Another of Bubbleman’s pics with a Southampton connection this time Dukes from Botley
Regards Pat
Off around the world yesterday, on Google earth!! Traced the old route from Le Harve to Concorezzo, yep, sad I know, but I was bored. Anyway, couldn’t locate the customs clearance at Concorezzo, has it long gone ? also on the same trip, went down to Rome, anyone else clear at the Magazin de Generali, the customs post, right in the centre of Rome ? guess that’s long gone as well ?
So, off to Portugal to-day, Porto, carbon black out of Avonmouth, via vila formosa, back in 10 minutes, great way to travel, no customs, no fuel, no hour regulations…!!!
Ainacs
Morning Pat, were,nt Dukes from Bishops Waltham and not Botley ■■
I,m sure i used to load animal feed out of there when i drove for Lucketts of Fareham as a nipper.
Probably wrong,maybe i,m having one of those moments. 
Fergie47
Dave…sad indeed mate but what a way to travel aye.
Concorezzo customs long gone now, as have most of the places we used to clear at.
Still vividly remember the place though,got broke into there while parked with the unit outside Lauras bar.
It was a 1924 Merc i was driving for Eddie Huntley,while pulling for Hocfun.( Colin wilkes )
The toerags nicked all my gear and i went home on the ferry ( cant remember if it was Townsend or Normandys )
wearing overalls. Happy days 
Carbon black eh, who could ever forget Sevalcos,still trying to get rid of the black stuff a week later.
Vila Formosa, a proper road in those days before the IP5 was built.
My first experience of Portugal was with Mick Hayes of Fareham in the ex Middle East Marathon
pulling for Interoute out of Poole. What a boneshaker that was. Full of admiration of the guys that drove ,em to the Middle East. ( Norman )
Happy new year to you all.
mappo:
AinacsMorning Pat, were,nt Dukes from Bishops Waltham and not Botley ■■
I,m sure i used to load animal feed out of there when i drove for Lucketts of Fareham as a nipper.
Probably wrong,maybe i,m having one of those moments.
Hi Tony yes I do believe you are quite correct
Oh dear! I must have been having one of those senior moments
I should have remembered as it was part of one of their old AEC cabs I used to convert my old Mercury into a sleeper cab way back in 77 I think! And I bought that yellow back part of the cab from W H Travers a breaker in Bishops Waltham!
Seen here at the fuel pumps in Sea Route’s Empress Road yard.
Regards Pat
Hi Pat,
I remember your AEC well mate, cos if you can recall that far back i was working for Sea Route at the time.
I also remember what i think was your first Scania and the tragic ending for your driver in Manchester was it ?
Sorry but i cant think of his name, shame on me.
mappo:
AinacsFergie47
Dave…sad indeed mate but what a way to travel aye.
Concorezzo customs long gone now, as have most of the places we used to clear at.
Still vividly remember the place though,got broke into there while parked with the unit outside Lauras bar.
It was a 1924 Merc i was driving for Eddie Huntley,while pulling for Hocfun.( Colin wilkes )
The toerags nicked all my gear and i went home on the ferry ( cant remember if it was Townsend or Normandys )
wearing overalls. Happy daysCarbon black eh, who could ever forget Sevalcos,still trying to get rid of the black stuff a week later.
Vila Formosa, a proper road in those days before the IP5 was built.
My first experience of Portugal was with Mick Hayes of Fareham in the ex Middle East Marathon
pulling for Interoute out of Poole. What a boneshaker that was. Full of admiration of the guys that drove ,em to the Middle East. ( Norman )
Happy new year to you all.
Thought as much Tony, guess the site’s both at Concorezzo and Rome would be worth a few trillion lire, sold off for housing by now. Shame, you could walk out of either compound and be in the centre of the town in minutes, now I guess everything is out of the way on industrial area’s.
According to Google Ville Formosa looks more or less the same, slightly bigger, but I can still see where I was parked up waiting for a permit to get sorted, that some spotty youth in an office somewhere had cocked up.
Got a lovely story of running to Porto with the late Derek Waite, involes 2 other drivers, a donkey, and 2 policemen. When I get time, I’ll post it up.
Happy new year.
mappo:
Hi Pat,
I remember your AEC well mate, cos if you can recall that far back i was working for Sea Route at the time.
I also remember what i think was your first Scania and the tragic ending for your driver in Manchester was it ?
Sorry but i cant think of his name, shame on me.
Hi Tony
Yes I remember that tragic event only too well it was in my second Scania a 111 WHJ183S in Oldham on a night out, there was a cab fire something to do with a TV he had wired up. Chris Goater was his name he had previously been on for British International.
This was the first Scania a K reg 110 seen here on way home from Italy French side of the Blanc.Sorry about the blurriness
Here is a pic of the 111 when we got it back after it had been rebuilt by Unit Commercials at Salisbury.
I have a pic of it somewhere when it was in Sea Route colours.
