Bit of variety

I'm having some camera issues at the moment so I'm not blogging as usual, the camera phone quality is not great so it's not really worth bothering with. However I did know that today might be quite good so I borrowed a camera so I could make a one day entry.

Friday 25th April 2008
0630 Start. Off down the A12 to Romford this morning, in to school early to pick up our mini, it's going direct from one job to another so I refuel it in the school car park and slosh diesel over the ground. It quickly gets loaded and I'm off to nearby Upminster to deliver it.


Next is a job that never got done yesterday, it's a collection in Harlow which is a short hop around the M25 and up the M11, in fact it takes as long to get acoss Harlow as it does to get there on the motorway. I'm loading a 5t JCB that we'd cross hired in for a customer, after it's on I get under way and suddenly realise that I haven't had a cuppa this morning. I'm drying out and looking like a walnut when I stop at 0945 on the way out of Harlow.



The 5t machine goes back to Chelmsford, and I trundle over to Great Baddow to load a Unimog from the dealer there.





Just the one today, this one has come from Ireland and has been sold in as is condition. Starting it is done with a crowbar across the solenoid. No doubt a few quid spent here or there will improve things a bit, there's some iffy looking hoses on the crane but it's anyone's guess if they'll get changed by the punter before they blow. I like Unimogs, they are interesting bits of kit and actually one you've worked out what everything does fairly easy to operate. They are easy to chain on and sit nicely unlike a wheeled digger which is a similar size and weight.

This one is going over the water, well to Sutton Valence in Kent in fact. It's just round the corner from a piling company I used to go to so directions are no problem. Time is starting to catch up with me however so I stop for half hour at the bottom of Bluebell Hill on the way in.

The yard where the 'mog is bound for is down a twisty lane, I've been down some of these and when the guy reckons I won't make it I don't argue. There's a handy layby on the main road where we offload and he drives it up the road himself.

My next job is over at Dagenham Dock, yesterday morning I dropped a tractor off for a drilling company at Hanson's Wharf. It's ready for collection today at 1600 and I head straight there, I'm early on site at just past three but I wanted to the next bit so I parked up on the jetty out of the way.



The tractor had some drilling equipment mounted on it and had been working on a barge.











Whilst wandering about I noticed a little crane for hoisting a gangplank out with, this panel on it made me laugh.



Once everything was craned off the barge, they simply chugged off.



The tractor was loaded at 16.05 and I left Hansons at 1620. Unfortunately the traffic in Essex was horrendous and I didn't reach their Latchingdon yard until 1800. After a quick unload it was off back to our yard for a 1830 finish. 386Km