My commute to work this morning took two hours longer than usual.
Those two hours were spent sitting on the M6, listening to heavy rock CDs, wondering what the fuck was going on, moaning to myself about how inaccurate the Radio 2 travel news was (“two lanes shut, delays of up to 50 minutes” – wrong on both counts!), looking at the helicopter traffic, and inwardly cursing the idiot who couldn’t drive and who had caused the three-lane traffic jam.
When the traffic eventually started moving (and how bored was I getting of Iron Maiden and AC/DC by then!), I eventually crawled past the scene of the accident.
It’s difficult to tell precisely what happened, but it looked like an articulated lorry and a car had a 90-degree collision at high speed.
And the remains of the car, and what was left of the lorry, were in a field, being eyed suspiciously by some coloured horses.
The pile-up looked immensely serious; the force of impact had almost welded the two vehicles together, even though they were now resting in a field, about 100m off the carriageway.
And as I drove slowly past the wreckage I thought what a selfish bastard I’d been.
Moaning to myself about the delay.
Wailing inwardly about the two lost hours.
When just over there, where I was passing, someone – or several someones – had been involved in a very serious, probably life-threatening, accident.
I put away those selfish thoughts of earlier.
And I hoped they were alright.
I still do.
I shot this, on the carriageway, before I put away my selfish attitude:
If I may paraphrase someone who commented on my site a short while back:
“You want to get yourself a motorbike, young Brennig.
Aaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
But yes, I’ve often thought that myself: “I’m two hours late but some poor sod has probably lost his life”. Still annoys me though.
And I heard the M6 mentioned on the travel news this morning. Didn’t know you were in it.
In fact, for a minute or so, I thought you were on the M25 when I was overtaken by a green Jag. I caught up with it a few mins later and unless you’ve taken to smoking a pipe, it certainly wasn’t you!