Some sound reasoning there Orys ! I once saw a french driver killed crossing the road to ask someone for directions, probably with lots of other things on his mind he looked the wrong way crossing the road.
These situations work 2 ways and I am always grateful for directions given when I’m abroad.
wonder if I should sue them for discrimination, as they assume I don’t speak English only because I have Polish surname
I hope not Orys 
, I sent a Xmas card to Bozana, a Polish girl who works in a local cafe, and managed to write the Christmas wishes in Polish even though she speaks perfect English. Maybe the translation wasn’t perfect as she had a fit of giggles when she read it.
del949:
wonder if I should sue them for discrimination, as they assume I don’t speak English only because I have Polish surname
I hope not Orys
Your translation might be perfect, but she propablu giggled because her name was Bożena 
I still remember when I was travelling down the M42 between the A446 and M6 in the eighties with a load of tarmac, while we were constructing the M40, and following a foreign unit and trailer. Suddenly the trailer brakes came on so naturally I came to a halt behind it and assumed a traffic problem (we were in the Granny lane) even though the other two lanes were running well, when the driver appeared at my cab door with a piece of paper and asked me in broken English where Kidderminster was! I can’t recall what I said, but I feel sure that he understood as he threw his hand’s in the air and thumped the back of the trailer with his fist, I was still shaking ten minutes later! 
Pete.
I’ve got a tip for you, don’t ever ask me for directions, I’m pretty good at getting around, once I’ve been somewhere once I can always find my way back there again, I also do ok at arriving in a strange place and using my sense of direction to get where I want to be, but I take no notice of road names or junction numbers, it took me years to get to know the M25 junctions and being a native of inside that road I used it every day for years 
A firm I was working for had four deliveries going to a new warehouse in Scotland, I had made the first delivery there a week or so earlier, so had the lead position, the others had asked me where it was, but…see above, so I went in front, I knew where I was going and when we got to a big roundabout I decided to have a bit of fun, so I did three or four laps and for the first couple of laps my mates thought it was quite amusing, then I managed to catch the last one up and shot off at the correct exit and turned my lights off, none of them had seen which exit I’d taken and they went round a few more times before they realised that I was no longer there, it took them a good half an hour to find the place, I thought it was hilarious, they thought I was a self pleasurer
orys:
Muckaway:
As I said I do when they’re stupid enough to park in a dangerous place just to get them shifted. I’ve helped a few German drivers-I can remember a bit of German from school and they seem to know bits of English so we achieve something. I’ve helped a Czech driver once as my brother in laws wife is Czech and she worked at the garage where we were refuelling in; I knew the directions, she translated it. Bet the driver thought it was his lucky day…Nowadays it’s not hard to find some Czech/Polish speaking person, so if he does it often, he might be used to it.
I got Polish surname, so I have very often situations like list Thursday. The bodyshop called me about my car and the guy said very slowly very loudly: You wait, please, we give phone to someone who explain" and then they passed the phone to the Polish engineer who works for them…
For Polish me it’s very nice of them that they try to give me Polish speaking person, but on the other hand I feel a little British already so I wonder if I should sue them for discrimination, as they assume I don’t speak English only because I have Polish surname
I’ve had a few jobs where all the labourers are Polish and speak very little English-giving one of these guys the job as banksman is irresponsible on the part of the site manager/homeowner having the work done. The 3 Poles in question just about managed to string along enough English to understand what the load was so I tipped, got ticket signed and was gone…
windrush:
I still remember when I was travelling down the M42 between the A446 and M6 in the eighties with a load of tarmac, while we were constructing the M40, and following a foreign unit and trailer. Suddenly the trailer brakes came on so naturally I came to a halt behind it and assumed a traffic problem (we were in the Granny lane) even though the other two lanes were running well, when the driver appeared at my cab door with a piece of paper and asked me in broken English where Kidderminster was! I can’t recall what I said, but I feel sure that he understood as he threw his hand’s in the air and thumped the back of the trailer with his fist, I was still shaking ten minutes later!Pete.
