All loaded and ready for an 0700 start, first off up the M11 / A11 and round to middle of nowhere just past Bury St. Eds. Luckily this week the journey is only about an hour and a half, not the six it took last week when they closed the road. One pallet of slabs off the side at the site, and back around the A14/A12 on route to Kent. Quick cuppa with my mum in Colchester and then down to Whitstable to drop 4 stillages and some ply at a small site. Get to the Dartford tolls and there is an artic TWT Logistics / Transport (should have been TW@T) attempting to use the autotoll, he crunched his nearside mirror and got caught by a traffic officer. Laughing so much, I almost drove straight into the barrier which the DART tag was a bit slow to lift today.
It was a bit of a pain to get everything in, missing the car, tree etc but still managed to leave it nice and tidy.
Run down empty to Chattenden, nr Rochester to collect 1 pallet from a site that we are running. Meet our 7.5t driver coming out with a small drilling rig destined for our yard in Harlow, told him to take it off and load it on mine as it is going out tomorrow and he is well chuffed as he can go back to his yard about 5 minutes away. All loaded up, back to the yard via Wickford to collect some steel also for tomorrow. 1800 end.
Tuesday 1st August
3.30am It's cold and wet and I want to be in bed, still off I trundle through the lanes towards Waltham Cross where I can pick up the M25. Almost through the lanes and discover ROAD CLOSED AHEAD ACCESS ONLY, DIVERSION. The car in front goes straight through and I think maybe it's not properly closed and follow. It was closed. Now got to try and attempt an 18 point turn in a field entrance in the dark and rain. Turned round I follow the diversion nervously but puts me on to the A10 at Broxbourne. Now running a bit late I am pushing hard to get to Portsmouth to make the 0630 ferry to the IOW. Made Pompey OK and am on site back at Totland job at 0800, only a little drilll rig, some augers and hoses today so I keep out of the site and track it off the back. Except it slid straight down the ramps non stop. No harm done though. Bloke on site now on phone, someone has suggested that I run over to site at Ryde, collect steel and bring it back. I just want to be off island ASAP. Change of plan, continue as per original instructions, which was drop one bundle of steel at Yarmouth a short distance from the Lymington ferry.
This was the Totland site, all the black pallets and ply were those that I dropped last week. Here, there & everywhere because I couldn't get around the corner at the bottom.
Back at Yarmouth I decided to try and get off island ASAP so tried my luck on the Lymington ferry. Whilst parked up noticed an old dog Iveco 13t R360 SLY parked up, this was an old stinker that I used to sometimes drive at DBC Chelmsford, before they got rid of it about a year ago. No driver about so wasn't able to get more info.
Guess which I prefer to drive?On the Lymington ferry straight away, and sailing off before the phone could ring with something else to do. As a rule I don't bother with this sailing as the ferry is tiny and if you're not booked can involve a lengthy delay. However today it was just fine.
An uneventful run back through the New Forest and up the motorways to our yard at Harlow. Offloaded the pallet from yesterday, and headed off home at 1430
Wednesday 2nd August
0700 Quick blast down to Chelmsford (having just come from home there) to collect some 6m x 450mm CFA augers that have been refurbised at welders yard. As I've got my camera, grabbed a couple of pictures whilst there. The first is a White Road Commander 2, the second an old Volvo, dunno what. It is a left hooker and I was surprised to see it is a rigid, always had assumed it to be another artic. He used to have a 1970's Coles crane there until recently that he was going to sort out, but due to scrap prices he cut it up and scrapped it.
Loaded with CFA augers
Now finished in Chelmsford, its back to Harlow to tip off the augers, before running down empty to our Rochester yard to clear 8 pallets back to Harlow. Unloaded these and discover that tomorrow I am back to the IOW and have been told I am staying over. This pleases me not and I slope off grumpily at 1700
Thursday 3rd August
0800 start, no urgency this morning and I start by bitching about how my job is no nights out, and how the **** do you expect me to find accomodation on spec on the IOW during Cowes week. Why can't they book and pay for something in advance, rant rant rant. DONT ASK ME TO DO IT AGAIN. I leave for Wickford to collect some steel, just as I get there my phone bleeps with a text message giving me details of a room booked at the Travel Inn in Newport. One nil to me then.
