Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thanks for your compliments. Much appreciated. More stories coming shortly and now they are all written in seven different languages. Well, English to start with but a little box in top LH corner on web site asks you what language you would like. One click and it translates the lot. Wow…
Now I’m multi-linguistically minded maybe I’ll be able to get voted in to the European parliament. Become a Euro judge too, just for good measure of course…
‘I swear by God I never, ever ran on red, don’t know what a belly tank is, have never jumped a border, bribed a copper or ran through France and Italy on permits which were so bent the ink wasn’t even dry!
Ah, C’est la vie
Have a good Christmas you lovely people. More coming shortly,
Laurence Kiely
http://www.laurencekiely.co.uk
http://www.777v666.com
Laurence:
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thanks for your compliments. Much appreciated. More stories coming shortly and now they are all written in seven different languages. Well, English to start with but a little box in top LH corner on web site asks you what language you would like. One click and it translates the lot. Wow…
Now I’m multi-linguistically minded maybe I’ll be able to get voted in to the European parliament. Become a Euro judge too, just for good measure of course…
‘I swear by God I never, ever ran on red, don’t know what a belly tank is, have never jumped a border, bribed a copper or ran through France and Italy on permits which were so bent the ink wasn’t even dry!
Ah, C’est la vie
Have a good Christmas you lovely people. More coming shortly,
Laurence Kiely
http://www.laurencekiely.co.uk
http://www.777v666.com
Haha! Great stuff Laurence, looking forward to more stories. and a merry Christmas to all too. 
Regards,
Mark.
Come on guys stories please. Just to keep us jogging along till Laurence has time to post . Cheers.
I feel a puke coming on,and I broke a string on my violin
Hi Roger.Although allowances are made for us more geriatric people you really must try to be a little more diplomatic 
.It would be more P.C to direct the gentleman to the Astran\Middle East forum,saying that it would be better to post on there as we are not allowed to post on a private thread 
.Take care.Mike.
Hi Mike
Yes Mike get your point I suppose my humour dont feed all ,up to your neck in snow yet ,not long now ,will let you know when I move,bought some spring supported ski poles when I was over this year (called Bungy Pumpers) bloody great for us old ones , cheers,
Roger
Hi Roger.My comments were ‘‘tongue in cheek’’ for those of us not fortunate enough to have our ‘‘own’’ thread.
The winter so far has been quite mild,temps round min5 to min15 with less than a meter of snow.I know what you mean about the ski poles but i have gone one step further in the ‘‘laziness’’ department by buying a quad with caterpillar tracks.Just taking life slow and easy now,sod all the stress of Europe.Sitting at home now in front of the wood fire with a book and glass of wine,what more do you need.
I done a calculation recently.Last year i worked 140days driving in the mine,and i put €24000 NET in the bank.At last i have a job where i earn well AND have time to spend it.This’ll do me till 65.Hope to hear when you move.Take care.Mike
sinbin31:
I feel a puke coming on,and I broke a string on my violin
Please explain?
‘I feel a puke coming on,and I broke a string on my violin…’
Sounds like a truck driver’s lament. Talking of which, found this little piece written donkey’s years ago on file somewhere. It is called exactly that a …
A TRUCK DRIVER’S LAMENT
The long winding road stretched before him,
Meandering through the luscious green valley
Like a slithering black snake
Being watched over by two mountain rows.
Their snow capped peaks glistened in the early morning sun.
A desolate wind slapped past him
Reminding him of the isolation of this place
And indeed, of his own aloneness.
There was no sound he could listen to,
Only the gentle hum of his engine
And the whipping of the wind, did he hear.
This was his world and he knew it.
Not just this valley, but his life too.
The road was his path through life,
The green grass was his food.
The mountains were for him to wonder at,
The snow on their peaks for him to cherish.
The sun was his light, his warmth and his guidance
And the moon at night shone brightly into his darkened world.
To what place the road would lead, he knew not,
Nor at that moment did he care.
He was in motion, he was moving
And that to him was the very essence of his being.
Because if he was moving, then he was searching.
Although he knew not where the road would lead
Nor indeed from whence it came,
He knew he must achieve his aim.
And only then would he be at peace.
For he was dying for a beer
And he just knew there was a bar
SOMEWHERE in this bloody valley.
© Copyright Laurence D.Kiely, Gurbulak, Turkish/Iranian border 1982
hutpik sinbin!!! shame on you! the Astrans thread is brilliant and both of you have had a lot of imput and ive read it and i thank you, BUT did you wait for someone to post on a thread you dont like just to kick off? ha! guys guys guys Astran are king ! the middle east is king and ( no joke no bull) Bob Paul is the daddy of long haul end of> never a braver man took to a steering wheel. what a brave man. Reading ashs book! o yes. Hero. But sinbin, other destinations are around!!! this is more a middle east, north africa, russian thread. Laurance wrote about what you all did but as a driver not a jurno! Glad ur making 24,000 euro . funny that i didnt know OZ had gone to the euro? thought it was still dollers? Guys chill and Mike> thanks for chilling it! ha!
it makes me sad to think you have blinkers on “Astrans/middle east/end of” you old boys need to tell us what happened! i ask questions sinbin, thats all. P.S. you ever driven quad Kenworths in N.Z.you ever driven the baby b-trains you Ever Driven Road Trains in OZ? (you prob have!) you ever worked 6yrs for Dukes? Ireland? you Worked for years for a Dutch firm? ha ha! guys ive loved ur tales but share. Mr J. P . OReilly MIKE loved ur pics/tales.
