TR L'enclume, Cumbria 333

Following up to June Hughes

There's a "Wasdale" goats nowadays. And a firm called Hartleys are doing "Yewbarrow ice cream" with Wasdale stout.

Probably the case. I'll have a rant shall I? I've had two tickets in 40 years now, both in Cumbria, both in really safe places. First a bike cop hiding behind a bloody gorse bush in the middle of nowhere, he said he was sent there because "there had been a lot of accidents" and that "he heard me coming for miles". Course he could hear me coming, there were no other cars or anything else, just him and me and grbutt! And now 85 on the M6 in light traffic and good weather in a car that can stop from that speed in half the distance my Sunbeam could when they brought in the 70 limit. Driving back down the M6-M1, now largely unpoliced except for camera vans, I mused on the ever more appalling standards of driving and the police obsession with speed without context. Somewhere in the Midlands I was in a queue of a few cars waiting for somebody to pull back into L2 (usual general situation, nobody in L1 except a Tesco lorry 10 minutes ago, 2 cars in L2 a mile apart, 5 million cars in L3 all nose to tail all the way to London) Bloke in VW people carrier ("bloke" is not the first word I would choose, actually) arrives at back of queue and slows to speed of the other cars about 6 inches from my back bumper. I can see what he is going to do from his weaving positioning. He's going to undertake and then cut in because he thinks he has some right to go first. Options I could let him go in front of me, the safest choice, but why reward him for being a tosser? oops, selfish idiot. I could close up on the car in front to minimise space for an undertake and maybe put the idea in his tiny mind i'm waiting to overtake too, but risking a pile up if someone brakes, no good, especially as he's so close behind. I can maximise time alongside any cars in L2, making it hard to time his undertake, which I do. Anyway, he thinks he sees a chance and weaves through L1 and L2 and cuts back into L3 (this is Mr family man in his people carrier) but he does it *really* badly, (MPVs are hardly ideal for aggressive driving manoeuvres) almost hitting a woman in a sports car in front of me, who flashes him. The pillock then flashes back with his rear fog as if he's in the right or something. As it happens he's got no idea how to drive badly well and has cut in *behind* the vehicle causing the delay. So sports car and me undertake him back and then back into L3 and away (shouldn't do it I know, respond to rudeness with sweetness and light blah blah blah) but at least I didn't make the gesture out the window that I felt like making. (The one with thumb and first finger touching). Er, what's the point? I remember. Where is the policing of bad driving? That sort of thing is a daily occurrence nowadays, and half the people haven't even got insurance and licences. Drink driving is increasing and anyone who is sober and insured is probably chatting someone up on the phone. All because policing is mostly just automated speed measuring now. I might even write a letter for someone to ignore!

I'll post a nice picture of Wasdale to make up for the rant later, and the food if I can get it off Carols phone :-) -- Mike Reid