17th - 21st December 2007

Monday.

0645 Start. I'm ready loaded from Friday with a Yanmar 75 and I'm off to the pit at Bradwell just outside Braintree to drop it off for one of our drivers who is there waiting for it.

The next stop is Sudbury, Suffolk where I'm down to collect a groundworkers 8 tonner, I drive through the whole site and find a 13t, 22t and finally an 18t machine and start to wonder if someone has missed the 1 off the fax and they actually want the 18t machine moved. Apparently not, there is an 8t JCB tucked away behind the compound with the driver waiting and ready. We're loaded up and off to a barn conversion near Sible Hedingham. The usual entrance is blocked up and once I'm unloaded I have to continue along the narrow road rather than retrace my steps. It does get a bit dicey at one point but eventually I break through near Wethersfield and pick up the decent road ack to Braintree.

I'm done with the given workload so I head back to the yard and lend assistance in the yard moving machines about to make some space for the influx later in the week.

At 1415 the boss comes outside about something and decides that it's just too cold to be standing about doing nothing and tells me to clear off home. Needing no second bidding I'm off out of the gate forgetting to write the tacho in my haste.
Distance 143Km

Tuesday.
0645 Start. No planned work this morning but I've got to get into the tacho before 24hrs are up on yesterdays one. There's not much happening in the yard except for an errand or two, the trouble is no-one is hiring machines just before the holidays and there are none that are available to be collected until later in the week. Finally at 1330 I'm able to go to my one job for the day which is a site clearance from Great Baddow to Braintree.

I've got 5 packs of blocks, some Heras panels & feet and a couple of other random pallets to take, just a bit of shunting so the forklift driver can get them on and I'm on my way about 1500. Over at Braintree they're straight on the ball and swiftly unload and send me on my way again.

Finished about 1645 ish. Distance 69Km

Wednesday.
0645 Start. A short hop first, down the road to Jovic Plant for an 0730 load where I get given one barrel of something tarry and a tar sprayer. Once I've got these it's off into Suffolk to load at a farm just off the A12 near East Bergholt.

There's two Avant shovels to load, possibly the oddest things I've yet to drive. They are artic steer like a dumper, but the seat and 'cockpit' are all attached to the front half but positioned over the rear. Makes for pretty odd handling. Next up is a few sheets of ply which are sodden and frozen and mega heavy. Finally there's a 900 roller which refuses to go up the ramps (both) or left or right ramp, or backwards, with vibration, and someone leaning against it to help push. I'm not quite beaten though, and I pull forward about 100 yards where there is an incredibly slight down gradient on the driveway. By dropping the foot of the ramps at the top of the down gradient it has lowered the body every so slightly and it's just enough to get the roller on board. Otherwise I'd have to have unloaded a shovel and pushed, pulled and cajoled it on.

By now it's about 0930 and I pick up the A12 down to the M25 and in to London on the A13, through the Limehouse Link, pass Wapping and down on to The Embankment. My destination is The Royal Hospital, Chelsea where all the Chelsea pensioners come from and the home of the flower show. First bad news is that you can't turn right when you get to Chelsea Bridge. Second bad news is no right turn in Royal Hosp. Rd. It just means a bit more driving and onto the Kings Road and round Sloane Square to get to the right end. Luckily it's an area I know quite well from multidrop days, but I'd forgotten just how manic it can be when it's mega busy with pedestrians everywhere, taxi's and big red things everywhere.


Finally I'm into the grounds and I find my way to the tennis courts and unload. I've got just over an hour left on the clock, so I decide to stop for a break here as it's nice and quiet. So quiet that twhen I open my eyes I'm stumped as to where the hell I actually am.

I'd have been scraping it fine if I'd used my 1hr 5 mins to get out of the city as it saw me passing through Dagenham, only just enough time to get to a suitable place to stop on the way out. On the way back to the yard I have to call in at Jovic and drop off the ply which they didn't want at Chelsea.

Finished at the yard 1615. Distance 267Km

Thursday.
0645. The first time in ages I've had a decent days work ahead of me, now the plant is starting to come offhire for the shutdown. Job number one is over to Kent to the ridiculously named Green Street Green Road, Green Street Green. The roads are good, there's a bit of traffic over the bridge but nothing much and I'm site just after 0800. There's a bit of delay as they haven't quite finished with the machine and I wait in the -6c cold whilst they level out some stone. I'm glad when they're finished and we load the buckets in the dumper and put the Yanmar 55 on the back behind it.





My luck is in at the tunnel, that's clear too and I head straight back to the yard to drop the digger and buckets.

The dumper is a Hewden one, one hire to us so I leave it on and run it back to their Basildon depot before starting work for their Dagenham depot. I've a collection to make for them from a site practically on the Basildon doorstep.



I'm loading a 12m Telehandler, and I find a brand new JCB 535-125 in the field behind the house, there's no one about so I use my magic key and load it on. It suddenly dawns on me that there's no Hewden stickers on it, in it or anything identifying it as belonging to anyone. I'm deffo in the right place but I don't want to steal the wrong machine so I have anotherlook around.




Aha, that's a Hewden looking number. Good it matches the paperwork, had me worried though.




