Tyred memory

Reading someone’s post on Facebook about her losing a wheel cover bought back not so fond memories.

I took my tyre out of the boot once. Leaned it against the side of the car.. Only to see it roll down our hill…. Luckily it bounced off the side of a bus and rolled into the side of the road instead of down the hill onto the main road! The bus driver just laughed as I stood there open mouthed!

Staying put!

What are your future travel plans?

Not flying! I’m scared to fly and it increases your carbon footprint.

Not driving! I’m careful because of health issues. I can still safely drive but I’m being very cautious and not going far…

Not cycling! I’m too old and unfit to cycle any more.. I wish I could…

Not riding on the train! They are too expensive, and the railways seem to have been reducing services recently. If I want to travel on one it would take a lot of planning and probably a lot of money. Plus you are not going to be able to buy tickets at a ticket office, they are being cut back.

Not going by boat! We are near to a local canal, but hiring a boat for a few days can be expensive too, and I think having to go through lock gates could be very difficult. Plus I think steering a 72 foot canal barge must be difficult.

Not by bus! The services are being cut so you can’t get back in the evening. One friend had to walk 9 miles to get home last week because he missed the last bus…. Before 7pm!

I will be walking… Not going very far as in not very fit. But I guess I’m OK with that. I don’t commute and shops are close. Holidays are too expensive so my travel plans this summer? A staycation !

Car is home!

I have got my car back! Finally after a week of waiting for it I can breathe a sigh of relief. But among all of the hassle I realise how anti public transport I am. I think it’s because I’ve used buses and taxis in the past, and I don’t know the routes or timings for the buses, and often when I’ve ordered a taxi it hasn’t turned up. One time I had to walk home from hospital because there were non available. Also since the pandemic I try to avoid groups of people, so buses worry me.

Having a car is a freedom and a curse. I walk less and don’t cycle anymore because I have one. I don’t know what to do if we have to get rid of it. The car is very old and it’s like an old pair of shoes, if it needs repairing I have to pay out because I can’t afford to replace it with another (second hand) one. But at least by keeping it we are not wasting new resources.