Well guys ,i have finally finished another diary (takes a long time with me two finger typing lol).
This one is only from 3 weeks ago ,so is nearly up to date.
Have another from this week to get on with.
Hope they are OK,as i just take pics of what i do and babble a lot of rubbish.
Monday-A 4am start,sounds good at the time,but the reality of getting out your bed at 3.15 am ain’t good.
This morning has a lot of dropping and lifting trailers to start with.I start by lifting my load of logs for Lockerbie.
I travel around 15 Min’s up the road and then drop it in a lay by(for collection later).
I then run with just the unit to our yard at Struchur and pick up an empty trailer(after putting the timber pins down), bloody hard work at 4.30am.
So i now have a plain old flatbed, and its off to the fish farm at Portavadie.The access road has a weight limit on it ,so we have to go through the forest .
Takes a good 10 Min’s more than going the tar road.
The lights of the marina look very nice in the darkness (kind of like Xmas lights in the water).
I turn back onto the tar road and a couple of Min’s later i turn into the yard at the fish farm.
My loaded trailer is sitting loaded with bins of fish and ibc,s of blood (yuck).
So once more i have to drop a trailer and pick up another one (third trailer swap and it ain’t even 6am).
I take some time to strap down the load (smelly ,fishy water is running out the bins).
I have a cup of coffee and start my return journey, it takes around an hour and a half to reach the fish processing plant at Cairndow.
On my way there i run into quite heavy mist/fog in Glendareaul.
The big spots are no use in this type of weather.
By the time i reach the top of the “Leanoch”, the big hill overlooking loch fyne ,before you get to Strachur, daylight is creeping in and the temp starts to drop +1 deg at the moment.
The fish processing plant is in the grounds of Ardkinglas Estate at Cairndow.
The access road is a tight single track road down the side of a large river.
You have to enter past the old gatehouse (now someones home),so i try to be as quiet as a 44ton artic can be.
I park alongside the processing plant ,take the belts off and let the guys get on tipping me.
I have my fork truck ticket ,so can tip myself if there ain’t anyone around.
The lads make short work of the load and by the time i have my straps rolled up i am tipped.
The loch is dead calm but it is still bloody cold.
Roddy is already tipped and waiting a phone call to tell him what to do next.
I already know my next move, i drop the empty trailer at the fish farm and go back for my load of logs i dropped first thing this morning.
The empty trailer will be reloaded with empty bins for later in the week.
I weave my way through the large trees around the access road.
Half way up the road i pass a waterfall,lots of water coming down there!!.
I am soon back to where i dropped the first trailer and once more hook up (knackered lifting and laying trailers today).
Its then off over a snow covered Rest and be thankful (ploughs have done their jobs well,the road is completely clear).
Top of the mountains are still covered in the distance.
I tip at the sawmill at Lockerbie and am told to head for M.A.N at Bellshill outside Glasgow.
Some warranty work to be done (Told it shouldn’t take long).
I am booked in at the back off three and settle down to watch tv.
Three hours later a rather sheepish lookin mechanic comes in to explain that when they were refitting the rear hubs (after changing the brake discs), they had damaged one side of the abs sender and didn’t have one in stock.
So i am left to phone my boss (not a happy man).
A little while later they are back and tell me they have done a temporary repair (to you and i ,a bodge up),and i would be able to use the truck the next day.
So i get my motor back at the back of 8 with the knowledge it is now worse than when it went in.
I am booked back in for the next day (deep joy).
Tuesday-i start as early as i can and i am disappointed that 10 miles down the road the truck starts flashing a intermittent abs fault.
I am going to pick up a loaded trailer that is lying in the forest (high above the village of Loghgoilhead).
My main fear is there is snow and there ain’t a phone signal in that area (a long walk if it goes wrong).
Lucky for me i get in and change over.
I then head back for this place.
Book in at 10.15 and back to the waiting room.
About 12.00 i go for a walk and see my truck is still sitting outside.
A phone call to my boss and let him know (truck is in the workshop 10 Min’s later,don’t know what was said but think there was a lot of swearing involved ,very very unhappy man). Another local tipper driver is in the waiting room (he has been in since 8am and it is now 1pm ,only in for safety check).
His motor is returned to him at 3pm,turns out they started taking a bus to bits outside and blocked the garage door.
Finaly i get my truck back at 5pm (there are still some major jobs still to be done ).
With a couple of hours left on my spread i make it to the new truck stop at Lockerbie (a couple of Min’s to the mill in the morning).
Wednesday-6.30 start gets me first in the Que at the mill.
There are large piles of sawn timber lying beside the weighbridge, makes you wonder if they are just cutting for the sake of cutting.
As soon as i am tipped i move to sweep the bark off the trailer and a couple of crane motors tip on the log deck and the stock pile.
There is a large pile of sawdust and wood chips (another area that Mr Stobbart seems to be moving in to !!).
I call the office and am told to run back to the same job i lifted the loaded trailer from the day before.
when i get onto the A82 at loch lomond i start getting trucks flashing headlights and the old thumbs down.
Turns out Vosa have a checkpoint set up on an old bit of road at Midross.
