BIRD'S EYE VIEW BY THE HAWK
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• Regular readers will remember the trouble we had in finding a trucker prepared to leap to the assistance of Tracey Hayden, the bride who wanted to travel in a truck to her wedding reception before spending her honeymoon at Commercial Motor Truckfest '90 at Peterborough on the May Bank Holiday.
Thankfully, at the last minute Cyril Knowles Transport of West Thurrock, stepped forward and offered Tracey and her new husband, Bruce, the chance to travel to Truckfest in a beautiful bright scarlet Peterbilt truck.
Tracey's mother Beryl says "Everything . . was made worthwhile when Tracey saw the super Peterbilt pull up outside the house. Her squeal of delight, as she flew down the stairs with her dress hitched up round her waist, was pure joy."
Cyril Knowles' driver John presented Tracey with a huge bouquet of flowers and happily showed the local children around the Peterbilt before driving Tracey and Bruce to their wedding reception.
Our thanks to Cyril Knowles Transport for helping out so magnificently and our best wishes to Tracey and Bruce for the future — see you both at Truckfest '91 for your anniversary celebrations.
• If you were trapped under a two-and-a-half tonne lorry cab, probably the person you'd be happiest to see would be the incredible Hulk. Or maybe Superman. In Steve Smith's case, it was a nine-year-old boy called Daniel.
Ipswich driver Steve was crushed by his cab after it collapsed on him when jacked up for repair work. Pint-sized Daniel didn't hesitate but jack
ed up the unit again and pulled 83kg Steve clear, who only suffered cracked ribs. Said Daniel: "There was no one else around to help. All I could think about was getting him out." But then it was his dad he was rescuing.
• What is this driver up to, ponders Hawk? Is he a disgruntled Fiat owner, piqued by Italy's disappearance from the World Cup, and seeking solace on a desert island? Could he be an over-stressed whizz-kid struggling to complete an outward bound initiative test? Or is he another frustrated British motorist trying vainly to avoid M25 congestion — or just all at sea trying to spot Cecil Parkinson's motorway conversion of the Al?
Or is he really Martin Clayton from Greenham, planning to paddle his propellerdriven 1966 Fiat 500 from Gosport to Poole to raise money for children with cancer. If he is, then he is also the same chap who originally wanted to steer his strange ensemble across the Channel from Dover • In no way can the Government's Select Registration scheme be dismissed as snobbery on the cheap. Not when marks such as HI SUE and HI TOM are set to fetch £2,500 plus an £80 assignment fee. However, punters prepared to settle for something more enigmatic, such as H17 SSS, will only have to fork out £200.
The scheme works by inviting motorists to select any number from one to 20 following the annual prefix letter and a combination of three letters to complete the mark, subject to availability. Perhaps this is how Nicholas Ridley worked out the Community Charge, arriving in the end at H1 TAX. 8 River crossed by junction 34 on M6 in Lancashire (4) 10 Dependable three-wheeler vans? (8) 12 Very few taking dockside deliveries these days (6) 13 Lucky figure displayed outside or inside the cab (6) 15 Secured on the roof or in the open pickup by handyman outfit (6) 17 One of the most wellknown names in British car and commercial vehicle manufacture (6) 18 Holding back when the en gine will not start (8) 20 Chumps with big cups for the tea? (4) 22 Paid-for benefits on the menu as part of the consignment agreement (4,5) 1 Loaded at the pit-head into the wagon perhaps (4) 2 Delivery to Butlin's on the A39 by Severn estuary? (8) 3 Financial part-ownership of the company (6) 4 Small sea town on A5093 near the Lake District (6) 5 Miss Fitzgerald on cassette for light jazz fan (4) 6 Weight Measurement based on a wagon's capacity (4) 9 National vehicle accessories firm with prestigious calendar, this year featuring Miss Moscow (7) 11 Sounding the horn in a spritely manner near Mitcham in South London? (7) 14 Prepare the eggs watching the moto-cross perhaps (8) 16 Type of Leyland Tipper (6) 17 Symbol on the John Smith brewery wagons (6) 18 Speed of traffic behind a heavy wagon uphill (4) 19 & 7 Across: Well-born photographer of calendar at 9 (4,9) 21 From where the oil is drained (4)