hiya,
Me and another Bowker driver along with an Ackworth driver was having a drink
early one evening in a drivers hostelry namely the Mildmay Tavern along the Balls
Pond Road when a guy dashed in with a shotgun and blasted one of the customers
in the legs needless to say a hasty retreat was taken before the “old bill” came on
the scene and no doubt asking questions, a pub I never returned to, from that day
forward The ■■■■ at Highbury became my local on my many nights out in Islington.
thanks harry, long retired.
axletramp:
dafdave:
What about these 3 blasts from the past,all in bethnall green.the greengage,the well and bucket,and the van tromp.And don’t forget a lady[I use the term loosely]by the name slack alice.Happy days.
regards dave.Hoo Dave, you forgot to mention the White Horse, Crown, Ship and Blue Ball, Dolphin, Knave,
Jolly Butchers, Panther, Blade Bone, Marquis of Cornwallis etc.
Green Gate was my favourite though! (Better looking “entertainers”).
Tell you what mate your memorys a ■■■■ sight better than mine,i do remember following the dancers from pub to pub,great fun.Thanks for that.
regards dave.
Anyone remember the Coach & Horses AKA As Jack Taylors on the old A 1 Just North of Thinford Roundabout a lot of drivers heading south on a Sunday used to stop for a pint or two, Regards Larry.
Id forgotten about the organist in the Montague to be honest, we used to stay at Rose and Jims ( Connely ) park the waggons in Vestry rd unless we had Valuables on board ( scotch ) then we parked at the Elephant and caught the bus down to the digs, remember one sat night in the Adam no rush on Sun so we had a bit of a session ended up on Jack D with Mike Read and afew others somebodys birthday, locked in till daybreak the other two lads with me (sadly no longer with us ) went back to the digs to find breakfast on the go had it and went to bed getting up for evening meal. Aldgate Red Lion Scottish football supporters watching the " young" lady perform ( she had so many stretch marks looked like a map of the British Isles) when one of the lads decided to plant a Scottish flag in a delicate spot and succeeded caught her by surprise I can tell you, she stood up flag still attached and all H… broke loose ! Another mate when he used to park at Aldgate with a empty 40ft van used to have an arrangement whereby he used to “rent” it out for private showings , side lights on, man on the door, used to do a roaring trade ! As lads have said before happy days.
norfolk:
Id forgotten about the organist in the Montague to be honest, we used to stay at Rose and Jims ( Connely ) park the waggons in Vestry rd unless we had Valuables on board ( scotch ) then we parked at the Elephant and caught the bus down to the digs, remember one sat night in the Adam no rush on Sun so we had a bit of a session ended up on Jack D with Mike Read and afew others
I’ve shaken hands with Mike Read in his doomed night club in Javea, Spain. The guy did not have life as easy as some might think. His Dad was a lorry driver!
Anyone remember ‘Sturdys Castle’ (think that’s spelt right) north of Kidlington on the old Banbury road? used to stop in the large layby outside. Think the pub and layby are still there.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Anyone remember the Coach & Horses AKA As Jack Taylors on the old A 1 Just North of Thinford Roundabout a lot of drivers heading south on a Sunday used to stop for a pint or two, Regards Larry.
me and my brother used to go on night trunk with my dad when we were ten he always used to stop there and leave us in the cab while he went for he would say abrew . 
Any of you oldies remember the Spotted Cow at Huddersfield, Another pub that was frequented by drivers, It was demolished in the late 50s, & the drivers started to go to the Kirkgate allways plenty of cab traffic about in those days, As Kev said to-days young ones don’t no what they missed, The good old days Eh, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
Anyone remember the Coach & Horses AKA As Jack Taylors on the old A 1 Just North of Thinford Roundabout a lot of drivers heading south on a Sunday used to stop for a pint or two, Regards Larry.
Aye Larry,its still there as you will know,more for meals now its sells good gear i have been in often but not of late.
The Marquis at Framwellgate Moor was another popular pub, Some drivers used to park up there and get a lift home to Newcastle on a dodgey, The Co-op Wholesale lads were regular attenders there in those days, 50/60s Era, Regards Larry.
Sturdys castle is still alive and kicking
Can anybody remember the name of the pub that was not far from The Gate Café on the southbound A2 not far from I.I.R.C. a village called Dunkirk. It was on the old A2 and was bypassed when they built the new duel carriageway so parking lorries outside on the road was no problem.
