D.B.P. HISTORY.

[deckboypeggy]

It was then AFTER GETTING TIPPPED ,at that moment, I should have thought hang on !,i,!me!, have just worked ,like as if I was a owner driver, and that that lorry was mine , it was not.! think about the pay rate ratio- per hour you knob! ,work it out the money is ■■■■,dummy! But I did not, not one of those thoughts crossed my mind, I must have been star struck,glory hunter,■■■■■■! I remember getting home and I was full of it ,plus 200 cigarettes duty free ,bonus.

Life and work went on as usual not a lot of market runs for me it seemed to be supermarket timed delivers in different lorry s, and it was working all right however I did seem to be getting the Sunday run on a regular basis that was a job to get used to however I was now getting into the rhythm of not thinking what day it was ,a Sunday could be the same as a Wednesday,also the pay was the same, no extra for weekends and I had now excepted that as now normal,the same as the others that were not owner drivers but like me
There were story’s going around by different drivers about other drivers .what they had done ,differer countries they collected goods , all stories, however one Sunday at Northampton there was this Mega left hand drive D A F, English number plates in lorry terms it did not get much better, I had never seen anything like it,the driver was about my age ,well dressed ,as if on holiday, and he had brought a full load of Oranges from Spain.[[little did I know then]] we got chatting after the handshakes, and it turned out he was the longest serving driver ,and a employee like me, the lorry was Rokold s, it was the flagship as they called it ,a high -line cab perfect inside, i did sit in it, it felt funny left hand drive,he did say that he was the only driver of that unit but sometimes when needed it was used by others just to do short jobs[GOD FORBID] I thought it must take years to get used to that.[left hand drive]
So my load was ready ,more hand shakes, and away I go,and get delivering ,that went as normal, no problems ,when I got back the yard was quite, I parked up and went home.
Next thing I know the phone was ringing 11 am ,down to answer the phone, I knew who it would be ,and I was right . Could I be back to Northampton by 2 o clock, without hesitation ,said yes,it was not normal for me, but I had realised if I show willing, things would be good for me and I might progress on to the Continental work eventu

[deckboypeggy]

Pete had asked if I could be his second driver again ,so I took a few extra clothes this time .
When I arrived it seemed as if he was waiting for me , but there was no lorry there ,non anywhere,only a old white Volvo car.
After hand shakes and small talk ,the story was we were both going in the car[the company drivers runabout] to a place called Lamberhurst in Sussex,where Pete s truck [not lorry now. a truck] was being loaded and it needed 2 drivers as it was a urgent load,so off we go and go down the Motorway
next we know the car is chugging,spluttering, running out of petrol, ■■■■ me ,we just left the yard next door to a petrol station, there should be a can in the back, Pete said, !yes there was ,■■■■■■■ empty. so we are now stuck, pushed for time out of petrol,Pete has to ring Alan at the yard ,and ask him to bring us some petrol.
While we are waiting Pete then told me the story of this VOLVO drivers runabout company ca

When drivers are anywhere,in England and they are due a proper legal break [rest]or want 2 days off for any reason , and they are loading a Export load and it is their own lorry ,or a company lorry,a spare driver such as what I am [no company lorry of my own]will go wherever they are in the Volvo car stay and load the lorry or whatever, and the driver goes back in the car .then the loaded truck gets brought back to wherever place for Export .and the driver goes to meet it in the car again because he has kept the Volvo with him to use as he pleases ,and then the question of petrol arises.
Company men like me who use the car ,put the petrol on their expense sheet , and get reimbursed the money ,however owner drivers that use it ,like Pete had ,have to stand the cost themselves as the bonus for them is that they are getting there lorry loaded for free ,by the company s spare drivers[ as they are contracting hauliers to Rokold].
So Pete thought the car had been filled up, but it had not .so who will pay for the petrol from Alan ,as it turned out Pete was given some money to fill the car up on the company, another lesson learned check the petrol…i was under the impression that Pete was the owner of the unit and he subcontracted to Rokold, how wrong I was, he was a employee just the same as me ,however very experienced .
I had never met anyone before so dedicated to Rokold and a boss before ,god! I knew how I was to be ,and act ,from now on,not easy for me. But i would try, and say the right things
in front of Pete from now on, as I suspect he has a influence over a drivers future within Rokold. It turned out he did.

When we got to our destination, a abattoir in a village on the main road to the south coast if you were to blink you would have missed the entrance I was pleased I was taken there and not had to look for it. You drove in between two houses , just enough room for a lorry. a few houses built close around it, seemed a strange place for a abattoir to be. Once there it was a very large establishment.
There were two trailers parked up close on the loading bay and the fridge units were roaring away,Pete was met by another of Roklolds drivers I had not met ,he been loading the trailer[well not actually fiscally but in charge of the movement when required he told us that that it was not finished loading yet, as they had to wait until the temperature of the lamb carcasses had reached -0 to +2/3 in the chill rooms inside the abattoir, and then the vets would release them for loading ,[could be a while he said],
The program was for the driver to take the car and go home ,or he might have to drive somewhere else to relive another driver who needed to go home? It was now about 6 o-clock in the evening. After the driver had left Pete put his gear in to the cab and he brewed a cup of tea up as he said the small canteen would be closed here.[[i would get to know this abattoir very well in the future]]
Pete then asked me if I would like to walk around the abattoir,i declined and he sort of said ,what is it do you not like Animals .are you squeamish. i laughed ,and proceeded to tell him about my butcher boy work when not at school working down the local abattoir, and all my cattle truck days, that sort of shut him up ,and he never said any more about it …
The plan was we were to go to a port that was going to be Rams gate to Dunkirk we had deliverers in Belgian and then one in Koln Germany and we had to have the tachographs right as we could get a check at the German boarder at [Aachen] and if they were not correct we would be in trouble so we did not put tachographs in until we were ready to leave,for the reason it would give us 22 hours to get the job done [we hope].and not lose time .He did tell me this job we were doing was very hard [ i.e. pushing for time]and it was the first time that they let a novice like me to double man driving.[that was supposed to make me feel good] Pete did tell me both bosses asked him how I had been on the other trip and did I moan,and he told the truth and said I was keen to learn .
It must have been around 8 pm and we pulled of the loading bay, got sealed up and made our way ,i was told it was best if I got most of the England driving done as Europe around back roads could be tricky,so my first taste of driving 18 tons of hand meat, he told me I would get the feel of it once I got going and the sensation of being pushed when slowing down and the corners were tricky. If you look at a map of Sussex ,you will see Lamberhurst A27 and country roads over to Rams-gate via the narrowest villages you could find the most narrowest place ever ,so I was a bit tongue in cheek for a start, it was a test really to see if I could handle it.[ Pete did not know me] as well as he thought .after my time on cattle trucks.
It was getting on for midnight when we pulled into the dock and the Ferry line was called SALLY LINE. we did the export checks that was new to me, so I was all eyes and ears different procedures.
The food was really good steaks sausage,veg chips,sweets, all hours of the night and day, so we really tucked in as I had not eaten pro-ply all day also they let you take and make sausage sandwiches for later .not a lot of drivers on board however some were very regulars on this run so they said. and the crew were mostly from Mauritius .it was a French owned Ferry. It was about a 2 hour crossing from the start until getting off.

