Yet another brilliant read Paul, please keep us all fascinated by posting more of your long distance memories. 
Reading of your experiences will no doubt get us all thinking of the times when we were all lucky enough to visit strange and interesting places.
Like bestbooties said â there is a book in every driver â and it doesnât matter if he only ever went to a place once, his story is unique. So often in the past you heard drivers saying, he only went there once and he has not stopped talking about it. The fact is that when you go to a place once or you do something out of the ordinary then you tend to remember it in much clearer detail. I passed through Dover Docks hundreds of times but I can only recall a dozen or so interesting incidents, however I will always remember the first time.
Captain James Cook was not the first European to visit Australia and Doctor David Livingstone was not the first white man to go to Africa but they were some of the first people to write down their memories and their experiences of their travels. If the Truck Net members do not share their experiences with others then sadly these storyâs will be lost forever. 
As a matter of interest how many drivers like me heard tales from the experienced men and thought that sounds a bit far fetched, only to find that after a few weeks or even a couple of years later you found yourself in a similar situation. 
Mushrooman,
As a matter of interest how many drivers like me heard tales from the experienced men and thought that sounds a bit far fetched, only to find that after a few weeks or even a couple of years later you found yourself in a similar situation.
Your quite right, when you tell people about things that happened in the job they look at you in disbelief !
Having spent most of my childhood travelling with my Dad to most countries in Europe, I never appreciated just what the job entealed until I did it myself and sad as it is, I always got a buzz each time I went down Jubille way and over the docks, knowing it was another adventure and wondering what the hell the world of trucking would throw at me this week !!!
I always remember the 1st trip abroad with my Dad to Italy, it felt as though we had travelled 3 times around the world when we got back (I was only 7 at the time!!) the thing that I remember most was travelling down to Dover at night and seeing all of the Trucks on the road and the fact that the world carried on working after bedtime - I mean âships that sailed in the darkâ I was amazed - what 7 year old gets chance to see all of that - espeicially back in 1973, I think it was at that point I was hooked !
I never got the oppurtunity to do any Middle East, so I love all the stories and only last week watched the DVD âDestinantion Dohaâ for the 1st time, lent to me by Alan Barlow and wished I had done it and never actually realised you lot drove across open desert, that must be something else !!
Keep all the stories coming, its what makes this forum great along with the interesting photos, I feel so priviledged to have expereinced it at such an early age and as a man in his 40âs now being able to remember trucking international in the 70âs is fantastic.
Regards
Ant
Hello Prowlands. As you have stated part 1 of Jimâs journey was to say the least eventfull!! Iâm suprised he got that far! In my opinion, at that time Jimâs alchoholism had transferred from moderate to chronic and there was nothing else at the top of his mind other than whisky. He was totally addicted and a very ill bloke. To try and fill in the gaps on this tale is going to be difficult and please forgive me if I get some of it wrong, Iâm pretty sure somebody will fill in more of the tale! From what I remember the âpartyâ continued in Ankara for about another week or 10 days with Jim getting more and more off the wall. With him was Jimmy Campbell (ex FF driver and a friend of Jimâs since he started at FF in or around 1959 60 ish) They were in an old F88 (JHS699K ex Malcolmâs of BrookfieldâŚIthink) In the F86 was Jimâs cousins Tom and David McCluskey, I believe they were only going as far as Ankara and I genuinely don.t remember what the tale with them two was, however they did decide to fly home from AnkaraâŚwho could blame them! Now the tale!! Because Jim and Jimmy Campbell were left with the trucks stamped all over their passports and could not now leave Turkey. they came up with the decision for Jimmy Campbell to bring the F86 back to the UKâŚand to leave Jim McCluskey to take the F88 onward to TehranâŚbloody madness! he managed to get as far as ErzincanâŚ(I think) on his own and iâm sure the trail of bottles he left, was probably in his mind they way to get back at some point!. This is where the tales Ivâe heard differ! tale A. From Jim McCluskey himself. Tale B. from a driver I met years later. Either way the outcome was the same a fractured skull and the next 4 or 5 months in Erzerum hospital! Jim thinks he was between Erzincan and Erzerum and the diff went? Its minus whatever ,so he checks into a hotel and subsequently slips in the showerâŚcracked skull! or story B he was parked in the middle of nowhere after another one of his parties. Wakes up to the door being openend and a kid throwing a snake in the cab!! obviously demanding money. In the ensuing fracas he is whacked on the headâŚcracked skull! The driver I met, stated he found him and took him to the hospital and then returned to bring the truck to ErzerumâŚI donât know which is true, but whatever he ended up in hospital! I really donât know the full story, however I do know that Jims son Jimmy eventually flew out to Turkey to try and sort out his father. At the airport he was repeatedly shoved by a âhairy hippieâ as he was trying to get a box of matches. Jimmy was just about to swing at him, when the âhippieâ said âhello sonâ Having known Jim McCluskey since his FF days right up until he died in 1994 there is one thing I can honestly say. When he was a sober and âwell manâ he was a fair and true character, he did upset many a driver at FF over the years (as most TMâS from that era did.)It was once he gave into alchohol that the big trouble started. I have met and known many ex FF drivers who knew him and most stated he wasnât such a bad bloke. iâm sure some will say different.
