monday morning and i left the yard in nottingham at 8.45am with a load of timber for kiddiminster the yards 5 mins from j25 of the m1 so im soon on my way down to the m1/a42 split and heading south on the 42. first port of call is the cafe off of j11 of the 42 on the old road into measham you get a massive breakfast for a fiver
breakfast out the way its a steady and unhindered run down to kiddi and and by sheer luck find the timber merchants first time
once i was tipped here i phone in for a reload and as theres nothing doing down this way i retrace my run back to notts for a trailer change and pick up a trailer bound for nailsea in somerset.this job never really got interesting until about 1 mile before strensham services south when at 8 pm the whole motorway stopped and didnt move for 2 hours until we finally got turned round back up the motorway to j7 then down the a38 to j1 of the m50 and back on the m5 south,the reason for the closure was a wagon had flipped on its side and closed the whole motoway.i finally called it a day at michaelwoods services at 11.45pm and by 5 t0 midnight my parking ticket was bought and i were sparkout what a day
tuesday i left the services at 8.45am skipping breakfast as i know the snackvan on the trading estate in nailsea does a great breakfast roll and cuppa tea for £3.80 its on 45 mins and im there and see theres a trailer already there on the bay waiting to tip chipboard which is what ive got unfortunatley the back half of the load has shot and there unable to tip it so i drop mine in the bottom yard and pick up an empty .im reloading in clevedon only 15mins away so its time for breakfast first 
.breaky out the way its over to clevedon to pick up 23 pallets of weightwatchers leaflets mmmm i wonder if somones trying to tell me somthing
its a pretty uneventful run along the m4 and i arrive at maidenhead at 2.30pm.the forklift driver has me tipped in 30mins
i make a call to hq and im told ive got a reload in dunstable for 6 drops north east but to top up the load at sutton in ashfield tomorrow .the run to dunstable was pretty good with no hold ups not even on the m25 or thruogh the roadworks on the m1 .i arrive at dunstable to be confronted with a bit of a que but im only loading 12 pallets so im in and out in no time and heading up the m1 to sutton and one of imr,s regular customers i know i can park up overnight here and get a shower i park up outside the factory at 8.50pm which means i,ll start at 8 in the morning as the lad that loads you will put my pallets on through the night as ive dropped the trailer in there yard,so its time for a sandwich and watch a film before bed.
wednesday now im not a fan of multidrop but the good news is the stuff from sutton is going to the same places as the dunstable drops so its 6 drops still , darlington ,middlesbora,sunderland,2 in gateshead and blaydon ive got to be honest ive never had a better runup the m1 m18 a1 im into to darlington and tipped 2 pallets in no time ,id got all of my drops off by 4pm .feeling very pleased with myself i phone in and give the office the good news only to be told we wernt expecting ya to be done till midday thursday so there aint a backload for ya mate 
in the end im run down to another regular pick up in thornaby on tees and luckily theres a trailer loaded there to go back to nottingham but theres no rush as its not tipping till saturday.when ever im up this way and heading south i always stop at xlbs on the a19 south the cafes good with good food and the overnight parking charge is only £2.50 so im parked up here for the night just before 7pm . mince, dumplings, veg, chips,followedby sponge pudding and a cuppa tea for £4.90 was a nice meal to end the day on
thursday i left xlb,s at 6am and 2 and a bit hours later im back at base drop my trailer and pick one up loaded for malton pk didcot .as the yards near the m1 i go down it to the a43 and go that way to the m40 now anyone that goes this way will know theres not much to look at but when the suns shining as it is today and the heats coming through the windscreen and kerrang radio playing some great rock tunes there not much to beat this job my 6 hours duty time is looming so i decide to have half n hour at cherwell valley services while looking for a ■■■■■■■■■■■■ i see the clampers have been out and have clamped at least 6 trucks to pass the time i have a cuppa and polish the tank and wheeltrims 
