26: The Truck Nut

0:02Hello and welcome to Mat's Truck and Great podcast. It's Mat Ireland once again and today I am joined by my good friend Lee Herbert. Lee, how are you? I'm not too bad mate, thank you. How are you? Yeah, I'm very good thanks, very good. Enjoying the summer and all the upcoming shows and the ones that have been. Now, we obviously talked on the previous Truck and Driver podcast, but I thought as we might well have new listeners, we'll just sort of go back to the start and just see how did you get into transport as such? Because you're not actually physically involved really in day-to-day transport anymore, are you?

0:37No, I'm not. As a lot of us were, I was one of those young kids who wanted to be a truck driver when he grew up, but never really grew out of it. But my dad had his own truck for a short period of time back in the 80s. And he had one of his best mates was a truck driver and drove as well. So I was always quite involved. And he had lots of friends who were drivers. So I was always able to go off in the school holidays with various trucks and different things and see a bit of the world. Oh, brilliant. And never really grew out of it, if I'm honest. and yeah I'm of that golden age where I left school at 16 and in them days you couldn't take HGV till you're 21 so that's right yeah I had to find something to do and I thought about doing HGV mechanicing and I did work experience at a garage and realized I only like looking at the shiny top bit and not the dirty bottom bit so I then went into the gas industry which once I did that that was sort of you know good industry to be in and carried on with that and then eventually got to the point i was still involved with trucks going to shows and lots of friends had trucks as well so i was uh always been good friends with the coals family from banbury very well known and then uh eventually took the test and then toyed with the idea of having a toy lorry for a very long time yeah and then eventually in 2005 i bought my first one uh and now it's got completely out of hand so after you did your test did you actually do any driving or did you just get it for the uh show drugs yeah no i used to do quite a lot because i i actually did my test for one of the uh gary coles's brother darren we did our test together so okay and i then did lots of nights and weekends i forget how many i did do but quite a lot yeah always like helping them out helping me out and uh yeah really enjoyed it just did it for fun really which was great you know yeah it's ideal not having to rely on it for a for an income just to for the love of it when you when you want to yeah exactly and luckily for me with Coles is being my uh people I did the work for they've always had some pretty special trucks which was nice for a truck nut like me absolutely yeah they're not they're not fleet spec uh white plain white trucks are they Coles no they're not and I use I've got another friend um Lee Hunt who his dad Roger Hunt used to run a fairly well-known F-12 back in the 80s and 90s.

3:04So I used to go to shows with him. Right. So, yeah, I was very lucky, really, surrounded by a lot of good people with some nice trucks, which gave me the opportunity to do what I did. Yeah, brilliant. Because Roger Hunt, didn't he deliver Child's Play Sand or something like that? That's right, yeah. There was a company called Goundries, which was in Duns 2, just near Banbury, and he had the haulage contract. He basically used to bring it in raw in the tipper. they'd process it, clean it, do whatever they do with it, bag it up and then he'd then have a curtain cider which Lee used to pull and they then used to go and deliver it and back then the early learning centre was their biggest customer so they used to do that so Roger used to do, I think it was Red Hill down in Surrey he used to do two of them a day with the tipper and then Lee was always out delivering the finished product so to speak on pallets Yeah, ideal.

4:01So that was from memory, red Globetrotter with a white, that had a white Globetrotter cab. That's right. And then later on, they had a F-Regulator one, which was white with a red writing. Oh, OK. I don't think I remember that one. Yeah, that particular truck is just, it's actually, when Roger bought it, he bought it off a guy called Michael Jaynes. And Michael Jaynes has just got it back. Oh, really? it was sold roger sold well i actually sold it on ebay for roger and back in the day when i was sort of fairly advanced on ebay when it just came out and uh i sold it for him on there to a private collector i'm not sure where it was yeah and this this guy was a private collector and i never got to see the collection i did speak to roger and he did say it'd take me there one day but never did get to see it allegedly the the guy who owned the collection passed away a couple of years ago and the vehicles then were sold so uh but it's quite nice that it's gone back to to the james family definitely yeah yeah yeah so would you have been tempted by it yourself not rare i think at the time it came up no not really i've had a few too many as i said it's got completely out of hand now and i've currently got eight lorries which is just beyond ridiculous and I've got three that are still waiting to be done, as in restored.

