Over the last few weeks I have read several posts about how good things were in the old days, even closer to home “things were better years ago” is a regular complaint from my friend and drinking buddy who is 30 in November (soon) Well things were better for him years ago, even days ago, he had two knackers, now he only has one, but that is for a different story 
We all tell the tale of driving over Shap, digging ourselves out of 17’ snowdrifts, walking 12 miles to school and going up the neighbours chimney to rescue Great Auk. Once we got our licence we could rope and sheet without being shown, and these new fangled curtainsider drivers were not real men.
From the days of hand-balling 20 tons of dead sheep onto a rully to the tales of being the first man on the moon, who couldn’t get tipped because he didn’t have blues, the first man was actually said to be a Dutchman, but when he got home he said there were two Brits already there, one was ■■■■■■ and the other was trying to borrow a permit.
In the old days I remember beer at 1/9, ■■■■ in a packet of 2 with a couple of free matches, free school milk in special bottles and long summers, with deep snow! We didn’t lock our doors, because all the thieving scum were nicking stuff from their own neighbours, we could carry guns in the street and shout ACAB at policemen.
The youth of today complain that they have been forced to drive an automatic lorry whilst having no knowledge of a 9 Speed fuller or a 10 speed Spicer, they complain that night heaters don’t blow hot, we didn’t complain if we had to light a fire under the diesel tank just to keep the engine running overnight. We cant have nights out unless we are 1.3metres away from the indicator stalk, Do you ever hear of an older driver complaining? Well yes you do actually, constantly,
Sat in the traffic, the roads were so slow,
these words in my head started to flow.my boss on the phone to make sure I am on time,
thinking of the best days and my thoughts turned to rhyme
have had a good life, perhaps it was fate
he said it is important that you are not lateThe lorries we drove were all damp and dark.
the modern ones are more like the Ritz
All mod cons, and with all the bits.
What a pity there is nowhere to park.moaning, groaning about his aches, his pains, his boss and his wife.
He moans of delays, he moans of his life!
When we went to work, we were brothers, like a band,
remembering the days when we started the engine by hand.
We arrived at the customer chilled to the bone,
quickly unloaded then searched for a phone.We got reloaded, we then had to resheet, whilst our new band of brothers are sat in the heat.
The boss was then a friendly chap, who bought beer at the weekend and didn’t talk crap,
the bosses wife, she was a grand lass, he had met her in a layby, somewhere on Shap
the modern man has a mortgage to pay, so when sat in the cafe has nothing to say,
the lad in the office, cannot read and write, the accountant does wages and is especially tight.
the whole job has changed, the world has got smaller, why on earth did I work for a hauler
