im sure i watched a bbc doc about an od with a trans con who was taking 40 ft containers down to genoa in italy im sure he always wore a trck magazine sweatshirt a lot of guys said the film was out of sequence because of the cerdon and mont blanc the music was by a famouse composer i think anyone remember this?? When i was a younger and i might add greener i remember meeting a guy from essex international who ran 20 footers down to italy and came back with an empty skelly he had a 111 i think we were parked up for the night somewhere in france and he introduced me to the delights of camion stew!!! who cared what it tasted like after some (or should i say a lot) vino collapso !! ps truckyboy KJJ 291P ring any bells ■■ cheers all
I think that is the same programme I have on video (on the same tape as a third hand copy of destination doha!)
It was a one off documentary. I’ll dig the tape out and find out what it was.
There used to be a small firm from the Tiptree area that ran an old DAF 2800 and a 20’ skelly to Italy,and ‘bounce’ home empty.
When I was on Archers I also did a trip down to Livorno with a 20’ box in the middle of a 40’ flatbed,for this company.
It was a hazardous box going to Tripoli,Libya and I’m not sure whether the sanctions were on against Libya then?
Anyway,Fred sent me off with said container as well as some sheets,ropes,chains and stretchers.I met up with a driver from Funstons in Calais and we ran down together over Mont Cenis,he was running down empty to load peaches (there’s a story in this somewhere) and I eventually loaaded some big iron castings back from nr Verona somewhere.
Memory is a wonderful…er,where was I?
That’s what we used to do for Micky White back in the early 80s KW.
40’ & 20’ containers in tilts down to Savona docks for the ship to Libya.
Once had a helluva ‘do’ at the police post at the bottom of the climb up to the Blanc. I had paint inside and the paperwork gave the flashpoint in Fahrenheit. Was there about 4 hours on a Saturday afternoon, desperate to get down on the beach for the weekend.
Once there stripping down and rebuilding those old tilts (all posts and boards would fit only one place) was a major job. Good job there was usually a few of us.
Talking of Mont Cenis, we started using that to avoid paying the Tunnel. Very spectacular. Trouble was my 89 needed a breather half way up - got a little hot.
But going down on the Italian side was an experience with a stepframe, the rear bar dug into the road on each hairpin.
Once we stopped for a break and saw a Spanish frigo driver in the back helping himself to a few ‘apples’. He kindly donated a couple but I nearly broke my teeth, they weren’t apples but (very) chilled peaches. Ouch 
Salut, David.
WE do the same at my firm here in germany we send 3containers inti ITALY and take one ourselves ,we use the train from FREIBURG:NOVERA
and after doing all the containers ie unloading going to BUSTO change round, we place the last one in BUSTO and bring back a loadof steel for germany normally around 30tons as with the use of the train allows44tn
weights, Our trailers are speacially built with a wooden floor and can take
a 20ft container they also weigh only 3.5tn ,so we are all ways running
loaded where ever we go with these trailers.
The documentary was one of the BBC ‘Inside Story’ series and was called ‘A Run For Your Money’.
The owner driver featured was Bob McAngus, and he took a 40’ container loaded with furniture to Trieste for final shipping to Doha in Qatar.
I believe Eggs on Legs got a mention at one stage…
marky:
The owner driver featured was Bob McAngus, and he took a 40’ container loaded with furniture to Trieste for final shipping to Doha in Qatar.…
That rings a bell Marky, how long ago was this? He wasn’t the one who ‘blew the gaff’ about all the corruption crossing borders in the old days, was he?
I remember his name (or whoever it was) was mud for a long time after because it made the job a bit more difficult, with everyone looking over their shoulders for cameras etc.
If it is the one I am thinking of it featured a very full and rowdy Bakehouse at Macon.
Salut, David
You’re right, the Bakehouse at Macon was particularly rowdy on camera for some reason…
I got the impression that Mr McAngus wasn’t entirely representative of the profession - he seemed a bit too keen to portray himself as the ‘creme de la creme’. He continually spouted about the availability of counterfeit carnets in the UK, and was also filmed buying Scotch and ■■■■ to bribe the border controls (and explained that he would be doing so later in the journey). I bet he had a difficult time with his agents after that was shown…
He totally lost credibility in my eyes when he got out of the cab (in the middle of a service area) wearing nothing but a pair of y-fronts, then proceeded to get dressed on the tarmac!!
I think, judging by the condition of the motor and the registration that it was filmed in around 1976-77. The wagon was named ‘Lady Diana’ but that was explained as being in honour of his wife, not the famous one a few years later.
I don’t remember this documentary, but whenever the media show anything on TV or film, they have to sensationalise it.
You only have to remember that bloke who did Stanley Bull for DT.
Normal days for drivers are fairly repetitive, they could not just show a driver ■■■■■■■ and picking his nose for 9 hours, then sleeping and ■■■■■■■ for another 11 hours.
