Well, that went as well as could be expected, didn’t it (spoken in best Wallace & Gromit fashion).
Worked nights last night on my regular job. Phone call this morning at 11am from the agency - They have a Class 2 job starting at 4pm. Am I interested? The gods are obviously smiling on me as it is the self-same run I mentioned earlier - a straight run from Daventry down to Asda at Chepstow, tip and return empty. I immediately agreed and then went back to bed for a while.
Drove to the depot (McGregor-Cory at Watford Gap) in plenty of time for the 4pm start - text message on the way to tell me start has been put back to 5. Hey, ho…
Arrive at the depot in plenty of time for a 5pm start, only to be told the truck has not yet arrived. It rolls in around 5.30 and is soon reloaded for my run. I see from the paperwork that I’m booked in at Chepstow for 8pm. I think I’m going to miss that booking…
One of the old hands quickly explains the setup at Chepstow, and they have thoughtfully provided me with a map of the estate there. I ask the incoming driver, who has just returned from that neck of the woods, what the weather is like down there. He paints a dismal picture, with water all over the place and heavy traffic pretty much everywhere. I confess that I’m a novice driver, and he immediately offers to show me over the truck before he goes home (this despite the fact that he’s been at work since 3am!) . He introduces me to a 53 reg 17 tonne Renault curtainsider. Not a very large truck, but noticeably bigger than the tiddly little Iveco I did my training on just a fortnight ago…
He gives me the once over regarding the switches and controls, and shows me the modern digital tacho (Uh-Oh…). Fortunately for me it has s simple 6-speed gearbox. Unfortunately for me, he explains that it has a tendency to jump out of second gear…
He also explains how to “draw the curtains” on the back, where to draw fuel and a load of other stuff that goes straight above my head. I thank him profusely, but he dismisses it, saying that We All Have To Start Somewhere, and observing that I did at least have the sense to admit that I was a raw beginner.
Still, in for a penny… 6pm and I’m off - This is the first lorry I’ve driven since passing my test, and also the first laden truck that I have ever driven. OK, so it’s only carrying 8 pallets of haircare products, but the difference is VERY noticeable.
The run down to Chepstow is uneventful. I stop a couple of times to double-check road and junction numbers, but I pull into Asda’s depot at 10pm. I’m directed to a parking place, then wander over to find the Goods Inwards people, fully expecting to have to wait an hour or two to tip. But no - I am immediately given instructions to back up between two bays for the forklift boys to do their stuff. I reverse in and stop the truck neatly six inches from the wall, but without touching it. Neat.
Now I have to open up the curtains, but I can’t seem to crack the tension in the roller. Nervously, I approach a gaggle of forklift drivers and ask if they would mind giving me a hand/showing me what to do. Naturally there is an element of good natured ■■■■-taking, but again I am impressed by the way they immediately give me the advice and assistance that I needed. I feel somewhat humbled…
Anyways, offloading takes a just a few minutes and then with the paperwork completed I head back towards home. A compulsory break at Michael Wood Services, then it’s full steam ahead (noticing how much more responsive the truck is when unladen).
Back at the depot at 0230, I complete my paperwork and discover that I’d put the tacho chart in upside down! WHAT A NUMPTY!!!
Ah well, better luck next time…
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. Funnily enough I did that the first time I cam across a digital tacho as well 
. It might be well worth noting on the thing the times you were driving (if you can remember them), the times you were on break and the times you were on other work. IE waiting for the lorry to turn up. I get a bit of this and tend to put WR Start 07-00 say on the back of mine, write a little explanation as to why it’s not recorded on the back (their should be a chart for manually recording on the back of the tacho - you’ll see it. looks a bit like half a clock face 
).