[deckboypeggy]

lace was called Aden-kirk , the road only allowed you drive that way and not into France.
Once off the ferry [after the routine of unplugging the refrigerated trailer] at the boarder limited controls,and away we went,i was driving ,just to get back in the hang of left hand drive, and heading for Brussels,but going to a place called Kortreck .our first delivery, the roads were very quite,and once off the duel track ,at the right place ,Pete took over driving as we were now into very narrow
country roads that looked like water dykes each side no margin for error. it was pitch black ,we seemed to be skirting a town and sort of looking for a back entrance in to a housing estate,once we had turned in we pulled up outside a butchers shop,all lights blazing,one person standing outside, the fridge unit blaring away, just what you wanted in a housing estate, Pete jumped out of the drivers seat, shut the fridge off ,but kept the truck running ,so as we had lights. And it looked just us 3 there, and that was it I did see that the man had some white coats over his arm as we had the handshakes ,and some grunt,y noises from the massive chap ,the butcher, and a few pigeon Belgian words from Pete ,that seemed as understood by the butcher.
I was still Puzzled as what was going on, but once the butcher had broken the seal on the back door and opened it ,i new then what the coats were for ,we had to get up and pass the meat down to this man, nice,first time for everything, I could not believe what we were doing but I kept quiet ,and followed what Pete was doing.
We knew when we had to stop passing the meat down as the abattoir had tied a string, around the next delivery so as you new when to stop,but Pete new that, and I did now [learning].The unloading done we went into his house ,washed our hands they were covered in grease, and given some horrible Luke warm Belgian coffee.
All ready to go handshakes and grunting again and off we go towards Brussels,it was starting to get light ,and I said I could eat something to Pete and he assured me when we get to the next place it is a proper arbitrator and we would eat then. and maybe get 2 hours sleep,just what I needed.
What I can say about the Europe roads they are so well signposted ,as you approach BRUSSELS it tells you the way to go for GERMANY, LUXEMBOURG,and all kinds of different new names of places I had never heard of, also 3 lane roads and they are not like our motorways people are changing lanes ,overtaking and undertaking as it is normal ,also this area of the country Pete told me that you give way when you are on a roundabout, to let traffic come on to it when you are going round it is the wrong way for us English…we had just gone past the Highzell football stadium that was a good future reference point to remember.
Before we arrived, after we had to do a massive roundabout route that put us the right way for going out back to the duel road, this delivery was on a slope once Pete had backed up to the doors for the meat to be unloaded , the ground had such a slope on it there was no way you would stay in a bunk, let alone sleep,i realised weeks later that Pete knew that we would not get a sleep but doze off in the seats. but he never said .After a hot dog type sandwiches called [ a frickadella] we sat uncomfortable in our seats with feet on the dashboard /windscreen dozing off.

Once finished paperwork signed ,and they shut the back doors once we pulled of the loading bay, Pete never got out to check anything so he said to me ,you drive gave me directions then promptly lay on his bunk ,it did not bother me because I was still full of it ,me driving in Europe, unbelievable.
We headed for a place called Leige on the way to the German boarder it was yo be our last Delivery in Belgium, he told me to go to the 3 rd turn off [city centre] in Flemish, but he said you will go down this massive hill, be careful,other traffic will try to push you faster than you want to go, but keep slow ,and ■■■■ -em. so that is what I did when I got there ,and the hill was massive,the odd truck went past and blew its horn in disgust; I expect, the weight of the meat was pushing us down the hill without much effort from the engine I just did a royal wave and ■■■■ you to the foreigners ,well,!they were foreigners to me ,and now know the were German.

We were running along side a massive river of canal,so I gave Pete call ,as I did not want to get to a junction and have to make a decision which way to go , so he rolled out of the bottom bunk,and said just carry on ,he seemed not to happy, perhaps he was tired because I was.
After time we arrived at the unloading place ,just like a warehouse , a few men rolled up , I opened the trailer doors ,and ■■■■ me we seemed to have gained more meat than we had before,Pete walked round to the back and started the handshake routine, they all seemed to know him and he said to me go and have a lay- down we might be here a while. I did not need telling twice.

I felt as if I had been asleep about 5 minutes once I was woken up by the engine starting, Pete said we have now go to the Belgian customs to get sealed up for going into Germany, all good new stuff for me learn, I did ask about the extra meat we had on from Brussels to Leagie , and was told it was a regular thing ,that was in fact illegal ,for a English truck to do internal delivers within any country but your own country,that also applies to any foreign truck in any foreign country. No internal work done at all .but some people know no one is going to check.
What it does it is supposed to protected your own home haulage market ,who wants johnny foreigner doing our work. The Belgians did not give two monkeys . The practice of doing that internal haulage is called [CABOT AGE] that was in the whole customs era now , since borders are open anything goes in 2014. trucks can go any where and load anything.
So there must have been some reward for Pete but he never said, or parted with any cash, I expect I will find out my self later on?.He did say that they were the same company so no harm done ,yeh:!
As we approach the turn off for trucks at the boarder ,after going up this massive hill,we had to go off into a parking area that was full of all kinds of foreigners trucks it was like being in a toy shop. So,Pete then went on to explain what was to happen next,First we had a GERMAN PERMIT that was to be stamped, then we had to make a fuel declaration[ 200 litres only allowed in the country]then passports, the go to a agent to clear the customs forms T2forms from Dover. III had never in my life seen anything like it ,inside the massive clean hall because that what it was , loads of different uniforms all armed , imposing loads of load talking real gruff GERMAN , as I /we were not used to this is was imposing ,and I thought jesus, it looked as they would lock you up for nothing,[[ no wonder they frightened the forei

[deckboypeggy]

foreigners during the war]] and I had never seen such long name above offices ,in German,nothing in English or any other language so intimating, I was pleased we won the war…

Pete took me to a hut and had a coffee and bratwurst sausage and mustard in a crispy roll,lots of different cigarette smoke ,and language all around, no handshakes ,no greetings just grunts , to me any way,it was After about 1 hour Pete said lets go and see if we are cleared from the customs,I did ask him why we did not stay in the truck and not sit in the café, and his words of wisdom!this time true, said,if you stay in your cab, and being English,[they tell by your number plate and the GB sticker /sign[obligatory] , the police will want to see you tachograph records, including the previous days,and they walk around the parking area just for that. A nice easy form of collecting fine money, if the discs are not correct, however our get out now is that if you have fresh meat of any kind you are told to leave the parking area with all the paper work given back to to you by the Agent ,and all you forms stamped ,and they did not check the amount of diesel we had and leave by a back road and proceed to the German veterinary for them to inspect the meat, and get clearance to leave for your delivery.

I had no idea of where I was ,and I was driving
[God knows what was happening with the tachographs. Who was driving etc Pete was switching the mode switch around all the time he was obviously on top of it] we were following a sign that said [schlachthof] that was abattoir, we got there in the end but we were far away from the motorway in the town of old Aachen, Aachen was one of the first towns to be conquered by the British army in 1945 ,when you see the hills around you thing how the hell did they do it.

Once cleared by the veterinary ,who did thoroughly check the meat as we were backed on to a unloading bay ,so they could walk into the trailer, I stopped in the cab ,Pete waited on the loading bay [ or dock] eventually we were cleared to go ,to Kolon,[ cologne] to the meat market called the Grober market Pete knew the way I had no idea ,where to go Pete , Pete was going up in my esteem as a man, but I know it was all going in my head , night time or not, what I could see to remember for maybe future reference, [who knows] and that works well for me ,once seen not forgotten.
I had completely given up on the time, and how much rest we have had ,it was if it was not a job at all it just seemed normal to do what we were doing,
Pete told me we will come up to the motorway again ,and cross 2 rivers then we follow the signs for the zoo, and that takes us to the market for unloading.
After time I eventually found the Grober market told where to back up to by Pete , he jumped out lots of ,[good -an-tarts] German for Hello] and he opened the trailer doors, and I backed up on his instruction on to their ramp/unloading bay ,and that was it, i thought ■■■■ me what a day;all day ,Pete was inside having a coffee with some one and I could feel the movement of men walking in the trailer unloading, and a feeling of tiredness s seemed to come over me,ready for some proper sleep■■?
Next thing I know we are moving again, I must have dropped off, like a stone, I asked Pete where are we ,what we doing ,when do we sleep,all in one go ,the answer was we will just get out of Germany ,then park at the next service station,as we are loading in Holland in the morning. But we have to wash the trailer out before we can do anything else but we will sort that out after a sleep…The inside of the trailer is covered in blood and snot and grease .So we come again to the customs at Aachen and we still have to go to all the small offices for a stamp on our pieces of paper
to get a complete set of stamps then you get a exit stamp and off you go .and think thank god for that. We now make for the first service station in Belgium and sleep, it did not take long once there to get in that top bunk, I let Pete worry about the waking up time, im sure he is on the ball.
It seemed like a very short time before I was being woken up,and I could hear the kettle making a noise , on the small gas prim-us- stove. And Pete, welcome back to the living was !we can not be long as we have to wash the trailer out and be loading by 2pm today,a 3 hour drive away.

