Dreadful Day - Last Sat

**Heaven Scent** · 06-01-2010, 12:23 PM

I know that I've been prattling on in jest about how my town has been featured on TV a lot lately - but it wasn't on Sat!!!

I'll try to make this as brief as poss.

- I know I know!!!! say no more!!!

I did write about it on Saturday night but my thread didn't appear on here I must be doing somthing wrong when I'm submitting posts and threads these days as its happened to a few things I posted over the week-end.

Well on You probaly know I live in a samllish town in Cheshire - Its one of 2 hilly towns - most in Cheshire are flat cause the county is know for its flat landscape - trust me to live in one of the 2 hilly ones.

DS went to stay with over night with his friend who lives in the middle of nowhere on Fri - DH was on nights (1st of 2 X12 hrs which he does in every shift) other boys dad collected and offered to upload excel accounts on computer for me whe I collected on Sat.

On Sat called dad at 11.30ish and he said come about 1.00 - as we were talking sky went black - by 12.15 when I left to pick up snow had been falling heavily - tried to get up my road a main route to M6 and just slipped all over the place. Turned around then had to get DH who had woken just before I left to get dressed quickly and reverse car on drive for me - on first attempt I very slowly hit the telegraph pole at the end of the drive - no damage done but it was soooo slippy. -

Council hadn't gritted any roads in the area. It hadn't been snowing long enough or heavily enough for the road to be in that state had it been gritted.

Anyhow - DH got car on drive then decided to drive me to pick DS up - it was snowing quite heavily by then - its only about a 30 min return journey max. He hadn't even brushed his teeth or had a wash. (even worse hadn't brought his cigarettes out with him - oooooohhhh).

Anyhow headed off throught the built up areas which were really slippery and soon after we left a largish car appeared right behind us as stayed almost connected to our back bumper all the way out into the country - not far but in those conditions with him behind us seemed like an age. DH was afraid to pull in to let him pass in case he ran ito the back of us. Anyhow DH doesn't know the road to this particular house very well as he'd only been there once before - I wasn't much better but had driven on the route about 4 times in the past 5 years. Although it is a main route it is a particularly winding and hilly road - we got to one tight bend at the top of a hill where visability was particularly bad and as we rounded the bend the road was blocked at the bottom to the ill with cars stopped all over it so DH gently put his foot on the break in a bid to gently direct the car to the opposite side of the road where there was a narrow grass verge and a hedge on our side there was a high wall.

This is where the nightmare began - as soon as he tried to slow down the car just decided to do its own thing and go into freefall down the hill. DH had to really struggle to steer it away from the cars stopped at the bottom of the hill which he did at 11th hour and we went flying into the hedge which had a fence behind it - very lucky it wasn't a wall or concete fence post.

DH was trapped into the car on his side but I could get out. When I got out I noticed that the white van that was blocking our side of the road had disappeared so was the car that was stopped on the road between that van and the blue van that was parked half on the verge and half on the road on the side we ended up on - the one we very narrowly missed. There was also no sign of the car that was on our tail????? but there was a large long car (too stunned to take in any makes) stopped right behind the back of our car. It had two older people in it and they appeared to be trying to turn it around in the road - why because the foot of the hill was on another bend. In addition to this when I first got out of the car a short fat man in a funny coat hat and wellies came from the drivers side of that car - I thought he'd got out of it and started roaring and shouting at me about the speed we came down the hill. DUH as if we wanted to then he took out a camera (not his mobile phone) and started taking photographs of our car from behind and the car turning in the road - I wondered if we had hit it and I hadn't realised. DH then appeard on the road - I presume he got out my side - still not asked him. Anyhow the farmer man disappeared and DH & I struggled to get the car out of the hedge which was in a slallow ditch. - There were loads of people around us and a small group at the top of the hill but not one person approached us or asked if we were Ok especially when i got out of the car and DH couldn't. The man who owned the blue van just kept faffing about with it and looking at us.

Then just as we got the car out of the bush and were examining the damage to the body I noticed blue flashing lights at the top of the hill the blooming man with the camera must have called 999 for the police then minutes later another one appeared - silly man. Anyhow we had to hang around while the police did all their stuff then they decided to close the road because of the danger - trouble was they closed it both behind us and in front of us. so we were all stuck there for a while. Eventually we got going and decided not to continue to get DS as I'd phoned the family he was with who said not to bother. We travelled home behind lots of people who seemed to be out for the ride and who just kept stopping to chat to people coming in the opposite direction plus we had to go all over the place on these country lanes trying to avoid hills - not easy round here as the town is in a steep vally. We ended up the opposite side of the town to our house and even when we got out on the main A road to Manchester it wa closed and totally un- recognisable.

