Back on the Road

Well the Lorryday blog is back on Monday.

I got a job with a large local firm. They seem a really good company.
They were also the first company I emailed after losing my job because they were an outfit I had admired out on the road and wanted to work for.

They have proved to be pretty decent because although they emailed back saying they didn't have any vacancies at the time, they did take my mobile number. A lot of the other companies didn't even reply.
Well, on Thursday they rang and asked me to come in for an interview.

Everything went really well and I was offered a job with one of the biggest and best company's and Leicestershire, what a week its turned out to be.
First a bronze medal in the boat race and then this.

I'm covering the holiday's so Ill be in a different wagon most weeks. 18 tonnes and 7.5 t, but I was told I would get my own vehicle when they get a new 7.5 t driver, that's OK, I am just happy to get work.

I have been out of work since April and I thought It would be a lot longer.

I chased a lot of company's and I got a lucky break that they remembered me and chased up my begging letter's!, It must of made me look keen instead of desperate!

I picked up my phone, my uniform and my Hi Viz today ( no I didn't wear it home) and they ordered me some work boots for Monday.

I don't know what vehicle i'm in yet but I am going to see the Bloke in charge of my section on Saturday and he will show me all the procedures and show me what I will be doing on Monday.

Ill post some pics on Monday and I hope that the powers that be will let me continue to write a daily blog.

Ill see you on the road.

The Surprise Package

This was my team "The Liberty Bells" that did me so proud in the Dragon boat race on Sunday.
We were put together on Wednesday and had never even all met before then, let alone rowed a boat so we were not expecting much.

We all arrived on 8.30 am for the team photo and set off on our maiden voyage in lane two.

55 seconds later and we had tasted our first victory. we had a taste for it and everything was getting very serious and all of a sudden we were discussing tactics.




Three more races later including a fastest time of the day and we were into the semis.


The semis were tough but we scraped in as fastest runners up. We had lost our rhythm and we were all pretty pissed off. It could of caused a bit of a rift in the boat but we all settled down and took our last chance and promised to give it everything. (told you we were all getting serious)

What a final !! we were all going for it right from the start and for the whole 200 metres all three teams were neck and neck .

We gave everything and it was really nerve racking watching the dragons head of the other boats slip slightly in front and then behind again. We could all feel the boat lurch as we pulled our strokes and everything felt right.

Our boat was in front right till the finish and when we crossed the line it went to the judges for a photo finish.




We got onto the podium but sadly for us it was a bronze medal. Boo hoo.

The judges gave us 55.80 and the 2nd place 55.50. The winners did it in 54.90.

We found out that far from it being a fun event for a local charity the winning team and been training for weeks and seeing as the runners up were locals to the pub that hosted the event ( my family's pub). We were therefore billed as the surprise package.

Enter The Dragon

The job search goes on and things are not looking to good at the minute, but as a little light relief the family have been involved in some charity work for 'Loughborough Women's Aid'.

We have been entered into a Dragon boat race at the weekend along with ten friends and the kids.

None of us had ever even seen a dragon boat before yesterday and hardly any of us had ever been out on the water. Some of the team hadn't even been out of the city so it was quite funny watching them all trying to get into the boat last night at our first and only practice session.

Our safety talk went well and I was learning what the wooden thing in my hand was for and which way up it went.

Some of the smaller members of the team were taking notice.

Once that was explained to me, we were away and every bloke in the boat shot off at super speed for about 3 yards and then realised we had a long way to go.

Paddles and fingers were clanking and bashing on the sides and water was splashing all over the place.The boat was spinning around in circles and we were going nowhere . "Stop" yelled the helmsman.

Time for a few basic rules. All paddles in the water at the same time.
All pull together.
All keep your own space and don't encroach on the space in front or behind.
Now, PULL ! PULL ! PULL!

We were off and straight away we felt the difference and everyone seemed to be getting the hang of it.

There were 15 of us in the practice boat including my little ones.

They did great but didn't seem to enjoy getting wet as much as the rest of us, so with our competitive streak kicking in, we dumped the kids and jumped into a real race boat and went for the course record!



