When it’s my turn to take the kids to school, I know that there is a risk that my onward journey to work will be compromised (i.e. I’ll be late) if there are any significant hold ups. Normally it works out okay and I get to the office on time.
Today though, I heard the travel news en route to school so knew that, following an accident between 12 and 13 (that had taken out two lanes and caused tail backs beyond 14) and a separate smaller accident between 15a and 15, the M1 was problematic.
So to avoid the congestion, I decided to try another route. I subsequently drove through Northampton town centre (blimey was that was painfully slow in places) then towards Wootton and onwards on the B526 in the direction of Newport Pagnell. I successfully navigated my way through Hackleton and Horton. Things were looking good, I was going to make it on time…
…but just before Stoke Goldington (only ten minutes at most from office) the B526 was closed.
Aaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhh!
The subsequent detour through Hanslope cost me more than 45 minutes, 35 of them in nose to tail traffic for four miles (along the Wootton and Forest Roads).
At points I was hammering the steering wheel in frustration and shouting myself hoarse. For any of those able to observe me, I would have looked/sounded like a complete cock (not that I cared). The kind of expletive fuelled, Clarksonesque rage I was experiencing, impotent (because you can’t do a damn thing about a traffic jam) though it was, would have made me dangerous if it could have been put to better use. Honestly, I was so cross/stressed I gave myself a headache; probably shortened my life expectancy in one journey to work.
And in the meantime, the M1 cleared - fucking typical! I found this out first by sitting stationary on a bridge where I could see the traffic flowing freely below me and then from the cheerful announcement on the next traffic update. I’d have been better served by getting on the M1 and sitting out the delays.
I only managed to calm myself down a little by thinking how I’d write about my experiences. Anger, irony, black comedy - loads of potential for a post. From adversity comes creativity!
Needless to say, I was late for work, an arrival time of 9:35 instead of 8:45. Bearing in mind I left the house at 7:35am, and only live 29 miles away from the office, that’s a two hour stint for a run that would normally take me about 40-45 minutes.
Though I arrived at work as tense as a bow string, when I admitted my tardiness to the boss, she was easy going. Her view don’t get stressed about something you can’t control. A point was well made and fair and tonight, as I reflect/write, I’ll try and bear it in mind when I am next in the situation.
It better not be tomorrow though.
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Today though, I heard the travel news en route to school so knew that, following an accident between 12 and 13 (that had taken out two lanes and caused tail backs beyond 14) and a separate smaller accident between 15a and 15, the M1 was problematic.
So to avoid the congestion, I decided to try another route. I subsequently drove through Northampton town centre (blimey was that was painfully slow in places) then towards Wootton and onwards on the B526 in the direction of Newport Pagnell. I successfully navigated my way through Hackleton and Horton. Things were looking good, I was going to make it on time…
…but just before Stoke Goldington (only ten minutes at most from office) the B526 was closed.
Aaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhh!
The subsequent detour through Hanslope cost me more than 45 minutes, 35 of them in nose to tail traffic for four miles (along the Wootton and Forest Roads).
At points I was hammering the steering wheel in frustration and shouting myself hoarse. For any of those able to observe me, I would have looked/sounded like a complete cock (not that I cared). The kind of expletive fuelled, Clarksonesque rage I was experiencing, impotent (because you can’t do a damn thing about a traffic jam) though it was, would have made me dangerous if it could have been put to better use. Honestly, I was so cross/stressed I gave myself a headache; probably shortened my life expectancy in one journey to work.
And in the meantime, the M1 cleared - fucking typical! I found this out first by sitting stationary on a bridge where I could see the traffic flowing freely below me and then from the cheerful announcement on the next traffic update. I’d have been better served by getting on the M1 and sitting out the delays.
I only managed to calm myself down a little by thinking how I’d write about my experiences. Anger, irony, black comedy - loads of potential for a post. From adversity comes creativity!
Needless to say, I was late for work, an arrival time of 9:35 instead of 8:45. Bearing in mind I left the house at 7:35am, and only live 29 miles away from the office, that’s a two hour stint for a run that would normally take me about 40-45 minutes.
Though I arrived at work as tense as a bow string, when I admitted my tardiness to the boss, she was easy going. Her view don’t get stressed about something you can’t control. A point was well made and fair and tonight, as I reflect/write, I’ll try and bear it in mind when I am next in the situation.
It better not be tomorrow though.
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