what is this, f7 appreciation society, or a wind-up?
i had a f7 -it ws supposed to stay local and ended up going all over the place never let us down the magnificant 7 i put on a photo
kerbut:
RoutierI think the guy who drove that Noel Zwecker F12 was called Bernie, I always used to see him at Clauds, St Genis.He was a bloke of about 30 stone !!
Clauds, wow that brings back some memories. Many weekends parked opposit a cafe that was closed until 6pm on Sundays with (usually) 20 - 30 hungry British drivers waiting for them to open.
What was the english blokes name who served in the shop at the fuel station?? My memory’s shot!!
Ross.
bigr250:
kerbut:
RoutierI think the guy who drove that Noel Zwecker F12 was called Bernie, I always used to see him at Clauds, St Genis.He was a bloke of about 30 stone !!
Clauds, wow that brings back some memories. Many weekends parked opposit a cafe that was closed until 6pm on Sundays with (usually) 20 - 30 hungry British drivers waiting for them to open.
What was the english blokes name who served in the shop at the fuel station?? My memory’s shot!!
Ross.
Do you mean Tony and yes he’s still there Kerbut told me 
Why the hell would you be hungry ■■ walk to the village and eat tin one of the 3 bar restaurants there 
montana man:
Do you mean Tony and yes he’s still there Kerbut told meWhy the hell would you be hungry ■■ walk to the village and eat tin one of the 3 bar restaurants there
Indeed, once the hunger overtook the lazyness we’d walk the few hundred yards usually to the one on the right (heading south) down a couple of steps for some sustinance.
Ross.
Oh yeah that was a hell of a lot longer to walk back after a bottle or 10 of Ricard or Rouge
If you were really adventurous there was a night club 2 villages to the East and a very reasonable local Taxi Unfortunately the dude was always drunk as a skunk when he picked you up to come back at 3 am 
But then a gain so were we
montana man:
:lol:
Hi again ‘montana man’, as a ‘skint’ owner driver in a hurry I’d usually arrive about 11.30pm Sat and be away 9.45pm Sunday after the minimum time off possible. I’ve got quite a few photo’s taken at Clauds as well as plenty from my time doing Spain from 1986 to 1998 (with a couple of brief breaks doing other work) and as soon as I get my scanner fixed I’ll scan some and get them posted.
If you were a regular there you might well remember my F12 with a large mural of two naked women (one a blue skinned devil 
) on the roof deflector, I saw plenty of drivers taking pic’s of it.
Did you ever ‘do’ the fish restaurant at La Rochelle?
Ross.
We were discussing the very place recently here …
trucknetuk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic. … c&start=60
The description of your motor is ringing a bell or 2 
I am sure it will click sooner or later
Did you pull someones trailers or your own ■■
Spent many a weekend at Claudes rather than the poxy Cabbage Patch where the rest of our lads were 
I do hope there are no embaressing pics of me in your collection as I am sure we have met
I was on for a few different people around then but most notably Might Just Make it Transport The Blue, white nad “cherry” Scannys
MJM Scania’s,I remember them well, I had my own trailer and was working for Richmond forwarding from Manchester. I’m sure have almost certainly met either there of somewhere in Spain as I met your drivers all over the place.
Do you remember the trouble at Irun in 1989 during a 9 day strike by Spanish drivers?
They tried to stop me at Pamplona but I drove through & had my windscreem smashed,(still got the pic’s which I’ll post asap) when I got to Irun the border was blockaded and the Spanish army with armourd cars opened it. I’d loaded and done revision at Granada but needed to get my ‘T’ forms from Irun so parked at he fronteer between the French & Spanish Police buildings.(right where they pull you for a search)
I had a slight disagreement that night with a Spanish driver & he came out a little second hand, next morning all hell broke loose and two German drivers were pulled from theie cabs and beaten to a pulp while I was at Hendaye getting my paperwork. I got back to the border and the place was awash with army and armoured cars so I got my permit stamped and walked through to the French who told me there had been a group of Spanish drivers looking to beat up any drivers they could find and had taken an interest in my truck.
When I got to Clauds there were stories about a German driver who beat 7 kinds of cr4p out of a striker and started a riot. Well, that german driver was a scouser, me. (although I admit to absolutely nothing )
Ross.
wasn’t down there then mostly through out the 90s. We must have met somewhere along the routes as we all knew each other in those days
You couldn’t go anywhere in Spain without seeing an MJM (usually either broke down or paying a fine) There were about 30 motors doing just Spain. and at least 5 had tax
montana man:
There were about 30 motors doing just Spain.
