Davies Int. Southampton. With photos (Part 1)

[peggydeckboy]

Good Evening Buzzer, and all fellow followers of your posts,including our northern [most welcome friends]ehh .I have been away again [not with her majesty] a freebie,i have been a few hours back reading the posts ,[where to start] Andrew,brilliant photos i have been on that run, and road so many times it would bore you, try counting the tunnels from the Vent to LA spezia…however i loved it, there used to the last service station before the vent was a IDS .

Used to clear at Marseillie airport lambs for HEYARS,and NICE-EST MARKET,then empty to FIENZE, fruit after a wash out…
I like the photo of the old folks day trip out ,no nurses to be seen, if i was there i would look the same as them, tattoos both fore arms,nice belly,all paid for.good on them.i did not like to travel mob handed i would have been the driver somewhere else…

Scotland, what can i say, roads brilliant all the verges nicely cut,[Nicola knows where to spend the eu cash,i never seen one old motor, all top of the range a credit to the company’s. so much country unoccupied ,a expresses train from Calais to Edinburgh would change there vote??
The Farming seems about a month behind us crops still greenish ,some hay been got in,i seen only 1 Aberdeen Angus, lots of limis, cheroli. i stayed at BANCORY south of Aberdeen known as little England by the locals,i have never seen as many top of the range 4x4s all makes some one has some dosh ,maybe from the oil.
i enjoyed a long tramp around the docks i felt at home ,massive shipping equipment, old hat to the locals but to me wow.

just one episode spoilt the whole holiday ,"The plaza union square station"lovely centre, good food out lets,inside once outside you are confronted by the dregs of, Scotland with in two minutes my wife and me had been bum -rushed by 4 differnt youths for ,[give us some money[any spare change and then try ■■■■■■■■[ the others were riding around people on bikes h arising them i could not belive it a pure pure disgrace .my god if cites in this country are like that well i give up.

I would put money on that no local goes any where near that plaza, im sorry Scotland ,my wife is half SCOTS, …thanks Buzzer but i had to share just that.yes i know i expect it is the same in other big city’s, but every one around us/me then were visitors…

[buzzer]

PDB away on your hols eh, lucky for some but at your time of life I suspect you have earned that. when ever I have been to Scotland I always think how beautiful the place is as a lot is unspoilt still and a lot less traffic than down here. You and I both travelled Europe extensively in our work and I have been to some nice places in my time but here in the UK there are certainly some fantastic scenery to be admired.
Today I cleaned out all my stables with me little Avant loader only took two hours to do then mowed the paths and lawn, there is not much growth but it does cut of the weeds that spirt up above every thing else and it looks tidy when you have finished, I have a ride on that mulches so no grass box to empty.
My suckler calves have found the hard grub in the creep feed and that never took them long. Got to go and get some pigs soon as the freezer is looking a bit sparse in the sausage department so that is on my to do list in the not to distant future.
Suppose Wrighty got his second cut haylage in before the weather broke, hope so as it is depressing when it gets rained on and makes for a whole load more work. He has got his work cut out combining a driving job with the farm as well, bet I know what he likes best Buzzer.

[wrighty]

Evening Buzzer

Well just had three days off farming so back to it tomorrow going down to Aylesbury, bloody typical our broadbands been off so Alice spoke to “Brian” in Bombay and hey presto he managed to get us re-connected (something the BT engineer failed to do when he was at the house this afternoon) anyway musnt grumble.
It certainly rained up ere yesterday with over two inches of water, and today was scorching hot bloody british weather…

Cheers Wrighty.

[buzzer]

Yesterdays exploits took the team down to Lee on Solent for there run out, not a parking place to be had so we opted for the “you cant park here slot” but no one bothered us, a nice mug of tea and sausage & chips and very disappointed that on the hottest day of the year there was no ice cream van to greet further along the coast.
Checked cattle on the marsh at eight pm and filled up the water troughs then as I have to pass the pub it would have been rude not to have a pint as it was still very hot at 8.30 pm.
Today it forecast rain but that never came to much but I had opted to making Damson jam and bloody good it is as well, deep maroon in colour and tart just how I like it but a pain to make as you have to get all the little stones out which is tedious process but we got there in the end and seventeen and a half jars for the store, cheers Buzzer.