Right it's a quick blast down the A127 to Dagenham, launch the tele off and back on towards the A13 heading back to Kent. As I come through Rainham I decide to carry on along the old A13 past the Circus Tavern and join the A282 (that's the M25 that goes over the QEII bridge and through the tunnels) right at the bottom of the bridge at J31. I dunno why I did it but it was a smart move as there is traffic everywhere and I queue all the way over the bridge to the tolls.


I'm off to Gravesend to load a couple of machines from a recreation ground, there's our 6t Kobelco and a 6t dumper. Usually I load the dumper on the front but this ones is hired from someone else and I've got to deliver it back for the contractor. The Kobelco goes up front, luckily it's only a 6t as an 8t would take me overweight on the front axle, the dumper is rammed up against the buckets wedging them in and the arm of the machine laid over the top. There's also a Rammax roller in the dumper so that gets strapped in too.



After a break I leave the site just after 1400 and take the sneaky route round to J1a to miss the traffic queues for the tolls. I still have to join a big slow crawl though, the only thing happening is the police, DVLA, ANPR and poss. VOSA have set up camp in the compound by the tolls, whether that's the cause I dunno but the southbound is slow right round to J29.


I decide to come off at J29 and cut around Brentwood and up to Ongar rather than risk the M25 / M11 to Harlow. I'm actually dropping off at Norton Heath between Ongar and Chelmsford so it's just as quick.

I have to unload the dumper, move the machine back and lift the Rammax out and load it up the front to keep the weight distribution right, and it's about 1630 by the time I leave to head back to the yard. I'm not stopping at the yard though it's a quick stop to unload everything, luckily Norman has stayed to help and I'm back out at 1715 and off to drop the truck at Truck East, Witham for service and repair.

Finally clocked off at 1815. Distance 321Km

Friday.
0645 Start. Well it would be if I were to go to the yard, but I'm headed off to Truck East in their little Fiesta to collect the truck from it's overnight spannering session. The good news is that they have got the washer system working properly again, the bad news is the heated seats still don't work and the washer bottle is still leaking. As for the other, don't get me started. I've now got to head back to the yard and no sooner than I am on the A12 I get stuck in traffic, in the 10-15 minutes since coming past the Hatfield Peverel turning, there has now been an accident involving several cars and the road is closed with everything crawling through Hat.Pev.


Back at the yard I can't even get in as it's getting so full, so I load the 3t dumper just outside and drop it off at a farm in nearby Bicknacre. Next job is collecting a couple of machines just up the road from home at Galleywood, it's a 5t dumper and a Hitachi ZX50. Both are caked and it takes several attempts to get the ZX to load on board without sliding back down the ramps. Back at the yard the lowloader has gone and I'm just able to squeeze into his spot and unload, I'm just finished refuelling them when the lowloader rolls back and needs his space. I make a hasty exit and head off down the A12 to the Dutch Quarter in Colchester to load a couple more machines.

It's a bit narrow here and I have to block the road whilst loading, it's only a short dead end road but I still get an irate woman who needs to get into the pub carpark. I tell her I'll be finished in 10 minutes and point out the 'Road Closed' sign. She points out that it also says 'Access Only'. As soon as I'm able I fold the ramps and get back along the road to let her in whilst I chain the machines on.



It's a bit of a big rear overhang, but I haven't really got the time or the space there to try and tuck the arm away so I plug in the magnetic beacon and head back for the A12.



Back at the yard it is chaos. My son has got a little puzzle called traffic jam where you have to move vehicles across a board to get one through the traffic. The yard is like this at the moment, you cannot move one machine because two others need moving too. There's a couple of machine drivers in, and we choreograph it nicely to get my machines off and parked up.



I'm reloading for the new year which will make some space, the Rammax roller gets loaded into a 6t dumper along with the Kobelco's buckets and the two machines are loaded on ready to go back to Gravesend.



Our other 6 wheeler has brought in a 3CX, that needs a home whilst he goes out again to fetch in another 8t machine. When he's back we reload the 3CX and do the whole shuffle thing again.

At the moment the yard contains machines and vans in just about every space imaginable. At 1500 I'm done for the day, week and year.


Distance 143Km

Week 943Km

YTD (since 22.01.07) 59217Km nearly all under my command.



Well that's me done till the new year.

My new toolbox

OK so it's just a bit more webpagery to read but I've had a few people emailing & PM'ing me on TruckNet asking for a bit more info on the nuts and bolts side of what I do. How do you secure this or that? What's this for? That sort of thing.

I'm in the process of putting some stuff together to give a bit more explantation than I post in the diary blog, to keep it separate it's on another (blog 8-wheels-toolbox.blogspot.com) It's on the links at the side. Please bear in mind that this is not yet fully compiled and may be a bit rough around the edges, however the info might be useful to someone now rather than in 2 weeks time so I've posted it now.

Updates to follow.

10th -14th December 2007

Monday.
0645 Start. I'm ready loaded from Friday this morning with a Hitachi ZX75, it's locallish so I'm in no hurry to leave the yard straight away. The site is in Hullbridge at a residential caravan park occupied by retired people, as such I don't want to be there before 0730 and I'm bang on the money time wise when I arrive. Unloading takes just a a couple of minutes, getting away from our machine driver who likes a good old chat takes considerably longer.

