31/03/14

Last day of March and the year has only just begun, how does time pass so quickly?  Today has been an easy day for a change.  Carlton store and three farm drops and one mill collection, all went well and I was back in the yard just after three.  I even got loaded for tomorrow and as it is a local store drop I get a little longer in bed, amazing.  There is nothing more to say about today, very boring really.  See you tomorrow.

28/03/14

Back to seed dressing again this morning and worst of all the job was five tonnes of oats.  But on the good side I was inside a large shed with a well laid floor, though this does make the dust worse I was protected from the weather.  The job went well with no blockages and I was finished and back in the yard by half past ten.  I think this will probably be the last seed dressing of the spring season so the dresser will need a good clean down and a list of repairs and modifications will need preparing.  The spring season is only a short one compared to the autumn work when both dressers will be working for up to eight weeks solid so they need to be in good repair before we start.  Once back in the yard I was back to delivering, firstly a full load to our Malton store, easy enough.  The second load was nearly a full load to our Helmsley store.  While getting my tickets confirmed I asked about the work for Saturday as I knew we would be leading fertilizer from Middlesbrough.  As it was still short of midday I asked if it would be possible to go from Helmsley to Middlesbrough, collect and deliver one of the next days loads.  I had already worked out that it would hardly be possible to complete Saturdays work within my driving hours.  After a phone call to Bunns it turned out that it would be possible so off I went.  The Helmsley load was off loaded easily and quickly and off I went to Middlesbrough.  I had to collect the load from two different docks, Terra and Dawsons.  Terra is a great place to collect from, the man who loads is the best loader of bagged fertilizer I have ever met, the dock is well ordered, we all like to collect from there.  If anyone from Bunns reads this triple the man's wage, he would still be cheap at the price as he is worth four or five of the louts at Dawsons.  As I expected the first part of the load was loaded with the usual efficiency and I was out within less than half an hour.  Dawsons was another story.  I was treated to the Dawsons run around if full measure.  Once I had been to the office and collected my papers I was sent round the corner to load straight off a ship.  Round the corner I was waved away and pointed to the other end of the dock with no explanation.  Being used to these moronic idiots I went to where I supposed the arm waver indicated.  I eventually found a man on a forklift who promptly sent me back to the arm waver.  This time I actually managed to get one of the arm waving idiots to speak and apparently they had stopped off loading the ship for the day, it was all of half past three!  The arm waver then sent me back to the fork lift driver who had just sent me to the arm waver.  By this time my patience, which though slightly better than my younger days still isn't good, was wearing thin.  I went back to the office and holding tightly to my temper asked where I was supposed to get loaded, by this time there was an artic also getting the Dawsons run round treatment.  The man in the office called someone on the radio and finally directed me to shed five at the other end of the dock and two more arm wavers on forklifts deigned to load both me and the artic.  The next trick was not to give me an exit permit so the gate man had to send me back to the office to get the exit permit which I had asked for in the first place but had been assured it would be issued by the loader.  It was nearly five by the time I got away from the bloody awful place.  Both Dawsons and Terra are operated by Bunns, what the hell are they playing at?  I have never met a drive who has a good word to say about Bunns at Dawsons dock.  As far as I'm concerned the whole lot aren't worth paying in plastic washers the bloody place should be shut or even sunk into the Tees never to be seed again, the world would be a better place without it.

27/03/14

One load to Carlton store and area and another load to Carlton area, going as far south as the edge of Doncaster.  Since I was loaded the night before for the first load it was nearly possible to complete the days work on time.  I had to leave two drops off the second load otherwise I knew I had no chance and the company doesn't let us have night out money.  The first load went well enough and I got back to base with enough time to load the second load and get it out.  I finally ran out of driving time and had to give up and go back before completing the last drop, leaving it for another driver the following day.  On the way to the last drop I came across a sight I haven't seen for many years, a very old orchard made up of large fruit trees.  Not only was this orchard obviously ancient but it appeared to be well maintained with the grass surrounding the trees kept short.  I did stop and take some pictures but I'm afraid they don't do justice to the sight.

As I said the pictures don't do justice to the view.

26/03/14

As I expected today's work wasn't possible to complete in the time allotted. I adjusted the drops to allow me the greatest chance of completing all the drops but it still didn't work.  It would have but I called the mill drop before setting off out of the yard and found they shut at half past four and it would have been quarter to five at the earliest when I arrived so it was no go.  But I loaded some of tomorrows load as well as the rest of today's so tomorrow I stand a chance of completing the work, today's and tomorrows by tomorrow night.  I know it sounds daft but I hate not completing the work I have tickets for in the day, that's just the way I am. See you tomorrow.

