Nice to see you back Laurence. Good to see this thread is getting back to what it should be, old-time drivers sharing experiences.
Kenny, get your tales and pics on here too.
Regards,
Mark.
klunk/■■■■■■■■
Enjoyed the post, but not the bickering, who cares who has done the most, as its the stories that count from this long past era even better if theres photos, we should be encouraging posts like Laurances, and not putting them down,or maybe i have no say as i only did about 15 trips to the Middle East.
Klunk.
Klunk, you can have all the say you like. Number of trips done is irrelant. You did 'em so good for you. That is what this thread is all about, seeing and reading what others have done. There is no point scoring on the miles done.
Good luck mate
Laurence
http://www.laurencekiely.co.uk
Hello Laurence. I have just read PRICKED and can’t wait for part 2.Great .Regards Mike.
Hi Laurence,
You say the magazine didn’t want that 1st part of the story 
Did they say why? I thought it was great! 
Regards Chris
adr:
Hi Laurence,
You say the magazine didn’t want that 1st part of the story
Regards Chris
Chris, they did not want anything related to that Kuwait journey from Engald to Turkey as Geroge Bennett (editor) had already covered it. Well, that is what they told me and also on the mag piece itself they explain why they are starting the story mid way.
George was a good chap but he was not a HGV driver so exactly what the mag covered I’m as lost now as I was then.
To conclude, if you do not already know, when you do freelance work, you get an idea for a story, phone a mag, tell them what you are about to do and if they accept you then get a brief on what they want. On this occasion they wanted AWDs in the desert, as many shells, grenades, burnt out tanks etc that I could manage to trip over, or rather not, so as to make the whole thing as dramatic as possible. Drama attracts readers, the more readers the more ad revenue. For them that is.
Starting off with a red blooded driver who had inadvertantly got ■■■■■■■ with a smack head was not really in TRUCK’s realm.
That piece was only composed last week, but every word of it is true to the letter.
Am re-doing part two because the original in TRUCK was canonized to make it look as though They doing the whole thing with me. Hmmm …
Anyhow, Part 2 will be on line in next few days or so.
Best wishes and thanks for the compliment
Laurence Kiely
http://www.laurencekiely.co.uk
thelongdrag:
Hello Laurence. I have just read PRICKED and can’t wait for part 2.Great .Regards Mike.
Cheers Mike,
Glad you like it
Laurence
http://www.laurencekiely.co.uk
hutpik:
Hi all.It seems to me that with all the comments re Mr Kiely everyone seems to have forgotten a person of outstanding character who,long before Mr Kiely, made a substantial contribution and influenced many peoples lives.
Possibly the first person to bring the M.E.to the average person through the medium of print.Mr Philip Llewellen.
He first went to the M.E. in Feb 1975 as a passenger in a truck from Oryx Freight to Kuwait driven by Pat Hawkes to write an account of the hard road to the M.E. I was fortunate enough to meet them in Turkey and ran with them through Syria,Jordan,across H4 toTourayf and down the tapline where we parted company at the junction to Kuwait.This was Phil’s first trip in a truck but in 76 he went with a truck from the UK to Abadan,Iran and in 78 he went overland with Whittles to Jordan.
After these trips he went right across Canada and up the Dempster Highway to the N.W.T.in trucks with different companies.
