hiya,
nice to have you back norm, pleased you had a good time great for the youngsters, have only done the florida one but i did enjoy that, but two grand norm i didn’t think there was that much money in the world, was that just the interest on the M/E fiddle ?,see you later.
thanks harry long retired.
hiya,
DD the only way i would drive through Paris is pulling a lowloader wide and heavy, with the simialarity of some places in the far east where i’ve driven it’s like partaking in whacky races, you’d have to be a brave man to drive through there in a car.
thanks harry long retired.
Harry, I hope I got more than that, on my bussiness transactions, ( not fiddles as you stated), you would have got a heart attack at the prices, one snack, two chicken burgers, two coffee’s = £15.40, I said, it would be better to eat in the restaurant, went in one near discoveryland & main street, eat as much as you like, drinks extra, that cost me £110, then sunday, I said lets go into one at frontierland the "Lucky Nugget Saloon, this was our last day, this cost £150, but we hit the jackpot, for all the childrens favourites came in and visited every table, my grandaughters couldnot contain their excitement, they cuddled and had photo’s and got their autograph’s, of Captain hook, Baloo the bear, goofy, pluto,Tigger, Micky mouse, Minnie mouse, Donald duck & his wife, friar tuck, and half a dozen more. The money was not important, when you see the pleasure in the childrens eye’s, and they came and gave me a kiss & a cuddle, and said thank you Pappy for bringing us to Disneyland, no Harry I will not take you there, even if you give me a kiss or a cuddle Ha Ha Ha. Later I will tell you a M/E tale, of when I done a trip to Izmir in Turkey. Sandman Norman
Hi Boys
Harry The last 12 months that I did europe was nearly all to Paris. Got to know it better that London. Always used to clear customs at Genneviliers then deliver all over town. The only way to handle the trafic was to decide where you were going and go,everyone seemed to work around you.I did see two of Lloyds of Ludlow on the Peripherique crush a Citron gavanized shed that was aggravating them. They just closed together and squshed it, then carried on leaving the van in pieces in the road. 
Norm All that money that would greeve me but it sounds as if you enjoyed spending it on your family. Come on then lets have that tale…
Regards Keith
hiya,
haway norm lets have the turkoland tale hope you didn’t do any belly dancing on a tray of eggs did you?? and DD if you’re contemplating starting a paris taxi outfit i’m not interested they don’t drive their cars they aim them, but looks like the money is good.
thanks harry long retired.
Harry & Keith, you will like this tale, me & my old mate Colin Wright, began our journey to Izmir, we went the route of Zeebrugger, then to Brussels to the German border Aachen, when a German custom man checked my fuel, then in a hitler tone, said " deisel ist rot", I replied no my tank is red, in German, because for some reason, it was red leaded inside, but he insisted the deisel was red. So he took a sample, and tested it, he came back, alle ist gute, I replied Ich kennen das (I know that), his face was red, but I could not be bothered to test him Ha Ha Ha. Later near Koln in a contorflow, my wheel slipped off the edge of the concrete, it was tapping along the metal crash barrier, I tugged at the steering wheel, to get it back on the road, when it bit, and swervered back on to the motorway across into the other lanes, which the other traffic was comming head on, I could see the look of horror on the faces of these car driver, as I quickly got my lorry straightened up and into the nearside lane, and the look of relief, as they passed me by, later I pulled into the service area. Colin said Norman you done a slick bit of driving, to get it under control, yes mate, but I chopped through my indicator controls with my good hand, and soon it will swell up, and it is going to snow, so we parked up at Nurenburg, and rewired a bacerlite switch on the dashboard, and my hand I put into a bowl of snow, because it was twice its size, and left a day later. will continue later, because a lot happened to me on this trip. Sandman Norman
hiya,
Norm so far so good, bring it on my old mate, i’ll wait until you’re finished before i have another go at you.
thanks harry long retired.