Didn’t all that change when they got the MAN Roadhous’s in 97/98? none of the ‘scanny’s’ were taxed then
Ross.
bigr250:
montana man:
There were about 30 motors doing just Spain.Didn’t all that change when they got the MAN Roadhous’s in 97/98? none of the ‘scanny’s’ were taxed then
Ross.
The Roadhaus’s HAD to be taxed and to be fair by that time the ministry were all over us so much they mostly were and had REAL diesel in them I kept my 450 when those Roadheaps arrived
If you ever shipped Poole - Cherbourg then mine was the one, by that stage having had a nipper, that was parked by the customs shed every weekend regardless of where I had been that week
was that one genuine tax disc and 5 photocopies ■■
frank and carrie say hello and ask is it true that gavin is in canada now ■■.
bigr250:
kerbut:
RoutierI think the guy who drove that Noel Zwecker F12 was called Bernie, I always used to see him at Clauds, St Genis.He was a bloke of about 30 stone !!
Clauds, wow that brings back some memories. Many weekends parked opposit a cafe that was closed until 6pm on Sundays with (usually) 20 - 30 hungry British drivers waiting for them to open.
What was the english blokes name who served in the shop at the fuel station?? My memory’s shot!!
Ross.
Only ate at Claude’s a couple of times, mainly because I needed fuel there, didn’t they have AS24 pumps opposite? My favourite in the area was on top of the hill about 5kms north of Pons, a brilliant place and I would try to organise myself to overnight there. Claude’s was good, but couldn’t touch this place. The Patronne would keep a beady eye out when it got near to parking up time in case the new arrivals opposite weren’t parking prettily enough.
Spardo:
Only ate at Claude’s a couple of times, mainly because I needed fuel there, didn’t they have AS24 pumps opposite? My favourite in the area was on top of the hill about 5kms north of Pons, a brilliant place and I would try to organise myself to overnight there. Claude’s was good, but couldn’t touch this place. The Patronne would keep a beady eye out when it got near to parking up time in case the new arrivals opposite weren’t parking prettily enough.
I’ve obviously driven past your fave place many times but never stopped there, I started doing Spain in 1986 but didn’t ‘find’ Clauds till 1989 when I started ‘subbing’ for Richmond who liked us to use Poole - Cherbourg.
Ferrys so often dictated where we ate and in later years when using Newhaven - Dieppe I meant to go over to Clauds but time restraints would convince me to stick to the logical route and the ‘cabage patch’ would get my money. I always liked the personal touch at Clauds, nothing else in the area could touch it.
Ross.
bigr250:
I had my own trailer and was working for Richmond forwarding from Manchester.
i remember sarah at their poole office, could be a fearsome woman - and her lovely sidekick susanne, although this was around 89 to 93 so could’ve been after your time?
jj72:
i remember sarah at their poole office, could be a fearsome woman - and her lovely sidekick susanne, although this was around 89 to 93 so could’ve been after your time?
I was still working for them into early 89 but Sarah’s sidekick at that time was her brother, but boy, could Sarah drink!!! I think the fearsome reputation was something to do with being hung over, very scary 
Susanne was obviously after my time but I have many happy memories of my time with Richmond. When I started for them lots of owner drivers were trying to ‘get on’ but they would only run a certain ammount of subbies so it was dead mans shoes, as one left, another would come on board but they were very choosey, you had to supply your own trailer & have all the right paperwork, permits, insurance etc.
My first trip to Spain in 1986 was for Kieth Raynor of TIF from Bury, he had lots of reasonable paying work but Richmond paid £1,725 round trip re-loading Valencia when most other companies would pay £1,500 - 1,550. That was in the 1980’s, a certain Austrian Company from Kufstein only pays £1,900 now for Valencia??
Guess why I’m not in haulage any more?
Doing Spain in those days was addictive, I still have withdrawall symptoms.
Ross.
In 1983 I started for P.G Horridge road traction out of Poole.We did work for R&G Maritime,Aquilla,MAT & Interoute.Other firms I remember from Poole,Bernie Kellaway,Colin Duffett Cecil Compton,ECT.
Dave Ketteringham from Phil’s drives a tanker from round St Genis nowadays.
The big ELF Truckstop at Barbezieu on the N10 is Claudes.I believe St Genis is run by a Dutchman but still belongs to Claude.
phil horridge still going frank x mjm is driving a fh for him frigo jobbey spain&back as per normal.