Next up is a dumper to move from Colchester, I'm barrelling along the A12 and I get a call to say that the 3t machine from the same site booked for tomorrow is now going today with the dumper. The site is just round the corner from the station and I just manage to squeeze around some cars and back into the site. It's a tidy pair of machines today a 3t swivel skip dumper and a Hitachi ZX27, they're quickly loaded and then I decide to secure the machines out on the road rather than paddle about in the thick mud.









All on board it's back down the A12 as far as Hatfield Peverel and off down a narrow lane to find the site. There's hoarding up at the front and a stupid entrance with no chance of me getting in so I trundle off and attack from the other direction. With the tag axle down it takes about 4 shunts to get in. The machines are soon despatched and I manage to get out in one go with the tag lifted.

Back to the yard and it's about 1030, that's the extent of my driving for the day. The rest of the morning was spent not being very helpful to our fitter for a while whilst he sorted out one of ducks. After lunch we had a bit of a tidy up in the yard and I drove round and round in the forklift with the sweeper attachment on trying to clean the yard up a bit.

Finished at 1615. Distance 135Km

Tuesday. 0645 Start. It was quiet but cold first thing in the yard this morning, not much doing until just after 0800 when I left to load at nearby West Hanningfield. I'm spot on for time at 0830 and it's an easy load, just an EX60 with grab & bucket for a demolition company.

I'm not there long and soon making good progress London bound along the M25 heading for the M11. Then the problems start, queuing to exit at the M11 I see the signs 'M25 Closed J23' so loads of people are piling in on the M11 to use the NCR. On the M11 it's running OK but there's nothing heading north, about a mile later the southbound slows to a crawl and we pass the reason, there's been a chemical spill on the other side and there's 6 fire appliances and countless police. All the traffic is getting diverted off at J4 and having to go through Loughton. There's no more traffic coming though as they have shut the entries to the M11 at the A406 junction and everything is crawling round there as well.

I eventually get round to Edmonton and have a very brief spell of running normally as I head towards Tottenham Hale. However from there on in it's heavy going all the way to the A1 at Nags Head which I clear at 1115. It's just a simple bit of roadworks but it is causing chaos. Anyway once over the A10 I'm almost there, it's just a short run down Caledonian Road to the site.

Despite appearances this is not an Italian square but Holloway, N7.

I decide to take a 15 minute break there whilst I plan a route across to Bow for my next job. It's about 1145 when I leave and it takes about 45 minutes to get to the gas works where the next job is. It's a long time for such a short distance, but it feels like I'm flying after the drag to the first job.

I'm loading a 5t Swivel skip dumper and a 120 roller, there's also one of our 20 tonners there which is also due to be collected by the lowloader. Ordinarily he'd take all 3 as he'd brought them up together on Saturday but they were both cross hired and I was (semi) nearby and able to take them straight back. I'm just folding the ramps up when Bob arrives to collect the 20 so I clear off and make a hasty exit along the A13 deciding that I'd have to stop before dropping off the plant as I'd be tight for time.

There's a couple of quiet places to stop, so I choose one near Wickford and switch off at 1330 for half hour. It's now just a short hop along to the Rettendon Turnpike and along to South Woodham Ferrers and I'm almost there. Only when I turn onto the SWF road there's heavy traffic and loads of people are turning round, I decide to stay with it but when the air ambulance lands about 500yds away I know that this might take some time. Still I'm stuck here as it's too narrow to turn. After a while the police come along and tell everyone to turn back, there's a small farm track a 100 yards or so ahead so I wait patiently for a couple of artics to turn before spinning round myself.

Despite the fact that they are going to be joing another long queue, idiot car driver are making this guys life hell by turning around all round his cab.

Air ambulance leaving.

I now have to queue all the way back to the Turnpike roundabout and am pretty much at the back of the queue having been almost at the accident site.

Fortunately the road that's blocked is parralleled by the old road so everything can divert along there. Unfortunately all the traffic coming the other way is streaming on to the roundabout from the right and has priority over us, if the coppers blocking the road had any common sense they'd hold back that traffic periodically to let the turned traffic have a fair chance at getting away. All in all it has taken almost an hour to get back to the roundabout. Thankfully the traffic is clear to Lavenham's yard and the dumper and roller are soon rolled off and dumped. It's now only a short hop back to Danbury.

Finished at 1615. Distance 161Km.

Wednesday

0645 Start. I'm only expecting a P.M. job today but when I grab my paperwork there's another one on the list so I'm off out to Colchester and along to Boxted on the Essex & Suffolk border to load a scissor lift from a farm. It's deja vous as I did exactly this move a couple of weeks ago and managed to wriggle out of the return load in the interim. Last time I tried to load it, it couldn't get traction on the ramps and had to be pushed on by a telehandler. Today it's frosty and it sails up the ramps no bother. It's braked position is a bit vague as it rocks back and forth so I chain it down nice and tight before heading back down to the A12 ultimately heading for Harold Wood.

I stop around 0900 at Stanway to use up some time and I get a call at 0930 "Where are you?" Hmmm am I being chased or is there another reason for the call. "Getting diesel at Colchester" is my slightly inaccurate answer, close enough. "Ah good, I've got you before you got too far, can you go to Alresford and load a 3t dumper?" I'm kind of glad I stopped now, a quick look at the space remaining and I reckon I'll just squeeze a 3t dumper on the beavertail without moving the scissor.

