Day 1165 Bedrock city

19th October 2020

I was eager to press on with the patio, meaning needed to get some ballast for the new apron I had just made.

I went along to the supplier where I bought the paving stones.

I was prepared with my cubic footage, but explaining it to the lady behind the plexiglass screen was another matter.

“That is not how we usually calculate it” she replied apologetically, so rather than get deeper into the depth of my calculations I gave her the sizes which she tapped into her computer.

“ That works out to be four yards” she smiled.

What followed was a discussion about what that quantity meant, was it cubic yards? With that amount it would fill the driveway.

She kept referring to the sizes, and that’s what it worked out to be.

In the end I relented, “Okay! I’ll have four of your yards of the stuff, when can it be delivered?”

“Would tomorrow be okay?”

“Perfect” I replied, worn down by the experience, however the next part of the transaction was to finally make me lose the will to live.

“ I also want some paving stones”

I gave out the range name, the sizes and quantity.

“I need eleven sixteen by twenty-four and four sixteen by eight”

She looked at the screen, with a puzzled expression.

“ It looks like you can only buy these in layers”

My tired brain creaked, “Layers, what are layers?”

This then exploded into the most complex explanation of what Layers meant.

Apparently when the blocks are delivered they are arranged on a pallet in fixed sets.

Each layer consists of two sixteen by twenty-fours, three sixteen by eights and three sixteen by sixteens, so I would have to buy two complete layers, including the sizes I didn’t want, and buy the extra sixteen by twenty- four slabs which are sold separately.

I finally grasped what they were getting at, only to be told that I would have to go the another site where the slabs are stocked.

With the aid of lists and sketches we set off for the next instalment.

The place looked like Fred Flintstone’s back garden, boulders and rocks of all sizes laid out in some order.

We eventually found the office, it was just a little bigger than a portaloo. There was a sign on the door that read “ Only one person at a time in the office” that was apparent anyway, if two tried to get in there they would have to get married.

I now had to go through the same scenario with the new guy.

“ You will have to buy two layers”

“ I know!” The fatigue was showing.

“ just show me where they are stored” my voice now weak and feeble.

He directed us to an area close to the main road.

We drove off to find the stack.

Now these buggers are heavy, and there was no way the poor truck could take them all, so the plan was to take the two layers and come back for the others.

I wanted to make sure I was taking them from the right stack, so this giant of a man came to help.

This man was the result of cross breeding with a forklift, he was a strong guy.

He carried on loading whilst I ran back to the office where I had inadvertently left my bag with all my worldly goods.

When I got back he was loading the last ones.

The truck felt the weight as we drove back, but as the shock absorbers didn’t punch through the floor, we made it unscathed.

By the time we got back there were a couple who had brought over a dresser that they wanted painted to match one they had got from us a couple of weeks ago, this is a good job, no outlay, money up front, one we can concentrate on and get out in the month.