Another brilliant tale Paul,thanks very much.
Hi Ian,
Thatâs great news, and I hope it happens reasonably soon, the problem is time ,I would think, Iâm 62 and most of the guys who were running down there are going to be of a similar age, and iâve heard talk of books about to be written for the past 25 years. In another 18 years if Iâm still alive Iâll be 80 !!! as will yourself, or maybe 79 and 5 months, Iâll most probably struggle to remember which end of the zimmer frame to use, let alone remember where I was 50+ years before.
Good luck.
Best Regards
Paul
Slightly off stream, but itâs relevant in that Bob Carter was indirectly instrumental in the making of the following tale, which I should probably call How Naive Was I !!
The reason Bob was involved was that at the time in 1973 I was working for George Thorpe out of Mendlesham, and occassionally doing work for Bob who hadânt set up a depot at this stage, and we had a short conversation one day where I said all I wanted to do was continental work. His response was â I shall be looking for drivers with continental experience when I get establishedâ That set my mind working overtime, How to get the experience??
Me and mates had been driving abroad on continental holidays since the mid 60âs but that wouldânt do.
So I decided to pester George and his T/M, Keith Hammond, in fact anyone whoâd listen. At this time I was driving an AEC Mercury artic on general. Then one day a brand new Guy Big J 4T came home, ADX555L with a 205 â â â â â â â and Fuller 9 speed range change. Normally one of the senior drivers got these new trucks, seniority was king⌠But strange to tell not one of the old guys were interested, they were all Mandator boys with straight six gearboxes, âdonât want none of that crap was the general concensus.
Me,me,me,me, Iâll have that crap George,. sir, and of course I got that crap, in fact it wasnât that crap at all, I loved it, now I could really ask for continental work. I was the kiddie, even put âEASY RIDERâ number plates on the front. Got a pic somewhere. Oh the enthusiasm of youth. All these other guys were old school, flat cap, overalls, and 30mph, not me, give me the new technology, whatâs a range change??
Anyway a few weeks later Keith said âGeorge wants a word with you in the officeâ. What have I done now, too many alterations on the log sheets or what.
âRight young man, you want continental, youâve got it, and I donât want to hear any more about it after this, okâ ? I had to go back and see Keith to get the details. âYouâve to go solo to Dover Docks and pick up a tilt, whatever that is, and youâll get any other instructions when you get there, oh, and donât forget to pick up the CMR for your deliveryâ. Blimey a CMR, the real deal.
That night I was home packing a small suitcase, I was in deep joy, continental in my Big J, wait till I tell my mates.
The following morning I was up with the bloke who was going to work the night before, I couldânt sleep !! Glorious morning, bounced down to Dover, and it was bounced down in those days, and dropped through the town into Western docks, slightly different then. This was in the relatively early days of Ro-Ro and there wereânt hundreds of trailers to choose from. Anyway my instructions were to go to an office in the docks, to this day I canât remember who, though something about Sammy Williams rings a bell, could be totally wrong. I was so excited I didânt really care. Upstairs to an office, reached the front of the queue. âCome to collect a trailer and a CMR for the continentâ I said passing paperwork over the counter and trying to look nonchalant and experienced. âOh yeah, and where do you think you are goingâ said this guy. âDonât know mate, abroad somewhereâ. Youâre first time here then driverâ ?
he said. âGot your passport then mateâ, I showed him my pristine passport. âDonât worry drive, I donât need to see it but they might want to see it in Norwichâ. There was some guffawing behind me, and I went as red as a beetroot. The guy gave my paperwork and with a flourish the CMR and told me to go to the dock office to get the location.
This was the start of a very large learning curve. I got my location from the dock office and a dock pass, I was so disappointed I think I had a tear in my eye. But worse was to come.