5:21So, yeah, we all want it all, don't we? But you do it occasionally, although I'm not very often have to be a little bit sensible. So what was the very first one you did then? So the first truck I had was a 143, which I bought off of Coles, which was the original John Phillips F-Redge 143. They were yellow. Coles bought it off of, I think it was a guy called John Finney who bought it off of John Phillips. they had it in yellow and then they then painted it blue and it had some aircraft airbrushing on it because Denise Cole, Gary's mum, she was fond of aircraft. She's a big aircraft fan so I had some airbrush on a nice truck but I bought it and unfortunately just after I bought it it ran out of MOT and it cost me an arm and a leg to get through MOT and it very quickly put me off so uh i i advertised it and sold it luckily i got my money back and made a couple of quid on it as well which was quite nice and at that point i thought right i need to have a thing and then i sort of i've got the bug by then so uh i then bought another old 143 that i didn't really do much with and sold that on and it was then that i bought my one that was the one of my most well known trucks was my 143 tag axle right which was in 2007 i bought that yeah again couldn't really afford it but we never can can we so that's it i uh i bought the truck had a cheap paint job done on it and it was cheap which it was meant to be a post office red which turned out to be orange although i still called it red i will admit now it was fairly orange but just as time went on and as i sort of saved up more and more money i got the interior done on it got the the stacks done on it and catwalk and then eventually had it painted into our colors and it really did turn into a nice truck in the end, but bless her, she was a bit of a dog when I first bought her, but it was straight, it just been well worked, you know.

7:17Just a bit tired. Yeah, most of them have. Yeah, exactly. Well, they're not generally bought to be show ponies, are they? No, they're not, absolutely. No, no. So, but no, that was a lovely lorry that was, and then I went on with getting the Volvos then, and, you know, it just went on from there, really, and then had a bit of a sort a midlife crisis in 2017 and sold the 143 and then bought another uh bought a four series that was for josh and then we then changed the four series for uh josh's which has now got his r series yeah which is obviously he's still still got it's quite well known and then one thing led to another i sold the flat top f10 i had which that sort of financed the t-cab then which uh obviously I've got now.

8:06And then other trucks have come along in the meantime. I've got an F10 that's been in paint for three years, which should be coming out shortly. I've got my new FH16 that's come out this year, which I'm really pleased with. So that's good. That's still got to have the interior done. And then we've got a 143 round headlight, Highline F10 and F12 Globetrotter as well. I'm waiting to get done. but of course can't do it all at once. No, that's it. Yeah, so quite a collection now. That's a hell of a collection. I mean, it's difficult to say, but do you have a favourite? Would that be the T-Cab or...?

8:43I don't know, really. Hard to say. It is hard to say, yeah. I mean, a lot of people say to me they don't think I like the T-Cab as much as I love the 143, but I do, I love the T-Cab. And the thing you get when you get a truck like that and do it from the ground upwards, it's your very own, you know, which is nice. And we've got the FH12 version too as well, which my daughter drives mainly now. But that, again, is a beautiful truck, you know, and so many people out of all the lorries we got say that's their favourite because it's just sort of plain and simple, really, you know, just a set of alley wheels, a couple of little lights here and there, and, you know, it does what it needs to do.

9:18Yeah, it's very subtle, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. And you've got a lovely livery with the two-tone green, haven't you, which I think, does it come from Bambury Carriers, something like that? It does, that's correct, yeah. When I first sort of started doing them and realised I was going to be able to paint a truck in my own colours, I wanted to do something sort of to do with Banbury. But of course, I'm not in a family of hauliers or, you know, no tradition there. And Banbury carriers, I always remembered and liked their colours. I don't think it's everybody's cup of tea, you know. I mean, the light green on his own is quite honestly disgusting.

9:52But with a dark green, it's... Contrast as well. Yeah, yeah, it really does. So, yeah, so that's how that came about. Yeah. Are you ever tempted to put something in a different colour scheme? Well, I've just done the FH16, which I've repainted that. That was metallic grey, and I've had it done just a slightly darker metallic grey because I think the old traditional colours, I got away with it on the T-cab, but I think the more sharper shapes of the vehicles, I wasn't sure whether I could make that work. and I do love a nice dark metallic as well. So, yeah, so we've gone a bit of a different approach really with the FH16, but it's come out really, really well.

