Deep Breaths

We have a big list of jobs on the wall board and today's events serve to compound my frustration at trying to progress through them.

Waking up at the Ullapool digs the snow was down at sea level and the forecast gave no cause for optimism. I had to consider that even if I got my car up the steep hill track to the site again a further covering of snow may make the exit a hairy one, an errant sideways slip towards the unprotected drop at the side of the track being an unthinkable prospect. (Think of the villains chasing James Bond on one of these winding Alpine roads, Bond's sports car gets under the big jack knifed lorry and the much bigger pursuing black car goes over the cliff. Sorry imagination doing over time; unlike me)

For those familiar with our site location wondering why we didn't walk it was simply the number of trips required at the start and end of the day carrying all the gear would have given us about one hour of actual site work.

It was a wasted night in pre booked accommodation and then a long drive home punctuated with phone stops to frantically re-arrange the next couple of days. At least Friday was organised from a couple of weeks ago.

I was back seated at the desk about 11.00am and there was quite a lot of email to deal with and I made contact with people I had not been able to reach over the last week or so. Many office folk start after I have gone out of mobile reception for the day and when I regain reception they have gone home for the night again.

I was also able to have a rare two way conversation with the engineer dealing with the Friday job. That was useful, every query or niggle I had was resolved and more importantly I grasped the philosophy of what they were trying to achieve.

Incoming call; the young engineer I had spoken to moments earlier, she had just spoken to her boss, a land access/permission issue had arisen and the survey could not go ahead on Friday.

Deep breaths and count to ten, "That's fine"

Almost dark and no blip, I took Caley to the River Roy near Achaderry.