27/10/14

I am not at work but I thought these two pictures were worth sharing. They are taken from Lambley viaduct which runs over the South Tyne. My wife and I often walked along the old railway track  just for the pleasure of the view. The viaduct was used from 1852 to 1976 when the line was closed.  Thankfully it has had the necessary restoration work to keep it in good repair. I can recommend the walk at any time of year.  See you tomorrow.

24/10/14

mooStarted later than normal, half past six. My first load was for Helmsley store and had been loaded the night before, all except some medicine from the fridge. So I had time to fuel up and complete my paperwork before getting my loading tickets confirmed. I was still there five minutes before the gates were opened. Unloaded and back for my second load, three drops and Carlton store, easy enough. The only trouble was that I had to be in York by 1pm for my tacograph to have its biennial check and I had to fit in a three quarter hour break. Our TC had forgotten that it was booked in, great! My first quarter hour break was taken on a weigh bridge waiting for the operator and the half hour was taken at Carlton store while I was unloaded. I was only ten mins late, amazing. I then had an hour and a half wait while the calibration was done!  Finally I was able to complete my last two deliveries and get back to base.  I am away for the weekend, we are going to Cumbria and just over the border in Scotland to visit friends. I won't be back to work until Wednesday. We have our son's bedroom to decorate just in case he comes back from Canada. But with him you can never tell, he could do anything. See you Wednesday, if not before.

23/10/14

As I was loaded last night I got to spend an extra half hour in bed, I put the alarm off and turned over and nearly forgot to wake up.  I was only saved by my wife's alarm which goes off three quarter of an hour after mine.  It didn't matter but I had intended spending the extra half hour reading.  As it was I was rushing about in the same way as usual.  What I haven't said is I like time to myself in a morning as I aren't worth speaking to until I have imbibed enough caffeine.  My wife, on the other hand, bounces out of bed and attacks the day with the same vigour and energy as she shows a couple of hours later.  Life's unfair sometimes, to both of us.
My work day went OK considering I had two new drops and one of them was 69 Church street.  House drops like this can be testing for an eighteen tonne truck.  As it was I took some advice on the approach and found the house easily enough and made the delivery of nine bags of coal.  The problems only started when I tried to leave.  The best route was to proceed straight down the street for about four hundred yards, turn right onto the main street and continue to the A63 West bound about a mile away.  But there was a long left hand corner between me and the T junction with cars parked on either side nose to tail.  Fair enough I had room between the cars, just, but I couldn't see if anything was coming round the corner.  I finally gave up and backed into a side road and went back the way I came, much safer.  One more farm drop then on to Penistone to collect a load of horse feed before returning to base to unload and load up for tomorrow.  All the rest of the day went well thank goodness.

The picture of this balloon isn't relevant to anything but it is different.  I attempted to take a picture of it in my drivers side mirror but it was drifting too fast.

There can be no excuse fro dressing like this.  Just get on a bike and go for a ride, don't dress for a trip to the Rocky Horror Show.

No wet crow this time, I expect the Oil Seed Rape is too high for it to forage now.

Well stacked, well wrapped and well loaded, but even so I don't know what these two are looking so pleased for.  Its not as if they haven't done it before.  This is tomorrows first job for Helmsley store.

See you tomorrow.

22/10/14

The picture below is real, I have to put this drop, a whole tonne of chicken food, on a pallet on the side of the road.  I have been making this drop off and on for around four years and have never yet met the customer or anyone connected with the customer.  Perhaps they are afraid that if they meet I will expect them to help.  It''s actually a good drop as it is straight off the side of the truck and onto the pallet with no steps to get from one to the other.  But I do find it a little strange that the customer has never put in an appearance, there's usually vehicles around but even if you ring no one answers.  Perhaps they're all vampires and as such can't go out in daylight, poor chickens!  A fate worse than death.  Today was reasonably easy, Carlton store and three drops in the area followed by a collection from Cherry Tree Mill at Pollington.  All went well, even the collection, sometimes there can be a long queue at Pollington two hours or more.  Today I was approx three quarters of an hour from pulling on the weigh bridge to pulling off the weigh bridge loaded.

