Friday 4 January 2008

Guess the speed limit on the A35

This is the A35 Christchurch road in Bournemouth. That's an A road, folks, between two places of, well, if not major interest, certainly respectable size and genteel aged population. I was there on Boxing Day, visiting my dad, having been forced by Darcy's wheezing one-man influenza epidemic (actually flu but as usual slightly exaggerated through manly suffering) to get behind the wheel of a car for longer than it takes to get to Sainsbury's. In fact, for the 2 and a half hour drive from Dartford to Bournemouth, gripping the wheel and staring bug-eyed at the car in front on the pre-planned route of M25, M3, A31 and A338. See what's missing? The A35, you gasp. Where I was clocked doing 37mph by some foul fiend of a nitpicking, over-zealous camera that clearly wasn't aware of my tea-deprived and consequently pitiable state.

Two things are very wrong with this: one, that an A road, yes A ROAD, not some pootling country lane, no matter how many elderly potential jaywalkers it may harbour, should have a 30 mph zone in the first place, and two, I should never have bloody been there in the first place except that of course I can't navigate my way out of a paper bag even if allowed to stop and think and turn the map this way and that, let alone in a rapidly moving vehicle and panicking lest I might be in the wrong lane at the unnecessarily large and exit-festooned roundabout. Grrrrrr!

2 comments:

Fiona Lochhead said...

My dear! Welcome to the world of Blog. Might I say, however, that while I am enjoying every word you write, you maaaaay not get that many people flocking, eyes darting with eager anticipation, to a post entitled 'guess the speed limit on the A35.'
Still, if anyone can make it entertaining, it's you.
See you tomorrow! Wind chill -2 at Ben A'n, so wrap up warm!

Kniki said...

Hello! It's always nice to read about someone who shares my enjoyment of drinking tea at a desk!