Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[booder]

.

[booder]

Got to know some of the other hauliers and one of them James Smith offered me a job driving for him.It meant working out of Frigoscania full time delivering to all the major food distribution centres ,Birds Eye at Yarmouth and in the summertime for Mars out of Slough.

Enjoyed the fridge work and was a bit hesitant when James said he was buying a new truck which he intended to have pulling trailers out of Felixstowe for Ewals Cargo Care and he would like me to run it.


Loved it straight away , brand new Iveco Eurotech, low ride specification (to enable trailers to get under German and Dutch bridges which are lower than ours) , built in fridge , night heater.double bunk.
Would pick trailers up from Felixstowe or Purfleet mainly,deliver the contents , reload and then drop the trailer off at a port , Immingham , Heysham ,Cairnryan,Hull, Harwich Dover Avonmouth Holyhead Liverpool .

There would also be trips across to Ireland , Holland ,Belgium,Germany and France.

[tikay]

Absolutely loved reading that Boo, thanks.

[booder]

I got on well with the transport manager at Ewals office in Colchester and we came to an agreement that he would ensure i got home on a friday (hated working saturdays) and in return i would be his go to guy ,  if a job needed doing
or something had to be at its destination at a certain time i was his man...i was not averse to bending the driving laws.

We mostly transported automotive parts,but we also did a lot of white goods (one such load shifted as we went round a roundabout at Felixstowe which resulted in me getting a new motor a DAF 95XF , every cloud....)

Our return loads included hauling clay from Cornwall , always a hard old slog up the M5.

Did loads of interesting jobs , delivering to Exhibition centres , Natural History Museum.

Spent over ten years pulling Cargo Care trailers covering over a million miles,then one Sunday evening i went to pick up my lorry but i was unable to put the key in the lock.I just broke down.I guess i had burned myself out and was having a breakdown.


Gave up the driving then (HGVs anyway), this would be about 2008.


So many memories , i started to ramble a bit so i have shortened this but you should find the answers to your questions.

[nirvana]

Really interesting mate, thanks for taking the time

[RED-DOG]

Fabulous story Boo, right up my street. (No pun intended)

How did I not know all this stuff? What a dark horse.

I wonder what else I don't know about the other blondes?

[Karabiner]

That's a really interesting story and some great writing Boo.

[GreekStein]

Hi Tom.

Some very random questions from me this morning, just cause.

What's your favourite breed of dog? Do you currently have a dog?

If you could only eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?

What is the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?

Single favourite poker memory? Do you still play at all these days or plan to play again post-covid?

One technology you'd like improved and one you want banished from the world.

Random questions my arse. I will try to keep the answers brief but I can't promise anything.


What's your favourite breed of dog?


This is a tough one, I don't know yet if I will be able to arrive at a definitive answer.

Let me start by ruling out all the ones that have been ruined by having to conform to the the Kennel Club breed standard. So a few off the top of my head are Bulldog, Dachshund, Pug, Shar Pei, Chow-Chow & Great Dane.



Before I go any further let me just say a word in praise of the humble mongrel. I'm not talking about a cross-bred or hybrid here but the true, mongrel dam, mongrel sire, mongrel grandparents Heinz 57 mongrel. These have been some of the best dogs I've ever known.

Mongrels have loads of advantages. They have a huge gene-pool to draw from and so very rarely suffer from inherited deformity or frailty. When it comes to vitality and intelegence they are virtually always in the top few %

The big draw back with a mongrel is that you are taking a chance if you get one as a puppy because yo have no idea what he will turn out like or what his strong instincts will be, i.e guarding, hunting, retrieving, herding etc, and you don't know what his body shape or coat will be like.

If you want a mongrel try to get one that is old enough to show it's shape and character but young enough to be still unspoiled by bad experiences..




Several breeds have been my favourite at different stages of my life. Well, I say breeds, but mine have often been more types than breeds, Greyhounds crossed with Whippets to make them a bit smaller, a dash of Collie to make them a bit smarter, a pinch of Saluki to give them staying power.

I had one such lurcher called Branch, he wasn't the fastest hare coursing dog or the most fearless lamper but he was a great all-rounder and could 'hunt kill and carry' as the old trope goes. He was also a wonderful companion dog and a sensible, reliable guard. Anyone could walk up to our trailers and he wouldn't bat an eyelid, but woe betide them if they came sneaking, shouting, or under cover of darkness.




Patterdales are ferocious ratting terriers but they are too hard and headstrong to handle without some Lakeland or Jack Russel in the mix.

My best hunting terrier was a tiny broken-coated Patterdale x Lakeland x Lakeland bitch called Millie.
I called her one morning and she didn't come, I looked in her bed, (a shallow depression that she habitually dug behind the wheel of the trailer) and to my everlasting shame found her nursing three newborn puppies. I didn't even know she was pregnant.

When the pups were 6 weeks old (It has to be 8 weeks these days) I gave them away to people who I knew would love them even if they turned out like their unknown father rather than my beautiful bitch.

"I'll look ater it, even ifn it grows into a dhino-sor."

As it turned out they grew into beautiful dogs, a very similar stamp to Millie but an inch or two taller.




