willie_mac:
Colin , the seel coil fiddle was to do with EEC grants !!!
probably was Willie, still bloomin daft in my eyes though 
Sending trailers for noexistent loads seems to be pretty normal.
In the 90s I workes as agency for Blakes of Alcester on fridges. They had a contract hauling yoghurt from Cheddar. They would phone through how many pallets so all the transport office had to do was divide by 26.
Went in one Sunday at 2pm to run empty down to Cheddar - four of us in a convoy. When we got there we were turned straigt round and sent back empty. Eight hours at double time for Five hours work not bad.
Discovered after that they had sent nine too many trailers that day.
back in 2001 i were drivin an iveco daily and trailer delivering cars, vans and 4x4’s all over uk things were a bit quiet on day and i was shaping to go hame early one friday when the TM came out and told me to put my trailer on the body and run as far south as i could and phone him early doors sat .
turns out another driver had picked up vans from a yard in seville and for what ever reason he got the wrong keys as he exited the depot ended up picking up the wrong keys from our driver in walsend? and running down to portsmouth to meet a driver from the depot in seville and swap keys only no one told him to meet me in portsmouth so all the way back to aberdeen shire for monday morning
forty foot fridge, from sainsburys haydock, to store in hull, opens the back 3 cages,
steviebyday:
forty foot fridge, from sainsburys haydock, to store in hull, opens the back 3 cages,
Had a similar thing for Tesco ages back , 3 cages of Inverness store , it was a " overspill"
Also had to run to Cambelltown from Glasgow with a 7,5t with one bag of pre peal potatos (13.5kg)to hosp(we had the contract for all the NHS hosp so had to take the good and the bad ones lol)
Also witnessed a Russian guy geting loaded with one pallet of concintrate medicines from Glaxo just outside London years ago to take back home to Russia !
A couple of years ago company I used to work for, insisted that all deliveries went on the wagons (all 18tonners). So one fine tuesday morn of I go from Donny to Preston with a jiffy bag containing 2 screws ,then from Preston to Birkinhead with a box weighing approx 3kg
From Birkinhead to Manchester with another box weighing approx 3kgs
this sometimes happened twice a week 
I’ve taken a full load of blocks of ice, from Ontario to Lake Louise, Alberta
have run M/T from Paris to Como, Italy
and also Appledoorn, NL to Como, Italy M/T
hiya,
back in 1957 just 21 worked for an eight wheeler and trailer outfit (ex forces wagon and drag driver ) loaded 14 tons of budgies on the wagon and 6 tons of canaries on the trailer lancs to glasgow second mate had to walk alongside the outfit going over shap banging on the side of the van bodies keeping the birds in flight too much weight when on the perches and the old octopus wouldn’t have made it , bet your thinking i’m pulling your leg. thanks harry long retired.
Couple of weeks ago One box of 12 free range eggs from Thatcham to Newmarket 2.5 hrs for Urgent delivery in a 44 ton fridge 
Normally run Night Trunk from Chelmsford - Thatcham - Newmarket- Chelmsford. Normally full 26 plts leaving Chelmsford, but most nights can run from Thatcham with only a couple of Plts for rest of run 
three years ago, 20kg box from reading to la corunia, company insisted 2 man job because of lifting involved? oh and insisted on vehicle being minimum 7.5 with tail lift!!!
Carl:
i once carried live cat fish in them big plastic stillages with the metal cage around obviously full of water, from TFE in crick to a big chinease resturant supplyer in manchester
Chi Yip on Greengate?
I was on the agency at the time and was running for Exel Wetherspoons out of Daventry one new years day. Yup I had sacrificed my new years for £45p/h… well it had to be done.
Anyway I got told there was no run, but could I take one of the 18t and go up to birmingham and collect empty cages to bring back to daventry, ok no problem. So off I went, with list of pubs in hand, and get to the first in brum to get told “no empties here drive.” So this goes on for the nex four pubs, so at the 5th due a break I ask the manager for a coffee and a breakfast and ask him how come theres no empty cages, I found out that I had been chasing the delivery lorry around and was arriving about 20 minutes after they had left. So I called in to Coventry and Rugby to the same result, bonus… 8hr’s at £45 p/h = £360 for a days work. 