I cant sleep and though I would share one of my fondest memories with you all… Its mid 80’s and my dad runs his own unit drawing trailers for various outfits… on this occasion he was delivering a load of fish from a small fishing village called Portavogie to Fleetwood fish market, got there tipped the fish and got a message to call home before returning… dad calls to hear that Portavogie ice plant had broken down with dozens of fishing boats unable to leave port as they had no ice to chill their catch… he was asked to bring a load back from Fleetwood with him…
It was dead handy, we lined the fridge floor with empty fish boxes to stop the ice sticking and the ice plant used a shoot to load the trailer…
All good … anyways on the way home we got picked out by mr hmrc to the nearest weighbridge… got some cocky wee prick, obviously very new and on a power trip, with his suit and fancy wee clipboard… Im not sure what went on but there was a few choice words between mr powertrip and my dad, anyway mr powertrip wanted the trailer opened to check the contents, bearing in mind i’m knee high to a grasshopper back then… mr powertrip starts to open the trailer, im stood right next to him and dads behind me… next thing I know my dad grabs me from behind and starts to jog backwards carrying me… as this mr powertrip releases the rear door latch… the door burst open only just missing him, but the gallons and gallons of fish stinking melted ice water hit the floor and I swear it must have bounced back up 3 or 4 feet and completely drenched him from head to toe… dads on the floor in kinks of laughter, mr hmrc’s colleagues are rolling around too… it was one of the funniest real life things ive ever seen… But it gets even better…after all that we finally get back to base with probably half the ice we collected, id say a 1/4 of it melted, and the other 1/4 was in mr powertrips pockets… anyway at the harbour where the ice was needed, someone somewhere decided it would be easier to shovel the ice straight of the trailer over the side of the quay straight onto the waiting boat decks below, so dad figured to get the reach needed he would reverse the rearmost axle of the triaxle trailer off the quay, obviously leaving the mid and forward axle well on the quay. but it seemes noone informed the fishermen on the boat below that this was the plan, dads being waved back by some guy i didnt know and all of a sudden theres a mass of screaming and yelling… dad stopped and got out to see what was wrong… he come back to the truck a second or 2 later and carried me to the edge to see 2 fishermen being hauled from the water back onto their boat below… seems they looked up and saw the underside of a trailer coming at them, though the driver had lost control and jumped overboard in a panic…
We still bring that trip up and it always puts a big smile on my face…
Back when health and safety was’nt such a big issue lol…
anyone else and fond memories??
You probably wouldn’t believe it and yes it concerns a boat … at Brushes ballast quay at Maldon Essex, anyone remember them ?
On a multi day trip that ended with a delivery to Aberdeen docks, I parked overnight at Stonehaven and wandered into town for a pint. I’m standing at a bar relishing the first sup when the barman clocks the company name on my sweatshirt,. I swear this actually happened…
Him “Yer a driver?”
Me “Yes”
Him “Are delivering to Stonehaven”
Me “No, Aberdeen docks tomorrow morning”
Him “Where are you from then?”
Me “Manchester”
Him “Manchester? That’s a fair drive eh?”
Me “I left Manchester yesterday, a few other drops on the way up”
He seemed happy with that and wandered off so I went & sat down. A few minutes later he reappeared and the questions started again.
Him “What are ye delivering then?”
Me “I’ve got 4 pallets for a company down there”
Him “4 pallets, what of?”
Me (getting p’ed of with the constant questions) “I don’t know mate, they’re all shrink wrapped and I haven’t looked at the paperwork”
Him “There’s a lot of companies doon there, do ye know where you’re going?”
Me “Yes!”
Again he seemed happy, but what he said next floored me. I drained my pint as quick as I could and just left without replying…
Him “You’re not local then?”
My Dad chasing a roll of Bubble Wrap across the apron (almost onto the main runway) at Heathrow Airport.
Back in the 80’s, we were packing some machinery onto pallets on the Apron/Airside at Heathrow & the wind took this huge roll of Bubble Wrap, it started rolling across the airport at about 15 mph, Planes were taxying every where. Dad chased after it, Me & my Brother were in stitches/no help at all, but Dad caught it just as it was about to cross the main runway.
When he got back to us, we asked why he’d chased it into a restricted area, was it because a 747 might have sucked it into its engines ? or was it because Concord might have got caught up with it ?
NO !
That roll of Bubble Pack cost £20 & there was no way he was going to loose it !
That’s where I get my Tightness From. [emoji57]
Got a few,
North pole on a submarine, including hitting the bottom while travelling under an iceberg.
7 month cruise round the world and getting paid for it.
Reversing a mini tractor into a nine foot deep slurry pit. Pig ■■■ tastes awful, but it cleared my dandruff for months.
martinviking:
My Dad chasing a roll of Bubble Wrap across the apron (almost onto the main runway) at Heathrow Airport.
Back in the 80’s, we were packing some machinery onto pallets on the Apron/Airside at Heathrow & the wind took this huge roll of Bubble Wrap, it started rolling across the airport at about 15 mph, Planes were taxying every where. Dad chased after it, Me & my Brother were in stitches/no help at all, but Dad caught it just as it was about to cross the main runway.
When he got back to us, we asked why he’d chased it into a restricted area, was it because a 747 might have sucked it into its engines ? or was it because Concord might have got caught up with it ?
NO !
That roll of Bubble Pack cost £20 & there was no way he was going to loose it !
That’s where I get my Tightness From. [emoji57]
My Dad took me out for the day when he was taking an empty packing case to Ramsgate Harbour. He stops just after Manston to 'adjust ’ the load. The next thing I know is he is laying in the front garden of a bungalow with the lid of the packing case on top of him! A gust of wind had caught him while moving the lid and blown him and the lid over a 3 foot wall into the garden 
He swore black was blue that he got blown onto the Manston runway 
Nailing a bird off the caberet every sunday night for over a year in the 90s on the newhaven /dieppe boat 