"I’ll tell you what really gets on my skips..."
“I have a problem with skip lorries. Especially when they arrive to a symphony of beeps, scrapes and bangs on Saturday morning… The drivers usually behave as if they're filming a remake of Mad Max”
These are the words of Victoria Summerley, writing in The Independent (Wed, 9th April – full article online at: http://tinyurl.com/6ncfkk). I couldn’t help getting slightly agitated by this painfully out-of-date stereotype and sweeping generalisation regarding the attitude of skip drivers. Not to mention the implied notion that the job of a skip truck driver - and the need for skips themselves - is somehow of little importance to society.
She also writes of her disapproval “when they block the road just when I need to drive somewhere, or when they block the neighbouring street, so all the traffic diverts down our road.”
As we all know, the only reason any skip lorry driver could possibly have for blocking a street is the sheer thrill of inconveniencing all those potential customers in neighbouring properties – it’s surely the most exhilarating experience there is, isn’t it? It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with there being no other option than to temporarily block the road for the shortest time possible while serving the needs of a customer, could it?
Imagine the sheer trauma involved when a skip lorry is not even in your street, but a few extra road tax paying drivers need to come down that way for a short while. It doesn’t bear thinking about. Surely there’s a care line for that sort of horrific ordeal? Poor Victoria.
So, on to the obvious question: what happens when Victoria needs a skip?? It’s pure speculation, of course, but I’d imagine her having a problem with things like “the inconsiderate neighbour who parked opposite my house preventing the skip lorry from accessing my driveway.” …or maybe “the town planners who failed to see the future necessity for a private expressway connecting my local skip hire firm directly to my home.”
Okay, it’s getting a bit ridiculous now I admit, but it is annoying to see our industry unfairly snubbed and cheaply stereotyped.
GOT A RANT FOR me? pr@theskip.net
