Another good read and pictures. 
ps i bet it takes anyone on dial up a few days to open this thread now the amount of pictures on it 
another good read and some nice photoās rob. 
Bones:
Another good read and pictures.ps i bet it takes anyone on dial up a few days to open this thread now the amount of pictures on it
Each page opens separately so it isnāt a problem. The pics on pages 1,2,3,4 and 5 donāt open when youāre on page 6.
once again a nice,post and welllaid out,thanks rob k,
I knew it!!!
I just knew he would have a go at a security guard eventually if we waited long enough PMSL
Well done Rob, really enjoying your posts
I do enjoy reading all of the diaries,nice one rob.
Rob K:
Each page opens separately so it isnāt a problem. The pics on pages 1,2,3,4 and 5 donāt open when youāre on page 6.
Ah no problemo
good read rob makes me tired just reading it ā¦ and all those nights out make me shudder
Another Good Read And Picās Rob
Another good read mate. Even makes me forget the headache and dodgy belly for a little while!
I love work 
- especially reading about other people`s jobs . Nice one, Rob - keep it up
Regards
Trev
Another good read with good photos, look 4ward to next week. 
first time reading your diary rob and ive got to say its top notch ,Ive read from page 1 on and the time has flown by ,for a new driver like myself the kind of detail that you go into is really usefull in understanding the way that this industry operates-cheers m8 and keep up the good work
enjoyed the read rob - entertaining and educational for a newbie like me also, keep posting please.
Excellent read, keep them coming 
Forgot to pick up the camera this week so of course no pics 
.
Monday 23 May was a non-event as I was ill.
Tuesday 24 May had me in at 0700 to be taken up to Chatfieldās at Pudsey to collect my unit after service. Yet again the drive axle air bag lift height still hasnāt been adjusted so that means I still canāt pick up trailers which have been dropped high and have to get out and wind the legs up every time. Iāve informed the gaffer about this and heās contacted DAF and they are still adamant there is nothing they can do. If this is true then DAFās CF gets crossed off my list as a decent motor as in my opinion it isnāt fit for the job itās built to do.
Back to the yard and pick up an empty to load at Smurfitās, again up in Pudsey in Leeds for a delivery to Newton Aycliffe. I didnāt have a map for that area as itās rare as rocking horse I get up that way so a friendly Smurfitās driver pulled his map out and showed me where I wanted to be.
Whipped round the Ring Road to Wetherby Road (A58) and headed for the A1. If anyone lives in this area or knows the road, it used to be a decent run from the Ring Road right up to where it joins with the A1 at Wetherby but now theyāve completely messed it up by putting chevrons for the entire length meaning no overtaking opportunities (for cars/vans primarily) and the more than adequate 40mph limit through the villages has now been reduced to 30mph, with the addition of a new set of traffic lights which werenāt needed either. I used to live just off the A58 and used the road every day but Iām glad I donāt now. I was literally pulling my hair out by the time I got to Wetherby it was that tedious, oh, and although there isnāt a weight limit on it (yet) the sign on Wetherby Rd doughnut on the Ring Road says wagons must use Ring Road and A64 for Wetherby - 
- DREAM ON. 
The new A1 by-pass is cracking on nicely and shouldnāt be long now until itās all up and running. I have concerns about the quality of the job in places though. There are some seriously uneven bits of (new) road and with the volume and weight of traffic along it every day I can see there being road works to repair it again before itās even been opened properly 
.
Stopped at Quernhow cafe for my breakfast as it was recommended to me by someone. Had Ā£4.40 in my pocket in change and went in and ordered a big breakfast.
āĀ£4.70 please loveā.
āHOW MUCH?ā
āĀ£4.70 loveyā.
āI only ordered one! Iāll have to leave it then because Iāve only got Ā£4.40 and thought that would have covered it easilyā.
āGive us what youāve got thenā.
So I got 2 scabby bits of bacon, 2 poor quality sausages, 2 congealed eggs (really rubbery and unlike eggs), half a fried slice, beans, tinned toms (extremely runny and a plate swimming in tom juice), mushrooms (declined by me), pot of tea or coffee (free re-fills) and a slice of bread and butter.
So I went and sat down to eat it and found myself constantly swatting at flies and having to flick them off the edge of the table, plate and pot of tea repeatedly. The food was that bad I left some of it and that just isnāt like me at all.
Perhaps if they spent more time concentrating on the quality of the food, sorted the price out, ie. like knocking Ā£2 quid off the price, and did whatever was required to lose the flies rather than spending all their money on flashy flat screen wide screen TVās for the punters theyād go far.