A transit van that to me seems loaded to heavy on the back end, scoots past me and then takes fright at the two police standing at the entrance of the lay by.
We are both directed into the lay by, i get a quick check of my lights and tyres, the transit is told to run onto the mobile weigh pads they have set up.
I get the all clear and am on my way, leaving Mr transit driver speaking to the Vosa officers.
As i climb on the A83 you can see the snow line is slightly higher than where i am to meet the loader driver.
I turn left at the top of the Rest and Be Thankful, onto the single track road that leads to the small village of Lochgoilhead.
There are two roads in to Lochgoilhead, this one is too steep to return loaded,so i will have to go out through the other road.
As i drive into the forest i pass the trailer i had dropped the day before ,it has already been reloaded.
The loading area is a total mud bath , very slippy to get under the trailer with just the unit.
I have to go another half mile up the road and turn,then back to another loading area.
The 8 wheeler has been running wood from farther in the forest as we cannot get to the wood ,due to snow and ice on the road.
First time in years they have had to run with snow chains on the loaders.
No snow where we are loading ,just lots of MUD.
Donald loads me with a load of 3m pulpwood , bound for the paper mill in In Irvine.
I have a walk around when i am getting loaded and spot some old ruins down the hill, funny to think people used to live so far away from civilisation.
Once on the tar i turn left and head out the other road (aptly called Hells Glen).
As soon as you start climbing you are faced with a left hand hairpin corner, tag up and manual setting on the box.
Then its another 4 miles of single track.
This sign makes me laugh, where are you meant to pull in ?.
Once on the main road (well one that has lanes going both ways ),its off to the paper mill at Irvine.
The run take just under 2 hours.
I have to wait till the weighbridge is clear (another local motor is weighing out).
Turns out to be “Al Boy”, he lives in the same village as i do.
We exchange a few words and i weigh in.
The yard is a total mess , due to the building work on the new power station.
The power station is due to go online in March ?
Need to get a move on .i think!
Once tipped i am told to head back to the fish farm at Portavadie.
There are 4 of us over tonight.
The first two trucks call in at the processing plant and pick up trailers already loaded with bins and ice.
As i am running later i get to run empty.
With my timber pins stowed away i drop my trailer .
The guys on the fish farm start the harvest at the back of 6 in the evening.
During the day the fish were removed from the deep sea cages by this ship.
This is a well boat.
It has basically a large tank inside it and the fish are sucked out the cages (like a large hoover!).
The fish have been swimming around in the tank all day.
The boat arrives at Portavadie in the evening to unload.
By this point the trucks are unloaded and the bins are lined up.
Once they start its flat out till the job is done (job and finish makes them seem to go faster lol).
The fish are pumped up these pipes.
Into part of the plant that stuns them (very considerate you know!!).
Then into the main plant ,where they are killed and fired down a shoot into the plastic bins.
The bins have a plastic bag, type liner with ice to keep them fresh.
The bag is cable tied shut when full and the lid is cable tied onto the bin ,then it is shrink wrapped before being put on the truck.
I pull my unit out the way and go to my bed (the trailer will be waiting loaded when i start it the morning).
Thursday-I start at 5.30 and pick my trailer up and strap the bins down.
The Ibc,s contain blood that was collected during the process and is transported to the processing plant for disposal.
Fishy vampire ,anyone !!!
I am the last to leave (11 hour break last night), so when i reach the processing plant i get tipped quickly.
Once tipped i head back for our yard at Struchur and pick up a loaded trailer for Irvine once again.
I catch up on Roddy (he has lifted a trailer out the forest).
The snow has started to melt on the top of the hills.
Same process as yesterday , couple of hours to Irvine and tip the paper mill.
I am reloading round the corner with concrete blocks.
I park behind this truck, but am told to go in once Lamont comes out with his load (another of our drivers with one of the new tgx,s).
The driver is contracted to the block plant and is waiting for loads to come in (they are that quiet they can sit 2 to 3 hours waiting for loads).
Both Lamont and i are told to drop our loads on the way home.
Fish run again tonight !.
The blocks will be for delivery on Friday morning.
Same process as last night (although we sit in the tea hut and have a chat with the fish farm guys for a while).
Friday-Early morning start again.
Once unloaded i pick up my blocks and head for Jewsons at Lochgilphead.
The guys in there are top class on the fork trucks.
I am tipped within half an hour.
I head for our yard outside Lochgilphead and manage to give the truck a quick wash (wont stay clean for long though).
My last load for the week is coming from a site a couple of miles from my own home village of Inveraray.
The site is called “three Bridges”, but i can only find two!!.
The site is a clear fell (cutting down everything in sight).
Donald is loading me today.
The Volvo 8 wheeler has a smaller crane than out Man loader, so i have to squeeze alongside.
Donald has his back hanging off the road.
I manage far enough along to get my front bolster loaded.
Once the front is loaded we turn round and Donald manages to load the rest by reversing straight in behind me.
This load is for Monday ( a wee run to Lockerbie).
I end up with an early Finnish (nice on a Friday).
Another week over and done with.
Thanks for looking Niall (Dingo).
Good for the POA though 
