I have had a couple of weeks off and finally got round to doing another diary.
This diary,s from September ( taken me a wee while lol).
Monday-
Monday morning and a later start.
I loaded with 28 ton of concrete blocks on Friday afternoon and just ran home with them.
So a 7am start and run to a building site at lochgilphead.
I arrive on site about 7.45 and the only person there is a digger drive
The site is the usual mess and i decide to roll my nets on top of the load.
You can get the nets rolled tighter on the ground , but not today.
Eventually the guys arrive onto site and start tipping me.
I get on the road again 2 hours later.
After a phone call to the office i head to a holding area about a mile from my house.
These holding areas are becoming more common now , the timber is run from the harvesting area by low ground pressure trucks.
Then stacked in large clearings to be lifted by normal road going trucks like mine.
Eventually trucks like mine will not venture far into the forest … but that’s a few years away 
.
So i arrive at Glenshira holding area and Colin starts to load me with 3.1m logs.
A large stack of 3m pulp is also in the holding area , this is for an export boat.
Destination for my load , The large sawmill at Dalbeattie nr Dumfries.
I head south and start meeting our other trucks heading back up the road.
It seems i am going the wrong way at the wrong time.
I arrive at Dalbeattie after lunch and as it is quiet, i am a soon tipped.
Dalbeattie is it,s usual hole !!
I phone the office and get my next job.
I am heading for a steel stock holder on the outskirts of Glasgow.
We have a couple of trailers sitting in the yard , so it will be a case of pulling the loaded trailer out and dropping
my empty one in a bay… a fair bit of shunting.
The steel yard shuts at 5 so the office is on the phone wondering when i will be there …
As soon as i can is the abrupt answer they get.
I arrive at the yard and find another of our trucks already there.
Norrie has done all the hard work and pulled the loaded trailers out … i just need to drop my empty.
Amazing how these places can get there act together when they want to go home lol.
I strap down the load of steel bar and head for home.
I make it back home with time to spare.
Another late start in the morning as i don’t need to be on site with the bar till 8 am.
Tuesday-
I start at 6 am as its going to take near the 2 hours to get the load of steel bar to the site.
The load of steel is for a wind farm that is under construction.
We have done quite a few loads to this site and one of our Big loaders will be on site to tip us.
I arrive at the site office and get sorted out before the loader arrives.
When i come out the office i find Roy has arrived with the second load.
unknown to me , he had changed trailers with Norrie.
We wait for about half an hour and then get the go ahead to go onto site ( following an ■■■■■■ vehicle).
Most of the road is forest track , parts we were using years before wind farms were thought off.
Our loader is driven by Donnie , and when we arrive at the tipping point we remove the belts and stand well back.
The timber crane allows the steel to be lifted bundle by bundle and placed on the ground in an order that makes it easy
for the steel fixers to build the base.
I,m soon tipped and Roys load is laid out along side mine.
2 artic loads of steel bar for each windmill base.
The area is very desolate and there is nothing to stop the wind lol.
A tower has been built to measure the wind speeds on the site… take it from me it can be windy.
I have to wait till Roys tipped and we both follow our loader off the site and around 5 miles along the road to load logs.
I get set up and get a load of 2.5m pallet wood for the mill at Lockerbie.
I get loaded and head off again.
Another good run down the m74 and i,m in the mill in the early afternoon.
Once gain i strike it lucky and get a quick tip.
It,s amazing running that bit later i,m missing the usual ques.
As i am getting tipped i watch the walking floors getting loaded.
This chap must be a wee bit heavy as the have had the back door open and dropped the pile at the back out.
The loading shovel is quickly onto the next truck in line.
The Que to get out does not take long to clear.
I weigh out and phone the office once more , off to Bathgate for fish food.
This load goes on without a hitch and i manage to get to Stirling for the night and park up.
Wednesday-
An early start today and i head for our yard at Lochgilphead.
The load of fish food is dropped next to a load of straw … shows the varied type of loads we carry.
Also sitting in the yard is wee Gus,s volvo.
It,s up for mot today , he has one of the premiums that is being used as a spare motor
I lift an empty trailer and head into the forest to get a load put on it.
We are loading in the forest above the village of Lochgair.
I manage to get tucked into a laby allowing room for Gus to get by.
I am overlooking an abandoned farm steading …sadly lots of crofts are going this way then being converted to holiday homes.
I suppose its at least doing some good for the area.
In the distance i can see one of the fish farm boats harvesting salmon from the sea cages.
I will have a date with this boat later lol.
Once Gus is loaded i get into position for a load of 4.9m logs.
I have one of our older trailers on and the log pins are not in the best place.
It will be tipped by a lebherr so its not such a big issue having the center pins in.
When loaded i drop the trailer in the forest , no point in dragging it back to the yard.
Gus,s load is sitting just bellow mine.
I run back to the yard and pick up the fish food and head to Tarbert on Loch Fyne.
Gus is already there tipping onto the boat.
As he gets tipped i get the sheet off and rolled up.
When i get tipped , my next load is all of 50 foot along the pier… too well organised if you ask me lol.
A load of fish farm bins , some half filled with ice.
I get the rest of my load at another yard and leave Tarbert.
As i leave the village i look across the loch and can see the site of the fish farm harvest station …3 hours drive away!.
As i am passing home i manage in for a shower… no point in paying for one lol.
Eventually i manage to get to Portavadie and drop the trailer.
Some lads can sleep with the truck under the trailer when loading … i,m not one of them.
I move out the way.
Very soon another of our trucks arrives , Ross has a load of empty bins on.
The guys soon start tipping his load.
When he is tipped , we head for the nearby yacht marina for a pint and a bite to eat.
Thursday-
First thing i have a load of fish to the processing plant.
Then i head to get a load of logs.
The road to Carnoch Beag loading point is very slippy , with some bad cambers in it.
This site has a winch on the job , now a very rare thing in today’s machine based world.
its here because the hills are so steep … a long way down !!!
The lines stretch across the valley and over the road.
Finally i get in and turned , Colin reverses the loader behind me and we get a load of 3m pulp wood put on.
This load is for the paper mill at irvine.
Just over 2 hours sees me tipping at the mill.
One of JST ,s smart Volvo,s is tipping in front of me.
And another local lad is tipping in the Biomass power station
My reload is another handy one …will pay for this some time lol.
Off to Kilburnie for a load of fish farm nets …Truck driver …Fish nets…remember a police stop program with this !.
Lucky i don’t need to pull the log pins and the nets are soon loaded and tied down.
With the 5 nets on i will be lucky if i have 2 ton of a load …result lol.
Back to Portavadie with this load … Fish again tomorrow.
Friday-
Another early start as i have 2 loads to do.
I get the first load in sharp and have time to stop for a break on my way out with the second.
I have a stunning view of the kyles of bute as i drink my coffee.
With the fish delivered to the processing plant i get a phone call and i,m off to the wood again.
I get a couple of loads to do to the pier at Sand Bank nr Dunoon.
As i wait to load one of the lads with the waggon and drags goes into load.
He gets reversed to the back of the job and i load at the start of the wood.
The road is very slippy and i spin a bit getting back.
My load of logs gets tipped onto the boat and i get sent back for another.
I have to wait till Martin comes out the job.
Then i spin my way back in.
I decide to get some “arty” shots and nearly get stuck in the ditch lol.
With this next load tipped and another phone call , I’m on my way home.
I get reloaded at Glenshira holding area and drop the trailer.
10 Min’s later I’m parked at my house .
A busy week , but very quick week.
Thanks for looking Niall.
