01/01/2017

I wish you all a very happy new year.

30/12/16

It was very foggy this morning with visibility down to around fifty metres in places.  My first load was to our Ruswarp store, which means using the Pickering to Whitby road.  On the first sharp right hand bend on Saltersgate Bank there was a seven and a half tonne van which had failed to make the right turn with the road and had gone straight on.  The trouble is that there is a twelve foot high rock wall just beyond the crash barrier.  This tends to bring vehicles to an abrupt halt, it had done for the unfortunate van, though, unlike the last van I saw in this position, the driver must have been trying to make the turn as the van was positioned slightly sideways with the point of impact away from the driver.  Since I have heard nothing about the accident I presume and hope the driver walked away.  The speed people drive at with poor visibility and uncertain road conditions always amazes me, perhaps its my age.  But the thing is I am alive to get older though I admit, as with most men, there was an element of luck involved when I was younger.
See you in the new year I hope you all have a good one.  All the best.

29/12/16

I listen to BBC radio 4 as I drive.  Because I am often concentrating on the actual driving I am not always fully listening to what is happening on the radio so I am unsure of the exact context of the description I heard.  Either a woman or a the magazine she edited was described as "radical, socialist, feminist and green. "  This woman and/or her magazine must hate nearly everything, especially conservative men who make their wealth from farming more than ten acres using anything other than organic methods.  Even my daughter said "She sounds like a cow bag." I wonder how anyone can live up to a description like that and what they do for fun.  Even if I disregard the rest I don't understand the term "feminist" neither do I see any reason for any woman to describe themselves thus.  My wife is not my equal just as I am not her equal.  Together we make up two parts of one unit and we both contribute an equal portion to the whole.  What on earth is wrong with that?  I can do things she can't and she can do things I can't, So far as I can ascertain this situation doesn't diminish either of us in any way.  My wife of thirty three years is clever, capable, strong willed and holds a responsible job, she doesn't seem to feel the need to call herself a feminist.  Our daughter is of a similar stamp and also holds a responsible job and I have never heard her refer to herself as a feminist.  I respect and admire them both for what they are, So perhaps I'm a feminist.  But, as I have stated, I have no idea what the term means.  See you tomorrow.

28/12/16

Back to work, Christmas is over and we're on the last few days of 2016.  Not busy at the moment, but that's not surprising, even farmers can usually plan for a week in advance.  Today started cold and foggy, only minus three degrees centigrade but that's cold for us.  I drove out of the fog when I got near York but drove back into it at about the same place on my way back in.  As I said not a busy day and I was back in the yard and loaded for tomorrow by four.  See you tomorrow.

22/12/16

Not a busy day but a fair run about, though not as far as yesterday.  The most interesting sighting was a close up view of a buzzard as it launched itself from a tree by the roadside.  It always surprises me how large they are when you see them close up.  Last day for four days tomorrow, we don't get extra time off at Christmas.  Well you can't expect farmers to plan supplies for more than one day in advance.  On the good side I'm loaded for my first load tomorrow, let's hope I manage to avoid the North Yorkshire motorist taxation vans.  See you tomorrow.

21/12/16

Another long day.  I only had five drops in total but it was nearly six by the time I got back in the yard.  The first drop was a full load to the Kirkbymoorside store and that's so close it hardly counts as a delivery.  The next four were spread all over the place and I had handed two drops to another driver who stood a better chance of completing the job.  I was correct in my guess that it would take the whole of the day to complete and that was including working my first break and part of my second.  What I didn't say working my break did I?  Of course I didn't say or infer any such thing.  Still  the day went well and I couldn't have done it any faster.  It's the shortest day today, now its all up hill until June the 21st the daylight will lengthen from the day after tomorrow.  Roll on!  See you tomorrow.

20/12/16

Good run around today.  Coming out ot Fishlakes I was held up three times.  Firstly a bridge on the canal was open to allow the only commercial barge using the water way to come through.  It was carry around four hundred and fifty tonnes of oil and was on its way to Rotheram, I was told by the lock man that it would take around seven hours to get there.  That may be slow but it would take many road journeys with trucks to carry that amount and that would only add to the ques.  As it was one man was quietly transporting the whole lot on his own and the only queue he cause was to hold up two vehicles while he went through the bridge.

Secondly I came across part of a hunt, what I suspect was the hunt master was on a bridge with three others sitting on a horse that he was only marginally in control of.  The thing looked like it was fitted with a turbo and its rider looked like he shouldn't have been in control of anything larger than a trike.

Thirdly I came across a closed railway crossing which seemed to have been closed a quarter of an hour before there was any need for it.  But that's life on the road.  What fun!  

Even with these problems the day went well and I achieved everything that I was supposed to. See you tomorrow.

19/12/16

Not been at work today.  Been to a funeral of a family friend.  Eighty one years old and a good man to boot, he will be sadly missed by us all. See you tomorrow

13/12/16

Another dull wet December day, the only bright point of the whole day was that there was very little fog. Also I didn't get too wet thank goodness.  Lets hope the weather brightens up and cools down soon.  I love bright frosty days they make being out a real pleasure.  Here's to a change in the weather.  See you tomorrow.

12/12/16

Today has held no remarkable events and been a rather dreary December day with some fog, some rain, little daylight and no sunshine. Roll on spring. But apart from that the day went well enough just not particularly interesting. I forgot to mention that on Friday I had a red kite fly over the truck as I pulled to a stop at about fifteen feet. What a magnificent bird. See you tomorrow.

09/12/16

I think we should run a competition at work, the aim is to see who can wake up a customer at the greatest distance. Today I had a new customer to me and I knew it could be either of two farms. One of the farms looked a bad get in with a yard in which it would be difficult to turn around in, and there was no name on the entrance. I wasn't actually passing the second farm so I couldn't get a look at the sign if there was one. I had to come back the same way so I put off the decision and drove to the next customer. When I comp!ever the next delivery I stopped in the drive and dialled the house number, there was no reply. I tried the mobile number which was answered in rather sleepy voice. I thought it a bit strange but explained that I was trying to make a delivery. The man at the other end explained that he was unable to help as he was in Barbados and it was very early in the morning. I did apologise and he accepted that I wasn't to know,thankfully he was did take the time to tell me which farm I needed to be at and thankfully it was the better of the two. I think waking customer in Barbados will take some beating. See you Monday.

