It was when I got back to the yard that things started to happen,I set off to go down to Coventry for a morning tip of paper.I felt a bit funny and had been trying to shrug off a cold for a few days.I dont do sick days and normaly just work it off.This was different,I had the need to vist the loo and quick.So I stopped off at Sandbach Services on the M6 southbound.First off I never stop here,its overpriced,you get your curtains cut (my own experience) and its a hot bed for police checks- now I am not worried about anything as we run super legal,but if they want to find something wrong they will.One of our drivers got the book thrown at him because his number plate had fallen off,even though he had a spare.

I went to the loo,got back to my cab,unlocked the doors,got in and had a cup of tea - went to start my lorry up and found I could'nt find my KEYS ?

I had lost my keys in the space of a foot.I spent two full hours stripping my cab looking for the bloody things.At 41 I felt tears welling up in my already sore throat.I had to ring up the boss at Garstang and ask like a right prat if he could come and drop off a spare set,what a bloody twat I felt.20 years of driving and this happens,I have snapped keys before,I have even thrown keys away in anger but I have never LOST keys like some arse before.If this was the First World War I would have been tied to a post at dawn and shot through the heart whilst smoking my last fag.

I always lock my cab,even in the yard I lock my cab,even in the safety of Groves yard I lock my cab much to the disgust of everyone who knows me,this stems from an instant dismisal rule from White Arrow if you leave your cab unlocked - so I have lost my keys in the cab of my lorry or on the floor outside.

Dave the boss at DCL came down with a spare set and some cash as I hadnt budgeted for a stay at a service station,to his credit he was not mad with me,and said that this had happend before,so that it wont happen again I am going to get a spare set and hide them on the unit somewhere.

Now to add insult to injury I had to pay for a nights parking at Sandbach,one nights parking with no meal FIFTEEN bastard pounds,hang on I will write that again because I still cant get my head around it 15 (ONE FIVE) English pounds thats ONE bloody FIVE - £15 STERLING to park a lorry for nine hours in a piss ridden spot,next to a fridge unit,opposite a coach park with toilets that have a blockage problem and soap dispensers that dont frigging work.Shove my money up your fat rip off arses.Now after tax I have had to work for three hours to pay that crap.Its not right that HGV drivers who by law have to rest for a minimum of 9 hours a day have to pay that,or take the option of parking in a layby and risk getting diesel nicked,or the load nicked or worse mugged.

Bloody service stations grip my shit big time,its all about squeezing the last penny out of the punter,with rip off prices and shite food,god I wish Tesco or some other firm ran them.Where value to the customer is the key word.

Now in the morning my lorry wont start because I had the lights on for three hours looking for the keys - typical.

MAN FLU - after keygate,my cold kicked in big style.Snot,tears,poo and vomit.I came back to the yard on Friday,cleaned my cab out and looked at my stearing wheel - it had a dryed up film of snot on it.How bad is that.

In fact shove this whole week up your arse - I am in the house on my own , the girls are all at my dads as I realy am in a bad way.I didnt even take any pictures this week,but I did get a nice mail from Greg with some nice pictures of water drops,which tie in nicley with my nose -