10:34So, yeah, check with it. Excellent. So you've obviously got a living accommodation trailer. Have you got any way of transporting several of them at once? Yeah, we have bought a low loader. We sort of undenied about it because, of course, it's, again, another thing that's got to be maintained and MOT'd. another cost yeah yeah absolutely so but yeah um Coles is funny enough had a low loader that they were getting rid of a couple of years ago and uh very reasonably priced so we bought that and yeah that's great so we can now take a couple of lorries on the back of one you know so that will help or does help yeah definitely but um Josh uh likes to take the older ones the ones that aren't restored yet which uh can lead into problems because at Bloxham we uh a bit of a funny story we took them into the ring and i run the modern commercial section at blocksham so i do the commentary when the vehicles come into the ring yeah anyway lewis a good friend of ours he was in the 143 which had got dead batteries on it but we jumped it to get it going and i said whatever you do don't stall it and josh come in the ring in the globe truck which needs a new uh steering box on it so it's got no power steering so and i noticed it stopped down the back and And there's a lot of vehicles in the ring.

11:51So I couldn't really see. I probably just decided I'll keep it going in a straight line. So I've got to try and turn it. Anyway, next thing, the arena is emptying out. And he's on the back of a wrecker because the clutch had gone on the Globetrotter. And just after that, I looked and all the vehicles were moving. And Lewis is sat in the middle in the 143 with his arms in the air and installed it. so I'm then running from one end of Bloxham Steam Rally to the other to go and get the jump pack to because nobody thought to just pop the jump pack in the lorry just in case so twisted my foot on the way back and I was just like for God's sake yeah so just having a good day yeah I had some choice words for Lewis I bet yeah but no it's all good fun it really is all good fun and of course saying about the Bloxham Steam Rally I obviously organise Fredfest with Fred Parker.

12:48Yeah. So we do that on the early Maybank holiday. Yeah. And I also run the modern commercial section of Bloxham as well. And, of course, I do the retro. So it's getting quite busy now, really. I don't know where the year goes, but it sort of soon comes. And like you were saying, well, into the show. I know. The scary bit is I always sort of mark retro as getting towards the end of the season. and we're only sort of five or six weeks away now. Yeah, it's mad. It really is. It's crazy. Yeah, it is. It's unreal. So we'll start with the retro because it's probably the best-known show that certainly you do, and it's one that we talk about an awful lot on the podcast because it's my joint favourite show, I'd have to say, with Swedefest because I love both of them for several different reasons, and I couldn't pick one or the other, I wouldn't have thought, but I always make sure I can go to both.

13:42But how did Retro get started? What caused you to create it? So it started back many years ago. I was in a group called the Steel Boys, which I'm sure you've heard of. And I was quite heavily involved with that. And at the time, Graham and Steve sort of ran it. And I joined them and sort of got involved and obviously very enthusiastic. So I said, if you want any help with anything, just let me know. I'm happy to get involved a bit more than just sort of turning up to the road runs, etc. So anyway, I did get more involved and it got to the point that there was initially two events that took place.

14:22One was the Christmas do, which was always a really, really good do. We pretty much took over a hotel in the Cotswolds and had a really good knees up on the Saturday night. And Steve Evans was always, you know, really, really good on the microphone and good fun. and there was an awful lot of piss taking going on and you know auctions and so that was really good and then Graham sort of ran the the road run that which was in June which always coincided with the Gade and June show yeah and we sort of we discussed doing this show the retro truck show for a couple of years and then when it eventually came to fruition the two of them sat there said well or what one of them said well I do the road run the other said well I do the Christmas tour So I said, well, I guess it's down to me then.

