0700 Start. Had left the keys in the yard over the weekend as there was a threatened Isle of Wight trip for today, and the boss was possibly collecting equipment on Saturday. However no phone call over the weekend meant that it wasn’t happening, so I busied myself by loading some of the new stillages that I had brought in last week.
Stillages full of DSU's, each DSU weighs approx 20Kg and 49 per stillage.
The rain soon put a stop to that, so I sat around and drank tea until about 1030 before setting off for Dalston Lane in Hackney. Our site there is right on the kink, just after the junction with Graham Road, and is a pig to get to. From the North the A10 would be the simplest but it is a 7½t weak bridge (If a bridge is that weak, surely the buses can’t help?) Alternatively coming in from the North East there is a 25t weak bridge just before the site and you cannot turn right from Graham Road. From the North West it is about two shunts to turn left onto Balls Pond Road. I decided to go straight down the M11 and head in down the A12/A11 to The Aldgate and around to the A10 from the South. The A406/A12 junction was standing, so buzzed down to the A13 and in along Commercial Road, which I have never seen so empty. Something to be said about the rain I suppose. Arrive on site about 1130 just as a readymix wagon is leaving. Nip into the site and get a digger driver to load the 350mm Augers that the CFA crew no longer need. Back down to the Aldgate and a quick trip along to Westferry Rd, to drop the augers off for our other CFA rig which is due in from Pfizers at Sandwich. No sign of crew or machine, so I sit outside and wait for about an hour and half. Just starting to get fed up and a Hallet Silberman 6 wheeler turns up with the pump, bowser, hoses, container, augers and stuff to support the rig. The driver reckons that the crew should be imminent, but we suspect they may have stopped for a brew as they arrive about half hour later. The Hallet driver then stoves his bumper bar on a bollard whilst shunting to get in to unload. It seems like it might turn out to be one of them days. Next thing the low loader arrives outside with the rig, had a chat with the driver and mate and admired his ‘06 FH520 8x4 unit. Soon he has dropped the neck and I assist with traffic duty and help to cause chaos whilst the crew manoeuvre the rig onto site. Finally after 2½ hours I can nip in unload the 350’s and load the 450’s that have just came in. Half hour later I’m on my way. Get a phone call telling me that the Isle of Wight trip is tomorrow (there goes my early day for Mrs 8W’s birthday) and find a grout pump at the yard that has got to go with the Klemm tomorrow. Previous attempts at loading the pump on last with the winch have ended in failure and resulted with loading it with a digger on site. The St.Albans job only has a small digger, so we try and get the pump up across the body up front. I am not happy as it is like an unbraked compressor and doesn’t seem secure however I strap or chain it. The boss tells me to leave it, with the keys and he’ll see if we can manage with the pump already on the island. I slope off at 1800 pissed off because I’d asked for an early day tomorrow.
Tuesday 15th August
0630 Start. Arrive to find the pump has been attacked by Spiderman and chocks have been nailed to the bed to stop it moving. A quick blast over to St.Albans, and we try and fit the rest of the stuff on. It aint happening so we leave a big pile of equipment, as the rig hasn’t finished here and is only going to the Island to try and help an ailing job out. Leave St.Albans at 0930 with no hope of making the 1130 ferry booking. Arrive at the terminal at Portmouth about 1135 to find it rammed with vehicles, the guy on the gate gives me a lane and I head in to collect tickets and a DG form for the diesel. I notice that the 1130 (which is still there as they are about 20 minutes behind) is the St.Catherine the same ship they stopped me from boarding last week with the Klemm onboard because of the height. So even if I had made it, I’d have had to wait. The guy in the yard throws a wobbler when I give the DG form as I’m in the wrong lane blah blah, didn’t tell the wallah on the gate blah blah. I point out that the drums are not exactly hidden and there is an orange plate on the front. It doesn’t do much good and I start to wonder if they are going to clear all the others and make me wait for the next one. Finally get called for the 1200 and load right at the back, and sail about 1220. Captain apologises for delays and lumps blame onto the St.Clare for causing the delay. Onto the island it’s a slow drag across to Totland to the site. Get to the turning and there are roadworks with traffic lights preventing me from running past and backing in as normal. Drive in and have to attempt to turn round in little tiny cul de sacs of bungalows on steep hills. Nice. Squeeze between a wall and a car and decide to not attempt to reverse down the loose surface slope. The Travis Perkins driver got stuck at the bottom last week, and the first time I came it was dodgy so I stay on solid ground. Getting the toolbox and diesel drums off the back is a nightmare even with a JCB forklift as it can’t get close enough without hitting its mast on the drill mast of the Klemm. Finally all the tat comes off, and then to Klemm off the back. Get to work unstrapping the pump, 3 straps and 6 ratchets later it’s off. Quick bit of broom action, fold the ramps, stow the crane and get them 8 wheels rollin’ back over to Fishbourne. Back at the ferry its on the back of the 1600 and notice a text message on my phone. Can I get to Shepton Mallet 0830, collect a rig across to Lewes, E.Sussex and back to the yard tomorrow. Sit down with the Satnav and it looks to be possible in an ideal world with no hold ups. I pass this on but tell them I’ll do it but am not prepared to run over hours and if delayed will stop before going over. No firm decision is reached and I am told to pick up in the morning and phone for instructions.Off the ferry, I decide I can’t be bothered with running back to the yard, collecting the car driving ½ hour home, and then out at silly o’clock next morning. Straight back to Chelmsford, dump the truck in a layby up the road and get a lift home. End 20.00
Wednesday 16th August 2006
Up before 0500, no enthusiasm for a long day today, less still for cycling uphill to work this morning. Still I manage and am rolling by 0530, usually I am OK once out of the house but this morning I just feel rough and a dip into my lunchbox keeps me going past Fleet, but soon start to struggle again. Onto the A303 I stop at the first garage, and pull into the former Little Chef for 15mins sleep which helps out for a while. It’s a rare outing for the TomTom today and it’s a depressing distance that seems to ebb away slowly. Around the Warminster area it tries to take me down a 17t weight limit and starts going nuts when I drive straight past. (Turn around where possible etc) A quick check of the map shows a route through Frome which is only a little further. TomTom finally accepts defeat and picks up the new route. The address given is just a building name on Commercial St. and I eventually find an old mill / factory (interbrew?) and squeeze around to find the company I need poked into a small office. A cuppa is offered which finally gets my head into gear. They ask if I have gots of lots of experience with moving drilling rigs, as no one is about who knows how it works. Apparently this machine is new and they have never used it themselves, only hired it out once. I suggest that it’ll probably be straight forward enough although have no idea what this thing is going to be. I am then led off to a warehouse across the town to collect the rig. Initial observations are that it should be OK, It’s a self contained unit on rubber tracks and weighs about 4½t similar to our Klemm but about third size. 
