Basingstoke: The week started as normal, then I decided to meet Bob for Lunch - It was raining so I was glad to get to the pub for a pint and some grub to get me thorough the week.
Bob was nowhere to be seen so I tucked into a pint of pickled partridge.a few minutes Bob arrived , having yomped from his house, some eleventy miles away in the rain.
....Lunch went swimmingly, and then we noticed some quite large snow flakes falling, a lot of them. Bob joked about putting me up if I got stranded. I laughed, for possibly the last time that day !
My 1/22 mile journey back to work then took 2 HOURS !!!! , with almost anything rear wheel drive either crashing, or having extreme difficulty. Embarrassingly late back from lunch, I arrived back at 3.00pm to find most of my colleagues heading from home (which, incidentally took 5-6 hours) .
Decided to call it a day at 4.00 pm. Outside, Basingstoke had come to a grinding halt as Gridlock turned into chaos. The BBC NEWS film crew had even pitched up at the nearest roundabout to report on the carnage, and we dropped them a cup of hot teas they had been there all night (.....ahh, bless !)
Bob was nowhere to be seen so I tucked into a pint of pickled partridge.a few minutes Bob arrived , having yomped from his house, some eleventy miles away in the rain.
....Lunch went swimmingly, and then we noticed some quite large snow flakes falling, a lot of them. Bob joked about putting me up if I got stranded. I laughed, for possibly the last time that day !
My 1/22 mile journey back to work then took 2 HOURS !!!! , with almost anything rear wheel drive either crashing, or having extreme difficulty. Embarrassingly late back from lunch, I arrived back at 3.00pm to find most of my colleagues heading from home (which, incidentally took 5-6 hours) .
Decided to call it a day at 4.00 pm. Outside, Basingstoke had come to a grinding halt as Gridlock turned into chaos. The BBC NEWS film crew had even pitched up at the nearest roundabout to report on the carnage, and we dropped them a cup of hot teas they had been there all night (.....ahh, bless !)
Is there anybody out there ?
Hello Tom Hepworth !
Decided the best course of action, would be to abandon the 911 in the work car-park , and take up the offer of staying at 'Chez-Cannonball'. A quick call to Bob , and he knew a short cut that only someone with a Land-Rover would make it through - I rolled up the legs of my suit trousers, put on my trainers, and ventured out into the winter nightmare outside. I walked along the queue of miserable motorists, all giving this strangely dressed bloke threading his way through to the traffic - A small yomp later, I reached Bobs Uber-Landie.
"Warp Speed, Mister Sulu !"Jumping in out of the cold, we headed out into the night. After the almost no-grip of the 911, the Land Rover effortlessly ploughed over the now deepening snow of the single-track short-cut that had been being used by Bob all afternoon, rescuing damsels in distress. The sheer amount of people in completely unsuitable vehicles sliding up and down hills and into ditches was amazing, and these were the main impediment of our progress home. W e chortled heartily as we effortlessly breezed by !!, especially the guy in the stranded Audi Q7......Poetry !
Once home, Bob had procured a curry, followed by some great 'Top Gear' on Dave.
The next morning we set off into the scene of 28 Days Later, with about 2000 abandoned vehicles strewn all over Basingstoke. Swung by the office to find two rather cold employees stanfing outside a locked office !...spent the rest of the day"Working from Bob's Home" , then decided the roads were clear enough to get home in the 911.
The decision to park in the far corner of the carpark had been a good one, I say 'had' because I was now facing the wrong way, and had to navigate out through deep snow. Halfway out the rear dug in and would not budge - I caught a glimpse of Bob in the door mirror preparing his tow rope ! - "No Chance" I thought as dropped the clutch and slewed sideways, Yesterdays Solihull magic now had to make way for some German Teutonic efficiency !
I was out !!! - I slowly inched down to the light where the road had been cleared. As I turned I stuck my hand out of the window to give Bob the thumbs-up as the back end stepped out. From the outside it probably looked like a cool power slide, but on the inside it was "aaaaarghhhhh!"
Once home, Bob had procured a curry, followed by some great 'Top Gear' on Dave.
The next morning we set off into the scene of 28 Days Later, with about 2000 abandoned vehicles strewn all over Basingstoke. Swung by the office to find two rather cold employees stanfing outside a locked office !...spent the rest of the day"Working from Bob's Home" , then decided the roads were clear enough to get home in the 911.
The decision to park in the far corner of the carpark had been a good one, I say 'had' because I was now facing the wrong way, and had to navigate out through deep snow. Halfway out the rear dug in and would not budge - I caught a glimpse of Bob in the door mirror preparing his tow rope ! - "No Chance" I thought as dropped the clutch and slewed sideways, Yesterdays Solihull magic now had to make way for some German Teutonic efficiency !
I was out !!! - I slowly inched down to the light where the road had been cleared. As I turned I stuck my hand out of the window to give Bob the thumbs-up as the back end stepped out. From the outside it probably looked like a cool power slide, but on the inside it was "aaaaarghhhhh!"
Crazeeee-Bob
On the way home the steering started shaking. Thinking I'd lost a wheel weight somewhere in the ice, I made a note to get that fixed soon ....but after careful inspection when I got home the wheel had filled up with ice that had compacted under speed !