Those of you who remember 35 years ago and pulling continental trailers will remember the amount of lights,lenses, bulbs, winding handles, couplings etc. etc. you had to carry, because trailers from virtually every country had a different spec. This was before the days of trailer boards hanging off the back with bungee straps from someone elses tilt !!.
Found my trailer, very pretty Dutch, yellow tilt. Went to reverse under and almost hit the back of the cab. I had no equipment at all. Eventually scrounged the use of a handle and dropped the trailer down and reversed under, bit close to the back of the cab, but just enough clearance. Put on the red line to blow off brakes. I had blue line and yellow line left to hook up. Dutch trailer, palm couplings which I had never seen before. Asked a few drivers, not a lot of help, these things were like gold dust.
Took my English lenses round the back of the trailer and what do you think, they were the old Dutch Single lens with 3 sections, and all the bulb requirements were single pin.
No Brakes, No lights
I wonât bore you with anymore of the drama, most probably written enough now. Suffice to say The CMR said 14 tonnes and I drove it back to Mendlesham on just the unit brakes and no trailer lights at all, going down the first hill was a frightening experience, luckily it wasânt too steep, you used to climb out of Dover through the town on the A2 and then there was a gradual descent out of town into the countryside. How I managed to miss all the men in blue I shall never know. It was a slow drive back to the yard and a very sheepish driver who reported back to the office. Even worse Iâd cooked the unit brakes on the way back and Alan Carter who was the foreman fitter was not best impressed.
George called me into the office and tore me a strip off for driving back like that, and of course he was right. And his final words â thatâs as close as your getting to the continent young man, we do fertilizer and sugar beet, and donât want any of that foreign stuff.
Obviously Iâd been set up and there was much hilarity back at the yard at this young whippersnapper getting his come uppance. I was stupid to drive the thing back, and could have caused a serious accident, but back in those days the industry was changing very rapidly and lots of stupid thing were done. Needless to say I soon found my way around foreign trailers and quickly built up a stock of neccessary tackle. In truth my company shouldânt have sent me down without making enquiries, but I think they were as innocent of the requirements as me. The joke was the thing. And Bob still gave me a job when the time came.
I remember similar experiences when I started out,I think we all go through it,itâs how you become experienced.
I remember phoning Fred Archer one morning to tell him someone had nicked my trailer lenses,âWell,nick someone elseâsâ came the reply!
Keep 'em coming Paul.
A more serious tale.
I have just read Storming Normans account of a 75/76 winters trip through Eastern Turkey and how bad the weather was. That could well be an understatement, all the local experts reckoned on it being the worst winter for 50 years, I donât know but I have never before or since been in such a cold place as Eastern Turkey.
Taffy and I were running together again and even though we had already done Iran in October and December, seperately, nothing could have prepared us for a proper Turkish winter. Weâd shipped out I think January 10th/11th from Felixstowe-Zeebrugge, had a good run through into theEastern Bloc, border controls at places like Weidhaus were still struggling to deal with the flow of West European trucks transitting their countries. Until we Middle Easterners appeared on the scene traffic activity had been non existent⌠We encountered our first heavy snow at Cluj Napoca, Rumania, and from then on all the way through to Marand in Iran, 2500 miles it stayed with or near us. The clamber over the Balkans was mostly with chains on, the scenery was magnificent. You have to remember this would have been the first time we wouild have to use chains in anger, and I also remember laying them out on the ground and driving onto them the first time, still you soon learn, and get quicker! And then there was the problm with brakes not releasing, because they were frozen on. The first time this happened in Stara Zagora. Major learning curve this trip turned out to be. Drain air tanks as often as possible and ensure alcohol bottle kept full, otherwise out with paint remover gun and heat pipes which were all exposed to the elements. In -15% you donât want to be doing this to often.
Anyway we dropped down to Kapic and through the border quite quickly. Stopped at the first garage Edirne and picked up bottles of Tamyak, a fuel additive that reduces the freezing point of diesel from about -9, when diesel starts to jellify, to about -20, depending on the mix, the last resort was adding petrol which we did on numerous occasions, up to 30/40 litres, sometimes gave a good fireworks display. There was intermittant snow all day and that night stopped at Luleburgaz and not a Polis in sight!. The following morning woke up to find 2/3 feet of snow all around, and had to wait for a grader to come along till we could access the road, bit of a sod getting the chains on the nearside as the snow had piled up to the top of the wheel arch, anyway as an ex boy scout I was prepared and we eventually cleared the snow away and fitted the chains. On the flat lands I tried to get away with just chains on the drive wheels. slow progress and then chaos at the big climb before you dropped down through Silivri. There were trucks all over the place on that climb, but we eventually got through down to the Mocamp. So far we had lost about a day and a half. We decided if the weather was pulling in we would have a clean up here and leave early the next day but one. We pulled out with a couple of other guys and actually had a reasonable trip to Ankara, other than chaining up for Bolu, Just a few snow showers, but what we had noticed that the snow wasânt clearing up during the day, on the roads because it was so cold it remained icy and rutty even withheavy traffic using it. It was a long day and we eventually pulled into Ankara truck stop about 6pm.
