Near death in Mapperley

Mapperley top in Nottingham is just a big hill , a knoll , a small bump on the map . But put 50 million tons of snow on it and you have a major logistical nightmare. Saturday night for Colins 50th Birthday was a triumph of band commitment and human resolve.That Churchillian spirit , that British never say die , that stiff upper lip .Ok, perhaps going a bit too far but my god we were very lucky to arrive in one piece .

Mapperley top gets steeper as you traverse up it and the trustee band VW was struggling all the way. No grit on the roads and thick ice meant the wheels went round with snail pace progress . I had visions of just falling back down taking 50 cars with me . Thankfully we just crawled to the top and managed to reach Colins party in one piece.

On the way back another hair raising event took place leaving an indelible mark on my psyche. A rather tipsy young thing decided to walk out into the road in front of me on thick ice near the Queens Medical Centre. To avoid killing her we took swift evasive action sliding into the Red Arrows bus shelter. Fortunately the platform saved us from certain death as the van wheels bounced us back into the road. She was oblivious to the carnage that could have ensued and staggered into the path of an oncoming taxi with similar results.