Diary

[mrflibble]

Started 0600 at Asda Portbury, signing in for another agency - so I’m working for my agency, subcontracted out to another agency, subcontracted out to Asda and get given the usual H&S briefing as it’s my first time at the Portbury site.

I pop round to the transport office, and they give me a run to Pentwyn (Cardiff), with a backhaul from Memory Lane cakes near Cardiff Gate. Unfortunately, no-one seems to know how to get there, and they don’t have an address . Eventually, they get the Chepstow RDC to fax across a map, and off I go to find the truck.

I get the usual Asda Scania, hitch up to my trailer, and set off down the road for Wales after a brief visit to the very friendly security guard’s office (yes, they do exist )

When I arrive at Pentwyn, there’s already another Asda artic in there doing a drop, and a Braces bakery truck waiting, so I have about 10 mins break before getting into the yard (the artic was almost finished, and the bakery truck only dropped a few trays).

I have to take a few goes at getting on the bay (I’ve been there before, so I know the drill, but it’s still a bit tight, and the guide lines have been almost completely erased so it’s a bit difficult to judge whether you’re at 90 degrees to the bay, which is at an angle to the main building). After unloading the full contents of the trailer I shut up the back, and then realise that I’ve left the load restraint bars out so have to open up again to put them in.

The run into Memory Lane is relatively easy, except that it takes you through the middle of a housing estate, which makes you question whether you’ve gone the right way, but I’d been warned about this, so I wasn’t too bothered.

All the bays were full when I arrived, so I had to wait about 40 minutes before I could get on; a couple of shunts later and I was on.

The loading was super-fast, as it was only 3 pallets, so by the time I’d gone in to pick up the paperwork it was already loaded, and I was off down the road back to Portbury.

On arrival, after I dumped the trailer on a bay, I pop into the transport office, who tell me that they haven’t got anything ready yet, but to come back in an hour so I pop into the staff canteen and have a full breakfast plus muffin for £1.55

An hour later, I go back to the transport office, who tell me which trailer I’m taking and where the load is going (Trowbridge), but the paperwork’s not been done yet.

Another hour later, and I’ve finally got the paperwork for my load so another visit through security, and off down the M4, eastbound this time.

As I’m climbing the hill up towards J18 (A46 Bath), about 6 cars all dive in just in front of me before the junction, and slow down to about 45 mph forcing me to drop gears as I can’t pull out I was going nicely up the hill as well, with the engine just about keeping it on the limiter in top gear.

Then a bit further down the road, a caravan overtakes me, pulls in, gives a couple of flashes on the hazards to thank me for flashing him in, and then starts snaking wildly. I don’t know whether it was him pulling in too quick, or swerving whilst reaching for the hazards, or what, but it started getting a bit serious, and he was having trouble keeping it in his lane; by this point, I’d backed off quite a way just in case, but he just about managed to hold it together and get it back straight again. Phew.

He then proceeded to leave his hazards on for the next few miles

I finally got to the store after a few trips round the roundabouts to let the following trails of cars past, and eventually got into the yard after waking up the staff.

Trowbridge is usually very tight, but this time it was really tight, and I only just managed to get the trailer round - the red line was getting a bit too tight, but it came round in the end.

So, I started unloading. The first two pallets came off OK, and then we were on to cages.

Because of the slope of the yard, the trailer sloped quite considerably to one side, and slightly to the back, and the first cage contained somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 tonne of cheese. You can guess where this is going…

As I was wheeling the cage down the trailer, the fixed wheels were sliding sideways, and I was already struggling to keep the cage on course. I was just turning the cage at the end of the trailer ready for the forkie to take it off when one of the wheels went over the edge, and from that point there was no way I was going to stop it - gravity took over, so I just let go.

The forkie noticed what was happening and shot forwards to catch the cage, but only succeeded in skewering the cage (and quite a few blocks of cheese) with the forks. Personally, I think it would have been better if he’d just let it hit the floor, but I can’t really blame him since I was the one who dropped it in the first place.