I wonât bore you with to much detail, suffice to say we got away the following morning and the journey to Erzurum took us 5 days, it was horrendous.
We actually pulled into a garage forecourt 20 miles East of Erzurum early afternoon, by this time weâd lost track of the days. We decided to stop there as there was already another Brit, a French guy and a Romtrans ( double manned), later on another couple of guys pulled in, a Belgian followed by another double manned Romtrans, they were so heavily covered in snow it was difficult to recognise their nationality. These Romanian guys were the bees knees, these Romtrans, been there, done that, all very slowly mark you, but theyâd got the badges, lucky for us. At the garage there was basically a shed, three pumps and a rough area where we all parked. The garage guy was great and gave us chai. He had worked in Germany as a Gastarbeiter. The Belgian guy Saul, Sorry I remember no other names, great pity, spoke German and was able to converse with the Turkish pump operator. Basically he said it was the worst winter for many many years and worse was to come over the next 72 hours. Best to stay here.
There had been no traffic come past either way since we had arrived and the Turk said later will come grader and he was going home in the grader cab until the weather improved. This didânt sound to good. Half an hour later out of the snowy gloom appeared a grader all chained up. Off went the pump man, not to be seen for three days!!
Well there we were, nine guys, seven trucks. This is where the experience of the Romanian guys came in. They were used to bad winters over in central Russia. Both of the assistant drivers(party members) spoke a little German so they told us we needed to batten down the hatches for the next 2/3 days. First rule of surviving in bad weather DO NOT SWITCH OFF ENGINE!!, and in fact over the next 8 days I had my engine running continuously.
The Romtrans guys organised us all, it was like survival training, Saul, the Belgian guy had a Berliet and five of us managed to squeeze in there and four in one of the Romanians trucks. The Romtrans guys through the Belgian guy interpreting, said what we should do, Basically they had all the tackle needed to survive extreme weather
What we would do would be to keep an ear out during the night for each others engines and if any of them stopped we would all muck in to try and restart it, if we left it for more than an hour it would cool down so rapidly we would not be able to start it again. We all agreed. Then it was outside for all of us to help the Rumoâs set up their cut down drums under their trailers. They had three each, cut to about a foot in depth. the idea was to fill them with a mixture of diesel and petrol, fill them full of rags when necessary and pull them into place under whichever unit needed to be restarted. Of course they had all the rags they needed and we had none. Later that night we were ripping up our own towels to help out. I have never been so cold, wrapped up as I was, it was mind numbingly cold, I donât know -30C, just a guess. In didânt really want to be there, whereâs me mum⌠According to the guys the important parts to keep warm when the engine stops are the diesel tank, fuel filters, and make sure the engine stays warm enough for the oil not to solidify !!!. The rumo guys had their fuel filter wrapped in rags.
Eventually that night we all went to bed, Taffy came and had a cuppa in my cab and we talked about what the hell we are doing here, I suppose in all honesty we were a bit scared, Iâd heard talk that Erzurum was among the 20 coldest cities in the world, I donât know, but that night I could well believe it. Taffy went back to his cab and I fully dressed with jumpers on lay in my sleeping bag, a very good quality one supposedly good enough for the Arctic. I pulled out the Hand throttle to above tickover and with the heater on full blast ( no night heater then) went into a fitful sleep. Morning came, there was a whiteout and as Pumpman had said it looked as if it was here to stay. Nothing came past all day and the road ahd 4 feet of snow covering it. We mostly stayed in our cabs, sharing food and drinks and when called on by the Rumoâs tried as best we could to clear snow from around our trucks, so we had acces to each other should we need it. They had put covers on their drums to stop the snow getting in and when they opened one up to check it it was just like a heavy, thick grey gravy, not very imposing. It was a very long day, very heavy snow squalls with an exceptionally bitter wind interspersed with a dull greyness. That night we all went off to bed and again I fell into a fitfull sleep. Even though the heater was going well you could feel the cold coming through the cab panels, It was a fight between the heater and the elements, luckily the heater was winning.
