I've spent a bit of my time driving lorries around. I had a lot of it in north Wales and got to know the place really well. I always used to say, the best road in Wales is the road leading you out of it. But i was only joking when i said it. Really, i think the Welsh people are great and a lot nicer than the English are. Most of it depends on who you meet, though. You can find the good and bad in everyone as Paul McCartney once said. The Welsh hate to lose at Rugby Union to England. I know that for a fact. All road signs in Wales are in English and Welsh. That's because there English and Welsh speakers are living there. It's 165 miles to the hotel i used to stay at.
An interesting fact: a singer doing a performance one night managed to swap his wireless microphone for my bottle of beer. I flushed the loo, the noise was relayed to the crowd who loved it and i got a standing ovation when i returned.
The scenery in Wales was quite spectacular to an ordinary Englishman (your honour) and breathtaking too. Close to Mount Snowdon is the village of Llanberis which needs to be explored, if you're into that kind of thing. When it's light you can see the mountain and will really be in awe of it. The nearby Horseshoe Pass is well-worth the visit too.
Wales is one part of the UK i visited. Whilst there i stayed in a hotel overnight and returned the next day.
Not everybody wanted to be away from their families, which is understandable. Going to Wales was definitely an experience though.
Another experience was going to Sheffield. It was tough-going mentally when you went there, but i'm glad i went. It is a brilliant city to go to and you really feel the vibrance of the place when you're there. There is an energy that courses through your veins and makes you realise (even after all this time) what a special place it is. And how lucky you were to be there. Its hilliness is different to Leicester even though it's not THAT far away. I remember Stannington very well it's a a place that, once you go to it, you'll never forget it.
i had many years of driving a lorry. I include Birmingham, Worcester,York, Coventry, Leicester and Burton-on-Trent among my visits. It was never easy. I didn't expect it to be. It's a young man's job. But how young is young? You needed to be at least 25 to drive a HGV and if you weren't a man before you started the job, you were a man when you finished it. That's for sure.
I sometimes watch 'Escape to the Country' and always love it when they are in, or near Wales. It does look like beautiful country - and I can't get over how green it is. And indeed how green the UK is generally.
ReplyDeleteRainfall is often in short supply here - and I am jealous.
The lorry/truck drivers have a difficult job. Not surprised to hear that it isn't easy, but hope it was worth it for you.
Very interesting glimpse into life in your country. Thanks for sharing this bit of your past.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you've got some stories to tell. I never went to America, but I wish I had donen.
DeleteFunnily enough I miss those days. I have some great memories of the time I went to Wales. In the last five years since I've had the stroke I've been nowhere really.
ReplyDeleteI have admiration for those who drive those big rigs in busy cities. I'm just not great at backing up my van so I can't imagine myself driving one of those. I know women who drive big buses, big gravel trucks and even a long motor home. I like small. My niece drives big road constructions machines in Australia.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to England but my daughter Nicole lived there until she moved to Scotland. I visited Scotland and I loved it. Such a beautiful country full of history.
Hugs, Julia
Hi Julia, I've read your blog and found out about Nicole. It's very sad to read about her. Driving the lorry around Wales was good (if you can call it that). I did it for nine months and liked it because it was like being your own boss most of the time. I missed the wife for much of it, but she was very supportive in what I was doing.
DeleteIt takes a special set of skills to be a good long-distance truck driver. I had two uncles who lived in Ontario (central Canada) and who drove regularly across Canada and through the United States. We lived by a highway here in Nova Scotia (eastern edge of Canada, hundreds of miles from Ontario!) and sometimes they drove our way too. They were on a schedule so they didn't usually stop, but they would blow their air horns as they went by and we knew they were saying hello!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine left England to go and work in Canada as a driver. He loved Canada and snowboarding. He really was obsessed with the country. He's probably over there right now and glad he left England.
ReplyDeleteWhen we watch documentaries on the British Isles I can't get over how beautiful it all is...like a painting come to life. I'd love to visit some day and spend some time in the Welsh countryside, in Ireland (where some of my ancestors come from) and Scotland. By lorries do you mean the big 18 wheelers? I have a great deal of respect for the folks who drive those in our insane traffic.
ReplyDeleteThe British Isles is beautiful? I think Canada is much more interesting and beautiful than the British Isles. No doubt about it. No I never drove those types of lorries and overpriced. They were quite big thoug lorries I drove though. Not anymore. England is a small country compared to Canada..Overpopulated too.
ReplyDeleteI worked with a woman whose husband drove a truck long distances. He was gone quite a long. That's a tough life.
ReplyDeleteYou share some very interesting things. I always enjoy your blog. And I got a good laugh with the story of the loo flushing! That was funny.
It was a very tough life, Martha. i often dream about them and remember how it used to be. It was a long time ago before Britain changed into the country it's become.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough I miss those days. I have some great memories of the time I went to Wales.
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Me too. Most memorials I have of the country of Wales are good ones.
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