All in the Mix

It's been a busy week.  I suppose I must admit that's a lot to be thankful for in this economic climate, but from a personal point of view it can be somewhat draining.  In a week of over 2,100 miles, I've been bombarded with news bulletins both early and late, and I'd like first to get off my chest a thought that has re-echoed in my mind in response to one item.

I'd be one of the first to admit that the history of Northern Ireland is far from uncomplicated, and I was thus not surprised to learn of another intricate twist this week.  This came from one of the podcasts that I regularly listen to, RTÉ's 'History Programme' and the presenter described it as 'something that I think not many Irish people know.'  This week saw the ninetieth anniversary of the short time during which all the 32 counties of Ireland were part of the Irish Free State.  On 6th December 1922 the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed a year before to bring to an end the War of Independence, came into effect through the Irish Free State Constitution Act.  The Act created dominion status for the whole island of Ireland, but included provision for the autonomous region of Northern Ireland to opt out of the Free State within a month of its coming into force.  This option was exercised the very next day, and a report of the King's acknowledgement appeared in The Times on 9th December.

It was thus with this anniversary in mind that I heard the news of the riots, civil unrest and death threats this week arising from the decision of Belfast City Council to fly the Union Flag from its offices, instead of every day - as has apparently been the case up to now - only on the same 'special days' during the year as the rest of the country.  Since this has been the case for as long as I can remember, I failed to see why there should be any objection to it, let alone such a violent one, in Belfast.  Cynically perhaps, my reaction to this news was along the lines of, 'After 90 years, welcome to the real UK!'

And now, climbing down from my soapbox, as it were, I'll tell you something of the week that has now struggled to an end.  Regular readers will recall that last week's cliffhanger hinted at an early start on Monday for Newcastle.  This turned out to be a long, but quite enjoyable day.  I had been asked to deliver a box of materials to the Marriott Hotel in readiness for a meeting that would take place there later in the day, and then return these to our customer in Stevenage afterwards.  I'm not at all familiar with the city, and in view of the weather I decided that this was not the time to explore.  Instead, I went armed with a variety of interests along with my small computer, and spent the day in the Hotel's lounge.  I was able to catch up on a number of outstanding items of personal admin, and was also on hand when the meeting concluded - as is often the case - an hour or so before the time I was supposed to return.  I therefore had time for a meal on the way and was home at a reasonable time.

Tuesday was delayed first by delivering the Newcastle materials, and then waiting in for a call from BT about my broadband connection, which has never been right since I parted company with Orange in the early autumn.  Finally last weekend I got around to calling their technical support people, and now I'm pleased to say the service is nearer what I was expecting.  Consequently, workwise, I did only three short jobs before collecting two small items for delivery near Chesterfield the next morning.

This expedition had been well planned and I had gone to bed in readiness for an early start; I ought instead to have been paying attention to the latest weather forecast.  As a result, I was stunned to emerge from my door to a heavy downfall of snow.  I was even more annoyed to be held up for an hour in my journey towards the motorway, not by an accident, but simply by queues of traffic trying to enter the opposite carriageway.  Little was lost by the delay, however, and I then discovered that, once they had been processed, these items would need to be brought back again to our customer, thus doubling my income from the same journey ... just as Monday's assignment had done.

Thursday started with a trip to the south coast, delivering in Portslade and Crawley, and to my surprise the afternoon brought me two jobs as well, first to Thetford, and then to a pharmacy on a housing estate on the outskirts of Lowestoft.  I had difficulty finding the depot in Thetford, as a result of copying the address from the faint copy of the paperwork on the box, in the limited light of the back of the van.  It turned out that I'd only got half of the name on my sheet - the half that didn't appear on the building!  And then, as I neared the second destination, I found myself embroiled in arrangements for yesterday's expedition.  One of my colleagues was about to leave London with two passports that had to be delivered in Scotland during Friday.  How was he to get them to me, if I was out in the further parts of Suffolk?  We hit on an arrangement with my next-door neighbour, who would be home earlier than I would, and before my colleague was due to return.  In the event this worked out quite well, allowing me time to collect these from her before settling down for another early night.

Snow-capped hills in the Borders

Unable to sleep for long, I was up soon after midnight, anxious to be on my way.  If I'm going that far, I prefer to leave during the evening, and get to my destination at the beginning of the day, but in this case that wasn't possible.  Nevertheless, after only one stop for sleep, I reached a truck-stop near Scotch Corner by breakfast time, and felt pleased with my achievement.  Compared to my journey to Aberdeen the other week, it was then pleasant to undertake the long stretch from Newcastle to the Scottish border at Coldstream in daylight.  Here I refuelled, and then enjoyed the morning sunshine passing around Edinburgh to my first delivery in Aberdour, on the Forth coast of Fife.

Then came the great bonus, which enabled me to get home last night instead of taking all night with stops, and arriving exhausted during today, as I had anticipated.  Simultaneous phone calls, one from the office to me, and the other between the two people whose passports I was carrying, resulted in my being able to leave them both at that address, since the two were planning to travel together this weekend, and would be meeting at Heathrow for the purpose.  After a lay-in this morning to recover a little, today has been almost normal, and now I can look forward to a much more energetic finish to the weekend than I'd expected.

What twists and turns will next week bring, as the holiday approaches?