29/05/15

Friday and the last working day in May, thank goodness.  Today's load was a complicated load, all in all a bit of a jigsaw to put together.  But we had it on in around two hours.  Other than it being an awkward load there was nothing unusual about it.  The day went well and I was back in the yard by half past four.  Other than encountering some strange driving behaviour on the A64 the day was wholly unremarkable. I'm just about to attempt to fill in an application for a new job, I don't think my chances are high but I'm going to try.  See you on Monday.

28/05/15

Thursday was a late start, 7am.  I was loaded the night before and my first load was a one drop load to Helmsley store.  Even with the late start and thorough check of my truck I was still waiting for a quarter of an hour for the store to open.  The second load was to my usual area and didn't contain anything that was in any way unusual.  All was completed easily enough and I was back in the yard before five pm.  This isn't usual when I have a late start, normally a late start leaves me finishing at around seven, but not today.  See you tomorrow.

27-05-15

An irritating day today. It started out well enough. Only one load, though it was a long run round it wasn't too bad. The load went on OK but the trouble started when I got my tickets confirmed. Our TC then and only then, gave me a collection of which I had no previous knowledge. Because of where it was from my loading was completely wrong and I was going to be in the wrong place when I completed my drops. And shirt of unloading and reloading there was nothing I could do. Consequently I had a seven pm finish. Oh well, think of the overtime. See you tomorrow.

26/05/15

It's the end of May on Sunday, thank goodness. I hate May, if it can go wrong it will go wrong in May. June, however, is usually a good month. Perhaps I'm too superstitious, but it's my own superstition and I'll live with it.  Today was the first work day of the week, Monday being a bank holiday. Today was a break from routine, first a part load to the Whitby store then a collection of fertiliser from Middlesbrough and deliver it to a farm in Old Malton. All easy enough and it was a good day for a ride over the North Yorkshire Moors even though the Heather isn't flowering yet. Back to base and loaded for the Kirkbymoorside store. Once again an easy run and soon completed. I even got started collecting goods for tomorrow. Amazing. See thou tomorrow.

20/05/15

My first drop today was an addition after I was loaded but it was only a small item and I was going to the Acaster Malbis so it wasn't really a problem.  The second drop was two wooden gates, no problem.  The third drop was just as bad as I thought it would be, one hundred and ninety four fence rails and one hundred and twenty eight six foot five by three posts, all to be off loaded by hand on my own.  After an hour and twenty five I was warm and finnished. And what a nice stack of timber it all made.

After that I found a cafe on an industrial estate that I was passing and had a beef burger and a very nice piece of banana loaf.  Yes it was probably bad for me but after the exercise I had just had I didn't care.  The rest of the day went well though it was a late finish for what should have been an easy day.  But I had a good day and I didn't get wet.  See you tomorrowl

19/05/15

The BBC forecast today threatened us with heavy rain, thunderstorms and general mayhem.  In short the sort of weather that would have Noah rushing for his adze and another plank of wood.  It didn't happen, or at least it hasn't happened yet.  So today wasn't bad at all, it was nearly pleasant with only a little rain.  My first load was feed only to Kirkbymoorside store, the daft thing was that there were three of us going to the same store and all before eight and it doesn't open till eight.  Just the way to get the day off to a fast start.  It turned out not to matter as I only had Carlton store and two drops followed by a collection at Howden dyke.  There was nothing problematic about any of the drops or the collection and all went well.  I even got back in time to get unloaded but not soon enough to re load.  Unfortunately I checked my tickets for the morning, always a bad idea.  My second drop is one hundred and ninety fence rails and one hundred and twenty eight five by three by six foot fencing posts. That't not the problem, the problem is that they are all to come off by hand and as usual for this drop there will be no help.  That's something to look forward to in the morning.  See you tomorrow.

