Lads, I will try and finish this trip tonight. this particular episode in my life, was nearly the break up of my marriage, but the way I conducted myself, and was totally honest, Dasha wrote to my wife, and said she was a fool if she let me go, but if she did, she would jump at the chance to have someone like me. Sandman Norman
We pass through the border into Turkey,travel down to the ferry to canakhele,and it was not too long before we were running in to the agent at Izmir, we unloaded and then we were told, our manager had been telexed to ask if we would take a back load, I asked how much, £650, I told him to get knotted, they was paying the dutch and German £950, he then said he a confirmation our boss had accepted, I said I do not care, I will not pick up the load, goodbye, and we went to the fuel station and parked up, this was a normal parking place for TIR truckers, we showered, had a meal, and went to bed for a early start. About 20 minutes a knock on the door, it was the agent, saying he would give us a hundred for our selves, if we picked up the load, I told him to go away, we are not interested, only come back when we get paid the going rate. Went off to sleep, had about six hours, and Colin knocked on my door, he said the agent is back with the boss of the firm, who wants us to take it to Manchester, its a load of cotton bales, he keeps pushing money into my hand, alright mate, I will come and see what he wants, well it was the agent, but a different chap, but he was speaking turkish, so I looked at them, and said " Sprechen sie Deutch" Ja, Ja, so I had a chat with them, the boss had agreed to pay the full amount, but only £650 to the firm, but £300 to us for each load, I said I wanted to see the telex from our firm, so he gave me the copy, from the idiot of a manager. For I had told him it wast not worth the hassel, for we have to pay transit charges every country we go through, more deisel, by the time we get back, we will be lucky if we come out of it with £50. But if we travel empty, it cost us nothing to go through all the countries, and we can get a load from Prinz line plus a free ferry, and they will pay £450, but he had no idea. When I looked at the telex, he had agreed to take the loads, but said get the payments up front in western currency. So I told the boss to go away and get the payment for the two loads in hard currency, then he would give us the address to pick up the loads, then we would be on our way, when he gave us the correct paperwork, we had to go near to denizli to pick up the bales of cotton, and it was a terrible load, not stable inside the tilts. WE got our cash in french, swiss, pounds, deutch marks, and dollars. We got out of Turkey, through Greece and yugo, hungary, with not too much trouble, but every now and again , we would back one trailer into the side of the other trailer to square up the load, but when in Czechoslovia, the side of the nearside was catching the tree’s, we checked the sides, and there was long slits, so when we stopped at Brno, I asked Dasha, if she would take me to a shop, which sold red and white tape, and I purchased over a dozen large rolls.
Hi boys
Harry , Harry He’s done it again. I don’t beleave it, He’s just got the ■■■■■■■ tape then stops. 
Regards Keith
Then I began to Patch up the tilt, inbetween the letterwork, and you couldnot see anything wrong with it, after spending another nice time in Brno, we past into east germany, and only had a problemat the border with western germany, because they opened trailer and had the dogs in there, and a east german soldier pushed the side of the sheet out. with such force, that it split wide open, panic stations, I just laught and a officer came up to us and said we cannot re-seal these trailers, no problem, he looked puzzeled, I said we go to the western side, and report we need to repair the tilts, then when they are repaired we have them put on ton “T” forms. They let us go, into western germany, we had our repairs, paid for it, also for the forms, and merrily on our way, onto the ferry, we divided the money up pro- rato, I kept the dollars, Colin had the rest, I was on holiday when I got back, a week in Blackpool, I left a note to stop the money for the load out of my expenses. When in the hotel, I said I had to go to the bank, so I took a trip to St. Anne’s, went in to Barclay’s, ask the change rate it was good, I made another £300 on top of the £950 I had collected, that was a good trip for us. Later when I got back to the office, I told Bernard the manager, if he was not such a pillock, and listened to his drivers, he would have earnt more for the firm, he said you must give it to the firm, I shook my head, we have copies of the telex, you accepted £650, that is what you recieved, perhaps you will learn from your mistakes, he did, and he alway did what I suggested, when I was in the offices of agents, and he made more money for the firm. That is the trip, the motto, always be honest, it pays in the endddddddd. Sandman Norman
No I have not, it only takes so much on a page
Hi boys
Well Norm finally got there. A good tale well done I’m still not shore about your relationship with that Dasha but at least I can go to bed with the thought that you were only doing your bit for International relations… 
Good night Keith.
Platonic, well mostly■■?
dessert driver:
Hi boys
Well Norm finally got there. A good tale well done I’m still not shore about your relationship with that Dasha but at least I can go to bed with the thought that you were only doing your bit for International relations…Good night Keith.
hiya,
cannot comment on the trip Norm other than well done, and they all was by the sound of it,and the the platonic bit i will take with a pinch of salt, now Keith i hope you didn’t carry on like that when you was sand wobbling, you don’t have to answer that, i’m just pleased i only did the UK where there was never anything like that went on, i was one of the british good boys never even tempted ahem, to think if i’d have gone over the water i may have been led astray and become an old retrobate like old Norm.
thanks harry long retired.