This was a guy who really could say ‘‘been there,done that,got the t shirt.’’ He may not have been a driver but was an outstanding writer who brought exotic places within reach of many of us through doing the same job albeit from the passengers seat.Mike
I haven’t read the posts after this one of yours Mike, not yet anyway, I feel the need to comment on this first 
I’ve derived a great deal of pleasure from the M/E related topics on here, I’ve been about a bit myself and still continue to do so, yet I am and probably always will be, a M/E wannabe, born too late, George Bush, better job offers, women moaning about a month away on the road being bad enough so why would I want to leave her for 6-8wks, moving to Canada, blah, blah, blah, most of us that read and enjoy these tales of M/E glory are in the same boat as me, you’re all legends in our eyes, even old grumpy bollox Roger
Yet there are legends and there are legends. As you say Phil Llewellyn is the God of travel writers, not just trucking, he travelled the World in a variety of vehicles and his M/E trips are a walk in the park compared to some of his journeys, but trucking to the M/E for a Long Distance Diary is what we all know him for, his short stories captured the essence of a trip better than books like Cola Cowboys ever did, to do that in so few words is the mark of an exceptional story teller, but let us not forget, he was a passenger, Laurence like yourself and many others was behind the wheel and under the cab with a spanner in his hand, so he has been there, worn the t shirt, read the book and even written a few chapters, I fail to see any bad points so far
After a bit of a stalemate on the Astran thread we now have Laurence Kiely coming on here and sharing his tales with us, this is a good thing, yet some people have a problem with this? Unbelievable, I don’t know if they have an inferiority complex or not, but whatever the case, Laurence Kiely is a legend, he was referred to in very reverential terms when we all thought he was dead, just as you would for a legend, the fact that he has been ressurected hasn’t diminished his status as a legend, he may not have done as many trips as some, he may not have done a trip in an AEC, he never sat with a frozen lorry in Turkey for three months, but he shares his experiences with us and does it in a very entertaining way, which is the purpose of this thread, again, I see nothing wrong with that
Hi NMM.Good morning.Ifully agree with everything you say.My point was merely that.I did not comprehend the adulation that was suddenly thrust upon the man when, 
if people had read[and i assume they had]all the hundreds of other letters,stories,anechdotes which have been posted over the years on the forums there is no difference whatsoever in what has been written, soley that his have been published in magazines.We are all equal,[even grumpy bollox] 
some have done more than others but everyone deserves ‘‘equal’’ praise for their efforts.Ihave the greatest respect for all of the guys. Icouldn’t do what you do now,and think,what was it like to go to Portugal,or Greece in the late 60s. My point was only,lets keep things in perspective.Not everyone has the literary ability[or luck]to have things printed to a wider audience than on here. 
By the way we have been out plowing last week so be happy[for the moment] Take care.Mike
Archie Paice:
3 places of residance but cant afford diesel to kent odd comment archie
Hullo Dreva,
Bugger you’ve caught me out Fact is I sold The place in Cascais last year, and I fly when we go over to Sao Paulo. So I am saving on the diesel now. We,re off again in four weeks time, back in May, so perhaps I can save up for a few more litres Mind you I hope it takes a long time, if it’s to be used to go down to another funeral.
Cheers, Archie.
[/quote]
lets hope its not for a funeral mate take care and get some stories up please
Im sorry i thought this was the “Laurence Kiely” thread. If you are complaining about him or his trips not being this that or the other you are on the wrong thread. End off. 
Laurence you are such a diplomat.
brenics77:
Im sorry i thought this was the “Laurence Kiely” thread. If you are complaining about him or his trips not being this that or the other you are on the wrong thread. End off.Laurence you are such a diplomat.
Sometimes!
Laurence:
brenics77:
Im sorry i thought this was the “Laurence Kiely” thread. If you are complaining about him or his trips not being this that or the other you are on the wrong thread. End off.Laurence you are such a diplomat.
Sometimes!
Classic LK…
Laurence, guess you have been so lucky to have been calm and composed with people having a dig at you, the VERY VERY few trips you did to NOT VERY far away places doing not many border crossings and having to deal with not many language barriers AT ALL and NEVER having bumped into anyone that DID NOT speak ENGLISH. , how come you are so calm and composed? We all love trucking we all love everything to do with the original LDD tales by good old Phil (rip) we are all in this for the same thing , but guys saying “well Mr X Y or Z did far more than Laurence…” this is not a middle east thread this is not a my mate trucked to katastingstanabad this is not an A.T…N tread (fill in the blanks) so everyone else is rubbish! so funny. Ok rant over. Laurence carry on.