25/03/14

Seed dressing, or more correctly seed cleaning as this customer is an organic farmer.  Not only is he an organic farmer but he appears to be a good one.  Both the barley and the oats were quality seed and I'm sure they will grow well.  I had cleaned all five and a half tonnes and was back at base before noon.  The afternoon job was a full load to the Ruswarp store, an easy run and a good drop, then back to base and collected my tickets for the morning.  Looking at what I have to do tomorrow I doubt if it is possible but I shall try and what gets done will get done.  See you tomorrow.

24/03/14

Very strange day today.  For reasons that I don't fully understand I was given a completely different area.  It's not that I haven't done this run before but I don't get it often.  There was nothing remarkable about the day and all went well.  The day started in thick fog and I declined turning right across the A64 and crossing it again on the way out and decided to do this drop last, much safer. Back in the yard by half past three and collected my papers for the morning.  Seed dressing again, but hopefully it will be the last time this spring.

21/03/14

Seed dressing again today, but on the good side I had to drive through this place to get to my first customer. Sands End, a beautiful place on a sunny day

Looking at the tree below its not hard to tell which way the prevailing wind blows from.  Even a jaded driver can get a clue.

The pictures below are the view from the yard I was working in. Last time I was here we were working in snow, quite deep snow for the time of year and the water pump had to be thawed out before we could start.  Today we dressed eight tonnes in short order, packed and departed to the final customer half an hour before time to be there.  As you can see some of the views of the countryside above Whitby are fantastic. 

20/03/15

Back to driving today. First load was a full load too Carlton store. Easy enough run and back to base by then thirty. Second load to Carlton area, five farm drops and a collection from that wonderful place Little Airmyn, four bags of seed. Did the collection after first three drops. In and out with no problem and completed the last two drops. Both drops were along the canal side at Newport. Had to have another break as my hours were up. Fair enough I did have the first beak whilst loading the second load, so no time wasted.  See you tomorrow.

19/03/14

Seed dressing again today. First stop was a regular customer whom I like. Threaten is near Old Byland, which is a blink and you miss it little village a few miles from Reivoux.  The job was only one and a half tonnes  and didn't take long. I even got a cup of tea and some cake, a very happy driver. The next job! What can I say? The gentleman farms in an organic style, this means he doesn't receive chemical or fertiliser bills.  But to do the job correctly it requires a lot of effort, planning and dedication and this man certainly doesn't have what it takes.  Besides I think its immoral, it a world that short of food and part of the population is starving, to produce in a less efficient and productive way.  The people who claim that organic farming is farming in a sustainable way are deluded.  The UK is only sixty percent self sufficient in food, if we were to turn organic this would halve the production leaving the UK only thirty percent self sufficient.  Hence the only way to make this work is to get rid of or kill off seventy percent of the population.  I don't know about you but I want to be part of the remaining thirty percent.  I don't think sustainable farming has a future, I can't imagine seventy percent of the population volunteering for euthanasia, can you?  The last customer was fine, a normal sensible farmer who wanted two tonnes of seed cleaning and dressing, simple and easily done.  Back to base just after five.  See you tomorrow.

  A good view, too good for an organic farmer.

18/03/14

Not a bad view for a lunch stop, its not the first time I've stopped here and it is worth it for the view.  Been to Little Airmyn again today to collect what I hope will prove to be the last load of seed for the spring season.  Thankfully I don't get sent on this particular pick up in Autumn because I'm usually too busy seed dressing thank goodness.  Five farm drops on today's load starting with a farm at Shiptonthorpe and ending with a farm at Lockton.  All the drops went well and I wasn't long unloading at any of them.  And even better I met no idiots thankfully.  Lets see what tomorrow brings, I'm seed dressing again.   

17/03/14

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this sunrise, just before six this morning, the picture doesn't to justice to the spectacular sight that it was. Seed dressing today four customers for eleven tonnes of barley luckily enough an easy day for a Monday.  All went well and there is nothing to report for the day, I was back at base and clocked off by quarter to five.  See you tomorrow.

