The Builder's Apprentice

"You get a five-minute break, but that's all you take, for a cold cup of coffee and a piece of cake"....

Just home from a fabulous few days at Fort Martin, where I'd been drafted in by the Boss to assist with a bit of concrete mixing.

It's been a few years since I got involved with this sort of stuff, but I had two of the finest professionals alongside to remind me. The mixer was still going strong, only 46 years after it's initial purchase. Hopefully, I'd be able to keep up! 

A few days of laying granite sets, pavers and a concrete base necessitated shifting about one and a half tonnes of ballast and I even got to take the van to the builder's merchants when we ran out. I kind of looked the part, parked up alongside the other white vans, but no one else was asking the forklift guy to 'mind you don't put those bags of sand on my sleeping bag' when their materials were being loaded up!

It's been a great fun few days of hard grafting, skill learning, good nattering and of course the Fort fine dining - and coffee breaks on the terrace were even allowed now and then. The accommodation was different to normal but as comfy as ever. Good times!