Pack up your troubles

August 25th, 1977

We packed all our wordly goods, well 90% of them, into the back of this fine vehicle - I was going to return by train to pick up the Wolseley and the rest of the stuff. Then set off, early evening, into the unknown. I can remember stopping somewhere on the North Circular road for a couple of Kebabs. The Wife was installled in the mass of belongings along with our young daughter Susan. The Kebabs were great!, this was going to be fun....

We broke down on the A406 which was about an hour into the journey home. I parked on the hard shoulder and walked up the sloped banking to the roundabout. For some reason, perhaps a slight noise, I looked back at the Van from the top of the slope. At that Instant a motorcyclist hit the drivers side rear wing and the bike and occupant spiralled off down the road. It was a dream like sequence, unreal. Here's a strange reaction - I ran to the phone box and called the AA before going back to the Van - a moment of panic I suppose, the inability to cope with a situation.

When I returned the bike rider was sitting in the Van with my wife and the baby, he was shaken up but unhurt. I'm a bit unclear about what happened next but I think the AA van rolled up and the driver asked the guy if he was alright. He said he was, and that the accident was his fault as he'd been at college pretty late and was tired - he may have even fallen asleep. His bike was still rideable so he went off into the night. The van's problem was diagnosed and we were off again.

We arrived in Skelmersdale in the wee hours, dawn was breaking and we broke down again outside the Concourse at about 4 a.m.- within two miles of our destination. I called the AA again from the police station, waited half an hour for them to arrive. This time it was the distributor rotor. We finally rolled up at my wifes fathers house in time for breakfast.