Oh, and I think it was the newest cage on the trailer - it looked virtually brand new, and now it has a big hole in the side

Anyway, the rest of the load went off OK (although it took rather longer than it should have done as the other person “working” in the stores area didn’t seem to do anything he was told and spent the entire time faffing around.

I reloaded with half a trailer full of cages, went back to Portbury, dropped the trailer on a bay, fuelled up, and clocked off. 12 hour shift, 301 km covered.

[sambo_1]

Great diary
As for the cage that fell off I would prabably be walking down the yard whisteling- Wasn’t me

[brit_pete]

again another nice read ,shame about the cheese,will be waiting for your next dairy Mr FIBBLE cheers for now,

[articfox]

into wqork for seven am. already loaded for one bulk drop seven miles away. Wait for half an hour before getting onto the tight bay - tipped by f.l.t .in twenty minutes. Half hour break reading paper on site. Return to yard to reload for same destination. Tipped for noon. Half hour break then do a changeover five miles away, picking up a 90% loaded trailer. Return to yard to top it up. Weigh off & park up for morning. Finished for two pm. Paid ‘til half four eighty quid a day. Not bad for doin’ next to nowt.

I know I’m lucky but how long will it last ? (four years up to yet)
I’ve done my apprenticeship and all the hard work in the reghties and nineties.

Interesting to read about your day - sounds like a bad 'un. Hope the week gets better for you.

[jessicas_dad]

sounds like a typical day for asda.

i do agency work for asda out of normanton.

[articfox]

today was much the same as yesterday, minus the changeover: finished for two pm. 50 km’s , blimey!
This could get boring…

(it is a bit actually, ten years ago I couldn’t have done it/wouldn’t have done it for all the tea in china)
…so I’ll stoppit!! now

[convoy]

Good Read

[wheel_nut]

The bloke in the caravan probably hasnt learnt to wipe his bum at the same time as steer his car and operate the hazard switch at the same time

Good Diary, and it looks like an easy life. 300km in a 12 hour shift

[thecoder0]

Mr Fibble it wasn’t Nibsey driving the caravan was it mate?

He is the only bloke I know who goes from one country to another with his indicators on…

Private joke sorry folks but Mr F and I followed a convoy leader accross europe who had a really bad habi of leaving his indicators on when he was not actually turning.

One other thing that still makes me chuckle is we had another guy who would lead the convoy driving a 7 tonner and would come over the CB

“Robin hood to convoy” "Take a left left left I mean right right right " “whoops sorry”

He did it one morning in Romania and led both the Artics down a blind alley and when we tried to turn round in yard the locals locked the gates and demanded money to let us out.

Now you can say what you like about Romanians but they are nothing if not entrepreneurial …

Anyway one the lads in the truck did a bit of barffing at the locals and they let him out.

I was ■■■■■■■

[coffeeholic]

Nice one MR F.

[mrflibble]

Wheel Nut:
The bloke in the caravan probably hasnt learnt to wipe his bum at the same time as steer his car and operate the hazard switch at the same time

I figured he/she was probably too busy emptying his/her underpants to realise that the hazards were still on…

Wheel Nut:
Good Diary, and it looks like an easy life. 300km in a 12 hour shift

Yep.

Although, to be fair, my tacho shows 1/2 hr spent unloading at Pentwyn and 2 hrs unloading at Trowbridge. Shows you how much they save by having a proper loading dock instead of forking cages off the back.

thecoder0:
Mr Fibble it wasn’t Nibsey driving the caravan was it mate?

Dunno, could have been.

sambo1:
As for the cage that fell off I would prabably be walking down the yard whisteling- Wasn’t me

Yes, not exactly an option in my case, since the forkie watched me drop it…

Still, they can’t have been too upset (or the Transport office never found out ) as I was back in there today.

