Inspired by Jazzandy 'Cutting it Fine'

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS OLD TIME LORRIES, COMPANIES AND DRIVERS (INTERACT
21

Part 6

Merry Xmas…

Famous last words, we hadn’t done 50k’s when we were pulled by them, we must
have looked a right sorry state to them, a truck with no windows towing one with a
knackered engine 2 days before Christmas.
Unfortunately, they were not at all impressed with our sorry tale, it cut no ice with
these boys, they fined us both about £50 each and told us to get off their motorway!
So that was that, I was off the tow bar again, and driving the knackered engined
motor to the port of Zeebrugge.
We got to the Total garage just outside the port where John decides to leave both
trucks there, his plan being to go back to pick up the trailer we left behind at the
German/Czech border, after Christmas.
We were lucky enough to find two lads shipping overwho were willing to take us
across as 2nd men, John got in one a few trucks ahead of the one that I was going
with, when loading started, he was on the ferry…and I had to wait for the next one,
4hrs later.
Not to worry, I thought, I’ll see him at Dover.
We disembarked at Dover at around 5pm, straight to the Wheelhouse (a drivers cafe
on Dover Port), need to find John, I’ve got no money ‘cause I gave it all to him at the
Log Cabin, and I wanted my leather coat back, it was freezing just in a light jumper!
Searched high and low for him, nowhere to be seen.
Coming out of the Clearing agents block, was the driver of the wagon John had
shipped across with, “ Do you know where John, the lad you brought across, is?” I
asked, “He’s gone, mate, soon as we reached the water guard he was off! He got a
lift almost straight away!” he replied.
That’s just great, I thought…stranded in Dover…no money…no coat…on the day
before Christmas Eve!
Back in the Wheelhouse, the driver that had broughtme across saw me come in and
called me over, “Not found him yet then?” he asked,I told him what had happened
when John reached the water guard and that basically, I was stranded! “No problem”
he said “I should be cleared in a few minutes, I’m going to Manchester and I’ll drop
you at home, if you drive some of the way!” How could I refuse that!
Took a turn at driving, he gave me a thick woollen sweater, told me to keep it, and by
about 9.30pm I was jumping out by my local Railway station. I thanked the driver for all
his help and said my goodbyes and before long I was getting off the bus at the stop
outside our front door!
10pm on the day before Christmas Eve, now that’s what I call CUTTING IT FINE!!
END

22

Part 6

Merry Xmas…

Famous last words, we hadn’t done 50k’s when we were pulled by them, we must
have looked a right sorry state to them, a truck with no windows towing one with a
knackered engine 2 days before Christmas.
Unfortunately, they were not at all impressed with our sorry tale, it cut no ice with
these boys, they fined us both about £50 each and told us to get off their motorway!
So that was that, I was off the tow bar again, and driving the knackered engined
motor to the port of Zeebrugge.
We got to the Total garage just outside the port where John decides to leave both
trucks there, his plan being to go back to pick up the trailer we left behind at the
German/Czech border, after Christmas.
We were lucky enough to find two lads shipping overwho were willing to take us
across as 2nd men, John got in one a few trucks ahead of the one that I was going
with, when loading started, he was on the ferry…and I had to wait for the next one,
4hrs later.
Not to worry, I thought, I’ll see him at Dover.
We disembarked at Dover at around 5pm, straight to the Wheelhouse (a drivers cafe
on Dover Port), need to find John, I’ve got no money ‘cause I gave it all to him at the
Log Cabin, and I wanted my leather coat back, it was freezing just in a light jumper!
Searched high and low for him, nowhere to be seen.
Coming out of the Clearing agents block, was the driver of the wagon John had
shipped across with, “ Do you know where John, the lad you brought across, is?” I
asked, “He’s gone, mate, soon as we reached the water guard he was off! He got a
lift almost straight away!” he replied.
That’s just great, I thought…stranded in Dover…no money…no coat…on the day
before Christmas Eve!
Back in the Wheelhouse, the driver that had broughtme across saw me come in and
called me over, “Not found him yet then?” he asked,I told him what had happened
when John reached the water guard and that basically, I was stranded! “No problem”
he said “I should be cleared in a few minutes, I’m going to Manchester and I’ll drop
you at home, if you drive some of the way!” How could I refuse that!
Took a turn at driving, he gave me a thick woollen sweater, told me to keep it, and by
about 9.30pm I was jumping out by my local Railway station. I thanked the driver for all
his help and said my goodbyes and before long I was getting off the bus at the stop
outside our front door!
10pm on the day before Christmas Eve, now that’s what I call CUTTING IT FINE!!
END