15:03So we all did it together and we did it for a few years and then got to a point I sort of done what I'd done with the Steel Boys and decided to sort of pull away. No hard feelings, just sort of wanted to move on really with what I was doing, you know, with the trucks. So I moved on and carried on the retro. Then Graham and I carried it on for a couple of years. And then Graham said, you know, he's sort of been doing the trucks for 20 years now and he sort of wanted to pull away so that sort of left it to me um which um at the time was fairly daunting to be honest with you it's the same with anything if it if you you know if you've got an oppo when you're doing anything it was sort of sharing it is halving it and that you know what i mean absolutely so yeah and that that was sort of fairly daunting for the first couple of years but sort of as time went on i've got a real good i've got an amazing team of friends and family and of course my children have grown up now since 2011 they're you know they're both in their 20s now joshie's 22 lauren's 26 so they're both heavily involved in it and you know my wife or as always is behind me with everything and got a real good group of mates uh who turn up every year and just do what they do really so yeah um but a lot of people as you said seem to share the same opinion of the swede fest and the retro although the two shows are completely different they're both totally unique as well yes i think the thing is they're organized by enthusiasts for enthusiasts if it doesn't sound too much of a uh attacky thing to say but um but you know we we arrange a show how we would want a show to be if we went to if that makes sense absolutely you're not like the big corporate and i'm just using truck fest as a name here for argument's sake but they're they're out there purely to make money out of a show that that's their job, that's their lifeline.

16:53It's a commercial enterprise, isn't it? That's it, exactly. And your first and main aim isn't to make money, it's just to have the show. It's to have the show and for it to be a great weekend, everybody enjoy it, and for it to wash its face, basically, which is what it does. And if we make a couple of quid on top, we put it to charity. Well, there you go. It's not even being done for profit, is it? No, no. So that really, that's the nice part about it. and yeah, so it's just sort of grown and grown and grown really and we're fairly hard on our sort of rules and regulations. We don't have air-ons, we don't have engine revving, we don't have trophies, so there's no pressure for people to come and spend all weekend polishing their trucks.

17:39Everybody does come along and have a white, brown and black air tyres and make the trucks look presentable and nice, but then they just relax and I think that is the key behind people's favour. I genuinely do, because instantly the pressure's off. And if you've got a project that's, say, half done, but it's on the road, you can bring it along. And I don't think I've ever seen or heard anybody there picking apart a motor just because something's not quite right, because everyone just is glad to see it there more than anything, really. 100%. Lots of people say to me, oh, my truck's not good enough.

18:15I said, there's no such thing as good enough for the retro. We want to see, you know, it's really great for people to bring out stuff that, you know, if it's started to be restored or, you know, just finished work. It's great for people to see the progress that takes place over the years, you know, with visiting the show each year. So that's a good thing. One thing that we do have with the retro is a lot of people sort of don't really understand that. I personally call retro a sort of role in 15 years, really. so when we first did it back in 2011 of course 15 years ago it was like 1995 96 so that was your your Scania 143s and your Volvo F10s and stuff like that yeah and it's now moved on and we do get a little bit of feedback and we do have some modern trucks there because we get you know we do get some people want to bring some really really nice stuff that you just don't get to see elsewhere so that's the only negative feedback we do get occasionally people say there's too many new trucks there yeah but i think we have a nice mixture and the new stuff that is there is really really good and really really nice and you know it's not we haven't got rows of sort of fleet lorries or anything like that which you do get at truck fest so and and it's just it's better to have a space filled with a nice truck than no truck at all because if you've got if there's 50 empty spaces because you're strict on that rule then it's also going to put as another person come through the gates to spend some money to race for charity and have a good weekend and pass the word on to somebody else, isn't it?

