School Run Fun (or not)

I don't know about you, but I'm generally pretty organised and laid back. I have a set morning routine that has served me very well over the years. And, over those years, I have developed it to incorporate time for 'emergencies' so that we never actually leave the house late for school (even though, I tell the girls we are on occasion, running late). However, hard as it is to believe, other people do run late, I know, shocking isn't it?
Anyway, why am I talking about routine and running late, or not, as the case may be. Well, remember this?

I looked out of my window one morning to find that, had I wanted to go anywhere I couldn't. Rather than get stressed about it, I did what any self respecting blogger would do...and wrote this post. Well since writing that post, I have watched the owner of said van, routinely blocking people in this private parking area because they, or their visitors have parked somewhere he thinks they shouldn't. Hence, I have conceded defeat and accepted that, clearly, he is in the right and does indeed own the street outside the houses and the private car park. Don't ever say I don't know my place. However, things have developed.

We left for school at our usual time the other day, to find this chap doing his best Usain Bolt impression to his van. I won't deny it, I was suitably impressed that anyone could be that active before the school run, but then it registered that he was running late. Anyway long story short (I could talk you through the entire journey before we get to the actual point of the post, but that would be pretty dull for you and me) he ends up driving directly behind me and the traffic at that time of the morning was not pretty.

Okay, maybe it wasn't this bad, but you get the idea.

It's probably less pretty if you're behind time and desperately trying to reach school before the gate shuts and your child gets marked as late. However, like it or not, the traffic was appalling and our man was not looking too happy. He looked even less of a happy chap when we hit solid traffic at a major roundabout. Even I was a little disgruntled, but I got in lane and waited very patiently, given the circumstances, there wasn't really a lot else I could do. In the meantime, our man is beginning to look just a wee bit like this...

...but obviously, sat in his vehicle,he didn't get out so I don't know if he had purple pants on, but he did seem to think the nice long line of traffic was entirely my fault. Yes really! He beeped his horn. That's nice, thought I to myself, he's bored so he's decided to amuse himself a little (actually what I really thought was, tough, you should have left earlier). In short, I just ignored him. What I'd failed to realise is that not only does our man own the street outside my house and our private car park, but he also owns all other public highways. He must be very wealthy given the amount of Road Tax we all pay. So our man (Hulk) beeps again, accompanied by much mouthing (no doubt he was shouting obscenities at me, but I can't lip read and couldn't hear him over the radio) and a great deal of sign language (none of which I recognised as any formal type of Sign Language). I left him to stew a little; I wanted to see how angry he could get (it amused me) then edged forward a couple of centimetres, at which point he drove alongside me and carried on with his rant. Being of Mediterranean heritage (however distant that may be) I gave him a few gesticulations of my own (not rude ones, there were children in the cars) and off he went on his merry way, well when he eventually made it across the roundabout, two cars ahead of me.

Anyway, what I really wanted to say was this. To Our Man, next time you want to own the road, car park or whatever, next time you decide to intimidate a female driver, stop and use your brain, you're driving a company vehicle. And lastly, why don't you try leaving earlier, it was your fault you were late, not mine, or anyone else's, how about taking a little personal responsibility, just saying.