Again not a great view for a lunch stop. But what's a driver to do?  When you are about to run out of driving hours you have to stop where you can.  Some of you may recognise the view from earlier entries.  I was on my way out from the lost world of Fishlakes and the view is of Dracks power station from across the M62, as I said not great.  But beggars can't be choosers and this was the only pull over between me and Pollington so it just had to be.

o

I have got tomorrows load on and my tickets confirmed so all I need to do is fuel up and off I go.  Four drops and a collection from Penistone.  That's not a bad day but there is a bit of motorway involved, booring! But the alternative is exciting and that's usually very bad.   See you tomorrow.

21/10/14

First job was back to seed dressing, or in this case cleaning. The customer had attempted to drill his beans straight from the combined, not a good idea. He had successfully and comprehensively blocked his drill. Not only that but he was planting weeds along with beans. I'm sure his chemical supplier love's him. The first 50kg of beans stopped the tipping auger dead. I haven't tightened its belts this season so I attended to that laps. During this operation I discovered that the only thing holding one of the pensioners on was the galvanising, the weld had missed the plate. The galvanising had given up the struggle so the tensioner was loose. A pair of mole grips made a temporary repair and I removed twenty five kilos from the weigh box so as not to overload the auger. Things went we'll but cautiously after that and i was  back in the yard by lunch time. I was given the pleasure of swapping a tonne of horse feed that one of my comrades had delivered incorrectly. Yes you're right, no forklift, all by hand. But it's good exercise after lunch. Lastly I got loaded for morning and gained an extra half hour in bed in the morning. See you tomorrow.

20/10/14

A fairly easy day today.  Loaded by seven this morning, First drop for Carlton store, second drop was a farm drop at Ousefleet, which is accessed through Old Goole along a road following the South bank of the Ouse.  The last drop was at a wild bird food manufacturer in Gilberdyke.  The last drop compromised ten half tonne bags.  I hate carrying these bags if I have to carry them stacked two high.  Today I had to do just that.  They are very unstable when stacked and though I always strap them with ratchet straps and tighten them at every stop they still often slip.  Today, though, I managed to keep them standing until I reached my destination.  Once they were off loaded I loaded with ten tonnes of wild bird food to go back to base.  The only irritation to the whole procedure is having to weigh in and out again for the incoming goods.  Strangely I don't have to weigh in or out when collecting goods.

Love them or hate them wind turbines are now a fact of life.  The one in the picture is sited in the adjoining yard to where I was collecting wild bird food.  I don't hate them, in fact, I find the large ones majestic.  I would rather double or treble the amount of wind turbines on the sky line than build a single nuclear  power plant.  Until we can render the radioactive waste safe as it is produced and be completely certain that it is impossible for any radioactive substance to be leaked in any way we shouldn't take the risk.  Its not that I mind creating a little dirt, its that I object to creating waste that could poison a vast area for several thousand years.  Anything that can happen will happen if given enough opportunity  so nuclear power will inevitably lead to accidents which leak toxic waste into the countryside and poison our environment and us.  Nuclear power shouldn't be developed or used, this is the only way to avoid inevitable radiation poisoning that will be the certain result.  On that happy note, see you tomorrow. 

