So how is that?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
81

Harry Monk:

Gogan:

44 Tonne Ton:
Anger at Polish builders squatting in Army homes - and using British law to live there for free | Daily Mail Online

dailymail.co.uk/debate/colum … ulous.html

:unamused:

I appreciate what you are trying to do here, but personally I would have picked a source that has a bit more credibility, not to mention a smidgen of impartiality on the subject. :sunglasses:

Oh ok, ok, you win, there aren’t loads of eastern Europeans living here who weren’t living here ten years ago, either taking jobs which were previously being done by nationals or claiming benefits, and 90% of drivers on the Dover-Calais ferries and the Euroshuttle, which I use four to six times a week are not eastern European. I was hallucinating the whole lot.

You were right and I was wrong. Sorry.

I must be hallucinating when I am on the train also as I seem to dream I am the only British driver aboard the train , I did put this down once to ordering the mix grill which appeared to have been cooked East European stylee , I had the ■■■■■ for two days running after that. Although I did also once see a giant yellow lego brick head driver waiting to board the train as I was getting off.

82

Harry Monk:
Oh ok, ok, you win, there aren’t loads of eastern Europeans living here who weren’t living here ten years ago, either taking jobs which were previously being done by nationals or claiming benefits, and 90% of drivers on the Dover-Calais ferries and the Euroshuttle, which I use four to six times a week are not eastern European. I was hallucinating the whole lot.

You were right and I was wrong. Sorry.

It’s amazing how fast things have changed. It’s only few months since I stopped to go over to the continent and number of Eastern European drivers rised so drasticly…

In my times, that is till september 2011, the amount of eastern europeans varied from 20 to 40% of the lot…

Tip: when someone speaks language you can’t understand, it does not mean that he is EE. He can be Spanish, Italian, French, Portuges, Dutch, German, Danish, Swiss, Austrian (well, Austria is in fact in Eastern Europe :stuck_out_tongue:), Belgian, Scandinavian, Turkish…

83

Suffolk ReeferBoy:
I must be hallucinating when I am on the train also as I seem to dream I am the only British driver aboard the train

Yes, in fact these are all British drivers who have cunningly forged their number plates in order to appear to be Slovenian and Skovakian etc, and have had their trucks signwritten to suggest they are from those countries.

They have also mastered the languages spoken there and have taught themselves to speak it fluently, and always speak in that language whenever they can be overheard.

They do this to fool VOSA if they are pulled in for a check at Ashford truckstop. In reality, they are as British as you or I.

There are absolutely no eastern Europeans here at all. Gogan is right, Orys is right, you are wrong and I am wrong.

Once again, I apologise.

84

orys:

Harry Monk:
Oh ok, ok, you win, there aren’t loads of eastern Europeans living here who weren’t living here ten years ago, either taking jobs which were previously being done by nationals or claiming benefits, and 90% of drivers on the Dover-Calais ferries and the Euroshuttle, which I use four to six times a week are not eastern European. I was hallucinating the whole lot.

You were right and I was wrong. Sorry.

It’s amazing how fast things have changed. It’s only few months since I stopped to go over to the continent and number of Eastern European drivers rised so drasticly…

In my times, that is till september 2011, the amount of eastern europeans varied from 20 to 40% of the lot…

Tip: when someone speaks language you can’t understand, it does not mean that he is EE. He can be Spanish, Italian, French, Portuges, Dutch, German, Danish, Swiss, Austrian (well, Austria is in fact in Eastern Europe :stuck_out_tongue:), Belgian, Scandinavian, Turkish…

I speak English, French , Spanish , German , and Belgium and I never can understand what 90% of the drivers on the train are saying but I would guess that they are from one of the former eastern bloc countries.

Hope that helps.

85

Ah, obviously then all these Eastern Europeans are afraid of me and only some of them are brave enough to board the same train or ferry as me :wink:

On a more serious note: I am not saying that it’s not true that there is plenty of them, but 90% seems to be a bit exagerated. :wink:

86

Harry Monk:
Oh ok, ok, you win, there aren’t loads of eastern Europeans living here who weren’t living here ten years ago, either taking jobs which were previously being done by nationals or claiming benefits, and 90% of drivers on the Dover-Calais ferries and the Euroshuttle, which I use four to six times a week are not eastern European. I was hallucinating the whole lot.

You were right and I was wrong. Sorry.

Do yourself a favour Harry, stop acting like a petulant child who’s just been told to put his toys away.

For the record, I don’t entirely disagree with you. I think some of what you are saying has some real merit despite your protest being entirely in vain. However, when we do agree I don’t feel the need to make the proverbial display of sticking my tounge up your arse and licking it clean for you, I would much rather just nod quietely to myself. If you are looking for the public back-patting and atta-boy attitude look elsewhere.