[bewick]

It looks very suspiciously to me Buzzer that you was sitting waiting and touting for Punters to jog up and down the sea fron’t but they obviously weren’t having none of your exorbitant South coast prices, well they only use one 'orse in Blackpool and they seat 6 in their landaus. Now did I ever tell you of the time I sold two matched Cleveland Bay 3 year olds to an ■■■■■■■■ dealer in Blacpool who thought she ( yes She) had put one over on me But she had bought the biggest pair of screws on four legs, I often wondered how they went one and did they ever get to work of Blackpool fron’t !

[buzzer]

Dennis I don’t know what aspersions you are trying to imply about a reputable member of the locality, but I can always fall back on jam sales its £5 a pot plus carriage should you be interested, cheers Buzzer.

[bewick]

Buzzer:
Dennis I don’t know what aspersions you are trying to imply about a reputable member of the locality, but I can always fall back on jam sales its £5 a pot plus carriage should you be interested, cheers Buzzer.

Is that trade price to me Buzzer ? I’ll take the lot ! Or if it is retail I’ll just have the one complimentary pot thank you ! So where did you source your Damsons from ? up here near us there is a place called The Lythe Valley and it is a reputed Damson growing area, maybe not as famous as it was because apparently the younger generation of farmers aren’t much interested in labour intensive work these days. Cheers Dennis.

[buzzer]

Bewick:

Buzzer:
Dennis I don’t know what aspersions you are trying to imply about a reputable member of the locality, but I can always fall back on jam sales its £5 a pot plus carriage should you be interested, cheers Buzzer.

Is that trade price to me Buzzer ? I’ll take the lot ! Or if it is retail I’ll just have the one complimentary pot thank you ! So where did you source your Damsons from ? up here near us there is a place called The Lythe Valley and it is a reputed Damson growing area, maybe not as famous as it was because apparently the younger generation of farmers aren’t much interested in labour intensive work these days. Cheers Dennis.

Have a top fruit and veg man ex barrow boy from the outskirts of London and he has himself installed now in a Hillier’s Garden Centre in a annex with a butcher to the back of him and the place is always heaving, I just tell him what I need and when in season he gets it and rings me. Of course there used to be a fruit and veg market in Southampton but that is all but gone now and Mack’s have a place on an Industrial estate on the west of Southampton and he gets most of his stuff from them plus a bit from local growers. Love making the jam but always make it with less sugar than most as I like my jam a bit on the tart side but so do a lot of me egg customers as well as a lot I diabetic and have to watch the old sugar content. The Damsons were English probably from Evesham way but a tad on the small side, put half in the freezer for another rainy day cheers Buzzer.

[peggydeckboy]

Wow Buzzer that jam looks very good,how much sugar went in to them there pots?i bet you have a few over for damson wine,my old nan used to have damson " wine for medicinal purposes , i can still hear the old cork being pulled out…

Just to report,my new NHS hearing aids are brilliant,i forgot that you are supposed to hear other people talking,and when tapping this key board sounds like a tap dancer,or like the boots i ./we used to wear ,when on the meat and markets clicking about,we called them "skegs"on the toes and heels ,slippy when washing the trailer out though.
yes i /we are lucky to have had 2 holidays already, but only had to find the petrol,and food dosh… my main event is to Crete myself ,to hot for the boss,10 days of peace, “no, you better change that shirt you have had it on one day,etc”…researching sitting on my ■■■■ in the sun…i would have rather gone as second man on a good 2 week trip in some old truck,but the insurance would be to high, its high enough for 10 days as it.pdb.

[buzzer]

PDB had 14lb of Damsons and they had 3 kilos of preserving sugar but they are very sour to start with, had some on toast for breakfast this morning and although I told Dennis it was £5 a jar after tasting it it’s going to have to be £6.50 to slow down the rush of clients banging on me door. The colour is beautiful and I could see me self having a truck in the same shade but now Im’e getting a bit carried away.
My mate had some deaf aids like you are on about but he could not handle them as he thought every one was shouting at him then he realized he could turn em down a bit but he don’t like them as he feels a bit self conscious wearing them as he thinks it puts him in the old gits category which he is in any way, cheers Buzzer.

