Yep, I’ve finally managed to do a shift with Samworth Bros. I’ve been wanting to get a shift with them for months, as I know my agency gets a reasonable amount of work from them, it’s mostly nice easy trunking, and they seem to look after their kit - it always looks clean and “cared for”.
However, they always prefer to take people that have worked for them before, so I’ve never managed to get in. However, this weekend they must have been short, as I started at 10:30 on Saturday. Picked up the keys to a nice MAN unit (comfort shift ), grabbed my (empty) trailer and set off down the M5 for my first pick-up at a company in Willand, just off J27. The route in wasn’t too bad, although I did stop to check that the SatNav was still on course (it was). I found the place, and pulled onto the weighbridge. The guy at the gate gave me the weight slip, and gave me directions of where to go. The initial entrance goes straight over a railway bridge, and given that you have to come in at an angle from the weighbridge it’s really rather tight - only about a foot on either side. Anyway, I squeezed it through OK, and found my way around the site to my first bay. I think it really showed that I’ve only done 1 day’s agency work this year, as it took me at least 20 shunts to get it on the bay
Popped into the office to pick up the paperwork, and by the time I’d signed the collection note and CHEP form I had a green light so it was a quick trip back out over the railway bridge (breath in!), back onto the weighbridge (loaded with about 6 t of chicken), then back on the M5 past Exeter, down the A38 through Plymouth to Samworth’s depot in Callington.
At this point I was directed onto the bay by the shunter, as I was supposed to be dropping most of the load before carrying the remainder onwards. I got it on the bay, and I was told “10 minutes”. “Yeah, right” I thought, and put the tacho on break thinking I could probably squeeze a 15 out.
After about 20 minutes, it became “2 minutes”.
Eventually, after a 1 1/2 hr break I pulled out, and round to the fuel pumps - I had less than 1/4 tank left. Had I known that they were going to take that long, I would have disconnected the trailer before they started loading…
Anyway, 427 litres of diesel later, and I’m off down the road for Bodmin. The A390 across to Liskeard was a bit tight at times, but nothing I haven’t had to deal with before. After Liskeard it’s back onto the A38, and then it’s a nice run down the valley, pop over the A30 (new roundabout just before that the SatNav doesn’t know about ) and into the factory (whose name I can’t remember ).
Again, I take a few more shunts than I should, not helped by coop driver who was waiting for me, and pulled into some of the space that I wanted to manoeuvre. Once on the bay I apologised for holding him up (but didn’t mention that I would have been quicker if he hadn’t been in the way); he seemed relatively friendly.
Once more, by the time the paperwork was done, the goods had been loaded and I was ready to roll, and set off back to Callington. This time it was a bit busier, but I still got straight on a bay. However, I wasn’t due to leave until about an hour after I arrived, so I suspect that other trailers got loaded before mine. They had to take off about a third of the stuff I collected in Bodmin, then load some different stuff ready for the trunk back up to Portbury. Confused yet? I was My final trunk back to Portbury was about 1/3 of the stuff collected from Willand, some stuff added at the first Callington visit, 2/3 of the Bodmin collection, and some more from the second Callington visit. I hope the loaders got it right, cos I ain’t got a clue
Anyway, I finally got out at 7:30pm, so it was time for the long slog back to Bristol. We had been told earlier that the A38 was closed in Plymouth, so instead of going over the Tamar Bridge, I went up to the A30. That has to be a candidate for one of the most boring roads. I’m sure it’s nice and picturesque by day, but at night when it’s raining, it’s incredibly dull, particularly if you stick to the speed limits. Yawn.
Eventually I made it to Portbury, put the trailer on a bay, and dropped the unit. Clocked off at 23:00.
500 km exactly
Parting thoughts: Pretty much everyone I met was really helpful - much more so than normal. The shunter at Callington was unbelievable - he was definitely the most helpful shunter I’ve ever met, guiding me through all their procedures - where to go, what to do, etc. It really saved me (and probably them) a lot of time. If there’s anyone at Samworth Bros management reading this, he deserves a pay rise