So after our 5 hour ordeal of the day before yesterday, I did not sleep particularly well, being I suspect a little over-tired after all of the concentration. Today I looked back at some of the traffic reports of the incident and there was a remarkable lack of agreement over the actual delays experienced. National Highways were reporting delays of anything from 90 minutes to 2 hours whilst, looking at the web, it was evident from several comments that many people, myself included, had reported a delay of five hours. So why should National Highways report a delay figure that were so evidently at variance with the facts experienced by so many of us? It is rather disconcerting, to put it mildly, then agencies of the state lie to the general public – is this to cover up their own deficiencies and to try and absolve them of any calls for them to have plans in place to ameliorate the consequences of accidents like these? The traffic reports do indicate that in the massive jam and the heat several vehicles just broke down and this added to the general chaos. Indeed, when we were about to clear the congested motorway, there was an abandoned vehicle with its emergency lights flashing stationery in the middle of the motorway and negotiating this was hazardous in the extreme as the streams of traffic on either side of the stranded vehicle were unwilling to let us in! We succeeded in negotiating this hazard needless to say but one can only imagine the impatience of motorists who had been stuck on the motorway for the past five hours. I personally think the Highways Agency should have closed the other lane of the motorway and then opened up an emergency space in the cash barriers to allow cars to ‘exit’ the wrong way down the motorway, under supervision, as happened to Meg and myself about 15 years ago on the M42 when we missed our flight to Spain. Actually, if we had plenty of fluid, my friend and I would not have dared to drink it as we had no access to toilet facilities. I wonder how many medical emergencies, or near emergencies, ensued as a result of all of this and whether any lessons will be learnt? In the morning, I have read that it was being considered that the England vs Mexico match should be rescheduled to 7.00pm UK time to avoid the threat of thunder storms but, in the event, FIFA has determined that the original starting time (1.00 am in the UK) should stay in place so there is no hope of a reprieve here. Today, I have the prospect of a concert in our local church of St Johns but I need to see how I feel before I attend this. Apart from this, I have a quiet day in prospect and am left to ponder that at least my friend and I dd not suffer any medical mishaps after our enforced and lengthened journey although we were both at the point where at the end of a journey we were both starting to experience some discomfort. I have not any lunch organised for myself today so I suspect that a sustaining omelette accompanied by salad may well be the fall-back situation.
In the morning, I made my way down to the large St John’s church where I heard the talented local family give a performance of J Bach’s Brandenberg concertos Nos. 3,4 and 5. This was hugely enjoyable and the concert was evidently highly appreciated by a church that was, I would estimate. some two thirds full. I had remembered to take a cushion with me and bumped into a few people that I already know, largely from my U3A ventures. After the concert, tea and cake was provided gratis but contributions were invited and I think most people gave generously. When I got home, I rescued some frozen curry from the depths of the freezer for my lunch but whilst this was cooking, I sent a letter of complaint about yesterday’s traffic delay to National Highways. The nature of my complaint was about the quality of the information given to the press during the course of the day. I complained that of the did not know that the delay for most of us was five hours and not the 1½-2 hours they had given to the media, thheir information systems were dire. If one the other had, they were aware of the length of the delays, why was the promulgated figure so much less than the experience of thousands of us and the figure of five hours delay was much quoted on the social media. I also questioned why the other carriage way was not closed off and vehicles escorted off the road by driving the ‘wrong’ way down the motorway as happened on the M42 about fifteen years ago when Meg and missed our holiday flight to Spain? According to the website, I may expect a reply within about 10 working days and I will be interested to see what kind of ‘gloss’ is given to the whole incident. The AI ‘take’ on all of this is that the authorities always underestimate the actual degree of delay caused which very often exceeds the official estimates of the delay. The cynical part of my nature is that this under-reporting isnot just due to the inability of the model to assess multiplier effects but is part of a mindset that does not wish to accept criticism of their own performance. In the afternoon and after lunch. I took a lot of pleasure in seeing Wales beat Fiji by 39:24 in one of this weekend’s Rugby Union fixtures. Another treat lies in store for shortly there is to be an England vs. South Africa match to be shown on ITV4. It looks as throughout the entire day, ITV are trying to show many of these Northern vs. Southern hemisphere matches in the brand new competition which has started this year with one day full of Rugby today and another in the Autumn.