Due to various reasons ,its been a while since i did a diary.
So here we go again lol.
Monday- Today sees a 4.30 am start.
Its another dark and cold morning and i am very glad to hear the night heater purring away as i approach the truck.
I am surprised to see my workmates unit still parked nearby (Norrie had said he was starting at 4am).
As i started the truck he appeared at the door , his motor would not start.
It had plenty of life in the batteries, but not the slightest click off the starter when the key was turned !.
After a couple of minuets shaking wires and poking various parts , its obvious its not going to start.
His DAF has suffered from a lot of electrical problems in the past few months , lots of wires rubbing through on
the chassis and various breaks in the loom!.Sad to say that the troubles with it and the sister motor ,we wont be
seeing any more new DAF,s for a while 
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I leave him to return to his house and he can give the boss the good news, when he comes in at 6am.
My load today is for the biomass power station at lockerbie.
Trailers picked up and i,m on my way just before 5am.
As usual my first stop of the day is Bothwell services , its just over an hour and a half’s driving and is a welcome stop
for the toilet and to refill the coffee cup.
Two of our trucks are already stopped and i slot into the space between them.
A 15 min break gives you time for a quick visit to the loo and some time to catch up on whats happened over the weekend.
As we are talking another two trucks arrive.
Kenny has the white Volvo , its a leased motor from Volvo , hence its not painted in our colours.
Even though its lettered the same and looks very smart , the general view is it will never be one of our trucks lol.
Kennys answer to this being he thinks it sets him above the rest of us common folk 
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The run to Lockerbie passes without any dramas and i am soon parked in the stock yard ,pulling the belts off.
The Lebherr operator gets me to pull alongside the log deck and is soon tipping me.
Stevie is soon in behind me and also gets his belts off.
The shed that holds the wood chips is almost empty , a sign that the power station has been running well.
The power station has been a bit hit or miss since it started , lots off break downs.
When its running well it can go through an amazing amount of wood in a day.
Before xmas i took some loads into here and the stock yard was that full we were tipping in a second yard across the road.
As you can see there is hardly a stick in the place !.
As i pull away to sweep the bark off a crane motor is tipping onto stock , slightly more wood at the top end of the yard.
The timber i ave delivered is relatively fresh and there is not a great deal of bark is left on the trailer.
Once i am tipped i phone the office and Give them the details on my delivery notes and find out what i am doing next.
Turns out i am running back up the road empty (back loads are very quiet a this time ).
I am to head for Dalavich on Loch Awe , giving them a call before i get there and i will be told which loading area to head
to.
This leg takes nearly 4 hours and see,s the best part of my day gone.
As i leave the single track road and start the half hour stretch of forest road , i start shouting for any outward bound
traffic on my cb radio.
Soon i get one of our subbies and manage to find a lay bye to let him past.
Using cb radio now is not everyone,s cup of tea,but in these situations it saves a lot of reversing !.
Stuart lets me know that the only other truck at the loading area is his brother Craig,s and he will be at least 15 mins
behind him.
I make my way farther into the forest before i call on the cb again.
I pass one stretch of small trees and suddenly feel very old , i can remember taking the felled logs away from this site !!.
As i near the loading area i hear Craig shouting for any in bound trucks and we arrange where we are going to pass , i get
well out the way and allow him to keep his loaded truck going.
Another 5 Min’s and i arrive at the loading point , Colin on the loader tell,s me to go and turn before getting loaded.
The turning point is nothing more than an old quarry , but it,s clean and flat.
More than can be said for the loading point !!!.
The forwarder has just come out the wood with a load of 4.9m logs on and we get in a position that Colin can load me
straight off the forwarder.
No point in double handling the wood.
He weighs it as he goes , total of 10 ton .
Now tipped the forwarder heads off to get some more.
Once loaded i move farther out the road before i put my belts on, no point in getting covered in muck if you dont have to.
Its starting to cloud over in the distance and i will have to get a move on or i will get a wet backside.
I find a nice clean bit and stop to tie down.
Two belts to each stack and i get them tight with a bar.
One of our mechanics has made quite a few for the drivers.
I find my height puts me all wrong for getting them tight (also my age means it does my back in ).
Its a simple design that does the job , a bit of box section with some cross buts welded in place.
This slots nicely into the handle of the ratchet , without damaging it.
Allowing you to tighten it up , seldom do you need to redo them (although it is still good practice to check them before
going onto the main road ).
While i am doing this another of our trucks arrives , Ritchy has a clear run into the loading point.
I,m all sorted now.
A quick calculation and i realise i have enough time to get home tonight .
My wife might think different though , she,s happy to see the back off me for the week lol.
Tuesday-
Carlisle this morning.
I am one of the last down the road this morning , parking in front of Stevie at the sawmill.
The stock yard is also very empty , don’t know why as a this time of year they are usually jammed full of logs.
I have timed it wrong today and after Stevie had been tipped they go for their tea.
I am almost 2 hours in the mill this morning , although by RDC this may be quick by sawmill times this is a lifetime !!.
A quick run to the other side of Carlisle and i reload roof tiles and head north , this load is for the outskirts of
Stirling.
