Campervan

We returned from our little jaunt in Northern Spain,to winter just starting kicking in here in the UK my hours at work had been reduced to 40 a week as the light and the weather had a big influence into the work we did.Actually i really enjoyed finishing at 3.30 every day bit like school hours after what i had been used to.Having so much time on my hands it gave me a little idea so here goes,before i went over to Canada we used to a have 24ft motorhome which was then 8 year old,our plan was to travel around UK and Europe in it over a number of years, we did a little our furthest trip was skiing on the Chamonix on a very cold Feb of 2008.Due to our immient departure of England we sold it.Now we decided we would like another but more of the bespoke Van conversion one instead of the classic  motorhome style we had,so our search started, unfortunately what we were looking were all out of our price range £34000.00 plus, a little bit to much for me so i came up with a great plan (well in my head it was)i would buy a half decent van and convert it myself  SIMPLES.What could be more simple than that and cheaper, well the looks Lady Pen gave me as i was explaining this were ones of oh my god your stupid ive seen your woodwork skills,i decided a few years previous instead of buying a shoe cupboard i will make one,its still there in our porch as you can see its not the most professional thing, so when i was explaining how good our van will be i know she didnt hold up much hope.I was adament this conversion was going to as good if not better than the vans we had been looking at PMSL.

So the search started for a van how hard is it to find a newish van in very good condition with low miles for little money (Very Difficult) the money thing was the problem, deciding to up what i was prepared to spend still didnt bring much joy.Im sure all who have driven a works van or any van  are guilty of driving it at one speed VERY VERY FAST and ragging it through all gears lol.Mileage was a big issue i wanted one with low miles so would be godd resale value in the future, i know i didnt want much lol but i was positive one would turn up eventually.

BarcaLuton

There are quite alot of things on my so called bucket list,in early 2007 i was about to tick one of the list not only was i going to The Nou Camp Stadium Barcelona i was going to watch the Mighty Liverpool Football club playing there against Barcelona in a last 16 match in the champions league AWESOME.Unfortunatley things didnt turn out as planned so here goes our little story.Now i am quite a seasoned traveler, myself and my mates made it to the champions league final a couple of seasons before in Istanbul and many beers were consumed in those 2 1/2 days and we got there and back without to much incidents only one lost passport between 10 of us, so when we booked our little excursion my buddy my son and i decided to go the slightly cheaper way of flying from Luton Airport instead of Liverpool where everyone else was flying from, the dearer option.Not wanting to miss our flight we arrived in good time 5 HOURS EARLY !!! to early to check in we decided to sink a couple of jars and some more and more and more.We made check in, then thought it was to early to go through passport control so we decided to indulge in a little more southern hospitallity and unfortunately this is where everything went wrong VERY WRONG.We lost total track of time, when we eventually made it through passport control and got to our gate our plane had long vacated the airport in fact it had gone a good 40 mins previous.OOOOPPPPPS.We tried to get on the morning flight no room,we jumped on the national express coach to heathrow sobering up very quickly but were given extremely hefthy prices we decided to call time on our planned trip.We made it home the next morning and watched the game on TV in our local pub being the butt of everyones jokes.It worked out nearly £500 each to watch the game on tv,you certainly learn by your mistakes (well sometimes anyway lol)Barcaluton was born and we have never lived this down.So while on holiday being only 1 hour drive from Barca the lure to exercise the events of our failed trip was one not to be missed,it was a glorious day and i stood in awe of this awesome stadium reliving the match i watched those years previous on tv when i should of been basking in the glory of our 2-1 win