I donât know what the time was but there was a banging on the cab. I opened the door to be met with the Belgian Saul. Camion stopped, quick. Give everyone their due we were all out within 2/3 minutes, the Rumoâs were already trying to pull the barrels towards the Berliet. Two of us were shovelling snow out of the way and betwwen us the drums were in place. rags including our pristine English towels were chucked in the gruel and the Rumo guys got some strips of material, dipped them in the mix and with our paint remover guns set fire to them, these were fed slowly into the drums until things were going. Meanwhile Saul had been panicking, as would have I, trying to restart his truck, It nearly did the first couple of times, then one of the Romtrans guys told him to stop or else a flat battery. I felt like In was in a dream. One of the Romanians had got on a sleeping bag with the bottom cot out and two holes for arms with string tied round his chest. I cannot repeat often enough how good these Romanian guys were, their knowledge and professionalism most probably saved our lives. All the time they were tending the drum fires, making sure nothing caught fire, we just did as we were told. Once the fuel filters had heated up sufficiently I was told to pull the drum out of the way and wrap an old sleeping bag around them, Iâve no idea where that came from. About 20 minutes later they told Saul to try and start his truck. First twist of the key it was up and running. Many times Iâve thought back to that time and wondered how we would have coped on our own, and the truth is I donât know. The following winter we were more prepared but the winters were nowhere near as bad as this one. The Romanian blokes poured another 10 litres of petrol into Saulâs tank and we waited for about 10 minutes trying to keep warm around the
drums till the Rumoâs said all good now. we all mucked in to pull everything under the trailers and the lids were put back on the drums to put out the flames. During this whole interlude the snow had stopped, but as soon as we climbed back into our cabs, filthy dirty but so pleased with the result, the blizzard started again, It was about 5am. I sat in the cab of the other Brit, I remember he was from Birmingham, but thatâs it, and we had a brew up. Crawled back into my cab at about 6am still pitch black and fell asleep filthy dirty, but I didânt care. How much longer would we have to be here? When was the weather going to break?
Ps. I did hear later from a reliable source temperatures in Eastern turkey had got down to as low -40. True or not I donât know, but if youâd said to me it was -100 it wouldânt have made a difference. this was a cold like no other.
Iâve got to meet the good lady now, and I donât know how to save it, so iâll submit this bit and Iâll finish off tomorrow, thereâs a similar twist to Normans story to finish this off
another great story look forward to rhe next bit
Another fantastic tale Paul,and the more detail the better!
Many people take the urine out of the âF-troopâ Rumo driverâs,but,like all the commie-bloc guys,theyâd be the first to stop and offer help.
another great one paul! top stuff
Just to complete this episode.
As I said I got back into my cab at about 6am, filthy dirty but with a sense of fulfillment, if that doesânt sound to pretentious. These were experiences I could never have dreamed of having to deal with and I donât reckon would have been on any job description when they were looking for M/E drivers. At the time it was difficult to cope with, and on an individual basis I wouldânt have, but with a genuine group of fellow filthy dirty drivers around all supporting each other, I almost felt we had beaten the weather.
So on with the tale.
Taffy woke me with a beaker of tea about midday. Everone was still ticking over he said and that heâd had a hell of a job getting into the trailer box to get more tins of food out and those he had got out were frozen solid, couldânt get the tin opener to pierce the tins of mince properly, so had to stand them in pan of boiling water to defrost them first !!
The weather had cleared quite a bit, in that the snow had stopped, the bitterly cold north wind had eased down considerably, and the overcast seemed to be lifting.
Then about an hour later we were shocked when a guy stumbled into the garage in a bit of distress. We got him into the Brummieâs cab where me and Taff were sitting, the poor guy was frozen. He was in a bit of a panic as his mate was up the road in his cab which had stopped running early last night.
The guy who had struggled back to us was if I remember, called Albert and worked for a Welsh company, in fact they both did, and according to Albert his mate was in a bad way and desperate for help.
