We went to London last night for a dinner party in Chelsea. We left here at 6 and despite ghastly-seeming nose-to-tail carp as the Smoke loomed made it at 8 on the dot, to my great surprise. There's a whole load of carp going on at Hammersmith flyover causing huge tailbacks both ways. Coming back it was murder getting to Hammersmith Bridge and in the end we had to go another way, Richmond almost... murder.
We came back quite early, leaving before 11. There was very little traffic after the awful London-end stuff, although what there was tended to be absurdly slow, except the white vans which are an example to us all except when they are tailgating. There's a new species of chubby rapid little white van I notice.
There's a traffic light in the middle of Dorking, on a dual carriageway with four to six lanes. It was green on the main road as we approached, and there was nothing waiting at the red to come out. Nevertheless as we approached the light changed to red. We stopped. It was a very short red. It was as if the light changed to red when it saw us coming, just out of Surrey cussedness. It felt deliberate, and in my view could have been.
Nearer home, on the A29, we shot through a double bend to find a red temporary traffic light, one carriageway shut off for a couple of hundred yards. But when that one saw us, noting that there was nothing coming the other way, it turned green instantly so we could hurtle on through.
It's great to be at home and be able to have a proper drink at last. There was some rum punch at dinner but it was pink and tasted of jelly. I don't think two of those made me illegal. Anyway no one checked.
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Traffic lights new
Traffic lights new