The anti-c_19 thread

[clarinetbcn]

My only truck driving experience didn't involve driving a truck. Whilst shipping furniture to Greece in a 7.5 tonne box van (as a private individual) I had an enforced weekend stay in a Swiss truck park because the authorities wouldn't let me travel over the weekend. It was one of the most eye opening experiences of my life up till then. My van was sandwiched between two other Brits who had only two things on their mind, one being drinking. On Saturday night the booze ran out and one of the drivers (pretty drunk by then) asked me (still quite sober) to get more booze from a shop he knew about a mile away. When I told him I couldn't because my truck was blocked, he promptly offered his, a Volvo tractor unit putting up 470 hp. I told him that there was no way, but he insisted on demonstrating the capabilities of the Volvo round the truck park with me as a passenger (terrified). The situation was eventually resolved by a Spanish driver with a mobile phone (still a bit rare then) calling a taxi and taking a drinks order for most of the drivers!

My only truck driving experience was when I was 15 and got a job for the summer on a cattle ranch in a valley at 9000 ft. in the Rockies. My job was to locate and roll up fallen and abandoned barbed wire fences, which would cause serious injury to unsuspecting cattle. I had to roll up the barbed wire, which involved a very specific and complex technique, because if it was rolled incorrectly it would become an enormous barbed clock spring that would expand explosively and shred anything, and anyone, in its path. To reach these distant valleys, all private property of the ranch, I was given the use of a 1963 Ford 4X4 pickup. If I finished before nightfall, I used to practice flying the pickup over local streams using beaver dams as a launching ramp.

Edit: the ranch was owned by H.L. Hunt, of the Hunt's tomato sauce fortune, He gave orders that the ranch had to lose money, so that he could use it as a tax write off for his business. I did my part.

 

[Wild Bob]

Me and future wife were stood at the bar of a pub, and a guy asked for 4 pints of beer, when the lady said £1 he said sod off I am not paying £1 for 4 pints of beer. hehehehehe Those were the days

 

[Velma's Dad]

My only truck driving experience was when I was 15 and got a job for the summer on a cattle ranch in a valley at 9000 ft. in the Rockies. My job was to locate and roll up fallen and abandoned barbed wire fences, which would cause serious injury to unsuspecting cattle. I had to roll up the barbed wire, which involved a very specific and complex technique, because if it was rolled incorrectly it would become an enormous barbed clock spring that would expand explosively and shred anything, and anyone, in its path. To reach these distant valleys, all private property of the ranch, I was given the use of a 1963 Ford 4X4 pickup. If I finished before nightfall, I used to practice flying the pickup over local streams using beaver dams as a launching ramp.

Edit: the ranch was owned by H.L. Hunt, of the Hunt's tomato sauce fortune, He gave orders that the ranch had to lose money, so that he could use it as a tax write off for his business. I did my part.

I drove trucks for an agency part-time when I was a (mature-ish) student, having previously got an HGV licence while in the Army. It was a great way to earn good money.

But my first job for the agency was with an egg packing company (Amarillo, got your ears on?). At the very first farm collection I loaded up the 16 tonner with umpteen trolleys of eggs then reversed back to turn around... right onto some soft ground and got stuck. Rather than own up I tried to rock the wagon out of the mire, which eventually worked.

When I went round the back of the truck to look, there was a stream of yellow dripping out round the edge of the back doors.

Actually it turned out only a few dozen eggs had gone for a burton so it could have been worse, but I got a lot of well-deserved stick about it when I got to the packing depot.

But the best jobs involved driving lorry loads of meat - or often, whole pig carcasses - from abattoirs in Norfolk and Suffolk, down to Smithfield Market, in the wee hours. Great banter with the boys after offloading in the market, then a fry-up breakfast in the pub (the Smithfield pubs were allowed to open all hours, the Cock was one of them if I remember correctly).

Happy days!

 

[Vagophile]

It’s true. Strange, but true.

Don't these still live on as some Indian reincarnation?

 

[Duxdeluxe]

Don't these still live on as some Indian reincarnation?

Hindustan Ambassador?

 

[B J G]

It’s true. Strange, but true.

I remember Austin Cambridge Diesel (Farina style) but not Morris ones. Farmer I knew who had multiple farms had one which he ran on red diesel, not saying that he was as tight as the proverbial Ducks Ass.

 

[trev0rk]

When I bought my '65 Beetle in 1975 I would go out of my way to buy petrol for 66p per gallon, but by the end of the decade it was nearing £1. Still have a couple of China mugs which were given out at petrol stations to attract business.
Who queued for their petrol ration book at the Post Office back in '73? Never needed it but fuel was short mid-70's.

 

[Tandt]

I can remember when petrol was 50 pence a gallon. Diesel was cheaper still because it was only used by Ford Transits and the odd Morris Oxford.

I remember 35p gallon in a triumph herald

 

[Tandt]

Ah, but who asked for a squirt of Redex?

My dad always did but I never knew what it was!

 

[GrannyJen]

When I bought my '65 Beetle in 1975 I would go out of my way to buy petrol for 66p per gallon, but by the end of the decade it was nearing £1. Still have a couple of China mugs which were given out at petrol stations to attract business.
Who queued for their petrol ration book at the Post Office back in '73? Never needed it but fuel was short mid-70's.

I was at the other end.

The government decided that rather ration the consumer they would instead operate an "allocation system" to fuel dealers, for "allocation system" read rationing.

Ended up with dealers running low, queues everywhere and people such as yours truly at the fuel depots being harassed, harangued and hassled 7 days a week by dealers anxious to get as much fuel as they could.