It was .
Hj Benics.It is not critisism of anyone,and certainly not blinkered but as has been said many times before you pick out anyone read ALL the THREADS…As you say there are many different views on transport and all should be valued equally.
Just as a small point,no i have not driven in Aus or Oz,but,i did drive i winter in Tuktoyaktuk in Canada and drove for a little whie for SGT in st Germain,Quebec.And i lived for almost 30yrs in Holland 
Middle east is not king,it just happens more people on this site have been there than Aus or Oz. 
Take care.Mike
O Dear
What have I done ,the worms have escaped the can,Brenics77, can you tell me where in the last few posts Astran was even mentioned ,you obviously didnt get the joke,I knew Lawrence when he worked for Prior along with my buddy Tony Meddins ,who I see quite often,he was just normal like most but had this nack of putting things down on paper,the joke was (not another story I feel ill,) ,because of the pedalstall he had been put on,so if you now understand ,please dont go of the rails again ranting and raving about other destinations,Im quite aware of where drivers have been ,many have been to places I hvnt good luck to them .
Roger Haywood
Sinbin! Ranting and raving!? me?! never!!! ha ! ha! you bugger!!! you have imputed more to educate i understand that. The one thing Laurence did was turn my old dads tales about trucking up and down into my ambition! This tread is about chat friendship tales about changing wheels on the tap line. My name comes up a lot but only cos i ask questions!! antidote ( substance that counteracts the effects of poison) lets not get into this!! . keep on trucking. guys post!!! dont dig. Mike , sinbin i thank you.
Sinbin, all jokes aside, was the Tony you new the same Tony who was in the book “A Thousand miles from nowhere” He did Pakistan back in the day! hats off to you all.
brenics77:
Sinbin, all jokes aside, was the Tony you new the same Tony who was in the book “A Thousand miles from nowhere” He did Pakistan back in the day! hats off to you all.
I’m not the only one who would like to know if the Tony in ‘A Thousand Miles From Nowhere’ is the same bloke mentioned in ‘Juggernaut/ Danger, Heavy Load’.
Is there any of the Pioneers of that time can confirm it, as slightly different spellings of ‘Tony’s’ name have cropped up…
Incidently, for anyone who has read ‘Juggernaut/ Danger, Heavy Load’ , figured out one of the M/E-Dow bods yet?
Enjoy the grotty weather ( 'cause I’m not…)
Hi All.As Roger said Tony Meddings is indeed the driver mentioned in ‘‘A Thousand Miles From Anywhere’’.and did drive previously for Prior before going to Fransen UK.I met him several times in the ME during hsi time with Priors and also bumped into him when he worked for Fransens as i was working for Nesotra[Nederland Soviet Transport],As Roger says he was a nice,modest guy,
Brenics,i think you are confused,i said that i had NEVER worked in AUS or NZ but HAD lived and worked in Canada.
If you look at my profile you can see that i now live in Lappland Sweden.The reason i put the bit in about my earnings in €s was to make it easier for calculating instead of putting it in kroner thats all.It was merely to show that it IS still possible,if you are very lucky[as i am]tostill find a job within the transport world which is low stress and well paid
Endit.the weather here is fine,a warm min22c with light snow,tomorrow i go in the forest with my quad[well wrapped up] 
your’e welcome to join me, i have extra clothes to fit all. 
Hotpic its all good, sounds daft now but 20+ yrs ago us young uns (now pushing 40!) waited for Laurence to post his tales. A thousand miles from , cola cowboys, all the LDD by Mr Phil etc ! we waited with baited breath! No internet no laptops etc.The one person who aint had any imput is Laurence! lol now thats funny. This aint a middle east/ astrans thread as said before. Ive done plenty we all have in our own way but this is a Laurence Kiely thread. Its like someone making a Dave Poulton thread (maybe they have) it`s all good nothing bad. No likey no looky . some people wait around to be offended then complain!!! lol. John
Laurence keep posting. but more pics! 
Hutpik, you have posted you lived in Afgan , please tell!!! Thats what its all about.
Hi Brenics.As i[and others]have said before you have a go at me,i have no beef with anyone who writes a story on here but no-one is special.I also used to read avidly mr Llewellyns stories.I was one of the lucky ones in that i met him and ran with him on one trip.
As you say now we have a mr Kiely thread without a kiely.Either keep the stories coming regularly or,if only occasionally,put them up on the ME thread.
Maybe to avoid upsetting anyone we should start a new thread.Something along the lines of ‘‘stories from bygone days’’ or’’ stories from around the world’'. That way everyone can contribute with stories from Scandinavia to Maroc and Oman,Ireland to Pakistan and Siberia[China fo some]
As to a Dave Poulton thread i doubt you would ever get him to write about himself.[shame as he was quite special].As i have repeatedly said there are SOOO many wonderful tales out there still to be told.Maybe some people think they will be ridiculed for whatever reason and that is sad because stories are oral books,and as such make our history.
Brenics.Forgive me but when i lived in Afghanistan it was a different and difficult life which i would rather keep private.It was not in transport so maybe i will be forgiven for not putting it on here. 
Mike