[mrflibble]

Started 0900, and get given a run to Bournemouth

After picking up my notes and stuff, I jump into the cab and start planning the route. The SatNav thinks I should go through Bristol and Bath and down the A36, but I don’t fancy Central Bath during weekend shopping hours, so I opt for M5-M4-A350. It’s further, but less chance of getting really stuffed up by Bath. I pick up my trailer, check the load is all nicely secure, ripping off the red seal (attached by the loaders) and putting on a blue one (the ones we use out on the road), and (most importantly) check that the cages on my load are labelled for my store…

Anyway, down the road I trundle, and it’s all pretty familiar up to the Trowbridge turnoff (I’ve delivered to Tesco/Asda in Trowbridge at least 5 times). Then it’s down through Westbury (that’s a bit tight ) and on to Warminster. I stop off at Warminster services to take a 15 (and since there hasn’t been any laybys for a while, it’s time to let the following traffic past), and then get back on the road again. Once I’m past Warminster, then the road starts to get rather twisty - not quite as bad as the roads up to Aberystwyth, but still quite hard work.

For some reason, the SatNav really doesn’t like the A350. Pretty much all the way down, it’s trying to send me on other routes. Oh well, at least it’ll be useful for finding the final destination.

I get to the store (which is part of a huge shopping complex with a Sainsbury’s as well as loads of other shops), and there doesn’t seem to be any obvious way in for deliveries. I see a sign which looks like it’s pointing me towards the delivery point, so I follow it. It says right at the roundabout, so I start going round the roundabout, and see that it goes under the shopping centre - height restriction of 3.45 m. Now, my cab height indicator (which I checked before leaving) shows 13’9", which I’m pretty sure is over 4 m, so I quickly forget that and U-turn on the roundabout (holding up all the traffic as it’s not exactly a large roundabout), and come out again. I end up going back to the nearest major road to turn around at the junction there, and this time I’m coming in from the opposite direction. As I approach the centre, this time there’s signs telling me exactly where to go for Asda deliveries

Anyway, I get to the delivery bay, and after “10 minutes” to sort out the yard (which was actually 25 minutes) they open the gates and let me in. I reverse into the yard in one go, but it takes a few attempts to get straight on the scissor lift.

They’ve got a nice scissor lift which takes 9 cages at a time, so we’re done pretty quickly, and I pull out again and park up for a break, popping in to the store via the staff entrance to get something to eat. I get totally lost inside the store “back area”, but eventually find my way into the public bit, and buy some food.

On the way back I had an interesting encounter when I met 2 coaches full of teenage kids coming the other way on one of the tight(ish) corners on the A350 where the trailer has to cut onto the other side of the road; the coach drivers had to stop rather sharpish (I was already going slowly), and I managed to squeeze round them. There’s also a bit of narrow windy road uphill through a village where there’s some kind of large vehicle detector, and it tells the traffic coming downhill to stop if there’s a large vehicle coming uphill

I decided to go for the A36 this time, as I’d be going through Bath at gone 5pm, and it was a nice easy journey.

Clocked off at 7pm after dropping the trailer (blindside reversed it into a single parking bay in one go - I did actually take a shunt, but that was after I’d got it straight, as it was over to one side of the bay) and fuelling up.

9 1/4 paid hours, 303 km covered (seems like much more - must have been all that time at 40 mph…)

[coffeeholic]

MrFlibble:
9 1/4 paid hours, 303 km covered (seems like much more - must have been all that time at 40 mph…)

Another nice read Mr F. I got 9 1/4 in today as well but only did 147 km, Biggleswade and Cambridge stores and rubbish (or to give it its posh title ASC Collection ) from Cambridge to the recycling centre.

[mrflibble]

Sunday 30th July

Started 0500 (:shock: why do they always insist on stupid o’clock starts ) at Asda Portbury again. To my surprise, there are no other drivers waiting, and I get given a run straight away .

I’m off to Whitchurch then Yeovil. I find my unit, do the usual checks, then pop around the back to find the trailer.