Tossa De Mar

So here we are our first holiday since Canada and definately very much needed.We flew from Manchester to Barcelona then picked our car up at the airport and headed north along the coast to a little resort called Tossa De Mar, a very quaint Coastal village with lovely beaches and a narrow winding streets.Relaxation was on the cards i can laze on the beach all day and even in October it was stiffling hot to do this, unfortunately Lady Pen had other ideas and had site seeing trips planned.I must admit i hadnt adjusted back into home life as easy as i thought i would, i became very indicisive and a little withdrawn from our social life very unlike me,so i suppose this holiday was the start of intergration back into family life.We have never done an all inclusive holiday before but as this was kinda cheap we decided we would give it a go definately an eye opener.The Hotel was 5 star and on first impressions wow fabulous we sure did pick well the room were great as was the bars pool etc, then the restaurant!!!! well here goes i would the describe it as a school canteen, i called it the walk of doom, as you meander down the corridor down a flight of stairs to the slop kitchen,it was very clean but very basic and the smell of fish was that pungent i nearly threw up we did eat in here a couple of times but decided to try the local cuisine instead,now as i said it was all inclusive but as we didnt pay a great deal we wern't to bothered,and we did consume a large amount of Vodka over the ten days we were there so we felt we got our moneys worth here.

Life as a Low Loader Driver (OUT OF MY DEPTH)

In all the jobs i have had over the years this one opened my eyes the most,Hauling Plant around is on another level.When i started in June 2011 the company were flat out working many sites around the UK although i only serviced the ones mainly in the North of England also moving plant form our head office in Cumbernauld back to Knutsford as both yards shared various pieces of Machinery.Im rather meticulous in work and normally frown at damage but this was totally different, guys on site seem to think this is the norm when i was loading i carefully moved excavators,tractors implements etc only for these guys

,to bang and bash stuff it really took some getting used to.Imagine my horror when a few months in i then became the victim of damage not once but twice in the space of a couple of weeks,first damage was when i reversed the wagon into a space then decide to pull forward and get into another spot only to catch a land drainage machine cab with the rear hangers on the trailer and virtually ripping the cab off OOOOOOPPPPSSS Bloody OOOOOPPPS,only to be told arrr dont worry about it it shouldn't of been parked there,dont worry about it, i couldnt believe what i was hearing i have just wrecked a machine.Just getting over the first incident and i wacked an excavator and damaged its ram, now this is it for me i have had enough im out of my depth here, so on arrival back in the yard truck keys in hand i head to the office to hand my notice in and quit on the spot (probably before getting fired).This got a little strange now 2 managers sat there and looked in amazement when i said i can't handle this and couldn't believe im jacking it in,you cant just walk away because of this it happens all the time said one, the other if i had a quid for all the time ive damaged something i would be living in Tenerife.Very very strangeI did stay after been persauded they must of been desperate bacause i would of turfed me right down the road.These incidents are the first things that ive been involved in for many many years and luckily have been my last (touch wood).Things did get better and work stayed manic all the way through the summer, company policy was  no holidays til october and as i was thinking that would be me,as i said it was only supposed to be temporary we booked a holiday to go to Tossa der Mar (just North Of Barcelona) ive never been to Spain before.

So this was something to look forward and it would also be the first time Myself and Lady Pen to be away on our own since my return.

2 1/4 years on Wow Where has the time gone.

 Over the last few months ive been reflecting over certain parts of my last few years, and what sticks out the most was my time trucking over in North America/Canada although at the time of leaving Canada and returning to England.2 1/4 years on the love of North American trucking hasnt faded in fact its becoming an obsession once more.Im going to post quite a few post in the coming months about what we've been upto in the last couple of years and then see where we go after that.

I secured a job driving a low loader for a local company although they are actually a Scottish company with a North West Division,Souters Sports are a company who specialise in the renovations and manufacture of sports fields whether it be for the local council or a major football team,working on pitches for Manchester United,Liverpool,Stoke City,Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End.Also building pitches for St Helen Rugby leagues new Stadium.Ive done flat work before roping and sheeting and although had little bits of plant i have never worked solely on this type of work before so for the first few weeks there was qutie alot of blagging going on (alright an extreme amount lol).It became big boyz toys and after a few months of getting dirty (i Hate been dirty)i started to enjoy it and the hourly rate was very good.If the transport was a little slow i would help working on site whether driving a tractor,dumper,Excavator or just the good old shovel.I did enquire about the old ERF sat in the corner of the yard and was informed that yes it get used as well (inbetween spending alot of time in the workshop Lol)

 Golf Clubs,Bowling Greens School fields polo pitches we worked on,draining,scarifying,vertidraining and i along with 1 other driver would supply each site with what ever plant and materials were required,so after the end of the 1st summer i was asked to stay on (this was only supposed to be a temp job and  i had recieved other job offers which although were a little less money weren't as physical)so after a little persauding i stayed.