18/05/15

We are now over half way through May and I'll be glad when we are into June the year can then slow down for me.  Trouble is it won't; but that's life.  May is always a disappointing month for me, it's never as warm as it promises to be.  The old adage of "never cast a clout until May is out" sits well with me.  Today has been wet, not too cold but very wet.  It was that horrible sort of rain that isn't hard and doesn't look like its bad enough to soak you, but it is and you end up damp all day.  Apart from the rain the day went well and I even had the pleasure of a ride back over the Humber bridge, which I always find a pleasure.  There's another dead badger on the A64, that's at least four on that particular piece of road in the last couple of months.  Perhaps the badgers in that area are particularly stupid specimens of the species but if they continue that line will become extinct.  I was back in the yard in time to get loaded but I didn't, there was an artic and another truck in loading, that's me out of luck.  First load tomorrow is a straight load of feed to Kirkbymoorside store.  Late start tomorrow seven pm.  See you then.

13/05/15

Today has been bright and warm all in all a pleasant day to be out on the road.  The work hasn't been too arduous though I did have one delivery that fell within the criteria stipulated on the paperwork that I objected to yesterday.  I got a very funny look when I suggested that I was supposed to ask for a photo id.  The customer informed me that until a month previously he didn't have any photo id but he now had a passport.  Some of the farming community leads very sheltered lives.  The work went well but I was half an hour late for my final delivery, mainly due to having to weigh in and out twice at Howden Dyke.  I watched a kestrel hawk drop on something on my way out this morning but I was passed before I had chance to see if the strike was successful. See you tomorrow.

12/05/15

Today the deliveries were good, even the first load to Malton store.  What was not good was the piece of paper which we were asked to read and then sign another sheet to say we had read it;.  Basically the paper placed us, that is the drivers, in the position of refusing to deliver goods if the goods were paid for over the phone by a credit or debit card whilst not allowing us to know which drops had been paid for in this way.  So basically we are left liable for office staff selling incorrectly and leaving the company open to fraud.  This has come about because the office has twice fallen for a stolen credit card scam.  So we are to take responsibility for office mistakes and are given no guidance as to which drops may fall under the auspices of the set of instructions.  This is also a failure of due care for us as employees, as it seems the office is able and willing to put us at risk by processing dodgy deals and leaving us to refuse delivery.  It's not that I'm a nervous small person it's just that I don't like the idea of being placed in a situation that could endanger me by people who go nowhere near the customer.  To make matters worse when I brought up the problem I was treated as a winger.  All in all I'm very unhappy with the situation and am checking the employment prospects for a driver of even someone who can lift heavy things.  See you tomorrow.

11/05/15

Monday and back to work.  What fun!  No it's not that bad, not really.  I was locked out of the loading area on Friday night as there was an artic in unloading when they shut the gate but I was able to drive straight in.  The load wasn't large but, as usual, the drops were well spread and since the Selby bypass is closed I had a long run round.  Starting at Acaster Selby which has only one way in and out down a narrow little road, nice place though but no local pub in walking distance.  Not that that has any bearing on my days work. First drop done and on my way to the next, only a small drop and I met the customer in the entrance to his drive and passed the goods through the window, I didn't even get out of the cab.  Third drop was a run out to correct the mistake on Thursday, with the correct product this time.  There was even someone there to off load and I wasn't long with the customer.  Another long run from Pontefract to Newport, that's Newport near Brough, not Wales. We don't go that far thank goodness.  I off loaded at Newport by myself, it was only a small drop and didn't take long.  Then a short run to Gilberdyke with eight twenty five kilo bags of wild bird seed ordered by non other than my own Mother so at least I was able to scrounge some lunch.  The last drop was Carlton store and was only a single pallet of feed.  I had a collection of horse feed from Walden Stubbs or is it Stubbs Walden I can never remember.  But once again everything went well and I was back in the yard just before five but I was to late to pull into a loading space.  But still you can't have everything.  See you tomorrow.

08/05/15

Guess where I am in the queue to load.  Correct at the back, great start to the day.  A mixed load today and I'm dropping the deliveries in a different order than the one of choice to allow for the closure of part of the A63 around Sleby.  First drop is a scissor lift to Gate Helmsley store, they must be getting some painting done.

