Back To Normal - Ish!

Well it's been a few weeks, and to be honest it's been a bit hectic!

Plenty of miles and jobs completed from one end of the country to the other.

Taking a bit of time out every now and again, but not enough - so we decided to take breakfast down on the beach a few weeks back.

It was a bit windy down there, but we had wrapped up well and it was lovely to just sit for an hour and listen to the waves.

Iv'e been doing a bit of cooking over the past weeks, so here are a few creations.

Sometimes a simple feta cheese salad is all that's required!

Getting to play with my food processor is brilliant! Smoothies are so simple to make!

A Mango Rainbow Salad

You just can't beat a home made potato salad! 

Steak and salad with a home made Caesar dressing.

As I haven't been in my own truck I tend to travel a bit light and not have all my cooking gear with me. This does mean that sometimes out of pure laziness I eat from the truck stop cafes.

To be honest, they have all upped their game and the food is sometimes exceptional!

Not the most healthiest, but tasty and excellent value for money!

I've been to some places with amazing views as well - 

These were taken out at New Quay a small fishing village on the West of Wales coast. Nightmare to get into I must add!

Then again I get some really crap views!

And some really tight spots!

And some interesting cargo!

Some times you see things that make you wonder what goes through folks minds! These kids were running feral around the truck parking area!

Eventually a couple of adults came out and then stood in the middle. Can you guess what part of the community they came from?

Had a bit of an issue when the fork lift decided to go through the floor of the container. It bowed so much that they decided to unload the container and reject it. That was another long day for me!

It's not something that is noticeable when you load an empty container, only when a fully loaded fork lift drives in and it decides to bow do you realise it's buggered!

The Royal Corps of Signals recently celebrated it's Centenary year, so I had to get my mug out and raise it to the best the British Army has and one I am proud to of served in.

 

Finally I am back in my Mercedes Actros, it's certainly been a while and to be honest I do prefer the Merc over the DAF.

Even though the DAF is a little more refined, the Merc certainly has far more room, the flat floor certainly makes a difference and the dash does not move out into the centre of the cab.

So I'm glad to be back in it.

Although, I have only been in it a week as I am now on holiday for 2 weeks!

We should of been travelling over for a week in Holland, returning to the UK and then having a week in France, but all that has gone right out of the window!

So now we are going up to Preston to see my daughter who has just returned from Spain with her partner. They lost everything, as they were working in the tourism industry and it's just not there at the moment.

Then we are of to Sussex for a 3 nights in a secluded Shepherds Hut, looking forward to that.

So that is everything up to day I think!

Take care - stay safe!

Still On The Road - HGV Trucking During Pandemic

Well it's more or less business as usual for us, however, out of 24 trucks there is only 13 of us on the road at our yard.

The rest have been furloughed, I've had that many truck changes I've lost count and have been from one end of the country to the other since my last post.

I also had a paint swapping experience with a VW Passat on the A4 just out of London!

There were just a few scratches on my truck - video evidence from my truck suggests that I was not to blame!

I'm back in a DAF XF which I am enjoying, I think I still prefer my Mercedes but the DAF is a smoother ride and does have some fancy night lights in the cab.

Still not as fancy as the guy below with all the polished chrome and fancy paint!

It's from the film "Gladiator" As much as I like the effort that goes into it, at the end of the day a truck is a depreciating asset, this guy must have more money than sense.

 

I'm still trying to work out how it gets across the Cat Walk to connect his lines without damaging his paint work?

During time off I've cooked a few tasty meals and had some rather lovely Mango Cider from Snails Bank Brewery

This was a Thai Sticky Chicken - Had a bit of a kick to it and tasted wonderful!

The cider was from our local Micro Pub here in New Milton - They are doing a collection and delivery service!

We have also had some amazing weather recently although it has cooled off the last few days, not that I'm complaining as sleeping in the truck when it's hot is not great.

It does mean we get to see some fantastic sunsets, this was taken late evening as we drove across the New Forest.

Stayed at a Truck Stop called the Red Lion just off the M1 the other night, really well organised and the food was excellent. With your parking you get a £6.00 meal voucher - I added £1.75 and got a very good Tandoori Chicken, Chips and Salad.

My 14 year old Base Ball Cap also had to be repaired, out with the needle and thread and it's good to go for a few more years!

Sat down on the beach just 10 minutes from our house the other evening, this view looks out towards the Needles on the Isle of Wight.

Some times whilst out in the truck you get to have a reasonable view whilst you brew up - other times not so pretty!

It also never ceases to amaze me what we export - this last week I have collected Ash - Being exported to Vietnam to be turned into furniture and scrap aluminium to be smelted down and recycled into more goods!

Watching them load the tree's into the back of the container made me wonder how on earth they get them back out! They were rammed in pretty hard!

I also delivered a 40ft container full of ventilators - a sobering thought! Let's hope they are not needed!

Monday -  I'm back on the road and heading over to South Wales with a 40ft Container full of Mobility Scooters!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Stay safe!