Watch out for that tree !!


We managed to pass the line in one piece and some (me) even managed to celebrate our small victory.

The main event is on Sunday 24th May at my sisters pub "The Boat House" in Barrow - on - Soar Leicestershire.

There are 21 crews entered including 3 from DHL.

First race is 10 am but as for having a flutter on the winner I think its a forgone conclusion.

We have already rehearsed our victory dance.

Tanks are not for me

I have to apologise first of all for the fuzzy pictures, there wasn't much to look at on this course so snapped the props but it was on my phone.

I learned a lot on this course and whether I passed or not I will always remember one thing.

I hate working with other people. I get along with them at the time and I'm not rude and I can even put up with there nonsense and be polite to them.
I just cant stand it when they bore me with trivial details of their jobs or their lives.

We were all there to learn about "The Carriage Of Dangerous Good " and we were all there to be taught by an expert. Then why were so many of the Trainees all so called experts as well?
"We don't do that at our place" and "they do it this way at ours" or "I would do that" or "I would do this".
We had to listen to one bore while he gave us a full list of what kit he carried in his van.

I think its called participation but I would rather here the man we paid to talk , Talk.

I was given an amazing nugget of pointless information just before my last exam on Friday afternoon.
The bloke even told the room " I have a pointless piece of information, not connected in any way to what we are talking about" I groaned and dropped my head onto the table as he went on.
"The people who make best of both bread, now make cobs as well"

Whowwww , I was tempted to leave the room before the last exam and rush into a supermarket and demand these new life changing cobs.
I was just about to break exam protocol and turn on my phone to text my wife this revelation. This information was hot of the press from this privileged insider whose wife was lucky enough to work for a company that had literally re - invented sliced bread!

I managed to restrain myself and the exam started. I was lost though. I had slowly lost the will to live, not just my colleague with his bread anecdote but it had been slowly building up all week.

I like being in a lorry, in the middle of nowhere with something to deliver and somewhere to find. Not stuck in a room of bores with something to prove and to much to say.

I enjoyed the learning but not the learning process.

I struggled to concentrate after the main exams.
Thursday afternoon was the start of the Tanker module and I couldn't concentrate.

The information just wouldn't sink in. I read and re read the notes and listened as hard as I could but I was just drifting away. I think the exams had taken it out of me. The last time I was in a class room was 1984!

A lot of the others said the same thing , how they were exhausted when they got in. Most of us were used to working a 12 - 15 hour days but we were shattered after 7 hours in a classroom.

When the exam on Tankers came round I didn't feel confident at all.
I was right because I didn't see any of the answers jump out at me. I had to work for everyone.
They are all multiple choice and the answer is written down in front of you but I didn't see them.
I guessed at best on at least 5.

I was told it was the easiest exam of them all but they are only easy if you know the answers aren't they ?

I cant stress any more though it all over and nothings going to change the outcome so Ill wait for my results but I wont hold my breath.

I have been offered a few days on various agency's this week but they have all been while I was unavailable on this ADR course.
I hope I get a few more offers next week . I just want to drive a truck again.

Pheww !!! nearly all over

I have not been here for ages because I have had my nose buried in rules and regulations.

I have been learning about British law , European law and International law.

I have been reading about chemical reactions and flammable substances and flash points and toxicity and bio hazards and everything in between.

I was in a large group of lorry drivers. There were a few white van men and a couple of council workers who have just been brought into scope and they weren't happy at all. Some of the blokes on the course were ADR holders that had let their licences lapse.

The course itself was hard , I had to read and re read most of the stuff I was given to study with to make it sink in. I completed about 150 revision questions last night over and over again.

I was feeling pretty confident about the exams after getting good marks on the revision paper.
Then the first paper arrived, multiple choice. I didn't have a clue what the first question was, they all looked like the correct answer. I read the paper and the right answers jumped out at me and it got a bit easier. The first question answered itself further down because the more questions you read, the other answers give you clues.

The 2nd , 3rd and 4th exam seemed to go OK and I was pretty confident.