On the other hand, if I do disagree with you on some points then that’s just tough luck for you bud. I’m not about to sit quietely in the corner just because you’ll have a tantrum when someone begins countering your entirely baseless arguments with an opposing viewpoint backed up with reasonably researched facts and figures.

The difference between you an me Harry is that while I may not agree with what you’re saying, I respect your entitlement to say it.

87

Next time I’m at Dover, Calais, Dunkirk etc, I’ll video the trucks as they drive off of the boat and post it on here.

Then we can all agree on where they are from. But this is a game I regularly play when waiting for a boat, as I suspect we all do, called “Spot the western European truck”.

And even when we do, we know there’s a 50% chance that the guy at the wheel will be an Ossi. :wink:

88

Harry Monk:

Suffolk ReeferBoy:
I must be hallucinating when I am on the train also as I seem to dream I am the only British driver aboard the train

Yes, in fact these are all British drivers who have cunningly forged their number plates in order to appear to be Slovenian and Skovakian etc, and have had their trucks signwritten to suggest they are from those countries.

They have also mastered the languages spoken there and have taught themselves to speak it fluently, and always speak in that language whenever they can be overheard.

They do this to fool VOSA if they are pulled in for a check at Ashford truckstop. In reality, they are as British as you or I.

There are absolutely no eastern Europeans here at all. Gogan is right, Orys is right, you are wrong and I am wrong.

Once again, I apologise.

Crikey you could be right , those crafty British drivers have even mastered the unique Eastern Bloc dress sense , all to escape VOSA , pure genius. I have to admire their ability to speak a East european lanuage so well , all I no is “niet” which I think means “no” in Russian , next time when the trolley dolly asks me if I want coffee I shall reply "niet " and see if I get a nod and a wink from the other pretend East euros.

89

Suffolk ReeferBoy:
Crikey you could be right , those crafty British drivers have even mastered the unique Eastern Bloc dress sense , all to escape VOSA , pure genius.

Exactly. Shell suits, flip-flops and BO are simply the modern equivalent of the bit of wire with a crocodile clip on each end which we used to use to short out the tachograph when we were running to Italy in the mid 1980s.

All of these people you see are really British drivers running bent.

90

Harry Monk:

Suffolk ReeferBoy:
Crikey you could be right , those crafty British drivers have even mastered the unique Eastern Bloc dress sense , all to escape VOSA , pure genius.

Exactly. Shell suits, flip-flops and BO are simply the modern equivalent of the bit of wire with a crocodile clip on each end which we used to use to short out the tachograph when we were running to Italy in the mid 1980s.

All of these people you see are really British drivers running bent.

Suffolk ReeferBoy Likes this . :sunglasses:

91

Harry Monk:
Exactly. Shell suits, flip-flops and BO are simply the modern equivalent of the bit of wire with a crocodile clip on each end which we used to use to short out the tachograph when we were running to Italy in the mid 1980s.

All of these people you see are really British drivers running bent.

They have to be, as I haven’t seen a Pole or Czech wearing the clothes you describe for years :slight_smile:

92

orys:

Harry Monk:
Exactly. Shell suits, flip-flops and BO are simply the modern equivalent of the bit of wire with a crocodile clip on each end which we used to use to short out the tachograph when we were running to Italy in the mid 1980s.

All of these people you see are really British drivers running bent.

They have to be, as I haven’t seen a Pole or Czech wearing the clothes you describe for years :slight_smile:

Look Orys, I have already agreed that there are no eastern Europeans here. I’m even prepared to agree that you aren’t here. I am imagining you, due to my poor state of mental health.

Can I genuflect any more? :wink:

93

Harry Monk:
Can I genuflect any more?

If you choose to spend your free time on your knees then thats your business, we all have our vices. :wink:

94

Harry Monk:
Look Orys, I have already agreed that there are no eastern Europeans here.

Well, this is not the first time in this thread when you are talking some crap, I think we can get used to it :wink:

95

I had been doing this job for 18 years, and by then was well used to the idea of handing over the truck keys at a French Aire de Service in exchange for the key to the shower room.

One day, in 2004 I handed over the truck keys and received the shower room key, and a shower head.

I laughed, and said “What’s the shower head for, do you have to do your own plumbing now?”, and she said “Well, no, it’s just that we’ve suddenly got all of these eastern European drivers coming here now and they keep stealing the shower heads”.

In the previous 18 years, I had never heard of anyone stealing a shower head. I wouldn’t even steal one if I needed one, no doubt the vast majority of shower head thieves didn’t even have a shower at home, but simply saw the chance to thieve something that wasn’t bolted down.

Orys, I was here pre-2004, and believe me it was a better job then.

96

But not ALL of the eastern Europeans were stealing the shower head Harry, just a few pillocks. I’ve met some right toss-pots of British drivers in my time, but I also know they’re not all like that.

