Sometimes, the only way to get to a location outside a city centre is by car and this includes Bristol which although it has a good transport system is quite large in extent and it can take you forever to get from A to B.
Mindful of the huge amount of time it took my wife to get to the city centre by bus during the rush hour I decided to set off early for the venue in North East Bristol but I did 18 miles in 45 min and thus arrived well before time. The roads were completely clear all the way.
The business meeting was in connection with the trauma project with which I am engaged in the North Bristol group of hospitals. My business contact was helpful, charming, gentle and most of all encouraging for the scheme that I had proposed. It is sad that in this day and age we sometimes have to steel ourselves for a negative attitude towards any idea we may have but in this case we were kindred spirits on the same wavelength. I told my lady contact that I only decided to go ahead with the project because I felt I could intuitively trust the first point of contact who was the leader of the particular trauma group. I realised how important trust is and how much I value it. I give a person many chances if they make mistakes but once the trust is gone it is gone and a person is place for ever in another category.
I know Jesus said “forgive them for they know not what they do” but I must admit in the day-to-day activity of life I’m not in that category. I have enough to deal with out without being hurt or taken advantage of. It is very comforting to know that there are some nice people left in the world and what a pleasure it is to do business with them or at least talk about doing business even if nothing comes to fruition.
Incidentally, on my way there I saw the most extraordinary street sign which I enclose for your entertainment. You can’t beat that for lack of romance with a road name.
I whizzed back home by lunchtime to find a message from National Express to my wife informing her of severe delays to the coach that I had booked to get to the Eurostar tomorrow. The letter did say we could rebook without penalty so I booked a bus that left an hour earlier so hopefully she will make it to the Eurostar in time. If the coach is delayed an hour, she will still make the train so it should not be too bad. The problem is that repair works are going to close parts of the M4 including J12-J13, Reading. I suppose it has to happen sometime. With the amount of potholes in the UK at the moment they should perhaps close the whole road system and give everyone a holiday while they do the repairs. Chance would be a fine thing.
0 Comments