Regards Pat
Hi another one of Marc (Bubbleman)'s pics from his “Scrapbook Thread” this time a Hampshire County Council AEC tipper
Regards Pat
mappo:
Hi Pat,
I remember your AEC well mate, cos if you can recall that far back i was working for Sea Route at the time.
I also remember what i think was your first Scania and the tragic ending for your driver in Manchester was it ?
Sorry but i cant think of his name, shame on me.
Hi Tony
This is the pic of that fateful Scania 111 in Sea Route Ferry colours with Chris Goaters (RIP) son
Regards Pat
Hi All
Terry Moody gave me another old pic of a group of drivers from Strongs of Romsey near Southampton.
It compliments two other pics I posted along time ago
Regards Pat
Thanks for posting those old photos Pat, i love to see old,ns like that taken before my time.
The second pic reminds me of an old Albion i drove on a weekly basis before i was old enough to have a licence.
I was working as a youngster in a warehouse for a Company by the name of Oberyield in Duncan road , Swanwick.
( Later became Simons and moved to St. Margarets Lane in Titchfield.)
Every friday night i would go with driver Harry Udell delivering fruit and veg to Woolies stores in the South West.
It was Harry and also Fergie47, who worked for the same firm that got me started in this game. I HATE them.
mappo:
It was Harry and also Fergie47, who worked for the same firm that got me started in this game. I HATE them.
.Yeah, but think of all those experiences you’d never have had if we hadn’t !!
You,re right of course Dave, its coming up for almost 39 years of Lorry driving now,(legal) and as has been already said on these threads before
i,ve had some great times, met some super characters over the years and have been lucky enough to have made some good mates, many
that i,m still in touch with thanks to Trucknet.
My one regret is not having a go at the Middle East work in the 70,s and 80,s but i managed over 20 years on European work which took
me to places i guess many would be envious of.
I,d like to say that i,d do it all over again, and i guess i would. Well certainly the first 25 years.
Definitely not the same now as we all know,dont enjoy it at all anymore, but a bit long in the tooth to change now.
So i guess it,s all down to you Dave…Thanks mate. 
Think you MUST have left the other 10yrs out for a reason that only you will know why!!! 'cos this year its 40yrs since I started driving (legally) and I’m so much younger than you as you well know…Hope 2010 is good to you buddy,and to everyone else on here… 
Shady do you want to borrow my Abacus thingy ( i think that,s what its called ) to help you count.
I was born in 1950 and started driving for a living when i was 17 years old in a Trannie and then a Leyland Boxer ( 3 tonner )
but i did,nt include that time. I took and passed my HGV in 1971 at the age of 21.
Now add on 39 yrs. to 1971 and i make that up to the present day.
This just confirms that you,re obviously older than me which i,ve always suspected cos you went thin
on top before i did.
Mappo obviously your still in denial…never mind its only to be expected…Thin? I don’t think so its a solar panel for a ■■■ machine and well you know it…
In yer dreams Shady, in yer dreams.
Yet another of Marc (Bubbleman)'s pics with a near Southampton link this time Tom Parker (Dairies) Ltd of Fareham/Lee on Solent
Regards Pat
Being an old Fareham lad born and bred, i remember Tom Parkers well.
The Dairy was on the Fareham to Gosport / Lee -on -Solent road just before the split.
I,m pretty sure they had a farm on the Wickham road as well. ( can you confirm that Fergie47 ■■?)
I can even remember them delivering milk with their horse and carts when i was still in short trousers.
Those were the days when bread was still delivered to the door, the onion man and the knife sharpener guy used to pay
weekly visits on their bikes and door to door salesmen with their brushes and the like.
mappo:
Being an old Fareham lad born and bred, i remember Tom Parkers well.
The Dairy was on the Fareham to Gosport / Lee -on -Solent road just before the split.
I,m pretty sure they had a farm on the Wickham road as well. ( can you confirm that Fergie47 ■■?)I can even remember them delivering milk with their horse and carts when i was still in short trousers.
Those were the days when bread was still delivered to the door, the onion man and the knife sharpener guy used to pay
weekly visits on their bikes and door to door salesmen with their brushes and the like.
They did indeed Tone. That’s where Tom Parker lived, it was on the left, after leaving Fareham toward Wickham on the straight, opposite the entrance to the Roche Court girls school, and before “The Vine” pub. The pubs gone, and having just checked it out on Google Earth, looks like the farm has as well. could be a small estate with industrial units.
Delivered to the door, Parkers for milk, Cases bakery in Wickham for the bread and cakes,
(Spent my summer hols as " bakers boy" unofficial on the old Fordson van as a boy ) Pages in Wickham for the paper, The “Onion Johnny’s”, from Roscoff, ( not that far from me )on their pushbikes, Tuckers at Shirrel Heath for the groceries, Oldfields at Shedfield who made and delivered the lemonade, The “Indian” brush and duster sellers, the rag and bone man. Most of them gone, all a long time ago !
How things have changed eh my friend, you and me are getting old !!