06/12/16

Back to work today after four days off.  Thank goodness my cold seems to be subsiding but I still wish our daughter hadn't left us with it.  Today has been foggy all day with no noticeable let up.  The roads are filthy, I had to was off my truck for the second time in under a week.  But the work wasn't arduous and the day went well enough.  I was back in the yard early and loaded for my first load tomorrow.  The work tomorrow will take longer as I have a load to out Beverley store followed by Carlton store and area but as I'm loaded it won't be a bad day.  I might even try to persuade someone in the warehouse to pick my second load while i'm away.  It works sometimes and I can live in hope even if I die in despair.  I'm not grumbling, just musing.  The visibility has been too bad today to see much of the countryside and other than the occasional magpie I have seen nothing of the wildlife.
See you tomorrow.

05/12/16

Monday, not at work, using up some remaining holiday, but still not a good day.  Our daughter came over to see us a couple of weeks ago and left us with her cold.  My wife caught it first and had it fortified my the children at school then passed it on to me for my share.  I've been sulking most of the day, I would have been better off at work.  At least I could enjoy sulking and feeling sorry for myself whilst alone in the cab.  But the time off was booked so I had to take it.  In truth I still had work to do on the trellis for my espalier apple hedge but I couldn't be bothered so I have had a completely wasted day.  But S**t happens so I mustn't grumble.  But there again why not, I know it won't help but why not.  Back to work tomorrow. Happy days.
See you tomorrow.

02/12/16

Friday and I'm not at work, I'm using up some of my remaining holiday time.  But I'm still working though the work it at home and of my own choosing.   Been putting up posts to carry the wires to support espalier apple trees that I'm going to replace part of the old and dying hedge that I removed last year.  The other part of the hedge has been replaces with hazel, if the rabbits allow it to grow at all.  I have come to the conclusion that rabbits are an invention of the devil or must be in the employ of some other malignant entity.  Either that or they are just evil.  I am officially at war with the local rabbit population.  The trouble with rabbits is that I don't like the taste, they aren't even good eating,  But I'm still going to try to grow an espalier apple hedge and to hell with the rabbits.
See you Monday.  Monday is another day off.

01/12/16

Not quite as good a day as the last two but not bad all the same, for the time of year that is.  The work was okay with two new customers for the second load to add interest to the day.  Somewhere else to find hence the interesting part of the day.  I found both easily enough though both required a phone call to the customer to be on the safe side.  I was back in the yard by half past four with all breaks taken correctly.  I have been called into the office as my taco report was showing either incorrect or not enough break time on four occasions in October.  I find this very strange as, though I admit to contravening the European working time directive three times in October I know I haven't exceeded my driving time at all in the last five months.  Something is incorrect and I'm sure that in this instance it isn't me.  Very strange!  But apart from that everything went well.  Now I have Friday and Monday off, four days not working or more correctly not at work.  I will be working, but at home, the fun never ends.
See you tomorrow.
p.s.
Tesco got it wrong last week, they delivered what purported to be mature Stilton, it had all the flavour of a piece of chalk.  If I keep it for around three months it just might be edible.  Tesco have let themselves down, up to last week their Stilton had been excellent.

30/11/16

Yet again another beautiful day at work, that is the day, not the work.  The work wasn't bad but the day made it all worthwhile.  The work wasn't particularly arduous but it would have been much easier if I had been given all my delivery tickets last night, it would have saved me the second trip out.  Perhaps I would have been given all the tickets if there hadn't been a mistake on one of my first tickets.  My second load would have been easier and quicker if someone in the office had made the effort to give me the correct post code for a delivery that I hadn't done previously.  It would have saved me having to find a decent connection for my phone before searching for the address on Royal Mail.com.  Thank goodness that I am able to access their service while out on the road, I wouldn't have been able to make the delivery without it as I was only given a landline number and there was no one answering when I called.  It all adds interest to the days work and I/'m sure that adding interest is the aim of the office staff who regularly don't complete the delivery addresses correctly.  They really do make the day more fun, if much longer.  But, speaking to others in my profession, I have come to realise that this sort of problem is endemic and not limited to the company I have the pleasure of working for.
See you tomorrow.

29/11/16

Another beautiful early winter day, frost and blue sky all day.  The only down side is the low sun which dazzled me most of the day but I'll live with that for the pleasure of the day.  I was thinking about my school days today.  I hated school and far from being the best days of my life they were the worst.  I think it all started with Mrs Ansell, my first teacher at Holme on Spalding Moor County Primary School.  I may not have been a particularly nice child, I have no idea, but that was no reason for the disgusting woman to behave the way she did. I often felt physically ill to the point of having stomach ache at the thought of going to schoo. I don't think my view of the woman is distorted by time, there were others, both older and younger than me, who she disliked and decided to bully.  One of my Mother's friends occasionally stood in as a supply teacher, she told my mother that I shook when it was my turn to come out and read to her.  The damned Mrs Ansell had be so terrified that I was unable to read words that I knew well. I remember her accosting me in the dinner queue for no reason that I can remember and nipping my arm as hard as she could, I was a little older by then and didn't give her the satisfaction of showing that I felt anything at all.  Due to my experience I made a point of meeting the first couple of teachers of both my children. I had no intention of letting them suffer the same sort of bullying from a teacher that I suffered.  I am not able to quantify the damage the disgusting woman was allowed to do to my education but I can say she delayed my reading considerably. She certainly helped develop and hone my total hatred of school which lasted for the whole of my schooling.  She is dead now and with a bit of luck is rotting in hell, a place she worked hard to earn. That last comment may sound a bit harsh but I mean it, the woman was disgusting. People say you shouldn't speak ill of the dead but I see no reason to lie about someones character because they are dead and gone, it doesn't make them any better for the lie.
See you tomorrow.

I am not normally a bitter person but in this case I will make an eexception.

