Miscellany (2)

A mixed bag or two rants and a question...

Getting onto the M66...
This rant goes out to the driver of a blue BMW 3-Series Coupe who was getting onto the M66 at Junction 1 this morning at around 8:15. You, sir or madam, are a complete idiot of the very worst kind. Personally, I don't care if you kill yourself through your crazed and selfish driving: that is entirely your own prerogative and I will not stand in your way should you wish to end it all in a mangled wreck of steel and plastic. As I say, your choice. However, if you choose to take the chance to bow out in such a manner, please, feel free to take your car to a track day at a race circuit or, cutting straight to the chase, find a nice sturdy concrete pillar and just drive straight at it. That should get the job done nicely! What I am trying to say is, do not involve me or any other motorist in your suicide plans: we are not as interested in you in shortening our lives. I saw you cut up four cars in the space of around 400 metres and at a speed of around 90 mph. Coming just a few days after a multiple car pile-up on the M40 leading to the death of one man, serious injuries to six people and 45 other injuries, one might have thought that lessons might be learned. Some selfish idiots, however, obviously refuse to be taught anything.

Cartoon memes
I had a thought last night. A couple of things that we might refer to as memes - a picture or a video clip that graduates to the status of cultural references - occurred in cartoons and comics when I was a child and, no doubt, still do today. The ones I was thinking of were the child in the doctor's surgery or casualty with a saucepan stuck on their head and the other was the notion of fixing a punctured bike tyre by 'bandaging' the holed area of the tyre. It got me thinking: where did these memes arise from? Did a cartooninst just think the notion of a child with a pan stuck on his head would be funny or did they know of a child it had happened to? Had it happened to the cartoonist themselves in childhood? Similarly, did anyone ever actually manage to fix a punctured tyre with a bandage rather than glueing on a patch? I'd love to know.

...Getting off the M66
When departing the M66 at Junction 1 (Ramsbottom turn-off), there are two lanes on the slip road. Where the slip road meets the top road (Manchester Road I think it is at that point), the left-hand lane turns left towards Bury while the right-hand lane turns right towards Ramsbottom and Edenfield. It seem logical to me that, if you want to go to Bury, get in the left-hand lane of the slip road but if you are going to Rammy or Edenfield, use the right-hand lane. Simple, yes? No, far too complex for some. The number of people who get in the left-hand lane, drive half-way down the slip road and then switch across to the right boggles my brain and pricks my OCD-like need for order. Yes, some may be people who are coming to Rammy for the first time and do not know the raod layout - I agree totally. Many, however, I know for a fact to be locals who take part in this strange lane switch, probably on a nightly basis. I'm confused...

Victor Meldrew signing off.