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.