28/11/16

Monday again and thank goodness Monday has come round again.  If it didn't come round every seven days it would probably mean that the world had ended without me knowing.  That would not be good, nor for anyone, so here's to Mondays we should cherish them and be thankful.  Today started with frost, always a good sign at this time of year, and it didn't disappoint today, the whole day has been beautiful. Apparently some of the bird life local to out Carlton Store seemed to think so.  As I was opening the sheets to tip my first load I heard a mistle thrush singing.  Well singing is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, shouting is more like it.  But disregarding the quality of its song the bird was enthusiastic and at least the sound was better than my singing so I'd best stop criticising the bird, it was doing its best and I was pleased to hear it.  Mistle thrushes often start singing at this time of year , possibly because they usually start to nest very early in the year.  They are also vicious enough and tough enough to fight off magpies.  Well done mistle thrushes may your beaks be sharp and your pecks debilitating.  I hate magpies, if you hadn't guessed.  As for the work, it went well enough and even though I had two loads I was back in the yard by five at night.  Roll on the new year and lighter nights.  In a perfect world I would have left the country for somewhere with more daylight at the beginning of November and I wouldn't come back until February.  See you tomorrow.

24/11/16

At least it didn't rain today, well not much. I was pondering life as I was driving.  When I was young, well younger than I am now, a lot younger.  I thought that most things were permanent, unchanging and stable.  How wrong I was, I now realise that nothing is stable and unchanging, nothing at all except for change itself.  The only long term stability is change, change is constant there is only change.  Change is the only constant in the world.  Even love changes form as it develops deepening  and maturing with time but always changing.  On that note, see you tomorrow.

14/11/16

A November Monday again, and another gone.  I don't like November as I have said before but I still have to live through it.  I'm not usually a miserable old git but everyone has a bad time now and again.  The sooner we are past the shortest day the better, I think it's daylight that I miss.  Today has gone well enough considering.  I had no problems with any of the drops and found more than my share of customers with loaders.  I have nothing particularly interesting to report about today.  I saw a buzzard and that was the most note worthy sighting of the day.  See you tomorrow.

11/11/16

Why don't they listen? Friday night is the only night I like to finish by 5pm so what happens? I don't get back to the yard until nearly six!  I don't care what time I finish the rest of the week and I will work Saturday if needed, all with (nearly) no complaint but let me finish by five on Friday. Surely that's not too difficult or too much to ask!
Enough grumbling for now it's Sunday night and I've only just got round to writing about Friday.see you tomorrow.

10/11/16

The world has survived its first whole day with Trump as president elect.  Will this last?
See you tomorrow.

09/11/16

So the world has a new American President.  A friend often reminds me of what he says is an old Chinese curse, which I think goes like this, "May you live in interesting times" .  I am sure Mr Trump will ensure that we do just that.  Time will tell! That's all I'm going to say on the matter for now.  Back in the UK the weather has been the typical November type, wet and cold bordering on snow.  Not very pleasant to be out and about on the road in but I have no choice so that's what I've been doing today.  I have been South of Lincoln on the A15 today, I've never been there before so the drive out added to the interest and I nearly forgot the weather.  From where I was I had little choice but to drive through Lincoln, another new experience.  The big church on the hill in the middle of Lincoln is an impressive stack of stone, what a statement of power the building is.  The drive through went well enough and I found my destination first time which was quite amazing.  Especially so as my sat nav and my phone map didn't agree on where my destination was.  Luckily I had taken the time to research the location before starting out so I wasn't mislead by my sat nave.  I have no idea if this collection is going to be a regular part of my run, time will tell.
See you tomorrow.

08/11/16

Today has been frustrating. Nothing has gone wrong but the whole day has been more complicated than it should have been and all through no fault of mine, for a change. But that's enough of that I have no intention of grumbling at this time of night and besides that it's boring for my readers. Tonight my wife and I shared the last Jumbo apple of the year. One apple between two doesn't a oh d much I know. And I'm not on a diet. The apple weighed one Pound five and a half ounces, yes you read that weight correctly. This year was the first time I have allowed these trees to crop and they lived up to the name of Jumbo. They are a dual use apple but are sweet enough to eat when fully ripe.
See you tomorrow.

07/11/16

We had a very peaceful weekend, it was wet and cold, typical November weather for us.  So we didn't go far or do much and we both enjoyed it.  But back to earth with a bump, its Monday.  No I don't hate Mondays; after all we couldn't get to Friday if we didn't have Monday.  But today my truck was in for a service and I had the dubious pleasure of driving our 05 DAF, nor a very nice experience.  I got well down the A64 before I remembered the fuel gauge didn't work so I spent the whole of the day slightly worried that I was about to run out of fuel.  I didn't.  The thing has an alternator warning light on all the time, the driver is supposed to ignore this apparently.  To top it all off the thing jumps out of third gear if you can persuade it to get into third gear that is.  All in all it was an unpleasant drive but I got though the day with nothing more than irritation.  I got my truck back when I got back into the yard.  Relief doesn't describe the feeling adequately.   But apart from the truck problems the day went well enough.
See you tomorrow.

04/11/16

It's Friday, the day, here comes the weekend.  Not that I'm doing anything particularly exciting this weekend, cleaning the loft and starting putting up the frame work for some espalier apple trees is about as good as it will get.  Perhaps it's an age thing, but there again I never did like late nights in noisy surroundings.  I think I was born old and I'm happy with it.
Back to today.  The weather has been our typical November weather, dull, overcast, slightly windy with the occasional bit of moisture for good measure.  The deliveries went well and though I expected a six pm finish I was pleasantly surprised to be back in the yard for five.so all in all a very good day.
See you Monday

03/11/16

How has it got to November? The year has only just started and it's nearly at its end, I haven't achieved much of what I'd planned for the year, or at least I don't think I have.  But perhaps it's just that I can't remember what I had planned for the year.  I think I must be getting old.  Seriously though, this year has passed with amazing speed, yes I know it's not over yet and a lot can happen in the time that's left, but still where has it gone.
Today hasn't been particularly interesting or particularly boring.  The driving has been good and the customers who needed it have all had fork lifts available, easy day!  It's now that time of year when I don't see home or my orchard during the week as it's dark when I leave and dark when I return, not fun.  As for my orchard, after the disaster of losing nine young apple trees to the wet conditions in spring things have gone well enough.  I have just put a land drain through the effected area so even if we get conditions as bad as last year I shouldn't lose any more trees.  I am re planting the lost trees this winter and replacing the old hedge that I removed last year with a line of espalier apple trees.
See you tomorrow.

02/11/16

Amazing, I don't know whats going on in the world.  A supermarket, Tesco, to be precise, have managed to supply me with good quality mature Stilton cheese for three weeks in a row.  I have been buying what supermarkets pass off as mature Stilton from English supermarkets for years and usually end up with something which, though blue, has less taste than cardboard.  But for three weeks in a row I have received excellent quality mature Stilton from Tesco.  Well done Tesco.
Seed dressing seems to have come to an end for the season and I'm back driving again.
See you tomorrow. Perhaps.