19:48Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, and that's what we want. We want a nice full show. And we have sort of not outgrown the venue, but the venue is, I mean, in my opinion, it's probably one of the best venues in the UK to have a show at purely because it's predominantly hard standing. Central. Central, yeah. You've got the museum on site as well. But, of course, we are limited on space, so it gets to a point that we have to sort of draw the line, you know, and some people say, oh it's outgrown the venue and stuff like that but i wouldn't want it anywhere else so that's it where else would you take it you know yeah yeah and again like you say with with the uh museum there but if people come along with their family especially if they've got people who aren't necessarily into the into the trucks but then go and look around the museum as well and that's and that's a brilliant uh place to look around and i tend to find i never get the time to really look around it because i'm just so busy talking with people and having the crack outside that it's just one part that I've just haven't had a walk around for a couple of years now because there's so much going on outside yeah yeah I'm exactly the same I mean I I obviously go up there for meetings throughout the year and stuff like that and I usually walk through I thought I must one day you know take a couple of hours to have a walk around here but I never do you're never you're never gonna have time on a retro weekend no god no exactly no no exactly it's uh yeah so I mean that that is the beauty of it and from my point of view as well obviously that because it's already a venue set up it's pretty much plug and play we obviously have to put on some extra toilets and stuff like that but as far as sort of medics go and uh all the the backup facilities and security it's all there so that really really does help as far as organizing it yeah absolutely and uh one thing i will say for this year um you're very kindly sponsored by cva auctions aren't you yes we are yeah they come on board this year got to know uh jonathan last year uh through one of the other auctions that they did and he mentioned that they'd be interested and i think i do believe somebody uh not too far from me right now is bringing some uh some auction pieces that's going to be the following weekend is that correct it certainly is mate yeah so the cva uh auctions have also sponsored this particular podcast um so i'm just going to chat about the ben kent collection that i will be bringing free trucks from i'm a bit go because he's asked me to bring the FH16 and not the F16.

22:07And Ben's F16 is my favourite truck of his whole collection because it's my favourite truck, I think, of all time, really, when I look at it. So Ben's collection, as I say, there's an F16, which is left-hand drive. There's Scania 143 450 Streamline Topline, another 4x2 left-hand drive, Italian import, I believe it was. What else has he got? The FH16, that's a 4x2. there's a Ford Cargo, there's a Ford D-Series, these are both rigids, I think there's one Bedford TK, possibly two, sorry there's one Bedford TK, I think two Bedford TLs, a Scania P-Cab rigid, and there's a little Dodge I believe as well, and I think that might be it, I need to just double check i think but every single truck there's also a couple of others i think that i haven't seen personally but every single truck that is there that i have seen they have all been restored to a show winning standard there's no two ways about it they're all a complete blank canvas as well they haven't got any extra bits put on them anywhere they're all the same shade of red with like a dark gray chassis completely standard and done to a very high standard as well because I know Nobby Case has been involved with some of them, if not most, which says volumes really about the quality of the workmanship that's gone into it because Nobby doesn't put out a slapdash job.

23:38There's no two ways of putting it. So all of these trucks will stand up to scrutiny. It is a fantastic collection. Personally, obviously, I'm absolutely gutted it's all going because Ben was very kind to say, you want to take anything to the show, just let me know and we'll make it happen. And so I've driven the 143, I've driven the F16 and it's just so much pleasure driving them vintage trucks because they've been done properly. They are just truly wonderful trucks. I'm going to be using the FH16 in East Coast Truckers Children's Convoy at the end of August, and then it's down to the retro. There's also two unrestored Volvo F89s, which are Greek imports.

24:21There's an F88 and an F86 because I'm going to be bringing the FH16 with the 88 and the 86 down to the retro. I also got to drive the 88 and the 86 just at a local show that I took them to recently. Again, they're like new inside. They're just absolutely spotless. They drive lovely, especially considering how old they are. I'd never driven an F86 up until this point. I'd driven an 88 only around a yard once. So to actually get in them and get into high range, essentially, was just wonderful. And the gears are tight. Everything's just how it should be. And I'll tell you what, that 86, how people used to go to the Middle East and one of them is beyond me because they are so small.

25:09Oh, it's crazy, isn't it? When you look at the luxuries that you have in trucks now compared to back then. And like you say, the space, it's just unreal, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. And at the time, they were like a spaceship. when they came out, drivers just had British trucks, and most shunned them. They didn't want them because they're these new, you know, newfangled weird trucks that we've never seen before. Because I remember talking to Paul Rowland, and he said, like, you know, I don't really want one of them. Then they'll get in it, and you've got a seat that moves, and it's not bolted to the back of the cab.

25:38It's quiet, and it's got a radio, and it's got a radio that you can actually hear. And all of a sudden, they're fighting themselves over it, and the rest is history. Volvo just started wiping the floor. And you could have one of these in your collection at the auction, which, like you say, is happening the weekend after the retro show. So those three trucks will be on display, so you'll be able to see the workmanship that's gone into them, just for examples. Like I say, there's two unrestored 88 or 89s, because they're both left-hand drive, both Greek imports. I think they're both rigids as well, but they'll be in the auction.

