Issue 3 - 2010 - Pack & Send

Neither rain nor hail
nor sleet nor snow...
PACK & SEND Reading
Above: Phil and Lex with the Meccano Ferris Wheel.
THE CHALLENGE: MEETING A DEADLINE TO GET A FULLY WORKING FERRIS WHEEL MODEL
FROM FRANCE TO BALLARAT, AUSTRALIA, WHILE COPING WITH EUROPE’S DEEPEST
SNOWFALLS IN 30 YEARS.
When the Ballarat Antique Fair in Australia purchased a
fully working Ferris Wheel model from France, made from
the iconic toy Meccano, little did they know the lengths
that the UK’s PACK & SEND Reading store would have
go to, to get it to them …
Measuring 5ft in diameter and 2ft in depth,
the Ferris Wheel began as a highly fragile
and urgent job. It needed to be picked up
from northern France within a few days, be
securely crated and then sea freighted via
the PACK & SEND door-to-door sea freight
service through to its owner in Ballarat.
What took this job to the next level of
diffi culty, however, was the situation that
the UK and most of Northern Europe was experiencing -
the deepest snow falls in 30 years.
After digging their van out of a snow drift, Reading’s two
staff, Phil and Lex, began their journey at 7.30pm January
12th – armed with a box of sandwiches, a fl ask of tea, a
bag of road salt and a snow shovel – and boarded the
sea ferry for the crossing to France at 10.00pm.
The lads arrived in Calais at 12.30am and started their
journey down to Sant Marcel (a 5.5 hour drive on a good
day) in the driving snow. Safely tucked behind a French
snowplow and road gritter they launched into singing the
company song to keep their spirits high.
Shortly after day break they arrived at
their destination in Sant Marcel, refreshed
themselves with a stale sandwich and
cold cup of tea, loaded the Ferris Wheel
safely into the van and then turned right
back around again to begin the journey
home.
Boarding a ferry for the UK at 7.00pm,
they were back in the store by 11.00pm
– fi nally completing their drive of over 1400 miles in the
worst road conditions they’d ever experienced.
And then – over 24 hours after they began – they fi nally
slept.
Soon after came the Ferris Wheel’s last leg of the journey
– onto the Anglo Pacifi c to Melbourne and to its fi nal
destination – arriving safe and sound in Ballarat, Australia!
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