While on there a maniac in a landrover came up right behind us and started flashing us to go faster

we knew we had to go round a sharp bend and down a steep bank so I turned around and signalled them to slow down and keep back but they just gave me unfriendly hand signalls and laughed at us - not far from there we approached the one way system on the bypass where two A roads merge and we met a stream of cars heading in the direction of the town we did notice that the police were in the distance directing people back in the direction of where we had come from i.e. back to the country lanes that they closed behind us as we drove through them???

Anyhow we ended up stuck there for hours - with a laptop - no dongle 2Xmobile phones and 1 sim with credit but no money - DH hadn't even hadn't had a wash - no son and daughter at home waiting for us. A 30 minute round trip took us over 4 hours to complete. We were stuck there because a Lorry had jack knifed on a steep hill at a main set of lights at the junction of the bypass and the main road into town. - Again because the road hadn't been gritted - basically none of the roads in the area had been gritted in readiness for the snow on Saturday - people could have lost their lives - but was there any coverage about our town on any new on Saturday/Sunday - not on your nelly!!!!

TheBTeam · 06-01-2010, 01:26 PM

OMW! Glad to hear all was okay and no one seriously hurt, what a day!

**Heaven Scent** · 06-01-2010, 02:16 PM

yeah just the car - we bashed some bits that were hanging off back on then a the other day DH went out in it on non icy roads and couldn't accelorate and there was a hissing coming from the passanger side Then the garage chosen by the insurance company who are based in Salford nr Manchester were supposed to come to collect it yesterday but due to the bad weather they rang to say they couldn't come and the first available opportunity would be next Mon. Trouble is DH and I both need a car on Thurs & Fri for work so he called the RAC out to it and they said he had punctured something to do with the Turbo (cant remember what - intercooler something or other). Well we will just have to wait and see what happens next.

**nannymcflea** · 06-01-2010, 02:39 PM

Blooming eck, what a trip!

Glad you're both ok.

**angeldelight** · 06-01-2010, 02:44 PM

Crikey Celine

What an adventure and not a very nice one at that

What did the police end up saying to you - you didnt say ha ha

Glad to hear you are ok though

Last time you go to collect your son hey ?

Angel xxx

**Heaven Scent** · 06-01-2010, 03:33 PM

Police man from first car said shouldn't be driving to the conditions - I said we were and tried to explain but he became more concerned with closing the road, police woman from second car came and said same thing I said we were she said because of snow on road they couldn't prove anything but we should be more careful when driving on unfamiliar roads - I tried to explain that we were and also explain about the car behind us but she wasn't that bothered. I commented that it hadn't taken them long get here and she said came with blues and two's from the other direction (driving to the conditions????), the last town we lived in as it happens which is quite a bit away but they are based in our town, her shift was over and she just wanted to get home. Poor girl it was snowing really heavily and it was dripping off her when she sat into the back of our car to do her checks and take our details, as I said we left with nothing and had to scrabble about the car to find something for her to wipe her face with, Vic eventully produced some servietts from McDonalds or Kentuckey - but why we had them I'll never know as we havn't been for ages. - Stupid bloomin man who called them - What was he doing out on what can be quite a dangerous and busy road at the best of times on a Saturday afternoon with a camera???? He must be a saddo without a life out looking for some excitement on a snowy Saturday afternoon

We are still waiting for a bill or solicitors letter for the hedge & fence. I took some photos of that damage with my almost flat mobile phone just in case someone tries to cause more and bill us for a fortune - actually I was shocked and probably wouldn't have thought to do so if bloomin' "David Bailey" hadn't been there with his camera - it was probably a christmas present that he couldn't wait to use - he was about 60ish - strange!!!!!

**miffy** · 06-01-2010, 03:34 PM

Blimey Celine, your life is sooooooooo eventful!

Pleased you're all OK!

Miffy xx

**ajs** · 06-01-2010, 03:45 PM

so glad you and hubs were ok

the main road at the top of our road was solid yesterday and a lorry had jacknifed over one roundabout and a car crashed at the other end of town so the roads all over town were grilocked
it took my neighbour 2 and a half hours to do a 20 min journey