Another uneventful run and i am soon parked in the netting bay , H&S now frowns upon us climbing along the load.
Another of our trucks is tipping.
A quick word with Peter and it turns out he has been in here ages , he has a rite mixed load and every pallet has to
be checked …No luck lol.
I soon have my nets folded away and pull out the bay , and get taken to where i am tipping at once …result.
Once this load is off i phone the office to find what next… run to a loading point in Glen Coe …For Workington !.
This is not so good , as although we are payed by the hour , back loads spread your day out and Workington will mean
tomorrow will be mostly driving (or at least i thought it would lol).
By the time i reach Glen Coe it,s starting to get dark and the weather is starting to close in .
Time to get a load on and get t hell out of there !.
As usual the road is narrow and i have to squeeze alongside Colin’s loader (sooner his new big loader arrives the better ).
Although it,s ard to see in the dark i have to put the back of the trailer in the ditch.
Once loaded i head for the main tar road and manage to pass “Bud” on one of the hairpin corners.
I head back towards Stirling and make it to the village of Callander before calling it a day.
An all MAN line up in the car park tonight.
Wednesday-
The paper mill at Workington this morning.
I arrive in and its empty , but by the time i have my belts off the Que has started to form behind me.
The crane motors are not allowed to tip themselves, so rase the hiabs out the way of the Volvo grabs.
I get tipped and move to sweep off , putting my pins away as i do this.
I phoned earlier and was told i was back loading.
As i sit waiting for a crane motor to pass i notice one of Stobarts walking floors …wonder if its the guy off the
telly ?.
As i go to leave , Stevie and one of our other subbies arrive on site.
I am heading to Silloth to load Fert… the wind is starting to rise … oh great !.
Luckily the place is dead and i am loading in one of the old aircraft hangers they use to store the fert.
I ask if i can sheet inside and am told that ok as long as it is quiet.
I have a set of half covers on this trailer , and spread them out without worrying they are going to blow away .
No one comes along so i get time to tie the cover down and get it roped as well.
Not the tidiest job but will do today.
I try to get the drivers side the best looking as i was told years ago , thetas the one everyone sees as they pass you lol.
I am going to a farm at Bathgate with this load.
A quick phone call to the farmer and a look at the map and i am on my way , i have to call him when i am about an hour
away.
The farm turns out to be on both sides of the road and i have to squeeze over to one side of the road to allow
traffic past.
It means i have to slightly reverse the trailer into the soft verge …Super lol.
I struggle to fold the covers in the rapidly rising winds.
They are not the best looking ,but they are going onto anotherload soon.
I get tipped with an old jcb and the guy does a good job with it.
I have been speaking to the office on my up the road and i have to head only a couple of miles to the fish food factory.
15 Min’s later and i am parked in the yard and waiting to reload.
The load has been looked out and soon i am getting loaded , 25kg bags on pallets …result lol.
When the pallets are on i manage to get reversed most of the way into one of the sheds.
The door is too low to get right in , but it will keep most of the wind off me ( no way i would put it on outside ).
I get the covers on and roped inside.
They are a perfect fit for the load and if you couldn’t get this on right you should not be allowed to sheet a load lol.
I head for Stirling and then onto the road to Balloch , i make it as far as Buchlyvie before i get fed up lol.
Thursday-
The load of fish food is going to a fish farm on the road to Oban.
It is on another stretch of forest road , and on my way in i stop and pull the covers off.
It is dry and no wind so i make the best of it lol.
Once in the fish farm , the guys are quick tipping me.
I always laugh at the storage shed , its built on a slope and the doors are always squint.
I have to head to Dalavich to reload.
On my way there i catch up on Stevie once again .
youtube.com/watch?v=xW9bWl1C … JONDtMuNTm
When we get to the loading point , there is no sign of the loader.
Turns out Colin has been held back at one of the other loading points.
As we wait it starts to snow , and snow lol.
When Colin arrives he gets Stevie loaded.
As i pull forward to get my front bolster of logs on the snow gets even heavier.
The tree,s at the back of the turning area have been flattened with the high winds.
By the time i get ready to turn the snow is really chucking it down.
Soon i have a full load of 4.9m logs on and am ready to head for troon.
The snow makes it slightly tricky getting out of the job , until i get lower down the hill and it turns to sleet.
youtube.com/watch?v=xAtDhXAD … 2sPtMrsNby
I make it troon and am tipped by the new , larger Volvo.
4 grabs and i am tipped .
I have enough time to get back onto Loch Lomond and park at Luss.
Its a nice quiet place to park , but very little phone signal .
So its off to bed.
Friday-
Last night i phoned before parking and arranged where i was loading and what time.
I head for a loading point Near Lochgilphead.
I am loading with “Donnie” this morning.
The turning area is slightly slippy.
And as usual their is a pile of logs opposite the turn !!!.
I load for Irvine and have a quiet run to the paper mill.
It is very quiet and i am soon getting tipped.
The pulpwood is very heavy and the bolsters are very low , made for a nice run.
My load goes straight into the mill.
Once tipped i head for home.
I have agreed to do a Sunday shift , so i get an early Finnish.
Another week over and done with , thank goodness.
Thanks for looking
Niall.
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