The World Tour Continues....

[Duck]

Off to pastures new yet again... Canada, New Zealand, Norway, South-East Asia and now I'm researching the most exciting destination of them all....

Bejesus! I'm arf tu da "Emerald Isle" for da craic wid dem o'rish so I am!!

Can't wait... New company are sending me over for a year and if it goes well I could be sent back to Norway and then all over Europe on wind turbine transport and erection.

I know very little about Ireland and although the company have an office in Dublin I will be travelling to sites in both the North and South.

Heard they've got a pretty good motorway network nowadays and I'm hoping it's going to be a lot more laid back and friendly environment than the rat-race in the UK.

I'll be starting out as a driver but will be put through some courses to be a site supervisor down the line if things work out.

Any recommendations for places to stay in Dublin for a few nights when I arrive?
It seems seriously expensive over there but I guess the same could be said of any capital city in Europe.

[somefeen]

Check out some of Luke Vernon's videos on youtube. You'll get some good insights from that.

I find it alot more laid back than the UK, especially if you are coming from Southern England.
Some things to note
The rules of the road are almost the exact same as the UK except speed limits are in Kph and sometimes absurdly high. On most major roads there is a hard shoulder marked out by yellow lines, your allowed drive in this to let traffic overtake but watch out because there's usually people walking or cycling in them.

The motorway network connecting Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Limerick is pretty good these days but there's very few laybys or motorway services. If you need to stop for the night then you will probably need to come off the motorway and get onto the 'old road' the nearest village should have somewhere. The only two proper motorway services I know of are North of Dublin at Lusk and Castlebellingham.
Be particularly wary of diesel leprechauns in the midlands.
If your not traveling between the major cities above then your in for alot fun especially in the west. And mind the bridges, you usually don't know about a height restriction until you can actually see the bridge you're gonna hit and then there's nowhere to turn.

Driving standards are better than they were but still crap. In the old days all you needed to drive in Ireland was a theory test and then you got your provisional and drove around unaccompanied. They've actually started to enforce the law a bit now but there's still people with a full licence who never passed a test because of an amnesty back in the day ( people were waiting to long for the test so they just gave them licences )

Lastly if your going over the border get your euro's or sterling in plenty of time because its not always obvious that you've gone over the border until you stop at a service station and get chased out for trying to pay in the wrong currency. ( I tried to buy a sandwich in rural northern Ireland with a 5 euro note once and nearly got lynched )
Other than that nice little country, think Scotland only a bit crazier.

[hutpik]

Lok on the bright side,with all the old viking history of Ireland you probably can get away with speaking Norwegian there.

[Duck]

Thanks for the info. I don't like it here, I [zb]' love it!

Lot nicer than UK. Been here since Monday in Dublin port unloading tower sections from Siemens but got dropped off in Arklow on Thursday to pick up a 250 ton Actros with ballast box and drove it back to Dublin. So had a taste of the M11/M50 and it was a nice journey. Well, I should say it was a nice journey after I remembered that I was driving a manual with a torque converter, it's been a while!

Flying to Edinburgh now and then making my way to Ayr to pick up a mobile crane. Gotta help out in Scotland for a few days and do some courses in Glasgow. Hopefully I'll be back in the Emerald Isle in a couple of weeks.

Would do a diary but I get the feeling that the company are a bit touchy about employees giving too much away about the workings of the business. Don't wanna rock the boat just yet.

[Duck]

Oh well, my move to Ireland lasted a grand total of 5 days. Been moved to the Scottish division full-time and living in Glasgow so I have failed to escape the UK as they don't need me in The Emerald Isle now.

[newmercman]

Glasgow, so the tour of third world cities is still on then [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND TIGHTLY-CLOSED EYES][SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND TIGHTLY-CLOSED EYES]

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[Duck]

Oh yes! Absolutely!

Should be based out of Edinburgh sometime next week though, they're moving me onto a different project running out of Grangemouth docks with 52M blades.

[Duck]

Oh well, the windmill experience (& the money) was really good while it lasted but it just wasn't working out for me and I decided to leave. Such a shame because it's one of the most interesting jobs out there but I seem to have departed on good terms and the door is not completely closed.

Nothing decent on offer in the UK right now so I'm heading back to my adopted homeland of beautiful women, expensive beer, fjords & trolls....

Start next week....
Will do a diary if there's any interest...

Jeg savner deg "Mor-Norge!"

[newmercman]

What's the story behind the colour scheme?

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[Duck]

Not sure, the whole fleet from the smallest skip lorry all the way up to the mobile cranes and heavy haulage tractors are the same and airbrushed up with different murals.

Norwegians have got a big thing about Cowboys and Indians and they seem to feature quite heavily plus a few Nordic gods and the odd scantily clad señorita here and there.

www.midtstoel.no

[bullitt]

....Start next week....
Will do a diary if there's any interest...

There`s always an interest in a diary, especially one with pictures!

Out of interest, what was the deal with the wind turbine transport and erection (stop sniggering at the back!) Was that a British company? Sounds like one of those interesting little numbers that are quite well paid and involve being away for long stretches at a time and get all over the place!

[Duck]

Just arrived in Arendal on the South coast.
£8 for a ham sandwich and coffee in the services and a score (£20) to park the motor outside the hotel for the night... Urrggh... Used to get expenses and hotels all paid for on the wind turbine job. Talk about feeling the pinch!

Technically a British company but owned by the Danes....

Interesting? YES
Well paid? YES
Lots of travelling? QUITE POSSIBLY
Did I enjoy it? YES
Do you get to eat or sleep properly? NO
Is it stressful? DEPENDS ON WHICH SITE OR HARBOUR BUT YES
Good for your health? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Good job for someone with a family? NOT AT ALL (IMO)
Would you recommend it? DEPENDS- (I'd maybe give it another go but on my terms)

Anyway, that's in the past.... Norway in a V8 is the only half decent job that I've been offered so I'll try and make the best of it...

Hopefully get a diary up next week if everything goes according to plan.

[Big Truck]

There must be a PILE of wind turbine work coming onstream in SW Scotland along the A75 as they've been working on the many roundabouts all Summer so the heavy haulage boys can get through with the turbine blades!!!!!

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