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.