Harry, I wonder if you would have been a saint, if you was away for three to thirteen weeks at a time ■■?, and never having the joy of falling into a barrel of ■■■■ like you, I would certainly had the gumpsion to ■■■■ something better than my thumb. No Harry, I really think you are not made to be a bussinessman, for when you had that spare bale of clothing, you ended up dumping them, at least you could have made a few coppers, by selling them to the rag & bone man, you must grab with both hands, when a oppertunity comes your way, and turn it to your advantage, or you will stay poor. Sandman Norman
Always tried to do my bit to help foreign policy, and keep the natives friendly.
dessert driver:
Hi boys
Well Norm finally got there. A good tale well done I’m still not shore about your relationship with that Dasha but at least I can go to bed with the thought that you were only doing your bit for International relations…Good night Keith.
hiya,
thanks for that Norm, when i went to work as a driver for the water company i got the chance of going on a plumbing course and i did quite well actually coming top of the class, since retirement and prior to the “c” thingy i did a few jobs for people fitting new bathrooms suites and general plumbing jobs you know outside taps and that sort of thing, and believe me i never made money out of it, when asked, how much do i owe? you when it came to the crunch i couldn’t charge them, Norm i’ve even had “friends” complain about the cost of the fittings i had to use even when giving them the invoice for the bits i’ve actually bought, so me having no business brain your right, and what’s that load of garbage has to do with M/E work i haven’t a clue, i’ll finish up getting banned from this forum if i don’t change my ways,
thanks harry long retired.
No harry, you will not get banned from my threads, because we are fellow plumbers, that was my first job, before I went in the REME, we are red & rust drivers,and Truck net junkies, I am off to bowling soon, so I will wish you well. Sandman Norman
Hello Norman how long did BRS do the Turkey/M/E job, Cheers
Another question for Norman, - didnt BRS (Eastern)? do M/E using day cab Crusaders in the early 70s and is it true that the “Crusader” badge was best removed in Turkey because it upset the locals!!
Still cant get my head around why a firm like BRS would send thier drivers out to the m/e in day cabs when the likes of Asian/Astran had been using Scania sleepers on the route in the late 60s 
They started in 1974, and packed up in december 1977, due to the ships were taking more goods, because the docks were westernised, when before they was waiting to unload 3/6 months and the firms with contracts were on penalty clauses, hence it was quicker by road. this was the company formed by BRS and call Overland, but as Suedehead said they done early trial runs before.
V8 Passion:
Hello Norman how long did BRS do the Turkey/M/E job, Cheers
Correct, three wagons went to Iran, to test the water, shown the way by ex- sas driver from Astran, I did know his name, but at this moment it eludes me. yes, they had no idea, they would have sent a Mandator, when they ask for volenteers, they asked us what motors we would like, we picked Scania’s, Volvo’s, DAF’s, we got lumbered with Leylands, because one we had loads from them to Tehran, and also, I believe someone took a bung.
Suedehead:
Another question for Norman, - didnt BRS (Eastern)? do M/E using day cab Crusaders in the early 70s and is it true that the “Crusader” badge was best removed in Turkey because it upset the locals!!
Still cant get my head around why a firm like BRS would send thier drivers out to the m/e in day cabs when the likes of Asian/Astran had been using Scania sleepers on the route in the late 60s
hiya,
Norm have driven a day cabbed crusader on the odd occasion, i thought they was a great motor but i don’t know how someone could make one comfortable enough for a nights sleep on a trip taking weeks, must have been broken backed after a couple of nights unless they was fitted out with some sort of bunk which to me would have been a bit of a nuisance having to erect every bedtime, i don’t believe it but i’ve heard lads say best nights sleep they’ve ever had ,i had an F88 sleeper for a time and never slept in that but that was my own choice, but would have been a better bet for M/E work, just my opinion.
thanks harry long retired.
Well we found out by experience, that we had to secure everything, so people could not tamper with it, one trick was to get at your gas bottle, and feed the pipe back into the cab, after cutting it, and turn it on, so if you were asleep, you would stay that way, while they took everything in the cab, including all your wealth and clothes, if you were lucky, you would wake up alive, totally naked, with nothing to your name. So I fed my rubber pipe through a flexible metal tubeing, caged the gas bottle, and put the padlock where you could only get to it when you tilted the cab. Also drill the handbrake on the trailer, so you could lock it open or on, and fit a collar on the trailer pin, when you dropped it. both doors was fitted with hinged steel mesh, and the doors had bars you could secure to stop intruders opening them, if they could pick the locks. I was only broken into once in my cab in czech, and a and a siide trailer bin in bulgaria, it never happened again, I made sure of that. Sandman Norman
hiya,
Norm you certainly earned your coin doing that job, one trip (if i completed it) would have been my lot, must have been like driving a mobile Fort Knox, i was happy to park up go to bed and if the motor was there intact in the morning so be it, i guess i was lucky never had any overnight problems other than the odd drop of juice being drawn off, i’m aware there are a lot of thieves about in this day and age, and i wouldn’t do the present day job for a gold clock.
thanks harry long retired.
Hi harry, I knew many that gave up after one trip, I had grown men who was near to a nervious breakdown, crying, for all the trouble, they had suffered, they had not planed their trip,and just thought it was like driving in england, and help was just around the corner, well it was not like that, you had to help yourself, or speak to the locals, and find out where help was availible, the main thing was had to be confident in your own ability, to sort out any problems. Sandman Norman