Stevie presented me with a badly singed teacake. His attempt to conceal the singeing with a thick coat of butter, failed. I said nothing. It was, after all, his birthday. I gave him a card and chomped on without complaint. Stevie ripped the envelope, eager to see if there was a fiver hidden in the card. I told him there wasn’t and he pulled a face. But he cheered when I said I’d buy him a pint when the business of the day was complete. Todays adventure included delivering a Brother PR680W to Doncaster. I checked my diary and was relieved to discover my inoculation and passport details were all in order. A trip to Yorkshire – and all that. Phew!
Climbing over the top of the M62 we were soon enveloped in an early morning mist coming in off the moors. So much so that my usual check on Booth Wood Reservoir, and the water level, was impossible. All about was off-white, damp cloud. The traffic slowed to a cautious plod and red fog lamps lit the way. The odd mad fool pinged down the outside lane at 90. But most stayed calm.
The morning wore on, the sun rose higher and began to burn through. We pulled over for a comfort break at a service station. We sat and drank our coffee and tucked into the sandwiches Stevie had made – pork & stuffing on wholemeal. A chap in a school jumper grey Ferrari caught our eye. We didn’t care for the colour but then again it wasn’t our choice to make. He seemed happy, though – the chap.
It was thin traffic and long spaces along the A road taking us on to our Brother PR680W to Doncaster trip. The day had turned fair and there was that warming spring feeling. Still cool in the shade, mind. But all the same, nice to feel some sun on the cheek.
We pulled up outside the chaps place. He greeted us with a jolly smile and a joke, and he didn’t wait too long before offering us a coffee – always a good sign. Steve and I carried the machine in and we went through our tuition routine. I texted my wife to say we’d arrived at the first call. She worries when I’m on the road. So I always text her with updates. An hour or so later and our chap was happy. He offered another coffee but we had to say no. Long road trips and too much coffee – well… We wished him well and pushed off to our next call.
