s up for Belgium
Page 39
Page 40
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
of Tom Blake, removal driver
Today's removal is an easy one, thanks to a client who's tidy and has everything at her fingertips. And she's not in a flap, and that's the main thing.
He's going to take this load to Brussels, which gives him a choice of getting up early in the morning or leaving tonight. Morning is better, because that way he can get to Dover in time for Customs, then a ferry crossing to Zeebrugge, and be in Brussels by 6 pm. Easy Customs, though; you can never tell about Customs. The first time Tom went overseas, he was told Customs would be no problem: it would take ten minutes. It took six hours and 10 minutes.
That's why it's different packing for overseas trips. For one thing, all the electrical gear has to go in the back because the Customs people want the numbers of the appliances.
But don't ask why they want the numbers, because frankly, Tom says, he hasn't got a clue.
This particular job has taken two days to get together, the first day, a Saturday, for the preliminary packing, putting the smaller things in cartons. Today they've been here, Tom and his mates, since gam, filling the van.
They started with the Luton and fitted a three-piece suite there, which filled it out quite nicely. Then they put the larger things, desks and the like on the bottom.
On top of those went the lighter items, chairs, small cartons and so on. And strapped to the sides, if they're too big for cartons, go things like mirrors and pictures.
Tom reckons, they've spent almost 10 hours on this job, counting the pre-packing on Saturday. But it does take longer for an overseas trip, because you've got to pack it a little tighter, for the ferry.
There was a deep-freeze and a fridge on this job. They went on the bottom, and so did a second three-piece suite. It wouldn't fit the Luton with the other one Each job is different, says Tom, and you can never tell what they're
going to be like. One blessing was that they didn't have wardrobes this time.
Tom remembers once trying to get English wardrobes up to the second floor in Holland. It took longer, he says, to get those two wardrobes up the stairs than to unload and unpack the whole of the rest of the load.
Another thing about Continental houses, Tom points out, is these spiral staircases. Where he's going now, in Brussels, they've got one. That'll make things a bit difficult for the unloading. Most Continental furniture is made to go up spiral staircases, but English furniture is not so accommodating.
If all goes well he should be unloaded in Brussels on the Wednesday, then back to the ferry for the ride back. He's not booked; he's never booked, because something could go wrong then they'd miss the ferry, so it's better this way. He'll get back to the docks and wait for the first available place back.
It makes a change, going over to the Continent. You can get a bit sick of just going round towns in Britain all the time; they all begin to look the same after a while. Tom's been to most. And when they started these runs to the Continent, it was really something.
The only thing, though, is the night-out money. It buys almost nothing now, with the pound going down the way it has. In Brussels £1 will buy three cups of coffee: in Germany once, Tom paid £1.25 for two coffees and their version of a hot-dog roll.
So everyone can understand why Tom takes as much food along with him as he thinks they'll need. Also, he and his mate have their own stove for cooking their meals.
Sometimes they buy a meal in the docks, because they're good value, but otherwise they, try to avoid spending much. Well you can't on £9 a day, can you?
It's a sore point, the night-out money. They get exactly the union rates, Tom says: £4.50 a night if they're travelling in the UK, £9 if they're on the Continent. It's not much.
They sleep in the cab as well, in sleeping bags; it's not rough living really, the cabs are big enough and you can take your clothes off, They'd like sleeper-cabs, though.
On the Continent, Tom explained, most drivers have sleeper cabs. Pickfords is getting them as well, which will be nice, because Tom estimates he spends between 150 to 200 nights away, most of them sleeping in his cab, unless he goes somewhere he knows someone. Then he stays with friends or relatives.
This trip he's taking another driver with him, Martin Cambell, 26 years' old. They work together well, says Tom. There was a time when they'd take a crew along, but that was ages ago.
Tom remembers because he's been with the company 341/2 years: joined when he was 18. The foreman told him they didn't usually have drivers as young as him, but if he could handle it, the job was his.
He didn't think he could at first. He was almost ready to chuck it In. It's a hard job; nothing walks out, it has to be carried. Keeps you fit, though, doing removals all the time.
Most of the jobs are house to house removals, with sometimes something different, Once Tom had to move one of the early ICI computers from somewhere near Reading to a display centre in London. ICI spent Elm pounds on it, fixing it up. He had to let the tyres down and drive under 30 mph all the way. Made it safely, he's happy to say.
Seven years ago, when the city was knocking an old house down, the heaviest piano Tom has ever seen had to be lowered from one of the top windows, 25 to 30ft from the ground. They had to put the tackle into the same window the piano was coming out of, with the seals popping out of them and the walls cracking What with the noise and everything, he was pleased when it was on the deck.
But most jobs are ordinary, same as this one, except he's going over the water. Not very far really, Brussels. He's only taking £50, and no traveller's cheques. No need to take much on these runs.
The last thing he's got to do before he leaves is check the van. He always checks the oil and the tyres and looks for leaks before he goes anywhere.
So far he hasn't suffered from a breakdown. The trucks are pretty good, Bedford TKs, and he takes a small kit with him in case anything goes wrong. Then again, one bloke had his gearbox go wrong and still managed to get back, using three gears.
Tom Blake uses the same motor all the time, and takes good care of all the blankets and tackle and trolleys. He has to, he says, because in the end, if there's going to be any cans to carry, it's the drivers who carry them. Simple as that,