Open up the back to check the loading, and it all looks nicely secure. Portbury certainly seem to do a better job of loading than Chepstow.

Anyway, it’s Whitchurch first, so it’s over the Avonmouth bridge, down the A4 Portway to the ■■■■■■■■■■ Basin, then round the south side of Bristol on the A4174 almost-ring-road.

The store is here, and I’m pretty sure from memory that the turning from the A4174 directly into Bamfield has a 7.5t limit, so I head down Whitchurch Lane.

Whitchurch Lane also has a 7.5t limit just past the Bamfield turning, so I turn up Bamfield, only to be confronted with “ROAD CLOSED” at the Briery Leaze turning (which also has a 7.5t limit)

I turn into Briery Leaze and get ready for a blindside reverse-around-the-corner when a van driver turns up and tells me that the road is only “closed” for about 50m for a festival later in the day, and that I can still get through. So, I reverse back out onto Bamfield, and head through the road closure.

I then turn right into Oatlands Avenue, and sure enough, the bit of Bamfield between here and the A4174 does have a 7.5t limit as i previously thought. On turning off of Oatlands Avenue, the road ahead also has a 7.5t limit. So, there is only one legal route into this store, and it’s got “ROAD CLOSED” signs. …

Anyway, on arriving at the store, there’s a Brace’s truck who is just starting his drop, so I do a u-turn in the parking area just outside the yard, and park up waiting for him to finish.

About 10 minutes later he’s out, and I’m up.

I’m merrily unloading cages and pallets, and then hit the bar separating the load for the next store two rows of cages from the movable bulkhead which separates chilled from frozen. I ask the store person if they’re expecting any frozen stuff, and she says no. Whew, I don’t have to start unloading the Yeovil stuff to get to the rest of Whitchurch’s.

Before leaving Whitchurch I check my Truckers’ atlas as I’m pretty sure I remember there being a low bridge on the A37. The book says 14’9", and the trailer says 13’4". I haven’t got my tape measure with me, as I left it at home (I was using it for something else ), but I figure that the trailer marking is unlikely to be wrong by nearly a foot and a half. I leave the cab height indicator at 13’6" where it’s currently set.

So, I close up the back, and head off to Yeovil down the A37. The turning from the A4174 to the A37 looked rather tight (there’s a separate right-turn lane at the traffic lights, and there’s barriers, kerbs and lights everywhere), but I got round a lot easier than I expected.

It’s a nice quiet drive (since it’s still only about 7am on Sunday), so I don’t need to pull over to let following vehicles pass (since there aren’t any), although I did accidentally miss the A37 turnoff at the A37/A39 split, as I wasn’t paying enough attention .

I find a layby to stop to check the map, and it’s a bit of a significant detour, but as it’s bright sunshine with excellent visibility, I find a crossroads with some rather minor roads about a mile later, and manage to blindside-reverse the trailer into the side road with only a single shunt, and I was back up the A39 in a jiffy. The queue is starting to build up as I get to the A303, so I pop into the services for a P.

Into Yeovil, and I remember from my last visit to this store that the short route from the A37 direct to the store (about half a mile) has a 7.5t limit, so I have to go all the way around the south side of Yeovil, and approach again from the north-west (having come in from the north-east). Eventually I get into the store, and start unloading. It all goes off nicely, although the spud bins are a bit of a git. They’re about 2’x3’, are made of black plastic, are on wheels, and have no handles. They’re full of spuds, so they’re rather heavy, and therefore positioning them on the back of the trailer for the forkie to take off without running off the edge of the trailer is rather difficult.

Anyway, it all went without a hitch, and since my POD also had “traywash” stamped on it, they reloaded me with some empty spudbins and loads of pallets of trays.

I check the map, and the best route back to Portbury looks like the A37 again, so off I go, up and round the A4174, down the A4, and over the Avonmouth bridge.

