast cereal,so I put two packets of muesli and 10 pints of long life milk in my case.
When I arrived in a snowbound Belgrade,my case had gone missing!It had got my working clothes,sleeping bag and my cereal and milk in!
I had to go to the lost luggage office and fill in a form with an inventory of the contents of my case.They could not understabd why an Englishman flys with 2 packets of muesli and 10 pints of milk in his case!
I was walking slowly out of the airport past the carousel wondering how I was going to drive from Yugo to Saudi and back to UK with only the clothes I stood up in,when the carousel kicked up as they started to unload a flight that had just landed from Athens,and the first case to land on the carousel,WAS MINE!
Relief!
I got myself down to the National,booked in then went to the restauraunt to order a mixed grill from “George”,and talk to a few mates to get the lowdown on the situation regarding the Mack.
The following morning,I went over to the hospital to collect the keys to the truck and the paperwork so I could hit the road.
Now Billy Hamm thought he was the only guy that could drive a Mack,(he only got it all to himself on C and B’s because no one else wanted it).He held the truck keys up and asked me if I knew how to drive a Mack!
I said,“Billy,if I haven’t got it off the car park in two days,I’m going home!”
When I went and unlocked the truck and checked it over,there was almost no grub aboard!Something very fishy,but that’s another story.
Anyway,I flogged it down to Dahran,got tipped and started running for home.It was obvious I was not going to be home for Christmas,I had to pick up a load of yarn in Greece on Christmas eve and just loaded that by the skin of my teeth.Parked up at Gevghelia border on Christmas eve,then started driving up through Yugo on Christmas morning.While I was loading,I met another English guy,can’t remember who it was now,and we decided to run back together.The problem was,we were both almost out of grub.We stopped on a snowy layby and opened our last two tins for Christmas dinner,one tin of luncheon meat with some stale bread,and a tin of jam sponge pudding.What a feast for Christmas!
At least we made it to the National that night and were able to have a decent meal and a few Pivo’s.I was able to phone the wife and make it home before the New Year.
When I got home,Billy was at home,“recupperating”!and ■■■■ Chapman thanked me for getting the job done and asked me if I’d like to keep the Mack!
I had to decline his kind offer,I couldn’t have spent another day in the [zb] thing,it’s the most uncomfortable truck I’ve EVER sat in!That’s ANOTHER chapter of my book you’ve had for free!
Is that the same billy hamm who lived in bolton,i believe he had a false leg.
Correct!That’s the one.
bestbooties:
Correct!That’s the one.
I used to live in bolton and the man[i never knew him personally] was well known for his exploits abroad because there wasn,t all that many doing it at the time.Also they did an article on him in the local paper due to him doing this arduous job and having a false leg.
Seasons greetings to you dave
Anyone driving past Toddington tomorrow could call in and wish the 2 Billy Wetz drivers a merry christmas. It looked like they are stuck for the holiday at least. I was in Ashford and there were still a few drivers stuck there.
I noticed today that one of our Hungarian drivers has managed to leave his truck and got a lift home for the holiday.
dafdave:
bestbooties:
Correct!That’s the one.I used to live in bolton and the man[i never knew him personally] was well known for his exploits abroad because there wasn,t all that many doing it at the time.Also they did an article on him in the local paper due to him doing this arduous job and having a false leg.
Seasons greetings to you dave
He was a bit of a loner was Billy.As I said when relating that tale,the circumstances were a bit fishy,and after going home to recupperate,he was never seen again.
I think if my memory serves me right billys been dead some yrs now.
we shipped out on xmas day to run mt to spain had a nitemare trip got stuck in the snow going down in spain we eventually got to cartegena and it was pouring down so no soft fruit we ended up loading on new years eve with brocoli and just managed to get to burgos for new years eve where we was hoping the bar and club was open but closed so we ended up having a drink in the hotel,still it was a good laugh
Another one I remembered about was a few years ago. I took a tank up to ICI Dumfries and had been delayed by customs in Hull. It was a very thick white slurry we took in there and normally took most of the day to unload.
I arrived there about 2pm on New Years Eve so the Socks were not too happy as it was Hogmanay, the plant needed the product though, so we had to start tipping, the slurry would froth up and we had to keep stopping.