I had no idea at all what Pete had done about the Tachographs,and I was not bothered a far as anyone would know we had not been in to Germany, in fact if we do not get stopped in Holland or Belgian we have not been anywhere as far as the Tachographs are concerned, he obviously knows how to work [ fiddle]them to his and the company,s advantage and they must also know ,so I hope he will show me what to do.
Apparently the service stations in Holland supply more services than just fuel, you can get the use of a high power jet wash to wash the inside of a trailer out so all traces of meat are gone,and ready for another load, so long as you pay, payment by us was by a credit card ,very rare even now in the UK called a D. K. V. card , it is renown all through Europe within the transport industry you can get anything with it I mean anything,even in red light districts the card is taken ,like a transport only Visa. It was the first time I had seen or heard of it, once you are a established European driver for Rokold you get issued it only to be used when necessary .

The transit from Belgium to Holland ,because we were empty was very quick as if they were not bothered at all and we made our way to a service station that had a wash area ,Pete went into the payment office and came out with some bought tokens to put into the wash machine and he said we have 10 minutes of hot water and power the house was the longest I had seen ,my god these foreigners do not need any lessons in doing the job correct. Next thing Pete comes around from the cab with Wellington’s on ,and a pair of water proof leggings and a long raincoat/sou’wester jacket I was amazed, how much more am I going to learn, it seems as if you have to be self-sufficient.

His water profs were just what was needed and he did a complete through wash of the inside of the fridge it was perfect in side ,no trace of meat at all and as the lambs had been hung on string and not directly on the meat hooks they were clean.
Once done he quickly went over his tractor unit with the hose before the time went out, and we were done, en-route to where I did not know. We went in to the coffee shop and had a machine coffee,not bad ,a cup of tea would have been better,but not enough time. Pete asked to use the phone,and that was a yes and they passed him the phone from the office,another !i cannot believe it they let him use their phone, never in England would that ever happen,so this is Europe every thing I have seen up to yet has opened my eyes ,why are we at home so behind,god knows.

Pete comes back with loading instructions,we are to go towards the place we loaded at before,and load near there today , I have no idea how far it is we do not have a map but Pete knows the way ,so he lets me drive ,and he dozes off, but he tells me which way to head for and just keep following the signposts until we get there or you have to have a break after 4 ½ hours [ that was joke]

It did not take long before I come to a junction where a decision was needed, left or right, so I had to pullover and shake Pete awake [not best pleased] go left ,towards, Eindhoven ,then pick up the sign for Tilburg, and he lays down again ,so I plod on,now overtaking slower trucks , not that many slow ones were on the road ,speed did not seem to matter in Holland.

[deckboypeggy]

got to the outskirts of the place we should be at for loading and I was given directions , to the factory gate ,the factory had a massive turning area for the trucks to get ready for backing down to a ramp onto a loading bay, once Pete came out of the office told me to back on to a bay as loading would start straight away,a pallet load of chips,and we would not be long and the front pallets were smalls so they would fit under the meat hooks and the rear ones would make up the extra.
In no time we were loaded, custom sealed their at the factory,paper work in order ,so next stop a ferry. Time has flown from when I got up at 11am Tuesday morning it was now Thursday with no proper rest and now off again to a ferry,Pete thinks we will miss the late Zeebrugge ,so to Ostend .
God knows what he is doing with the tachographs,but I am sure he knows as he has changed the cards again. The fridge was set at -25 and roaring away ,however Pete said they were good at where we have just loaded and their product is nearly always down to the right temperature.

We move on to the road that soon took us to the boarder for Belgium customs , when we parked up I asked Pete if I could go and produce the paper work and get the feel of it ,and yes it was fine , so I went into the large foyer and could see only one office open with a sign DOUNE above the open door, I knocked ,walked in was met by grunts, passed the paper work over to the uniform/gun holstered ,no idea what was said, a couple of stamps later on the paper work I was out and back into the cab. I relayed what happened and was told that it was very rare to have any problems with the Dutch or Belgium’s authority, it was all the others.[countries].

I had now got used to the routine[for this trip] that I was doing the most driving, I treated it as a test to see if I would moan,i did not , and carried on driving to Ostend I drove all the way up to the dock gate and booked us in to the ferry terminal, apparently we were not booked for the ferry now but a later one, but we would get on this one as Roklod was a good customer.

I thought that was a bit strange ,it clicked to me that we were ahead of our time, the office expected us to be later by about 6 hours,and that was unusual,later I would find out that Pete had done better than other drivers by not having the proper breaks, it was to show me ,”this is the way you do it”and that he did the same when he was on his own,no second driver.

Once off the ferry at Dover ,the routine was the same as last week I was feeling as if I was Mr experience,! no one else would and 200 cigarettes ,they would be sold. It sort of seemed all right to be working all these strange hours as every one else was doing the same , all though not many English seemed to be on the ferry.
Once cleared by the customs, the agents brought the clearance paper to us,and we then went for something to eat ready to make our way home, or not,Pete said we had to go to Frigo Scania in Kings Lynn a cold store that stored ,and processed ,and distribution of all frozen products from all Europe and was used by very big new supper markets ,and they work 24 hours shifts.

Was this another test ■■ I said ok no problem , I had no other choice really ,but to divert back to Northampton from Dover would have been ridiculous.

I was now getting a good idea of what this job in tailed,it was the load first driver second, and you had to be prepared to do as the office would like or you will not last. I now see the important owner driver part of the company and they want there own drivers to be exactly the same. I expect
you have two choices Stay or leave , for now,the job it seemed just for me I liked the running around different countries and the unsocial sleeping times ,the general way you were left to get on with the job and be left alone ,yes I knew the hour pay ratio was not that good however we were on a salary, so hopefully ,yes maybe in the middle of the week, that you would get more time at home,it would be worth a try if I get offered a job on European.

We made good time and I drove ,Pete said it would keep him clear to ship out again if I used my Tachograph. =The plan was that I had just arrived by car into Dover to take this lorry to unload and drop the driver [PETE]off at his house and I was to carry on and get it unloaded and back to base
if we got stopped by the ministry of transport for a tachograph card check.
He had got the previous tachograph cards we both had used and sorted them as if he had just been to Belgium yesterday, I had not been near that truck… so that is how they do it,total disregard for the law, however we were in Europe and no one cared a rats arse so do as the others do, do not forget the new Motorways were not built, the A2 .M . one Dartford tunnel, no Ministry check points at all , the only time you would have had a check if you were involved in a accident.

We had arrived at the cold store and drove straight on to a weigh bridge and the gross weight is record and when you finish you have to go back on to the bridge to get your tare weight ,then the load weight is taken from the gross and then you have the weight of the load, as you could have the right number of boxes but not the correct weight the senders of the goods has said [short weight, not uncommon].
We were told we had a booking in time of 12 o clock that night so park up , and wait. Pete looked a bit sheepish we could have gone to Northampton ,and I am sure he new when the delivery was, but he is in charge of the truck if I was not with him he would have done exactly the same ,so I said ,good have another sleep, there were lots of other trucks parked up the noise of the fridges roaring away was tremendous, but no one seemed to care at all ,and I was getting used to the noise as well.

While waiting to get on to a unloading bay, the foreman unload er came and took the seal of the back doors , and climbed in as far as he could go and collected 1 box of goods, so he could go and check that the correct temperature had been kept and the product was the right temperature.

Before we had a sleep we kept getting lots of door knocking from workers asking if we had any duty free to sell, cigarettes ,or spirits ,wine any thing cheap, Pete told me more about the selling of any goods at most of the cold stores you would go to. He said, what you do is let the fork lift drivers have first choice of any thing you may have,and they will ask you if you are going back to Europe, and if it is for a load back to where they are as it was a regular run for Rokold trucks ,sometimes you will go back empty from Kings Lynn to Dover to load the next day in Belgium or H Holland then straight back to Kings Lynn and they would put a order in if [1] you have the cash to buy goods, and [2] do you want to bring in more than your allowance [3] if you are caught by a customs officer any where and you are selling duty free goods you are in deep ■■■■. So it was up to you.

As it was ,I was not interested as I had no control of what I did ,also Pete would not commit himself,as he did not know what he would be doing next ,if he did he would not tell me, as I expect he will be glad to get rid of me,and I do not blame him I would not fancy having a second driver with me ,however if the bosses say you will you will it is their truck,end of.

