-=rayna.keith=-
...When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible...
In the 50s 60s & 70s hitch hiking was rampant in the UK, mainly students but throughout the 60s & 70s when I was Truck driving I met very many interesting people when giving them a lift, the longest trip with me by a hitch hiker was Peterborough to Dingwall and that passenger actually stayed with me for six days and ended up in Exeter, great week for me!
Hitched a lift >
Always hitched a lift everywhere in my youth, I was stuck in Leicester once had a hot gate back in derby and i got there on time within 1 hour too.
These days i would not pick up anyone other then another lorry driver
From aged 18 (when I moved to London from York) I used to hitch all over the country, but mainly up and down the A1.
I believe insurers of commercial vehicles don't like it now. Shame.
I used to do a lot of hitch-hiking in my younger days too. More interesting than getting the train or bus as you can get to meet some really nice people. Had lunch and a pint bought for me before and got picked up by a copper in Aberdeen who dropped me and a mate off in Edinburgh and gave us a fiver for the journey further south.
Best lifts I ever got were from Middlesbrough to Fleet in Hampshire, Ballachulish nr Fort William to Preston and Taunton to Arthur's neck of the woods - Perth.
I used to do it in one of my former jobs delivering and dropping off cars. That my sound like a nice job but it's anything but. I lasted three days doing it and my last day went something like this.
Left home in Birmingham at 6am to drive north in a car that was picked up the day before. Tamworth was the destination but the car had to be dropped off at Carcraft in Newport, South Wales but before that I had to pick these guys up from Tamworth and take them in the opposite direction - to Didcot in Berkshire.
By the time I drove through rush hour traffic I got to Newport around 11am, dropped the car off and walked back up to the motorway about a mile away. Started to hitch and managed to get a lift after 30-45 minutes by some guy who was feeling suicidal.
Ironically my next port of call was a hospital - Sketty Hospital in Swansea but by the time we got there he was in a happier mood. He had a tiff with his gf and I think he just wanted someone to talk to. Anyway, I had to pick this Vauxhall Omega up from this construction manager as they were doing some building work there. He was located in a portacabin but nobody knew where. I eventually found it but he was in a meeting. An hour and a half later or so I pick up the keys from him, do the checks and paperwork and finally I'm out of Swansea.
Back down the M4 and into England then up to Mannheim Auctions in Gloucester to drop the Omega off and by now it was early evening. Thought that was it for the day but no. Got a call. Can you pick a car up from Bristol Airport?
The traffic was kind of sparse as the auctions were out in the country and took me a while to get a lift this time. At least an hour. Got the lift into Bristol but the airport's several miles south of the city so I got him to drop me at the bus station. Waited for the bus to the airport which I paid for out my own pocket and arrive at the car rental in the airport at about 9.
"Come to pick up the white punto reg no blah blah blah."
"We don't have a white punto"
Numerous phonecalls and faffing about and it's located somewhere nearby. Finally I'm off back to Birmingham. Get home around midnight barely awake. Never again.
... "hitches" aplenty (of all sorts) there, Jamie
... bet you look back with relief
that particular job lasted only 3 days.
That was my choice Arth. I wasn't going to return for a fourth day. Too much arsing about although it was nice when you got to drive different cars (excluding the Daewoo Matiz). That was the best part.Originally Posted by Arthur Little
Agree, that is a truly horrible job, and true exploitation.
I did it for a few days back in the 90s...delivering vans.
They probably use asylum-seekers or Poles for the job now.
Being picked up by the local priest was always a bummer.
Keith - Administrator
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