I've not posted for a long time.

I have been back on the road for just over a year and I'm still enjoying it.

The intention was to just let this blog fade away but I've decided to keep it going and update it at regular intervals.
Moans, groans and general observations along with some input from outside sources. 
First update coming soon.
You have been warned!

Two Weeks Under My Belt.

The last two weeks have flown by and I've enjoyed every minute of being back on the road.
I really haven't cared what I've been given.
Today I had a 45 between Ilkley and Skipton. Made myself a coffee and had a little doze in the sunshine. Perfect!
Even the VOSA crew who had set up camp outside Skipton Golf Club waved me on, when for a second I thought they were going to pull me over. Cheers chaps.

The only thing that has come close to pissing me off is quite a few car drivers on the motorway who insist on doing just over 50. I know fuel costs an arm and a leg at the moment but come on. Why buy a Merc if you can't afford to run it? Still, to give them credit, most have been flashing trucks back in and not just sitting alongside your rear wheels as many like to do. Damn. I keep reverting to 'Moaning Trucker' mode. I'm trying not to whinge but it's hard :-)

'The Beast' (aka MV54 CDZ) is still chugging along. I'm sure the Turbo is going to explode soon but for now it's still plodding along. I've started to clear the 8 months of grease from the catwalk and body but it's a long and messy job. Some might see this as a little OTT seeing as it's a fleet motor but who cares? I'm not going overboard and getting out the polish every time I stop, just a little TLC.

Roll on Monday and a quick blast down the M1 for a delivery to Leighton Buzzard then back to the yard for a local to Rotherham. International Trucker!

I think I'm happy

Today I got the news that I've been waiting months for. The DVLA have finally said that I can go back to driving for a living. I should be jumping up and down and punching the air; it's all I've really wanted.
But I'm not. Pleased, yes. But this isn't the way I thought I would feel.
So much frustration has taken it's toll. The endless phone calls, letters and missed deadlines has been hard to take. I'll stop moaning now.

Not sure what sort of job I've got to go back to. My old truck is with a new driver and there aren't any spares. Guess I'll be 'Holiday Cover Boy'. So this weekend it will be sorting out my crap and getting ready for Monday. It might even mean some new videos on Youtube.

'Trainee Lab Rat'

It's now over half way through January and still no good news from my dear friends at the DVLA. I had another letter from them yesterday putting the blame on the delay at the feet of my consultant.

So now I have two institutions that I have to hassle to get my HGV licence back. It's a never ending saga of phone calls and letters backwards and forwards between Swansea, me and my consultant. I'm sick of it. A classic case of one step forward and two steps back.

The company I work for; Recticel; have been really good so no complaints there. They could have kept me away as I am not able to do the job I was employed for. All credit to them for at least finding me something to do and continuing to pay me at my old rate. It's still a kick in the lower regions not being able to do the job I love.

This last week has seen me swopping the transport office for the new delights of being a 'Trainee Lab Rat'.

For the last week I have been working in our companies testing lab. Goodbye diesel and timed deliveries and hello, Tensile Stress Testing. I'm using maths that I haven't used in nearly forty years!

One good side of this is that I have learned more in a day than I have over the last five years on how our company operates. It's been an eye-opener.

Setting fire to foam to see how your sofa would behave in a fire is just one of the things that have kept me busy. Pulling, crushing, heating and weighing foam samples before they go to customers has been a real change to my daily work.

Good fun and it's got my brain working. Work out the density of a piece of foam in kg/m3. Work out the percentage stretch before reaching breaking point etc etc. It hurts your grey cells at first but soon becomes dead easy :-)

My tales of self pity are rather pathetic though compared with what others are going through. One of my fellow drivers, Paul C, is in hospital following major surgery to his brain. It makes my problems seem very small compared to what both he and his family are going through. I really must make the effort to go and see him this week.

Over and out for now.