After getting unloaded, and the trailer swept out and weighed [by me ] before we made our way back to the depot . One thing Pete impressed on me was to make sure that when you collect your c.m.r note up from the office when the unloading is finished make sure they do not write any remarks on the paper work as that c m r is a legal document, and it is the only way a company can get paid for the load by that note ,with a clear signature, meaning that the load count is correct ,the load temperature was correct, and the given weight , when you arrived,and the time , that done home.
When we arrived back at the depot it did not take long for me to get my gear together, and say good by and [handshake],as it was all closed up ,no empty pallets ,or nothing around, only our two cars.
What Pete was going to do I have no idea.
I soon travelled home, quick wash and to bed.

After my European trip work seemed to by very quiet not that many night runs and no market runs at all just the supermarket work and the pallet loads seemed a lot less than before, however I just enjoyed the time off as I knew when the time come it would be longer hours than norma

[deckboypeggy]

On one run to a few different supermarkets I was told that I had to have the night out and collect some pallets in the morning, yes fine by me,i was now used to doing as I was told and not re -bell or moan .

As it was ,I had no idea what was going to happened next, as I was loaded ,i needed to ring the office to see if the pallets were for home base or somewhere else I was told to bring them back to the yard as quick as I could Mr East wants to see me, I thought another trip over the water.

Once in the yard ,i parked up ,went in to the office and asked for Mr East ,i was told to go in to his office, he stood up shook my hand ,and said Vic I am sorry we are going to let you go, work has got bad and there is not enough for all the men .last in first out…Then he said we may have got you some work with a local contractor, he gave me the details ,sorted my wages out ,said if any thing comes up again he would call me ,that was me finished at Northampton and that was that I said my good bys ,Alan said sorry,i new they would keep the young men on, so I went to find my new employee ,i hoped.
The new employer lived and worked at Milton just out side Northampton,i rang him up and he told me to meet him at the Ipec depot ,he gave me the address. after getting through security, I was told where to go and he had a small office at the end of a massive loading bay, that had about 20 trailers parked on it.
The job was first to be shunting the trailers on and off the loading bay as a contractor for the company running the job .Ipec , that turned in to T.N.T the massive parcel and goods distribution.
After time,also when required you will have to drive a trailer up to the Glasgow depot, that would be a night job once there you go into a bed and breakfast in Glasgow while the lorry and trailer is taken around Scotland all the delivers done then it is reloaded back up for you to run back down to the Northampton through the night, you get back to Northampton park it up in the depot we are in then you go home. If you are required for the next night we ring you by 2pm to let you know.

Yes that sounded good, but the money was Tax free ,that meant you had to do the tax your self.[self employed] also he does some containers runs to and from Felixstowe, well it was a job I would go for it .I started the next day,at lest I understood what the job was and you got told what to do, and they had a canteen.
I was busy for a time then it would slow down. The man I worked for was a ex middle east driver, photographs all around ,early 1970s he must have been very young. However most men that did that work deserved all they had made out of the jobs it was not for everyone.
It kept me busy for a week, then I thought all the travelling by car and shunting ,i had had enough so I said I am going to finish. No likely Scotland trips so I am off!, ooh hang on a minute, he said you are down for the Sunday night run , was he telling porkies or I was down for the job ,he said no you are on the job all next week ,yes I will stay then and that was the start of another fine mess…

The tractor units we used were from MANN HIRE and they were flying machines 70 mph was the normal speed once on the Motorway well if you did not get caught. Once you left Northampton you drove for 4and half hours had 45 minutes break then another 4 ½ drive and you should be in bells hill Glasgow that was how fast them trucks were,really in day time you would not have done it ,even in 1 days drive of 10 hours , however at night,unbelievable distances were covered the trucks had the power as if you were driving a car, you could accelerate just like a car with a full load .of 20 tons quite remarkable even now when I thing about it, in actual fact when I do like now it was so,so, dangerous I shudder. However once again by luck I came off all right .

Once in Glasgow you would leave the truck in the IPEC yard and a man would take you up to your bed and breakfast, have a breakfast ,then bed, he would collect you again at 6 o clock at night, you had no dinner there,after the first time I soon got myself organised when home I brought a small gas cooker, pan. And tins of food, and cooked it in there rest room when I was back there it caused quite a show as they had never seen a driver cook before. not as I was experienced, I got the idea off of Pete ,never go hungry when you can do it yourself…

I started to get used to the pattern of work on the Glasgow run sometimes there was 2 loads per night. We did have a small issue as we were only working in total driving 9 hours the boss wanted us to do some more work when we got back to Northampton, small local work just to fill the hours in as we got paid a days rate ,night or day and the hours were never defined ,so I think he thought we were getting away with money for no work, so I did what he asked ,then went home to bed later than usual,[not good].

One evening just before I was leaving Glasgow the boss phoned me ,and said when I get back to Northampton ,drop the trailer at the depot then pick another trailer up and go and deliver it to the car factory in Luton. Vauxhall. When I eventually arrived at the car factory the parts I had on the trailer were marked urgent production line, it did not mean a thing, I was told to park up and would be called in when they were ready. I knew from previous car factory experience that once you got into the queue going around the production area that was you basically ■■■■■■, end of. It is like going around a supermarket following 2 mobile scooters ,with blind people driving.

After god knows how many hours still at Luton ,it was getting that I would not have time to drive back, so there and then I made my mind up that was me finished when I got back , no way to ring anyone up no public phones within the factory for drivers use…
Once on my way ,non stop straight to the depot, I was met by the boss, all full of sorry, I did not realise they said it was urgent, I said no problem ,get some other mug, bye that is me done, he protested ,ore look I gave you a job a favour for Mr East ,i replied you get Mr East to come and do it then, off I went ,to the nearest phone box and rang Roklold at the depot at Oxford and told them what I had done ,and said thanks for the job but no thanks ,and whenever they want me ring home…
Now started another episode of driver with out a job, I first called in at S. T Challis as it was on the way home and explained my situation and could they help,they would ring, never did, so I had to look father afield from home . Then in the local paper drivers wanted at Aylesbury ,that was nearly 35 miles away, however I thought I would ring, and ask for a interview, it was in a village called Aston Clinton,did not mean nothing to me , i got a day for a interview , in two days time, i have no idea what sort of work they do or anything but I had seen the lorries around and no way of finding out .

I arrived at the village and found the yard , I drove in ,and looked around for a parking place, found a visitors one and parked. Little did I know that I was being observed to see where I left my car.
However I reported to the office ,explained who I was ,and was told to sit and wait. I had dressed
with some smart clothes and a tie,a bit over the top for a drivers job but I wanted work.
I was shown into a office and a young -ish man sat at a desk very smartly dressed, he did not get up just looked ,and there was a chair pulled out my side, but I did not sit I just stood there.

He then said who he was ,and what did I want,so I said a driving job if they have any vacancies,
then where have you been working? .so I said I can give you my full working record since I left school, and got out my discharge book with various bits of paper and certificates ,also my HGV driving licence, Ohh he said you have a class one licence ,all self explanatory , so I told him everything from school until that day. While I was in mid flow a older man come in to the room. Also very well dressed and sat on the edge of the desk ,never said a word.

When I had finished talking ,my history, the other man Mr Fowler ,the big boss , said we never employ any men who do not live within a 10 mile radius from Aylesbury ,however if you can start tomorrow we will overlook that rule, and that was me at Aston Clinton Haulage,A. C .H.

I had to be at the yard for 6 am , to start then take it from there it was a good 40 minutes drive from home on back roads, after a short time I started to try other routes, but it was nearly always the same time of travelling.
The work was varied ,from local shunting to unloading in the yard, and loading boxes of cereal for delivery, then delivering it ,you had no time at all, but I stuck with it, they were very long hours if I had known more then I would have stopped in the yard the odd night and sleep in a cab ,with no pay but it would have made life a lot easier ,as all the trucks the ran were sleeper cabs and of the full speck,[the most powerful].
The son David who interviewed me was what you called unfair, a prick,thoughtless,and all the other meanings, but that was his his way and people accepted it, me also as I thought I would get on to having a truck of my own and get some good work even with my limited European experience. Sadly it was not to be…then…i wanted to leave, but I had to do it right and not just finish,so one day I got half way to Aylesbury stopped in a village, and said my car has just blew the piston, or valve and I could not make it in, and gave them the local phone box number so they could ring me back…[ no mobile then].
After time Dennis , David’s assistant, rang the call box back,and said if you cannot get in you are no good for us so you will have to finish, so I said fine and they would send my wages and p 45 and that was that for then…It was what I wanted to happen in case I ever wanted to go back in the future .

