What A Difference A Day Makes..........

I had a text to let me know I needed to bring my car in for its MOT. I rang the garage up and looking at my calendar on my wall, I had to decide when to bring it in, and if it was to fail, how it would affect my life.

A date was chosen and I would bring it in after work at 4pm, I had thought it was going to be done first thing the following day, but no I was informed, “It will be done tonight”. I had a phone call that evening, “Your car has failed it’s MOT, it is the exhaust,” I replied, “OK, what do I do now?” Tracey informed me, “We will need to get parts for it,” I said, “OK, will it be done tomorrow?” Tracey replied, “No, we are short staffed, I don’t know when it will be done.” I replied, “OK, I do need my car, but I certainly understand the, short staff part.”

I can walk to work, that’s not a problem, and Church was yesterday, I made sure it was after that. But, Tuesday, I would need to be with my Mum, it was my turn and I had to be there before 6.30pm, to take over from the carer, my cousin.

So, now it is Tuesday, it was dark and very, very cold, do you remember how cold it was last week? I decided to take the two bus journey rides to get to the house, it is nine miles, and the first bus would be an eight-mile journey and that would take me to the bus station, and from there, I would take the second bus to my cousin’s house.

I left my house in good time, and held my tiny 6” folded up umbrella in my hand, as a tiny baton, as I’m not used to been out in the dark on the street, now that I’m in my sixties. I had made sure I had £6 in cash, for I had asked a work colleague, “How much is a day saver”? He’d told me, “Four pounds,” I thought that was fantastic, so all four busses would cost me just that, for the two busses to get there and the two busses back home, a real bargain and I was chuffed to bits at that.

At ten to five as I neared the bus station, twenty yards from the bus, it pulled away, full. I didn’t mind, for I could see, as I stood now first in the queue, that the next bus would be in five minutes, and it takes approximately thirty minutes to get to the bus station, so I was OK.

It is all digital, at the bus station now, and has been for a while, now the timetable had changed and it showed the bus would be here at 5pm, no problem I thought, still plenty of time, for me to get to the bus station, and plenty of time to get the second bus to my cousin’s house.

Then the time changed again, and it showed, the bus would arrive at 5.15pm. Now I was bit nervous, for I thought, it is rush hour, and I don’t know when the connection is for the second bus but, I Should be still ok, when it comes at 5.15pm.

I looked behind me, and there was about 50 people also waiting for this one bus, that hadn’t yet arrived. I thought, all those people would not get on, surely a bus can’t take that many, but I knew I would get on, as I’m first in the queue.

Then at 5.15pm it showed the bus would arrive in five minutes! Now I was worried, but I reassured myself, I can still make it, as the second bus like this one is regular.

I was SO cold, the little bus shelter is a rubbish one, it shelters nothing, but that was the least, of my problems as it then showed, that the bus would be arriving in ten minutes! I had to take action, for enough is enough! I turned to the crowd now, what looked like well over one hundred people, some had already been talking to each other about taking a taxi. I said, “Excuse me,” As I made my way through them all, for even if the bus was to come now, it would be too late! It was 5.40pm.

I went to a nearby shop, and I said, to the sales assistant, “Can I get cash back here?” He replied, “Yes,” I went to the reduced section, and picked up an item for 75p I went to the till, and said, “Is this enough to be able to get cash back with?” He replied, “Yes,” I said, “Please can I take out £30,” Knowing that would be more than enough to get me direct to my cousin’s house. For going to the bus station, was now out of the question.

When I had ran to the shop, I noticed there wasn’t any taxis outside, like they usually are, and I didn’t know where I was going to go to find one. As I came out of the shop, there was one, it had just arrived.

I ran over to it, and I said, to the driver, “Can you take me to this address?” He said, while I was still outside his taxi, “The fare will cost you less than £20,” Shocked, I said, TWENTY POUNDS!” He said, “It shouldn’t cost you that much, but I am just letting you know,” I had no choice and said, “OK.” I then went into the warm taxi; it was SO cold outside. He put the address in his sat nav, I put my seatbelt on, and I told him, “The bus didn’t turn up,” He replied, “Something has happened on that roads,” He then drove past the bus station, and it was then I saw my bus arrived, and I knew that all of those desperate people, would not be able to get on it, I was glad that I had made the decision, when I did to go and get the taxi.

