Thursday 29 December 2011

Bad Times

We had a tragedy in the village yesterday. A man stepped in front of a train. The police, fire and ambulance turned up in force and spent the next hour or so picking up the pieces. Apparently the station platform was a mess and passengers were stuck on the train for well over an hour before it was in a fit state to let them off.

How horrible! Why do people do this to themselves? Of course we don't know whether it was a suicide or an accident, no doubt the local press will tell us eventually. If it was an accident you have to ask why he was on the tracks? I'd have said it was too early in the evening for him to be drunk but of course these days it is perfectly possible to be drunk at six in the morning let alone six at night. I doubt we will ever know all the details but the media will undoubtedly embellish what they are told to make the whole thing as horrific as possible. It is the family I feel really sorry for, especially this time of year. I hope they are OK, or at least as OK as it is possible to be in these circumstances. Talking of family I couldn't help thinking of Andrew when I heard, if he wants to be a paramedic he is, sooner or later, going to have to deal with something similar. I hope he's strong enough because I know I would not be..

Also heard about three of our police officers being seriously hurt when two boy racers decided to dice with death and hurtle down one of our main roads on the wrong side. Two of the officers are serious but stable while the third is not so serious. As is always the way the person causing this mayhem escaped without a scratch and has been arrested. I hope all three policemen recover quickly.

I have lived in the village over twenty years and don't remember anyone being hit by a train here before, so naturally it is the topic of conversation wherever you go.  Ours is a quiet part of the world so to have two major incidents so close in location and date is very unusual and has the village doom merchants muttering about what the third one will be. In the newsagent one woman told me, rather too enthusiastically that all we need now is a pile up on the motorway. I bit my tongue, I hope and pray there will not be a third but for some it will be the icing on the cake.

I did my first seven hour stint today and boy am I tired. It must be six months since I worked more than six hours and although it is only one hour longer I definitely felt it. I was supposed to go out to Tesco this evening to get stuff in for the New Year meal but I was far too shattered so I'm going to have to call in on my way home tomorrow, joy. The trouble with me is that once I'm home with a cuppa in my hand and my feet up I just do not want to leave the house again.

As you know I've been travelling in to work rather early the last few days and on my travels have seen all kinds of wildlife from deer to foxes to some weird weaselly thing that ran across the road in front of me. Today I was privileged to see a barn owl, at least I think it was a barn owl. It was huge and quite light in colour and flew right across the road only a few feet in front of me. What a treat, I've seen owl in zoo's and at bird exhibitions in shopping centers but I've never seen one so close in the wild. Sometimes I really, really love living in the country.


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