Once home, car all good ,I decided to go S T Challis to see if they have any work,once in the yard straight to the drivers place outside of the office,i knocked the hatch, and was greeted by what the ■■■■ to you want, from the traffic clerk, laughing,nothing from you, but a job, he told me to wait `1 ,i will go to see the boss, after a short time Brian the boss came out and said we have a bit of tipper work if you want it , only local runs ,you can start Monday, and that was the way it worked in my area, straight to the point, the best way.

[deckboypeggy]

The tipper work was easy but long hours you were moving earth that was being dug out by machines for a new road ,and once loaded ,you then tipped it where you were told, most times it was to make a bank further back along the road ,or just to fill in holes [massive holes] left by pipes .

It was going good , I used to take a lot of sandwiches and 2 flasks,i knew most of the drivers ,some from my village, and we would have a laugh. Plenty of time to eat, and drink all was good the money was manageable, but beggars cannot be choosers.
I think I must have been there for about3 months and getting bored but nothing else to do ,i was not getting enough out of it if you know what I mean but no weekend work maybe the odd Saturday morning ,sometimes, they wanted you to help the fitters if they had a big job on, nothing technical but I was still learning about trucks ,engines and most of what went with the job, rewiring lights,all though the diesel engine had come on with the future there was still a lot of old basics and common sense .also I had had the ■■■■■■■■ engine workings to help me if I needed it. To a small degree.

Life was plodding on ,getting my self resigned to being on a tipper until they increased the fleet, when out of the blue my wife gets a urgent phone call from no other than Mr Robin East, from the depot in Oxford, asking where, and what I was doing, and asked would I ring as soon as possible, urgent. It was 7 o clock at night and spoke to Robin .
Tom ,the first driver I went with had ,had a brain haemorrhage and passed away , he was on the service station by Liverpool, the trailer had been taken away to be unloaded ,however ,the unit was still on the service station the keys were in the mangers office ,was the any chance I could go up with another driver and bring the tractor, and the trailer [when empty] back down to Oxford. the lorry was leaving at 5am in the morning to get you to Liverpool later in the day,are you able to go with it, also we would now need a relief driver ,if I wanted the job it was mine on Rokold not the other company J C. S. ,it would be reliving the European drivers on a regular basis and the previous man would have Toms truck permanently. I explained that I was permanent where I was and they would not take kindly to me leaving just like that, he said he new Mr ■■■■ who was the boss and he would square it with him, as they were on the road haulage association together and he would explain the situation .

It was a chance not to be missed it could be the break for me to get into European work so I accepted the offer.
I had to leave home at 4 am to get to Oxford before 5 am good job I did as the driver slept overnight at the depot and was ready to leave when I arrived, after a few delivers we made our way to the Liverpool area, I found out a lot more about the job some bits were good ,others I knew about [ the hours] the driver Geoff , who was Toms friend, also from Northampton still could not believe Toms death,it only happened yesterday so it was shock all round ,well not for me but sad as he left a wife and children, all though when I knew him you would have thought he was single , I hope that is not the way this type of driving changes you, also he was ex army so he knew his way around.

I went and collected the truck keys ,from a office , they knew my name but wanted some ID ,that was all done .i rang the office,and was told to pick the trailer up at Trafford park Manchester at a refrigerated depot. I was told check it over for any damage in the outside and inside, count the meat hooks that were hanging on the rails at the front, tyres, fuel in the fridge ,and all the trucks paper work was still in the cab folder, I was given a list to check, that all worked out correct, and to record the hours recorded on the fridge, [ a dial on the front cover of the hours the fridge has been run],make sure all the lights were working, as people will steal the lenses and bulbs, yes, the bulbs…

When that was done I rang the office ,and they said make your way to Dover and ring first thing in the morning from there. Yes that was what I wanted,i knew it would be late by the time I get there
but I never put a tachograph card in until I left Liverpool so I had got plenty of time, well I thought I had.
I made it to the last service station, on the A2 Farthing Corner,before Dover and had a break,by the time I got into Dover and parked outside the Agents office ,went in ,and the ■■■■ had hit the fan, what I was not told ,I was booked on the 6am crossing to Zeebrugge [when I had phoned from Manchester] [no cab or mobile phones] they had expected my to drive into Dover gone in to the Agents and they would have given me my loading instructions without parking up where I did and I could have booked off once inside Dover ,and by the time I had got off in Zeebrugge I would have had the proper break, also I would have had lots of broken sleep.! Moving on to the ferry etc I had no a clue, that was what I should have done.

I rang the office explained they more of less said it was their fault but told me if you ever have to get to Dover you must try to get there, as there is always a reason why. I think the traffic manager Peter Melcombe thought I was a old hand at the European way of working,I had never met him I took a instant dislike to him, by his phone manner to me, one to watch.

Once I was on the ferry ,booked into my cabin and had a meal, it was time to go to bed for about 3 hours,trouble was you never knew who your cabin mate was , so as Pete told me get to bed first and hope they do not snore.
Once off of the ferry the routine started as before ,and it all went well ,even the fuelling up as the credit diesel card all worked on the same pin number [so long as you knew it] I did not ,but Tom had it written down in the trucks book of paper work,so I was soon away to get to the loading place. It was the same one as before when I was with Pete ,so I felt very confident that it would all be good and load without any hassle, and after a time of me getting there I was soon striding in to the loading office, full of it, until the Dutch man said in perfect English, you are late ,your load has been given to another driver so you will have to wait until the product [frozen chips] are down to the correct loading temperature , well what could I say but ok thank you I will be in the cab…

And that is where I went, I never said another word, I thought well ■■■■ you too. And laid on the bunk, it did not seem long ,when load banging was on the door and shouting to me ,back on to the loading bay so I opened the rear doors , started up the fridge, ■■■■ !!I had forgot to do that before I arrived so as the trailer would be cold, [whoops] I was getting to cocky, and forgot the first rule. To get the fridge temperature down as low as possible, it will never get to minus -20 as there is not product in the trailer to hold the temperature but once the frozen goods are in the trailer and the trailer is all ready cold it will soon be down to -20

Also I think I learned another thing, other people do not like to see you go and lie on the bunk and read a book… [over time I learnt it really ■■■■■■ other people off especially if you have had a disagreement with them and it was your fault, and you shown that it does not bother you at all .]

Once loaded, I was told to pull of the loading bay, collect my paper work from the office and the customs will seal the back doors and I was ready to go. I did stop and think have I done all the right things , checked both diesel tanks. Fridge running ok , god knows what I would do if the fridge stops, I have not been told yet ,i must put that on a list ,of to ask instructions for if a brake -down occurs.
So I made my way to the Belgium boarder and then the ferry port. Ohh no I forgot to ask what ferry to go back on, ■■■■,i stopped and tried to work the time out, and thought I was at about the same time as when with Pete, so I will go to Ostened ,then I had thought , [dangerous]look at what the T2 customs form said , and it was Os,tend, so I now knew the office must have told the Dutch that was my port of exit.
I made my way there without any problems it was easy to find the port as the signs post were very good you just followed the sign with a ship on and it took you straight to the port gate, I completed all the paper work, and went and queued up with all the other trucks , that was not hard to accomplish, as I had been shown before what to do if I had not It would have been a different story.

Once on the ferry I asked the crew for a electrical plug in , and was told yes o,k ,but wait for the ships electrician , that is what I did it seemed like hours however he came ans sorted the plug in out and it worked the correct way , it sucked in air and not blow it out…eventually I had some food then straight down to the cabins for a sleep, I had the cabin number on my ticket, but the first thing was to find them , it seemed as if they were right down under the engine, and the noise was bad,Jesus I had spent a long time on ships ,never this noisy!!
I did find the cabin, and the bunk, and it was the top bunk as the other 3 were occupied so clothes on into the bed, I did learn a lesson, all ways strip off when ever you have a chance to sleep ,even for a hour ,as with clothes on you soon get roasting and cannot rest…
Next thing lots of noise, blokes burping and ■■■■■■■, coughing sounded like a cattle market,and foreign language ,to me, I understood it was time to get up .and that was what I did and followed the herd up to the coffee, tea and ■■■, bar, also more food it seemed only 5 minutes before that I was eating, but we all seemed to get stuck in, mostly sausages,and hard boiled eggs , then the tannoy came over [all drivers report to the car deck and do not start your engines please until told to by the staff, ■■■■■■■■, by the time I got down to the truck ,the rear door was still down,and all these ■■■■■■■ ,stupid foreign drivers had the engines roaring away it was choking, and they did not give one ■■■■, what they did not realise as the deck crew could not take the safety chains off of the front of the trucks so they would be able to leave the ship, because they wanted to be first off what they did not realize that once they got to the customs they were going nowhere,.

