When you pump the breaks and...

..nothing happens...

I did something stupid this week. I'm very lucky to come out of it unscathed, as is my car...

I was rushing back to work for a parent meeting lunchtime Wednesday. It was chucking it down.

I took a hairpin bend in the road a little faster than I should've. Not overly fast, but I hit the break and the wheels lost traction. 'Sh*t.' I thought, 'Thats not good'. I turned the wheel sharply to the right as the roadside bank was now approaching me faster than you'd like.

I then span across the road in what felt like slow motion: 'You stupid idiot!' I thought, foot now jammed onto the break for dear life (for what good it would've done'. Thankfully I clipped no one in the oncoming lane (traffic or pedestrians) and landed in a ditch with a resounding 'Thwack!'

I was pulled out by a passing tow truck and eventually the Old Bill turned up to escort me home. Thank God I escaped with only shock and sore neck for a few days. It could've been alot worse, I was alarmed when the car started creaking slightly like at the end of the Great Escape.

Anyway I've learn my lesson. My lunchtime commute which I normally take on autopilot has gained my respect alot more. What good will saving a few extra minutes on the road if you end up dead??

Stay Safe.

A.

.."Where will we be? When the summer's gone?'...

I taught X about The Doors last month. He was telling me about his heavy heart due to school starting again. No more all day Netflix and dairy marathons for the boy till Christmas I guess. I can understand his sadness..

Well it feels more Autumn today. The shade is cooler. The sunshine is hazier. The crowds of families have returned to the Big Island leaving bemused pensioners and fishermen in their place.

We've been exploring our patch of coast from Shanklin down to Bonchurch. The cliffs overlooking the sea are home to buzzards, peregrines and the like which are a joy to see. If you're feeling adventurous, one can don walking boots and clamber over boulder fields for the final stretch. Few people in their right mind do the final hour so it has a desolate prehistoric beauty to it.

Talking about dinosaurs, long dead trees litter the route like ancient sauropod skeletons.

Its a striking sight for the adventurous (and well shod). Next time you visit come check it out. 

A.

MB August - £338 - £2,113.68 YTD

Hit my target this month.

Lots of football offers at the start of the season (an Irish bookmaker was very generous). I tried in play betting to my cost with B3tfred but was saved by a high street bookmaker who threw wedges of money my way. (no goals=plenty of money).

International break this weekend so I'll have to cast my net broader than usual. May dip my toes in tennis offers due to action at Flushing Meadow this month.

A.