23

Hi Pete.You can’t leave us hanging like that.What happened with the truck,your job,your mate,did you earn well :wink: Mike

24

after all that crap i would imagine he jacked…

25

I thought it seemed quite a normal trip for the times.Mike

26

hutpik:
Hi Pete.You can’t leave us hanging like that.What happened with the truck,your job,your mate,did you earn well :wink: Mike

John (RIP) was a rough diamond, a down to earth, straight talking guy, most importantly, he was my best friend for over 30 years!

After the debacle of that trip, we had a little falling out. In his way of thinking he kind of blamed me for the wagon freezing up, and I,
of course, put the blame back on him, after all, he did the servicing! We didn’t speak to each other for 6 months.

I was on trip money, and for that trip I didn’t get, or expect to get, paid, after all, John had lost enough that trip. I know that he managed
to retrieve both units and trailers after Cristmas, but he did it without my help.

On the day after Boxing day, I was invited for a drink at the local pub by the owner of the lorry workshop where I got John to sevice his
motors, and he told me that he was in the workshop when John was preparing my unit just before that last trip, he’d said to John to help
himself to the antifreeze, and that John had replied “F**k that, I’ll do it next time!” (?!? this was December!)

All’s well that ends well, as they say, the workshop owner had a couple of trucks working for Richmonds doing Spain, and gave me a
job. That lasted for over 2 years and although I didn’t expect to, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Especially as met quite a few lads that had done
middle east work about the same time as I’d done my 10 or so trips to Baghdad.

John and I made up eventually, and we did go on to have further escapades with trucks, though I NEVER worked for him again.
Pete

27

All is well that ends well. What became of the engine of the Scania? If it ran okay it should have been possible to get the block stitched? I often recovered trucks that were overheating, leaking water, cracked rads,blocks etc…and found in most cases I could drive them home by removing the thermostat & radiator cap, and topping up the rad as I drove.

28

That’s exactly what we did, perhaps I wasn’t descriptive enough in the telling of events.
The Scania with the cracked block ended up at the repair mans in Stalybridge, what John and he decided to do with it wasn’t anything to do with me.
As I’d said, we had a slight falling out and we went our own ways for a while. Pete

29

Excellent story. Hope you’ve many more to come!

30

Thanks Jazzandy, I’ll take that as a massive compliment, coming from you!

31

Great story. :smiley:

32

Just had to get on the bandwagon of bumpin’ up of seasonal tales…

33

Read and liked…again. :smiley: Glad you bumped it,now get on and write some more. :wink: :laughing: :laughing:

34

Just as good the second time around!

35

Can’t believe that it’s almost 2 years since I posted this, and even more unbelievable is that these events took place almost 25 years ago…Where have all the years gone?

36

Its a verry good read! So come on and write some :smiley:

Danne

37

I just had to say thanks, those memories.

Purely as an aside, I still have MK 1 Ford Granada dreams, my sorted 3.0 litre Essex with nice shocks brakes and 4 on the floor.

Perhaps I will wake up suddenly again tonight, wondering what we lost.

The lorry driving dreams have almost stopped now.

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

38

wally-to:
I just had to say thanks, those memories.

Purely as an aside, I still have MK 1 Ford Granada dreams, my sorted 3.0 litre Essex with nice shocks brakes and 4 on the floor.

Perhaps I will wake up suddenly again tonight, wondering what we lost.

The lorry driving dreams have almost stopped now.

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Interesting that you say ‘the lorry driving dreams have almost stopped now’.

I stopped driving in 1982, when I became transport manager at Caravan trading in Saudi. And yet…

I often wake in the morning having wrestled a truck with no brakes down a mountain. Sometimes I’m driving uphill and it gets steeper and steeper until I fall backwards. Occasionally the trailer wheels are ploughing through houses.

I had a parcels franchise for over 20 years. I never dream about that!

Why? I’ve no idea.

John

39

Brilliant Pete, I must of missed this the first time around so thanks for showing it again. :smiley:
I think that we all must of had a bad trip at one time or another but not as bad as that. :open_mouth:

40

Thanks for the positive response!
Looking back it was definitely a nightmare of a trip, though at the time all I wanted to do was get it sorted and get home for Christmas.
You just couldn’t make it up, could you?
Pete