Thoought you might like these phot`s I found in a mag .
Regards Frenchy
hiya, frenchy remember seeing them about both the HGV and the PSV they was very profilic at one time, are they still about. thanks harry long retired.
Hello Harry
I`m pleased that brought back some memories is that a Barton saying profilic .
Best regards Frenchy
hiya, sorry about that frenchy had to use profilic, couldn’t spell plentiful. thanks harry long retired.
Hi boys
I went to Burton on Trent to deliver a digger today to a building site and it got me thinking again about those bricks.Norm you said 20 at a time? god you must have been fit. As I said it was usally 4 for me, sometimes 6 if that was left on the row, 8 if you were showing of. Onething that you soon learnt was if you were catching and dropped one you diden’t bend down to pick it up becouse you ended up with the next 4 on your head.Got to keep the rhymn going especially if you were in a chain. Do you remember Norm the building sites in the early days used to build the houses first then do the roads and the foreman would wont you to get as close to the house as posible to save the hob carriers having to walk two far. Theres another job the HSC has put a stop to,no hob carrying 
Anyway talking of bricks and trying to keep the thread on track, Norm you must have seen people out east making bricks out of animal dung.The houses being in the ground with the animals living over the top.
On one trip returning through eastern Turkey on a dirt road the gate keeping our spare wheel in the cage under the rear of the trailer broke and I noticed in the mirror the spare going accros the field.We had been warned by other drivers not to stop for anyone or anything. But this was our only spare so we stopped, looked around and there wasn’t a thing to be seen in any direction.So I tore off accros the wildernes to retreave the spare. Before I had got back there were people looking at the truck and by the time we had the spare secured there must have been 100 people there. They came from no where,out of the ground, we coulden’t get away quick enough. When we were rolling again we looked in the mirror and they all just disapeared, It was very eary and we were glad to get into more civilised parts.
Regards Keith.
hiya, nice to hear from you DD it is a two man job keeping norm in his place he must be a strong old git 20 bricks at a time, the best i could handle was two and the guys on the site could like it or lump it if it took all day so be it, the gaffer may not be keen to load me with them next time,made the old back ache for day’s after, lot to be said for steel or better still abnormal indivisable stuff i liked that, nearly always drive off crane off or jack up and drive out bit of interest in that sort of work,carrying the old caravan slicers was a good job (wide steel plates) usually to appledore shipbuilders in devon that used to make you pull your’e shoulders in along the narrow bits but i did manage not to catch any caravans and really did try, ■■■■. thanks harry long retired.
Hello lads, I worked with some strong guys, but mostly with the bricks, it was a knack, the least time you kept the bricks clamped between your hands, the less you got tired, and the more you could clamp, the less times you would have to do it, and when you was on your own, it was a godsend to be able to do it in the correct manner. I once said at duston depot, I and a young chap, got 10 hours each day, over the weekend, at time and a half and double time, to unload the bricks from a trailer, because the forman needed to load it for monday, and no-one would do it, and we done it for two weekends, the bricks were for the new offices and garage, when I worked with the brickworkers, they thought I was great to be able to do so many with a bad hand, but some of them could do up to thirty, but I would only do large amounts, when on the second side of the lorry, because you was working at body level, pick up swing and place down. Yes Keith, I have seen them, also I have been in a house in Kenya, made out of cow dung, and a grass roof, but you needed a strong stomach, or the smell would make you sick, for they used to burn it on the fire, and cook their food ?, want some Ha Ha Ha. Been to many places, and done and eaten many things, but sheep eyes, I drew a line, I made out I was eating it, by slight of hand, and putting a marble in my mouth, which I had a few to keep my mouth from feeling dry, the only problem was, they kept watching me, until I swallowed it, then they gave a big cheer, this is what you get if you accept hospitallity from a bedouin from Syria or Jordan, but it made a sound like a bullitt, when it came out the other end, it a wonder it never cracked the bowl, this was one of my mucky tales, but its your fault Keith, for jogging my brain. Sandman Norman
hiya, funny old game the bricks, you could always get a start for a haulier who specialised in bricks and the carriage of, every driver i’ve ever known hated that traffic, bricks and docks drivers nightmare, but i suppose if the brick flats was in your area you got plenty of them and soon learned how to handle them but myself would move to another area to get away from the damned things must have been as strong as a horse doing that every day, talking about strong, a lad who used to be a second mate at harwood meggitt of darwen 15/16 years of age could carry on his shoulders 5 x 1cwt bags of animal feed from the side of the wagon to the stack that was 2 on each shoulder and 1 binder over his head, he was a farmer’s son and i think he must have been sired by the shire horse i mean your talking a quarter of a ton he was the only second mate i ever treated with respect,i wasn’t putting on the lad he asked to be loaded that way ,get done quicker he’d say i’m ready for my breakfast.last saw him grazing in a field of retired horses and dreaming of working with me, NOT.
thanks harry long retired.
h
Hi boys
Harry what are you doing, trying to make one post per page 
As i’ve said on here before when I first started at seventeen I went streaght on to hand balling bags of fertilizer. We had a regular pick up at Gunnass near Scunthorpe where we loaded bags of urea. The first time I went I was instructed to reverse up to this big pile of bags and the loader jumped on the back. The bags were tied at the top with a wire tie like a potato bag. The loader walked to the back of the truck and picked up one bag in each hand by the tuft with the wire around it. Great I thought half hundred weight bags,went,took hold, one in each hand like the loader. No chance one hundred weight each.Apparently the loader was a marshall art nut.When he said jump I asked how high Sir. Sometimes we would move animal feed in half hundreds I used to move two of them at a time otherwise it would take to long.Through my short driving cerrer I have carried a veriaty of goods and like you Harry like the abnormal stuff best which is what I do now. The only problem is you have to think for other people becouse they do not under stand my needs ( where have I heard that before?) 
