SUNDAY
I have thought about doing a diary of a full week in all its glory,the ups the downs and the random things that go through my head when I am driving along.
Tony took the picture of the page and I have tried to get the look of the diary I keep in my cab to jot down all the drops I do.Yesterday we went to Sommerfield to get the food I will need next week,as the snow starts to come I want to make sure that should I get cut off at least I can survive,but more to the point I dont have to line the pockets of the service stations on the motorway network.
I have rang work up this morning to see where I am going and what time to start,well I am off to Bristol for 07:00 in the morning.If I set off at 14:00 I have had 45 hours this week and just in case I need to work next Saturday I can.
Cooked dinner for the girls,I am well enough now to see them,we had Beef and all the trimmings sat at the Christmas table and pulled the last of the crackers.Bernard is driving down to Exeter today and he has rang to ask when I will be setting off.So as a treat I will knock up a fist full of prawn,salad and sweet chilli sauce wraps to eat when we stop,all washed down with some colombian driving powder I bought ( coffee ).
Set off from the yard at 14:30 with the 'owd dog' Bernard in my slip stream,he was off to Exeter and I was off to Bristol.We stopped at Stafford southbound for coffee and a catch up on things that went on over Christmas.The prawn wraps went down a storm.We parted ways at the M5/M4 split and I headed off to Temple Meads.My drop is slap bang on the A4 right on a junction and surrounded by bus lanes so I found a industrial unit to park over night at.Gladiator is on the telly and as it is one of my top five films I should sleep soundly.
My cab looks very much like the U-Boat in Das Boot as its sets out to sea from La Rochelle laden down with food and drink,its the best part of the start of the week , I could eat my self stupid if I put my mind to it.Well the starting credits are rolling in Gladiator so thats it from me - STRENGTH AND HONOUR
MONDAY
My alarm was set for 05:00,but before I had the chance to turn it off,an alarm in one of the units on the estate I was parking on went off at 04:05.Not to worry where the drop is I need to stake my claim to a parking spot before the buses start rolling. Got into the site ok,there was a gaurd on duty 24/7.All you had to do was call a mobile number and he appears at the gate a bit like Mr Ben in the shop.As the traffic was light I did'nt cause to much of a problem.
We have started to put on our tachographs the EWR,SWR,EDR,SDR .This is comply with a new law,I used to do it at the Scottish firm.The thing I would realy like is a digital tachograph,even a monkey could get this right.It beeps when you are getting near to 4 and half hours diving so there is no excuse, plus you can print out what you have done as a double check.Now that would be a life saver for me.
So I am sat on this bit of waste ground waiting for everyone to arrive to get the mud cleaning machine off me then its back up to Haydock to pick up some steel.The POD I have has requested a 7:30 delivery or earlier - well they have the latter.Its now 05:45.I fell asleep last night just as Gladiator got to Rome and he was talking to Lucious in the cage .Now Iam listening to Greg James on Radio One,is it just me or has he got a very smug and rather condesending tone,he seems to think that his bloody shuffle feature has the listeners gripped with excitement - sorry tiger but you are sadly mistaken.Still hes not as bad as Jon - jump on the bandwagon - Gaunt or Edith -cant say the letter T - Bowman.Better than that at least he dosent keep on repeating 'Text 89911 thats 81199' like most Radio One DJ's.One day I will count just how many times they say that during a show.I passed the time by farting around with my camera phone and twisting it when I take a photo.
The drop didnt go as planned, there was a problem with the work permits for the crane.So the 7:30 drop went to pot.It was gone 10:30 when I drove out of the site.It was then up to Haydock to pick up some steel for Haverrigg Prison.Back to the yard and hitch up to trailer 48 to nip down to London with a load of flooring.The address sent a siver down my spine - GROSVENOR GARDENS SW1 could it be roality who knows.All I know is that It will be fun to get to and even more fun to get out of.I ran my time out on a 15 hour day and parked up on the A46 in a layby.Iam now watching Panorama .
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TUESDAY
Started at 5:30,this was the earliest I could with a reduced nine hour break.I wanted to get into the city before the mad rush.The drop was booked for 07:00 but I did'nt get there until 08:00.It was lots of small very heavy pallets,all to be pumped trucked off and then over to a hoist to go up the 4th floor of the building.Well things got off to a poor start.The tail lift on my trailer was playing up,and I was only able to lift off five or so before the motor cut out.I tried to start my engine but the battery was flat.Flagged down a City of Westminster dump truck and got a jump start off him and then disconected the walky wire for the tail lift and continued to ofload the pallets.I got my first parking ticket with the firm and the first for nearly 20 years as you are not allowed to unload after 10:00 in Westminster or so the warden told me.So the £5.40 I had put in the parking meter was a waste of bloody money then!Well fat boy good job I took loads of pictures then showing just how it costs so to do a job in London these days, what with congestion charges,parking fines and expensive fuel.The drop took a full 5 hours as you could'nt ofload more the say a dozen pallets at any one time,and it took at least 15 minutes to do one pallet.
So I got there at 08:00 and left at 15:15 now for some whos on a bonus scheme that is crap by any stretch of the imagination.It was then off to Pepper street East London.I had to ring the boss one hour before I got there,no problem there.The only problem was that I had to park miles away from the drop to be able to make the delivery,and then there was no fork truck on site,then the stuff would'nt fit through the door.So it was gone 17:00 when I left there.The transport manager rings me to ask how my collection was going at Chesterfield - nobody had told him I was having the mother of all nightmares.I then made a mad dash for the M11 and then onto the goal of free layby parking on the A14 and that way beat the M1 rush and also shave a whole load of time off the run and save some money.Bugger me lady luck strikes again.My trailer gets a puncture at Stanstead,I pull into the services and ring the office.A tyre firm comes out and changes the tyre,and to my horror says the brakes are locked on and you need to get a mechanic out to have a look at it.I ring the office and tell them whats going on.By now its 20:30,what a long crap day.Only to be made worse by paying £17.50 to park up for the night.The Service station itself is nice and modern and because of the heavy rain there are no pools of piss hanging around.Given that its got internet access and nice showers at least I can get a grip of my senses.For £17.50 I would at least expect naked page 3 girls in the shower to scrub my back,and offer me a huge cigar and glass of brandy to enjoy whilst eating my Pot Noddle,but no you just got a parking spot for the night.
