Week Beginning 10th May 2026
The week started with sore legs, questionable mobility, and the realisation that perhaps crawling through mud, climbing over obstacles and voluntarily electrocuting yourself on a Saturday isn’t actually ideal preparation for a working week.
The previous day I’d completed Tough Mudder with Ryan and teammate Andy, and rather than making the long drive home, we stayed overnight in Henley-on-Thames and made a weekend of it. Sometimes life needs a slightly slower pace. Sometimes your legs insist on it.
Sunday morning involved coffee and brunch with Ryan, Andy and Alice before taking Robyn and Wren down by the riverside and off to the park. There was ice cream involved, naturally. Because if you’ve survived Tough Mudder, calories no longer count.
After that it was back to Nottinghamshire because there was an important event waiting: Robyn’s football presentation at The Griffin’s Head in Papplewick. Watching her collect her medal after a season of football felt considerably more rewarding than my own attempts at dragging myself over obstacles covered in mud.
Then, because I apparently don’t learn lessons very well, I signed up for another Tough Mudder.
Not another 5K.
15K.
At Belvoir Castle.
Because clearly one poor life decision deserves another.
Rain Stops Play… and Sometimes That’s Fine
Monday was meant to involve work in Swadlincote, Derbyshire.
Instead, Derbyshire weather had other ideas.
Now one thing years in roofing teaches you is that forcing work in poor conditions often creates bigger problems later. Sometimes the most experienced decision isn’t pushing through it’s waiting.
So I did something unusual.
I had a day off.
Hannah, Wren and I headed over to Derby Runner because apparently surviving one Tough Mudder now officially qualifies me as an endurance athlete requiring specialist running shoes.
That was followed by Tesco shopping and one of my favourite jobs of all: dropping off and collecting Robyn from school.
There was also some video editing squeezed into the day, so despite not standing in a cherry picker, it still somehow ended up productive.
Brickwork, Hoppers and Visits to the Chicken Shed
Tuesday brought us firmly back into work mode.
First stop: Nottingham.
We had loose brickwork at the top of a tall block of flats requiring relaying and repair. While up there we also cleared several hoppers which had begun causing water overflow issues.
Many homeowners never see these problems developing because hopper blockages often go unnoticed until water starts pouring down walls or causing damp issues elsewhere.
Proper rainwater management matters. Overflowing hoppers aren’t just annoying; they can create significant longer-term maintenance issues.
If you’re experiencing persistent water ingress issues, a proper roof survey and inspection can often identify hidden issues before they become expensive ones – Check out our roof surveys service
After Nottingham came a quick stop at what has become known as “the chicken shed” where I still have various materials stored.
Rather than attempting one enormous material-moving mission, I’ve started slowly loading the truck whenever I pass. Like some sort of roofing squirrel preparing for winter.
One day it’ll all magically disappear.
Probably.
Mansfield Chimneys and End-of-Day Resets
From there it was on to Mansfield for chimney work involving:
- Re-flaunching a chimney
- Installing a chimney cowl
- Removing an aerial
Work like this sits right in the wheelhouse of chimney maintenance and repair work and it’s surprising how often aerials, cracked flaunching and failed chimney tops combine into one larger issue.
Find out more here: Chimney Maintenance Servicehttps://www.dji-uk.co.uk/chimney-maintenance
Once finished it was back to base for unloading, resetting and preparing for tomorrow.
People often imagine roofing ends when you climb out of the basket.
It doesn’t.
The behind-the-scenes organisation is often half the job.
Chimney Liners, Access Problems and Knowing Your Limits
Wednesday began in Kirkby-in-Ashfield alongside stove installer Phil.
The task:
Install a chimney liner, fit a new chimney pot and install a cowl.
Everything went smoothly.
Afterwards Phil showed me another nearby property and asked a question I hear regularly:
“Can you get access to this?”
The answer?
Possibly.
But perhaps not with my machine.
One of the biggest parts of high-access work isn’t simply knowing what a machine can do it’s recognising when another solution may be better.
