Some of us old boys will remember getting reload address`es from the coin phone box,or sat in a cafe where you pay per unit on a rip off phone.Faxing was common,find a hotel with one,waiting for hours,for groupage,there would be numerous collections,for the tiles and ceramics,about a dozen,and the wine collections around the Bordeaux area,small lanes and access.
On a Friday,if near a beach,i would not get the last drop off,to come back monday after tanning on the beach at Estoril or Cascais.You could go for months with no verbal contact with the boss back in the UK.Or find a public swimming pool in the summer months.
we had a free phone numbers to our office from France,Belgium,Netherlands,Spain and Italy only had to pay from swiss but trying to explain to goods out bods that the fone call to uk was free was fun in Italy
We all got by,and left alone to get on with the job.Nowadays the bosses ring up everytime the truck has stopped,and ask why,while watching on their satelite trackers.
malcolmj:
we had a free phone numbers to our office from France,Belgium,Netherlands,Spain and Italy only had to pay from swiss but trying to explain to goods out bods that the fone call to uk was free was fun in Italy
The firm i was on for at the time had a freepone number to call back from Itie,like you say , trying to explain to the locals that the call was “free” made for interesting conversation to say the least!! Could have taught a monkey to set an alarm clock in less time 
Still used to by a few phonecards to ring the missus,seem to remember the Gendarmes and Politze were fond of collecting foriegn ones for some reason 
Suedehead:
Still used to by a few phonecards to ring the missus,seem to remember the Gendarmes and Politze were fond of collecting foriegn ones for some reason
I remember a couple of places we went where people would trade phone cards or even buy them from you
At one place we had a BT charge card thing. Phone a local free number speak to a uk operator and she put you through 
billybigrig:
At one place we had a BT charge card thing. Phone a local free number speak to a uk operator and she put you through
when you were tramping they used to send carrier pidgeons out didn’t they
then as you got into middle age they brought out the “wind up handle on the side” and ask for the operator to connect you in that comical Harry Enfield style
Wheel Nut:
Suedehead:
Still used to by a few phonecards to ring the missus,seem to remember the Gendarmes and Politze were fond of collecting foriegn ones for some reasonI remember a couple of places we went where people would trade phone cards or even buy them from you
Yep, used to be quite a regular thing. I think when the Euro was introduced the same people started asking what coins you had as they were trying to collect them from all the countries and mobile phones had killed their phone card collecting.
Irish coins were in big demand and I used to keep any I got as they could assist in getting you loaded or unloaded. One of my fastest ever custom clearances in Switzerland was after I had helped the customs bloke toward completing his collection by supplying him with a full set of Irish Euro coins. He swapped the coins, I didn’t give him them.
Coffeeholic:
0I hope this helps.
With the Gettone, you needed this unless you had a freefone number 
Wheel Nut:
Coffeeholic:
0I hope this helps.
With the Gettone, you needed this unless you had a freefone number
Indeed. It was like machine gun fire feeding them in, my personal best was 30 rounds per minute.
The old One Shilling pieces used to work a treat in German payphones.
Harry Monk:
The old One Shilling pieces used to work a treat in German payphones.
And ■■■ machines.
Harry Monk:
The old One Shilling pieces used to work a treat in German payphones.
and beer machines
trying to find a phone box in germany with the bell sign on the door that accepted incoming calls,phonin boss with number,and trying to keep the locals at bay while he phoned you back in “5mins” 
Davyboy:
Harry Monk:
The old One Shilling pieces used to work a treat in German payphones.and beer machines
That was a great idea in the German factories, Bitburger breakfast by bottle or Flensburger Fruhstuck in der flasche
Wheel Nut:
Davyboy:
Harry Monk:
The old One Shilling pieces used to work a treat in German payphones.and beer machines
That was a great idea in the German factories, Bitburger breakfast by bottle or Flensburger Fruhstuck in der flasche
havnt been over for years,wonder if factories still have beer machines or has the elf n safty lunacy spread over there too?
welshboyinspain:
billybigrig:
At one place we had a BT charge card thing. Phone a local free number speak to a uk operator and she put you throughwhen you were tramping they used to send carrier pidgeons out didn’t they
then as you got into middle age they brought out the “wind up handle on the side” and ask for the operator to connect you in that comical Harry Enfield style
Yeah yeah and the CMR was a stone tablet
“Hello, Operator, Chelmsford 459 Please” 
Davyboy:
Wheel Nut:
Davyboy:
Harry Monk:
The old One Shilling pieces used to work a treat in German payphones.and beer machines
That was a great idea in the German factories, Bitburger breakfast by bottle or Flensburger Fruhstuck in der flasche
havnt been over for years,wonder if factories still have beer machines or has the elf n safty lunacy spread over there too?
It went downhill after the Eriks realised that 5p did not equal 1Dm .Last time I was in a German factory was about 2yrs ago.Only coffee,soup and snack machines 
Coffeeholic:
Wheel Nut:
Suedehead:
Still used to by a few phonecards to ring the missus,seem to remember the Gendarmes and Politze were fond of collecting foriegn ones for some reasonI remember a couple of places we went where people would trade phone cards or even buy them from you
Yep, used to be quite a regular thing. I think when the Euro was introduced the same people started asking what coins you had as they were trying to collect them from all the countries and mobile phones had killed their phone card collecting.
Irish coins were in big demand and I used to keep any I got as they could assist in getting you loaded or unloaded. One of my fastest ever custom clearances in Switzerland was after I had helped the customs bloke toward completing his collection by supplying him with a full set of Irish Euro coins. He swapped the coins, I didn’t give him them.
I remember that. I hadn’t thought about phone card and coin collectors for over ten years.
Nostalga weekend is it?
W