28th August - 1st September 2006

Monday 28th August 2006 Bank Holiday – No work

Tuesday 29th August 2006 I returned after a week off feeling refreshed and arrived for work at 0630, I hadn’t had a call telling me that I had to be in X place by 8am or whatever so I played it safe and went in usual time. Unlocked the yard and office, no notes or paperwork with keys so I decide to reload the cab with all my maps, wet weather gear and everything else I carry round. The first thing I spot when I open the door is the drivers footwell about an inch deep in mud, doesn’t bode well. I climb in the seat and find fag ash by the door handle and tobacco in the instrument recess. Now I know it was probably too much to hope for a non smoker, but the cab is stickered no smoking. Thankfully it didn’t smell but I would have have hoped that someone could have removed the evidence. I spent the next hour and a half hoovering, cleaning the glass, going to the shop for some antibacterial wipes and generally getting it spotless inside. It turns out that the only delivery for today is a quick trip down to Chattenden in Kent to drop a few bits and pieces, I therefore become white van man and take the Transit Connect. Back at the yard I moan about the filthy **** who drove the truck last week, turns out it was one of the department heads and not an agency driver (Although I later found out that it was an agency driver after all). There is no load to get ready for tomorrow so I use the crane to put some augers away in their slot, rather than move loads with the forklift to get them back. There is talk of having to go to West Bromwich for 0800 tomorrow to take 20m of hose for one of the machines, it won’t fit in our van, but eventually it is decided to get outside transport to take it in a larger van. Result. My boss has to go and leaves me to load the hoses when the driver arrives. Soon a MAN 7½t curtainsider arrives and we try and fork them on, this proves tricky as they are heavy and cumbersome about 5” diameter hose coiled about 2m across. Somehow we manage whilst dodging the rain, and I am done for the day by late mid afternoon. Occasionally I do get the odd day like this, but something usually crops up and spoils the respite.

Wednesday 30th August 2006 The plan today is to collect some hoses from Dalston Lane, Hackney during the morning and trundle down to BRS at West Thurrock for a service at lunchtime. I roll in at 0800 and fiddle about checking my straps, chains and all the other bits and pieces in the toolboxes until about half nine when I set off. It seems weird driving the truck again, as I have racked up nearly 2000 miles in the car & van since last driving it. The site in Hackney is a pig to get to as there are 2 weak bridges from the North and from the East and West you cannot turn where you need to. To get there I have to go all the way to Aldgate to pick up the ring road and then take the A10 north to arrive from the South, today though I miss the turn and have to stop to consult the A-Z, not a problem as I can turn left in Haggerstown Rd which is a B road and will take me right where I need to be. As I approach the junction, there are no weight or height limits and the road is nice and wide. Great. It is great until half way along where there is a sign announcing a 17t Weak Bridge, there is nowhere easy to turn round and even if I did it would probably be tricky to get back onto the A10. Now I know its naughty but there was no-one about so I went over the bridge, and anyway I am only 15½t empty so it aint likely to snap. I arrive at the site and update my map with the bridge, thankfully this should be the last visit here so hopefully it’ll never be a problem again. On site are 6 ballast bags full of helicals (think 2’ diameter slinky) and approx 20m of hose. The hose is used to pump readymix concrete through from the agitator drum to the piling rig, which then pumps it down the hole as the auger comes out. Unfortunately this hose is blocked with concrete that has gone off (hence the West Brom requirement) and is mega heavy and awakward. No matter it is soon on and strapped down and I leave following a low loader who turns left and crosses the 25t weak bridge. I am away at 1130 and am having a good day. Until 1200 when I receive a call, forget the service and go to Lewes to collect a machine, I explain that it wont fit with all the gear on board, so I have to trail back to tip off first, its not too bad as I was only at Limehouse and was back at the yard by 1230. I launched the bags and hoses off and was back out again by 1300, doing some calculations I reckon to be back in the yard by 1800 if the traffic is OK. Going down I go through Tunbridge Wells on the A21 / A26 route and the 25miles from RTW to Lewes drags and drags until finally I arrive at Lewes at 1500 today the cars are not so badly parked on the corner and I squeeze round into Timberyard Lane. I found the drill crew sitting in their van, apparently one of the tracks on the rig wont move and a fitter is coming from Nottingham to sort it out. I phone back for instructions half hoping to get sent back home although it will only mean a return visit probably tomorrow. Whilst waiting for a reply I decide to try and turn around before a car parks somewhere and makes it impossible, unfortunately there is a van already making it impossible so I decide to nip into the builders merchants at the end to turn around, this is not much better as it is pretty tight and they have to shunt one of their wagons and a customer so I can do about 4 shunts to get round. Thanks there to Chandlers of Lewes. I am now facing out and park awaiting instructions, just then a Pirtek fitter arrives to sort out the problem and goes to look at the machine. Unbelievably the machine has fixed itself and will now track again, I leave the crew to manoeuvre it down the alleyway whilst I pull forward, block the road and drop the ramps. Loading is tricky as the mast has to be tilted forward so it doesn’t drag on the ground whilst on the slope, however there are phone lines above and it is a process of track forward some, lower the mast a little, track forward a bit more move the drill head to try and balance the weight. The rig driver bottles it when it gets near the tilt point and lets me take it over, now there is a queue of 4 cars and the builders merchant wagon behind, there is parked car alongside and I have only put this machine on once before when I picked it up two weeks ago. No pressure then. It lands safely and I quickly fold the ramps and get one chain on the front. I pull round the corner and finish securing with more chains and leave Lewes at 1630. I decide to go back via the A27 and A23 /M23 and make J4 M25 in hour, same as going down the A26 route. Traffic is not too bad, a bit by the tunnel but I am out of the yard by 1900. It now seems weird in the car, seems so low and I am miles from the kerb.