When I get to the workshop to collect the dumper I find this there, a 5t swivel skip.

Now that ain't gonna fit on the back. Initially I was going to move the scissoe forwards and put the dumper on the back, and reload it at Harold Wood, but I decide it'd possibly overload the front axle and take a chance by unloading the scissor completely. The dumper goes right up the front and the scissor just squeezes on behind.

Now I can finally make my way down the A12 to Harold Wood, it's about an hours run and I'm there about 1100. It's soon tipped off and the dumper rolled back and secured and I head back out to the M25 at J28 intending to go to Kent. In the half hour since going under the M25, the traffic has stopped on the top, and is now clogging the roundabout almost completely.

After watching the traffic lights go through about 8 green phases without being able to release the handbrake, I decide that the only place I can actually get to is the M25 anticlockwise. There's no info on the radio, nothing is moving and it's only just happened so I decide to take a gamble and run round to the M11 at least giving me 3 potential routes to Kent.

1. Out along the A13 to the Dartford Crossing.

2. Blackwall Tunnel

3. Woolwich Ferry

There's no signs reporting the usual delays on the ferry so I decide to chance it, and if busy head through Silvertown and to the Blackwall. I round the corner at North Woolwich and the holding lanes are empty, I'm able to tack straight on the back of the reasonably short queue. Furthermore there's a ferry just unloading and I'm soon getting closer to the slipway. It's not quite enough and I miss the first ferry, it's a two boat service on though and it's not long before I'm on the front and looking forward to relaxing in the drivers lounge.

Unfortunately it was closed or otherwise unavailable. Before long I'm straight off the ferry and on to the A206 for a blat round to Dartford. The dumper is going into the Costain compound alongside J2, easy enough to get to and perfect to stop and take a 30 min break.

It's 1400 when the timer announces the return to work and I rejoin the traffic queues at J2 and queue through the tolls. And out the tunnels, past J30 and right the way round to J28 in fact where there's a broken down wag & drag in lane 2 and everything is being funnelled onto the hard shoulder and lane 1 to pass.

It's gone 1530 when I arrive at my P.M. job in Waltham Cross. It's a Volvo 8t machine and a pair of fuel cubes to load, it's on by 1600 and ready to go off to Bocking near Braintree. There will be no-one on site by the time I'd get there and the M25 is crawling from J26 - J28 so I decide to cut through the lanes the back way into Harlow. It's better than it sounds, for some reason the traffic through Harlow is fairly light at 1600, something I remembered from all the time I worked there last year. Avoiding big roads and big delays, I scoot along the A414 back to Chelmsford and take a devious route around back to Danbury for a 1715 finish. Distance 323Km

Thursday.

0645 Start. First job is to get over to Bocking sharpish and tip the Volvo so I can get on with todays work. I'm on site at 0730 and I'm told to stop just outside the compound to unload, after 2 minutes I'm told to switch off the engine as they are not allowed to start work until 0800. All the chains come off and get stowed away. The straps are frozen and end up getting folded rather than rolled, at about 0745 some machines have been started and the groundworkers start unloading. At 0755 Everything is off and I just return to the cab to pump the air suspension up and raise the tag axle before folding and securing the ramps. Now I'm getting grief because I'm holding the site up. I reply that I'm exactly where I was told to stop and it's another 5 minutes before they can start work anyway. Basically fcuk off out of my face and I'll be gone by then.

Today's first booked job is in Ipswich and I hear on the radio that the A12 is partially blocked near Marks Tey on the London bound side, where I'll be returning shortly. I pass the accident, a 9 vehicle shunt and the queues reach back about 8 miles almost to the Suffolk border. I figure that there's no point rushing and getting fuel on the way as a delaying tactic would be a good idea. Once I arrive at Ipswich I park in the yard and settle for a cuppa over a 15 before going in search of our machine, although I'm spotted and our driver trundles his 3CX over anyway. It's an easy load when there's a regular driver and I'm ready to face the traffic and leave just before 1000.

Oddly this is one of our machines but has managed to escape the signwriter in the 2 years it's been on the books.

Amazingly the traffic has completely cleared and it's a good run down to Hatfield Peverel where I leave Mick and his machine. Next up is a short move from Latchingdon to Heybridge near Maldon for a local contractor, I collect him from his yard en-route and it's really easy move just a 5t JCB digger, no other buckets and a 20 minute drive either way.

Once he's out of the way I've got one more job to do, but not before a half hour stop at Boreham Interchange. It's round to Highwood on the other side of Chelmsford, proper banjo playing hick country out here. I spent 6 years working at a woodyard here and don't miss the poxy little roads one bit. I'm collecting one of our ZX50's from a small house renovation job, there's no-one on site but after a bit of hunting about I unearth the keys and get it loaded up. Back to the yard, it's a refuel only stop as it's staying on for the morning.

After some little jobs at the yard I'm off home at 1615. Distance 239Km.