After tipping Newton Aycliffe I was off to TRW Steering at Washington for the first Ford collection, just 2 lifts. Had some trouble finding the place but got there in the end. From there I jumped on the A19 for NSK Steering at Peterlee where that collection filled the rest of the trailer after having to wait a couple of hours to get it on.
Hungry again by this point so elected to stop at Exelby just south of Pottoās on the A19 for my tea there, but there was a problem - I was now out of cash and needed a cash machine! No problem, given that Exelby is probably the largest service area on the A19 thereās bound to be one there. WRONG!. So I have to carry on down the road as I refuse to consume anything Ginsters from the garage. In desperation I pulled off at Thirsk and looked for a local garage to grab a couple of sarnies but alas there wasnāt one to be found, but I did find a Tescoās so stopped there instead and headed for their cafe. What another mistake. Vegetable lasagne (just as congealed as the eggs earlier in the day from Quernhow), chips (been kept warm since lunch time at least) and beans - strange combination I know but that was all they had left, all for Ā£4 , and that was that bad I left most of it too. Poor quality food has to be one of my pet hates and two in one day was just not on 
.
I was headed for our depot at Birch to tip off but made an unplanned stop just off the M62 near my house to get a small quality pizza from my local take away and that did just the trick - decent food at last - ah, happy now .
Over to Birch, tipped off and parked up for the night in their yard.
Wednesday 25 May saw me up about 0700 and ready to go at 0730.
āGo over to Macaws and load this reference for Nettoās at Pontefractā.
The rest of the story can be found in the āNettoā¦ā thread (when I get round to writing it).
From there I went to a place near Castleford for a Ford collection, then over to Kostal at Goldthorpe for another couple of pallets then up to Woodhead Spring in Leeds for the rest and then take it all back to the yard for the night man to ship over to the Birch. Night out in the yard (paid).
Thursday 26 May got off to a better start as I was doing a Shepton Mallet, one of my favourite runs so it was with my empty trailer that I trundled over to Knottingley to load up at C T Transport. After getting there I discovered that the curtain ratchet handles were missing on both sides . No way. Of course I never noticed this when leaving the yard as the bottom edge of the curtain covers them up. This really me off big style and Mark (gaffer) got several dummies spat at him when I belled him up telling him this and questioning why the last user hadnāt defected it. Even the curtain buckles were bent that far out of shape that they wouldnāt stay fastened too.
Of course trying to get back to the yard to swap it over was a fete in itself as the M62 now backs up right to Normanton and beyond for the M1 at the morning traffic peak and I copped for it all. Not going well. Eventually got back over there and got it loaded but I had a few concerns about the quality of the wrapping so used a few extra straps than usual here and there and made sure they were as tight as I could get them. All sealed up and left there shortly after en-route for Shepton Mallet.
With the extra run to Leeds and back meant that I would have to take my break sooner than I usually do so I came up with the plan that Iād stop at Pearlās at South Elmsall for my breakfast and 45 there and then run from there down to Shepton Mallet in one hit, thinking that I could just do it in one hit, as long as there were no hold-ups. The plan worked well but I needed to be at Shepton Mallet for 1630 (now 1200). Good run all the way down to J23 on the M5 but it was 1600 by this point and I know from experience that on a decent run across through Glastonbury it takes 40 minutes from the M5 to Shepton Mallet (not sticking to the speed limits I hasten to add). I decided to make a dash for it and arrived there 10 minutes over a 4.5 
.
No sooner had I got in to tip and undone all the curtain buckles when the QC man came over and started looking at the load. Then asked for my paperwork and wrote ārefused - collapsed loadā across it . It looked okay to me. Managed to collar him and got him to explain and he pointed out on the back 8 lifts that the bottom row of bottles on the bottom pallets had ābuckledā as such, and were no longer supporting the ones above which were also starting to go. I belled chaos-control up and told them and they said that mine was the fifth load which had been refused that day and it was down to the quality of the packaging out of Knottingley.