26:16I believe CVA will have they've been starting to put it out on the social media obviously I will put some stuff on the social media when this comes out as well and I dare say I've just been so busy I've not had a chance to look at their website but I dare say it will all be listed on there won't it yeah that F88 I think that was only finished last year wasn't it I think so I think Nobby bought it to Swedefest but yeah what a stunning restoration that it's like brand new yeah it's absolutely beautiful I know Jason Dean had owned it previously at some point as well. Yeah. He said, but I don't know the rest of the history.

26:52So, yeah, they are – every single truck there, just straight, honest, really nice trucks. I personally think – my sort of gut feeling is the F16 and the 143, I reckon will probably go to Ireland. That's what I reckon. Yeah. I think that's probably where they'll go. The others, not so sure. It's always a difficult one. I think there was, just talking about auctions in general, the last couple of years, there's obviously been quite a few, and there was the McGovern one, which was, I think, two years ago, which some of the money some of those trucks fetched was off the Richter scale. And I don't really know what happened.

27:36It just seemed to everybody thought everything was worth an absolute fortune. but I think there was a lot of people who just wanted those particular trucks at that auction, which set the prices quite high. Well, I see. And then, yeah, it's a funny old world because ultimately everything has its day, doesn't it? Well, that's it, yeah. But no, it'd be very interesting. Yeah, exactly. And sometimes it's really surprising what makes the money because was it the Ken Thomas or the John Thomas auction who was selling the Savium that went for that went for incredible money really, which was quite a surprise.

28:10And then other stuff you thought would make strong money didn't get sort of anywhere near it. Yeah, it's mad. I mean, it's the same as every auction or sale, isn't it? If one man wants it or two men want it, then that's when it's going to start getting up, isn't it? If you've only got one man on it, then, yeah, it doesn't get to where it needs to be really. That's it, and you're just two people after it and away you go. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, yeah, so many thanks to CVA Auctions for sponsoring not only this episode of the podcast, but also the retro show. And like we say, the Ben Kemp collection, it's a stunning, stunning collection.

28:49Check them out. If you're in the market for a classic truck, you generally won't find anything much better coming up for sale than one of Ben's. No, they are. They're stunning. And he's never really been one to bring them to the shows, has he? because I think I only met him last year for the first time at Swedefest and I said, I'd love to get you to retro, but I didn't mean in the guise that the trucks are coming to retro. Ideally year after year. Yeah, exactly. Which also puts me in the predicament of, I really want to go to Swedefest, Ben's selling his trucks. If they're all sold, I've got no truck to take.

29:28No. So I don't really know what I'm going to be doing yet. So, yeah, I might have to try and beg, borrow – well, I can't steal a truck – beg or borrow one off somebody else. I'm sure you'll manage. You've never failed so far. You always manage to turn up in something quite nice. Well, that's it, yeah. So I'm sure I can find something somehow. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So, yeah. So, brilliant. So we'll just move on to Fredfest now because that's a very new one. This year was only the second one, wasn't it? That's right, yeah. Yeah, and I'm gutted I couldn't come, but I'd had basically financial issues because of some unfortunate circumstances that happened at home.