26/09/16ha

We are coming to the end of the seed dressing so perhaps I won't be falling asleep in my chair every night and therefore will be making more regular entries in this blog.  However back to now, sometimes I enter a farm yard that I find a sad sight.  I was in one last week.  I love farm yards and every one tells the story of it's past and the people who have lived worked and often died on the property.  The one I am thinking of showed planing , pride and thought for the future in it's older buildings.  The in fill of newer buildings was poorly planned and there had been little ongoing maintenance.  The whole thing spoke of past glory rather than hope for a bright future.  The setting is beautiful and deserves better even in the uncertain times British agriculture is now facing.
But back to today, the work went well enough despite me forgetting to put the slide on the end of the bag auger fully in place.  Yes it leaked a pile of grain onto the floor, very embarrassing, but it was cleaned up easily enough though my irritation at my mistake will take a little longer to clean up.
See you tomorrow.

04/09/16

It's September already, my wife is back in school tomorrow so it's all down hill to Christmas.  What fun!  I enjoy autumn but I'm not looking forward to going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark.  I've been seed dressing all last week and have nothing particularly exciting to report for the week.  Let's hope the coming week has more to recommend it, but only in a good way. See you tomorrow. Perhaps!

20/08/16

I'm more than a little worried. I have been given a work phone and I have no idea why. Perhaps I've irritated the wrong people and it's a strange new form of revenge that management have just thought up. The reps have phones, the management have phones, even the tanker drivers have phones. But as far as I know I'm the only agri driver with a work phone, I'm seriously worried. I was happy with my own phone, because I pay the bill I don't have to answer it or call customers to arrange deliveries. It was for my convenience not that of work. Now it's all changed and I have to answer the thing. They pay the bill so it's for their convenience not mine.  And on top of this it's a windows ten phone. What have I ever done to them? But seriously it's not a bad phone, I'm an android fan, but this phone has impressed me. The interface is good, the system is intuitive and easy to follow and i can even make calls on the thing. I will add further comments as I go.
I have started seed dressing but I'm not sure if it will be a busy year as the grain quality of the barley isn't good so the farmers may buy more new seed this year. Time will tell.
See you Monday, perhaps.

02/08/16

The picture isn't North Yorkshire as you may have guessed. The driver is on holiday.
See you tomorrow.

12/07/12

Another hot sticky day with the window open most of the day. The work went well, there were very few idiots and Lycra wearers on the roads and the traffic was fairly light. The customer's were all in when I arrived and so far as I know I didn't run over any hedgehog's. What more can a driver ask of a day?  Yesterday I started writing a children's story, my daughter has agreed to provide the illustrations. Her sketches will put my writing to shame and the result will be worth having just for her work. We have discussed what I want and her first two sketches are fantastic. Better polish up my writing to match if I can.
See you tomorrow.

11/07/16

What a humid day it's been. My truck doesn't have air conditioning so I've had the window open most of the day. The trouble with a n open window is that it drowns out the radio. I'm a radio four addict and it's bloody irritating to mix the he punch lines due to wind noise. But it's either put up with being too hot or miss some good radio. I compromise and do a bit of both. Two loads today, the first was a full load of feed to a farm near Kirkbymoorside the second was to Carlton store and one drop. All went well enough and I loaded with stored stock from Carlton back to base. The closure of the A63 around Selby is still causing me problems and will do so until September, and that's if I'm lucky and they finish the work on time. See you tomorrow.

09/07/16

Saturday, I'm not at work and the children are at home with partners, we have a house full.  The working week has contained some frustrations, which I'm not going to mention here.  I am gradually settling to the idea that the UK will be leaving the EU, I'm still not happy and believe we are the victims of a political con.  I have met several farmers who voted to leave, I have never seen people who have just committed financial suicide to be so innocently happy about it. They don't seem to realise that they have been hiding behind the protection of the French farmers for forty years and have been sheltered from the vindictive hatred of our UK politicians.  If I'm right the dung will hit the fan big style in three to four years so they had best prepare now otherwise they won't be in business.  I suspect that what's about to happen will only be the acceleration of a process that has been creeping along since the last war.  Big farms will get bigger and middle size farms will disappear.  Small farms will probably survive, by small I mean any farm of two hundred and fifty acres or less.  Unless they are very specialist farms of this size can be managed on a part time basis with the help of contractors the farmer and his wife can find paid work off the farm.  But I may be wrong it wouldn't be the first time.  See you Monday, perhaps.

30/06/16

The more I hear about Brexit the more I think we have all been conned.  I think that the lack lustre remain campaign was designed so as not to win any popular support and hence to improve the chances of a vote to leave.  Yes Cameron appears to have felt the need to stand down, but he is on record saying he would leave after the next election so he has gone a little earlier.  Perhaps the whole thing will be better for the majority or perhaps not, history will prove the point.  But it might just be that the whole thing was one big leave campaign.  Just because I'm paranoid it doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
But that aside the weather has been wet and some of the work interesting.  Roads which fit a truck on, just, apart from the bits that hang over the tarmac and trees that hit the wind screen and fold up the mirrors type of interesting. But all in all reasonable fun.
See you tomorrow.

The EU PROBLEM

The popularity of the EU is at an all time low, and deservedly so. The commissioners appear to be under the misunderstanding that they are above and beyond the general public. They are mistaken, the UK vote should be taken as a wake up call. They should never have allow the voters to feel so disassociated from the system as they do. The Great British Public have given them, what may be termed, "a good kick up the arse." and it was well deserved. Our own arrogant politicians have been scattered by the reverberations of the same kick. The weak willed self serving scum that we have voted in for the lack of a better choice are showing their worth. Which amounts to nothing. As usual they are busy trying to score political points which are of no use to the people who elected them. Please sign the petition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/122960 ask for a relaxing vote,  then let's have a general election and find a UK government to sort out the EU properly.

A vote guided by lies

I am disgusted that the great British public have been misled into voting to leave the EU. Most of the out voters I have spoken to have voted out because they believe it will stop immigration. IT Will NOT. You have all been deceived by people with ulterior motives, be sure their motives are not for the good of the British public. Act now whilst there is still time, sign the petition https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/122960 and do it now. Ask for another vote.
After that we must work towards breaking the outdated political party system.