The orders were to take it back to Knottingley (from Shepton Mallet ) so that I did. Iād yet again forgotten to start/stop my timer and had lost track of how many hours driving Iād done. My plan was to meet Keith at 'Spoons at Long Eaton as Thursday night is curry night (special offer). Letās just say I made some poor calculations and it took far longer to get to Long Eaton that I first thought. I was beginning to worry Iād be over my 10hrs driving time but thought I might just make it. I carried on anyway as I donāt think in all my driving history Iāve ever done a 10hr drive right up to the limit. On closer inspection of my tacho when I got to Long Eaton I reckoned that Iād done about 10hrs 30 driving from the trace (813 kms) and so have marked tha back with a suitably good enough (made up) excuse and a mental note - yet again - to remember to stop and start the timer 
. Keith was already in 'Spoons and had the curries ordered so it was waiting for me when I got in .
Friday 27 May saw me away from Long Eaton at 0730 ish for our yard to drop the trailer off for now. Picked up a loaded one for Jack Fultonās over at Garforth and that was a nice and easy tip with a pump truck. Parked up for a bit then back to the yard to take one of the other refused glass loads back to Allied Glass at Stourton. This one wasnāt so bad and with a steady hand by the FLT driver and some well planned out coordination by myself we got them all off intact without losing or breaking any bottles.
Took the empty back to the yard and picked up my own one which, having been on a lengthy tour of the UK, wasnāt in as good a state and looked very similar to one of those saw dust trailers and sounded like a milk float driving done the road with all the bottles now clanging about in the back.
The first plan of action was to leave the curtain done up and start to remove them from the back first as opening the curtains would most likely result in the whole lot falling straight off the side. However, we were faced with a dilemna. Of course the last two pallets were criss-cross strapped and I couldnāt get to the levers on the straps because they were trapped under the curtains at the side which would involve releasing the curtains of course.
We reckoned that by cutting the straps the last two pallets would fall out, possibly with those pallets in front of them going too whereas if we opened the curtains there should only be one or two pallets go from either side. I then came up with the bright idea to park the wagon on a fairly well cambered piece of tarmac so that the offending pallets on one side would be leaning into the trailer and not out of it when the curtain was opened. This proved to be an excellent piece of thinking by me - it worked a treat and we just managed to get the pallets out intact with only a few loses/breakages.
When it came to doing the other side I got hold of the straps and routed them under the pallets which were likely to fall out and was able to secure the inner sides of them from falling over to the other side when I swapped cambers. Again, this worked well and after that we had the rest off intact. Result .
Once tipped off there, back to the yard, park up and home.
However, one last bit which has really annoyed me. Upon phoning for my start time Tuesday morning I was told that I[/b] would have to phone them before 1030 Saturday morning to find out what I was doing Tuesday. Now this has all changed now that chaos-control is based at Birch because when it was at Leeds, either Alan or Dave (now left for pastures new) would phone you up some time Saturday morning and tell you what you were doing. This worked well because if you were āunavailableā due to whatever reason (in my case, still in bed asleep), theyād leave a message on your voice mail and that was how it went.
So my argument with this new arrangement is that my phone is just that - my phone, and not for making company related calls on. If they canāt/donāt want to phone me then thatās fair enough, Iāll be in at 0700 Tuesday morning and you can tell me where Iām going then.
This didnāt go down well at all and I was told āyou will phone in before 1030 tomorrow morning or else you wonāt be in on Tuesday ā¦ Wednesday, Thursday or Fridayā¦ā. 
Not only that, but Mark (gaffer) was sat next to Danny who said this and backed him up. I decided that now was not the best time to argue the point about it and it might be best if I keep my head down for a while but Iām not happy about the arrangement and it will be brought up again soon. Meanwhile, after phoning up this morning to find out what Iām doing, Iām loading TNT Bradford Tuesday around 0730-0800 for Leicester to start off with (and the calls to them from my phone will be charged at Ā£5 per call on my expenses sheet, end of).
We had the same problem at our place with phones,when we got the Twingos Rob.
As they came without phones to contact the office monkeyās,we were told to put it on our expenses,and claim it back.Trouble was,some of the lads were taking the ā ā ā ā ,and claiming a little too much,so it spoiled it for everyone,to the point where they stopped paying for phone calls.
To this day,some lads are still owed,but as some of the phones are breaking down,they refuse to use their personal phones,as the company still refuse to pay up.
Causes great arguments with the gaffer when he asks why they didnāt call in from their last drop.But the penny is starting to drop with our lot,as the phone engineer is on the ball when one goes faulty.
However.Thereās more than one way to,how shall I say,get payment.
Ken.
The airline couplingās on the Post Office trl, we have them on our unitās for drawbars the unit end is the same as normal with a red and yellow line they just both join and fit in to the same plug and then connect in to trl together, i think they are brill, off for a week but will take camera and take some piccyās when i return
Great Read Rob