Stuck between a rock and a hard place

muso:
I’ll give it a try next week , although don’t hold out much hope up here in the Northeast to be honest

Think positive mate,.Murray Hogg and Ramages spring to mind, they were always wanting drivers once over (may be a good reason for that btw).
Tell the agencies lies, they don’t give a toss about drivers in general, and usually show no respect, so return the compliment.