It's official....Cornwall is full! We are very full which is a very good thing indeed for the shopkeepers and hotels . But our visitors are sometimes only barely tolerated by the people who work here.
For some reason the gaggle of tourists to be found along the sea wall always walk in the road. There is a pavement but its largely unused....the result of that is that if a nurse or a postman etc is trying to get along the road to do their job ,they find it impossible to get anywhere in a hurry.
Most of us accept these inconveniences in good heart. It is the price we pay for living in a beauty spot.
It's not just the visitors who can be bloody minded.
A couple of years ago I was taking a funeral in a tiny village about five miles away.
I was driving along a narrow lane with almost no passing places. As I turned a corner I saw a large tractor coming. He drove straight past a passing place and parked about a foot from my bonnet! He took up a threatening stance.
"You'll have to go back.....it's a long way!"
I climbed out of my car. Dressed in black I must have been an incongruity in those parts.
"You drove straight passed the only passing place for miles" I said "I saw you"
He looked me up and down. The penny then dropped. "Are you doing the funeral?"
"Yes." I said "And I need to get there fast"
He smiled sheepishly at me.
"Sorry,I'll back up.....I just like to keep the visitors on their toes, that's all."
Good will is needed in the summer season. Sometimes the locals need to get somewhere in a hurry and get frustrated by clumps of people standing in the middle of the road nattering.
Shouting at them to move does not bring the required result.
A smile, a gentle word to two might. It usually works for me, even without the dog collar!
Posted with Blogsy
2 comments:
I wonder if you/d not been wearing the Dog Collar would he have been so obliging?
Just seems to me that good manners is the key, but unfortunately, they seem to be lacking in many today, particularly once people get behind the wheel of a vehicle - there way 'must be the right of way' and giving way is out of the question.
Driving in London or any urban area reinforces this in spades. It's every man/women for themselves.
I am sure your right about the dog collar! We are spared much of the hassle I encountered in Essex but there I found it easier to get on my bike!
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