Get Me to the Church on Time

The day started perfectly. I had dropped the kids off at the school bus and was whizzing off to work along the back roads. 'Somebody to Love' by Queen was on the radio and I was singing the harmonies and backing vocals at the top of my voice. I was also looking forward to the Brownies Mothers Day celebration at 6.45pm. Tea and cake at the church hall. What a great life...

...Then just as Freddie Mercury and I got to the last note of the song, the rev counter on the car dropped to zero and there was no response on the accelerator. I limped along at a snails pace. The car was still moving, but not exactly under my control...

This went on for a few miles, and eventually the car spluttered into life again, finally delivering me to work safe and sound. I thought nothing of it.

At 4.15pm, I jumped back into the car and sped off to collect Tom from a 4.50pm finish at school. The plan was to get him home, get Lizzie to Brownies for 6.15pm, go for a quick half hour training walk, then sit back and enjoy the tea and cake at 6.45pm. Perfect.

But 5 minutes into my journey, the car went 'limp' again, then just conked out at the side of the road - beside the busiest junction in the world. Bloody hell!
I made a few calls (what did we do before mobiles?!!) and my lovely friend Karen (what would I do without you?!) agreed to pick up and ferry my kids about for me until I could somehow get home. 'Tell Lizzie not to worry - I should be there for tea and cake!' I said, hoping to God I'd be right.
Green Flag said they'd be there to help within the hour, and my personal road angel, Eddie said he'd go 4 million miles out of his way with a tow rope to help with the rescue.

I got out of the car, stood at the side of the road and watched as over 1000 cars rushed past - many held up by my poor abandoned car - its little hazards blinking pathetically.

2 people stopped to ask if I was ok. 2 angels out of the 1000's of commuters and school runners. I thanked them but there was nowt they could do.

As I waited, getting colder by the minute, Eddie phoned to say he was half an hour away.
'Don't worry, we'll get you back in time for Brownies,' he reassured me.
It was only 5.15pm. Plenty time...

Eventually, the tow truck arrived with a nice rescue man inside. He looked at the engine and decided it was an electrical fault.

'I can tow the car 10 miles for you,' he said, 'but to get you home it'll cost another 50 quid.'

I was about to say 'Just do it' when my lovely, long suffering road angel husband arrived with the tow rope.
We agreed that the Green Flag man would tow the car through the busy little town of Ponteland, then we'd take over and get the car back the rest of the way home ourselves. It was 5.45pm. There was an hour til Brownies tea and cake. Plenty time...

At the agreed place, we stopped, and the Green Flag man helped us attach our tow rope. I thanked him for his help, gave him a cream egg and waved him off. Just me and Eddie now with 10 miles to go.

'DON'T brake when the rope is tight,' Eddie instructed, 'and keep calm.'

'What about Brownies,' I replied pathetically.

'Forget the bloody Brownies,' he said as calmly as possible. 'Just get in the bloody car....and DON'T..'

...'brake when the rope goes tight, I know...' I said, climbing into the car.

We set off, and I was doing really well...until we got to the humpy backed bridge at Dalton. I DIDN'T brake, but the bloody rope snapped and Eddie went charging off around the corner - not realising that I wasn't there any more!

Eventually, he looked in his rear view mirror and discovered that I'd vanished.

He returned, minutes later and retied the tow rope, muttering something about me braking - which I DIDN'T!

We set off again, and the rope snapped two more times. By the time we eventually got home, the rope was about 2 feet long and I had acquired another clump of grey hair. Not only that, but it was 6.55pm - I was now 10 minutes LATE for Brownies tea and cake. My daughter would be devistated.

We dumped my car, then whizzed off in Eddie's car to get to Brownies. Anyone peering out of their window might have thought they were watching a scene from Starsky and Hutch.
When we arrived at the church hall, 15 minutes late, sure enough, poor Lizzie was in tears, watching as all the other mums tucked in to tea and cake.
Her tears soon vanished though as Eddie and I burst through the door. She was doubly delighted to have her mum AND dad there to enjoy Mothers Day tea and cake, and fussed around us showing us to our seats, making sure we ate all the cakes that she had made....

....I'm not quite sure she realises the effort that was made to get me to the church on time, and all the people that helped make it possible - Karen, mum, Green flag man and Eddie, but hey - what does she care - I was there, and that's all that mattered to her!