The gap between the cars doesn't look bad in the picture but getting though involved putting the right wheel on the pavement to get enough angle to miss both cars.  I missed scratching them  by less than six inches.  Some people seem to leave their brains in bed when they get in or out of a vehicle. I had already passed through here on my way to the second drop, these vehicles weren't parked like this when I passed through about a half hour previously.  At least one of the drivers must have idiotic tendencies but I couldn't say which as I don't know which car was parked there first.  Apart from this the day went well enough and I even had time to clear all the used pallets and other accumulated detritus from Carlton store by way of a return load.  The only real problem with the whole day was that it started to rain hard before I got home, I wanted to cut my grass.  See you Monday have a good weekend.

07/05/15

Thursday was frustrating, it's now Saturday and Thursday is still frustrating.  It started out well enough.  The first load was a full load for Carlton store.  The load included quite a lot of fencing timber, which is always awkward to fit in in the most space saving way, but it loaded reasonably well.  As did the feed which made up the remainder of the load.  The run to Carlton from base usually takes a little over an hour to an hour and a quarter depending on the traffic.  But as the A63 is closed for a small but significant proportion of its length I have to take a different route, this added to the drive time by twenty.  The load came off easily enough and I was back at base by eleven fifteen.  My next load was small, only around three tonnes for three drops but the spread of drops was ridiculous as the drive time between was too long, but that's life sometimes.  I was loaded again and out in short order, my first drop near Wakefield, this is the frustrating part of the day.  When I unsheeted at the drop I found that I had been loaded with the wrong product, all that way with the wrong product and I'd have to go back the next day.  That's frustrating!  It wasn't just the fault of the loader, I must take my share of the blame, I didn't check what he'd loaded, I just sheeted up and went.  Sometimes when I'm in a rush I take thing for granted, my own stupid fault.  The mistake on both our parts has niggled me for two days and will continue to do so every time I think of it.  The mistake was made worse because the drop is out of my usual area and I'll be the one going back.  The next two drops went well but it was still after six when I got back in the yard.  Just one of those days, but I hate making mistakes.

06/05/15

I don't know why we bother with the month of May.  We should extent April then jump straight to June and forget that we ever had a fifth month.  Jumping from the fourth month to the sixth month and forgetting that there ever was a fifth month to the year.  Today has been cold, wet and windy with very little sunshine.  And on top of all that we are suffering a general election tomorrow and even radio York seems unable to avoid broadcasting political rubbish.  I will vote, people have died to give us the right to vote and I'm not about to throw that back, if nothing else it's ungrateful.  Back to the job in hand, nine drops and Carlton store with the Selby bypass shut, great!  Though I had to complete my deliveries the opposite way round to my usual choice everything went well.  I did come across a couple of idiots on my second drop, they had closed the road just beyond the farm entrance in which I wanted to be.  That was all OK but the fools had set up the cones so close to the farm entrance as to make backing into the customers yard difficult.  I was done and back in the yard just after four pm but not soon enough to get loaded for morning.  See you tomorrow.

05/05/15

Today has been bright and clear broken by sudden savage squalls all propelled by a miserable wind.  It wasn't the mischievous type of wind that tugs the sheet our of your hand and makes it difficult to sheet up.  No! It was the vindictive type of wind that rips the sheet out of your control then throws it about and manages to rap you on the head with one of the hooks for good measure.  In short it was a hard hat day and, thank goodness, I managed to avoid a bash on the head or anywhere else with a sheet strap hook.  I hate wind, always have it usually manages to put me in a bad mood.  Today I managed to keep my patience.  That aside the day went reasonably well, three drops for Carlton store and area then a collection from Peniston and back to base.  Doesn't sound much but it took me until four pm to get back to the yard, must have been due to the wind.  I managed to get unloaded but I didn't even start to re load before they shut the gates on me.  Tomorrow nine drops and Carlton store plus a collection of one tonne of fish oil from Old Goole, But that's for tomorrow and theres some sleep to be had before then.

Not a fun place to stop for lunch, a service area on the M1 but it was all there was and I had to stop as I was contravening the European working time directive, again! But not driving hours thankfully.  See you tomorrow.