I know Wisemans pay the farm collectors triple time on xmas day which seems fair to me.
Gotta feel sorry for the mentioned foreigners parked up in laybys over xmas, most likely plenty of british drivers doing the same out in europe. What a sad, lonely existence to have.
A milk tanker on A11 and around 9 non-brits on M11.
you want to see all the lorrys q in to get into currys at at newark at dinner time
rob22888:
I know Wisemans pay the farm collectors triple time on xmas day which seems fair to me.
Reminds me of the guy who drove for Boughys at Nantwich when they did milk collection in the early nineties, his ambition for Christmas Day was to work for the big wage, but also be in the pub by 12 noon 
.
He had the route timed to the last second, and reckoned if he started at 2am he would get his two rounds done, tip the last load into the dairy, get back to the yard and dump the tanker then be down the pub in time for his pint at midday.
So starting in about November he embarked on a campaign to get all the farmers on his rounds to start milking 2 hours earlier on Christmas Day
Where I was working at the time was on the start of his second round, and so the milk was ready for him at 6am, a 4am start it was for us 
.
Well the milk still hadn’t been collected when we started again at 2pm in the afternoon, and who should roll into the yard 10 minutes later in the old nail spare tanker but our man Mr Xmas Day Early start 
We were too busy getting our own jobs done to go and talk to him, and never saw him again after that day, but did find out from other sources at a later date the story:
Apparently he arrived at the dairy with his first load a few minutes behind his schedule, and trying to make up some time he took the speed ramp at erm…some speed 
.
The truck went over the ramp, but the front axle didn’t 
Que several hours of mayhem and confusion at the dairy whilst the broken vehicle was recovered and its load dealt with, and his long wait for his boss to drive to the dairy to collect him and take him back to the yard for the spare tanker 
rob22888:
What a sad, lonely existence to have.
I’d gladly stay out over christmas if the girlfriend would let me. never have cared much for the compulsory food-and-drink ■■■■, Id rather get something done on my house or my cars but since all the stores all closed…
The last time I stayed out over christmas was 2008 I believe, on the 24th I woke up in Olzheim and drove to the ferry in travemünde. turned 26 that day as well
I left home at 5:15am Christmas Day to pick my son up from York hospital when he finished his night shift (his car’s off the road) & bring him back to Stamford for Christmas dinner with the family. As I joined the A1 about 05:20 a container motor went southbound,didn’t catch whose it was though & after that there was a steady flow of fridges both Brit’s & foreigners southbound. I only passed two northbound though, a German tilt & an English registered DSV curtainsider.
We left York about 7:15 to head home & there were far fewer about. Didn’t pass any southbound & a handful of Spanish & Scot’s fridges northbound also an SJ Bargh of Caton milk tanker and another English reg DSV curtainsider.
Thankfully my days of running over Christmas are a distant memory. Had to go in today (thursday) though for 6am. Only 2 loads out though & they’d already gone so they kept us 'til 10 then sent us home. Same again tomorrow,only 4 loads all of which are allocated (none to me!!) so it’ll be an early bath again.
I dropped someone off at friends early evening on Christmas day & there was a foreign registered artic parked up with the curtains drawn, I guess he’d been stuck here over the holiday but there was no sign of a driver there. I’d have stopped and spoke to him if I’d seen someone there.
My Sons girlfriends father was away somewhere for Christmas, he’s Polish and it seems is regularly away for most of the year and it doesn’t seem to bother him. Wouldn’t do for me though I’m afraid, I only want to be one place at Christmas and that’s not sat in a lorry.
Happy new year everyone, stay safe 
BB
shep532:
I drove from Manchester to Tidworth on Christmas Day setting off at 4am (in my car I might add) and only saw a total of 6 HGVs and all going the other way. Three were tankers.I also saw a nice Police man who politley asked me to slow down on a totally empty motorway when I was sitting on cruise at 80mph. He didn’t even wave as he passed me, pulled in front and dropped down to 70mph forcing me to slow … but at least he didn’t pull me.
You naughty trainer bod! Speeding and forced to slow down by the Police! 
Part of my shift pattern this year, Fri - Tues on nights. Worked Christmas Eve, Day and will be doing the same New Years’ Eve and Day. On animal feed tankers. It is actually quite a strange feeling driving on deserted roads for miles on end.
Kerbdog:
One of the McBurney lads ended up nighted out Xmas Eve at the Hollies. He ran out of time due to some hole in Northfleet taking forever to tip him. He ran back in at 4am Xmas day. It wouldn’t really bother me as I hate Xmas anyway.There’s a Spaniard parked up asleep on the a570 just coming out of Southport, so guess he was here over Xmas too.
Quite a few Spaniards parked up round Banks/Hesketh Bank area on Christmas day, both on local farms and up and down the Tarleton bypass.
I had an urge to take them all Christmas lunches at one point on Christmas Eve, but once I had sobered up on Christmas Day, I went back to being my normal state of Grinchism 
Saw one Spaniard setting off home on Christmas day morning when I was walking the dog.