Tea? (Part 2)

[ColinJ]

I was having a mindless discussion this afternoon with a pal about whether it would be better to be chomped by a small dog, or attacked by a cat. He said that he would take the dog any day. It turned out that he'd once had a Close Encounter of the Alien Kind*** with a cat and had no wish to go through that again.

He had been stroking the cat in someone's flat when a third person arrived with a large dog which didn't like cats! The dog went for the cat, and the cat ran up my mate's body and ended up hanging from his face by its claws! The dog was chucked out of the flat and then it took the 3 men 5 minutes to unembed the cat's claws, one by one!

*** You remember the scene in Alien where John Hurt's character ends up with the infant Alien wrapped round his face?

 

[potsy]

Broken

 

[TVC]

No sympathy Potsy.

Change of plans this week, I'm off to Larndun today, driving a transit. Today I am white van man, just got to stock up on Yorkie bars and angry sexist views before I set off.

 

[coffeejo]

I remember the time an ex and I were chased down a stretch of motorway by some blokes in a white van. If we sped up, they tailgated us, if we slowed down, they'd drive alongside, making all sorts of perverted gestures and acts. Managed to lose them in the queue at the next junction and left the motorway while they were still on it. Don't know what they were thinking, but we were terrified.

 

[matthat]

Just caught up on last 3 days of antics here whilst drinking my !! Might need another!! @potsy did you go along TPT to southport or did you do a more direct rd route?? I did see quite a few wet cyclists out yesterday whilst out delivering peoples shopping!! I was lucky it only once whilst I was driving.

 

[Arch]

I remember the time an ex and I were chased down a stretch of motorway by some blokes in a white van. If we sped up, they tailgated us, if we slowed down, they'd drive alongside, making all sorts of perverted gestures and acts. Managed to lose them in the queue at the next junction and left the motorway while they were still on it. Don't know what they were thinking, but we were terrified.

They weren't thinking at all.

Presumably the best thing to do is just drive on, sensibly and ignore them as best you can. Alternatively slow right down to something like 40, and hope they get bored, or if they stay with you, you attract the attention of passing police or CCTV operators. Trouble is, that puts you at risk from unobservant people going up behind.

What would be the protocol for stopping on the hard shoulder in that situation? I know it's a dangerous place to be, but they'd be unlikely to stop there too. Unless they really were psychopaths, in which case you're not in a great place, so leaving at a junction is probably the better bet. A services would be even better, lots of people about.

Anyway, ? We had scotch pancakes for breakfast, thanks to reductions at Morrisons...

 

[coffeejo]

If it happened today, it would be easy to ring the police but this was in the days before mobiles were an integral part of our lives and one of our phones had a dead battery and the other was in a bag in the boot or something.

Don't know why I suddenly thought of that. Well, I do, but let's chalk it down to and crack on with some

 

[Arch]

If it happened today, it would be easy to ring the police but this was in the days before mobiles were an integral part of our lives and one of our phones had a dead battery and the other was in a bag in the boot or something.

Don't know why I suddenly thought of that. Well, I do, but let's chalk it down to and crack on with some

The good thing about being on a motorway as opposed to an A or lesser road is the emergency phones - I wonder how much they get used these days. I was told once it was better to call from one of them, because each one has a number that identifies exactly where it is - handy if you're not actually sure where on the motorway you are. It's easy enough, if you're aiming for J21 say, from J45, and it's a long trip, to not notice the junction numbers early on.

There are little marker posts everyso often (can't remember the interval, 100 yards, or 10 per mile or something), and they have a little arrow on they showing which way to walk to the nearest phone, if you can't pull up along side one.

I used to drive large unreliable vans for a job, so I've spent my fair share of time sat on the hard shoulder....

 

[Night Train]

What would be the protocol for stopping on the hard shoulder in that situation? I know it's a dangerous place to be, but they'd be unlikely to stop there too.

If it happened today, it would be easy to ring the police but this was in the days before mobiles were an integral part of our lives and one of our phones had a dead battery and the other was in a bag in the boot or something.

I suppose stopping on the hard shoulder and reporting the van to the Police as 'endangering your life' via the emergency phones would work.

About 10 years ago I pulled onto the hard shoulder to call the police on my mobile. A Toyota 4x4 was barging through the heavy traffic by pushing its way between the lanes, charging at cars until they moved out of the way, waving a rude word sign at drivers and shouting and gesticulating at people. When it eventually caught up with me it was so close I could read the cardboard sign in its windscreen! I was in lane 3 and the lane had cleared a bit, so I was doing 50mph while lanes 2 and 1 were slow to stationary, and I couldn't easily pull over. Getting up to 70mph didn't stop them being on my bumper so (I know this isn't legal) I got up to 90+mph, with them on my bumper, and reached the front of the queue in lane 2 and pulled back in. I got the Toyota's number plate as it went past and then stopped to call the traffic Police.

I told them what I had seen in my mirrors when stuck in traffic, told them about the cardboard sign in the windscreen, described the driver and passenger and said I ended up speeding as the Toyota was so close I couldn't even see its grille or headlights in my rear window. Greater Manchester Police reassured me I did the right thing by stopping and calling them

I eventually set off again and a few miles up the road there was a lane 2 and 3 road block and the Toyota was surrounded by Police cars. Result!

When I tried to report similarly dangerous driving* to the Met Police on the M25 I was told to "get off the line or we will arrest you for wasting Police time!".

*Four cars driving slowly holding back late evening traffic across all the lanes so that they had a clear mile or so to race up to the traffic ahead. It seemed like a game of chicken to see who would brake the latest without hitting the cars in front. I was stuck behind them as they did this three times.

 

[coffeejo]

No @Rockymountain this morning? Is he lost?

 

[Speicher]

I am guessing that his breakfast conisisted of a croissant and orange juice, followed by coffee. Furthermore, it is too early for lunch yet.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Here I am

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

That looks like a big version of Jo's house

 

[coffeejo]

IFurthermore, it is too early for lunch yet.

Go for it

That looks like a big version of Jo's house

 

[Speicher]

Go for it

Yes, cheese with mango chutney on wholegrain bun.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

OOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo we has haz thunder.