08/06/16

The weather has been good for at least five days now, amazing! Well it is amazing for the UK so there. One thing that isn't amazing is the numbers of returning swallows.  These harbinger's of summer have been in decline for a number of years and this year it is more noticeable than ever. My delivery destinations are exactly the places that should resound with their cheering twitter. The sound of their voices is missing from the farm yards. I will find the summers empty if one year they don't return.  There is a saying "one swallow doesn't make a summer" no swallows will rob a great part of the joy from summer. I sincerely hope they don't go the way of the water good.
See you tomorrow.

07/06/16

Back at work for two days and of course the weather has picked up dramatically, funny that.  But it's not all bad, I'm still getting to work outside, just a pity it isn't doing the jobs I wanted to do last week.  So far everything has gone well and the customers have been happy and obliging.  But the rest of the road users are another matter.  The trouble is that the tourist season is starting and all the drivers who don't usually stray off their five mile route to work in the city are coming out to play.  Many of them have no patience no road sense and even fewer manners.  While crossing a roundabout on the A63 I was undertaken by an idiot in the left hand lane, that lane is clearly marked for left turns.  The idiot nearly got crushed, luckily I was being observant and saw him before I cut him in two.  The daft thing is that I don't think he realised what he had done.  I'll have to stack up my patience ready for the summer lunacy.  But on a positive note it appears that the company I work for has finally decided to do something about the fact that we wouldn't have a working seed dresser this autumn. They aren't doing it well or sensibly but they are doing something.  But its going to be a very close run thing to have a new, or more correctly, resurrected, machine working by the time we need it.  Still it's not my problem I'm only the operator.  Time will tell.
See you tomorrow.

02/06/16

I'm still off work and thoroughly enjoying doing nothing.  I shouldn't be doing nothing but the weather has been poor and I would like good weather for the work I have to do outside.  Namely I have a sand trap to concrete where the ditch which runs alongside my orchard enters the piped section.  Since it has been miserable I should have been writing but I couldn't work up the enthusiasm for that either so, as I stated, I have been doing nothing.  Well that's not exactly true I have been trying to update the android OS on my dual boot netbook.  I have had no sucess.
See you tomorrowl

31/05/16

Yes I am still here, I've just been too tired, old and complacent for the last month.  Sorry.  I'm back now and will try to make regular entries again.  I am off work for the week, for not other reason than to use up some of my holiday time, I still had two days left from the previous holiday period and its time to use it or loose it.  I am doing some work at home, nothing exciting, just things that need attending to.  A bit of concrete to lay and the base for a garden shed to dig out, hard core and concrete.  So all in all it should be a relaxing week.
See you tomorrow.

28/04/16

Today has been another example of global warming, frost cold rain and hail, great.  I love global warming, what fun!  As for the rest of the day, work etc.  It went well, not a big day, two loads to Carlton store , two farm deliveries and the collection of a large amount of waste and empty pallets from the store then back to base.  I'm not driving tomorrow I'm on a forklift refresher course.  See you tomorrow.

27/04/16

Global warming seems to have very strange effects.  Today I have driven through several snow storms, it's the twenty seventh of April for goodness sake! I really hate how global warming seems to be making it colder not warmer.  Perhaps it should be renamed global cooling, let's call it what it is. What must the poor swallows think, they fly all the way from Africa expecting nice spring weather and what do they get? Snow!  Poor little birds.
That's enough ranting about the weather, apart from that the day was fine.  Everything went as it should and everything ended up where it was required, at least I think it did.  The only thing wrong with the days work was that I wasn't back in time to get a good position in the queue to load for tomorrow.  But as they say "tomorrows another day".  See you then.

25/04/16

Monday again, it's surprising how fast Mondays come round.  Perhaps someone has sneaked a few extra Mondays into every week without anyone noticing.  Today hasn't been a bad day, only a few drops and one collection all in my usual area.  The trouble was that they covered the extent of my area, or nearly so.  What looked like it should take me until four pm before getting back to base took me until nearly six pm.  But still I got everything done and back to base with my collection so all is well.  There was nothing particularly remarkable about the day, it's been cold and blustery with the occasional light shower.  The high point was seeing more swallows.  They are late back this year and their arrival seems protracted, not that I blame them it's not particularly a welcoming spring.  The tourist season hasn't really got started yet so the A64 isn't too bad at the moment but by Friday it will be horrible as people try to make their way to the coast for the bank holiday weekend.  And to add to the congestion we now have a Yorkshire cycle race.  More men in tights, a most unwelcome sight.  Why can't people who get on cycles dress normally instead of looking like the cast of the Rocky Horror Show.  I'm sure it isn't compulsory to dress like that but it's enough to put you off getting on a bike.
See you tomorrow.

19/04/16

One farm drop and one other drop both easy enough, followed by a collection of seed, only half a tonne.  From there I had a long run to Standon Mill in Staffordshire.  This is about as far as we get from base and most of the route is motorway.  The motorway wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the continual road works.  The drive reminded me why I didn't want to be earning my living driving.  I hate sitting in a queue on a motorway, not fun.  I expected to make the second services on the M6 for my compulsory stop.  Thanks to the road works I had to pull in earlier and I was about thirty seconds late as I entered the services, another slapped wrist, and all for thirty seconds.  The run back was nearly as bad, my driving time light came on just as I was pulling off the A64.  I made it back to the yard with a couple of minutes left, but I did get back in time.  I really didn't want to have to take a break on the side of the A64 but I was lucky with the traffic on the Hopgrove roundabout, for a change.  See you tomorrow.

18/04/16

One of the best things about today was that it wasn't raining.  Another was that the road from Howden to Holme on Spalding Moor was shut at the railway bridge just out of Howden.  Why was this good? Because I had a load of fertilizer to deliver to a farm just on the Howden side of the bridge so there was no traffic on the road which made the delivery easy.  One store drop and three farm drops followed by two loads of fertilizer from Howden Dyke.  All in all not a bad day.
See you tomorrow.

14/04/16

Busy day today.  Two loads to my usual area, the first was a store only load but the second was eight drops and since it was nearly mid day by the time I left the yard with the second load so I had a late finish.  But on the good side it didn't rain today and I saw the first swallow of the year and that is always a pleasure.  Usually I hear the first swallow before I see it but today was different and I didn't hear the bird at all.  All in all a good day.
See you tomorrow.

