CUSTOMS COORDINATOR, FREIGHT
Without people like JESSICA MILLER, ships carrying food and other essentials into British ports wouldn’t be able to offload their cargo.
“W Saunders, the shipping and freight forwarding agent I work for, brings in food and aluminium cargo via the Port of Felixstowe. The foodstuffs include rice, salads, courgettes, peppers, chicken and fish; while the thin sheets of aluminium are used in MRI scanners in hospitals, and so our service is vital. Covid, coupled with Brexit, has made us busier than ever — our workload has tripled. Because of the mounds of paperwork I’ve been unable to work from home during the day, and so I travel to the office, where I work alongside seven colleagues — socially distanced, of course, plus we wear plastic visors.
As I’m out all the time, I do worry that I may catch Covid and take it home to my seven-year-old daughter, Ella-mai, and my husband, Ashley, an electrician and also a key worker. Ashley did come into contact with someone suffering from Covid. It was quite a scare, but although he had to isolate at home, fortunately the test came back negative. One of our vessels was also affected by coronavirus, with a sailor becoming unwell as the ship approached the port. It had to anchor just outside Felixstowe for two weeks. It was incredibly lucky that it was carrying aluminium and not perishable goods.
My job involves sorting out the paperwork/clearance documents for all the imports, which are directed to warehouses once they are offloaded from the ships, and from there they are sold on to hospitals and stores around the UK. The ships come from various corners of the globe, plus we deal with the clearance of the 40 trucks a day that arrive in Dover from Italy and Spain.
My official hours are 9am to 5pm, but I often log on at home later. The overtime helps pay for my favourite hobby!
I visit my mare, Star, who I compete in low-level dressage, twice a day at Blue Barn in Felixstowe, where she’s kept on DIY livery. I go before and after work, and sometimes my friend, Freddie Anderson, helps out with the riding.
Star hasn’t enjoyed the best of health since I got her three years ago. She’s been suffering from kissing spines, plus hock and suspensory problems and, more recently, was diagnosed with ulcers. Despite all of this, she helps me to chill. Riding gives me a sense of normality, and I can even do it in the dark now as, thanks to my other half and his electrical expertise, we have lights in the school.
One of my favourite outings with Star involves visiting Trimley Beach — a 2hr 45min round trip. We go paddling in the sea, up to Star’s knees/hocks. We may see a few dog walkers, but other than that we usually have the beach to ourselves. The water tends to be still, and it’s simply magical. It’s a true escape from Covid.”
“A sailor became unwell as the ship approached the port. It had to anchor for two weeks”