Yes I had done it, I did all the right things ,parked up .put my paper work in the agents box ,wrote on it where I was parked, and smartly went and got into bed again.

The next thing I know there is rapping on the cab door,i flew up pulled the curtain back and there was one of our drivers there,hanging off the wing mirror with his arms, shouting something, so I got dressed and opened the door ,and the first thing he said are we cleared,what! I said, I have not long got in bed, he said well they usually clear this customer straight away, he said he would go and check,in the office where you get your exit stamp,and the paper work to go .
He came back full of it and said it has been cleared 1 hour -ago, you should have been gone by now as the customer is waiting for the load,” hang on” I said I have only been here 3 hours and not had my full break, he replied, that he was taking the load and I was to be the passenger, ok that made sense. well sort of until I thought about it…so off we go with me not driving so it did not matter any-more how much rest or sleep I had the load came first…
I asked the driver how he got here and he said he came down last night with another of our drivers and went in to a bed and breakfast, got up this morning to bring deliver the load ,and take me back because the office new I would not be able to drive for some time as my break hours were not up.

My god am I learning, but it made sense , as the load would be delivered we went to a cold store at FRIMLY, so in fact I was off duty in the passenger seat .basically it does not mater where you take your off duty break so long as you are not working …as time went by it was considered that if you were in a company vehicle you were classed as on duty, but that was much later .in the 1990s in actual fact if you were driving a company car to or from work of to relive another driver you were technically on duty, however who new , un less you had a accident in that car,…going back we arrived at Bejams Frimly to unload the pallets of chips, after time we were told to back on to the loading bay ,and wait for the green light , it was right by your cab when you were backed on the loading bay [or dock]you could not miss it to tell you that you were on the loading bay correctly , you would feel the ramp inside the store go down on to the deck of the trailer so they could start unloading.
But first the quality control would take off the first 6 pallets then on the 7th they would brake open the boxes to check for the correct temperature of the product and it had to be between minus-18 and -22, they would take all the boxes of the pallet and check the very bottom ones, just to make sure that the chips had been loaded at the correct temperature. If not someone would be in trouble a,nd the first would be the driver,as not checking the product temperature before loading, and was the fridge running correct, it was a bloody minefield this I learnt later through my own experiences you
would never believe the checks you had to make and do while loading any product .

Once the load had been cleared to unload ,it did not take very long to get unloaded and get the correct amount of pallets returned, and we were on our way again, so where now for me I asked, we were going to Bedford for a truck and trailer service and I was to pick up a company car ,and go home ,and wait for the phone call. At least I had some duty free cigarettes. I was asked at the cold store [what have you got on] I did not know what they were on about until the other driver, said some drivers bring in Beer, and tobacco for the cold store unloading staff to buy [in bulk] apparently they knew the lorry was Toms, and he looked after the lads at the store , well sadly no more ,they did not know about his death, but it was something to think about , however I never did bother for anyone, as I never had the cash to buy goods…

We soon arrived at Bedford, and the trailer was dropped in a service bay,and the unit taken for a service next door, I was taken to see the boss of the work shops,and asked if there were any outstanding faults on the truck or trailer,i did say some of the tyres on the trailer were a bit short of rubber meaning the tread was low, all the other gauges on the unit were working oil and water was good ,there was no more to say, so I was shown the car I had to go home in and that was it, I was away… it was the same old Volvo first thing was I checked the petrol, and it was nearly empty, what a surprise, why would drivers leave a car with hardly any petrol in I did not know ,however I will now do the same.

[deckboypeggy]

Once I got home there was a telephone message for me to phone the office, Jesus they never left you alone for any length of time, it was something I was going to have to get used to. That was for sure ,it was my instructions for tomorrow, I had to be down in Lamberhust for 5 pm and deliver the load of lambs that I had done with Pete before, on my own, I remember feeling pleased with myself as they were trusting me with a Export load for the first time,also inside I was really ■■■■■■■■ myself but no one knew only me.
After a good drive around the Motorways, the M25 was not yet built, under the Dartford tunnel and down to Lamberhurst ,i arrived in plenty of time, and I had brought a small gas burner and some food ,saucepan, tea ,excreta, just to keep me going and from spending any money on foreign food, the more I did not spend the more for me,and home, well that was the thought.I had not got round to finding a toaster, but I would.

The unit was the one I had driven before the old 2800 D. A.F, [Extoms] the driver soon wanted to get off home ,and I did ask him why he was not doing the job instead of me,he gave me some story about his wife so I left it at that, anyway it was nothing to me ,he told me it was ¾ loaded and the last lot would be soon loaded ,the fridge was roaring away,a went and checked the diesel and ■■■■ me it wanted filling up, where do I get red diesel ,so I thought I wont ring the office I will ask here if they knew anywhere on the way down to Ramsgate where I could get red diesel for the fridge, they said we do not know,■■■■ me again,i thought about it and I realised the truck tank was half full I would be able to syphon some diesel out of the tank and put it in to the fridge tank, I thought yes I will do it.

So know I needed a piece of hose pipe at lest 6 foot long, and a container of sorts to transfer the diesel, easier said than done belive me, I knew how to do it as I have done it many times before but it can be a smelly dirty job, plus diesel tastes awful. If the trailer had not been loaded and the weight on the front end of it ,the easiest way would have been to drop the trailer where it was and back the unit along side of the trailer so as the tanks are along side each other, if the tanks are not on the same side you turn the unit around so as it is ,also you need a lot of room, so all that was out . It meant sucking the diesel up the pipe that you have pushed down , well down inside the trucks diesel tank, and you start sucking “ syphoning”until the diesel flows out ,and then you have to catch it in some form of container,a old plastic oil can, and make sure you can tip it into the trailer diesel tank [not easy] it needs 2 people really as once you have filled your oil can the diesel is still flowing ,you have to lift the pipe up so it is above the level of the diesel in the tank, but make sure you have a bend in the pipe so as the pipe is not empty or else you have to start sucking again, believe me it is a pain in the arse and you get covered I did get a hand from one of their drivers and we managed to get a few gallons in the tank, no thanks to the other driver, [■■■■■

Now I had to get cleaned up,and once the unit was under the trailer they started to load the last delivery,What I did not know was one of drivers from the abattoir was also going down to the docks on a export load he was going direct to the delivery at leige, and then into Germany and I was to follow him down to Dover the ship over to Calais [F] and I would follow him through to Belguim and then we would go our different ways, this was new to me ,apparently all things change when meat is involved ,and the office knew what was happening .
I was to pick a French permit up from the agent in Dover ,and Jimmy[ THE DRIVER ]was going to show me the route out of Calais, and how to go through the customs at Calais all straight forward well it is supposed to be. After time we were ready to go and he said we were going the back roads down to FOLKSTONE, the on to Dover I did not have a map with me .god!! it was the most fastest switch back ride I have ever had ,god knows where we went, but I did not let his rear lights out of my sight, and he warned me that when you get to Folkstone we will go up this massive hill ,and if it is wet if you miss a gear near at the top you will be ■■■■■■,as the steepness of the hill lets all the weight of the lambs hang back at angle, taking your traction away from your drive wheels as if you are skidding on ice,well that did not do me much good ,all I could thing about was missing a gear, so I thought right, I will put the truck in a low gear at the bottom and then I had no worry, and that is what I did and I did not have a problem ,i was slow, yes, but I never got stuck, when I caught Jimmy up at the docks he said I thought you were stuck,but I would not have been any help so I carried on, that was the right thing to do so he said .

