Norman Ingram:
Ossie, I know I am drifting along the coast, but 34years ago, we used to go to Margate on caravan holidays, and we used to swim in the pool on the beach, the water was changed every time the tide came in and out, is it still there.
The one at Margate beach is still there but it is a sad reflection of the old days as it is just a concrete lump nowadays you wouldn’t recognise Margate anymore …Yes we get the day trippers if weather is nice but they usually bring a picnic so they don’t bring any revenue to the town. All the old guest houses have turned into asylum housing. Most High St shops have closed. It has been far too easy to travel to guaranteed sunshine in Europe which killed the holiday industry here.
Can’t really blame them even I look for a warmer destination for a holiday.
Sign of the times…
I know what you mean, Northampton is dying, glad I was born in our era, it was great. reguards Norman
Ossie & harry I think some councils have done more damage to our towns, than hitler & the bombing, with thier planning decisions, slowly squeezing the life , heart and souls out of our towns, just to let big firms build on cheaper land out side of towns. sand man Norman
ossie:
…Remember getting stopped without fail by Customs EVERY time (hoping it was not his shift) at Ghyvelde/Adinkerke border by young customs man…
I remember a particulaly odiuos Duanne character who was based at Dunkirk. This would have been early to mid 80`s.
Arrogant, blond hair with a scar on his face, only a young bloke but thought he was gods gift!!..All he needed was a long leather coat and a pair of jackboots!!!
I think he hated brits, he would always make a real fuss over the paper work, checking every single thing…and with a real nasty attitude aswell
Maybe it was because we were roughly the same age, early to mid 20`s, but he always seemed to give me a real hard time. T.Forms, inventories, delivery notes, tachos, everything he could think of he would turn out!!
Then after keeping me hanging around for nearly an hour he would dismiss me with a curt wave of his hand and sarcastic “allez”!!
i think Dunkirk was the same as Ramsgate, it’s where Customs used to train the new boys and they were very “keen”.
In the early days it could take over an hour to queue up at Customs at Ramsgate because if they turned anybody out, everybody else had to wait until they had finished before moving up a place- C & E didn’t have a shed so they did the search in the lanes.
At midnight after a 15 hour day this wasn’t appreciated and everybody just used to lean on the air horns making the most unimaginable racket. There were so many complaints from the people who lived on the Westcliff that they stopped doing this.
Harry & bullitt, I do not know what you are moaning about, I always got on well with them, they never believed a word I told them, I never knew why?. Once at harwich, comming in from Hamburg, they stopped this driver, asked him if he had anything to declare, he said only carton of cigs & a bottle of Whiskey, he said show me, he produced a bag with them in, what a about this one in the side of your door, oh I forgot that, i got that going over, well it will cost you five pounds, so the driver took the bottle and smashed it on the side of his wagon, the custom man said that was silly, I was not charging you for that bottle, and still made him pay. Sandman Norman
Harry I bet you are a whiz on your old zimmer frame, I wonder if they charge on the ferries I have not got mine yet, but any day soon, I might need one Ha ha ha, well it is the start of a new year, hope you have a good one, and your christmas was merry. Sandman Norman
i was driving for shanahans dublin in those days.
we did our landbridge with sally,i was was on it every week for a long time.
i liked the bar/food and the bunks,if you were tired you could get an hours kip on the ship.
forget about the fleas.
and yes ramsgate was a better place for a few beers than dover.
i had many nights in ramsgate.
it was apity to see them go.
as was said earlier…dover is not near as good.
seems to me,the dover staff think they are doing you a favour.
i hate dover.
Greg i agree with you, also went portsmouth to Le havre several times, they was quite helpful if you could not get back over with your lorry for a few days, they would give you a crews ticket, and you could get home on a dodgy.
worked 4 deeline nv or bv cant remeber the letters in kortjik belgium ( john dee group ) for 10 mths crossing about 3-4 times a week, remeber if you were on the star on a friday evening you could enjoy the services of some young and not so young ladies in the free cabin. or they would give £10 to let them have the room for the trip.
many a time over the drink limit with the guys from europa at erith
The Sally line yes I remember it, I lived in Broadstairs while trucking over the other side.
I’m trying to bring to mind a cheap banana boat that ran freight Folkestone/Boulogne for a while. Flat bottomed and dodgy as hell. I’m sure the name began with a P (the company not the ship). This would be around 1990. I’m told they eventually lost a wagon over the side but I never had that confirmed.
I used Sally Ferries in the early 90s when working for Janerite Services from Stoke.
The 0230 sailing was a right pain…couple of hours sleep before …couple of hours on board…then a couple of hours in Dunkerque after sailing…used to feel like you’d been up all night.
They forgot i’d got a cabin once and didnt wake me.
When they finally realised where i was they had offloaded everything from around my truck and were about to call the coastguard coz they thought i had fell overboard
I also had a few last minute desperate dashes to the bogs the following day after having the seafood
Lonewolf Yorks:
The Sally line yes I remember it, I lived in Broadstairs while trucking over the other side.
I’m trying to bring to mind a cheap banana boat that ran freight Folkestone/Boulogne for a while. Flat bottomed and dodgy as hell. I’m sure the name began with a P ( the company not the ship ). This would be around 1990. I’m told they eventually lost a wagon over the side but I never had that confirmed.
LOL no I remembered it anyway. It was Opale line. I knew there was a P in it somewhere.
It was a flat bottomed ex lake ship or summat and by hell when it was rough, it bobbed about like nowt. The only time I ever felt sea-sick was one night on that boat, and I’ve crossed the North sea in all sorts of weather.
Yeah ,people underestimate the amount of sea miles truckers did in the old days . UK to EU , N/S Ireland & Spain ,Italy to Greece , Italy to Sicily , France to Algeria & Maroc , Spain to Maroc .Germany to Denmark , Denmark to Sweden ,Sweden to Finland .
harry:
Yeah ,people underestimate the amount of sea miles truckers did in the old days . UK to EU , N/S Ireland & Spain ,Italy to Greece , Italy to Sicily , France to Algeria & Maroc , Spain to Maroc .Germany to Denmark , Denmark to Sweden ,Sweden to Finland .
harry:
Yeah ,people underestimate the amount of sea miles truckers did in the old days . UK to EU , N/S Ireland & Spain ,Italy to Greece , Italy to Sicily , France to Algeria & Maroc , Spain to Maroc .Germany to Denmark , Denmark to Sweden ,Sweden to Finland .
