Tail-lights and takeaways: depression is a ten minute traffic queue

Every afternoon on my journey home from work there are two or three traffic hot spots that cause me anxiety as I approach them:

  • Will somebody ignore the “stay in lane” instruction and side swipe me as I cross over Portland street?
  • How many changes of lights will it take to turn left onto Liverpool Street?
  • How many vehicles will cut me up on the roundabout with the A6?
  • Will the top road queue start before or after I’ve reached McDonalds?
  • The latter queue is a depressing place to be held in traffic. It represents a journey through time that I took on foot or by bus many times as a child as I went to the local market or swimming pool, or the local children’s hospital where my sister was a regular inpatient. It’s not in a particularly deprived area, but nor is it affluent, but for all my life it’s always felt run down, in need of some TLC, a bit of investment.

    20121016-234057.jpgThis used to be a Co-op, now it’s a bargain shoe store

    The market disappeared years ago, it’s an Asda now. The shops that lined the road have gradually been taken over by takeaway after takeaway. As I sit in the traffic, hoping for a speedy change of lights, I look at their signs. Chicken, curry, kebabs, burgers – over and over. Some look less than attractive, but others have been renovated recently; I really fancy the look of Sykes’ chippy, the only stalwart from my youth.

    20121016-234143.jpgKurry Hut for a kebab?

    20121016-234219.jpgThe Windmill in all its glory

    I am overwhelmed with depression. Why can’t they phase the lights so the queue in this directions isn’t so bad at this time? Why not introduce parking restrictions to open up traffic flow on the approach to the junction? Why not do something other than hand out fast food licences when these premises are leased out? Probably because they’re the only sorts of businesses that are successful there.

    As I finally reach the set of lights that have delayed me, the feelings of anxiety start to subside. It’s a clear road from here. Thirty seconds along and I’m past my parents’ house, past my primary school, past my past and into my now. Is it past or passed? I never know.

    20121016-234243.jpgThe final stretch approaches

    Manners, bitch

    Rain hit my windscreen as I sat in my usual queue of traffic this morning.  The left wiper scraped and juddered up, juddered down, juddered up, juddered down.  I hate this car.  I resent it.  It tortures me on intermittent wipe with its juddering wiper blade.

    There’s always a queue there, and always, I take my place in it along with many others who just want to get through the fucking lights before they… just.. go.. no… it’s amber… don’t stop!  Before they change to red.  And there are the others who sail past us all and cut into the lane at the last minute. I never let them in.  I’d rather throw myself in front of their cars than let them jump the queue.  Today, however, was different.  Distracted by the juddering wiper blade and the unfamiliarity of the radio presenter, I wasn’t quick enough to prevent being cut up by some woman in an Audi.   She’s obviously a nasty piece of work who probably does vile things to small animals, you can tell the sort.  

    I spent the next ten minutes behind her as we crawled forward towards the traffic lights.  Ten minutes in which she didn’t stop fannying around with her hair. I contemplated the consequences of ramming her really hard.  Obviously a dead car and possibly a conviction for me, but at least she wouldn’t have been messing about with her hair anymore.

    What is it about the back of somebody’s head that induces such violent daydreams in me? Bad manners, generally. I have an imaginary skewer with which I’d like to make a very large human kebab on which perpetrators of crimes against me meet a slow death by cattleprod.  I can’t remember who’s on there specifically, but any ill-mannered, inconsiderate arsehole should be on the lookout for my metaphorical spike.

    My thoughts of an apocalyptic outcome to my commute were broken when I discovered some soft mints that had gone hard over night.  They stuck to my teeth when I chewed them.  

    Why do people make things that stick to your teeth?

    It’s still raining.