After about 7 hours, this was begining to cause problems so after working out a plan with the control room, I was driven into Dumfries for a long drunken night oot in the Hole in the Wall. The next morning we tried again but it was still frothing up so I ended up in Dumfries that afternoon watching Ghostbusters at the Cinema. I finally got home 3 days later
Hi Ian,having just read your story about the mack. It got the old recall cells working. I called in to the national on the day that Billy had been taken to hospital. If I recall correctly the story went that Billy had stopped to put on his snow chains, while he was under the trailer hunched down, presumably unhitching the chains a couple of guys decided to rob him. on trying to get up his feet slipped on the ice and he injured himself and could not get back up. the two guys then helped themselves to what they wanted from the cab and left Billie lying there. That is probably why there was no food left in the cab. An other driver found him and helped him to the national.
regards jamie
A Scot Lost in the Valley’s
M&C Jamie:
Hi Ian,having just read your story about the mack. It got the old recall cells working. I called in to the national on the day that Billy had been taken to hospital. If I recall correctly the story went that Billy had stopped to put on his snow chains, while he was under the trailer hunched down, presumably unhitching the chains a couple of guys decided to rob him. on trying to get up his feet slipped on the ice and he injured himself and could not get back up. the two guys then helped themselves to what they wanted from the cab and left Billie lying there. That is probably why there was no food left in the cab. An other driver found him and helped him to the national.
regards jamieA Scot Lost in the Valley’s
Jamie,
Well,that’s half of the story that I heard.
Another driver that I met at the National that day was Alan"Pop"Warner.Now Alan was not one to give you any wind up in a case like this,and he told me that he had been with Billy at Spielfeld when Billy had told him he was going to dump the truck somewhere down the road.Now this does take some believing,that a guy that’s going to do that tells someone his intentions.The story then goes that as the snow got worse just coming into Belgrade,Billy stopped to fit his snow chains and caught his back on the trailer chassis and finnished up on his back in the snow,unable to move,no mention of a robbery was told to me,even by Billy!And it was Alan Warner who told me he drove the Mack into the National,and got Billy into the hospital just across the road.
When Billy eventually got home,he made an insurance claim against C and B,but aparently every time he told the story it was slightly different.I don’t know if it was ever resolved because C and B eventually closed down and I never saw or heard of Billy again.
And here’s the Mack.
As I said in my last post, the recall is a bit foggy,there was a story that day that he had been robbed and left lying under the trailer and that was why I remembered about it. I was driving for Frank White at the time and had shipped out empty from Felixtowe to Europort to load pipes for Qatar. I loaded in Holland on the 30th of November and set off . on route i caught up with another one of Franks drivers called Tommy Grieve, who was on his way to Kabul. We met in with two of Spiers and hartwells in yugo one of whom was Tony Meddins. We arrived in the National that afternoon and then we heard about Billy being taken to hospital. Whilst at the national we herd that there was a seven day hold up at Kapikule. as the T.I.R. carnets at that time had to have all the border crossings named we borrowed the hotel typewriter and changed our border crossings to go via Greece and into Turkey at Ipsala. In north east Greece One of spiers and hartwells had a trailer wheel bearing collapse and so we left them at a garage and carried on to the border. we were given a knock back because we did not have an alteration stamp on our carnets so we went back to the trucks and made stamps with a coin and carbon paper. Mine was passed as being first class as i had used a dutch coin and the dutch customs stamp was round. They just laughed at Tommy’s as he had used an english penny and the english custom stamp was oblong.
After a lot of bartering with the agent it was agreed that tommy must go in front of the Chef Director of Customs and pleed his case. In the meantime my papers were processed and as i was about to pull out of the border one of the customs men threatened me that if i did not give him some serious Bachshiesh that he would report me to the police for forgeing a customs stamp.This left me with no option but to pay, i then drove out of the border for a few hundred yards locked the truck and walked back into the compound to see how Tommy was. I could not believe what I saw their was tommy’s trailer with the side doors open and all you could see down the length of the trailer were cases of Johnny Walker whiskey for all to see. They had told him to open up and then called him in to see the Chef Director. In the meantime they were stealing cases of whiskey and hideing them down the river bank. We only found this out when an border soldier told us(we had bought him some ■■■■ from the duty free with his money earlier that day). We never got the twelve cases back, but tommy cleared customs without paying while it had cost me about fifty quid. I tipped in Qatar and arrived home in Penicuik at four am Christmas morning after a seventeen and a half hour crossing from Zeebrugge to Dover. Tommy got bak home in February. My finger is getting sore now so i will tell of some of the other events on that trip at a later date
Regards Jamie.
A Scot lost in the Valley’s