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WEDNESDAY
We are doomed Mr Mannering came the cry......A mechanic came out to me at Birchanger services to have a look at my locked up wheel.It wasnt brake trouble - the bearings had gone on the wheel hub.He was top man the mechanic,he was'nt able to fix the problem on site but did manage to get me going by strapping the axel up so its off the ground.The snag was that I could'nt pick up a reload on the way back up,that will affect my wage packet but not as much as the overall profitability of the unit as a whole.Dave the Boss at DCL was'nt to happy as there had not been any bearing failures for years,and he looks on this as a big problem, and why it had happenend in the first place.
I saw the 'owd dog' going up the A14 with his load of tanks,and told him all about it.He said that had I been loaded there could have a chance that the damage could well have been a lot worse.He also diagnosed the problem last night.I stopped to take my brake at Stafford and cashed in some of my fuel vouchers and pigged out on a Burger King Whopper,why oh why do I bloody bother,they just slap the things together and served up a flat tepid crappy bun each and every time I have one - the question is this just my misfortune or is it a bigger proplem.Take me back to Ireland and my own healthy regime.........The A14 was solid as there had been a bad accident on the M1 and the world and his wife were using the A14 as an escape route from the big city.
Back at the yard it was drop the broken trailer in the repair bay and pick up a load of paper to go down to Wiltshire.There were two machines to add to the load to go down to Telford and these were dropped on the back of the trailer and strapped down until the squealed.I was in such a foul mood when I got back to yard it was better that I spoke no one,just another shity day.Parking tickets,5 and a half hours at one drop,bust bearing , 17.50 parking and a shite burger all compounding a wanky wage packet.Jo and the girls came up to see me and try and cheer me up.Jo did her very best and Rebecca gave me a big cuddle before I set off for Telford.I got to Telford at 21:20 and caught the last of Hughs Chicken Run.
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THURSDAY
The night was spent on the big Donnington Industrial Estate,waiting for my rest period to end.There was a huge crusher next to me that started up at 04:30.I need to get down into the M.O.D works early and drop off the two machines and then get out as early as I can to beat the Birmingham rush.My run down to Wiltshire saw the destruction a jack knifed lorry can do - the whole of the west bound side of the M4 was blocked off and there were at least 3 fire engines on site helping out.
The paper drop went ok even though the wind was trying to rip my curtains off,the worst of it all was that it was lashing down with rain.I am now off to Barry in South Wales to pick up a reload and try and get back to Garstang before the M6 gets to clogged up on Friday.
On my way down to Barry the phone rang and it was the office,they did'nt know that I was still on my way down to Barry,they were under the impression that I had been loaded already.Now I can make many cock ups on my own without any help from anybody else.I had rang the office when at my second paper drop,telling them that they wer'nt expecting us that day and they had to make room in the warehouse for the 22 pallets.I also told the office that the bridge was closed the last I heard and I would be going around the river Severn and out at Monmouth rather than go over the bridge.So I was as surprised as them that they were under the impression that I should of been loaded.I also asked what time the docks closed,but Chris was so pissed off he came out with the old 'got to go ' line on the phone.If I had'nt of been sat on my arse for 3 hours at the MOD in Telford I could of got the bloody dock drop done.I had drove until 21:20 on Wednesday night just so that I could get a good start on Thursday down to Wiltshire,just to get it thrown back in my face.Heres another top tip when you ring up and ask for your congestion charge to be paid,jot down the time you rang and also whom you spoke to,as a back up write it on the back of you tacho.
I parked on the road leading to Barry docks
FRIDAY
06:40 and sat at Barry Docks,there is already a line of traffic waiting to be loaded/unloaded.I am pickig up a load of waste flour to be turned into animal feed and this drop surely cant go wrong.There was a problem with the paper work ad no one seemed to know I was coming that day,so it was gone 10:00 when I pulled out of the loading bay.I tried to buy a sack of flour as it was top notch stuff but I was unable to.
The rain was lashing down all the way back up and Birmingham was a nightmare,the pinch point at the M5 M6 split took 45 minutes to clear and then the normal Friday traffic kicked in.Once I got to Wincham I was told that the flour was going to Garstang instead and that I should go straight back to the yard - typical,just more farting around.So by the time I got back to the yard I was in a foul mood.
So I drove into the yard in a foul mood,stomping around with a face like thunder,Bernard came over to say hello when I was sat doing my paper work and we both put the world straight,I also saw Ian who also had had a crappy week.Bernard is off to France next week,to Dijon.So I have asked him to bring some mustard back with him and we will have some hot french sticks next time we stop.
Jo and the girls came to pick me up and empty the cab,as a treat we had a huge Chinese meal.Rebecca picked the food and wrote down the order £26.75 it all came to and was lovely.All washed down with some Stella.
SATURDAY
The girls and Jo stayed at my dads dog sitting.We went to Sommerfield and got our lunchtime bits and pieces.I still had the idea of bread in my head from the flour pick up on Friday.So we bought some good flour and made home made pizza for our dinner.The rest of the dough was turned into a loaf.
Rebecca spent the day playing with her Duplo people and Jessica went off to do 3 hours of Gymnastics.
Chris rang and I am off to Ireland on Sunday.