Harry, you lovable " Ratbag", We drove off from our parking place to a small crossing point Wernberg, when a custom man, opened my door, and said tacho, when I opened up the clock, to get the graph, he said " Vos ist das"= what is that, and it was a cork tip, slid in between the needle, I told him I had no idea how it got there, because I did not smoke ciggarettes, only cigars, I was taken from my lorry to a cell type room, then questioned. My defence, it was not my vehicle, mine was being repaired, and I only came in this one because it was a short trip to Izmir, and I had a photo to show it was another lorry LNU 137P, was my normal unit. Then the custom man told me they had a small court, and my evidence would be shown to a judge, and he would decide how much I would have to pay, what for I replied, just because another driver smoked ciggarettes, and a tipper fell in the tacho, oh no he replied in German, that was put in there to stop the needle going above 80km, are you sure, he nodded, I cannot see a problem, we are not forced to use tacho’s in UK, we use log books, and I personally only put a card in to protect the needles, so to me it is pointless to doctor the tacho. Yes you are correct, not until next year will it be compusary for british drivers to use tacho’s, but every lorry must be fitted with one, and it must be in good working order, and it is elegal to tamper with the working order of them. How much money do you have, that is my concern, you tell me what the Judge wants, and I will tell you if I can pay, he smiled, and went into the court, and came back, and told me it was 100dm, but if I had known the tipper had been in the tacho, it would have been nearto £100, almost four times more, I paid up, and got a factura for the amount, and back on the road into Czechoslovakia, and it was hell because of the snow, and we had no snow chains, and we were slipping and sliding on the cobblestones, on our way to Plzen, this is where pilsner lager is brewed, and it is strong, we struggled our way to near Brno, when we got stuck in the snow, the police arrived, and we were towed out, and told to park up in a layby, and not to move until the snow was not too deep to drive with the artic’s, I ask the policeman, if there was a good hotel nearby, and he told me the International, and we could drop the trailer and go in the unit if we wanted to go into Brno. More later, still got a lot more to come. Sandman Norman
Norman Ingram:
Harry, you lovable " Ratbag", We drove off from our parking place to a small crossing point Wernberg, when a custom man, opened my door, and said tacho, when I opened up the clock, to get the graph, he said " Vos ist das"= what is that, and it was a cork tip, slid in between the needle, I told him I had no idea how it got there, because I did not smoke ciggarettes, only cigars, I was taken from my lorry to a cell type room, then questioned. My defence, it was not my vehicle, mine was being repaired, and I only came in this one because it was a short trip to Izmir, and I had a photo to show it was another lorry LNU 137P, was my normal unit. Then the custom man told me they had a small court, and my evidence would be shown to a judge, and he would decide how much I would have to pay, what for I replied, just because another driver smoked ciggarettes, and a tipper fell in the tacho, oh no he replied in German, that was put in there to stop the needle going above 80km, are you sure, he nodded, I cannot see a problem, we are not forced to use tacho’s in UK, we use log books, and I personally only put a card in to protect the needles, so to me it is pointless to doctor the tacho. Yes you are correct, not until next year will it be compusary for british drivers to use tacho’s, but every lorry must be fitted with one, and it must be in good working order, and it is illegal to tamper with the working order of them. How much money do you have, that is my concern, you tell me what the Judge wants, and I will tell you if I can pay, he smiled, and went into the court, and came back, and told me it was 100dm, but if I had known the tipper had been in the tacho, it would have been nearto £100, almost four times more, I paid up, and got a factura for the amount, and back on the road into Czechoslovakia, and it was hell because of the snow, and we had no snow chains, and we were slipping and sliding on the cobblestones, on our way to Plzen, this is where pilsner lager is brewed, and it is strong, we struggled our way to near Brno, when we got stuck in the snow, the police arrived, and we were towed out, and told to park up in a layby, and not to move until the snow was not too deep to drive with the artic’s, I ask the policeman, if there was a good hotel nearby, and he told me the International, and we could drop the trailer and go in the unit if we wanted to go into Brno. More later, still got a lot more to come. Sandman Norman
Hi Boys
Norm, Good so far. your not teasing us are you, were all here hanging on your every word.
Regards Keith.
No not teasing, So many things happened on that trip, and my wife, moans if I am on the laptop too much, so I write a piece, then stop. Back on the road in the unit, we pull in the car park of the hotel, which now cost over £150 per night, I have checked, then it was 250 korun’s, which with the rate I negosiated = £10 between us, this with full breakfast in bed, it was a grand hotel, with a nightclub underneath the front of the hotel. Within 10 minutes of being in the hotel, a porter approached me to ask me in german, if I had any DM’s, and he would give me 10 times the exchange rate, I replied not at this moment, but can you tell me who is the chief or boss of the club, I have some drink, tell him to phone me in my room,we go to wash & change. Later after shaving, showering, and getting into my best cloths, the phone rang, and this voice spoke to me in german, asking me if I spoke english, as his german was limited, of course I do, I am english. Good you have something to sell, what is it, what do you require for your bar, " Whiskey" we cannot get enough for our foreign customers, and when we can, it is so expensive, £25/30 per 75cl bottle, well I said how would you like to pay £10 for a litre red or black label, we must meet, we did and a beautiful friendship was formed between us, I like it that no money passed between us, for their money was like monopoly money to me, but I got goods and service, and my hotel paid, whenever I stopped there, I was treated like royalty, and we eat & drink, sometimes with female guest, and when we asked for the bill, the waiter would bring it, and the boss would come across, and tear it up, and it happened many times, when I went to Brno. The next day when I was sitting in the lounge drinking tea, a young lady came up to me, and said, goodmorning, you are english, I looked up, and a beautiful honey blonde, who could quite easy be on the front page of the " Vogue". Sorry lads, she who must be obeyed, has called time. Sandman Norman
hiya,
Norm you’re getting me a bit excited here, not good for an elderly gentleman in my poor state of health.
thanks harry long retired.