12/04/16

Two loads out today and one collection. Nothing about the day was particularly remarkable and everything seemed to go okay. The weather was wet again, this must be one of the longest wet periods that I can remember. It started in November and the ground hasn't been dry since. Spring seems to be happening in slow motion this year and I haven't seen a swallow yet.

08/04/16

Friday again. I have spent most of the week seed dressing and only got back to driving yesterday.  I have been too tired at night to be bothered to switch on my laptop and wait for it too boot up so I haven't kept up to date.  Today I have had two loads, both were only two drops but the truck body was full both times.  The first customer for my second load was one of the less intelligent farmers, the type who doesn't realise that he is selling bulk product and therefore needs turning room in his yard. It took me three careful shunts to get turned in his yard and if I had followed his advice I would have taken out one of his flower pots with the front end as I swung round.  But it was a day for idiots, there seemed to be many of them out on the road. Pulling back onto the M18 I indicated, checked my mirror and started to pull out, a moron behind me decided that it would be a good idea to pull round me and stay up the outside of me not allowing me to pull out.  If I hadn't checked my mirror a second time I would have crunched him.  He finally got the message that I would be forced to pull out as I was running out of slip road and moved into the middle lane.  Then proceeded to slow down in the middle lane trying to get back to the inside lane to get off at the next junction. If he had a brain cell he would have stayed behind me until he reached the junction, it was only a mile up the road. But the time of the idiot is nearly on us again, its that time of year when people who don't drive far on a regular basis decide to have a trip to the coast, bung up the roads and cause accidents whilst driving with a complete lack of manners.  I must remember to set out with a good supply of patience, I'll need it.  See you Monday.

25/03/16

Good Friday and I'm at work, that is, at work for half of the day.  We were under so much pressure last week that, apparently, I didn't have time to complete the seed dressing on Thursday.  This was true as we were two drivers down and it's a busy time of year for us.  So I was asked if I'd come in on the Friday to complete the seed dressing.  We had nothing arranged so it was no problem.  Neither customer was a big order and all was completed by lunch time, giving me time to get back home and get the grass cut.  Rain was forecast for the following day, it didn't happen, but it was forecast and you never know the forecasters are occasionally correct.  Off work now until Tuesday but with the hour change I'm back to going to work in the dark for a few weeks.  See you Tuesday.

22/02/16

I've been back to driving for the last two days, seed dressing is almost ended for the season.  For the last two days I've been working in the Easingwold store area, not my usual run.  I have done this area occasionally but not for a couple of years.  It's surprising how much more effort it takes when you don't fully know the area.  I am spending about an hour a day planning my route for the day and checking the maps.  Yes I do have a sat nav but I like to know where I'm going.  Though I do sometimes set the destination and let the sat nav guide me I don't like not being able to relate my position to my destination or where I've come from.  So I use the sat nav, two map books and my knowledge of the area.  It is surprising how places come back to me, once I've been in a farm yard I can usually remember the final approach once I get near the destination.  If I had a couple of weeks in the area I would be able to work as easily as in my regular area.  See you tomorrow.

16/03/16

I have spent the last three days seed dressing.  That is except for this morning, at five am I set off for Masham to collect ten tonnes of horse feed.  For some reason the company was in dire need for this product so yours truly was elected to collect it.  Not that I'm grumbling, the run out was a good start to the day it just made me a little late for my seed dressing customers but by the end of the day everything was completed.  I'm still not enjoying using the dresser that I have been lumbered with but it's what I've got.  If we don't get another machine up and running by harvest we will have problems.  See you tomorrow.

11/03/16

It seems that there had been a disagreement as to who got the use of my time today.  The outcome was that the woman won, they usually seem to.  I ended up seed dressing instead of driving, the outcome of the struggle for my time didn't bother me either way and really I was just as happy seed dressing as driving.  I have caught a terrible cold and am too miserable to care what I'm doing hence my lack of care as to my work for the day.  My wife brought the cold back from one of the pupils in her class and kindly passed it to me.  Thanks! But the day went reasonably well considering I'm having to use the dresser that I don't like using.  I only had one unexpected blockage to deal with and that was soon done.  On top of all that it wasn't raining.  Yes for the second day in a row it wasn't raining, amazing.  See you Monday for more seed dressing reporting.

10/03/16

The week has only just started and it's Thursday already.  Its been a busy day even though I didn't appear to have many drops on my second load.  The first load was for Malton store only and since we had a meeting to attend first I didn't get to the store until just after eight, which was good as it doesn't open until eight.  The second load was for Carlton store and area, there was nothing unusual about any of the drops and I didn't have a collection but it was still six pm when I finally got clocked off.  Doesn't time pass quickly when you're having fun.  See you tomorrow.

09/03/16

Today has been unpleasant, very unpleasant.  Cold wet and long, just the way a working day should not be.  But on the good side I've lived through it and come out the other side so it wasn't all bad.  for the last three days I have been driving and on every day the work has taken longer than I think it ought to have, so I end the day feeling that I haven't accomplish enough, even though I have completed everything asked of me.  But still tomorrows another day.  See you then.

04/03/15

Hello, I'm back.  I've been very busy during the day and too tired at night to log on to the computer and update this blog for the last week.  For most of the last five days I've been seed dressing in weather varying from bearable to miserable.  The worst day was today, Friday.  The best that can be said about the weather today is that it has been variable.  That is the amount or rain coming down at any one time has changed from heavy to very heavy to slush then snow, all in all not a nice day.

The picture below is of the day at it's worst.  I don't enjoy snow at the best of times but the slushy miserable wet snow we received today is most unwelcome. 

The poor old digger below seems to be slowly drowning. All in all a very unhappy digger.

The best thing about the whole day was finishing at night, the driving conditions were poor, the unloading was wet, miserable and cold.  We have had enough rain for the next few months we don't need more.  I'm thinking we should sack the weather forecasters and employ some who can send us better weather.  The must be held accountable for their horrible weather;-).  

See you Monday.

26/02/15

Still seed dressing, everything going well, at the moment!  I have very little to say about Friday so I'll say nothing.  See you Monday.

23/02/16

I couldn't resist this picture of the Moon this morning, I was just starting out of the yard at nearly seven am.  Though I must admit that it looked better in reality than it does in the picture.

