Tag: #driving

The stupidity of drivers

We had a brilliant day in Surrey with R, our daughter, who we haven’t seen since October.  We walked along the river as far as Hampton Court Palace and back.

We bought sandwiches and picniced opposite some incredible Riverside properties. We almost got hit by a stray golf ball as the footpath takes you through the golf club. We saw nest building cootes and a small whirlwind across the longpond. We ate gelato in the park. A fab day and the weather was brilliant too.

I got a load of mumma hugs in before we left.

Our journey home was a bit more problematic.  We were held up for about 2 hrs at a standstill on the motorway due to an accident,  not too far in front of us ( we didn’t see it jappen) which closed both carriage ways.

Emergency vehicles were streaming past us. The Kent & Sussex Air ambulance landed just ahead. It was clear we were going to be here a while. Nothing to do about it so no point stressing. People were getting out of their cars to try and see what was going on. C got out at one point but to stretch his legs. People were bibbing their horns, flailing arms and getting obviously het up.

The bit that annoyed me most was the idiotic behaviour of other drivers who were just too damn inpatient.  Some, started reversing up the on slip road we had just passed. This was the slip road that the emergency vehicles were coming from.

Even worse, some morons did a full aboutface and drove the wrong way back up the slip road. I only hope that they were met by a police car.

When we were finally moving we could see some of the extent of what had happened. Forensic vans were marking items on the ground. Someone was taking photos of a car on the other carriageway that didn’t look too damaged. Then we saw the motorcycle on the ground and what was left of a sports car on the back of a pickup. On the other side of the road was  a set of green screens obviously keeping something from rubber neckers. I fear that someone did not go home today.

The impatience of drivers and motorcycles that weave in and out of traffic costs lives.

I am fortunate that I got to message R to tell her we arrived home safely. 

Skylarking around Dengie Deliveries

Annual Report delivery day #2 took us out to the Dengie Peninsula, a stretch of Essex coastline that is formed by the Rivers Crouch and Blackwater, both tidal, and the North Sea to the east.  The boundary of the Dengie Hundred ran from North Fambridge to west of Maldon.

We drove out to via Purleigh to Bradwell on Sea, home of the power station (not The Power Station – Robert Palmer and escapee Duran Duran band members) and the Chapel, where St Cedd landed to teach us heathens about Christianity in 654 AD.  We walked down to the Chapel, then instead of turning left, the usual route that walkers take along the coastline towards the power station, we decided to talk the right hand path that tracks along the saltmarshes towards Burnham on Crouch.  We walked for a while then stopped for a packup lunch and watch a bit of nature.

I have one of those apps that helps you identify birds by their call, so when I set it off, it told me that the riotous squawking was coming from Skylarks. We couldn’t see any but they were making an almighty racket.  Then there was a different sound, just in one particular spot, and the app told me that was a Redshank.  Again, couldn’t see any but this one was rather vocal.  We also spotted, but didn’t hear some gulls, mallards, a coote and a solitary egret type bird.  There were some other sea birds a bit further out be we couldn’t make them out.

After our 4 mile round trip, we started our deliveries.  Reports for Bradwell, only we went up and down the same stretch of road about 4 times trying to find a house name.  Then the return journey via Southminster to Tillingham and then Burnham on Crouch.

When we arrived at Burnham we decided to have another little walk along the river edge.  And stop for the obligatory ice cream.  What a palaver that turned out to be. There are two ice cream outlets opposite each other.  One seemed to have a long queue, the other didn’t, so we joined the one with the shorter queue.  Then we noticed that they had a sign telling you that basically they’d run out of all flavours of ice cream except two.  So we turned around and joined the other queue.  It took FOREVER to get served.  There seemed to be four staff, one on ice creams and the other three taking it in turns serving chips and hot food, or standing around chatting.  The young lady serving the ice cream seemed to have the memory of a goldfish.  If you gave her too many options, she just couldn’t remember it.  And from the time of taking your order, and your money, to actually starting your order, she had everything jumbled up.  It must have taken at least 20 minutes to get our order.  We did wonder whether it was worth it, but when you so close to the front of the queue, you kind of have to stay with it.

Anyway, eventually with ice cream in hand, we continued our walk passed some houseboats and the playing field to as far as we could get along the harbour, where the marina is.   We clocked up another 1.7 miles.

A leisurely drive back home through the countryside and back into the city, on a beautifully day.  Tomorrow’s adventure takes us north!