The road trip was planned in advance. Nothing could possibly go wrong...............no nothing at all.
The plan........start at 10:00 with Marya and Alex_Female. Leisurely drive to Sheffield and pick up Freckledbird. Then leisurely drive to the Essex munch. Not a problem.......
09:45 go to pick up Marya. Arrive at house and expect her to be ready.........no chance. Yap, yap yapping on the SH chatroom. Go to car and remove crowbar. Prise Marya away from the computer in fits of tears.........."But its my life she wails". No sympathy given. Carry her to car and put her in, plus quilt and pillows. Return to house and find a "small" suitcase. You know the ones, when you usually go on holiday for two weeks.
10:00 Return to pick up Alex_Female. Take my small bag and clothes on hangers to car. Go to help Alex_Female with her carry-all. Last time I had seen a carry-all that big was when the sherpas are taking the mountain climbers up Mount Everest. Re-arrange the boot and place my stuff on top. Just manage to close the boot. Return to house and pick up the "nibbles" for the trip down. Carry the cold box to the car, with enough food to have fed Napoleons Grande Armee.
10:15 woohoooooooooooo we are off. Steering a bit light with the weight of the bags in the boot. But we are on our way.
10:25 Marya "I have forgotten something"
10:35 Back at Marya's to pick the something up
10:40 Woohoooooooooo we are off.............again
12:00 Just off the M1 junction. Give Freckledbird a call. D_N "How do I get to your pickup point." F-B "Go around the roundabout........till you are nearly going North again......and thats the turn off." D_N "The one signposted city?" F-B "No....the one before it". Around the bloody roundabout again.
12:10 Pick up Freckledbird. She jumps in car. I re-arrange the boot again and jump on boot trying to close it. How big was that bag?????? Shaking head at the amount I have squeezed into the boot.
12:15 woohooooooo we are off..........again. The steering has got even lighter. Thinking about tying a roadside kerb to the front bumper to even out the weight, and get heavier steering.
12:45 Washer bottle decides to be empty, so a quick stop at a service station. Jump out and return with water. Just in time to see cigarettes being thrown out of the windows.............at a bloody petrol station!!!!!!!!! Not just thrown anywhere..........no, thats too obvious......but into the parched and dry bushes surrounding the petrol station. I only have two ashtrays in the car.........but I suppose they weren't good enough. Then notice police car parked directly in front of us. Jump into the car and get out of there PDQ. Hansell and Gretall laid a trail of sweets to find their way back..........we can get back up north by following the shells of burnt out petrol stations!!!!!
12:50 woohooooo we are off............again
13:30 Alex_Female gets navigator head on. Out comes the map. I have to admit that she looked like she knew what she was doing. I was impressed.
13:35 After she has been studying the map for a while.......I take a peek. "Thats Cornwall darling" WALLOP!!!!!!!!
13:45 Pick up signs for Cambridge. Alex_Female has now found the right part of the country. "I have found where we are" she yells. "Where?" I asked. "There". she points. "Thats Cambridgeshire darling, it's the City you are looking for." WALLOP!!!!!!!
14:00 A_F "Did you print the directions out Dave". D_N "Yes". A_F "Where are they?" D_N "On the table at home" WALLOP!!!!!!!!!!
14:15 A_F gives up map reading and decides to fold map up.
14:30 A_F gives up and squashes it back into the map pocket, five times the size it was before. D_N "Did you follow the creases that were already there darling?" WALLOP!!!!!!!!
14:45 D_N plays practical joke on A_F by pretending he has missed the junction on the M25. WALLOP!!!!!!!!! Last time I do that.
Approx 15:00 Arrive at munch venue. TFFT.
Neilinleeds..................and you said I was a lucky what??????? If that was lucky........I would bloody hate to be unlucky.
The bits I have missed out was the yap, yip and rabbit..................and it was as bad as I thought.
Dave_Notts