[TRUCKJOCKY]

G-CPTN,

I am going to call my parents later today as they still live in Wark and I am sure with some prodding from them I will remember you Dad. I am remembering somebody coming to our house and a blue book would come out, money would change hands and the book would be marked up. Maybe that was my Mam paying the Pru.

My Granda had the Post Office and village shop in Wark and my dad had the trucks. I thought I would get an apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic with Taits of Haydon Bridge who were the Volvo Dealers and friends of the family. My dad got wind of my plans and said no way and a few days later another family friend came to the house and asked if wanted to go to see a ship in Dry Dock. That was the tanker Cerinthus and it was in Bringham & Cowans dry dock at South Shields and as they say the rest is history.

I joined the merchant navy and went from cadet engineer up to chief engineer before coming ashore and settling with my 1st wife and 2 boys in Tarbert, Argyll. Got divorced and went back to fixing ships before settling down in Fort Lauderdale and working as a yacht surveyor.

I have 6 other guys working for me and we inspect those big mega yachts you see in the glossy magazines.

Married a 2nd time over here and now have a 4 yr old boy and a little girl who shares my birthday in June when she turns 2 and I will be 54.

I spent alot of my childhood on a farm between Bellingham and Woodburn called The Hole, this was farmed by the Robsons and Matt Robson was my Dads life long friend and Matt's Dad was I think a big wig with the Pru or another Insurance company. He had lost a leg so you may have met him.

Matt's cousin, Will Robson was the one who got me into the merchant navy and he also lives over here in Fort Lauderdale.

Funny how things work out, two guys from the North Tyne now living in Florida.

My dad would use his trucks to take loads of straw from the big fields around Ponteland up to the Hole and farms in our area so have many memories of trucks and farms.

You may remember Tucker Jameson in Wark, his son Walton and Tuckers brother Eddie from Bellingham. Tucker had the life stock trucks in the yard in the middle of the village. I was brought up working on them as well. Going up to the Hawick lamb sales and working all night chasing sheep out of the 3 decks of the float.

I remember a company coming to the sales from around Berwick who had a four deck sheep float (why were they called floats) on a 8 wheeler. I think it was a light green color cab and it was one of the first 4 deckers and the envy of everybody.

Us young lads would stand around at Bellingham mart hoping to go on one of the trucks to make a few shillings, I always tried to stick with the Jamesons though as I knew them and I could get a ride home. Child labour laws were not enforced if there were any back then.

I have to stop myself, many memories are flooding back but I have some work to do before the FA Cup final comes on.