We parked outside the agents and collected the paper work for me and a permit for France, then round to the customs part ,this time we had to queue up to go into the customs sheds for a seal check and a port health check, ]MAFF],to make sure we were veterinary sealed up [the trailer] .
That all done we then had to go queue up for the next ferry to Calais, they were nearly every 2 hours leaving Dover , I could see the point of coming this way instead of Rams -gate as it was quicker here, once we were loaded on to the ferry we had to ask for a Electric Plug , as no diesel engines were allowed to be run, once that was sorted and it was working the correct way we made our way up stairs for food in the drivers lounge. We were on Sea-link ferries and the food was good . Jimmy asked if I had any French money at all, and no I did not ,he said we would need at least 5 French Francs for the customs as you go out of the gate, for the bung, for the excess diesel we had, you are only allowed 200 litres in France, I changed £10 sterling and received just over 10 Francs, and Jimmy told me do not give that much you must change it , as they would take it all that… I am learning more, and we talked about my delivers and he told me about the Belgian border so as I was sure where to go , he was a great help, I would have been struggling with out him, but that is why they sent me with him I expect…

Once the ferry docked we were about the last to get off ,as the electrician did not hurry himself, anyway there would be a massive queue waiting to get out of the dock after the customs. Once in the customs hall I just followed what jim said and I did not speak, there was no need to, the customs men all looked the same in massive coats , lots of chatter, stinking of French ■■■■, talking in grunts,and laughter,well,they were in charge , after the stamp on the permit backing paper ,jim said he hoped the would stamp that, and not the actual permit as it could be used again [ I will explain later] I watched as the trucks drove up to the last barrier where you gave them the money ,[they called it coffee] the man jumped up onto the step hung on the mirror arm and looked at the fuel gauge on the dash board to see what it read ,full, or half full. Anyway they still had the coffee money whatever, and when it was my turn I drove up stopped and he did what I have said took the 5 francs said [Aur vior]

That was my first of many giving of French francs to the customs men ,only in Calais I must say no where else bothered with the fuel coming in to the country .they were the French Mafia. That practice carried on until the customs frontier controls finished in the 1990s.

Once clear, before I was let loose on my own , Jimmy gave me my last instructions , I crossed the same border in to Belgium as when I was on the other ferry, however I had to clear the customs there as it was my final boarder of destination, but Jimmy was there so it went well ,although I did do it by myself…
All the deliverers will be waiting for me, and if there are no lights on at the premises ,knock the doors ,and they will soon be out as they were local Butchers shops, in towns so the agent told me obviously this was a regular run.
Once I found the first delivery I would be taken to the next one when I was ready by following a car, I think this job must have been another test as it was non stop full-go ,at the first delivery one man jumped up on the back of the trailer to take the lambs of the hooks and pass them down ,and I was given a white coat, to get up and do the same, as two men were on the road taking the meat inside, so no lay down, and that was the pattern of the nights work,i had lost track of time and it was getting light, and I ended up somewhere near Brussels Airport with a empty trailer, and the inside needed a wash out, so that was my next move find a truck stop with a high power hose, that was normal in Belgium as they seem to thing of everything…so I was told. jim did tell me that I should ring the office by 1pm our time and get loading instruction, so sleep was the second priority…

There was so much noise going on at the service station I made a mental point of never stopping
there again,i must have had about 5 hours sleep and my alarm was screaming, first eat then phone thank god I had my toaster, and tea making things, and I sorted my self out.
The office told me I was loading tonight not far from the Dutch boarder in Belgium so make my way there whenever, as the load was ready, full load of frozen vegetables .
After 2hours I had found the loading factory,a large compound lots of other trucks were there , no other English, once I had been to their office I was given a loading bay number to back on the wait in the cab as the load was handball [meaning not on pallets in sacks] so it would be a while, and they would knock the cab when finished, so it was time to get a brew of tea on ,and then lie down and get some rest ,sleep. It was after 4 hours and I was woken up,and told to go to the office, I collected my paper work, customs paper, and pulled off the loading bay for the rear doors to be custom sealed up, and they told me that the office said I was to go to Zeebrugge for the midnight ferry, that was good for me no rush, and I would be able to fill all tanks up with diesel,unbelievable but it all worked out .i was in plenty of time for the ferry, and another time to get in bed, I had already sussed out that if you can get a lay down do it…

Once the ferry arrived it did not take long for the off load of trucks and then we were soon brought up from lanes for loading ,it is not straight forward ,as heavy lorries have to get put in different places, the loading ticket office know all the trucks weights when booking in…also I wanted a electrical plug in,so I seemed to be kept waiting to load with other fridge drivers as we were all on the same level deck where all the plug connections were, once loaded on and sorted ,in to get your bed number/cabin, no single berth, so you have 2 choices either go straight to bed , or eat a dinner.
For me it was a no brainier /bed, before the snoring started, and just hoped you did not get a cabin with foreigners .

All went well ,the crew wake you up in time for breakfast nice full English,then the unloading starts
passport control/ customs, all done on the dock ,as before, it was still dark.
Once parked up , my paper work lodged in the agents in box ,i wrote on it the number of the lane I was parked in, and would they knock me when finished please… so back in the bunk again…

It was not long before the the knock on the door come and I was cleared to go after I got my paper work, and allowed out of the dock gate and on my way to Frimly again to get the load off loaded
I new it would take a while as it all had to be put on pallets ,a long job I expect. Once there I report to the office and they told me to ring my office as soon as I can…
Once again I was told that a driver was coming down in the car to relive me and I could go home and ring tomorrow dinner ,so now it was a waiting game, the more time I spent here the less at home.
Another driver I did not know, arrived ,and I told him what was going on and that they would let him know when to get on to a unloading bay,and that was me, away, petrol check seemed ok,so home for me…
After rest at home, I rang at dinner time to be told to go to Bedford service depot no later than 5pm to collect the truck, I arrived on time, to be told that at 8 oclock in the morning I was to load a load of lambs from near Bedford and ring from there, I had to get the car back that night as it was needed for someone else, so I had a night at the garage in Bedford ,i slept well …

[deckboypeggy]

Once I arrived at the Abattoir I was told to go and wash the trailer out ready for loading ,they had a very high powered wash hose, it would blow your clothes off if it was pointed at you, anyway that done I put the trailer on the bay and waited, there was a lot of movement in the trailer they seemed to be loading non stop.
Eventually it went all quite and stopped rocking around so I assumed it was loaded , got out and went to the office, yes it was finished and the customs and veterinary would soon be finished and

I could soon be on my way ,so I thought…after ring the office it seemed I was only loading it for another driver I was to take it back to the Bedford garage, leave the truck ,the fridge going at the correct temperature, and the car would soon be there for me to go home again ,and the other driver would be taking the load,yes well I was only the relive driver, so that is what I am doing although I did not like it.
That seemed for a while the pattern of work I was doing,unloading or loading for someone else and it was sort of getting to me, so in the end I asked to speak to the boss Mr East [robin] the office men tried to keep fobbing me off that he was never in the office, so I let it go a week and one Friday I was home with the company car,i thought right a,nd I drove to Oxford to the depot ,and there he was on Saturday morning in the yard ,well it was in a forest, no joke , in a forest called Tubbny wood off the Swindon road out of Oxford,it had some hard standing for a few trailers and a wooden cabin type office,after hand shakes and bull ■■■■ I said if I do not get a truck of my own soon I am leaving I had been doing the relive for about a year, with the occasional run abroad and I had had enough…

Once home the phone rang Saturday after noon, and I was told they would be getting another hire truck a new Scania and it would be mine in 2 weeks, however it would be mostly on European work and I would have to do the same as the others and go anywhere I was told, if I could not do it they would have to let me go…a catch 22… situation, it could be 2 weeks away at a time, I knew some of the other men were very rarely home for long as the export and import ruled… it was a no brainier I told my wife what the score was , I could do it or leave and go to nothing ,obliviously I wanted to do it however was not my own decision so we decided to do it and take a chance.