Come on Archie Paice help me out. 
mushroomman:
Can anybody remember the name of the pub that was not far from The Gate Café on the southbound A2 not far from I.I.R.C. a village called Dunkirk. It was on the old A2 and was bypassed when they built the new duel carriageway so parking lorries outside on the road was no problem.Come on Archie Paice help me out.
Hullo Steve,
The only one that I can remember in Dunkirk is the Red Lion, if it’s still there. There was also the Queens Head at Broughton, both as I remember Shepherd Neame Brewery. But I left Kent at the tender age of fifteen, and at that time we were at BexleyHeath. I did stay at my Parents home at Bearsted when I was back in England. But I was’nt driving then, I only recall these Pubs from trips we had to Faversham.
ps, What’s the difference between a French Kiss and an Australian Kiss ?
Cheers, Archie.
Hello Archie, it was The Red Lion that I was thinking of and with the magic of Google Earth I have just seen it again after some twenty seven years. I can’t remember the buildings opposite as it was just a bit of spare land that you could park a dozen or so lorries on from what I can remember and is that Esso garage on the A2 where the Gate Café used to be 
.
I have no answer to your question so please tell me but I think that the difference between a Polish kiss and a Rumania kiss depended on the size of the jar of coffee. 
Regards Steve.
mushroomman:
Hello Archie, it was The Red Lion that I was thinking of and with the magic of Google Earth I have just seen it again after some twenty seven years.
I have no answer to your question so please tell me but I think that the difference between a Polish kiss and a Rumania kiss depended on the size of the jar of coffee.Regards Steve.
G’day Steve,
They’re both the same mate, except the Australian is down under.
Cheers, Archie.
Archie, I can assure you that I cut down on my “salt intake” many years ago.
Getting back to Lorry Pubs brought back a memory for me from 1973, I can’t remember every incident that happened back then but there are certainly some that stick out more than others and this is one of them.
I pulled onto The Hollies on the A5 for breakfast one Monday morning and saw another one of our drivers who was tipping in London. I can’t remember his surname but his first name was Brian and he came from the Moston area of Manchester. Brian was delivering somewhere to the west of London and I was on my way to British Leyland at Cowley and we arranged that if we were both called into “The Smoke” to reload then we would meet up at Shepherds Bush lorry park that night. Brian told me that he had grown up with a footballer called Stan Bowles who had just been transferred to Queens Park Rangers and had said to Brian, if ever you are down in London, here is my phone number, give us a call and we will go for a pint.
Well I never got as far as London that day but on the Friday night I was parked on Saint Mary’s Road car park in Birmingham which was underneath the fly over near The Bull Ring and Brian turned up a bit later. We walked round to The Railway pub which was opposite (I think) to the British Railways goods depot. If anybody remembers the landlord was a big Irishman called Ray who had four or five lovely daughters who used to make and serve the sandwiches which were always on thick white bread. I asked Brian did he manage to get to Shepherds Bush on the Monday night and this is what he told me.
After he had parked up a couple of drivers who he had never met before came over talking to him and said that they were going for a wash and then a pint and asked him if he wanted to come along. Brian said yes and while in the wash rooms another driver who he had met before said that he would also join them. The four of them were in the pub when Brian decided to phone Stan Bowles, Stan said I know where that pub is, stay where you are and I shall be there in half an hour.
Stan arrived within the hour just as Brian was getting a round in and Stan insisted that he paid for it. After another round which Stan also paid for he told them that he knew a great club where he would like to take them all as his guests. They all piled into Stan’s car (which I am not sure was a Rolls Royce or a Jaguar) and ended up in a club somewhere in London until the early hours of the next morning when Stan returned them back to the lorry park. Brian said they all had a brilliant night and Stan Bowles insisted on paying for everything and even thanked them for being great company.
Do these things still happen like this nowadays, maybe not.
Regards Steve.
Talking about the Red Lion at Aldgate, is it still there? (was next to the Underground station)
Somebody mentioned Sturdy’s Castle on the old Banbury Oxford road, I was there a few months ago, you still get a cracking meal there, not the cheapest but worth the money.
Anyone ever used the Red Lion, just off the M1 on the A45 near Northampton, or (I think it was) The White Lion at Sawtry on the A1 Peterborough by-pass?
That latter pub started out on the west side of the A1, then they moved the road and it was on the east side, then they built the A1(M) over the top of it!
Great nights out in both. Happy memories.
Any other favourite night out pubs?
Tone
I always loved the Punchbowl on the A66 at Stainmore. Many a good night was had in there.
Johnny aka Little John:
I always loved the Punchbowl on the A66 at Stainmore. Many a good night was had in there.
Plus one 