The University of Warwick Traffic

Photograph no. 4 m.e.:-

Question:-  What has the bloke in front to do with my trip in ten days???

Dear Blog, 

                 Last Sunday was the last Race Walk of the Midland Winter Walk League. As usual I marshalled at the turn roundabout where walkers pass after about 600 metres, 800 metres and 850 metres when we use the I kilometre lap. All 3 races were very competitive, the first, a 5 kilometre race was extremely close with the young lad who took the race out in the very early stages just, only just, managing to hold on.

                The Godiva Harriers club used the Warwick University Business Park roads to stage the event. I think that a maximum of a dozen cars use the road during the 3 to 4 hours the races take to complete. Drivers are good humoured about any small delay ...  most being office workers / cleaners with the occasional motorist scouting out the area for an interview in the coming days.

                 Warwick University as an increasing traffic problem. The public roads are totally inadequate to cope with the twice daily commute. The University tinkers with the problem instead of grasping the nettle which is what will have to happen sooner rather than later. An example of the tinkering is the latest traffic development which entailed the construction of a single track. one way relief stretch of tarmac which left one of the bigger car parks leading onto a mainish road which the authorities have recently change the limit from 40m.p.m.h. to 30m.p.h. on a straight part of a road                 And the result of this innovative feat of traffic management you ask Blog??? Well I will tell you ...... not only do other car park use the new slip road as a rat run, but the two super market customers at Aldi and Tesco have cottoned onto the idea of a cut through ..... and so it was on Sunday for the Race Walk. I had to handle the largest amount of traffic ever in over 15 years of two / three events per year. BY FAR. The chance of the next Race taking place is a big fat ZERO unless some  preventative measures are introduced.

          AND THE SAD FACT IS THAT I WAS GOING TO TAKE PART. BLOG, I KID YOU NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

        This type of Walking Race is graded a 'B' standard meaning that the straight leg rule is not rigidly enforced, encouraging new participants and accommodating older walkers whose age mitigates against the fluid walking action.

·         While on the subject of road safety and speeding traffic, it was most sad to see on my morning walk today at about 4am, the dead body of a badger just outside my Mansion Gates in the Lane. The body was in the middle of the Lane by the main 'out crossing' from the badgers' large home at the bottom of my estate. I am pretty sure he was the Boss Man, the alpha male. I shall be interested to see which of the younger males in the Sett exerts his authority. For the last three weeks I have had to erect parallel wire fencing strips across the estate as the family had started their usual autumn mass destruction of my grasslands and lawns. They do more damage than pigs with their snouts as they forage for food. During the summer they managed to get onto my land, and in the course of a single night managed to destroy totally all my sweet corn of 50 sturdy plants. Despite this, I shall still deeply miss watching the old boy ferreting around during the early hours, especially in summer when I am not freezing my gooooollies off!!!

·         I did try to shift the corpse as it was a traffic hazard, but it was too heavy to struggle with. At 9am I phoned Coventry City Council to make them aware of the traffic hazard in the narrow country lane, used by mothers for their twice daily high speed tot drop off. I was assured that the council would remove the body with the hour!!!!! Oh yes Blog!!! If you believed that, you would believe that pigs would fly. Well I have to tell you Blog, before my cup of tea at 10 o'clock, I had seen a couple dozen flying pigs. Blog I kid you not. SO IT IS VERY WELL DONE COVENTRY CITY COUNCIL ......I you don't hear me say that very often Blog.

·                            Colin

·         PS Do you know what these here spots are at the side of my letter Blog???? I thought at first it was my ink form my fountain pen dripping but they appear dry enough. Perhaps it is the paper equivalent of wood worm???? I know we have a lot of silver fish in this old Mansion, perhaps they have mutated??? I wonder if they will be as tasty as the silver fish are on my toast at breakfast?? We shall see.