Ben Lowry: Long distance drivers are now well paid ... which reminds me of a job idea I have long had
She wants to take time to think about what to do next.
It reminded me of a teacher at school who told us boys that he wanted to become a postman.
He said it would mean that he would have no stresses and strains, he would get daily exercise, start early in the morning for his delivery rounds and finish the day early too.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdTo a boy of 17, with a world of dreams and promise ahead, my teacher’s plan sounded appalling — like the death of ambition.
Gradually over the years I have come to understand well his thinking and have pondered a similar course. This very week I met a teacher who had given up after decades to become a trades person.
I have often thought that if I was to have a completely different job, I would like to be a long distance lorry driver. I have enjoyed driving since I passed my test aged 17.
In particular I enjoy mega drives, across whole countries. I have driven to visit family and friends in southern France many times over the last 20 years.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdMy dad once said it was crazy to spend so long on a holiday getting to and from the destination, but I told him that for me the motoring and ferries were all part of the pleasure.
Hence why I quite seriously have considered driving as a job. In America in 2008 I was on a greyhound bus and got talking to the driver, who had been a financial professional before wanting a change in his 50s, and re-training.
Now I read that there is such a shortage of lorry drivers that they are well paid — in some cases £55k (more than my own salary!) — the idea is all the more intriguing.
I do not in fact intend to leave journalism, which I still love. Also, I have never been heavier than I have been from the start of lockdown, since when my exercise levels have plunged.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdDriving might mean that I was even more inactive and leave me morbidly obese.
But I well understand the impulse that so many people have for a change of work direction.
• Ben Lowry (@Benlowry2) is News Letter acting editor
Other articles by Ben Lowry below, and beneath that information on how to subscribe to the News Letter:
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry Aug 28: Lagan Valley shows the challenges facing both unionism and Alliance
• Ben Lowry Aug 21: Unionists are more vulnerable to the fall of Stormont than republicans
Ben Lowry Aug 21: Bigwigs should realise that there is no holiday before retirement
• Ben Lowry Aug 14: Exam grade inflation is rooted in sentimentality about education and school pupils
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry Aug 14: The collapse of Kabul to the Taliban will be seen as a sign of western weakness
• Ben Lowry Aug 7: Covid has been a bewildering and humbling pandemic
• Ben Lowry Aug 7: Now I understand those older people who want cooler summer weather
• Ben Lowry Aug 2: Three points to keep in mind when arguing against the NI Protocol
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry July 31: The last NI housing boom was disaster, and we need to beware a repeat
• Ben Lowry July 24: Republican terror atrocities are increasingly being partly blamed on the security forces
• Ben Lowry July 24: Hot weather ought to be welcome in NI but this is extreme
• Ben Lowry July 17: UK has tipped into an amnesty after a long approach to IRA that lacked bite
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry July 15: We should be honest as to how we have arrived at a Troubles amnesty
• Ben Lowry July 10: We will find soon if UK is for once going to criticise Ireland
• Ben Lowry July 10: I once always wanted England to lose, now I want them to win
• Ben Lowry July 3: The mild DUP response to the protocol will cause Boris little concern
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry July 3: The extreme heat in Canada shows why we might come to like Northern Ireland’s mild weather
• Ben Lowry June 26: Neither Dublin nor IRA have been put under any pressure on legacy
• Ben Lowry June 26: A slight sense of sadness as the days again begin to shorten
• Ben Lowry June 19: Somehow the appeasement of Sinn Fein got worse
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry June 12: Now above all, when unionists are winning the argument on the Protocol, is time to stand firm against it
• Ben Lowry June 5: It is clear that Edwin Poots is not taking the DUP in a remotely hardline direction
• Ben Lowry May 29: There is much confusion in unionism, so here are some suggested core pro Union principles
• Ben Lowry May 22: Instead of ‘moving on’ from IRA funeral, we still need proper answers
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry May 22: If Joel Keys, 19, wants to help unionism he should get a law degree
• Ben Lowry May 15: Edwin Poots and Doug Beattie will offer two distinct shades of unionism
• Ben Lowry May 8: Formal UK ideas for an amnesty are almost exactly 20 years old
• Ben Lowry May 8: Let us hope that the brilliant Eoghan Harris keeps on writing
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry May 1: Unionism can’t just be about managing long-term defeat
• Ben Lowry April 24: NI seems to rely increasingly on just one pollster for data on attitudes to a border poll
• Ben Lowry April 17: DUP still has to choose between managing this disaster or total rejection of it
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry April 10: His enduring marriage to the Queen was key to our understanding of Prince Philip
• Ben Lowry April 3: Radio grilling of UUP leader exposed folly of unionists blaming Simon Byrne for funeral
• Ben Lowry Mar 27: There should not be an Irish language act, but it is too late — the DUP has agreed one
• Ben Lowry Mar 20: We have made it through the worst of the dark, dreaded winter lockdown
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry Mar 20: MLAs lost control of abortion by rejecting modest law reform
• Ben Lowry Mar 13: Whatever future Boris Johnson adopts for Northern Ireland seems set to lead to a crisis
• Ben Lowry Mar 13: Scotland tunnel isn’t fantasy, but something kids of today might see
• Ben Lowry Mar 6: The cost of victims’ pension has ballooned without explanation as to why
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry Feb 27: Unionists have fully turned against Irish Sea border because they’ve seen the scale of disaster
• Ben Lowry Feb 20: We still lack answers as to why IRA funeral got special treatment at Roselawn
• Ben Lowry Feb 13: Peter Robinson has long experience of what is and is not politically feasible
• Ben Lowry Feb 6: There is barely any unionist support for violence, despite justified anger at sea border
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad• Ben Lowry Jan 30: At last, clear reason for UK and unionists to stop being weak towards Ireland/EU
• Ben Lowry Jan 23: Lockdown sceptics have been undermined by crazy theories, but sensible criticisms haven’t gone away
• Ben Lowry Jan 16: The Irish Sea border was imposed because UK knew unionists would take it
• Ben Lowry in 2020: Last night unionists celebrated a move towards Irish unity
——— ———
A message from the Editor:
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.
With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.
Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.
Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.
Ben Lowry
Acting Editor