Regards Keith.
hiya,sorry about the posts DD but the computer is acting up at the minute and i haven’t a clue how to put it right, me and computers or anything electronic, i haven’t mastered the video yet and i believe they’re now obsolete but i’ll sort a busted gearbox pronto anything mechanical i’m OK, it’s terrible not being perfect like our norm, there’s a young guy across the street who will look at my computer when he gets a chance,did quite a lot of abnormal stuff years ago and the only thing i didn’t like doing was high stuff no matter how well the route had been planned i was always on the look out for the odd low wire or tree branch it used to play havoc with my neck, maybe i was just a bit too cautious, heavy, wide, or long i took in my stride, stuff i didn’t like carrying was reinforcing mesh could i hell keep that stuff straight another load was sky high empty pallet loads the load always resembled the leaning tower of pisa en route to a new location never lost anything though so i can’t have been that bad another wobbly load for me was fitted commercial truck wheels from in my case michelins that sort of stuff you need to do regular and you used to find the regular guys had all sorts of bits and bobs to do the job where all we had was ropes and sheets timbers for steel stowed in the landing gear struts and of course chains and tensioners as much use as a chocolate fireguard on most traffic, but always got it there OK never got many dodgy signatures all the years i was at it.
thanks harry long retired.
Hi Harry
Thats better you got that posted ok. It sounds as if you were always in control making the best of what you had, the test of a good driver. You could not posibly carry all the bits and bobs needed for trunking.Nowadays you cannot move unless you have a cab full of paperwork, liceces,test certs, permits etc.All that road route planning and notifing.None of the “bung it on and go” like we used to do.Norm you should know all about papierwork, you being a man of distant travil.
Regards Keith.
hiya, going to stop posting for a while till i get the PC sorted. thanks harry long retired.
Sorry lads I’m not been about, but something has to give, when I am bowling, gardening, and helping my daughter too, soon I will going to Paris, I told my grandaughters this weekend gone, that they are going to Disneyland, they got very excited. also my freezer packed up, so I took it out, tried to get a replacement, but it was hard to get a simlar size, so I took the fridge out as well, and the shelf in between, and got a fridgefreezer hotpoint ice diamond, through a contact for £165, so you can see I have been a little occupied. Sandman Norman
hiya, there you go again norm spending money like it’s going out of fashion , i’d love to be rich like you, but i’ll just have to settle for being very handsome. thanks harry long retired.
Hi boys
Your right Harry how the other half lives a. Just casts the freezer away, surprised you didn’t try to sell it Norm. Didn’t those Marathons have fridges in, you should have salvaged the one from your little accident in Turkey. 
Being a leyland fitment i’m shore it would still be strong today…
Regards Keith.
hiya, DD, i’m a bit like old norm i can spend my pension in no time at all, usually before it goes into my account, if i get any more skint i’ll have to seek work, on second thoughts i can live with being poor, could always do a bit of gardening for norm or polish his bowls, i did say BOWLS, or if he ever decides to return to sand wobbling i could be his second man/teaboy don’t want any driving though and couldn’t sleep in a cab, so i’ll just have to market myself as a gigolo the wife describes me as a good looking nothing, so i guess i’m resigned to being on the scrap heap,i’ll just have to win the lottery. thanks harry long retired.
I do not know how you do it Harry, but you have left a big gap again harry. Sandman Norman
harry_gill:
hiya, funny old game the bricks, you could always get a start for a haulier who specialised in bricks and the carriage of, every driver i’ve ever known hated that traffic, bricks and docks drivers nightmare, but i suppose if the brick flats was in your area you got plenty of them and soon learned how to handle them but myself would move to another area to get away from the damned things must have been as strong as a horse doing that every day, talking about strong, a lad who used to be a second mate at harwood meggitt of darwen 15/16 years of age could carry on his shoulders 5 x 1cwt bags of animal feed from the side of the wagon to the stack that was 2 on each shoulder and 1 binder over his head, he was a farmer’s son and i think he must have been sired by the shire horse i mean your talking a quarter of a ton he was the only second mate i ever treated with respect,i wasn’t putting on the lad he asked to be loaded that way ,get done quicker he’d say i’m ready for my breakfast.last saw him grazing in a field of retired horses and dreaming of working with me, NOT.
thanks harry long retired.h
hiya, piece of cake norm anybody can do it find one of my lengthened posts and press quote, in fact you’ve just achieved it, thanks harry long retired.
Harry, Harry, what should we do with you, chaos seems to follow you around. Sandman Norman
hiya, norm you could always send me away on holiday for a month all expenses paid including spending money, just think a month without any of my hassle, peace and quiet,none of my posted rubbish, no long postings, the benifits are endless, well worth giving a good coat of looking at,not turkoland though might get into your bad ways and get sent home early before i’ve had chance to spend all your brass,ah well. thanks harry long retired.