Dudley let me have both barrels

Dudley's barrels waiting for me.



An early start and straight into Dudley for 7.30.

I found the place really easily but I wished Id never bothered when I got there.

I always thought the people of Dudley would be a funny, friendly bunch , possibly because that's the image Lenny Henry projects of Dudlonians!

The ones I met this morning where neither funny or friendly , they were foul.

I pulled up at the gate of the factory and straight away I thought I must of drove through dog shit , the way the guard looked at me.

When I handed him my paperwork,he looked disappointedto find it all in order.

He grunted and jerked his head in the general direction of a city link trailer and I set off to find the goods in office, hoping for a better reception.
Well I didnt get it.

I stood at this makeshift desk, reading a list of rules as long as any ones arm and watching this woman on the opposite side of it, doing anything other than look up at me.

Eventually she lifted her head and gave me a withered look , but without her even speaking, that look asked me what I wanted, and told me she didn't actually care so just hurry up and go through the procedures as fast as you can.

I handed her my paperwork and then stood there. I had never been here before and I didn't know the procedures.

At every drop, there are different procedures, and they are never anything like the rules and regulations they always have posted up on the wall.

Because I stood there and didn't scuttle off into my lorry, she snarled the words "Go and wait in the cab until we need you" at me.

I went and waited, and when they wanted me, they opened a gate and pointed at where to put the lorry.

After the lorry was unloaded I went back inside to get my notes , big mistake!

She barked "Stay there" and pointed to a spot next to the truck and explained that I had only just been unloaded and the goods would now have to be counted and checked and only then would my notes would be signed and returned to me.

I have mentioned about biting my tongue on here before but I have to say this was becoming a feast.

I tried to cheer myself up by photographing this camper.
and this classic Merc.
I was driving past this motorcycle factory and I had never heard of Swift before.

It was a massive factory and had a Kawasaki shop on the end of it.




London was waiting for me when I got into my truck the next morning and it all seemed a bit stepford wives for some reason.

I was in early and had drops in all the posh places, and every where I looked there were women everywhere jogging and dads pushing buggies,talking on there mobiles.



I made delivery's at Westminster view apartments and at St Georges Cathedral on Westminster bridge Rd and every body looked like clones of each other , it was all very surreal.



I finally got out of London and found my way to my last drop, a tiny village in the wilds of nowhere and disaster struck.

Up until now I have been either very lucky or very careful with the trucks they have entrusted into my care but that luck eventually ran out.

It wasn't a drama or a high speed crash or anything serious , all I did was break a rear light but it still meant I had to phone up the bosses and tell Id broken their truck.

It was a little bit worse because it was on hire to us to get us through a busy period and was going straight back out after my 14 hours in it.

It happened when I drove through this ford on my way to the last drop of the day. I had rang for directions as advised on the notes so I knew it was the right way , 2nd house on the left after the ford the professor had said.



I know it doesn't look very bad but believe me , I was gutted I had damages to report , I was doing so well , 9 weeks without so much as a scratch and then a poxy ford and the rear light grounds out going through.

When the warning lights came on in the dash ton tell me I had a fault I thought I had got water in the lens , when I jumped out to look it was completely smashed.

When I got back to base they were fine about it and were fitting a replacement while they were loading the next job on for the other drivers run.

These guys could run a pit stop better than Maclaren.

I was a lot happier knowing that they didnt see it as a big deal