Tasked with collecting the Office's Exhibition van from a (literally) back street company in Ward End, Birmingham today, after being fitted out with Sat. Broadband equipment; being extra careful with company money booked my one way rail ticket to New Street for the princely sum of £20.00 (Bargain really - Bangor to New Street, supposed to be direct but had to change at Crewe to a London Midland Service which chopped 45 minutes off the 3,5 hour journey due to "overunning engineering works") then roughed it plodded via bus from the City to the suburbs.
Driving the 27 foot unit home along the M6/M54/A5 and A55 (took 3.5 hours - so train isn't that much quicker....) - gave me some empathy with the average trucker's plight - cars hiding in the blind spots mimsing along at 50mph on dual carriageways slowing all the commercial traffic to an ungainly crawl....frustrating or what ? Ended up with my own elephant's race on the A5 at one point....learnt a lot today. Not least some patience...
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>>Ended up with my own elephant's race on the A5 at one point.
Despicable traitor ! Pretty much unforgiveable behaviour.
;-)
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I was dreadfully embarrassed...
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Good ! Well, at least you're contrite, we'll say no more about it then...
;-)
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Tue 28 May 13 at 21:53
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Not planning on buying a caravan are we RP?
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Well, he might be, he's already got a scooter tae hing oan the the back of one ! ( and he wears Crocs )...
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Tue 28 May 13 at 22:01
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The Croc (Moccasins) have long gone. We sort of had a look at some motor-homes last year....I may enter an arrangement with my sister...
I would never, ever, ever buy a caravan.
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>> I would never, ever, ever buy a caravan.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks
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Aye I know, Crocs, scooter, slippery slope if ever there was one. Fair Isle sweaters next, mark my words.
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What does he call this 27-foot behemoth? Sounded vaguely community friendly. But we all know a lumbering Winnebago with boats and bikes on the back when it gets in our way.
Sheesh. You cats...
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Did you stop at a greasy spoon for a full lard intake? Compulsory in the trade you know :)
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>> Did you stop at a greasy spoon for a full lard intake? Compulsory in the
>> trade you know :)
>>
I parked with the "big boys" in Stafford services on the way down a couple of weeks ago - I have a photo somewhere...I have a very natty ex-Police fluorescent jacket and a neatly folded copy of the Indie...on a diet though, ate too much in USA.
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>>ate too much in USA.
Easy to do, I'm going to NY next week so I'd probably best live on muesli for the next few days. Once went on a morning flight which arrived just after lunchtime and due to the time difference I was a bit hungry but knowing I was due to go for a big dinner that night I decided just to order a sandwich in a diner to tide me over. Only sandwich I've ever had that needed something resembling a fence post stuck through it to hold it together.
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Tue 28 May 13 at 22:50
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There was this diner in Oakland, much favoured by local cops, in the seenties (but very likely still there) that did these terrific huge steak sandwiches, to die for, but also enough for two if no one was ravenous. Definitely not junk food though. Made a change.
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>>...I have a very natty ex-Police fluorescent jacket and a neatly folded copy of the Indie...<<
Oh Dear RP:(
That isn't the way to do it, we're going to have to knock the rough edges off you before your next outing!
Best give away for a newbie is a clean High Viz, take it out, stand on it and roll it around in some grease.
The Sun is the only newspaper any self respecting trucker will be seen reading/holding with the exception of the Daily Star if you really are a man.
Does it have a tachograph, do you have a digi card?
If so, all further lessons will have to be private;)
Pat
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>> Oh Dear RP:(
>>
>> That isn't the way to do it, we're going to have to knock the rough
>> edges off you before your next outing!
>>
>> Best give away for a newbie is a clean High Viz, take it out, stand
>> on it and roll it around in some grease.
>>
>> The Sun is the only newspaper any self respecting trucker will be seen reading/holding with
>> the exception of the Daily Star if you really are a man.
Shouldn't that be " Knock some rough edges into him "?
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 29 May 13 at 08:56
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>>I would never, ever, ever buy a caravan.
Why on earth not?
Far better to leave it behind (levelled out) and drive around in a sensibly powerful car, than stow everything away every morning and crawl around in an enormous slug.
When I had 'vans, I could never understand why others would want motorhomes (campervan is IIRC a trailer-tent).
They cost a fortune compared to a caravan. They're a pig to find somewhere flat to spend the night. You have to stow everything away to move it, unless you have alternative transport on board.........................
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>> unless you have alternative transport on board.........................
>>
4X4 towed on an A frame?
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Trail bike rack on the back! Jobs a gudgeon.
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>>Far better to leave it behind (levelled out) and drive around in a sensibly powerful car, than stow everything away every morning and crawl around in an enormous slug.
^What e'e sed, had a Hymer once, and once was enuff.
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don't know about the 40ft monsters, normal van conversions keep their value better than any car or trailer caravan, have plenty places to stow things so it takes about 5 minutes before you move off and we have never found getting a reasonably flat pitch a problem.
On the benefit side, you have all your gear with you all day, so when we did it with young kids we always had changes of clothes, toys etc with us, now they are all grown, and in 1 case has a campervan (van converted to go camping in, otherwise called motor caravan, motorhome) of
his own, we like touring, stopping wherever we like for a cuppa, still good to have gear with us in case the weather changes.
it works for us, if it doesn't work for you, fine, whatever floats your boat but I guess that's another story, every time we take the dog for a walk along the Thames I get the idea a small cruiser would be good.
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>>every time we take the dog for a walk along the Thames I get the idea a small cruiser would be good
^I'm with this geezer!
Fond mammaries of cruising along Father Thames in the 1970's Via Blakes, mucho fun in heatwave + drought of 76.
Wouldn't mind a heatwave now TBH :)
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My sister and husband had a cruiser on the Thames in the early seventies - it was moored up by Eel Pie Island...... we used to cruise up and down the river on sunny weekends with them.
Many happy memories of that boat - not least when a photographer from Fiesta magazine decided to do a photo shoot with a couple of young ladies on the boat next door.......
I suppose it was quite daring at the time but you can see the same on most beaches around the Med these days.....
Last edited by: helicopter on Wed 29 May 13 at 14:45
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Trucker for the day (well almost) - Runfer D'Hills
