When I was a lad… here’s a bit of nostalgia…
you young 'uns ■■ you’ve never had it so good…
Not a high viz in sight, it must have been carnage!!
Ay by gum, get down Shep, thats nought lad, when I was a nipper, it would take me six hours to get from Penrith to Carlise in me dad’s steam engine pulling 75 tons of steel, we picked up from Milan .
55 miles in 19 months, it took nearly 2 years to put up a few gantries and signs around the Almondsbury Interchange (M4/5) at the cost of £88 million.
Progress my arse, we didn’t finish the M4 until 1993.
Cracking bit of old film.
I have never understood why the old geezers I worked with say they had the best days of driving, what was good about it, the trucks were rubbish for the drivers that’s why they were called gaffers motors, cold in winter sweat boxes in summer, day cabbed, sleeping in flea pits all over the place,loads hand balled in both directions, statutory union dues which in most cases were paid by the drivers and no use to man nor beast, only the bosses to get loaded or tipped, oh and along came the Volvos and scanias, with sleepers which only segregated the drivers more and then they spent so long abroad most of the marriages dissolved as well. some say theres no camaraderie any more, there is its just a paid for service these days as no one has enough time to stop to assist anyone, and there has always been the in yard troubles, his jobs better than mine, he has better straps than me, his is a 550 mines only a 440, and as for the easterns stealing the jobs, the brits did everything and more whilst we dominated the European trucking industry, speeding through villages, no permits (other than ships stores), nothing was safe on another motor or sacred when it came to women, so lets be happy that good money can be earned driving a Tesco home delivery van or even on the rock and roll compared to what the easterns are earning.
hotel magnum:
I have never understood why the old geezers I worked with say they had the best days of driving, what was good about it, the trucks were rubbish for the drivers that’s why they were called gaffers motors, cold in winter sweat boxes in summer, day cabbed, sleeping in flea pits all over the place,loads hand balled in both directions, statutory union dues which in most cases were paid by the drivers and no use to man nor beast, only the bosses to get loaded or tipped, oh and along came the Volvos and scanias, with sleepers which only segregated the drivers more and then they spent so long abroad most of the marriages dissolved as well. some say theres no camaraderie any more, there is its just a paid for service these days as no one has enough time to stop to assist anyone, and there has always been the in yard troubles, his jobs better than mine, he has better straps than me, his is a 550 mines only a 440, and as for the easterns stealing the jobs, the brits did everything and more whilst we dominated the European trucking industry, speeding through villages, no permits (other than ships stores), nothing was safe on another motor or sacred when it came to women, so lets be happy that good money can be earned driving a Tesco home delivery van or even on the rock and roll compared to what the easterns are earning.
Had a tough day, princess?
Rant it all out, that’s it.
A.
Ay ay whipper snapper, had to navigate by the stars for a one hit to Baghdad, when you were still in your Dad’s bag .
Slept on a plank of wood, in a day cab Eaton twin splitter to Dubai, eating camel and monkey meat .
Got shot at in Afghanistan, drank tea with the desert nomads.
Replace a clutch or engine on a 45 minute tacho break .
it did go on a bit, and for all its bad bits I loved most of it, and certainly miss the European drives.
You young whippersnapper, you need the cat o nine tails for that slander 
when us oldens talk about the good old days, it aint necessarily about the trucks we drove, and the lack of a heater, let alone a night heater…aircon, even a radio…we had to carry our own portable with a piece of wire sticking out of it. bits of string to stop the mirrors folding in, and a bit of cloth to keep them clean…oh no…that was a bit later…lol anyway, what the good old days were about was…plenty of places to park…in town centres on the old bombed out sites…a few bwers and fish and chips after and still had change from our night out money of £1.25…we didnt have planners, the boss did the planning…and he had done the job himself…no mobile phones, you were given your work and phoned the office when tipped from a cl box with fourpence…got it back if you were lucky, and claimed it on expenses…once i learned how to tap the phone…it was fre calls all the way and a few extra coppers at the end of the week in phone expenses…ha ha most of the work was a see ya when you get back attitude no phoning every hour to see where you are or asking why youve stopped..we met other drivers in the flea pits, we mixed freely and always willing to lend a hand roping and sheeting. Later on on international work, it was heres you collection, heres the delivery, heres the return load…see ya when you get back, and most still had no sleeper cab…or the comfort you ■■■■■■■ have today…we made transport what it is, let alone the guys who did long haul, and some of them didnt have a sleeper either…we did our own repairs, we changed wheels…and some even mended the punctures, all at the side of the road…high viz hadnt been invented…neither had a mobile…once again, we called from a public phone, or from the premises we were at…and they didnt mind one bit…we were actually glad to meet a fellow brit as well, rand back together, shared a beer or two, and ate together …our music was from an 8 track ( ask your grandad ) or a cassette…later we had the comfort of radio 4 across a lot of europe, that kept us in touch with dear old blighty…all in all, it was a lot easier back in the olden days…no rush, get there when you did, tip when you can etc etc…far better than todays office bods who have forced drivers to work 15 hours and the minimum rest, to squeeze the most out of drivers for ■■■■ money, in which transport has always paid…even today…but back then, we got our nights out before we went away…so always had cash on us… we only worked a 12 hour day…unless you were driving a scania or volvo, in which case to pay for it…you had to work longer hours…we fiddled the log books…we fiddled the permits, and most carried a printing outfit for this purpose…ha ha …even when the tachos came out, we would still run as bent as muck…but paid our way ( the boss paid the fines ) if we were stopped…coffee money…lol …the job was a pleisure, we looked forward to getting up and going to work…marriages were lost, and found along the way, we sacrificed them for money, or the job we loved, but left a lot behind in doing our job. The warehouses welcomed us, made us comfortable by making us tea, non of this H&S ■■■■■■■■, steel toe capped boots, high-viz or whatever, and we would often see the same crew the following week…theres a great deal to tell of our past, and for a lot of us, we wont forget, we were proud to do what we did…but not many whinged about it…not like today…we just got on with the job in hand which some were dirty, others better, we took the rough with the smooth, in all weathers, and with ropes and sheets of which we still bear the scars…so you can keep your modern day, with the latest trucks, 12 spotlamps and all mod cons, for you are nothing like the drivers of yesteryear, but i can tell you this, we earned the title of Knights of the road, unlike todays steering wheel attendant…gert you cowson…