My story of trucking in North America: Back home.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Back home.

Hi all, had a great flight over and landed in Manchester yesterday morning, jumped on the train and was back home 2.5 hrs later.
Got a busy few days ahead as going to Amsterdam for Tom's 18th and will be leaving this afternoon from North Shields and jumping on the ferry which is affectionately known as "the love boat".
Hopefully the weather will pick up as its overcast and a little chilly this morning.
Will of course take plenty of pictures and more than likely will have them posted on Monday.
Have a good weekend everyone !!

8 comments:

Ian Sayer said...: Hello Monte. This post is entitled "back home" but do you still think of the UK as home, or will canada ever be home to you? Hope you have a great weekend!; April 25, 2009 at 6:35 AM
Tony T said...: Hi PH
have a nice Jolly in Amsterdam etc.
Send me a txt if u still have my number, & i'll call u when u get back here. if not i'll send it u on F/book mate..
TT; April 26, 2009 at 7:33 AM
Steve--the Rooster said...: have a good one mate
Missed u again in the peg,hope you get the new one when u get back.
sat in calgary now waiting for a trl
cheers
steve; April 27, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Robbie Fraser said...: Glad to be back?; April 27, 2009 at 1:35 PM
Montedarlo said...: Hi Mick, Ian, Tony, Steve and Robbie.
Amsterdam was great and was a nice break, all of us who went behaved and have nothing to be ashamed of...hahah
Wherever my Mam and Dad live will always be my home, even though I havn't lived with them properly since 1984. Canada is where I live and work, home is always home.
Dont have your number Tony, you can send it on here and I wont publish the comment or on Facebook, whatever is easier for you.
Sorry I missed you Steve, you must have eyes like a shit-house rat to have spotted me when I went past, maybe next time mate.
And Hi Robbie, dont think we have spoke before. I am pleased to be back, I am going to keep myself busy so hopefully the boredom wont kick in. Good to hear from you; April 27, 2009 at 3:27 PM
Robbie Fraser said...: Thanks, Ive been following your blog for the past year, didn't realise I could comment without signing up for a blogger account. How long you back home for?

Robbie; April 28, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Montedarlo said...: Hey Robbie, back until Sunday the 10th. Staying in Manchester on the Saturday night and flying the following afternoon.; April 29, 2009 at 4:10 AM
mickfly said...: Hey Phil, you coulda stopped at our house on your way back down, we are home in Bradford on the 9th!; April 29, 2009 at 7:59 PM

Your bank, its your choice.

I have already covered a bit about credit here but something has come to light.
When you arrive in Canada you will be taken to a bank and an account will be opened for you.
You are no way obliged to open an account at a branch you dont want.
I have had a few hiccups lately with ATB, the latest being having to wait 2.5hrs to have it authorised for me to be able to but my new laptop as I was going over my daily withdrawl limit.
If you are not happy with your bank then you can always change it, just as I am about to do

Rubbish pic but I have seen it

The Salton Sea is an inland saline lake, occupying the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink, part of the larger Colorado Desert in Southern California, north of the Imperial Valley. The lake covers a surface area of approximately 376 square miles (974 km²), the largest in California. While it varies in dimensions and area due to changes in agricultural runoff and rain, it averages 15 by 35 miles (24 by 56 km), with a maximum depth of 51 feet (15½ m), giving a total volume of about 7.5 million acre-feet (9.3 km³). Sea inflow averages 1.36 million acre-feet per year (53.2 m³/s).

Facts about Canada

Canada invented the baseball glove in 1883
Canada does not own the North Pole.
Santa Claus does !!
Its population equates to 3 people per square Km
Canadians rank 6th in the worlds standard of living
Canada has almost 2 million lakes
Cigarettes and Alcohol are cheaper in the UK
Hockey is the national sport
The word Canada translates as "Village"
it has the longest highway,7604km long
Canada has 42 National parks
25% of the worlds fresh water is in Canada
Second largest country in the world
There are 3 oceans on 3 sides
Canada hs the worlds longest coastline
population is roughly 33 million
6 million of those speak french
It has six time zones

Winter is coming and its serious

A few weeks ago my night heater packed in through the night. I woke at 2am and the temp in the cab was -2. I was freezing in my pants and summer quilt. I told a canadian lad about it and received the biggest bollocking. How was I to survive if I got stuck somewhere for a few days in temps as low as -30 ? Basically I would die so the need for proper winter clothing is essential and needs to be in the front of the mind of lads coming over in the winter time. I have added a list of what I consider essentials and a rough guide to the prices.

Bank accounts and Credit

When you arrive in Canada you will be taken to open a bank account which is easy enough. Unless you can prove your credit worthyness from the UK its unlikely you will be offered a credit card. You will need one in the USA unless you pay cash for everything. The answer is to put cash up front. Mastercard/visa will give you a card if you put say $500 up front so in theory you are spending your own money but it will build you a credit history in Canada. Its worth budgeting for this before you arrive over here.