THE TALE WHICH TERRIFIED HER..

The day started off so well, we woke up early, the sky was pale blue, the air fresh, there were eggs, melon and toast with which to break our night's fast and she was due to go a'jaunting up to Marylebone Farmer's Market (just behind the Waitrose on Marylebone High Street) to meet up with the other dumpling fancier, aka Debbie of Ellie's Dairy.

All of which happened, she got there at a perfect time as she said when she arrived "12.45 for a 1.00 o'clock lunch".

Debbie went off to order the delicious dumplings, they are cooked to order, then came back, she handed over swag, not from the allotment but avocados from the market and said "there's melon for pudding and salted almonds for your drive home".

But our Goaty mum friend didn't look or seem to be her normal very cheerful self and then divulged why.. a truly dreadful tale.

A friend of Debbie's had been driving along on a country road this past Saturday when she was hit head on by another car with such a force that her car was up-ended and it burst into flames. 

It then ricocheted off and struck the car behind hers causing damage to that car as well. 

Luckily, oh, so very luckily, there were other cars who saw the accident, they stopped and their occupants rushed to the flaming car, they righted it and managed, with bottles of water and a fire extinguisher, to put out the fire.

The accident emergency teams arrived, she was cut out of her car and air-lifted to a London hospital, the driver of the car behind her was also injured and was taken to a local hospital.

After the market finished, Debbie drove to see her in hospital. She has no relatives and lives in the country. She is in ICU with a broken arm, a broken leg, a broken pelvis, a broken vertabrae and a metal frame holding her right side together.

She is sedated and due to be in theatre again today for more assessment.

She received this update by email from Debbie late last night. She was shocked by the tale before she got updated but the email triggered a memory she thought long, long since gone.

Last night, for the first time in over forty years, she had the old nightmare, of being in the south of France on the mobylette and seeing the lights of the car which hit her.

It is a very wet day and the mood in our home is very sombre. 

We do not know what caused the other car to cross over onto the other side, why were they driving at such a speed, is certainly something that the Police will want to question the other driver about, at such a speed that it caused another car to turn upside down and burst into flames.

She was so lucky, that the car did not explode, that there were people who did all that they could to save her life and succeeded.. just like the people in 1969 who ran out of the restaurant and combed the vineyard until they found my mum and got her to hospital.

Please think about this folks the next time you get behind the wheel of a car, just because your car is capable of doing a hundred miles per hour, you don't have to do it. 

Speed kills and the accidents that it causes most certainly changes peoples lives. Maybe even yours.

GeeGee Parrot.
August 25th, 2014.