M&C steve:
Laurence:
brenics77:
Im sorry i thought this was the “Laurence Kiely” thread. If you are complaining about him or his trips not being this that or the other you are on the wrong thread. End off.Laurence you are such a diplomat.
Sometimes!
Classic LK…
Hi All
Thanks for the encouragement from you to post stories, I went throught the shoebox of memories and tried to scan some old photos. Unfortunately they have discouloured and faded due to age and are not worth scanning in there present state
My Daughter will have a look at them to see if she can clean them up for me so there may be some hope yet ?
I scribbled a few notes down over the Weekend on the back an Asda letter thanking us for our loyal custom, and will post them shortly, when I am happy how they read.
Regards
Kenny
Kenny, thank you for taking the time will look forward to it very much. Good luck with the scaning. John
brenics77:
Laurence, guess you have been so lucky to have been calm and composed with people having a dig at you, the VERY VERY few trips you did to NOT VERY far away places doing not many border crossings and having to deal with not many language barriers AT ALL and NEVER having bumped into anyone that DID NOT speak ENGLISH. , how come you are so calm and composed? We all love trucking we all love everything to do with the original LDD tales by good old Phil (rip) we are all in this for the same thing , but guys saying “well Mr X Y or Z did far more than Laurence…” this is not a middle east thread this is not a my mate trucked to katastingstanabad this is not an A.T…N tread (fill in the blanks) so everyone else is rubbish! so funny. Ok rant over. Laurence carry on.M&C steve:
Laurence:
brenics77:
Im sorry i thought this was the “Laurence Kiely” thread. If you are complaining about him or his trips not being this that or the other you are on the wrong thread. End off.Laurence you are such a diplomat.
Sometimes!
Classic LK…
Hiya Brenics,
Saying ‘I am better than him or her’ is a meaningless statement. What people want to see is proof. I stay calm and collected (bloody hell that is a surprise) simply because to retaliate would only give these ‘better than thou’ personalities the attention they seek. If they want to be eternally admired then they should post something like words + pics of their own.
This whole forum is about providing info, stories of times gone by but above all interesting entertainment. What other threads get up to is down to them but this one is to encourage self expression, no matter what standard the provider might think his or her submission is. It is NOT a competition to see who can write or photograph the best or indeed bulls**t the most. Neither is it a boasting platform of how many trips one did, comments made etc.
Brenics, you are so right in what you say, we are all in this for same reason, fun.
Good luck with all your submission efforts and please remember I am not your judge. Nor is anybody else.
Laurence
http://www.laurencekiely.co.uk
sgt major roadworks:
Hi All
Thanks for the encouragement from you to post stories, I went throught the shoebox of memories and tried to scan some old photos. Unfortunately they have discouloured and faded due to age and are not worth scanning in there present state
My Daughter will have a look at them to see if she can clean them up for me so there may be some hope yet ?I scribbled a few notes down over the Weekend on the back an Asda letter thanking us for our loyal custom, and will post them shortly, when I am happy how they read.
Regards
Kenny
Kenny,
Good for you mate.
Laurence
Laurence:
sgt major roadworks:
Hi All
Thanks for the encouragement from you to post stories, I went throught the shoebox of memories and tried to scan some old photos. Unfortunately they have discouloured and faded due to age and are not worth scanning in there present state
My Daughter will have a look at them to see if she can clean them up for me so there may be some hope yet ?I scribbled a few notes down over the Weekend on the back an Asda letter thanking us for our loyal custom, and will post them shortly, when I am happy how they read.
Regards
KennyKenny,
Good for you mate.
Laurence
you missed this bit
“on the back an Asda letter thanking us for our loyal custom”
newmercman:
hutpik:
Hi all.It seems to me that with all the comments re Mr Kiely everyone seems to have forgotten a person of outstanding character who,long before Mr Kiely, made a substantial contribution and influenced many peoples lives.