17/10/14

October is over half way gone, why has time changed?  I'm sure time is speeding up, I remember years lasting much longer when I was at school.  I am writing this on Sunday night and am desperately trying to remember what happened on Friday.  That''s another problem I seem to have as I get older, the days all merge together.  Perhaps its due to the changes that have happened to time.  Back to Friday, so far as I can remember everything went well.  My truck is in  for service so I was driving a twelve plate Daf.  This truck is not only newer than my Merc but it is lighter and has, approx, another hundred horse power.  Yes it will climb Whitwell hill on the A64 without having to change down once, never mind three times.  The load for Friday kept getting bigger, initially it was Carlton store and three drops but then I was handed tickets for Malton store and lastly one ticket for Gate Helmsley store.  And all this after delivering a full load of fencing timber to Chop Gate.  But still not to worry everything will only take as long as it takes, and it did.  Really the whole day went well the only bad point was realising that whilst the mirrors on this truck, and there are six attached to the cab, give excellent views of what's behind they create a blind spot to the right.  This is especially apparent when approaching small roundabouts as I found out.  I must apologise to the white van man  whom I very nearly pulled out in front of, I really didn't see you for the mirrors, please accept my humble apologies.  My only excuse was that I'm not used to the vehicle, but at least I did manage to stop in time.  See you all Monday, hope you have had a good weekend.

16/10/14

Why would a cyclist travel along the A19 at before seven in the morning with no lighting? It was still dark. Not only that but he had a large black rucksack on his back making him even harder to spot.  To make matters even worse when I passed him I glanced down at him and found he was wearing black and white diamond pattern Lycra.   I don't know where the performance of the Rocky Horror Show was at that time in the morning but, so far as I can imagine, his going to that show can be the only reason for such attire.  I don't mind cyclists, I even ride a bike myself on occasion, but why do they have to dress like that?  But after that the day got better.  See you tomorrow.

15/10/14

No pictures today, I forgot to take any. But my lunch stop was a lay by on the A64. I hate stopping in such exposed places, every vehicle that passes shakes the truck. Trouble is I had no choice I ran out of driving time. Not a busy day, a drop at our Carlton store and one farm drop. Then a collection of two tanks in Fulford. I've never been there before so I was a little hesitant bug I found it OK. The collection went we'll and I was back in the yard in good time and got tomorrow's load on.  See you tomorrow.

14/10/14

Today hasn't been busy, Carlton store and one drop then a collection of one tonne of seed from Little Airmyn.  On the way to deliver the seed I had to drop off eighty fence posts and pick up eighty which were wrong from East Cottingwith.  Then deliver the tonne of wheat seed to a farm near Pickering.  All went well and I was back in the yard by three pm.  The weather has been miserable, overcast and wet, not a good October day.  We still haven't had a good frost.

A miserable wet day and an uninspiring place for lunch.

The stop didn't look any better through the mirror.

See you tomorrow.

13/10/14

Not yet 8 am and I was sitting in a queue for roadworks at Camblesforth. Great! But the day did get better, but not by much. It has been cold and wet all day. That's not to say that I hate cold, I don't.  There's nothing like a crisp frosty morning. But cold rain being propelled sideways by an unforgiving wind is truly horrible. But other than that the day went we'll with very little out of the ordinary to report. Sorry. See you tomorrow.

10/10/14

Once again a salubrious stopping place to stop for lunch, not the choice I would have made but I ran out of driving hours and only just made this drop.  Some farmyards leave me with a sad feeling. Yards like this were once a hive of activity, you can tell from the buildings that in the 

70's this place was loved and cared for by a forward looking and progressive farmer.  Now, however, the neglect is showing and the whole place is running down towards demolition.  I expect that in a few more years the site will be sold off with a couple of acres and turned into yet another equine fantasy land.  Any remaining land will pass to another farmer.  I know this is progress but I don't have to enjoy it.  

Below is a picture of the rear of a highway maintainance truck which cut me up on the infamous Hopgrove roundabout on the A64.  The driver not only cut me up but then proceeded to brake hard once he had obscured my view of the road in front.  For a fellow HGV driver this was very poor driving and not at all of the usual standard that I have come to expect of fellow drivers.

The day wasn't bad for a Friday, I only had a small load but it compromised One store drop at Carlton and three farm drops followed by a collection from Friendship Estates.  All was accomplished and partially unloaded by five pm.  See you Monday. 

09/10/14

Not the best place to stop for lunch but that's where I was when my hours ran out.  Though the picture does make the situation look better than it was.  There is a large industrial estate immediately on the right.