Gun-dogs are, for me at least, an easy decision. There are plenty of breeds to choose from, Golden retrievers, Curly-coated retrievers, Flat-coats, Springers, Cockers, Clumbers, the list is vast but Labradors (Working strain) are the ones for me.

So far I have been lucky enough to have two 'Once-in-a-lifetime' dogs and one of them was a yellow Labrador called Ben. I could fill a book with stories about him but this is not the time. I can't think of him without feeling happy and sad. It was my great privilege have him. He was my constant companion, he celebrated with me when I was happy, comforted me when I was sad, and loved me unconditionally.

RIP Ben.


Anyway, I feel like I'm digressing too much and dodging the question. You asked me to pick a breed and so I will.

If I had to choose a pedigree dog breed for the life I live today I would choose a miniature Poodle. (Au natural, not silly Poodle haircut). Miniature Poodles are not the tiny ones (Toy Poodle) and not the big ones (Standard Poodle) Miniatures stand about 15" at the shoulder, which IMO is an ideal size for a general purpose companion type dog.

Miniature Poodles are intelligent, energetic, easy to train and they don't shed hair.

My second choice would be a Cocker Spaniel. Good size, nose orientated, tractable, placid, fun loving, water loving, sycophantic and totally loyal.




Which brings me to your second question.

Do you currently have a dog?


Yes. I have a Miniature Poodle crossed with a Cocker Spaniel.

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Thanks! Great post.

I have a Central Asian shepherd. He's a giant and a great house guardian. He doesnt take any shit but loves playing with smaller dogs. I have to introduce him very carefully with other dogs and keep him away from dogs that are alphas.

I also have a thai mix terrier. He's way smarter than I ever expected him to be.

I have a Cane Corso and he's my favourite. It feels really bad to say that. In the same vein that you shouldnt have a favourite child, having a favourite dog leaves me feeling a bit guilty but hes just incredible. Because 2 of my dogs are so huge, she has grown up without any fear or hesitation when dogs are near her or approach which means I've had to be extra vigilant here with street dogs etc. The first time I ever took her with me while I took my dogs to a Dog play park, my Cane Corso just followed her around the entire time while she played, ran etc. He kept a meter away from her at all times and without being aggresisve or even barking, he just cut off other dogs paths to her. It was quite fantastic. I didn't expect it to be so perfect. He absolutely dotes on me and just wants to be by my side alllllll the time. As i write this, I'm pretty sure I've written the same post somewhere in blonde before so apologies! Think it's a breed I will have for life now.

[GreekStein]

If you could only eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?


After much dithering between Fry-ups, steak pudding and chips, Sunday roast etc I decided I had to do the sensible thing and have this.




https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-create-the-healthiest-meal-ever-2012-6?r=US&IR=T

ok now let's assume every meal is of the same nutrional value. What are you choosing and what is your favourite non-British meal?

[GreekStein]

What is the scariest thing that's ever happened to you?

Two of the most scary things that have happened to me can't be aired on a public forum, but I would tell you in person.

ffs now i really wanna know!

[StuartHopkin]

Pics of your dogs and family please Cos!

[tikay]

Pics of your dogs and family please Cos!

Not sure I've can recall Cos ever posting photos on blonde, pardon me butting in, but these are on his Twitter, so I hope he won't mind me posting them;

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[GreekStein]

I got on well with the transport manager at Ewals office in Colchester and we came to an agreement that he would ensure i got home on a friday (hated working saturdays) and in return i would be his go to guy ,  if a job needed doing
or something had to be at its destination at a certain time i was his man...i was not averse to bending the driving laws.

We mostly transported automotive parts,but we also did a lot of white goods (one such load shifted as we went round a roundabout at Felixstowe which resulted in me getting a new motor a DAF 95XF , every cloud....)

Our return loads included hauling clay from Cornwall , always a hard old slog up the M5.

Did loads of interesting jobs , delivering to Exhibition centres , Natural History Museum.

Spent over ten years pulling Cargo Care trailers covering over a million miles,then one Sunday evening i went to pick up my lorry but i was unable to put the key in the lock.I just broke down.I guess i had burned myself out and was having a breakdown.


Gave up the driving then (HGVs anyway), this would be about 2008.


So many memories , i started to ramble a bit so i have shortened this but you should find the answers to your questions.

Boo thanks for these posts, really really enjoyed them.

'then one Sunday evening i went to pick up my lorry but i was unable to put the key in the lock.I just broke down.I guess i had burned myself out and was having a breakdown.'

If this is something you don't want to elaborate on or talk about, no worries. I found it incredibly intriguing and being the nosey bastard that I am I'd like to ask a few questions. Really totally understand though if you want to say no more at all.

Was their any build up or was it just this one day and from there everything happened?

[GreekStein]

Pics of your dogs and family please Cos!

Not sure I've can recall Cos ever posting photos on blonde, pardon me butting in, but these are on his Twitter, so I hope he won't mind me posting them;

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

no problem at all!

I used to post a lot of pics of various different things but in recent years whenever I've tried to post some I've had some technical issue?

Is there an easy way to post direct from my phone?

[tikay]

Is there an easy way to post direct from my phone?


I'm sure there is, but better to ask Tom, I still take my photos to Boots to get them developed.