my dad reckons some parts of the job were much better in “the good old days” (sorry dad 
)…
no sleeper cabs… digs every night
no mobile phones in-cab… no constant haranguing by the office monkeys
no motorways…
less traffic…
customs clearance at european borders… papers in before a certain time or another day off waiting
BUT…
no power steering…
crap brakes
ridiculous amounts of union power at docks… waiting days at liverpool/london docks to tip
HANDBALL A PLENTY before pallets… stacking ton after ton of load on flat trls…
which would you prefer?
Sorry JB but dad’s right
20 or so years ago the comradeship was a lot better.
Having to stop in digs, meant no starting till after breakfast, finish early enough to get in digs. ie 10 hour days.
Used to get together for a drink after, not sit on seperate tables in truckstops.
Unions used to fight for us (had some backbone then)
Breakdown, sheeting, strapping, there was always a helping hand.
20 years ago I was on £27.50 night out, now £18
Need I say more 
bazman:
Unions used to fight for us (had some backbone then)
Sadly the T & G is now so far removed from transport that it campaigned against it’s own members during the last fuel dispute.
Despite not having been a driver 20 years ago I would in agree things are not as good as they were in many ways but then it’s no longer haulage it’s Logistics now.
I think the bit in between was better
Early Sleeper cabs were just coming in, people still had time for each other and if you had a puncture you would see volunteers running towards you rather than away 
Trucks had electric start, so no one had to get up early to build steam up or swing on a handle 
At least you knew were you were with borders and customs. Too late and you got another day in the pub
I remember when a night heater was a novelty
Nearly every factory or dock you used had subsidised canteens with proper food and lunch times.
It was certainly better 20 or 30 years ago
TGWU should change its name to GWU (Government Workers Union)
hate to say this 20 years ago was 1985…trucks had power steering sleeper cabs and union power had already taken a pounding vis a vis the miners et al…customs clearance for the eu ended 10 years ago…and the French where taking all our foreign work 
I was thinking more like 30-35 years ago 
JB:
my dad reckons some parts of the job were much better in “the good old days” (sorry dad
no sleeper cabs… digs every night
no mobile phones in-cab… no constant haranguing by the office monkeys
no motorways…
less traffic…
customs clearance at european borders… papers in before a certain time or another day off waiting
BUT…
no power steering…
crap brakes
ridiculous amounts of union power at docks… waiting days at liverpool/london docks to tip
HANDBALL A PLENTY before pallets… stacking ton after ton of load on flat trls…
which would you prefer?
Dad’s definitely right JB. We were a real brotherhood then. Together every night not curtained off in front of the telly.
The office only intruded when you phoned them.
I hated handball, I hated sheeting and roping, grabbed all the steel I could and wacked the chains and sylvesters over it.
I got calluses (look the word up, young’uns) on my hands, and I always wore gloves.
I had muscles on muscles from just going round corners.
My feet were frozen in winter and dissolved in summer.
My hearing was permanently damaged (I’m thinking of getting a recording of the word ‘eh?’ to save my voice now).
The unions fought against not for us, Baz, hence the days waiting at Liverpool and London.
But. We were the Kings of the Road. Looked up to and admired for our skills (untested formally as they were for many of us).
I’d give up all the power steering, sleepers, night heaters, air seats and synchro boxes (no contest there anyway) for the sheer freedom of those days.
However, now I’m retired I don’t have to back all this bluster up
Happy days, JB’s Dad
Salut, David.[/b][/i]
I once read this quote about drivers’ digs in the “good old days”…
"They changed the sheets once a week and drivers went to bed in their overalls in self-defence. There was no toilet as such- merely a chamber pot which was nicknamed ‘dampfoot’ "
Not for me, thanks!
Vince
Not very often I agree altogether with my son and Im afraid some things he says now arent right! No sleeper cabs yes, every night in digs no. Driving hours as such did not exist and if the boss wanted an early delivery it was a night on a board over the engine! I w2ell remember pulling into the docks with a load two pallets high on a flat trailer, sitting on the dock road,[London or liverpool or wherever}, getting up to the ship and having a dock gang of 7or 8 men putting a stack of pallets alongside the wagon and ,just stack it on there drive, well shift them when youve filled them. Running continental a few years after you had to know when to put paperwork in for clearance e.g. no good running into Zona Franca in Barcelona at 9am as at that time the agent didnt want any papers till 7aM the next morning! With things like that to contend with the hours regs were very often forgotten. . Yet whatever hours we did the French always seemed to do more, as I found out when I joined a French firm for a spell . However enough from me, there must be other old drivers on here!
I should have mentioned, but someone was rushing me for dinner, that here in France we still have the best of both worlds in one respect at least.
We still have the evening camaraderie. Good chat over a (long) meal. Just don’t have to scramble over someone’s feet to have a pee in the night anymore!
Salut, David.
Spardo:
I should have mentioned, but someone was rushing me for dinner, that here in France we still have the best of both worlds in one respect at least.
We still have the evening camaraderie. Good chat over a (long) meal. Just don’t have to scramble over someone’s feet to have a pee in the night anymore!Salut, David.
Couldn’t agree more David. Some of my best nights out have been in Centre Routiers. How come France get them and we get South Mimms■■?
Vince
I must admit to having a lot of very good nights in French routiers. Unfortunately nowadays with satelite most drivers seem to know their way up and down the autoroute and that is it.