The guy liked to be called Supertramp if i remember and thanks to his little bit on tv caused all sorts of problems after it was aired, if youve seen the documentry you will know what i am on about, some of which has been said above, and from what i was told after that program he didn’t do much more work,(that and no one would talk to him) think as truck magazine at the time took a shine to him he took his transcon down to a film nite truck were having, think one of the films was White line fever, Im sure he managed to put the top of the transcon cab through the cinema canopy that they used to have outside cinemas. In the same vain ‘Big H’ who’s best line in the whole documentry was ‘Big H is going to bed’ did the same for Davies Turner in Turkey, don’t remember what the documentry was called, dont even know if big H is about anymore as i aint seen him for years. Moral of the story is, if you want to appear on tv its best to keep it legit, as its a big medium and all sorts of people watch.
sdj
Mr DJC…KJJ 291p does ring a bell…but what comes to mind is S.A.S. when i worked for them in bromley…thats the only 291p that i remember if my memory serves me right…correct me if i`m wrong
Biggles:
The guy liked to be called Supertramp if i remember and thanks to his little bit on tv caused all sorts of problems after it was aired, if youve seen the documentry you will know what i am on about, some of which has been said above, and from what i was told after that program he didn’t do much more work,(that and no one would talk to him) think as truck magazine at the time took a shine to him he took his transcon down to a film nite truck were having, think one of the films was White line fever, Im sure he managed to put the top of the transcon cab through the cinema canopy that they used to have outside cinemas.
sdj
Mr. McAngus did indeed turn up to the premiere of White Line Fever in Leicester Square, along with Pat Kennett in a Marathon, and others (including the Union Jack ERF).
He parked an F88 he was driving under the glass gantry at the front of the cinema and smashed it to hell, causing chaos.
thanks trucky boy i knew i was right !!! I used to work in their yard on saturday mornings transhipping the bacon with good old mr parsons "mr tracy " i think the drivers called him because he used to walk just like a thunderbirds puppet!! that was when i was at college and 15 pounds wasnt bad for a mornings work then ! when it was time for the summer hols a mr smallcombe
gave me a lift to dover in his atki and on to the ferry where we met (at the bar as one did then im ashamed to say )a guy called budgie who drove for laceys out of barking essex i think he had a 110 super he was going to crowes in milan he was a lovely guy and very funny ! He had a ventriloquist dummy which used to have a chair and place settings at each restaurant he stopped at.
Budgie used to be able to make the dummy order its own food ( I kid you not ) Maybe somebody remembers him, i think his real name was Jeff Chaplin.
Does anyone remember moogs disco in Aosta? ( as you can see my daughter is now typing this hence the better grammer ) We met a guy there called Steve who was driving for Matdemar, part of Mat Transport ( i think!) he had a fold down bunk (basically a day sleeper) What a weekend we had !
I hope i haven’t bored anyone but there will be more to come when my memory serves me right !! P.S I am still looking for various photos of my 88’ reg OVB 735S
Cheers, D J C
David…i remember you…at S.A.S…remember ruth…she was the one who started the firm along with an ex SAS man.then bought him out…they had to get permission from the regiment to use the name…of course steve the pole…chris hooper…wally…and a few others who i forgot…do you remember when the customs raided the yard…and all of our homes …looking for imported old holborn and reminded us all that it was illegal to keep more than one weeks supply at a time…i remember young john being so scared he turned white…and told customs that he was always reminding the drivers about smuggling…lying b.stard…he only just put the notices up when they left…good job though…till i was sacked for not driving down to london when i was tired…i had gone up to preston to load fresh killed lambs for germany…but broke down on the way…so the boss (john0 wanted me to include the breakdown as part of my break…which took 8 hours to fix…so i said i was going to have my break when i got to preston…anyway i did drive to germany and got back to the yard at the weekend…on monday morning i arrived at the yard to find my stuff in plastic bags…and my truck gone…john gave me a broom and told me to sweep the yard as punishment for daring to defy him…so i promised to stick the broom up his backside…and decided to tell him to stick the job there as well…end of a good job…but i dont sweep up for anyone…i`m a driver…but good luck to ya dave…are you still in the industry ■■
regards bob
Biggles:
The guy liked to be called Supertramp if i remember and thanks to his little bit on tv caused all sorts of problems after it was aired, if youve seen the documentry you will know what i am on about, some of which has been said above, and from what i was told after that program he didn’t do much more work,(that and no one would talk to him) think as truck magazine at the time took a shine to him he took his transcon down to a film nite truck were having, think one of the films was White line fever, Im sure he managed to put the top of the transcon cab through the cinema canopy that they used to have outside cinemas. In the same vain ‘Big H’ who’s best line in the whole documentry was ‘Big H is going to bed’ did the same for Davies Turner in Turkey, don’t remember what the documentry was called, dont even know if big H is about anymore as i aint seen him for years. Moral of the story is, if you want to appear on tv its best to keep it legit, as its a big medium and all sorts of people watch.
sdj
big h lol abonded the truck in thesolonika on the way home i know because i had to drive it to the wherehouse for dts agent to reload it etc with carnat probs i went from the docks to there wherehouse and then tiped my own he flew home for some reasson only going on what the agent told me about the filming etc