Back to work on Monday 20 June and it was an early start of 0500 
from the yard in Morley. Picked up a loaded trailer and delivered it to M&S Toiletries at Whitwood Ind Est for 0600 on the nail.
On getting chance to scrutinize the truck for damage outside and in, plus to check whether anything’s gone missing or not I found that I’ve now got a cracked front reg plate and deep gouges on my drive axle mud guards where the user(s) haven’t bothered to use the air suspension control when dropping off a trailer or picking one up 
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Internally, all my maps are present and correct as is everything else, although I was annoyed to find the engine tunnel covered in dried coffee and tea spills from end to end which should have been cleaned up straight away and not left for me to sort out. I gave Mark my exact thoughts on it, without a doubt. Of course I could have easily saved my breath and just talked to the wall instead.
MST refused one of the small pallets because the stuff wasn’t packaged properly so I had to take that back to the yard to get off lifted. Had a brew while I was there and was presented with my tacho analysis sheets to sign (as documented in my separate thread) which I had a read of then promptly gave him them back, still unsigned.
Next job was to run down to Tinsley Bridge at Sheffield to load up with truck transmission and suspension gear for Arvin Meritor’s over at Llay near Wrexham, with the box of bits to go with them to be picked up from William Cook’s just off The Parkway in Sheffield too, then over The Snake of course for Wrexham.
Enroute I stopped at The Snack Shack just off J36 of the M1 for my breakfast as recommended to me by Keith, but although the breakfast was only £3.50 with a pot of tea and there was nothing physically wrong with it, it just didn’t do it for me for some reason so I’m afraid it doesn’t get the Rob K seal of approval 
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Now last time I went over The Snake fully loaded I had a bit of an arse-nipping time trying to keep the truck going down at a safe pace without frying the brakes at the safe time. I’ve never been one to over rev engines, be it petrol or diesel and I really don’t like letting the revs get above 1800 in a wagon because it sounds painful for it 
, but something had to be done to help control the speed and brake use so I held it in 6th low around 30mph and let the revs hit the 2000-2200rpm mark and gave the zorst brake button a good stamp. It certainly helped with trying to keep control of the speed but I still feel that I’d be able to slow the wagon quicker by opening the door and putting my foot on the ground 
. DAF really need to sort out their exhaust brake system as it really and truly is 
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Had a rather large argument with one of the FLT drivers that was unloading me at Wrexham which I can’t be arsed going into and that severely got my back up to the point where I phoned poor Jim up and had a rant at him about it too 
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Eventually escaped from there and trundled over to Britton Taco at Winsford where I loaded 22 pallets of shrink wrap rolls for the North East and parked up at Winsford on the Ind Est over night.
Tuesday 21 June saw another 0500 start and a change of plan from chaos-control. They’d cocked up on the job-planning and had failed to assign someone to deliver an Italian load to Bradford for 0700, so I would go back to the yard, drop my trailer off, pick up this other one and go and tip that at Goss International on Euroway Ind Est. Opened it up to find nearly 250 rolls of textiles needed to come off and there was only one guy at the place. I didn’t have the heart to watch him struggle with it all so got up on the trailer and we got them off together although when you’re not used to doing hand ball you soon realise how unfit you really are when sweat starts pouring off you .
I later learned that under CMR regulations I shouldn’t have touched the load at all but I guess you live and learn.
3 hours later I was out of there and back for my North East load with first drop in Sunderland just on the north side of the Queen Alexander Bridge. I don’t have a street map for the North East at all so I was (stupidly) relying on directions from auto-route via chaos-control and of course they were wrong - wildly wrong in fact. About 2hrs later after I originally said I’d be there I finally found the first drop and had my 4 pallets off straight away.
Next drop was on the outskirts of Hazelrigg near Newcastle airport and I went via the Tyne Tunnel for the first time. I was pulled into a lay-by beforehand and had my fifth wheel checked to make sure it was connected before going through the tunnel 
. Bizarre. The tunnel is £1.20 for artics for anyone that might need to know but be advised that they only give out change in 20p pieces !!! Seriously! Major confusion ensued when I gave the lassie £1.50 in cash and she asked for another 10p. ‘But the toll said £1.20 not £1.60’. Eventually the penny dropped and I gave her the extra 10p then she gave me 40p change .
Drove straight past the place I wanted at Hazelrigg and had to turn round and go back to it. Tipped 2 pallets there in about half an hour then off up to Morpeth via the A192 up the side of Cramlington for my last drop at Abbey Well drinks of 16 pallets. Out of there about 1745 and parked up half way back down the A192 towards Cramlington for the night with some nice rural views.
Wednesday 22 June I was meant to be running empty down to York for a collection for Leeds but just as I was about to turn on to the A59 chaos-control belled me up and told me to forget it and come straight back to the yard. Turned out that more bad planning had hit the fan and my wagon was due for a fresh MoT on Thursday and the DAF dealer had been on the phone wondering where my unit was for pre-MoT.
Had a brew or two back at Leeds and noticed Ianyng’s heap of scrap metal aka his white Iveco sat in the middle of the yard so knew he was about somewhere. A text message to his phone failed to raise him but Cpt. Sea France himself showed his face in the canteen whilst I was making a brew - talk about bloody perfect timing . I knew it was him but let him make himself a brew before asking him to confirm it 
. We had a natter for a while and chewed some diesel like you do and then I was on my way to Pudsey with my unit to drop it off.
Came back via company paid taxi to find Ian still there so more chatting and brew’s were had. Chaos-control offered me the chance to take Thursday off as a holiday day or trans ship all my gear across into a wendy house globule aka FM12 Globetrotter for the day and night out so of course I politely declined the offer to hump all my gear about and have taken Thursday off as I could use it anyway.
Back in on Friday at some point and photo’s to follow later as I don’t have the camera to hand (only got a few pics anyway).
(oh and it’s had new bumper, headlight, door and steps already 
And very good photo’s, brings back some memories of Snake Pass