That’s my point, Pete; yes, they might be lost but why park on a motorway/ on a pedestrian crossing or somewhere else iffy…If I’m not sure where I am, at least I have the sense to pull in a gateway, industrial estate or layby (if the council haven’t blocked it to stop the peg sellers).
Way back in the 60s when TV was B&W not 3D, I was waiting in a back street in Halifax for some customer to start work. I was driving a 4 wheeler with a box body and parked close to the wall on my left because the street was narrow.
A big artic pulled up alongside me and the driver scrambled over and wound the window down to ask for directions. Although I wasn’t a local I often delivered around there and the name seemed familar, so I was pretty confident when I sent him off to the other side of town.
I was mortified when I checked my delivery note and realised that I was actually in the street he wanted; not only that, but I was hiding the street sign.
I made a quick getaway that moring.
Grayham:
I always say to anyone never ask me for directions, because my mind just seems to go blank, til about five minutes after they’ve gone and I’ve realised where they’re going and how to get there, I’m just (zb) when I’m put on the spotThe other day one of the newer drivers asked me for directions to a builders merchants in Uxbridge, felt pretty chuffed that I’d remembered the way to go…til about ten minutes after he’d gone And I realised id directed him to one in Slough
Hiya… please tell me the name of that huge builders yard in Uxbridge, i used to do charcon loads into their years ago,
as soon as i read it i thought (BLANK)…Its perhaps changed names now but it was a good turnround as he had a clamp
like at hulland ward.I think LOCKTITE was next door aaaaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhh its driving me made now.George■■?
John
Hiya …I gave a chap directions one day. he had run from Leeds to a paper mill nr Taunton. (you can see it off the M5)
the chap said this is Devon paper mill is,nt it mate■■? I gave him directions to Devon mill. Do you know where jubliee way
on the A2 is mate. he looked white. I said go past the castle and down the bank into Dover. god he went pale then.
any howe he asked the forktruck driver who confirimed what i,d said, well i helped him close the curtains and off he went
like mad. I tipped my pallet and as i left the mill the chap was waiting for the tyre firm he,d caught a girder and blow a
tyre off his trailer.thats a bad bad day .
John
Travis Perkins (or Keyline-they’re the same now)?
Muckaway:
Travis Perkins (or Keyline-they’re the same now)?
Hiya …cheers mate i,ll still have to phone a friend to get the name. i knew keyline had
money troubles 15 years ago but did,nt know TP owned them now… mind you i retired in 02
so a little out on the news scene nowadays. we did keyline reading /sheffield untill i finished but
stacks of them closed before that.
cheers john
newmercman:
A firm I was working for had four deliveries going to a new warehouse in Scotland, I had made the first delivery there a week or so earlier, so had the lead position, the others had asked me where it was, but…see above, so I went in front, I knew where I was going and when we got to a big roundabout I decided to have a bit of fun, so I did three or four laps and for the first couple of laps my mates thought it was quite amusing, then I managed to catch the last one up and shot off at the correct exit and turned my lights off, none of them had seen which exit I’d taken and they went round a few more times before they realised that I was no longer there, it took them a good half an hour to find the place, I thought it was hilarious, they thought I was a self pleasurer
PMSL
3300John:
Muckaway:
Travis Perkins (or Keyline-they’re the same now)?Hiya …cheers mate i,ll still have to phone a friend to get the name. i knew keyline had
money troubles 15 years ago but did,nt know TP owned them now… mind you i retired in 02
so a little out on the news scene nowadays. we did keyline reading /sheffield untill i finished but
stacks of them closed before that.
cheers john
Our invoices read “Travis Perkins Keyline”…But then most large builders merchants are either them, Jewsons or (Whatever) Center…
Muckaway:
I’ve had a few jobs where all the labourers are Polish and speak very little English-giving one of these guys the job as banksman is irresponsible on the part of the site manager/homeowner having the work done. The 3 Poles in question just about managed to string along enough English to understand what the load was so I tipped, got ticket signed and was gone…
Yeah, that’s the other side of the coin
Maybe they don’t expected British drivers? 