After two weeks off over Christmas, the first full week of January felt like easing a cold diesel engine back into life, a bit stiff at first, but once it’s running, it’s good to go. Here’s how the first proper week back looked in the life of the Cherry Picker Man.
Monday – Back in the Saddle (and Straight Into the Snow)
Monday was very much a gentle return to work. No cherry picker heroics, just the small matter of catching up on eight outstanding surveys that hadn’t quite made it in before Christmas.
That meant a fair bit of driving, zig‑zagging across Nottinghamshire, Nottingham, Basford, Gedling, Hucknall, Farnsfield, and even my home village of Bilsthorpe. To add a little extra spice, there was a light sprinkling of snow on the roofs, which is never ideal when you’re trying to see what’s actually going on up there.
As if to underline that it really was a Monday, the frost had frozen the rear sliding door on the Hilux shut. Not a major issue… just enough to make everything slightly more awkward than it needed to be.
Because I was surveying rather than swinging off chimneys, I managed the luxury of doing both the school drop‑off and pick‑up, which felt like a win. We then piled the family into the car and dashed over to Thurgerton to see a famous murmuration of starlings.
Unfortunately, that was the exact day the starlings decided to murmurate somewhere else entirely. Never mind, there’s always next year.
Tuesday – Cherry Pickers, Jackdaws, and Frozen Gutters
Tuesday brought a bit more action and some long‑overdue cherry picker time. It was still crisp and cold, with snow hanging around just enough to keep things interesting.
The morning took me to Castle Donington, Leicestershire, to install bird protection on a tall chimney. The stack didn’t have a proper pot, so I had to fabricate a bespoke bird guard using mesh and wire. A slightly unusual setup, but it did the job nicely. The customer was delighted, and we even had time for a chat about what the building used to be back in the day.
From there it was off to Aslockton, near Bingham, where the rest of the afternoon was spent battling cast iron gutters that were partially frozen solid. I cleared and repaired the guttering, installed a new cast iron downpipe, and fitted bird protection to another chimney to stop a gang of jackdaws planning their next property takeover.
Despite the cold, it was a productive day and I still made it home in time for the school pick‑up. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
Wednesday – Tight Parking and Two Chimneys in a Day
Wednesday’s job landed me on a busy street in Netherfield, Nottingham, where parking is always a bit of a gamble. Thankfully, everything went my way and I managed to get the truck, trailer, and cherry picker set up with enough room to work safely.
Two chimneys were booked in for the day:
- The front chimney needed an old TV aerial removing and fresh flaunching.
- The rear chimney had three pots, one of which was seriously out of plumb.
In the end, all three pots came off, the stack was capped and vented, and the pointing was ground out and fully repointed. A full day’s graft, but everything was wrapped up neatly within the day.
Job’s a fish.
Thursday – Chasing a Stubborn Leak and a Stove Install
Thursday started in Bingham, Nottinghamshire, investigating a leak above a boiler in a three‑storey block of flats. Every time there was heavy rain, the boiler would short out, leaving the tenant without heating, a situation that had been dragging on for around four weeks.
With the cherry picker set up and my friend Chris alongside me, it didn’t take long to spot that the ridge tiles above the boiler flue were in poor condition. Sliding the tiles back revealed the real culprit: the roof membrane around the flue had completely perished.
There was clear evidence of water tracking under the ridge, behind the membrane, and straight into the property. We stripped back the tiles, removed the ridge, installed new membrane, reinstated everything, and re‑bedded the ridge tiles. Fingers crossed, but all signs point to that being the end of the problem.
From there it was straight over to Rainworth, helping Village Stoves install a flue liner for a new multi‑fuel stove. The job involved breaking out the top of the chimney, removing an old gas liner, fitting a new pot and concrete, and installing the liner and cowl.
All went smoothly and once again, I made it home just in time for the school run.
Friday – Storm Goretti and Big News
Friday promised to be a whitewash, with Storm Goretti forecast to dump snow across the country overnight. Thankfully, Bilsthorpe escaped the worst of it, even though much of Nottinghamshire was blanketed in white.
That meant plans could go ahead to crack on with fencing around DJI HQ, working alongside my friend Tomek. We got an incredible amount done, far more than I’d expected two people to manage in a single day and the new HQ is really starting to take shape.
I worked late, finishing after dark, but made sure everything was swept up and left tidy before calling it a day.
The icing on the cake came in the form of an email from CMC UK, inviting me to visit their showrooms and workshops during the week beginning 19th January. They’re taking delivery of a container full of new road‑towable CMC machines and want me to test, review, and demonstrate them for YouTube and social media.
Given that the CMC S23 was one of the most exciting machines I saw at Vertical Days in September, that email made a very good Friday even better.
Saturday – Many Hands, Much Paint
Saturday saw a trip over to South Muskham, Lincolnshire, to help my wife’s cousin Simon paint his new house. Having recently moved up from Sevenoaks to Lincolnshire for work as a teacher and sensibly taking advantage of more affordable house prices he’s decided to paint every single wall in the place.
So we descended en masse: myself, my in‑laws, Simon’s parents, extended family, and even a seven‑year‑old helper. Many hands really do make light work… although not all the paint stayed on the walls.
It was a long, messy, but hugely productive day. With one more day of painting (not involving me — I’ve done my bit), the house should be finished. I hope Simon is very happy in his new home.
Week done.
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