14/03/14

I regard fourteen as an unlucky number for me so I approached the day with resignation and patience.  I was seed dressing all day and my first call was well above Whitby near Saltburn by Sea.  I have dressed seed here before, though only once, so I knew what to expect and it wasn't bad.  But when the trailer was backed up  to the half tub I use as a reception hopper there was a problem, as shown in the picture below, the tipping chute was almost twice as wide as the tub.  

However with a little ingenuity on the part of the customer and an empty tonne potato bag and two mole grips and two G clamps on my part we came up with a very satisfactory system and it didn't leak grain.  All went well and though I arrived half an hour late I left on time.  The second customer was in the middle of Thornton le Dale and, embarrassingly, though I could see the farm I couldn't for the life of me remember how to find the entrance to the yard and had to call the customer.  As it turned out I should have taken notice of the map I found on the post code finder it was correct.  Again all went well and the job was completed quickly and well.  The last customer was the customer who I didn't get to on Monday, but I arrived half an hour early and again the job went well and I was back in the yard by half past four and clocked off by ten to five for a change.  See you Monday, seed dressing again.

13/03/14

Started the day having to load, not being back in time to get loaded the previous day.  When I collected the tickets I found a note attached to the first load suggesting that I mix and match the loads as they were both to the same general area.  So for the first load, which was Carlton store I added two drops which, though they were hand ball were easy enough, weeding out all the drops that might be difficult for the second load.  The first load went as predicted and all the drops were easy enough.  I had left my tickets for the second load at base and as I hoped the load was picked when I got back, as it turned out I am pleased it was.  First drop required a call before setting off, three hundred stakes several tensioning posts and several three hundred meter rolls of wire fence.  The customer expected me to off load by hand on my own and stack it in his drive,  while I could have done this it would have taken me the rest of the day and he wouldn't have been able to get to his house.  Luckily when this was pointed out he managed to find a neighbour with a fork lift and it was lifted off for me.  His other problem, if I had tipped it by hand, would have been that he would have to handle every stake again.  Some people!  The rest of the drops went OK but I did run out of hours again and had to have another three quarter hour break all of which meant I didn't get back into the yard until eight in the evening, but that;'s life sometimes.  See you tomorrow.

10/03/14

A trying day is the best way to describe if. I was left feeling irritated by the time I clocked off. I spent the day seed dressing, which in itself isn't a problem. I had six customers over five locations, and here in lays the problem. With each location I need nearly half an hour to set up and a similar time to pack up and clean down. This time is increased if I have to change riddles as I do when changing from barley to oats. This meant that today I had nearly five hours off unproductive time not counting travelling time between locations. In short it wasn't possible to complete the work in the time allotted. To add insult to injury my notes said to call the customers off I was going to be late.  This takes at least five minutes per call and that's if the numbers provided are correct, which they often aren't.  Needless to say I didn't bother making any calls, especially as I have never been given any contribution to my phone bills. All went reasonably well, though I was running about an hour late when I got to the last but one customer. Then a bolt holding the weights for my batch weigh broke, not an unforeseen problem and I do carry a spare, but it all takes time. And this customer increased his order by a tonne.  All completed and on my way to the  final customer of the day when I get a call from the office to say that the customer isn't able to wait any longer and has gone for his tea.  I haven't stopped all day, my flask is untouched and he needs his tea. I was angry with everyone when I got back to the yard, but being sensible for a change I kept my mouth shut, went home and cooked tea for my wife, our son and his girl friend.  See you tomorrow.

11/03/14

Compared to yesterday today was easy. A load form base to Carlton store and one farm drop on the way. A collection of seed from Woodheads Seeds at Little Airmyn, five farm deliveries and the remainder back to base for delivery by others tomorrow. All went we'll and I was back in the yard by five. I was running about an hour late all day but after yesterday I didn't care. Using my last days holiday tomorrow for a trip to the dentists. Dentists terrify me and have done since I was a child, I'm not looking forward to my last day off. Our holiday year starts in April, I have no idea why, so we have to use up any remaining days by the end of the month. See you on Thursday.

