Читать книгу No One Said It Would Be Easy - Des Molloy - Страница 28

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no one said it would be easy

But back to the now, our ride takes us out into the country and includes a minor breakdown when one of the bike's magneto points' securing screw loosened off, disrupting the spark. Roly recalls this break-down quite clearly and the pull-off area where we attended to the problem. There were two derelicts lying about the place, one with his penis hanging out. We find the place quite unsavoury, and hastily make the requisite adjustment and we surge on. Unfortunately, there was no glorious skin-of-our-teeth reward awaiting us at Tilbury. Our ship had indeed sailed … and not with us on it. Knowing it was making a quick stop in France the next morning, I did for a moment wonder about trying to get there overnight but it all became too hard … and we didn’t seem to have lights that worked. We hung about in Tilbury for a while and I found a phone and rang Steph giving her the news. She was sympathetic but also quite excited. We’d not really had time for a good farewell.

Telling Roly that we would worry tomorrow about what to do next, we headed back towards North Finchley. Of course riding that far on bikes without lights is never going to be uneventful and naturally enough an officer of the law intervened.

“Good evening lads, what is going on here? You are aware you are riding without lights!”

I could only think of bunging on my broadest colonial Aussie-type accent.

“Awwh yeah, gidday mate, yeaah the lights don’t work and we have to get back to North Finchley.”

“Right sir, but this is a public road and lights are a necessary piece of motoring equipment. What are your names and your addresses please?” He reached for his notebook, obviously about to issue us with a ticket.

“Well sorry officer, but we don’t have an address, we were leaving the country, but we missed the boat.”

“So where are you going now?”

“To my girlfriend’s place.”

“So what is that address?”

I gave out the information but added the info that no one would be living there from tomorrow.

“So where can I send an Infringement Notice?”

“Dunno mate … maybe our folks’ address in New Zealand.”

“And when will you be there?”

“Dunno that either mate, maybe a year … we’re going to South America!”