Englands Green and Pleasent land,The Grand Finale.

This is where its time to wrap this blog up,it served a big purpose to myself and Lady Pen while we were apart it also helped other friends and family to have a look at how i was coping (or not ).Ive been home just over a month and now slowly but surely slotting into family life once more, its been rather strange not thinking that i will be leaving again.Ive now been taken on full time and have to get used to early mornings again 6.30 start but luckily for me our yard is only 10 min drive away, im not worried about how many miles i drive infact over the last 3 weeks ive probably driven about 1000 miles but when you get paid by the hour who cares ,not sure if i will ever regret not making Canada our home but at the moment its defiantely the right descision and have absolutely no doubt this is our home.

Thanks for all who have left comments.

Bye x

BULK CARRIERS PEI LTD

Late November 2009 after a phone call i was sold,Bulk Carriers and PEI is for me was my decision.Although i had secured a job at another company in Alberta in which i was due to start in December 2009 i was getting very bad feedback and wasn't liking what i was hearing,the final straw was a revised contract instead of 2 year one i had i was given a 1 year one, i was having very bad feelings.I got off the phone from Mike Schut Bulk Carriers recruiter (now Vice President)the selling line for me was we are a family company who value our drivers and treat them with the upmost respect,as we want them to stay with us for a very long time,i now know many others have fell for that as well.I should off known better, but with the sincerity of this converstion this sounded like the real deal.So 18 months on and still with Bulk Carriers (well until May 20th 2011)was everything true well this fairy tale cetainly wasn't.It became apparent quite early on how much what i was told wasn't true the basics of "we value our drivers" was absolute trash,the ethics of this family firm is nothing more crimminal,running overweight from PEI with potatoes into the USA was the norm you were expected to do this even after various messages were sent to despatch you were authorised by Tyson Kelly to go with it.Bulk Carriers although say they condone illegal running i.e log book tampering pushed drivers into it,sitting them for hours unpaid then expecting them to run all hours to make delivery times these drivers who need to put food on the table for the familys have no choice but to be very creative.Since i started nearly all the workforce has changed either drivers have left for better companys or returned back home refusing to put up with the way Bulk Carriers treated them, either like the way they run or lump it is there attitude plenty more where you come from, Europe is full of wannabee North American Truck drivers is there answer.When i complained to Tyson Kelly after been holed up in Loblaws cambridge for over 20 hours again unpaid i requested a layover eventually after basically begging for some sort of payment $50 was allocated, i made a comment to say that i would earn more money per hour in Tim Hortons making coffee his reply was go to Tim Hortons is this the way off valuing your drivers, i beg to differ.I eventually gave up never bothering even after the longest waiting time to request any sort of payment i refused to run day and night and always made sure i was running legally,my philosophy if you care so little of me to sit me for hours and hours unpaid then i care very little of the company to even help them out making the majority of my deliverys not only hours late but sometimes a full day late.So what to do next, make the best out of a bad situation i used my free time to play the tourist, site seeing and shopping could always be fitted in due to the waiting times i was now subjected to you.Luckily for me my outgoings were low there was only me to fend for so i could ride the times when earnings were low unlike others who had familys mortgages and rent to pay how some of these guys coped is beyond me.Wages were always a battle the majority of the time you were short paid, as if you needed this when your pay at times was as little as $900 a fortnight for 10/11 days work either mileage was missing or delivery drops maybe the odd layover etc but there seem to be something missing,i again in the end gave up chasing for the odd 50/100 mile i was short they had eventually beaten me. Iwas to join the long line of immigrant drivers on the Bulk Carriers conveyor belt and im sure i wont be the last.

My decision to return back to England was made quite early on,even though i love the trucking we decided that the overall package of Canada wasn't for us how much off the underlying problem was Bulk Carriers is anyones guess but im sure it certainly didnt help.