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I drove for clearways in the 80s leyland boxer and they also had a seddon atkinsonĀ  chinese six the gear shift was the other way round first and second away from you played some tunes on thatĀ  meeowed

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HI CATZ / Nice of you to answer, I am now living in Swinton , Manchester, but still miss Nottingham, I will be 75 in March and I look back on my life , and were iv,e been , but I

They were still doing a little bit of that in 1987 when I started working there. There were no depots at the resorts by then but we still took a few cases; growing car ownership and package holidays k

My godfather, Derek Foster worked for Harris for many years; he ended up driving a road sweeper for Gedling council, said it was the best job you could wish for. He always told me to avoid road haulag

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On April 20, 2018 at 2:51 PM, Scriv said:

They're not damn well allowed to!

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Some great genius a few years ago decreed that roping and sheeting was no longer suitable for securing flatbed loads because (you're not going to believe this) the ropes haven't been individually strength tested.

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Anyoner who's done it (I could but would not claim to have ever mastered the art) knows that if it's done properly, you can tip the damn lorry upside down and shake it and nowt willĀ  move!

I was at sea and ropes were used to not only secure the ships (polypropylene mooring ropes) but for lifting and securing almost everything. Each rope has a Safe Woking Load measured in tonnes / tons and certificate to thatĀ effect is supplied with it and had to be kept on file for inspection. I canā€™t remember the formulas but splicing and knotting the rope reduces the SWL. It is apparent to me that the reason they stopped securingĀ loads with ropes is because, like almost everything else these days, they stopped training people properly.

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When I passed my hgv test my instructor told me you had better drive a box wagon You will never hold a load on roping and sheetingĀ  Then curtain siders came along much easier I worked for wheldons the dyers and when I got a job at clearways The gaffer Frank had bought the wagons from wheldons when they went bust I finished up back in my old wagon 206 a leyland boxer I really dont know how they get anything delivered these days with the state of the roads and the trafficĀ  meeowed

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That Bampton Packaging Ian? Used to do a fair bit for them when I was on Mayday; they'd moved down Lenton Lane by then. Might even have driven that D Series Ford, they had one of those and a Cargo when I was there.

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Weren't a bad little job that; used to do a lot of crates up to East Mids Airport for the exporters.

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Another one I remember well from my days at Mayday was Randalls, the plumbers' merchants on George Street. And Fords, just round the corner; once you got in with them and could remember where all the shops were, they'd always ask for you to come back. Only downside was the crap hours, never any overtime; but it was a doddle of a job.

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Was "Atlas Express" a Notts firm? I remember as a small boy at primary school we were advised to buy an atlas of the world to help in classwork.Ā  Ā We never had much in theĀ way of spare money so an atlasĀ would have to wait until birthday or christmas but I digress.... I used to see Atlas Express lorries driving around and I actually thought that these lorries were full of atlasesĀ  for deliveryĀ to shops.

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They had depots all over the UK.... did overnight parcel delivery long beforeĀ  TNT and the like. They were bought out by United Carriers and closed down in the late 1980's.

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Found this video from the early 1960's;

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvd5Y_maKQc&feature=youtu.be

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The "cross-docking" system was still pretty much the same when i worked for Rainbows in the late 1980's. Barcodes and mechanisation swept that all away.

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On 10/9/2018 at 5:08 PM, chalky57 said:

Hi i have just come across this post i worked for bill kelly when he had a place on northgate with derek hayman bob rutter and mick roth.

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Knew 'em all Chalky, but they were at Langley Mill when I worked for Bill. Bob has passed on, but as far as I know Derek is still alive. Mick Roth was living with Johnny Knowles' ex, the red-headed girl; was her name Lynn?

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I knew a Mick Roth in Boowul around 1965 or 6.Ā  He was a tallish blond haired lad.Ā  He rode an Ariel Arrow.Ā 

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On 10/10/2018 at 10:15 PM, Scriv said:

Knew 'em all Chalky, but they were at Langley Mill when I worked for Bill. Bob has passed on, but as far as I know Derek is still alive. Mick Roth was living with Johnny Knowles' ex, the red-headed girl; was her name Lynn?

Yes mate I think her name was Lynn some of them were right characters but they were certainly the good old days.

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On 8/18/2018 at 12:25 PM, Compo said:

Was "Atlas Express" a Notts firm? I remember as a small boy at primary school we were advised to buy an atlas of the world to help in classwork.Ā  Ā We never had much in theĀ way of spare money so an atlasĀ would have to wait until birthday or christmas but I digress.... I used to see Atlas Express lorries driving around and I actually thought that these lorries were full of atlasesĀ  for deliveryĀ to shops.

I think Atlas express was taken over by plackets if my memory serves me right.

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another really old carrier was rainbows did mainly east coastĀ  When i drove for wheldons textiles I was passed every morning on the m1 at 5oclock by bees of LeicesterĀ  going like stink always first down the west endĀ Ā  meeowed

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Did Rainbows have a small yard on Hicklings Lane in Stapleford ? I'mĀ Ā certain a saw at least one parked up whenever I passed by.

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Rainbows used to offer a holiday luggage service to east coast destinations at least in the 50`s. We used to take our cases to their depot aĀ day or so before our journey,Ā but can't remember where that was, perhaps somewhere around Huntingdon St bus station, and the cases were then collected by us at their depot in Skeggy or Mablethorpe offices when we arrived the next day off the train.

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Recall my mum saying the same thing, Commo. She and her family holidayed in Skeggy during the early war years and sent their luggage down separately. Mum being the youngest, travelled on the train with her parents and her older sisters made the journey from Nottingham on their bikes. Luggage was collected when they arrived. It cost very little, apparently, which wouldn't be the same today!

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I had a vague recollection of a company that delivered luggage to various caravan sites along the east coast, and collected them a week or a fortnight later for the return journey. It could have been Rainbows, I can't be sure.

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At that time caravan holidays required you to supply all your own bed linen, towels etc which meant so much more luggage was needed. Even more recently self catering cottages didn't supply these, but with the luxury of your own transport this wasn't the problem that it was when transport was by coach or train.

Edit: that was how it happened Fly, and I recall us collecting on arrival and then depositing with them for the return. As Jill says, the cost was relatively little, otherwise it would not have been a viable option.

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I often partake in caravan holidays organised by The Sun newspaper. We always take our own bedding etc, as it works out considerably cheaper. They are fantastic value for short breaks, and I've already had three this year, as it is a different scenario to continental coach tours, of which I've already had two up to now.

The caravan Ā sites are mostly very good, and several times over the years, have had virtually brand new vans.

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On 3/2/2015 at 8:11 PM, swe62 said:

#192 I thought it was scientifically planned deliverys they used to run TK Bedfords I think they had a depot on Glaisdale

I know its a bit late but SPD Ltd were on glaisdale drive, they were part of the Unilever group. I worked there for ten years, first as warehouseman then delivery driver. We used to deliver to lots of different places, shop, supermarkets,factory canteens, garages etc. They had depot's all over the country. There was even a Birds-Eye cold store, my older brother worked there on nights for a number of years. I regularly delivered to Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Northhants. etc. I left in 1978 to work at the National water sports centre, Holme Pierrpont. Don't suppose anyone would remember me now though. Barrie.

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SPD were known as Speedy, Prompt, Delivery. I hope they lived up to it.

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Ey up Beekay, your mention of SPD jogged my memory of my days at Marsdens/Farrands in the 60s .Ā  SPD meant to me Soap powder deliverys, delivering directly to retailers, Marsdens and Farrands being the ones i worked for,Ā  did you deliver to these stores?

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