[rigsby]

Buzzer:
PDB had 14lb of Damsons and they had 3 kilos of preserving sugar but they are very sour to start with, had some on toast for breakfast this morning and although I told Dennis it was £5 a jar after tasting it it’s going to have to be £6.50 to slow down the rush of clients banging on me door. The colour is beautiful and I could see me self having a truck in the same shade but now Im’e getting a bit carried away.
My mate had some deaf aids like you are on about but he could not handle them as he thought every one was shouting at him then he realized he could turn em down a bit but he don’t like them as he feels a bit self conscious wearing them as he thinks it puts him in the old gits category which he is in any way, cheers Buzzer.

If you don’t wear hearing aids you hav’nt driven proper lorries for a living buzzer . dave

[wrighty]

Afternoon Buzzer

Busy day today tipped Settle now loading cream at Lockerbie for Westbury in the morning, this is going to be fun in Friday traffic but it all brings weekend.
Another calf born this morning and one yesterday so it’s pretty busy up ere, luckily Alice is at home keeping the job going…

Cheers Wrighty.

[peggydeckboy]

Bloody hell Wrighty what a job you have ,like a holiday, i bet you have never had any stressful days at work ,more at home on the farm…lol

Buzzer the jam ,what a wonderful idea of the colour for a truck.but who would driver it,the nick name would be “here comes damson head” or" sweet tooth"or “no pips Davies”.i like all jams however sugar does not like me,[weight wise].so yes export it up to Northern contingent ,they might send some Herd-wick lamb down ,part ex…
Buzzer as for your mate and his aids,no need to be self concuss,who cares ,no one,i thought i would be the same but i took to them.yes in the house everything is loud ,walking on floors the kettle,everything,[ablutions] however the main event the Telly the best yet i can hear it and the wife is not drowned out with sound so a happy house [for a time],also i now can hear the indicators clicking when using them while driving i could not before i have been back to specsave and they have turned the sound for me down, 2 mins job… its like persevering when you have had 5 pints and you strugle to get the last bit down, to get another, its the same with hearing aids,no one can see you or the aids…

Rigsby yes you are 100%correct ,we were in the game at the best time however we never new it.the noise was part of that game we never complained.yes the exhaust right under your offside window ish was a bit too much but that was the sound we all loved[barking mad] we drove by our ears …pdb

[oiltreader]

Interesting this thread is Buzzer , not just about lorries but also lorry drivers and skills taught many years ago, re your domestic duties input, jam making etc takes me back to my early days before we(in the sticks) didn’t have fridges in fact not even electric until about '46, from our garden my mother cropped and made gooseberry, raspberry, black, red and white currant jam, from the countryside elderberry wine, rose hip syrup, also ginger beer for which you started it off with a ginger plant culture. Dad had a few hives of bees, so always plenty honey both heather and clover, chickens for eggs and one for the pot at Christmas. Pigeon, wild duck, rabbit, hare which was sometimes jugged also trout. Grouse, pheasant, partridge and salmon a bit rarer as they were usually obtained by stealth with emphasis on the the first letters of the word being as they “belonged” to some laird or another.
While living in Cowley, I had a 7 pole allotment and a great mentor in the previous holder of the lease, a master gardener( he was 85), he came by one day when I was cutting down some nettles along the bank of the stream that ran through “Now then boy, you just be leaving them, the cabbage butterfly will lay its eggs on them and not your cabbages” how right he was, he was a gem and a gent.

To pdb and your quote the noise was part of that game well to me it was an orchestra and the gear lever was my baton, all music to the ears no matter what make.
Oily

[david_miller]

Wrighty.
You come down our way with that fine looking rig - either that or its one of your colleagues. I seem to see that tank between Coleshill and the turn off to Nether Whitacre. , always looking really good. Congratulations.

David

[wrighty]

Evening men

Yes DBP it can get stressful but been doin it long enough not to let it bother us, like you say more hassle at home at times but we muddle on…

Cheers David try and keep the old girl clean and polished up, she will be four in November and is showing 825000 kms on the clock.
We have a yard nr Kingsbury so that’s where they will most likely be heading… I’m just leaving lymm back in to the traffic heading for a 7am tip in Westbury in the morning.

Cheers Wrighty.