Two farm drops and Carlton store, the farm drops were rather too well spaced, especially as one of them was only two and a half kilos of rat bait.  I hope there is a lot of profit on rat bait otherwise the transaction will have been made at a loss.  Not good for business and not good for my Christmas bonus.  But enough grumbling, next a collection from Penistone.  It's always a good load at Penistone and today wasn't an exception.  Back to base and I managed to get the collection off loaded though I didn't get loaded for morning.  See you tomorrow.

08/10/14

The day started out in bright sunshine, that is once the sun rose. But it didn't last and the day became overcast. But enough about the weather, it's not that interesting. While driving down the narrow road to my first customer I was brushing the trees with the side of my sheet. On the way out u realised the trees were sweet chestnuts and they had ripe nuts on them. I couldn't resist, I put a glove on and picked a few as I stopped by one of the trees. It's the first time I've ever found nuts big enough to eat. I'll roast them tonight. Today worked out as five farm drops and a collection from Cherry Tree Mill at Pollington. Straight in and out, amazing, I've sometimes had a couple of hours wait. Back to base and got loaded for tomorrow. I get an extra half hour in bed.  The picture below is a sight I enjoy at this time of year, newly emerged grain. See you tomorrow.

07/10/14

Dressed what I hope is the last three tonnes of wheat this season.  Two customers, the first with two tonnes and the second with one tonne.  Thankfully both were close to our base so I didn't have to travel far which was good since it was only a small tonnage.  Both samples of wheat were clean but neither were outstanding.  In both cases it took longer to set up and clean down than it took to do the job.  I was back at base by eleven and loaded my truck for Malton store.  The load was reasonably quickly put together and I got the tickets confirmed and the load delivered by twenty to one.  The second load was a full load for the Helmsley store, it took a bit longer to gather up but I was back at base and loading for tomorrow by ten past four.  I didn't complete the loading but it won't take long to complete in the morning.  I'm back on my usual run tomorrow with one collection of dog and cat food from Pollington.  The day has been cloudy and sullen, nearly raining, not a particularly nice day.  Hence I haven't taken and pictures today, but there's always tomorrow.  See you then.

06/10/14

Back to driving today and what a miserable day it was.  The only high point was that I managed to get loaded before it started to rain properly.  I had Carlton Store two farm drops and a collection from Old Goole.  The Carlton store drop was small and didn't take long, the coffee took longer but was much appreciated, we do have to have breaks you know.  ;-)  The first farm drop was one tonne of horse feed, it had to come off by hand but that was the only exercise that I got today so I was happy to do it.  The second farm drop I completed on the way back, three gates and fittings.  At Old Goole I dropped of two empty IBC's and collected an IBC full of fish oil. I didn't know fish needed oiling but there you are!

The best picture of the day was this solitary crow which was searching a newly emerged crop of oilseed rape in the rain.  It seemed intent on its search but it really was a miserable day and I can't think that it was having much fun.

Not a very inspiring place to stop for lunch in the rain but beggars and drivers can't be choosers.

Seed dressing again tomorrow, perhaps for the last time this season but we shall see.

See you tomorrow.

03/10/14

Sunrise on the A169 looking towards Robin Hoods Bay across the North Yorkshire Moors.