07/03/14

Bad day, a very bad day.  I spent the day seed dressing, or trying to.  I won't bore any readers with a blow by blow account of the day as I'm sure it will read a tediously as it went.  It wasn't that I had a large tonnage to dress it was that I came across, for want of better polite words, a confused, disorganised and confusing customer mid way through the day.  It took over three times as long as it should have done to complete the work, due solely to the customer.  By the end of the day I was in a horribly bad mood and had a late finish to the day, I hate a late finish on a Friday, any other day I don't mind but Friday I expect and hope to finish by five.  Since I start at six in the morning I don't think this is too much to ask but on Friday it was.  It wasn't that my work couldn't be completed in the time allotted, it was only due to the one customer.  Please note I haven't named the customer, his place of abode or any detail that could identify him.  See you on Monday, lets hope for a better day.

Here's to Monday.

06/03/14

One delivery to Carlton store, one cup of coffee, a collection from Woodheads seeds and several farm deliveries then one five hundred kilo bag back to store.  i don't intend to dewll on the collection, I have grumbled about this collection often enough and I have emphasised that its not the yard staff that are the problem.  The deliveries were well spread but easy enough and all made with no problems.  The last delivery was the one I will comment on.  The yard is a little tight, but I knew this before I started down the farm drive, I have been there before.  No, the interesting or possibly poignant aspect was the farm and the people.  The farm sits in a beautiful setting and is within easy walking distance of Kirkbymoorside.  But I doubt that anything has been spent on it for the last fifty years.  Its the sort of place that you can imagine a couple setting up home on with all the expectations and hopes for a new and profitable existence.  Only to have those early hopes slowly eroded by life and circumstances leaving only continuous existence and daily grind.  When the couple who are farming it at the moment give up or pass beyond that final stackyard someone else will take over with new hopes and expectations and the cycle will continue.  Its not that I think there is anything wrong or misguided about the way of things in the agricultural world, its rather my sorrow for the situation of farming on a smaller scale.

05/03/14

Seed dressing today, six customers at three farms.  Nineteen tonnes in all.  This amount isn't a problem but when it is for six customers over three locations it is a very full day.  By the time I had finished I was itchy, my eyes were watering and I was knackered.  tea and a shower and I'm feeling human again.

The most interesting thing about today was the could formation that was hovering over us this morning.  A sky like this usually bodes ill, it's usually a sign of a change coming.  Though the day was unremarkable it did go reasonably well.  See you tomorrow.

04/03/14

A rather tedious day, collected seed corn and seed beans from Woodheads Seeds at Little Airmy and delivered it.  The only remarkable thing about the day was how long it took to complete all the deliveries.

This was the track out of the last but one delivery.  I wonder how long it took to wear the track this far below the surrounding surface.  See you tomorrow.

03/03/14

Back to work after a weekend that was far to short.  Why is it that weekends pass so quickly?  I had loaded my first load for today on Friday, washed and filled the fuel tank of the truck so I was on the road just after six this morning.  First drop was a full but mixed load to a farm at Wragby near Pontefract.  The load consisted of cattle feed, fertilizer, fencing wire, fencing posts and some cattle wormer, a truly mixed load.  An easy run back to base and collected my tickets for my second load.  On examination I found that the total weight was half as much again as my truck is allowed to carry, back to the office and managed to convince out transport co-ordinator that what he was asking wasn't possible.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to convince him that it would be a good idea to get rid of the two drops that took me well out of my way.  I knew that if I completed them I would be hard pushed to complete the mill collection that he had given me, but mine isn't to question why, mine is to do as I'm told.  So off we go, first drop easy enough, a farm drop at Laytham, it all came off with a loader.  The second drop, at North Newbald, was as I expected, all by hand and on my own, just over two tonnes of animal feed.  I don't mind the work but I needed to be on. Oh well, it all came off easily enough and was neatly stacked in its correct place, though I didn't take my usual precaution and photograph it when I had finished, didn't see the customer.  Its strange how often we don't see the customer when there is a lot of hand work to do, and if the customer does appear he or she usually has a bad back.  Then a long run, for us, to our Carlton store, I was very grateful for a coffee by this time.  As it was just after three by this time I called the mill I was to collect from to check last loading times, four thirty, a little too tight for comfort.  I called our transport co-ordinator who seemed a little miffed that I wasn't going to be able to make the collection.  The next drop was a farm drop, three six hundred kilo bags of fertilizer, thank goodness the customer didn't expect me to unload this by hand.  The last drop was a simple farm drop, quarter of a tonne of animal feed, it all came off with a loader.  By the time I had unloaded my last drop it was after half past four, there was no way I could have made the collection, just not possible in the time frame so the collection will have to wait.  Back in the yard and clocked out by six, a busy day.  See you tomorrow.