[peggydeckboy]

Ahh wrighty Westbury, that would not be at yorgurt factory by any chance,why i ask in the early 1980s we /not me, Rokold had a job delivering from a FRANCE.

oiltreader Jesus how on earth did you manage a allotment that length hope it was not too wide, 93 yards long .hope you had some help.

[wrighty]

Probably a different dairy PDB Westbury dairies opened in 2003 I think and started off as a drying plant producing milk powder, and In the last 2 or 3 yrs they have installed a butter plant.

Well I battled bank holiday traffic until 19.30 and then called it a day at Stafford, early start in the morning should see me in Westbury at 7.30 ish…

Cheers Wrighty.

[buzzer]

Well chaps it is very satisfying to here that you enjoy our thread, it is what it is only for the input of many who in some way have a sort of common ground. Tizz true that many in haulage have some agricultural background in fact many have left the farming life behind and followed transport as a living but deep down they hanker back to there roots just as I do.
Some cannot understand the pure pleasure I get from walking round a field watching the stock as they feed and grow, it is surely not for the money for in reality little or none is made just the enjoyment of reliving ones past and having a bit of that back.
Oily recalling his youth with all those good things his parents procured in one way or another and yet it is only when you look back in our later years you realize the real values in life, no super markets back then maybe a village provision store, a baker, a butcher and so on all plying there trade to make a living. Some times when you look back you think it was better back then when we still had seasons and only had things available in those times of the year unlike today when you can procure things year round.
Then we have Wrighty and although he still drives for his crust when you hear his input you have no need to be a brain surgeon to realize where his real heart lies, both hard work but I have a pretty shrewd idea which he would choose if push came to shove.
Dennis a self made man who built a successful empire in transport and then sold it but one wonders if he still has a hankering about the old job but then I think no as today it is a very different playing field to when he was in his prime and going great guns, something about the job when all goes well and a sort of great satisfaction when reclining in the office chair thinking im’e in charge here.
PDB drove for a living, a self confessed loner but that’s ok as you don’t get into so many arguments that way and probably got a lot more done at the end of the day, a regular contributor on here and likes the banter too, keeps in touch with his past with the aid of a computer and no more stress or deadlines to meet.
Andrew “snapper” Morrison who kept us in touch with International holiday routes (and a bit of work) thrown in, sadly gone for the moment but he may return and still posts pictures of his travels even if its not a Davies truck in focus all the time, just reminded us who used to do the job of what its like today, not the same as the old days as they are history not to be repeated but we have to move on.
All in all quite a well rounded thread with interest on many subjects, a wide cross section and diverse subjects makes for an interesting read with some humour to boot so thanks to all for you contributions no matter how small as this is a bit like real life archers with diesel thrown in for good measure so lets hope it keeps going and if you are any thing like me you check in on a regular basis to see what’s going on both down on the farm and on the road, cheers to all Buzzer.

PS. sorry if I did not mention you but includes all contributions made on this thread so don’t feel left out and carry on posting.

[oiltreader]

peggydeckboy:
Ahh wrighty Westbury, that would not be at yorgurt factory by any chance,why i ask in the early 1980s we /not me, Rokold had a job delivering from a FRANCE.

oiltreader Jesus how on earth did you manage a allotment that length hope it was not too wide, 93 yards long .hope you had some help.

Typo there pdb should read 7 pole, the plot was from memory roughly 75ft by 30ft (originally 2 plots). Had it for approx. 20 years until '84. Weather and daylight permitting, religiously gave it an hour a day, two on Sundays, keeping in mind my ‘mentor’ walked past everyday keeping an eye on things My late wife used to get fed up blanching runner and broad beans for the freezer which were harvested by the sackful, no kidding, brilliant veg broccoli, purple sprouting, cabbage ( heeling in the ground before planting to give firm hearting), kale, cauli (same as with the cabbage), carrots, onions, shallots, leeks (dibber a hole drop the leek in and fill with water), early potatoes Pentland Javelin, main crop Golden Wonder and King Edwards. Marrows grown where the dung heap had been and rhubarb which was dug up at the end of the year, the crowns turned upside down to the frost (my mentor) in the spring divided and replanted, Not good at the sprouts, not firm enough, beetroot was another less successful crop.
Might bore you with some photos if I can find them.
Oily