The 5th Exam was classes 4,5 & 9 and my mind was a blank , I messed up acetylene and thought it was transported in Bulkheads !!! what an Idiot! Its transported in Acetone. Then I messed up Cryogenic , I also messed up a few at the end. Out of the last 24 questions I think I got 6 wrong.

I don't think that's a fail so fingers crossed.

I started Tanks today and I have the exam for that tomorrow so I better get my snout back into the books for a bit. Ill let you know if I embarrass myself on the last exam but I have been told the Tanks is the easiest module.
Here's hoping.

ADR & The Melted Nurse

I started the ADR course today along with 20 fellow students.

Most of them are renewing a certificate they already have so its full of people with lots of experience.

I have been very quiet just sitting there and trying to take it all in.

We started with introductions and a talk through the basics of what is expected of us.

It all seemed a bit technical at first and I was pretty worried about the exams on Thursday but in the afternoon it all seemed to click and I feel a lot more confident about it all now.

We studied the first part of ADR The movement of Hazardous Materials, Core and were shown loads of slides and videos of frightening scenarios and injury's.

A famous incident I heard about today was finally put to rest, a myth I have been hearing about ever since I started lorry driving.

It was 1969 and a tanker carrying an acid called Oleum was involved in an accident with a scaffold lorry.

The scaffold poles pierced the tanker and a large amount of the Oleum leaked onto the M6.
An off duty nurse was following the tanker and rushed over to help,
The driver was banging on the windows of the cab to warn her not to approach but she thought he needed help and carried on toward him.

The rumour was that she was completely melted in the pool of acid.

I saw the photos today and she wasn't all melted but it was pretty bad.
A policeman attending the scene was also badly injured. He suffered damaged lungs when he breathed in the fumes and badly burned feet when he stood in the pool of Oleum. He was off work for nine months.

I was taught that it was this incident that paved the way for a set of regulations covering the movement of hazardous materials now known as "The Carriage Regs"

I'm going back to the revision books so Ill post another update tomorrow.

The Scruffiest Security Guard in The World

I had a job seekers allowance meeting and it has made me even more determined to get another job as fast as possible.

It's another world inside those places and not one that I want to inhabit any longer than I have to.

I was met by two members of staff and directed to my interview on the first floor of the town centre job centre.

I had an appointment arranged for 3.20 pm and was met by the scruffiest security guard in the world wearing the biggest suit in the world and was asked my name.

He signed me off on his list and directed me to sit down.As other people arrived he seemed to be in charge of pissing them off because that is what happened time and time again. He was completely charmless.

I watched another 5 people arrive and they all had 3.20 pm appointments.
There were 2 people carrying out the interviews and 5 people waiting. I knew I was going to be in there for a while.

The worlds scruffiest security guard was getting quite aggravated as more claimants arrived and made his annoyance known. He was asking the claimant advisor how long he was going to be and he pointed out that it was nearly 4 O-clock!

I felt bad enough having to sit in that festering pit with my begging hand out without having to listen to this dick, moaning about having to do his job. If any one is getting money for nothing it's people like him.

I went through all my responsibilities and obligations with an advisor and everything was very pleasant and polite.

I had to tell them about the ADR course I am booked onto next week and the advisor said not to mention it because it meant I was not going to available for work that week.
I got out of the Job Centre at 5 pm.

The scruffiest security guard in the world had gone.

I had a good interview with a company in Nottingham for some class C work in Melton and I am feeling pretty confident going on what the guy said to me.

Fingers crossed I will have some more Lorryday adventures soon.

Sods Law

Today is the day of my Job seekers allowance meeting to see whether I qualify for any state help or not while being out of work.

Today was the day that the agency phoned me up to offer me my first day's work.

What a nightmare.

The way an agency works is they ring you because they are usually desperate, they are desperate because someone else is usually desperate and there are usually lots of agency's being rung and in turn ringing around and it all gets a bit frantic.
You never get the luxury of thinking about your answer or trying to re arrange you plans or cover your commitments its just a simple yes or no.