So the 2 weeks went into 3 and I was getting slightly cautious as to they were telling me the truth but when I did bump into other drivers they said yes the fitter at Bedford had been told another truck was coming and it was the first Scania not a D.AF so I carried on as normal unloading other peoples loads day and night[ not at the same time] one load comes to my mind that nearly come to my down fall and getting to big for my boots ,it is funny how life puts you down to ground very easy…
This load I had to collect ,the trailer [I had the company car] from the Bedford fitters premises,[i did not like john’s, the fitters wife she was always saying Robin this, and that, she was dangerous she could get you finished on her say, so ,[example if the truck was not oil up and cleaned up] cab dirty,]anyway I had to deliver this load of frozen goods at 12 midnight at Bejams Frimly I knew it very well as a lot of our loads ended up there so I knew some of the unloaders and the canteen ladies and felt at home while there, however it was different at night ,different people but they new the company well [as regulars] so we had no problem getting in past the security to get parked up as times it was very difficult to get on the premises ,if you were early, or more so late but Rokold seemed to breeze it…
This trailer I collected was knew and it had a new system for the brakes called progressive breaking meaning when you put your foot on the brake peddle and it sent air down the air line to the brakes on the 3 axles the brakes did not all come on at the same time there was progressive breaking one would come on then another then the last one, so as there was no skidding, gently braking however it used the air in the system up quicker,so the engine needed to be at a high reeving speed to keep the air cylinders up to maximum pressure… when you were slowly manoeuvring and using your brakes the air would be going out ,but the brakes would not be jammed on, but one axles would stop you ,any way I was told to go on to a loading bay, it was very tight as there was a truck both sides of where I was to go so lots of manoeuvrings and shunting and when you hit the loading bay dock a green light would come on and that was you ,[you had opened the back doors before all the meeting around] so it was tight getting in as their own company trucks were parked every where just where you wanted to be ,another driver would get out of his cab and help you back up to the bay and that is what a driver did for me.
Time and time again I wished the driver had left me to do it myself, as we were chatting, using the brakes, backwards then forwards, and when I eventually got on to the unloading bay the green light come on , so still chatting I jumped out with the deliver tickets and walked up the 10 steps at the corner of the loading bay into the freezing warehouse, as you walk up the steps you are as high as the roofs of all the trailers parked on the loading bays so it looks like a flat field of roofs ,and all the fridges are off.

SO all the drivers ,some known and some strangers, to me, are drinking coffee and eating sandwiches, mostly home made, the meal for the night workers does not start until 3am in the subsided canteen , I hope I am away before the crew eat as it makes it all get later and they get slower the longer they work.
The odd driver gets told he is finished, and new ones arrive, and at last they call me to say all is good and the unloaded is finished just wait for the empty pallets to be reloaded, so off I go down the steps, talk to driver next door to me, jump in the cab, put the key in the ignition ,start the engine and let it tick over , i jump out the cab again, say something to the driver again [being cocky I expect as I was unloaded before him] I then make for the steps again in to the warehouse to see if the pallets are loaded ,and collect the paper work, and I was told 2/3 minutes and they will be ready so I waited like all the others do.
At that moment I was a happy bunny, soon be away and home,i got the paperwork all signed correct
and opened the door to go down the steps and looked over the trailer roofs again and there was a empty loading bay where I was parked,i thought well what a good chap ,[the driver next to me] he had pulled my truck off the unloading bay so as someone else can get in to the space I had… well that was what I thought…■■■■ me stupid, as I got past the truck alongside the walkway I could hear a commotion ,i did not what it was but as I got further round I could see the Rokold unit parked on a strange angle, I thought oh no !!!he has hit another truck,and as I run round the front of the Rokold cab it is empty, no one is in it, and I run back around the way I had just come and Jesus, the left hand side of my trailer door was stuck in to the cab of the truck next to me, ■■■■ me what has happened… orr no ,i run back to my drivers side jump in the cab, and there is the evidence looking at me, the ■■■■■■■ hand brake was not on!!!ohh no that is me ■■■■■■. In the mean time out comes the driver who s cab I have just ■■■■■■, going ■■■■■■■ bananas.

What has happened is -that when I reached the loading dock doors just by luck or unlucky the air has all gone out of the air reservoirs connected to the trailer brakes and they are firmly on completely empty so it means that all the brakes on the 3 axles are on, so I forget to put the hand brake on[silly me].

He said he had only just had it repaired “look mate I said”its happened its a accident I did it, sorry I turned to sharp , I will back up the truck and you hold the door open then I will park up over there and come back and sort it out . what the blessing was the chap parked next door had gone to see another driver so no one knows what actual happened , and the other was if the truck had not stopped , and got caught up on his front parked up were 3 trucks of bejams dead in line ,where it would have rolled to,now that would have been a major incident [ no health and safety yet]phew lucky or what…

After I had sorted all the paper work out ,truck numbers names extra I had to go and tell the night foreman what I had done so if they had a inquiry they would know. I eventually got away and made my way back to Bedford no damage to our truck and trailer , BUT MY GOD IT SORT OF PUT THE DAMPENERS ON ME.
Once parked back up at Bedford in the fitters yard, I wrote out all that had happened on the back of a envelope [a big brown one] and stuck it in the window and asked John the fitter if he would tell Mr East what I had written down and I would ring after dinner…[so all would know now] no more could I do, but go home and expect the sack, at lest I had given the office a heads up if the other driver rang first thing ,they would know what had happened…

About 2 pm I made the dreaded telephone call asked for the boss, told he was out ,but not to worry the insurance would sort it out, have the rest of the day off ring tomorrow. You could not believe it
just like that all the thinking I was going to get the sack and that was that…

Once I rang the next day, all seemed ok I asked if Robin wanted to speak to me and the traffic manager so no, all ok here is what we want you to do I think it was Wednesday[ not sure]anyway I had to drive the car to Guildford and go to Steve Chities and there is a trailer that will be loaded with beef for Rung-is, market Paris, Jesus Christ, after what I did, they have given me a load that I have never done before , only briefly in France,i have no idea what to do, where to go, ■■■■ me out of the pan into the fire, I thought it is a joke they know I have not had a load of beef before, let alone deliver it, it is either a test to see what I do, if I take it or not, that is what it has got to be, so I thought right, ■■■■ it get on with it, learn as you go, and that is what I done…

[jimbo47]

really enjoying reading this ,the good old days lol then i remember the lack o sleep etc.
wouldnt have missed it for the world. jimmy.

[sir]

Great stuff DBP. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[deckboypeggy]

it looks as if i am going to have to open another topic as i am unable to post once again do you think that will be ok with the rules

[jazzandy]

More excellent stuff DBP! Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

[deckboypeggy]

I Have tried to post in to my last installment unable to again error 403.i have then tried to open another Topic with the next load, error 403 again in a new topic, so i am going to call it quits.i have the same amount as i have posted, on a stick and it is to much for me to type it direct into the topic which it allows me to do. so thank you all…

[cliffystephens]

now what am I supposed to do you gotta have another go at it …really great reading…

[sspros1965]

deckboypeggy:
I Have tried to post in to my last installment unable to again error 403.i have then tried to open another Topic with the next load, error 403 again in a new topic, so i am going to call it quits.i have the same amount as i have posted, on a stick and it is to much for me to type it direct into the topic which it allows me to do. so thank you all…

DBP

Here’s an idea.
Why not mail your writings directly to Rikki to see if he can spot what is going wrong.

After all, after such a great story you cannot leave all your avid readers waiting (just like doing a drop in an RDC) .

BTW - here’s a reminder for you that I found on the web :-

[deckboypeggy]

Yes good old days DAVID COLES a good subbie ,the other daf is one we all shared when needed, both taken in dover. look in the Rokold topic and you will see one similar on it side.

[deckboypeggy]

I had forgotten to ask how you got those photos,was it you who used to stand by the exit some photographers did ,and we used to think they were the ministry,lol.

[sspros1965]

deckboypeggy:
I had forgotten to ask how you got those photos,was it you who used to stand by the exit some photographers did ,and we used to think they were the ministry,lol.

HA HA - 'fraid not, I was way too young at the time to be let loose in Dover on my own.

There are a couple of sites you may want to check out for pics, these are :-

public.fotki.com/Coffers/tru … os/rokold/

facebook.com/pages/Follow-M … tos_stream

You can also just go onto GOOGLE Images and search for Rokold. It is surprising what
is out there on the old Tinternet

BTW, My late father was a driver for Brit European doing a lot of fridge work, tankers and wagon and drags.
He once thought about going on Rokold in the late seventies/early eighties but decided to stay at Brit European.
My dad’s name was Arthur Sproston.

Hope these 2 sites bring back some more memories and you can share them on here.

Steve Sproston

[deckboypeggy]

HI sspros 1965.
No sorry i did not know your dad however there were subbies from the stoke area and drivers who were Rokold drivers from stoke.what if i try to send you the last piece on the present file to see if you are able to post it for me if i can work out how to
.ohh i do remember a chap called clicker from brits…
I am sure RIKKI has enough to do he has already tried to help me .