Friday

0645 Start. I've got the ZX from yesterday loaded on and it's off down to Colchester to drop it off at the site where I collected a smaller machine from earlier this week. Once it's off it's straight back on to the A12 almost back to Danbury, calling at Jovic plant at Sandon. I've got to shift a 9t dumper and an 8t machine, ideally in one go as they are going to the same site. It's actually a 10 tonner but I'm confident it'll fit. The buckets go in the dumper and it gets loaded up front tight against the headboard, the machine squeezes nicely on the back and the arm laid over the dumper. Easy.


These 2 are off to Priors Green at Takeley near Stansted Airport. They're soon there and tipped off and I've got one more job to do but not till later, so I head back to the yard and manage to get the truck washed. I also manage to get my windscreen washers working properly, having had to endure a pathetic dribble for some time now.

At 1530 I'm able to go and load the last machine of the day, it's a Yanmar 75 from Great Baddow. Delivering this was last Friday's last job and as I'm in exactly the same place with the same machine I'm going to cheat and repost the original picture.

Back at the yard I just have to switch a bucket over and then I'm done by 1615. Distance 170Km

3rd - 7th December 2007

Monday.

0645 Start. A change of seat this morning, demoted to 340hp. First up is a local one, dropping off an 8t Yanmar down at Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation in Little Baddow. Unfortunately the bridge over the canal is a weak 7.5t one so I have to back into their little car park and go the long way round, if I could go over the bridge I'd be at the A12 at Hatfield Peverel in about 5 minutes. Via Danbury it's about 20 minutes to the same spot.

The reason for the different motor is that there's a container to shift and the other driver has got today off, so I head up the A120 towards Clacton and nip down to Elmstead Market to a farm to load. I quickly get the crane unstowed and the container chained but it won't budge so I have to get a van moved so I can get closer in. I rechain the container and get it on (of sorts) It's not the neatest bit of loading but it's a 24 footer with jacklegs as well using a crane that I've only used a couple of times before.



Safely strapped (no twistlocks) I head off to Earls Colne to unload outside some flats being refurbed. There's 2 other containers neatly positioned and they want this one alongside, secretly I have my doubts about how neat it will be especially as it getting a bit windy. However I soon get it hoiked up and recruit a volunteer just to stop it spinning and give me some indication of where it's going. To my surprise we nail it first time and I pack up and head back to the yard.

I could stay with this motor all day but I decide to go back and swap to mine as the gearbox is doing my head in. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just the standard 4 over 4 but the range change is the splitter switch on my 3 over 3 and every so often I knock it into high range at a junction subcontiously changing back to high split.



Back at the yard after a quick cuppa (another good reason to change, no kettle) I head off to Maldon to load a groundworkers 8t Komatsu. It's a simple move across to Rayne near Braintree where I swap it for a slightly battered Hyundai 5.5t machine. It's about 1300 when I leave so I head out towards Stansted on the A120 and stop for a break. Back on the go it's all the way down the M11, A406, A12, A13 to drop the 55 off at Poplar about 1500.

After a quick turnaround I make a hasty exit from East London and head back to the yard and load our Kobelco 7 tonner ready for the morning.

Finished at 1645. Distance 331Km

Tuesday
0645 Start. I'm out the gate fairly prompt this morning and off with the traffic over the bridge into Kent, traffic is fairly light (for the time) and I come off at J1a and take the old road through to Gravesend. I've just got to deliver the 7 tonner to a park in a residential area and on the map it looks like it will be tight as. I'm pleasantly surprised by nice wide roads that weren't clogged by school run mums. It's just possible to back into the park entrance and get off the road to unload and before long I'm on my way back. I decide to follow the signs for the (A2) Dartford rather than go through central Gravesend again and when I'm almost at the A2 the signs announce that the London bound entry is not available and you have to turn towards Canterbury and double back further up the road. Handy sign that, just a shame there wasn't one 5 minutes ago.

The traffic is still running well all the way along the A2 to the M25 although sadly the new slip road is not yet open. I'm through the tolls almost without stopping and back through the tunnel into Essex and back at the yard by 10.00

Spent the rest of the day on errands fetching bits and pieces and loitering around the yard. Home at 1615. Distance 134Km.

Wednesday.
0645 Start. There's no jobs on the board this morning for me, the lowloader is also yard bound and the other 6 is in until about 10.00 so there's not a great deal to do in the rain but keep out of the way. Someone decides to get the 2 6's booked in for a smoke test today and I'm told that I've got to be at the VOSA site at 1100, be able to jack the cab and have the engine number clean and visible.

We decide to investigate the whereabouts of the number at jack my cab to have a look, I climb in and have a good look around but cannot find the engine number, our other driver Bob is none the wiser and we decide that I'll run it down to Truck East at Witham and get them to show me. Down at Witham I jack the cab again and one of the fitters hunts around for 10 minutes before finding it. Cab down I head over to VOSA at Chelmsford in their shiny new facility. When I get called in I start to jack the cab (again) and all of a sudden one of the inspectors shouts 'whoa mate you've forgotten about your kettle' I reply that it's OK cos it's empty and continue to pump the cab, 'But it'll go through the screen' he says, 'No it's OK it's screwed down' I reply. He looks bemused and gives up that line of enquiry when he sees it not moving, although he's probably wondering how I actually use it.