When its a No you feel a deep sense of dread that they will never ring you again, and that you've blown it.

I said No. I have to get to the Job seekers Interview because its the first one and I need my claim to be processed as fast as possible just in case I don't get offered any work again.

Its catch 22 in a lot of ways and I just hope that they understand.

A few plus points are that I have an interview tomorrow and my wife is being offered some freelance work as well so touch wood.

Things not looking that good judging by this here

Driver For Hire ?

Today was the day I had decided to register with the Driving agency's.
I had rang them all before and made appointments to see them.
I assumed it was just a matter of turning up and registering.

I arrived at the first one and it everything seemed to be going OK.
I took my Driving licence, passport, a utility bill, my digital driving card, my bank details and my complete work history including first job since leaving school. I'm 40 now!

I also took a Tacho test and a directions exam , how do you get to London from Leicester etc....

I signed around 20 forms and answered about 100 questions. The whole process took about an hour.
This is all just for the privilege of joining a list of drivers longer than the river Severn.

It was a pain but obviously necessary if I want to work any time soon.

I went on to my next scheduled meeting , another agency just up the street.

I carried my rucksack of paperwork in through the door and the receptionist gave me a look that told me she didn't want the Big Issue. I guess the shave and the smart clothes counted for nothing in this part of town.

I explained I had come to register for a Class 2 driver job, the sniggers and the awkward silence said it all.

After what seemed like an age but was only in reality a few seconds the receptionist informed me that the Driving Registration strategist was unavailable for the moment and would it be possible to come back at a later date?

I wasn't impressed and said I'd try my luck elsewhere. The sniggers turned to suppressed laughter and I left with the sound of muffled giggling in my ears.

I went on to the next agency and I was met with the same enthusiasm. I went to my last scheduled appointment and again their driving recruitment officer was unavailable.
I was sensing a pattern here and decided to give it a rest for the day. I had successfully registered at one agency out of a potential seven.

I remember the good old day's when I had two agency's actually fighting over who got me for the day and the highest bidder would win.

I even had one agency ask me where I was going that day and then they rang that company up and cancelled me, then sent me in to one of their customers and sent one of their other drivers to fill the cancelled position. That was the way the agency's worked those day's.

I have been disillusioned with all the setbacks today but I have the ADR examinations coming up next week with the promise of some work afterwards if I pass so I'm also optimistic for the future.

"Truckfessed"

I had planned on going to Truckfest when I first caught sight of the poster around East Anglia earlier on in the year.
I had a plan to get the whole family there by taking a drive in the country side and just happening across the biggest collection of trucks and trucking related products in the Country and recommend we checked it out.
This was a working plan until I mentioned it to Truck & Driver and they sent me a family pass.
I had to change the plan slightly and I eventually confessed.

It rained while we drove over to Peterborough and rained when we got there.

It was still raining while we walked round an hour later but I can honestly say I didn't really notice it.

The kids did though and they were moaning that the bouncy castles would be wet and that they were bored but I was really enjoying myself.

I took lots pictures and I have to confess that I am not a massive lorry expert.

I can tell a Scania from a Daf and a Volvo from an Iveco but I have no idea of engines and models and the year of introduction. We have The Big Lorry Blog for that, nobody does it better than those guys and this years Truckfest posts are amazing.

The pictures I took were mostly of the things the kids liked and that's what I have posted here.


My Favourite truck of the show.







This was my favourite truck at Truckfest because it was a really honest looking renovation. It was as if the driver had just gone off on his dinner break and had never come back. The cab had the look of a real working cab inside complete with page 3 pin ups.

No body wanted to enter this area?

Crowds
This was a display that HM Customs had of seized items.

The Pink Panther



This was the Birthday Boy, 25 years of Truck & Driver was celebrated this year.


The Top Gear Trucks
There was loads to do for the kids and it all added to the family atmosphere especially all the character painted trucks.

I could post more and more pictures of painted lorry's but Truckfest wasn't about that for me.




It was about the Industry trucks as well and the working trucks like the recovery vehicles parading around the arena and the tippers.