On the way down the Portway, they’ve resurfaced the road whilst I’ve been down in Whitchurch/Yeovil using their “bargain basement” techinque - pour some hot tar on the road, sprinkle some chippings on top, then re-open the road. I hate this kind of resurfacing - it just screams “cheapest possible”.

On arrival at Asda I check in with security, say that I’ve got to go to the traywash, and ask them where it is.

“Over the bridge in Avonmouth”.

[zb]

Nobody told me that when I started…

Anyway, I tell them that I’ve got 15 minutes driving time left from my 4 1/2 hours (true), and so I’m rather pushing it. So, I park up in the yard, and tell the transport office the situation. Whilst I’m there, it seems that there is a queue at the traywash, and that they’re stuck for a driver to go and do a collection (since all the drivers are waiting). We agree that I will come back into the office after my break, and they can then decide whether they want me to go and do the collection or go back over to the traywash.

I go into the staff canteen for my break, but unfortunately the proper food service doesn’t start until 12:30, and it’s still 11:45. I was hoping for a proper lunch, as I skipped breakfast because of the stupidly early start. Still, I got a roll, a muffin and an apple.

After my break I popped back to the office, and sure enough, they wanted me to drop my trailer full of trays and go and do a collection from Del Monte in Wootton Bassett. So, I dropped the trailer, found an empty one, and trundled off up the M5-M4.

On arrival at Del Monte I stopped on the far side of the yard to ask where they wanted me to go, and the guy said to put it straight on a bay. Stupidly I’d put the truck in a rather awkward place, so I had to reverse all the way back across the yard before shunting forwards so that I could even attempt to get it on the bay. At that moment, a Mortimers truck which was on one of the bays was ready to leave, so he went, and now I had my choice of all 3 bays. I vaguely lined up the trailer, and decided that whichever bay the trailer ended up pointing towards, that would be my bay

It took a worryingly large number of shunts to get the trailer straight on the bay, but I eventually got it right, and they could start loading.

About 15 minutes later the Man from Del Monte said “yes” (sorry, couldn’t resist it ) and I was off.

Back into Portbury, and stick the trailer on the bay. Park up, and go in to see if they’ve got any more runs to do (possibly take my old trailer over to the tray wash), but no, it’s end of shift time.

Erm, I think I’ll have a Scania then…

I’ve been meaning to take that photo every time I’ve been into Asda Portbury. The one time that I finally get around to it, someone parks a [zb]ing Stralis in there

One of the best sights available in UK trucking:

(the Holby Suspension Bridge, for those who watched last weekend’s Casualty… )

The Avon Gorge at high tide:

Crossing the Avonmouth Bridge at just past high tide:

[brit_pete]

thanks for a very nice read ,with a good selection of photos as well
will be looking out for your next post.

[coffeeholic]

nice on Mr F. I’m heading into Asda shortly for a 14:00 start. had a good day yesterday, manged to get 13 hours.

[mrflibble]

Coffeeholic:
nice on Mr F. I’m heading into Asda shortly for a 14:00 start. had a good day yesterday, manged to get 13 hours.

I asked for work this weekend, but the agency didn’t come up with anything.

Still, I’m carrying over two 8-9 hr weekly rest reductions one of which has to be paid by the end of next week, so if I’d worked this weekend I’d have to have next weekend off anyway, so it’s not the end of the world.

[driver-once-more]

great read

[convoy]

Good read and pics

[coffeeholic]

MrFlibble:

Coffeeholic:
nice on Mr F. I’m heading into Asda shortly for a 14:00 start. had a good day yesterday, manged to get 13 hours.

I asked for work this weekend, but the agency didn’t come up with anything.

Was very quiet in there today, only had a delivery tothe Feltham store and the rubbish back to to ASC. Only did 7 hours, including my break and 40 minutes POA but still get the minimum 8, so not a total loss today. DHL now for the rest of the week, except Wednessday, and back in Asda next weekend.