Once again I've spent the day seed dressing. That is after I managed to fill up with fuel.  The powers that be decided to put a new red diesel tank in and make it difficult for us to use the old one.  The problem is that it's usually impossible to get near the new one as it is behincd the place where the trucks load in the morning.  The combination to the lock on the door of the shed holding the old tank has been changed so it's often impossible to get in.  What a wonderful intelligent company I work for or in the words I was thinking this morning "what idiot made it so difficult to get the fuel to do the job I'm employed to do."  Perhaps next time I have so much difficulty I'l have a sleep in the cab for a couple of hours until the queue goes down.  But other than that I've had a successful day and it hasn't been raining.  That bust be two days in a row with no rain, amazing.  See you tomorrow.

22/02/16

Monday morning and I'm seed dressing again with the machine I hate.  What a fun life I'm having at the moment.  My working days are surrounded by itchy dust and its cold, wet and windy.  It's a complexly different job dressing spring sown seed, not nearly as much fun and much colder than Autumn.  But enough of my grumbling, everything went well and I wasn't late back.  See you tomorrow.

17/02/18

Back to yesterdays customer to complete the job that I'd hardly started.  The job went well enough despite the nearly useless machine that I am having to use.  After a full day working with this damned machine I would take great pleasure in cutting it up for scrap. what a heap of crap.  I usually enjoy seed dressing. it makes a change from driving and I meet a different set of customers.  But not this spring. using this machine.  I really am not enjoying going to work at the moment and that isn't usual for me. very sad but that's life sometimes.  See you tomorrow.

16/02/17

Seed dressing again today, well nearly.  I was supposed to be seed dressing but everything didn't go to plan, either mine or the customers.  I got there okay, eventually, I had spilt something on my map book and stuck the pages together and the sat nav was flat and my mind a blank, but I did get there.  I started work but the customer had to break off to load a wagon with grain after we had got one and a half tonnes cleaned.  When we got started again the machine gave up after less than a half tonne, great!  One of the bearings had collapsed on the cleaner feed auger.  Back at base the mill engineer was busy so I spent the rest of the day removing and replacing the bearing with some help.  I didn't believe anyone could place bolts in such a difficult position to remove or replace unless they were completely stupid but they did.  Back to it tomorrow. see you then.

15/02/16

What fun. The first day of the spring seed dressing and what was the weather doing?  Yes, you've got it right, snowing.  Bloody snow and I spent the whole day working outside in the damned stuff.  But on the good side I was at one of my favourite customers and the yard is concrete and clean.  I am not able to use my usual seed dresser as for want of a better term it is knackered.  Or at least the truck that it sits on is knackered and I've been told not to take it out.  So I am having to work with the newer of the two machines which is much slower and in every respect harder to work with.  I have left the keys in overnight perhaps, if I'm lucky someone will steal it before morning.  I hate the bloody thing its dirty to use as it blows chaff all over the customers yard and it's so slow.  Have I mentioned how slow it is?  Not good but I'm going to have to put up with the damned thing for the spring.  Something will have to be done before Autumn otherwise there is no way we can complete the work.  See you tomorrow, after another dismal day of seed dressing.  

09/02/16

I'm sitting in a farm yard in the watery February sunshine listening to a mistle thrush shouting. I say shouting as I think it's a better description than calling it singing. I'm waiting to be unloaded but not impatient.

08/02/16

Today was February at its worst, wet to very wet and windy. Roll on Tuesday. See you then

05/02/16

Today was bad, nothing went wrong but every thing took much longer than it should for no reason that could fathom so the further in the past it recedes the better. See you Monday,

04/02/16

Today has been a long one,due to a mistake on my part, longer than it should have been. Last Thursday I had an early start and set my alarm for ten to four. Today I got up when the alarm went off and was dressed and down stairs by the time I checked the time, four am, I'd forgotten to reset the alarm for Thursday. It was too late by then so I had an e tra coffee.  And today of all days I didn't finish till six pm, great. But the day was made better by the sight of the snowdrop's in the pictures below. There is something about the sight of clumps of snowdrops that seems to put me in touch with generations gone by. Many of these clumps of little white flowers may have been there for a hundred or more years, slowly and patiently spreading out as the years roll by. I just like them. See you tomorrow.

02/02/16

Once again it's been a very windy day, necessitating great care handling the curtains. The curtain hooks aren't heavy but when whipped about in the wind they hurt if they catch you. Several people have laughed at my hard hat it makes e smile.
See you tomorrow

01/02/16

Today hasn't been a bad day for a monday. A little too windy but otherwise not bad. My run was my usual, of Carlton store and area with a delivery to Dewsbury thrown in for interest. All completed and back in the yard by three pm, not bad for a run round. I'm loaded for tomorrow and the first load is to Kirkbymoorside store. Only about a half hour if I take it slowly so I get an extra half hour in bed. Then its who knows where for the second load.  But on the good side January is now over and the increase in daylight is becoming noticeable. Didn't think much of the queue to load (see the picture). See you tomorrow.

29/01/16

Well Friday happened and we all survived.  But sadly, today, someone got off the bus for good.  Sir Terry Wogan died today, he will be missed.  For many years he was the voice of breakfast on Radio 2 and provided many a morning smile for millions of people.  R.I.P Sir Terry Wogan.
See all remaining passengers tomorrow.

28/01/16

Been at work since five. I had to be in York for six to get my taco checked and sealed. I'm still in the waiting room at twenty to eight. The chair isn't comfy enough to sleep in, unfortunately

27/01/16

Wet and windy, that's about all yhete is to say about today. We aren't particularly busy, but it's nearing the month end and though the harvest was good the prices are poor so farmers aren't feeling rich at the moment. Fertiliser buying will be delayed until the last moment because of the above. But once it starts everything will happen at once and we'll be flat out. So it's best to enjoy the quiet times while they last. See you tomorrow.

26/01/16

Today has been wet, but not as wet as it was forecast to be, and thank goodness for that.  It is still January and I've seen enough rain to last me until next autumn, late autumn at that.  Other than being wet and the fact that I had to deliver a tonne of horse feed to Halifax, what a fun day.  As usual with horse places everyone is strangely absent when there is any work to do.  Perhaps there was a horse in need of patting!  But on the good side the carry was good, clean and on concrete.   At least it wasn't through ankle deep mud and water like the last horse place I delivered to.  But apart from that and the wet I have had a pleasant day and I'm loaded or nearly so for tomorrow.  I did see a very strange sight and I'm not talking about the cyclist in skin tight purple lycra, though that was very weird enough and possibly perverted.  No the strangest thing was a man walking two terriers, both were wearing skin tight hi viz lycra.  Unlike the cyclist I'm sure it wasn't their own choice and I'm sure their owner intended well.  See you tomorrow.  