I really enjoyed Truckfest and I've already penciled in my place for next year but something tells me Ill be taking some one else.

Whats hot and Whats not

I use a lot of technology in the cab to get me through the day.

I have also bought a lot more stuff that I never use.

There are lots of things that look good, catch your eye in magazines or on e-bay that are useless.

I have bought inverters, DVD players, kettles, DAB radios and more leads, chargers, converters and inverters to power a small village.

I have a list of stuff that I swear by and a pile of crap in drawers all around my house.

Ill tell you a little bit about what my routine was and what kit I used while I was driving to give you an idea of what’s useful and what’s not.

The first thing I did in the truck is log into the company computer that was mounted on the dash.

Then I write out a Tacho chart, and that’s officially the start of the shift.

I would start my hour guard and that keeps me legal throughout the day.

An hour guard is a timing device that you press when you start to drive and then press again when you stop. If you put the trucks tacho on break then you put the hour guard on break as well.

The hour guard is programmed with the latest European working time directive legislation and the Tacho regulations and automatically keeps a track on all your shift times and also keeps a track of your daily and weekly rest periods.

Anyone driving a truck will know that these regulations are an absolute minefield when it comes to trying to stay legal.

With an hour guard as long as you press the right button at the right time you should keep yourself legal.

Next I would start my daily vehicle checks, I wont list them here because everyone should know them by heart.

You can find hour guards here . Davey is the inventor and offers amazing after sales support here

Next thing I used to do was to check the load that was written down on the notes was actually on the back; this would be where the fun usually started.

You could find your load any where, from still sitting on the forklift to buried at the back of the standing trailers.

After the vehicle checks I would check that everything is tied down and secured, I would make sure the back doors were closed and the curtains were all shut tight.

At the start at most shifts I’d fuel up.

The truck had a 300 l tank so I would never be caught out.

Once I’m ready to go Ill switch on the radio and I have to be honest, I hate Music radio so its either Talksport or Radio 5 live.

The truck had a broken aerial and wont pick up MW without it sounding really bad.

To get around this problem I have a Pure Highway DAB portable that works brilliantly. It links to the fm channels on the in cab radio and even allows you to plug an iPod in.

The Highway works great 95% of the time with the windscreen Arial but in a lot of the far flung places we went to I was getting a lot of drop out.

I found a place that sells magnetic roof Ariel’s and it has never dropped out since.

When the radio is annoying I plug in my IPod, I use two I have one in Pink, yeah pink it’s my daughter’s old one. It’s full of really old Dub classics that I cant get anymore and don’t know how to copy over.

The other one is a new iPod nano. That one links to my laptop and has all my new music on it.

I connect it with an IPod kit I got from Maplins. It has a car charger, and lots of different connectors to charge from USB or even mains.

I once bought a 12v inverter, the type of thing that you can plug in a normal 13 amp plug into.I couldn’t find a 24 volt one for a decent price so being a cheapskate I bought it.

I was planning on using another convertor to drop the power down and succeeded in blowing all the fuses in the truck. No sat nav that day!

I would usually check the route the night before to see how long it was going to take and therefore what time I had to get up.

All sat navs will send you the wrong way it’s in their DNA.

They are programmed to plan the shortest route and will often pick a county track or a tiny B road that runs parallel to a motorway or a dual carriageway. A two minute check on a lorry friendly map will save you lots of trouble further down the road.

I would normally jot down a junction number on the delivery note to remind me to ignore the sat nav at that point.

If you ignore the sat nav it will correct itself and eventually pick a route that is suitable for your size of vehicle.

Bridge heights are also available on a trucker map and on most sat navs now.

Technology undoubtedly helps the lorry driver’s day a great deal and the more technology minded the driver is the more stuff he will use.

I worked with drivers that wouldn’t use a sat nav no matter what. I was one of only two other drivers out of 15 that had one.

They all took the mick and insisted they knew best but every now and then they would ask me to put a postcode in and talk them in !

I am hoping to see some decent truck technology at Truckfest on Monday and I will keep the blog posted.