Possibly the first person to bring the M.E.to the average person through the medium of print.Mr Philip Llewellen.
He first went to the M.E. in Feb 1975 as a passenger in a truck from Oryx Freight to Kuwait driven by Pat Hawkes to write an account of the hard road to the M.E. I was fortunate enough to meet them in Turkey and ran with them through Syria,Jordan,across H4 toTourayf and down the tapline where we parted company at the junction to Kuwait.This was Phil’s first trip in a truck but in 76 he went with a truck from the UK to Abadan,Iran and in 78 he went overland with Whittles to Jordan.
After these trips he went right across Canada and up the Dempster Highway to the N.W.T.in trucks with different companies.
This was a guy who really could say ‘‘been there,done that,got the t shirt.’’ He may not have been a driver but was an outstanding writer who brought exotic places within reach of many of us through doing the same job albeit from the passengers seat.MikeI haven’t read the posts after this one of yours Mike, not yet anyway, I feel the need to comment on this first
I’ve derived a great deal of pleasure from the M/E related topics on here, I’ve been about a bit myself and still continue to do so, yet I am and probably always will be, a M/E wannabe, born too late, George Bush, better job offers, women moaning about a month away on the road being bad enough so why would I want to leave her for 6-8wks, moving to Canada, blah, blah, blah, most of us that read and enjoy these tales of M/E glory are in the same boat as me, you’re all legends in our eyes, even old grumpy bollox Roger
Yet there are legends and there are legends. As you say Phil Llewellyn is the God of travel writers, not just trucking, he travelled the World in a variety of vehicles and his M/E trips are a walk in the park compared to some of his journeys, but trucking to the M/E for a Long Distance Diary is what we all know him for, his short stories captured the essence of a trip better than books like Cola Cowboys ever did, to do that in so few words is the mark of an exceptional story teller, but let us not forget, he was a passenger, Laurence like yourself and many others was behind the wheel and under the cab with a spanner in his hand, so he has been there, worn the t shirt, read the book and even written a few chapters, I fail to see any bad points so far
After a bit of a stalemate on the Astran thread we now have Laurence Kiely coming on here and sharing his tales with us, this is a good thing, yet some people have a problem with this? Unbelievable, I don’t know if they have an inferiority complex or not, but whatever the case, Laurence Kiely is a legend, he was referred to in very reverential terms when we all thought he was dead, just as you would for a legend, the fact that he has been ressurected hasn’t diminished his status as a legend, he may not have done as many trips as some, he may not have done a trip in an AEC, he never sat with a frozen lorry in Turkey for three months, but he shares his experiences with us and does it in a very entertaining way, which is the purpose of this thread, again, I see nothing wrong with that
and a compliment indeed from a well travelled x truck mag journalist and not many on here have read your old tests mate i bet. how many on here knew you worked for them ive still got a load
Thanks Dreva, you’re correct, I am an ex TRUCK mag man, but that only means that I can string a sentence about lorries together, oh and I must be a half decent driver too or they wouldn’t have let me do Test Matches or Trans Euro Tests 
I can’t write about the M/E though, so I have to rely on the tales I hear on this forum, that’s where Saint Laurence comes in, he has the ability to tell a good story, he also has photographs, that’s what a lot of us want to see, it’s a bit silly when people we have a great deal of respect for start gobbing off saying that he ain’t all that, that many others have done more trips etc, well so [zb]ing what? Most of us on this forum haven’t been to the M/E, so if some of the so called M/E heroes think that one of their own is being held in too high a regard, what do they think of mere mortals like the rest of us
I just don’t get why anyone would try and shoot the man down, especially someone who knows exactly what goes on during a trip out east 
but then again is that what really happened here, a few people, who by their own admission are not the best at putting their thoughts into words said a few things and now we’ve got up to five pages and most of it is bickering and ■■■■■■■■, so how about we all kiss and make up and let’s have some more stories and pictures of Laurence Kiely breaking down from Abu Dhabi to Zeebrugge