20/01/16

Loo It's a beautiful day, pleasantly cold and plenty of sunshine. I have just had the pleasure of delivering ten bags of chicken feed to one of our local prisons. Both gates were open but I still had to go through all the checks and jump all the hurdles. And all his for only about five meters through the gates. I find that most of the stereotypes of prison guards are correct for some individuals. The gentleman who was helping me tore a bag label and it landed on the floor. A passing ignoramus stopped and demanded that it was picked up. I have no idea whom or what he was. Only that his attitude was confrontational and rude. Needless to say I ignored him, I doubt that did his ego any good. My helper picked it up. I wouldn't have left it with or without him but as I was carrying a bag at the time it would have waited. I'm not sure if it's the type of people they deal with that makes them like that, or if the job attracts that type. It could be both.
Our management have just invented a new form for us to fill in, so far it has taken me a quarter of an hour and it isn't possible to fill in correctly as the spaces provided aren't large enough. Management should have something more useful to do, such as scrapping and replacing our IT system. We are the proud possessors of the world's worst epos system. I doubt it could be made worse if anyone really tried. On that note I'm off my break is over.
See you tomorrow

19/01/16

Today hasn't been particularly inspiring but neither has it been a bad day.  I find myself with nothing more to say about today. So I won't.  See you tomorrow.

15/01/16

Friday was unremarkable, except for the fact that it didn't rain.  I achieved everything I was supposed to and managed to load for Monday.  Perhaps I'll treat the truck to a wash Monday morning, after the last week it's in bad need of it.  See you Monday.

14/01/16

I found a little water on my travels today.
Just had to go through it, didn't I? See you tomorrow.

12/01/16

Today was just as irritating as I expected. I was back in the yard in good time yesterday so l managed to get loaded for this morning. Guess where for, yes Malton store, about a five min drive from the yard and they don't open until eight or just after. Great!. So I didn't start until seven, fuelled up and got a brake light bulb replaced before setting off. All done easily enough  but now for the irritation. My second load, not a problem but as soon as I saw the drops it was obvious that it would be a six finish and it was a quarter past six when I clocked off. What I don't understand is why the hell anyone is going to the closer stores for eight. They should be serviced by the first one back. I don't like wasting time first thing to end the day messing about in the dark at my last couple of deliveries. It's dangerous and stupid. See you tomorrow.

08/01/16

That's the first full working week of the year out of the way and all's well.  Friday was busy, firstly a full, very full load to Helmsley store.  Easy enough i was loaded and in before opening time which gave me time to get the curtains open and the load unstrapped before they started to unload.  The only problem was the rain.  Yes. Believe it or not it was actually ranining.  I would like some seasonal weather, frost or even a little snow would be nice.  My orchard is getting very confused by the conditions, the flower buds could start opening and if we get a frost then I get another year with no plums, not good.  But back to the point, the next load, carlton store and five drops in the area followed by a collection which I had to have done by four pm.  I did it with a half hour to spare.  I was back in the yard by a quarter past five, not too bad.  I have no idea what I'm doing on Monday I couldn't be bothered to look, I'll find out on Monday morning, see you then.

07/01/16

I hav3 posted yet another rainy day picture, taken whilst I was waiting to load at Friendship Estates. I have been on my usual run today Carlton store and area. Apart from the vast amount of flood water in various parts of the countryside there was nothing of particular interest to report. I would like to get some good pictures of the floods but so far I haven't found a convenient stopping place that isn't under water. Perhaps tomorrow. I haven't got loaded for tomorrow but the load is picked and what a load it is. L have serious doubts about getting it all on, its not the weight that's the prob!em, it's the bulk, but that's a prob!em for the morning. Th err first load is all for our He!msley store and after that who knows? See you tomorrow.

06/01/16

The picture below epitomizes the tygpe of day that I have had. Wet muddy and grey. Not that I haven't enjoyed the day. Strangely I find that I have, even though I've been damp for most of it. I have had a long run around, starting near Harrogate then Burton Salmon followed by Carlton store, Wressle, Swanland, of all places and finally Thorganby. Yes perhaps I should have done Thorganby before Swanland  but I didn't so there.  There is still a lot of flood water standing in the usual places but the worst seems to be referring at last. I do sympathise with those who have had their houses inundated, what a terrible way to start the new year. The powers that be may eventually realise that our ancestors didn't spend time and effort keeping the river channels dredged and the banks clear of obstruction for no reason. It's time the Environment Agency became the River Board again and stopped employing university trained brown rivers and goodlifers and went back to employing practical people. The wildlife has survived very well without being flooded out every year, it has coped with well mentioned waterways for the last century or two. Yes I know very well that the water vole has declined drastically in my life time but if animal rights protesters let mink out of fur farms what can we expect! The poor water vole isn't able to cope with the precaution of mink. And as for the poor hedgehog, I expect it to become extinct in the UK. The trouble is that it's natural defence of rolling into a ball doesn't work against badgers. Badgers love eating hedgehog,. Which species do we want, badger or hedgehog? We can't have both, which is a pity as I like to see both. The natural world in all it's glory, of which we are just another part, is cruel and harsh. Nature is the survival of the best survivors and it doesn't care what becomes extinct and that includes us humans. On that note I'll see you tomorrow.

04/01/17

The first proper day back at work since the end of the festive season, and not a bad day either. I started with a full load to the Helmsley store. I even had time to give my truck as wash off for the new year before starting out, not try hat it stayed clean for lon GB, but the intention was there. The second load involved a drop at Carlton store and two farm drops with a collection of two six mseter pipes from Howden dyke. As ll went without incident. Even the drop at Acaster Malbis which is near the river Ouse. I didn't get wet. See you tomorrow.

03/01/16

Back to work tomorrow.  The year starts properly tomorrow and everything gets back to normal.  It always takes until the end of the first week of the new year before the festive period finally wears off.  I just hope that the terrible weather that we have been enduring for the last month or so.  See you tomorrow.