No alarm clocks this morning in the McDonald household, what with the kids on half term and no job to go to, so after a lay in I got up and got on to the task of trying to find some employment. I made up some cards with my name and number on one side and Experienced HGV Class 2 Plant & Hiab Driver on the reverse, laid over a couple of pictures taken in the last year. I laminated these and hit the road to see if I could strike lucky, perhaps someone would have just lost a driver and be about to seek a replacement. First call was a place where I went for interview about a month back, because of my notice and December holiday I was unsuccessful but they wanted to keep my number. There may be a chance of some work here as one of their drivers has gone sick, no promises but it might pay off. Two or three more places with not much and another that might by putting another vehicle on the road soon. A trip into town to show my face at an agency that I have worked for and have been chasing me for a little while, before calling it a day. No work done today but worthwhile in my opinion.
Tuesday 24th October 2006
Largely a repeat of yesterday, dropped a few cards here and there and picked up a couple of contacts to pursue, before dropping in on another agency. This time it was Driver Hire and I was there for nearly two hours filling in forms and doing the questionnaires etc. Amazingly I got all the questions right, except for the last three about night shift workers on WTD. After a quick bite at home about 1500 I walked (cars use petrol and need car parks!) to the dentist about two miles away, and had a call from the 1st agency with a job for tomorrow.
Wednesday 25th October 2006
0630 Start. It has been a while since reporting for duty anywhere new, but at least this place is only about 2 miles from home. Indeed I applied for a job here last year but the transport manager looked aghast at my wages from DBC. There are about 8 or 9 wagons all ready to go, a motley collection a couple of DAF CF’s, an old 55, an FL6 and possibly a Eurocargo lurking somewhere in there. I discover the drivers huddled in a Portacabin and get given my keys, or rather a KitKat wrapper formed into a trianglar shaped key. It’s the S reg he tells me, but the sight of the key is enough to tell me that as I have previously driven the old DAF 55’s and remember only too well. The paperwork is in the cab which seems really low what with this being only a 13 tonner, it’s North London today a total of 9 drops which shouldn’t pose too big a problem. The load has to be strapped and although the motor is a bit of a veteran, it has got decent ratchet straps on board, hopefully this will be an indication that maybe things get looked after here. In the cab I notice there is a knob on the wheel (not one behind it) and wonder if this is an indication that today might involve some tight places. My reality check has started here, from last Friday in an ‘05 FM12 420to today in an S reg DAF 55.180 The radio is crap, the speakers crackly. The mirrors have to be adjusted manually by winding down the windows. The seat is fixed. I trundle off out of the yard. Slowly and noisily, noticing that the rev counter does not work. Lot’s of people overtake me but I overtake no-one. However this is what life entails now and I just think about the money and am grateful to be out earning rather than out chasing work. The first drop is in Enfield on a pleasant little industrial estate by the canal, although I missed the entrance which was not obvious turning round is a doddle, and even turning corners is a piece of cake. The rest of the day was spent trying to find a) industrial estates on roads in Tottenham, Edmonton and the like and b) trying to find the unit and some space to get the dinky toy to it. Everywhere was a squeeze. One call didn’t look right it was a residential road in Hornsey, the house had a garage door that led through to a small metal fabrication works in the basement. I headed back out to the M25 and took a 45 at South Mimms, feeling like a wannabe in my barely bigger than a 7½t noddy wagon. Back to the yard and out at 1545, back hone drinking tea by 1600. Bad news was that no work booked for tomorrow.
9 Deliveries 199 km
Much as I loved the last year and 60,000 Kms driving an 8 wheeler, today is the first time for about a year that I have driven a 4 wheeler and it’s a piece of cake to get position and manoeuvre and really hasn’t been too bad.
Thursday 26th October 2006
0710 zzzzzzzzzringringzzzzzzringringzzzzzzzzzzzringr….whatthefringring what joker is ringing me in the middle of the night? Only it’s not the middle of the night and it’s the agency wanting to see if I’m available today back at IS&G I tell them half an hour and am there in 20 minutes. Today the pack has departed leaving behind a 7½ tonner and a DAF CF which is to be my steed for the day. I am going up in the world, promotion to a V Reg 65.210 although I am not hopeful. As a rule I don’t love DAF’s much, the LF’s seem a bit toylike, the 55’s just too agricultural and the old Leyland freighters that I have driven were worse still. I had driven a few 55.210 18 tonners and found them a bit lumbering so wasn’t looking for great things. Still I had never even been in a CF and was surprised how spacious it was inside, with lots of places to put things something that the FM lacked. Pulling out of the gates I nearly sailed straight onto the main road as the brakes needed a good shove, rather than the gentle caressing that I have become accustomed to. This is because the pedals are so big that my size 13’s can be placed flat on them and being floor hinged require a slightly different technique. Another point to the CF here, as I would often clip the brake when touching the accelerator in the FM due to its dainty little pedals. Although this old war horse was no long legged runner on the motorway, it wasn’t sluggish and seemed OK once I had got used to the pedals. Delivery wise today was a similar story to yesterdays, with cramped industrial estates but 12 deliveries today around Barking and East London. One drop was a nightmare, the address was inmackimtosh lane, next to Hackney Tube sta. This turned out to be In Mackintosh Lane, next to Homerton (BR) station. There was no sign of the company name or any metal fabricators and no-one seemed to know where they might be. I called the number and it turned out the delivery was to a ‘garage’ business that consisted of an open container and a scaffold canopy. To get there involved reversing down the next street and threading through the parked cars to get closeish to the ‘garage’ where the steel was dropped into the adjacent (workshop / office / container) unfortunately this was by far the biggest drop and involved a lot of handballing, some bloke turned up and seemed to be negiotiating some sort of proposed car repair and next thing was wearing gloves and helping(ish) unload. It transpired that the steel was not for the ‘garage’ but someone else and the ‘garage’ owner paid me in cash (over £900) I was fairly confused as no-one was very English and there were lots of strange conversations going on. I was pleased to get away from it all before someone relieved me of the money. Only I couldn’t because someone had blocked me in, after about 20 minutes someone appeared and casually strolled over to their car and drove off. A few drops later I had to deliver to a modern unit in Walthamstow, where the access was tricky because of people parking right up to the corners. I got in OK and was there for about 2 minutes before attempting to leave only to find another dickbrain had parked on the only piece of space left making my exit impossible. Someone located the owner after a while and I continued on to finish off. I got back to the yard, handed over the £1k cash that I had collected and left for home at 1630.
12 deliveries 168Km
Friday 27th October 2006
No work today, but am booked for a skip company on Monday. One of the contacts earlier in the week night turn something up next week, but I shall just wait and see.
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