Albert said they had come past the garage an hour or so before we had arrived there two days previously and had decided to press on for a while. It seemed they had only gone about a half a mile when they were forced to pull over to the side of the road, I think he said that his trailer brakes were freezing on. Anyway they had filled the alcohol bottles and by the time the brakes had come off it was getting late so decided to sit it out overnight. In fact they had seen the Grader who had stopped to see if they were ok. They had said ok because at the time all was ok. Obviously they were as shocked as we were by the severity of the weather. Albert said they were parked one behind the other and he wasânt aware of his mates engine stalling until he came back to tell him. Albert had told him to stay in his cab with him, but his mate had said that his gas bottle was on and keeping the cold out and he didânt want to leave it in case something went wrong, so had gone back to his cab. This morning Albert had got up, his wagon was still running, and scrambled forward through the snow to see how his mate had got on. Luckily his mate hadânt locked the door because as soon as Albert opened it he knew something was seriously wrong.
The gas cooker wasânt on and his mate looked as if he was in a semi stupor and not very coherent when Albert asked him how he was. âI then got very panickyâ said Albert and realised without help he might not last the day. â I managed to get my cooker up to his cab and light it, and my idea was to try and drop my unit and come back hereâ. âOf course I was parked right up behind my mates trailer, and with the amount of snow that had fallen I couldânt reverseâ. âI knew where the garage was and decided to try to get back here to see if there was anyone here prepared to help, I wish weâd stopped here ourselves nowâ.
While this conversation was going on there was a discussion as to how we could help. According to Albert the snow depth was variable. Once the sky had lifted, It had taken him over an hour to make his way to us, and luckily from where they had parked he could just about see the garage in the distance.
It was decided I would drop my trailer and we would have a go at getting to Albertâs mates truck and bringing him back to the garage. By now, though still extremely cold the weather had improved and a weak sun was showing.
We decided four of us would go with Albert and shovels. We chained up all
four wheels. Luckily the road, not that we could see it, back to Albertâs wagon was virtually straight. Having got the chains on, me, the French guy, Brummie, Albert, and one of the Rumoâs pulled the pin with great difficulty and pulled out. Two of the lads stood on the door steps holding onto the mirror arms, and we made very slow progress in crawler out onto the road, a couple of the Romanians had already been out with their shovels to find the road and had in fact shovelled two ten foot long tracks to give us a direction. Once out onto the road we could see the outline of Albertâs two trucks up in the distance. We made slow progress. The snow varied between 2 and 4 feet deep and once or twice had to back up and take a run at a deeper drift, run is a bit of an misnomer, but we had to reverse and have a little go to breach the larger drifts, but eventually with the help of the guys with their shovels we reached the vehicles. We all clambered out and when Albert opened the door was pleased to see the gas cooker still burning, and the cab getting warmer. Albert turned it off and his mate though still very much out of it and shivering intermittantly hadânt apperently got any worse, but wasânt up to much in the way of doing anything to help himself, could have been in the early stages of hypothermia, donât know. Between us we managed to manhandle him into my cab, and I must admit he didânt look to sharp, and couldânt talk without uncontrollable shivering. We had a bit of fun and games trying to turn the unit round, but eventually we did and followed our tracks back to the garage in a much quicker fashion. Saul had made up some sort of soup concoction which he gave to the guy ( my memory for names is so crap, it spoils it) and the decision was to let him sleep in my cab that night and I doubled up with Taff in his top bunk. Albert stayed in my cab with him and by the morning he was greatly improved though still very ashen looking.That night hadânt been as cold though most probably still -20 or so and it seemed as if the Turkish garage manâs forecast was going to be correct. Albert had left his truck running back up the road, It was going to be difficult enough to start his mates truck after two or more days of freezing up without Alberts as well. That night we all felt much better about the situation and even managed to defrost a few Efes from the trailer and have a sort of celebratory drink, mind you defrosted beer is gross and flat, still we didânt really care.
The following morning broke bright and clear and the storm was over, and by 10am the grader had arrived and dropped off Pumpman. The temperature was still -10 or more but it would soon be time to think about making a move. Firstly though we would have to get Alberts mate started, that would be fun and games and another story.
Alberts mate recovered and I met Albert on a number of occasions in the future and had a reminisce.
The Romanians were a life saver and I cannot thank them enough for their help and knowledge. They were never the fastest guys on the road even when they eventually got their Romanâs, a MAN by any other name, but I always found them to be generous with.their help, and certainly during this extreme experience their assistance was invaluable.
great readâŚthanks.
A well told tale Paul,your memory is really something else.
Mind you,I can recount trips and stuff I did nearly thirty years ago with the utmost clarity,but Iâm buggered if I can remember where I went last week!
Just going to try and download a few blurry pics of a trip to Athens/Patras with me and Rupert.
Dont think this is working
Sorry !!! wrong pic
Try once more