Vince:
Spardo:
I should have mentioned, but someone was rushing me for dinner, that here in France we still have the best of both worlds in one respect at least.
We still have the evening camaraderie. Good chat over a (long) meal. Just don’t have to scramble over someone’s feet to have a pee in the night anymore!Salut, David.
Couldn’t agree more David. Some of my best nights out have been in Centre Routiers. How come France get them and we get South Mimms■■?
Vince
Its part of the reason I am reluctant to go anywhere else If I had to work in England, I would starve. Where else can you get a 5 course meal and a language course? for a tenner
Wheel Nut:
[Its part of the reason I am reluctant to go anywhere else
In the interests of balance, I suppose it’s fair to say that the French are absolutely useless at serving “Pie de steak et kidney qui a reste sous un lampe de halogen pendant les derniere huit heures”
Vince
Vince:
[In the interests of balance, I suppose it’s fair to say that the French are absolutely useless at serving “Pie de steak et kidney qui a reste sous un lampe de halogen pendant les derniere huit heures”
Vince
Exactement! The reason we keep 'em in the face of autoroute bypasses is because they are good enough for us old 'uns to tell the young 'uns about them. Word of mouth down through the generations and because they’re good enough the young ones keep going back. If I had to eat full time in greasy spoons I think my dogs would guard their grub a bit more tightly 
.
The food and the company in the restos are the only things I really regret about retirement, which is why whenever Fran and I take a bit of a trip we try to end up at one.
We take 2 days between here and Calais now with the caravan. Stop the first night at Rhodes, Marie’s, only 2 hours up the road on the A20 J21 between Limoges & Chateauroux, where we are welcomed like treasured friends and smothered in ‘bisous’ (kisses). Next night Chez Jo at Hautvillers on the N1 north of Abbeville, where Jo cooks on the open fire Tuesdays and Fridays and he lets us leave the caravan round the back, free of charge, till we return from England.
All are marked on my map which is why it is a mammoth job to transfer my ‘database’ when I buy a new one, like this year. 
If anyone wants culinary info, especially in the north and west, I’m your man.
Bon Appetit.
Salut, David.
We take 2 days between here and Calais now with the caravan. Stop the first night at Rhodes, Marie’s, only 2 hours up the road on the A20 J21 between Limoges & Chateauroux, where we are welcomed like treasured friends and smothered in ‘bisous’ (kisses). Next night Chez Jo at Hautvillers on the N1 north of Abbeville, where Jo cooks on the open fire Tuesdays and Fridays and he lets us leave the caravan round the back, free of charge, till we return from England
Not tried Marie’s yet David, but I am sure they based Manuel on the waiter at Chez Jo . He always makes a fuss and knows that I will eat 2 helpings of moules mariniere
If anyone wants culinary info, especially in the north and west, I’m your man.
What about Angers, I always struggle there, apart from on the road from St Barthelemy
Wheel Nut:
[
Not tried Marie’s yet David, but I am sure they based Manuel on the waiter at Chez Jo
Yes, you’re right, you’re talking about the little bloke who races about at top speed? He has been there 32 years! The story goes that he was a foundling left on the doorstep of the (then) patron. Sounds plausible. The other waiter has been there as long as I have known the place. Must be a record for resto staff.
Anger is a bit sparce, but depends which way you are going. If south down the D748/D761 towards Doue la Fontaine and Poitiers, there is a great place at Saulge l’ Hopital, at about 18kms from the Loire bridge. It doesn’t look like a routier, just a small restaurant on the left hand side as you enter the village, parking on the pavement opposite. It is even open on a Saturday too. Failing that there is another a couple of kms further on on the crossroads at Noyon la Plaine. Haven’t been in there though. There is a big one at Doue of course and many more beyond.
If you are heading home up the A11, come off at J10 and take the D306/D21 north towards Laval. The village of Louailles after 2kms has a very good place. Parking on the left just before the village, resto a bit further down on the other side. On the same road in the other direction to La Fleche there is another just before the town. Good but not as good as Louaille.
Bon appetit!
Salut, David.
JB,
Sorry, realised we have gone right off thread here.
Rikki,
If there is a demand for this kind of info, not just in France by me, but everywhere, what about a dedicated forum? Say, ’ Where to Eat’ ?
Salut, David.
Getting the thread back on track, I often think of this discussion we’re having here and the pros and cons ,
Especially whem I’m on the motorway with the cruise control on,
the armrests down,
the electric sunroof open (with mossy net)
radio or cd player on.
kettle and coffe maker and as many gadgets as you like,
and of course tv / dvd combi.
heater or air con on,
20 tonne on pallets ( tyres acttually now, just roll em off )
phone, good for ringing home, not good for “where are you now”
Sitting on “Pride of Hull” eating free 4 course meal, then go to cinema or casino or caberet,
OR
late 60s/70s
Under powered over loaded
crap brakes, no heater, using crawler every day,
watching temp gauge every time you did a big climb
sleeping in cab on ropes and sheets to try and make a few bob,
Fleabitten digs, six to a room,
roping and sheeting, trying to put 2 sheets and a flysheet on in the wind and rain then ropes freezing over night
20 tonne handball everyday, , 20 on to buffer depot 20 off and 20 back on,
I could go on all night.
Conclusion■■?
I think you can guess where my vote goes.