30:08So I had to work. I had to work. Oh, that's a shame. It is, yeah. I was proper gutted, but I just couldn't waste the opportunity of getting some days, extra days, and try and get some money back in the bank. Yeah, no, that's fair enough, mate. We all have these things to deal with now and then, don't we? Well, that's it, mate, yeah. So sometimes you can't do it all. but I attended last year which is the first year and again it was a brilliant fantastic lovely weekend so how again so how did Fredfest come about? So Fredfest Fred Parker's a real good mate of mine we've been mates for many years and we'd all sort of joked about doing it at a show we did actually do one I forget how many years ago it was now it was when we had Josh's 4 series so it was probably about I'd say 2017 2018 something like that and we had it in the field next to the pub in his village there was a field behind the pub and we had a chat with the landlord and he said yeah yeah no problem so we i can't remember where we met in the morning but i anyway long ago it might have been the airport i can't remember anyway then we we had a ride down to dover yeah and we we went into dover docks and turned around and came out again so we could get the the uh the historic photo of sort of pulling out of dover docks onto jubilee way brilliant and there was a couple of photographers locally who knew about it so they were taking the photos that was great and then we went up to the dover transport museum and uh went in there and had a good look around and then we went back up to fred's uh village at stellium minister and and parked there and uh went in the pub and do as we usually do when we get together so uh have a couple of aisles that's it you got it so uh yeah and uh i think quite if i remember rightly quite a few people got stuck in the field because it was a bit boggy but uh yeah but no that was that that's how and we did that years ago and then since then fred has massively extended his yard which uh is absolutely incredible and he's got a big field now at the back and uh obviously i'll go down there quite a bit and we'll just chat and we'll say this is crying out for a truck show yeah yeah yeah yeah so anyway we did it last year and i mean one of the things a sort of group of friends not that mad we used to do peterbury years ago but we're getting a little bit old for peterborough now oh well lincoln as it is now yeah so i said well let's do it that weekend then we're not worried about how many people come and and you know and that's what we've done so and i think we ended up this year with similar numbers to what we did last year to be honest but it's just a really nice gathering and it's nice we have like for example ed bond and Paul Cecil and people like that who are generally at the shows spend all weekend polishing because they're there to win you know and that's what they do yeah and they're just there chilling out having an ice cream sat in a deck chair and you know luckily the weather was on our side and this year we had some absolute lunatics there doing lawnmower racing oh my god they have got a screw loose um oh yeah I've seen them at Kelstall they are fantastic to watch oh brilliant fun yeah brilliant fun and uh so that that was a really good thing that you know that happened there and uh we also had a we always do a charity auction which we make an awful lot of money out of basically stitching people up but uh we ended up if you've ever been to fred's yard he's got an old london taxi that he leaves in the yard because he gets a lot of people staying there putting their horses in the stables and staying overnight and of course they're in a truck so they can't pop off and get some food or, or whatever.

33:36Generally they're out of hours or, you know, and sort of big horse boxes aren't the easiest thing to park in pub car parks either. So he's got the taxi there for people to use if they need to shoot down the shop or go and grab some grub or, you know, go out for a meal, they can do. So anyway, the taxi was there and we, we've used it as like the, a little, well, a lot of people have golf carts, don't they? But obviously it's up and down the field. So we were using the taxi. anyway this year we decided to put that in the auction as well so we drove it in the tent and uh some guys from uh the labs from cool guys in holland were there and they ended up buying the taxi i think i forget what they i think i think it's something like 1800 quid or something we've got for it and uh fred threw in their ferry ride back in the morning so they were literally top man yeah they were leaving at six o 'clock in the morning to get the ferry back to uh obviously into calais and then uh over to holland so uh it was just hilarious and uh yeah for something that we would just sort of ask around for bits and bobs you know people are always really generous for models and stuff like that and of course all the money raised there goes to the inter jockeys fund so that's good and that's something that's really close to fred's heart with the uh the bits and bobs that we've done since his father passed away but that's been the charity of choice so uh yeah that was really really good but it's just a really really nice chill weekend and everybody who comes just loves it and we get to see some nice different stuff as well that you don't see at all the shows you know a few of the Irish lads came over and yeah just had a really good weekend so yeah and again it speaks volumes about the fact that just say Edward Bond has gone along rather than go to Truckfest Peter and the trucks that Ed drives are best of show I mean he won best of show at Swedefest last year and I dare say he'd win stuff at Truckfest but the fact that he comes along to to Fredfest because of the people in the atmosphere that just speaks volumes doesn't it in my opinion yeah we're all good mates and you know it's not very often nine times out of ten we do see each other at shows but of course you're all there doing the same thing you're all polishing and trying to get the lorries up the best you can so you don't get the opportunity to sort of relax and chill out and you know what most people did that weekend they did have a bit of a polish round of course they wouldn't you know Edwards trucks of course as you know you'd never see one, you know, not up to scratch, but just getting little jobs done on them, you know, the bits that you don't always get to do at a show because you're too busy getting the important bits done.