I’m currently discussing larger machinery options with other access companies because forcing unsuitable access solutions rarely ends well.
If specialist access is needed, our high-access cherry picker services often provide solutions where traditional methods become difficult – Cherrypicker hire service
From Kirkby it was over to Grantham for slate roof repairs before making it back in time to collect Robyn and take her swimming.
From chimney liners to swimming lessons.
Standard Wednesday.
Educational Roofing Insight: Why Dry Ridge Systems Are Becoming More Popular
Thursday in Swadlincote involved removing a small chimney, making good the roof afterwards and replacing several roof tiles.
While I tackled the chimney work, Tomek removed ridge tiles ready for a new dry ridge installation.
Traditional mortar ridge systems naturally deteriorate over time. Cracks form, mortar loosens and ridge tiles become vulnerable to movement.
Dry ridge systems offer:
- improved ventilation
- reduced maintenance
- secure mechanical fixing
- greater long-term reliability
For homeowners this often means fewer future headaches.
This kind of preventative thinking often saves significant repair costs later and links closely with many roof repair projects across Nottinghamshire – Roof Repairs Service
By the time we’d finished, it was a full day.
Back at base around 5pm.
Normally that means unloading and resetting.
This time?
Truck parked.
Cherry picker abandoned.
Holiday mode officially activated.
From Cherry Pickers to Planes, Trains and Italy
Friday began at 6:30am collecting Granny Ralph and Grumps from Farnsfield.
Travelling party:
- Hannah
- Robyn
- Wren
- Granny Ralph
- Grumps
- me
Destination:
Italy.
Specifically travelling via Stansted, Milan and several train journeys to Parma.
Now, reading this back, it sounds like some kind of carefully coordinated international operation.
For clarity: Hannah organised all of this.
I organise awkward roof access, spider lifts and jobs involving chimneys hanging off buildings. Ask me to coordinate six people, luggage, children, airports and train connections across Europe and things become considerably less certain.
I couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery.
Thankfully Hannah can.
The final objective is visiting Platform Basket because naturally I somehow managed to work a spider lift factory visit into a family holiday.
Parma, Pizza and Questionable Culinary Choices
Saturday involved simply exploring Parma.
Beautiful buildings.
Ornate cathedrals.
Fantastic food.
Potentially too much food.
The menu included:
- pizza
- ice cream
- tiramisu
- croissants
- beer
- coffee
- cake
- and, somewhat unexpectedly, raw horse meat
Yes.
Raw horse meat.
I approached Italian cuisine with roughly the same restraint I approach biscuits on roofing jobs:
none whatsoever.
I now feel slightly worse for wear.
And we’ve still got several days left.
Locations Worked This Week
- Henley-on-Thames – Tough Mudder recovery weekend and family time
- Papplewick – football presentation
- Nottingham – brickwork repairs and hopper clearance
- Mansfield – chimney flaunching and cowl installation
- Kirkby-in-Ashfield – chimney liner installation
- Grantham – slate roof repairs
- Swadlincote – chimney removal and dry ridge installation
- Parma, Italy – family trip and Platform Basket visit preparation
Do you have concerns about your roof, chimney or a persistent leak?
We offer:
Targeted Roof Inspection — £100 + VAT
Full Roof Condition Survey — £250 + VAT
Surveys are available within approximately 1.5 hours of North Nottinghamshire.
For customers further afield, remote photo quotations are often possible.
Find out more: https://www.dji-uk.co.uk/roof-surveys
About the Author
This blog has been compiled and published by Danny Iwanejko, documenting real-world roofing, chimney and specialist high-access work carried out across Nottinghamshire and beyond. Through DJI High Access Services, Danny combines practical roofing experience with specialist access solutions and shares the reality of life as Dan the Cherry Picker Man.
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By the end of the week I learned something important: apparently a week can contain Tough Mudder, chimneys, ridge systems, family time, international travel and raw horse meat… and still somehow feel normal.
