Had a funny old day today. Had to work one of my 4 Sundays in the run up to Xmas and didn’t really want to know but hey ho.
Between Newbury and Reading on the M4 see a splash of brake lights and getting closer there is a washing machine that has made a break for freedom and is sat just inside lane 2 and most folks are trying to move around it. Then white van man stops in lane 1 gets out and does the good citizen bit. I pull out across lanes 1 & 2, putting myself between him and the traffic while he pushes the machine to the side. In all about 30 seconds he waves, I nod, and we go on our way. What peed me off was the plank who stopped in lane 3 and just watched could have moved on but no had to watch like they were in a cabaret bar.
Just as I get to Junction 11 a motor cyclist passes me in full Santa outfit had to do a double take and sure enough it’s a Santa outfit. Really puzzled but each to their own. Going on towards Earley off the motorway and a procession of bikes with Santa riders or pillions pass and now I’m grinning like a Cheshire cat and see the notices about a road closure due to a “toy ride” and it start to make sense, it’s a charitable event for kids.
Make the first of my 2 shop deliveries and just as I’m starting to load the return cages the tail-lift dies, on the floor, would not lift in spite of the best efforts of the pump. Swear, phone the office give them the good news and curse the likely extension to my day. 2 and bit hours later fitter arrives, diagnoses a failed ram seal and condemns it to a workshop repair, gets it stowed and strapped up gives the office the “joyous” news and departs to wait the trailers return.
Call mission control and let them know that I can secure the stock for shop 2 that is in the trailer but there are 7 cages on the ground that need to be collected as I can’t get them back onto the trailer (no tail-lift) nor can I make the 2nd delivery with this trailer. Bring it back then and we’ll have to get the other stock lifted by another truck.
All in all white van man and motor cyclists break the caricature image in a good way, Joe public confirm the worst caricature image and a misfortune give me an earlier finish that I was expecting.
Result. 
Transport, it’s a funny old game.