This should have been my last day of seed dressing wheat until next year.  Not so, I'm out again on Tuesday.  I had only one customer today with five tonnes of wheat to clean and dress the customer was based near Saltburn, North of Whitby.  I have been to this customer several times in the past so there were no surprises.  Everything was going well until my intake auger stopped rotating.  After a bit of digging around in the intake hopper I found a lump of concrete about the size of a half brick.  Augers don't like things like this, they tend to throw a hissy fit and refuse to work until the offending article is removed, the auger did just that.  Peace was restored and the auger happily continued working for the rest of the job.  The second auger complained a little as a smaller piece of concrete had passed up the first auger and into the second but after a lot of rattling and banging it spat it into the cleaner which promptly removed it, no problem.  Job done and back to base before lunch.  After lunch, a flask of tea, I'm slimming, back to driving.  One store drop at Malton, one drop at A19 Koi Carp, which, surprise surprise in on the side of the A19.  And one drop at a boarding kennels.  All done easily enough and I had the pleasure of driving a nearly new Daf.  What a powerful little truck, on the way back I came up Whitwell hill on the A64 without changing down, amazing.  Monday I'm back to my normal delivery area, it'll be good to be back.  But, Tuesday back to seed dressing.  I know I will have some beans to clean later this month but I was hoping I'd finished with wheat, barley and oats.  See you Monday.

02/10/14

Ten to six in the morning seems a little early to be washing a truck.  But there's no accounting for for what some people think of as normal.  No it wasn't me, I'm not that keen.

Today should have gone well, everything was ready and I only had four and a half tonnes of wheat to dress at Bridlington.  But it wasn't to be, why should I be surprised?  As usual I went to start the generator set on the dresser to be sure everything was running.  It wouldn't start, I found our mill engineer, expecting him to wave his magic wand and everything would be OK.  Not a hope, after two and a half hours and a phone call to the manufacturers still nothing.  So yours truly had the pleasure of a ride into Hull to the manufacturer to get it repaired before going on to Bridlington.  I don't enjoy driving round Hull and I have serious doubts if anyone does.  But I found the manufacturer easily enough.  The engineer climbed onto the machine and pressed the start button to see what faults the system showed.  Yes you've guessed it, the damned thing started and kept running smoothly.  Obviously I had been pressing the button with the wrong hand, what an idiot.  Tomorrow I'll remember to use my left hand not my right.  ;-)  The engineer looked serious, brought out lots of expensive looking tools and poked about, he ended up using a thermal imaging camera, shouldn't everyone carry one?  The camera showed that one of the cylinders is failing and I hadn't blown the radiator out for the last few days but little else.  The final verdict was that there was a lot of dust clinging to the machine and it could do with a thorough service.  Tell me something I didn't know.  But he will report to the mill engineer who will tell our boss and the whole thing will be ignored for another year.  Perhaps it will eventually blow up, I would like a new one. I did manage to brighten up my day by taking a picture of the Humber bridge while sitting in a queue on the A63 caused by a van man running into another vehicle. 

Cats always find the warmest spot to sit.  The two below were seated in the sunshine on the bales (when the sun was out, that is.  Even cats can't arrange the sun.)

I finally made it to my only customer of the day and duly cleaned and dressed four and a quarter tonnes of wheat.  I hope tomorrow goes better, it should be the last day for dressing grain, only beans to go.  I hope!  See you tomorrow

01/10/14

Still seed dressing.  Two customers today, the first was only two tonnes so the whole operation including setting up and taking down didn't take more than an hour.  I noticed that the bags were fuller than I would have expected, so at the second customer I set up my platform weigh to check.  Sure enough my batch weigh was out by three to four kilos every fifty so I finished the job with the weigh platform in use.  I hate the thing, it gets in the way.  When I got back to the yard I checked the batch weigh over and discovered that it was off one of its hinge points.  No wonder it wasn't correct.  After putting it back together correctly I checked it and it seems OK again.  Thank goodness for that.  I'm going to Bridlington in the morning, no not for a paddle in the sea, I'm dressing seed for two customers there.  The job is only four and a half tonnes so it shouldn't take long, then its back to the yard.  I am told that I will then be taking a load to our Seamer store, the only trouble is that it appears that I won't have a truck.  I'm a little baffled as to how I'm going to do the job without a truck but who am I to question my instructions.

I stopped to look over a bridge today on my way to my second customer.  Look what I saw below the bridge.  I hate swans, very conceited birds, full of their own importance.

The view the other way was good though.  The river is the Derwent and I was stood on Howsham bridge.

See you tomorrow.