The examiner notes the number on the ECU and I drop the cab and stow the bar, he puts the probe on the stack and starts the test. It's a simple test that doesn't take long and results in a pass. To my surprise and disappointment (hoping I'd fail and the other 6 pass) it looks like I'm still OK for London next year then.

Back at the yard the boss is well pleased that it's passed the test and saved him £4-5k and I even manage to get a brand new magnetic flashing beacon to attach to the back when moving protruding loads.

After more little jobs in the yard I call it a day at 1545. Distance 55Km



Thursday.
0645 Start. Off to Rayne in the rain this morning, back to the farm from earlier in the week, I'm there at 0720 and the gate is shut so I settle down and wait. And wait a bit longer. Then some. I call the contact number at 0745 and apparently they're in traffic and will be along soon. Eventually I'm in and we load the buckets into the dumper and back it on up front. The 7 tonner sits on the tail and the boom hangs out the back, now neatly marked by sparkly beacon plugged into newly installed socket.






It's back to Maldon to where it came from, but it's just the digger & buckets off and another dumper goes on. The two dumpers are taken back to the contractors yard nearby and dropped off next to their lowloader. That'll be a shiny lowloader that's obviously not getting much use at the moment then.




Next on the list is a collection in Stevenage, so it's a drag round the M25 and up to J7 on the A1M to the site which is right beside the junction. I'm loading a 7t dumper loaded up with buckets off a 20 tonner, as usual it's an old dog and it's also got a puncture.



Usually dumpers get a single chain, but when they are old and knackered and especially when loaded they get a bit more attention.



One chain across the towpin with 2 dogs.



Two single chains on the front. And a strap over the buckets to hopefully keep it all in place.

I decide to wander back along the A602 to Ware and take the A10 / A120 through to Braintree before finally dropping down in Witham. It's a good route, one I'll probably use again. Down at Witham the dumper is off and I make my way back to Danbury. Left for home at 1615. Distance 289Km.

Friday.
0645 Start. Nothing on the board this morning, so confined to the yard for the better part of the day. In an attempt to get the winch refitted I jack the cab for the 4th time this week and enlist one of the two machine drivers who are also spare today to help me get it back in it's regular slot in the bulkhead. It's still not aligning right though so I decide to remove it again and get the cab back down again, not least so I can retrieve my sandwiches. There is a job to do at 1430 it's only local but it's still a chance to get out, I'm off to the canal to collect the Yanmar that I dropped first thing Monday. It's a roadside load job but there's three of them of traffic control, slightly overboard but handy nonetheless.



A quick 3 point trun into their yard and it's back up the hill to Danbury and down to Great Baddow to excahnge it at a site there. The Yanmar is replaced by an 8t JCB that's on hire to us.



The Jake is then taken back to Jovic Plant in Sandon and offhired, before the last leg of the jourey back to the yard. I'm all wrapped up and ready to go at 1645. Distance 22Km

Just as I'm about to get in the car our driver Bob rolls in the yard with the lowloader, he's running late as the A12 has been blocked most of the day and he's got to reload. Rather than disappear I grab my gloves and lend a hand, there's a Hitachi duck to come off, and then reload a 5t dumper, 20t Hitachi and a 120 roller. Once we get it all loaded in the dark, I leave him to chain it all on and head for home.

Total Distance 750Km - Must be a record.

26th November - 1st December 2007

Monday
0700 Start. No hurry this morning, the first machine is still on from Friday and it's delivered to a house in Danbury less than a mile away. Then it's a 5 minute run down to Jovic Plant at Sandon to load a 6t dumper and drop that off with the Yanmar 8 tonner. 2 deliveries done in less than a hour.

Next job is also fairly local, just down the road at Maldon I'm loading a 5t Hamm roller at TCP's yard.
I'm away about 0830 and off over the Dartford and into Kent. It's around 0915 when I pass through the tolls and it's clear both ways. M25 through to J5 and A21 to Tunny Wells and off into East Sussex to Mayfield College in the amusingly named Little Trodgers Lane, Mayfield.

It's not really possible to get into the site and all the plant gets loaded outside in the road. Unfortunately there's already a lowloader there and I'm not the first to carve up the verge, it was a bit boggy and it was a difflock to the rescue moment to get through.




It's quite an impressive place, that apparently was where my boss went to school. They called it Colditz.


Don't you just love the way everything has a fancy name. Dust Suppression Unit!



There's also a backload for TCP collecting their smaller Rammax roller. Unfortunately it's
a. It's caked in crap


b. On a slope


c. And my winch is still not refitted



After recruiting a forklift driver to give it a shove I finally get it on board and head back to Tunny and on to the A21
There's a nice big layby on the A21 and I decide to stop for a 45 there rather than after I'm off the M25. I pull in as the kettle boils, have a quick cuppa and doze off until the alarm goes.





Then I reach to flick the tacho off break only to find.

I forgot to set it to break in the first place.





I've still got 1hr 20 minutes on the clock and I reckon I can just about make it to Maldon and back to Danbury. Unfortunately the M25 at 1300 is far worse than it was at 0930 and I spend 20 minutes from J3 to the tolls scuppering plans of getting all the way. I decide to stop at the yard and pull in just in time.