97

Gogan:
But not ALL of the eastern Europeans were stealing the shower head Harry, just a few pillocks. I’ve met some right toss-pots of British drivers in my time, but I also know they’re not all like that.

No, you have to understand that there is a whole different attitude towards ownership and property in the average eastern European, it is not entirely the individual’s fault, rather that was conditioned into him by Communism in the days when most of their truck drivers were still at school- the idea of “He who does not steal from others, steals from his family”.

98

Harry Monk:
I had been doing this job for 18 years, and by then was well used to the idea of handing over the truck keys at a French Aire de Service in exchange for the key to the shower room.

One day, in 2004 I handed over the truck keys and received the shower room key, and a shower head.

I laughed, and said “What’s the shower head for, do you have to do your own plumbing now?”, and she said “Well, no, it’s just that we’ve suddenly got all of these eastern European drivers coming here now and they keep stealing the shower heads”.

In the previous 18 years, I had never heard of anyone stealing a shower head. I wouldn’t even steal one if I needed one, no doubt the vast majority of shower head thieves didn’t even have a shower at home, but simply saw the chance to thieve something that wasn’t bolted down.

Orys, I was here pre-2004, and believe me it was a better job then.

This is very typical example.

Answer me one question: why I never had this problem with people stealing shower heads in Poland? I guess since it’s the eastern European problem, I should be familiar to it from my childchood? I was hithchiking a lot since I was 16 and used my fair share of the roadside showers in late 1990 and I never encountered that problem in Poland.

Another example: I hear all the time that it’s Eastern European truckers who are responsioble for that British parkings and laybys are so dirty. How is that that Britain is the dirtiest country I know? For sure if that’s eastern european thing, it should be much dirtier back there and everywhere else where EE drivers go?

Eastern Europeans are blamed for everything, because sometimes you are not to keen to look at yourself in the mirror (rubbish in Britain) and sometimes it’s just easier to do it than to address the real problem.

I have no idea who steals the shower heads in France, and I am not saying that there is no Eastern European thieves of things like that. But you are going to far with your generalisations. This have very good response in this country (hence Daily Mirror anti-polish articles) and this is how the circle keep turning.

Every case of Eastern European doing something wrong is not just the case of Eastern European doing something wrong for you: it’s just confirmation of your general opinion about them.

This is the problem you have here in Britain. Carryfast and such is so obviously absurdal with his anti-Polish views that noone reasonable will take him seriously. It’s people like you who sneak this little opinions here and there who are responsible for spinning the wheel of anti-eastern hate.

Get real: The basic, plastic shower head most popular on motorway showers can be bought for less than two pounds. Who would steal it to carry it all the way around Europe with him? I know your opinion, but Eastern Europeans are not idiots.

Off course because it happened first time to you in 2004 you blame Eastern Europeans for it. Believe or not, but when I was hitchhiking in France in 2001 I was given the shower head as well, and it was long before European Union was open to East. I remember how shocking it was for us “so on the west someone is stupid enough to steal the shower head?”.

If there is that problem with Eastern Europeans stealing the shower heads etc from the motorway showers, how is that every single of my former landlords call me everytime they have flat in the market asking if I don’t know any Polish people who would like to take it? They even offer a discount because they think that Poles are warranty of that the flat will be well kept (which altough often can be true is not a general rule).

I see many Scottish people begging on the streets of Glasgow. My friends had a break out to their flat and Police managed to catch the thieves - they were British. Yet I am not doing sweeping statements about that every Briton is thiev and beggar, wears a tracksuit, drink buckfast and can’t speak English.

yeah, there are some Eastern Europeans of the kind you describe. But this is very insignificant minority. And believe me, I know much more Eastern Europeans than you do, I know better what I am talking about.

Gogan: we don’t even know if there were Eastern European. After the 2004 extention there was very strong propaganda action in France trying to scare local people that wild hordes from east will come, steal everything and then kick them out from their jobs. Just to mention Le Plombieur Polonaise affair.

99

Harry Monk:
No, you have to understand that there is a whole different attitude towards ownership and property in the average eastern European, it is not entirely the individual’s fault, rather that was conditioned into him by Communism in the days when most of their truck drivers were still at school- the idea of “He who does not steal from others, steals from his family”.

That’s very interesting, I seem to miss it when I was in my communist school, can you let me know more about it? :grimacing:

100

orys:
Off course because it happened first time to you in 2004 you blame Eastern Europeans for it. Believe or not, but when I was hitchhiking in France in 2001 I was given the shower head as well, and it was long before European Union was open to East. I remember how shocking it was for us “so on the west someone is stupid enough to steal the shower head?”.

Orys, you have to remember that I had regularly been driving to Russia, Ukraine etc for 10 years by 2004, my views on eastern Europeans are not “prejudice”.

The word “prejudice” comes from the Latin, “pre judice”, to pre-judge. My opinions are not prejudice, they are not preconceptions. They are opinions made after the fact.