Practically Classics Forum

I have not been about for a few weeks due to extensive work commitments - I am the senior site manger responsible for the delivery of a project where we have been under the spotlight of a national media frenzy for the last week - to add to this we hosted a visit by the prime minister yesterday - its been a very hard slog to get the project to this stage with very tight deadlines but we are now on site and running - it's seen some very committed and long hours by the site team with a mountain of back room admin / H & S / planning / investment - including the delivery a new £500k amphibious excavator into our fleet - now established we have several months hard work in order to undertake the dredging of some 400,000 tons of silt to rivers Parrett & Tone - listed below are just some of the many news links that cover the past week on the site

Chris

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-26808840
http://www.itv.com/news/story/2014-03-3 ... set_343863
http://www.itv.com/news/west/update/201 ... et-levels/
http://www.itv.com/news/west/2014-03-31 ... ls-begins/
http://www.itv.com/news/west/story/2014 ... nce_345480
http://news.sky.com/story/1234390/dredg ... set-levels
http://www.channel4.com/news/somerset-d ... me-weather
http://www.channel4.com/news/aerial-foo ... vels-video
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-26764361
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... rrett.html

Grumpy Northener wrote:we hosted a visit by the prime minister yesterday

You have my heartfelt condolences. Honestly, the things you see when you leave your gun at home!

Well done on the river dredging job, please post pictures if any more interesting cars are found while you're in about at it.

When you've done with all that silt, I can suggest somewhere to deposit it

If you find an FSO 125p right hand drive saloon, it might be mine which was supposed
to have been scrapped in 94. I wouldn't mind it back!

ive been watching the westcountry news looking out for you mate.. can you mark your hat with something we might recognise??

Rich - Ok in the first pic on this link I am the nearest one to you (looking very tired & knackered after a 110 hour week to get all of this into place - we have had very little lead time to organize this contract)
http://www.itv.com/news/west/update/201 ... et-levels/
I can be seen on some of the other video / news clips and there is obviously a lot of interest in what is happening - we are very much under the media spotlight and in 30 years of contracting I cannot recall such interest in dredging - my only concern now is that this is a very full on project for the next 6 months + and just where I am going to find the time for the cars whilst 100 + miles down country ?? - I have thought of maybe building a temporary workshop in the compound so that I can keep things moving with the Javelin

good luck mate, although if you can afford a new £500k digger it must be a good contract!! hope it lasts..

I think we can let you off with the Javelin's delays - your last few posts on that thread make more "sense" now!

One thing I was wondering about - what is happening to the spoil? I remember about thirty years ago, they dredged our river and there were massive piles of spoil to lead away. I spent a week with a tractor and overloaded trailer, leading some from downstream back onto the boss's land so we could level some of "our" holes on the flood plain. That was only a mile or so length of narrow river that didn't yield anywhere near as much per yard as toe ones you are working on will! TBH, I suspect some of the stuff I led would have worked its way back in the last thirty years!

You haven't come across MH370 have you. They've looked everywhere else!

Grumpy Northener wrote:Rich - Ok in the first pic on this link I am the nearest one to you (looking very tired & knackered after a 110 hour week to get all of this into place - we have had very little lead time to organize this contract)
http://www.itv.com/news/west/update/201 ... et-levels/

You mean you were that close and you didn't shove the bugger in.................

Shame on you