LIFE COULDN’T BE BETTER
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As is to be expected, some drops are a great deal more difficult than others. For example, deliveries to a client on Porthminster Beach near St. Ives involve a long walk from the nearest parking spot and a number of steep steps leading down to the beach. This in itself would be acceptable were it not for the fact that the delivery often includes a number of the popular, but heavy and bulky, wind breaks.
“I suppose I should be as fit as the proverbial butcher’s dog,” Draper jokes. There are many benefits, however, and he is quick to admit that, despite the hassles created by holiday traffic and impatient drivers, his job could be a whole lot worse. “Just look around you,” he says as we make our way up the A30 towards Exeter, the back of the Volvo box van echoing emptily behind us.
Sure enough, the sight of the rolling Dartmoor hills under an almost cloudless sunlit sky and wonderful West Country villages rejoicing in names such as Broadwoodwidger do have a positive and calming effect. “When I’ve had a bad day, I console myself with the thought that I could be doing multidrop work in London or trying to make up time to catch a slot at an RDC,” he smiles. “Believe me, I soon remember that I’m really rather well off.” Back at the KandyToys’ depot, a demountable box has been stuffed with yet more beach-bound bric-a-brac and as soon as his notes have been handed in it’s just a case of dropping his empty box and picking up the loaded one.
“I suppose,” says Draper, “that in reality, life doesn’t get much better than this.”