Bundle of steel on, its off to our plant department at Basildon to collect some augers for the mini piling rig at Totland. After a delay I leave at 12.15 for Oxford. Looks like the 1600 ferry ain't gonna happen. On site at Oxford at 14.15 and start to load the bits and pieces that go with the Klemm. So much to go on first, its a bit of a jumble. All ready to go, the ramps down and up she goes.
After its on we then have to winch a concrete pump on the back. plug the wander lead in and the fuse blows. Great. Change the fuse and it blows again. Even better. New fuse and no lead, am using the manual lever, when something underneath the winch rope must have disengaged the clutch as the pump rolls straight back down again. Due to the amount of stuff up front around the winch, we get a digger driver to put the pump on and stand the ramps up. Now discover one of the straps for securing the ramps, mangled under one of the Klemm's tracks. Leave Oxford with about 15 minutes to make the ferry. It's a bad day.
Down at Portsmouth I check in, fill in a DG form and call the rig driver who left Oxford behind me, he is about 20 minutes away, having thought I'd gone down the A40 and gone round the M25, only to find I went A34. I had just missed the 1800 and was first in the queue for the 1900, despite this I was forced to watch the world and his wife get loaded first, including my rig driver who had now turned up. It was looking like they were going to leave me high and dry. Finally they call me, but stop me and ask for the height, 15' I say, he radios someone and gets a no go. I explain I have been over like this before, went over on the bigger vessel and back on the smaller one, so they decide to measure it. They let me on right at the back. I cancel the text to the rig driver telling him that I hope he sinks.
On to the island I park in about 5 spaces at the Travel Inn and get the key to my room, after discovering that although the company have reserved the room with a card, they have forgotten to authorise the payment and that'll be £80 then sir.
A quick clean up, I unload my bike and have a 20 minute cycle around Newport to unwind. Get back load it up again, and go for dinner in pub next door. Fed up with being billy no mates in the pub. I go back and watch telly before turning in.
Friday 4th August.
Up early, checked out at waiting for the pub to open at 7 for breakfast. On the road at half past and arrive at Binstead site just before 8. Unloading is practically a reverse sequence of the above, including using a digger to remove the pump. Had to wait for about half an hour to get off site as there were other lorries unloading in a leisurely IOW fashion. Leave at 0945 to collect some bits from Bembridge, and hope that the ferries will not be too rammed as the 1000 will have long gone when I get there. Bembridge site has hardly anything to collect, and I get back to Fishbourne just before 11.
There is a big queue of cars and I am told that I may have a while to wait.
Whilst waiting I clean all my mirrors and glass, suraces inside the cab and chuck out yesterdays rubbish. The ferry is loading and I am not hopeful, although the yard is fairly clear and I hear the magic words over a loaders radio "Have you got a nice big rigid for me?" Dutifully I slide my rigid right up the back of his vessel, behind a drop trailer. Why do I always get put behind drop trailers? Still better behind it on this ferry than on the front of the next. I was pleased to see the tug still on the front of the drop trailer when I returned, and things got even better when inside the cab. I noticed in the mirror that someone was leaning against the back of the truck, which was nice and low as I had dumped the air. So I hit the button to return to normal height and watched them get a helluva shock as it pumped back up again with a nice big hiss.
Off the ferry, and into Cowplain to collect a drill rig that I had yet see actual get used. Arrive on site to find that no-one here knows how it works, but eventually figure it out. It was a bit weird to use though as it is remote like some of the Hiabs, the biggest problem with these is the lack of feel in the lever and ended up in a notchy loading procedure where it pretty much walked up the ramps rather than smoothly tracked. Still it went up safely and didn't prove to be awkward to secure with chains. Back along the A3, I decide to head on the M25 clockwise and chance the J25 roadworks. Just turn on to the M25 and get helpful traffic info about the long delays around J15. Struggle on through the traffic which is heavy all the way round and come off at the A10 to cut back across towards Harlow. Luckily the road was open and back to the yard without incident. Unloaded the Baby Drill with the help of the winch, as I just knew it would go horribly wrong otherwise.
Good job it was remote operated as I'd never have managed to operate the winch manually and move the machine. Left the truck unloaded, as the boss is going to load on Saturday, although looking at the heap of stuff for Monday, I think it ain't all gonna fit.
Left to start the weekend at 1830
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