Thursday 31st August 2006 0830 start this morning, unfortunately there is no point starting earlier as there is work to be done on the machine before it can be returned. One of our welders from Basildon is there working on it, he is good at his job but can’t be hurried and eventually I am able to leave the yard just before 1030. My journey is to Shepton Mallet where I collected the machine from a couple of weeks ago, Its M25, M3, A303, A36 and A361 it seems to be an arduous journey that takes forever. Down by Warminster a couple of OshKosh tank transporters go the other way carrying the army’s new stealth tanks, I have seen loads of apparently empty tank transporters about but have now sussed it out, they are in fact invisible. I arrive at Shepton Mallet at 1400 and go straight to the workshop to offload. Chains off, ramps down and its time to start doing all the trickery with the levers to track it back safely without it damaging anything, anyone or itself. 15 minutes later its chains away, ramps up and off. I decide to push on to Warminster before stopping, I’ll be almost on 4½ hours there and it will give me a bit extra time to get back if the M25 is rammed solid. Break over and its back on the road, passed about 5 OshKosh units on trade plates all towing tanker (as in fuel) trailers. Looked ridiculous due to the size of the unit. Back up the A303 everything is going OK until there is a jam by Popham airfield. An army APC has lost its right hand track in the 2nd lane and is being winched onto a drawbar trailer by a Foden 6x6 recovery tractor. At least it will be an army vehicle actually carrying something. Up to the M25 and its slow going around by Heathrow, some poor bugger has broken down in lane 5 of the 6 lane section. Eventually it clears and I am back at the yard just after 1900. I open up the office to see what tomorrow will bring, and am overjoyed at the prospect of returning to Lewes again.

Friday 1st September 2006 0500 start this morning, got to be in Lewes early so it’s a quick cuppa and out round the M25 before it gets too busy. Decide to risk going round to the M23 as I can’t face the A26 and just about manage to get past the J5-J6 stretch before it slows down. Arrive in Lewes at 0715 and go to an industrial estate to collect a rig from a company there. The rig is sitting outside ready and someone appears, It looks really wide and I am wondering whether it will be too wide for the guide rails on the ramps, a quick check with a tape measure shows we have 80mm clearance and I let their guy track it up. Fold the ramps and chain it up and it’s a 1.1km 2 minute journey around to Timberyard Lane where I was on Wednesday. Luckily the other guy has come round in his van and takes the machine off and inches it down the alleyway onto site. I am able to turn around today and leave at 0800. I decide to trundle back up the A26 and going this way it doesn’t seem so bad. Stop for a cuppa on the A21 but am lured by the smell of bacon, and lack of workload. An easy run back to the yard and I am done by late morning, making my escape before someone thinks of something else. Total KMs 1181. A bit of a varied week, a couple of bad days and a couple of easy ones