36:10So, yeah, and again, Paul Cecil as well, you know, Paul is very well known for his, you know, immaculate trucks and he came down and, you know, just had a real good laugh. So that's what it's all about, really. So it will be happening again next year. There's talk of us making it a little bit bigger and one thing we haven't done before is opened it to the public because you then... I suppose you've got public liability and stuff like that, I guess. Yeah, and of course, at the end of the day, it's Fred's yard as well and there's horses in there and everything like that, so we do have to be mindful of that.

36:45But equally, I think we are going to look at possibly doing that and using some Harris fencing to direct people straight through the yard into the field so that it doesn't interfere with the livestock. the livestock, so to speak. Yeah, the day-to-day running of the yard. Yeah, yeah. So no, that should be good. But yeah, it's a really, really nice weekend and a beautiful part of the country as well. Oh, definitely. Mind you, I can only go by last year. In the evening, it was freezing. I couldn't believe how... It was. I was so glad I actually had my trousers with me. Yeah. And you could hear just so many night heaters got fired up that night.

37:22I just couldn't believe how cold it was. We were really unlucky, unfortunately, because this year it wasn't too bad at all. And we even, to be honest, last year, because it was the first time, we just had some sort of tents that Fred already owned and we had a proper marquee this year, which made a difference. And we had it positioned so that if the wind did get up, we had our back to it, if you know what I mean. So that made an enormous difference. So, yeah, it was good. Yeah, I can imagine. So is there anywhere sort of on the socials or anything that people, if they're interested in finding out more about Fredfest, can go to?

37:54yeah I mean there's a Facebook page Fredfest26 I will be announcing later in the year the dates for next year and you know if people are interested we were a little bit slow last year in getting the tickets arranged which was partly my fault because I've just I have a real job to do as well so well that's it we've all got the day jobs haven't we yeah yeah so but no I will be on it this year we're going to get a a ticket master thing set up so that as soon as I announce it people can then book in so that it's uh you know it's for definite so uh that'll be one to look out for excellent if um if people fancy something a little bit different yeah definitely well as long as the dates work i'll definitely uh come down come down for the weekend as well because it's great fun yeah what did you bring last year uh i bought richard warren's brand new fh that's right yeah yeah left hand drive first time i've driven volvo's camera system oh right Yeah, yeah.

38:51And so, yes, it was the first time I'd driven a left-hand drive in some time. Luckily, I was only solo. But as you know, the lanes of Kent aren't particularly big, are they? And so his truck was not very old at all. And I was just like, oh, but what am I doing? I was terrified of doing any damage to it. Yeah, that little lane down to Fred's yard isn't the kindest for trucks, is it? and you generally get some supermarket superstar coming the other way at about 100 mile an hour. Oh, my God. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. So what's the final show? Did you say Blocks? Well, it wasn't Blocks. No, Blocksum.

39:31It's our local steam rally. Yeah. Yeah, Blocksum Steam Rally and Country Fair. So we do that. That's every June. And I literally just run the modern commercial section there, which we started, I think, about four or five years ago. It was always sort of, as with a lot of steam rallies over the years, it's sort of been based on steam. And as with everything, you've got to move forward, really, and bring some more modern stuff in because, you know, the people that follow the older stuff simply aren't around. That's it. Yeah, so that's a really nice show. Got something for everybody there, you know, from sort of crafts and arts and crafts and there's a market and they've got animals and there's ex-military vehicles, obviously the steam engines.

40:17Yeah, lots of stuff, lots of car clubs. And so, again, a real nice variety weekend. Yeah. And that's just outside Bloxham, usually the last weekend of June. So, but again, June, obviously, nowadays just becomes absolute carnage, doesn't it, with shows? Yes. Something every weekend and, you know, it generally clashes. I think it clashed, sadly, with the Shed Truck Show this year. you know so we miss that but it's just the way it goes you can't do it all can you that's exactly it and it's nice to do some different shows as well sometimes you know just a little bit of variety isn't it oh exactly I love a steam rally and obviously Kelso my second year this year at Kelso and that's just just unbelievably brilliant Kelso is there's so much there especially with the ERFs alone that's an amazing show and as a local steam rally I go to every year as well, Henham Steam Rally in September.