45 minutes later I'm off out for the short run to Maldon, where I neatly slide the Rammax down the ramps and get a H&S type lecture about it. Obviously they weren't bothered enough to have offered assistance in the first place and I'm aware that they can spin sideways if you're not careful with them. It tried and I stopped it. End of. Back at the yard for a 1630 finish after loading a 3t Komatsu for tomorrow.





Distance 262Km.





Tuesday.

0645 Start. Ready loaded from last night it's off down the A12 for Romford this morning. Surprisingly the Brook St. Junction with the M25 is clear and I've tipped the machine and am out the gate by 0745. It's a clear run back out to the yard where I get sent out on an errand in a van to collect some parts from near Stansted Airport. Back at the yard there's an hour to kill so I wash down a dumper that I brought back last week and hadn't been touched.



My next real job was to collect a 6t Hitachi machine from nearby Little Baddow, it's an old machine that belongs to a developer and is a jinxed one at that. I managed to lose the cab guards off the roof of it, our other driver mangled the frame that they sit in on a low branch and last time I moved it one of my front brakes seized and nearly caught fire.



No such drama today however, it's loaded and transported down to a site in Shenfield without incident . It's gone a bit slack today there's just a 1.5t mini to collect from near Gt.Leighs to go back to the yard.


Mud Removal Unit

Back at the yard it's fairly clear as almost all the machines are out and I finish off sweeping the yard with the forklift and it's hydraulic sweeper.



An early finish today, 1530.

Distamce 144Km

Wednesday.
0645 Start. Off to Greenshields JCB today to load a 535-125. I'm there at 0730 but there's not much activity until about 0800 when they finally get the gate open. I wander in and notice that they are actually supposed to open at 0730. I get the paperwork sorted and they tell me that they'll just get the machine out for me.

This involves moving about 12 pallets of bits and bobs out into the car park.


Followed by moving 1 van, 2 teletrucks and 3 minidiggers to get the machine out. (It's the one right at the back)

Materials Elevation Unit.





Finally it's out and soon on board ready for the off about 0840. It's down to MAP Plant on the A13 with this one, luckily the traffic is fine today and I'm soon in the yard for a quick tip.

They've obviously been spending some cash, the 2 unwritten ones are both 57 plate.


Next move is from Melbourn on the A10 near Royston so it's a blast up the M11 to Duxford and across on the A505. I'm not booked until 1300 and it's gonna be 1100 when I arrive so I plan for a break in a nice quiet spot on the way into the village.

Only they've filled it.
Oh Bollards.

It's my birthday today so I celebrate by finding a big layby, and crawling onto the bunk for an hour of snooze. (Must be my age)



It's down this narrow lane and you turn into the site. Since I was last there they have narrowed the access right down and put big kerbs in making it impossible to get in without damaging something.
In this case removing the orange barrier fence and bending the tree a bit. Next minute the bloke comes out asking if I'm going to anything about the fence. I reply that yes I'll probably remove the rest of it when I leave.

He's unhappy about his tree and gives me the 'They've had bigger in here before' line, Ah yes I reply but not since that kerb went in. He maintains that it's not his problem, whereas I think that it will be his problem everytime a bin wagon, builders merchant, removal van or whatever goes in there.

In fairness he wasn't arsy about it, if I'd been there for 28 years I'd probably share his concern but I'd be round at the site demanding the access to be widened to allow vehicles better access. Something which everyone agrees is inadequate.

It's just an 8t Kobelco to load here.



Load Security Unit.

It's going to Panfield near Braintree to a site down a small lane. unfortunately there's a low cable right across the gateway and the cabguards will foul it, so it has to be tracked off into the road and then taken onto the site.


I'm soon out of there and on my way back to Danbury. Back at the yard it's suggested I could run down to South Woodham Ferrers to collect one of our 5 tonners but I persuade them against it as it'll be school time when I arrive and it's a pig of a site anyway. I manage to escape for an early one at 1515.

Distance 320Km.



Friday.

0645 Start. A quick blast down to Witham this morning for one of my less favourite jobs, moving concrete blocks. I'm booked for 0730, there at 0715 and have to wait until 0830 until there's someone to load me with a forklift. There's a total of 27 packs at an estimated 1.1t each, I opt for 12 packs and nip round to the weighbridge to check. I'm just under at 25440Kg so I strap them on and hit the A12 / A120 for Harwich to deliver them to a reclaim yard at Parkestone. It's a good run, only 45 minutes or so and once there I'm quickly tipped and off back to Witham for another load.





Back at Witham our other 6 wheeler is loaded ready with 7 packs and I have to wait another 1/2 hour or so for the forklift to load the last 7 packs. Back down to Harwich to tip, and a stop along the A120 for a break on the return.



I get another job called through, it's the collection I avoided yesterday and I'm off sharpish when the timer goes to get to the site, loaded and out before school run time.



I arrive at South Woodham Ferrers at 1415 and actually manage to get backed down the road to the site entrance fairly easily. Getting on the site is impossible and you have to park outside and wander in. I'm away for about 5 minutes finding the machine and getting the buckets and when I track the machine out, there's an irate lady waving arms and generally being upset because I've blocked her drive. She's ranting a bit, but when I offer to move straight away, she admits that she doesn't need to go out just yet but might because she's got children at school. Have you got children? she asks me, Yes 3 actually I reply. I agree with her that it's a problem not being able to get on the site, and admit that I'd really rather not be here at all. I promise that in 5 minutes, the machine will be loaded, secured and gone and apologise for not checking with her first before blocking her in.



