Hi
We had an interesting afternoon on Saturday when we went to where my brother, Dom, works - the huge Sainsbury's warehouse off the A500. It is actually run by logistics company DHL and they were having their annual Open Day so that friends and family can see where their loved ones work and what they have to do!
It looks so huge from the outside - when we parked up in the car park. We were let in through the security gate and signed in.
They took us upstairs and gave us tea and muffins while we waited for our 2pm tour.
We were taken into a meeting room and given a safety briefing as well as the background to the companies - both Sainsbury and DHL.
Then we were given hi-vis jackets in yellow and had our bags and phones locked away in a room - as there was to be strictly NO photographs while we wee being shown round. They said it was because they have a number of innovations in the warehouse that they didn't want Tesco to know about!
The guys who showed us round seem to love their jobs and are very proud of the place. It was so organised and clean and safety was paramount in every areas we visited. There are so many things you don't think of when you go to the supermarket. Like how did all those different products get to your local store. The racks and racks of goods were so high and the machines - huge cranes really - that reach them all are amazingly fast. It looked like fun - and very hard work!
In the hand-picking areas workers can walk 10 -12 miles a day and lift the weight of an adult male killer whale each day.
Also, I had never thought how dangerous it would be to have lots of aerosols in one place. So dangerous that they have a special bomb-proofed area for them - where the air is changed every hour and machines are constantly sniffing the air to make sure no gases are escaping. Just one damaged can could mean disaster so this area is closed down very quickly if there is a problem. The people who work in this area are highly trained. We weren't allowed in.
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| Mini DHL pallet! |
It took a good hour just to walk from one side to the other. As we left we were given a goody bag (a nice cotton one) with pens, pencils and this very cute mini-pallet with notepaper on it.
N and I both enjoyed the visit and learned a lot - it was something quite different to do on a wet Saturday afternoon!
Then of course Saturday night was party night - as it was Eurovision 2014!! N's friend Greg was actually there and we kept looking for him on the TV. He was spotted doing some patriotic flag-waving behind the hosts in Denmark!
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| Eurovision 2014 |
We went over to my parent's house in Cheadle as did Dom, Sharon and Sarah too. We ordered pizza, ate some of my mum's potent sherry trifle and watched the whole thing.
I was quite taken with Iceland's colourful entry - with it's lyrics of peace and harmony. Alas it did very badly. As did another of our favourites - the bonkers song from France about moustaches! It was a beard that won the night - with a song that sounded like it could be from a James Bond film.
None of us predicted the winner at all. So, it looks like the competition will be from Austria next year. I wonder if it's about time we went to see it live?
Talking of live entertainment - we have our very exciting event in the library tomorrow night. TOWN will be great fun I am sure. Have to make sure my library looks good - and go nd get some cakes first thing in the morning!
Will be back with photos from the night very soon!
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