I used to live just outside Cheltenham and drink in the same pub as a lot of Ralph Davies drivers.
The old hands who had been there, seen it and done it would always be very quiet and might mention certain parts about their latest trip or where they off to next but on the whole didn’t shout about what they did.
The newer, younger drivers on the other hand would come in shouting about they were off to Russia etc when it was so obvious they hadn’t gone further east than Berlin!! The old hands would just cringe.
I used to know Mickey Gill relatively well and he was a real gent, quiet and unassuming. I am still in touch with several of the old drivers but all bar one have left and are working elsewhere now.
Makes most wagon jobs seem a bit mundane doesn’t it? 
A well written story too. There is something similar in this months Trucking about Middle East runs that isn’t a patch on this. This article is interesting and detailed I found the Middle East one very dull. “We went here. We went there.” etc. No detail or stories 
I found it made an interesting subject seem strangely dull and lifeless.
This article is different class. Cheers for posting it robv8.
jdc:
I used to know Mickey Gill relatively well and he was a real gent, quiet and unassuming. I am still in touch with several of the old drivers but all bar one have left and are working elsewhere now.
There’s 2 of the old boys back know doing the scanners 
jdc:
The newer, younger drivers on the other hand would come in shouting about they were off to Russia etc when it was so obvious they hadn’t gone further east than Berlin!! The old hands would just cringe.
Probably the same young ones who were stuck in rented FL10s doing 6 weeks of Spains because “there” motor was;
a) in for service
b) in Russia
c) on it’s side somewhere (usually Spain)
d) actually the one they were in
It always make me laugh!! When I was 21 and just passed, I kept my mouth shut, my ears open and myself to myself.
I learnt the most amount from older drivers. I remember asking advice to a group of English drivers on the Portsmouth to Le Havre boat on my very first trip. They gave me more advice than I could ever remember and were more than happy to help. They couldn’t believe a new driver was admitting to being inexperienced and asking for help!!!
Thanks for taking the time to scan and post that Rob, a good read…and a different world!!
Anyone, apart from JJ72, still going that far or is that finished aswell?
Cheers, bullitt.
a great read brilliant.i went as far as poznan in poland a couple of times didnt have a clue what to do at the border but i knew if i could see a ralph davies driver they would put me straight.luckily i bumped into one on the way to the border i asked him what best to do i listened did every thing he said and never had a problem a great bunch of lads.spent a weekend with one at kiato port in greece waiting for grapes another great lad,none was big headed just down to earth and full of info if you asked.
yeah, sniff, late comers to the job though - they were still carting oranges back from spain for years after we started russian work - then became overnight intercontinental specialists 
although they did at least recruit some good drivers for when they started doing it
Thats a long journey by road, on my visit to Tashkent was via air, somewhat quicker. Thanks for posting that and very interesting read.
Andy
Great stuff, still had that mag until it got threw out last year.
Thanks for posting this robv8, a great read
anyone remembers clive measures from davises ?
andy c:
anyone remembers clive measures from davises ?
Was that Sergeant Wilson in Dads Army? 
Hi all, does anyone know the whereabouts of Dave Payne nowadays. I used to work with him at Fred Archers in Ipswich in the eighties and later used to bump into him when he worked for Ralphie. On one trip to Zarafshan we caught up with three of ralphie’s trucks in a truck stop in Kasakstan where one of the F16 s had a fuel problem. After several phone calls and about two days we blanked off one injector and returned the fuel to the tank .This truck running on five cylinders was still pushing my 95 380 DAF up the hills. We ran with them as far as the turn off for Al Matty and then carried on to Zarafshan in Uzbekistan. we were later told that Volvo trucks Flew a fitter out with a new fuel pump to Al Matty.
Regards Jamie.
A Scot Lost in the Valley’s
Dave, I think he owns a bakers in Tenerife 