I deleted my last little post because on reflection I was
being quite harsh about a certain driver and it did make it look as if I was
out to get him. After thinking about it I decided that as he was a complete
cock (© 2006 James May, Top Gear) it would be best to let it rest.
So I've ended my third week back at work and I have gained
promotion! For five hours a day I have become 'PRINTER BOY'. Impressed? I bet
you are green with envy at my important role. Here is a taster of what I do.
Every ten minutes or so the little green light on the
printer front panel starts to flash. This is my cue to get ready for action.
Seconds later a page is spat from the machine, I grab it, then, pausing only to
put down my coffee cup, I race across the transport office and place it on the
admin girls desk. Another delivery made on time. Sometimes to really test me it
might print two or three pages together. I know it sounds tough but I'm coping
well. To reward myself I'll have a little sit down and finish my drink; a smug
satisfied grin might even show on my face.
Man and machine in perfect harmony.
Sometimes when my boss has to go to a meeting I get to sit
in his chair, answer the phone and play with the tracker screen. Great fun
watching certain drivers and finding out their little hiding places :-)
You can't blame me for trying to big the job up; I have
never in my whole working life done anything so boring and tedious as this.
My hopes were raised on Saturday morning when a brown
envelope hit the doormat with DVLA printed on the front. I made myself a cup of
coffee, sat down and ripped it open. Would the medical man have good news or
bad? Nothing about my heart attack just a very nice letter saying my digi card
would expire in January and would I like to pay £19 to have it renewed. How the
hell do I know? Tell me I can go back driving and I'll say yes.
From the mundane to the serious.
The terrible event on the M5 at Taunton certainly brought
home to me one aspect of driving that I don't miss at the moment.
At times I'm as guilty as everybody else of not leaving
enough space behind the vehicle in front. The trouble is if you leave too big a
gap somebody will slot themselves into it and you are back at square one with
no safety zone.
I hope that those horrific images just maybe might make people
(including myself) think about their actions in future.
The anti truck brigade will have a field day. I don't know any of the facts as I wasn't there but with trucks being involved in such a graphic way the blame game has certainly shifted towards, rightly or wrongly, blaming truck drivers. We are already seen as scum by many and already ill informed comments are being made about the 'dangers' of allowing trucks in the middle lane etc etc.
Fingers crossed that no 'vote catching' knee jerk reactions come from this accident.
