I was all fired up for Day One of the build until about 17:30 last night when I called the ground workers to confirm. Problem: they were delayed on their current job and couldn't start until Thursday.
This wasn't great, but I had arranged for a couple of deliveries to arrive today so I planned to wait around until they turned up in the morning and then head on into work.
Well that was the plan!
| It all started to go wrong when I arrived on site at around 10:00 to find that the HSS man - delivering my security fencing - had driven right onto the plot and managed to get stuck in the mud. Whilst revving the engine to the point of near distruction in a vain attempt to free himself he then wedged the van up against the fence! |  |
| We called it in to HSS who sent out an RAC man in a disappointingly small van. He sucked his teeth for a while and then went, saying he'd get a bigger truck to come and pull it out. |  |
So while we waited for a solution I busied myself with setting up the security panels that he had delivered. Alas I had exhausted that task in under 5 minutes and so I was back to waiting again. |  |
An hour or so later - still no sign of any tow truck - and my toilet arrived. You can tell how bored I was as I actually got excited about a portaloo. |  |
After lunch, an AA man arrived in an even smaller van. He did a remarkably accurate impression of the RAC man, and then left. It was at this point - 6 hours after I arrived on site - that my enthusiasm for the day began to take a downward trajectory. |  |
But then a breakthroguh! My ground workers arrived with all manner of large machinery ready to setup for the following day. |  |
They took one look at the problem and had a solution straight away. "What we really need here", they said, "is a 6 tonne JCB and some chain." Which was lucky, becuase that's exactly what they'd brought over from Wisbech. Five minutes later and the back of the HSS van was in the air moving back up the drive way to freedom. |  |
So all's well that ends well. I have my toilet installed. |  |
And I have the plant on site ready for tomorrow. |  |
And I finally have my security gates up, which will hopefully prevent people from driving into the plot and getting stuck in future! The moral of the story? "Don't mess about, get a JCB." |  |