.break over its down to malton pk for a very quick tip .i get a phone call from ian from the glastonbury depot saying he,ll meet me at swindon truckstop for a changeover as he,s got a stafford no one down there can do ,and i would be able to get there tonight before 10pm the run to swindon was pretty univentful apart from a pheasant commiting suicide on the truck in front of me 
.ian arrives at swindon about 10 mins after me so once we,d swapped trailers we have a cuppa put the world to rights and then both get on our way the run up the 419 was quiet until the end of the duel carriageway
i got to stafford just before 8.00 and we do a drop n swop here so im out by 8.15 and heading for stafford services for the night by 8.30 ish im parked up with a burger king dont ya just love them xl double whopper meals and band of brothers on the dvd player
friday is a 6 am start and its over to derby to load a trailer to go back to the yard for one of the weekend drivers to deliver.back at the yard i pick up an empty and go round the corner to load 20 pallets of magazines entitled NUTS mag book of ■■■■■ edited by lucy pinder of page 3 fame ,these pallets are going to leeds a drop we do regular so im in and out in no time and trotting along the m62 to elland nr huddersfield to load chipboard for thornaby .im not the only one loading there from imr as mark turns up a few mins after me but he,s loading for nailsea but only taking it as far as the yard in nottingham
after were loaded we have a cuppa to pass time while rush hour on the 62 quietens down.at 5.45 we both leave and i follow mak back to the m1 where he goes south and i go north to thornaby its just after 8pm when i get to thornaby and my loads not tipping till monday morning so the shunter will tip that, i just do a trailer change and bring a loaded one back to nottingham but i,ll only get as far as xlb,s tonight and its salad cob and char grilled chicken pasta for tea and nicholas cage in national treasure on the dvd .
saturday ive only got to run to the yard in nottingham this morning so i get up at 7 have a cuppa and take a steady run down only stopping for a bacon and tomato baggette and large coffee at tibshelf all for £3.05p very nice within 30mins im back in the yard and by 1pm paperworks done trucks washed and im off home 
Carl thanks very much it was a great read
and wonderfull photos much appreciated
Good read Carl. Seems a really well sorted job with a half decent motor does it get much better on uk work.
cheers fellas
i forgot to put this pic in but the reason i took it was that the little mitsubishi had curtains around the guy must of spent the night across the seats and i bet it were cold as there was no night heater roaring away
It’s a good diary Carl. but dont jest about those weightwatcher leaflets.
You seem to be better suited to an Egon Ronay lifestyle with all those cafe stops 
Nice one Carl.
It’s a good diary Carl. but dont jest about those weightwatcher leaflets.
You seem to be better suited to an Egon Ronay lifestyle with all those cafe stops
malc the funny thing is ive lost weight in the last 3 months but i do like a good salad and pasta aswell
good diary carl.
cant belive you stopped after half an hour for breakfast .will keep a eye out for you mate
jon
nice read mate nice photos to mate i thiught u would have a tanker now with all that cream work geting.
keep it chapping.
Nice diary. Nice shiny wagon. Nice Bacon and Tomato Roll. I remember them
Good show mate!
Another good diary, thanks.
Cheers mate good diary
Good read that carl. A few of my mates have worked for IMR in the past.(Rob Mccoy, Steve bicknell, Stu Dovey, Mick Whiting… Thats the ones i can remember ) It seems a decent job.
I`ll keep my eye out for you… Probably at a cafe or burger van eh?
Good, interesting read, thanks.
A few of my mates have worked for IMR in the past.(Rob Mccoy, Steve bicknell, Stu Dovey, Mick Whiting…
jon, steve b now works for stobbies on the tesco job outta chesterfield mate i only new him for a short while but he,s a sound bloke ,small world eh
cheers for the kind replys fellas i was a bit worried it were a bit long but i guess i was wrong judging by the replys so thanks again
Good diary and pics
Good read mate,funny enough i’ve been watching Band of Brothers on Dvd this week.I think i took it due t it being Rememberance Sunday,kinda makes me feel grateful for whta they did.