I fire it up and track it out of the warehouse just remembering the long drill mast trailing behind as I turn through the open doorway. There is a slight level change and I find the balance point so I know where it’ll tip over the top of the ramps. Ease up to the ramps and hope its not going to slip. All going well, except to the mast top looks like it might hit the ground, unstow the control arm, raise the mast a little and continue up the ramp. Now the control arm is in danger of swinging out and hitting the gate, so I stop and strap it up before continuing up the slope. Alter the angle on the mast to gently tip it over and track forward on to the bed, lower the mast, mover the stabiliser feet and switch it off with a big sigh of relief. Some of these machines can slide on the wooden beaver tail, and it was an unknown machine with its proud owner watching on. A quick whiz round with the chains and I call for onward instructions. Back to the yard is the best response, and I start the long arduous slog back. Apart from it heaving with rain near Thruxton the journey back was nice and easy and arrived back at Harlow just before 1500. No news on tomorrows work, so leave everything as is and head off at 1515.
Thursday 17th August 2006
Phone call last night, Beckenham pick up 0800 so start this morning at 0645 although start talking to one of the department heads who is in the yard for a meeting and leave about 0715. Arrive Beckenham at 0845 and have to back down a tight little driveway with bushes all the way along the drivers side. When I get out I have to unstow the crane whilst standing in a bush.
The DSU's are not stacked correctly in the stillages so i have to shrinkwrap them before loading them on. Although the machine was only a small one, it was a fiddly job trying to get the stillages on board without damaging anything on it. I was determined to make it all fit without having to unchain the machine and move it up a bit. An hour later and I'm off headed for Lewes to tip the machine. The journey down wasn't as bad as I'd remembered and I arrived just before 1200. The address was Timberyard Lane, which is a tiny street around the back of the town with cars parked everywhere. I start to turn in and there are cars behind and cars coming out, eventually I start to edge in between the cars which are making my life hell. One of our drill crew appears and helps to inch me through although it takes a few shunts to get aligned right. How the hell I'll get out again is another matter. I then notice a builders merchant at the end and cannot believe that there are not parking restrictions to allow better access to it.
Just after I have squeezed in, a woman appears and jumps in a green 4x4 that was part of the problem and drives away. I grabbed a couple of cones and blocked the space so I could get out, lucky I did because next minute an artic turned up for the builders merchant and without the gap he'd have never got round. Found a small space and dropped the stillages out of the way and then set about offloading the rig. The crew bod was unsuccessfully trying to start it and looking at all the levers wondering if he was doing something wrong. I tried the key and it started straight away. Lots of nifty lever pulling, and I gently got it tipped onto the ramp and down to the ground before handing it over to the crew. 
Then it was a simple case of reload the stillages, strap down and escape before I got blocked in. Stopped for a 45 in a layby near Eridge and was just dozing off when woken by what sounded like a freight train, actually it was Mick Gould Commercials Peterbilt wrecker towing an artic but the din was incredible. Back on the road again and up the M25 / A2 for the Blackwall Tnl. now I hate going through Northbound on account of having to drift over to the right lane to get round the corners and cut back before the poles start again. I am always nervous about cars alongside. Out into daylight and I start to breathe normally again. A quick hop round to Westferry Rd to collect the 350mm augers, this was the last phase and the CFA rig has already been moved to its next job which is a Travelodge in Oxfordshire. In and out quickly and a blast up the M11 back to Harlow. Back at the yard, I open up, get the forklift out and dump the stuff off ready to be sorted out properly. Lock up and leave about 1730.
350mm augers ex Westferry Rd. This is a brand new set that were delivered abou two or three weeks ago, the blue cutting head is unused but only a short amount of use turns it from shiny and new to dirty. A look around at the equipment in the yard, reveals lots of dirty rusting metal objects. In this job you leave for work one colour and return a different one.
Friday 18th August 2006.
The plan for tomorrow is early start to hit Coventry just after 0800, clear site of DSUs (3 stillages) drop down to Huntingdon to collect some augers and straight back to the yard. I am off on holiday tomorrow night which is why the diary is short. Have got to clear the cab of all my maps and stuff so that no-one can nick them in my absence, just hope that they don't wreck the motor in the space of a week. Tomorrow night I am heading off to Nottingham typical to get a Coventry on the same day. Still at last a chance to spend some time with Mrs 8w and all the small wheels.
Total mileage up to Thursday 1412Kms
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