To day was a beautiful sunny warm, some would say hot, dry day. Lots of people about as there has been for the last week. We have had dry sunny days with the mercury about the 25C mark. Very nice for the beach. Traffic has been light and the job easy.
Don't you know some b-----d is going to turn up and spoil it.
This morning I went down to the Harbour at about 10 am to catch a bus to Paignton to start work. While I was waiting for my bus an elderly couple asked me where the Open Top bus went from and I explained that the could take the 15 min trip up to St Marychurch or the 45 min trip to Totnes. They decided that the 45 min trip to Totnes was ideal. An hour and a half traveling on the bus in the beautiful sun shine admiring South Devon's glorious country side with the wind blowing gently in their faces, an hour in Totnes for a cup of tea and a bun and back by 1 pm for lunch at their hotel.
What I, and no one else knew was that at that very moment workmen were erecting 3 way temporary traffic lights on the road, the only road, between Paignton and Totnes and my couple would take 2 1/2 hours to get to Totnes and 2 1/2 hours to get back; if they were lucky the might make it back in time for Afternoon Tea.
We all know that road works have to be carried out, a burst water main threatening to leave thousands without water on one of the hottest days of the year, a fractured gas pipe which may explode and distroy dozens of houses, telephone cables melting and leaving the whole of South Devon cut off from the rest of the world. No, Contractors were laying an Anti Skid surface to a short section of road. A job that could have been done any time. Well I suppose this time was any time for the contractors but up to 10 000 people had their day upset by these very important road works. As one of my colleges asked, If I was the contractor would I care?
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