There was a lot of traffic, I still wasn’t sure, if I would make it for 6.30pm, for you can’t drive, through the traffic, the driver asked me, “What time have you got to get there?” I replied, “Six thirty,” He said reassuringly, “I will get you there, before then.” I tried to relax, and decided, I will have to get the two busses back, for even if I didn’t want to, I didn’t have enough money on me, for who knew that thirty pounds would not be enough, when a few years it would have been, more than enough.

Near my cousin’s house, on the sides roads was still snow and ice, and I reminded him, “Please be careful here,” He was lovely, and replied, “I will.” On her road, it was quite bad. I asked him, “How much do I owe you?” He replied, “Sixteen fifty.” Years ago, that’s how much it would have been for a round trip! I paid it gladly. As I got out, I told him, “Take care,” He replied, “I will, and thank you.”

I walked carefully, across the road to my cousin’s house, and pressed the door bell, my cousin, who looks after my Mum on certain days, she answered the door, she was shocked to see me and said, “Where’s your car?” I said, “It failed its MOT, so I wanted to come on the bus, but it didn’t turn up, so I came by taxi.” My cousin Jane said, “Julie, (whose house it is, her sister,) “She too is stuck in traffic, on her bus and I had asked Julie to arrive by 6pm as I had to go,” The time was 6.10pm and I said, to Jane, “Go now, and thank you for everything.” I was pleased, that not only had I made it before 6.30pm but I was able to be there, so that Jane could still leave, as my Mum can’t be left on her own.

Julie arrived, freezing at 6.20pm, glasses steaming up, and said, to me, “Where’s your car?” I replied, “It failed, its MOT, so I decided to come on the bus, but it didn’t arrive after forty-five minutes, so I had to get a taxi.” Lovely Julie, replied, “Oh I wished you had told me; I would have told you to stay at home, and I would have looked after your Mum, and put her to bed.” I said, “Thank you, it’s nice to know.” Jane said, “You need to go soon, please don’t stay till late.” I said, “Thank you.” Mum, wanted to go to bed at 730pm so I got Mum ready for bed, then I left into the freezing, dark cold night air.

I didn’t know what time the first bus would be. It was dark and cold, and there wasn’t anyone on the streets, I didn’t want to miss the bus. I walked into the road, as there was too much snow still on the paths.

There was no one at the lonely bus stop, just me. I waited and waited, the bus stop was round the corner, so I couldn’t even see if it was coming. I was SO cold, I felt like I didn’t have any clothes on, I wished I had put more on, but I thought I had, I just wasn’t used to this amount of cold, it was awful. After a certain time, the busses run every hour, it was a welcome sight, when it finally arrived, it was just me on it. It was warm. I had taken, a Mars bar with me, to eat on either the journey there or the journey back, I was too hyper to eat it on the way, so I decided to save it for the second bus back, which was the longer of the two busses.

As I don’t get the bus, this one didn’t go to the bus station, it stopped about five hundred yards away, I then walked to the huge bus station, and looked for the bus to my Town.

Paul had text me to say, “I have cooked you a nice dinner and it is ready,” That was lovely to look forward to, as it was bitter cold.

The bus arrived and I used my day saver £4 ticket, that I had bought on the last bus and sat on the back on the left downstairs, it was like my seat was heated just for me. I reached into my bag and took out my tiny Mars bar, it Was bigger when I was younger, it was comforting and I ate it slowly.

Thirty minutes or so, I arrived back in my town centre, at the bus station and walked the lonely ten minutes home. It was Good to get in the house. The home was warm, the meal hearty. Just what the doctor ordered. At times like this, I always think of the genuine homeless people, not the ones who beg and go home to their houses.

Two days later, the garage rang me and said, “We will give you a quote when we know how much it will be, before we do the work,” I said, “OK.”

Later, that day, the garage rang, and Tracey said, it will be £250 plus Vat,” I replied, “TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY POUNDS.” She said, “Yes,” I said, “OK.” In my innocents, I thought it would be seventy-five quid, for a bit of welding and an exhaust.

The following morning, Tracey rang and said, “Your car is ready,” I said, “Thank you, I will collect it today, how much is it?” Tracey said, “Two hundred and eighty-five pounds, that’s for the MOT too” I replied, “OK.”

I went many hours later, and paid, it was good to have my car back again, I went straight to TKMaxx.