Started driving trucks 1988 ish, was driving minicabs/taxis and got really fed up with the public's rudeness. Anyway spent my last £500 on a one week HGV course, showed up on the Monday to discover they had forgotten I was attending, now a four day course! Course format was two student to one ex military trainer, on the Wednesday the truck broke so now a three and half day course with test at midday on the Friday, three day course! Test completed and a pass achieved so from car licence to HGV class one just like that.

Those that have done it will know that this is where the struggle begins, most employers requiring two years experience. Eventually got some agency work delivering to supermarkets then a full time job on the tippers, an eight wheeled non syncro Foden, that was an experience. The tipper job came to an end when the company folded I then gained a position at Fedex, the Fedex contract was taken over by Ryder for whom I became the shunter on the Ryder Hewlett Packard contract. The business relocated from Reading to Basingstoke and then to Northampton terminating in 1999 due to Ryder and HP not being able to agree terms for the contracts renewal, by this time i was assistant to the European transport manager.

Next mission was shunting on an Eddie Stobart contract transporting cans and bottles into the brewery at junction 11 Reading, now a Tesco depot. After this I spent several years pulling ferry trailers for local small operators out of Purfleet and Dartford mainly Then settled in with Albtrans, same work plus some runs to Albania reloading in Italy. Albtrans and myself eventually had a very unpleasant fall out over money so onto new horizons again.

After a period of temping I, with the help of my then partner bought a truck (04 reg Renault Magnum), secured an operators licence and put it to work on containers out of Southampton (DPWorld). Sold the 04 after a couple of years and bought an 08 Renault Magnum and drove up to retirement age and sold it. Being retired is nice but the money is rubbish so worked for a couple of small operators in the Southampton area and still on the containers, was laid off when the pandemic struck so now back to casual temping when supplementary income is required IE motorcycle parts :-).

A weeks work done time to escape from the yard and head for home on my Goldwing. Had a tow behind trailer for the bike so could pack a weeks kit, I would travel to Southampton from Reading and work five or six days before returning home

Squeezing back out the country lane that took me to the delivery point near Bosham, truck was my 08 Renault Magnum.