She's actually OK in the end and to be honest I can see where's she's at, it probably happens several times a day and everyone is just doing their job. South Woodham Ferrers is an 1980's new town and the site they are building on is a small plot of undeveloped land right in the centre of a lot of housing.



Back at the yard the Hitachi comes off and I collect a passenger, one of machine drivers who is coming with me to help load the next machine.




It's a site in Danbury down a narrowish road that is used as a ratrun to avoid the A414, the machine has to be loaded in the road and it's a bit awkward to get the machine out of the site. And it's getting dark so having an extra pair of (skilled) hands is a definative bonus. Back at the yard the machine comes off and I'm off by 1715.



Distance 288Km.

Friday.
0645 Start. My first job is to collect a couple of machines from Wickham Bishops, nearish to Maldon. It's a weird area and I manage to not exactly get lost but not quite end up where I expected to be. There are lots of scissor type crossroads around there and I always needed to turn the way you can't fit around.

I find the place about 0730 and the machines are parked up but the keys are not obvious and haven't been hidden in the usualish places. Someone tries ringing the man who'll have the key, but can't get through. He'll be here at 8 they say.

0820 and he rolls up and disappears around the back of the house, whilst I'm hanging around waiting I notice that he's chucked the keys on the seat. Ignorant bastard.

The dumper has got a broken beacon and tipping lever, and both it and the digger are caked so I reward his behaviour with 4 nice muddy trails out of the gate into the road and up to the ramps. As I leave I see him with a brush sweeping up.

These machines have been crosshired in, so I take them back to Lavenham Plant in Cold Norton.
1.5t JCB 8052

3t Dumper

My next job is to meet our other 6 wheeler in Harlow, luckily he calls me and lets me know there's delays on the M25 as I'd been heading that way and hadn't heard anything. I meet up with him on the A414 at Ongar and we travel in convoy to the site where we are loading a couple of containers.

It's a bit tight to get near enough with the crane.


Eventually we find the owner of a van and just manage to get enough space to get in.

Once we get the 20' lifted I back in and we load it on me out of the way. That's made enough space to pull forward enough to reach the 24' that we load on Norm.

Twistlock technician I aint, it's straps for this one.



We stop for a brew up and head off to the M25 and onto Basildon. On the way we pass the cause of the delays (and get delayed ourselves) Norbert Netzler has somehow managed to roll over at J28 right across the northbound on slip.



We make our way to Rawley Plant to off load the containers. I give myself a brush up on the crane and unload whilst Norm acts as slinger / banksman.



We head off in different directions now and I'm heading back to Romford to collect the Komatsu 27R 3 tonner that I dropped off at a school earlier in the week. It's a quick stop, get in, get it on and get it out (as it were) Then it's a quick blast back to the yard to tip off as I'm still not done yet.




At 1500 I leave the yard and head over to a demolition contractors in West Hanningfield to load materials. They are based on an industrial estate which is very crowded, there's also a steel stockholders, skip hire company, and roofing merchants. All of which wanting to get trucks in and cars and vans out. Most of the available space is taken up with their FH12 & 5 axle Nooteboom lowloader and pair of 8 leg roll offs. I end up shunting back and forwards whilst we load, timbers, sleepers, ballast, ply and a large toolbox. I check the weight on the steel co's bridge and I'm just over 24t and about done. Strap it all down and head back to Danbury. Finished at 1715.



Distance 249Km.

Saturday.
0630 Start. Not a regular thing for me to work on a Saturday but the cash is useful especially at this time of the year. I'm off to the demolition job in Ashord, Kent and have an unheard of traffic free run down there. Maybe there's something to be said for weekend working after all.

I'd been told roughly where it was but it was easy enough to find just behind the McArthur Glen outlet place. Haven't been there for a couple of years since I used to deliver to the Cafe Nero shops.

It's just gone 0800 and the lowloader has just arrived and they are sorting themselves so I park up for a brew before going to see what's happening.


The job is to demolish a signal box that sits alongside the road, there's no compound or off road area available just a lane closure to give them half the road.

I get backed in behind the lowloader and we handball the ply off to make a temporary road surface for the machine to run so they don't churn up the tarmac. Once the temp. surface is down they set to unloading the 20 tonner and 6t machines, there's just enough space to get them off the trailer and clear the ramps.
That brick building is the signal box. They are planning to start at 2000 tonight and have it down by 0000. Trucks turning up at 0500 & 0800 to load to rubble and job complete 2359 Sunday.



Once they're off the lowloader is moved and I run round in front of the 20 tonner so that we can use it to unload. It takes a while as everything is lifted with chains from the rear, the machine driver has to try and peer over the top of my ramps and is looking straight into the sun. I'm slinging on the back of the wagon, there's another guy on the bank signalling and unhooking and the lowloader driver has reappeared as another banksman for when the machine turns. Finally about 1100 I'm done and clear out of the way so that they can unload 2 more lowloaders both carrying machines. A clear run back to the yard and I'm done by 1300.

Distance 250Km.

Total Distance 1369Km