Hi Boys
Norm you’ve dune it again.You are teasing us Now you have got the inagination going then you stop…
Regards Keith
Sorry lads, but I am doing all of this with one finger, I should not be telling you now, it should be in my book. How was this Helen of troy type of girl, gifted with the knowledge, that I was english, then it struck me, I was reading the " Daily express", goodmorning young lady, my name is Norman, and I come from Northampton England, she replied, my name is Dagmar, my friends call me “Dasha”, I come to the hotel to practice my english, I have been to England, was in folkstone, but was call back, when the Russians ousted our Leader, I speak six languages, English, French, Dutch, Russian, German, Polish, she had to sit her finals to become a professor, I asked her to sit and have a drink with me, the night before we met up with two girl, and went dancing, one was a waitress, the other worked in a office, and was keen on Colin, her name was Valasta, jet black hair, a curvy buxsome lass, with a daughter of 12, but she was in her early twenty’s, and she could only speak german as her second language, so I was interacting between Colin And her, the waitress was a dizzy Betty hutton type of girl, with limited German, where Dasha was more interlectural, so I asked her out that night, saying as soon as the weather gets better, we will be travelling towards Turkey. Well we went to one of their upmarket drinking places, then onto the nightclub, We danced to the music and a singer, with the the song “I just called to tell you I love you”, it was a very pleasant evening, we made a promise that we would see them on the return, and would telex or phone to let them know. I told her I was married with three children, and she said I was so honest, but would like to be a good friend, Colin was not quite as honest, and Vlasta had high hopes of things going her way. But both girls would have made you feel good if you had them on your arm, I met the waitress, and she looked like thunder at Dasha, and spoke to her nastyly, so I had a dance with her, and said if she was a good girl, and said sorry to my partner, I would be comming manytimes to Brno, then she had a chance to go out with me again, but she was not my girl friend, ask the other, I am married, still it is good for the ego, that two girls are seeking your company. Well the weather got better, and we forced ourselves to continue our trip, through Hungary in half a day, only stopping at a cafe for a coffee and a bowl of gulash, into Yugo, pedal to the metal, trying to make up time, we got near to Skopia, parked up, and had a mealand made a mug of tea, and went to bed, and dreamt of the nights before, for we were up at the crack of dawn, and soon out of the country, into Greece, and going through Thessallonica, towards Kavala, then the Turkish border. thats is all I can manage for now. Sandman Norman
hiya,
Norm set yourself away old DD and myself are held in suspense time you started using two fingers, and i don’t mean in V sign format designated in my direction.
thanks harry long retired.
Hi boys
Norm are you trying to tell us you were the perfect gentleman, will have to get the imagination working overtime for that. I’m with Harry try using two fingers to keep going. I was going to suggest getting your good Lady to help but having just read your last post mayby you had better not.
By the way Chris has gone quite, mayby you’ve embarrest him. 
Regards Keith.
dessert driver:
Hi boys
Norm are you trying to tell us you were the perfect gentleman, will have to get the imagination working overtime for that. I’m with Harry try using two fingers to keep going. I was going to suggest getting your good Lady to help but having just read your last post mayby you had better not.
By the way Chris has gone quite, mayby you’ve embarrest him.Regards Keith.
Keith,no, still here just taking it all in,he’s been about a bit our Norman bless him,and look forward to reading more of his exploits.
I just wonder about that Marathon he had on the Overland to Iran BRS job.The AEC/Leyland centre in Nottingham was always full of those desert Marathons in various states of repair,like my bugger was.Maybe Norm flogged 'em too hard so he could get to all those continental women before anybody else stuck their noses (or whatever) in.It’s to be hoped the girls were slightly more attractive than the two below. 
Back in the UK,here’s a couple of nice young ladies you all might remember,one from Ripley A61 Derbyshire and the other from the A1 whose patch was Stamford-Doncaster, “Ripley Pig” and “Grantham Gobbler”.
“Ripley Lil” aka “Transistor Lil” frequented the “Prince of Wales” on Butterley Hill leading into Ripley and knew all the drivers between Sheffield and Birmingham area on the steel haulage job,night and day.For some reason she had no time for any BRS driver,don’t know why. 
“Grantham Gobbler” - well her patch was Stamford - Doncaster and woe betide anybody trying to muscle in on her bit,as one young 'un discovered one night in Morley’s Cafe at Markham Moor.
Not speaking from experience by the way,just an onlooker. 
What do you reckon Norman,any good?
hiya,
thank god they don’t induce any memories Chris, you never mentioned niff naff (spelling) of A5 fame she was supposed to only have had one tooth and she got the nickname juanita.
thanks harry long retired.
Hi boys
cannot beleave what i’m reading, You’ve all been at it… Are you trying to curupt me. That book Norm will have to be on the top shelf…
Regards Keith.
hiya,
hang about keith if you dare, the old fella is turning this into a blue movie and we’ll all get run in if some mary whitehouse type takes a peep, i don’t fancy doing porridge i’m going on my holidays in a fortnight, don’t know how i’ll be able to control myself for a full ten days,going to service my drag tomorrow yes i’m one of those horrible caravan types who every trucker hates (yes i did too) when i was a driver, but once a wagon and drag man always a wagon and drag man, i’ll try not to be a nuisance though, only going to york i find that’s far enough now went to northampton and back the other day only drove back home but it nearly killed me.
thanks harry long retired.