Journey Up to Scotland

Dear reader,

The trip up from Great Harwood to Fort Augustus was tedious and long, but worth it in the end. We set off from Lancashire at 09.30 and arrived at the cottage at 19.00, so a hideously long day.

I had the usual near misses and l.o.l. moments on the way. I was getting tired as we entered Scotland, and they have a habit of sticking wordy signs up all over the place north of the border. I was trying to read this big message, and nearly went off the road. Karen says, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!". I said I was just trying to read the sign, so she says, "IT SAYS LANARKSHIRE WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS!". Oh well. Should be written in bigger letters!

The we drove into Glasgow on the M8. For those of you who know the road, you'll be familar with the fact there are about 30 junctions in an 8 mile arc, and there are dot matrix notices above every single junction exit with a different message of the day:

• Please drive Carefully
• Do not speed
• Do not drink and drive
• Have you fastened your seatbelt?
• Don't drive whilst tired. Take a break
• Have you tried fried marsbars recently? They're really rather tasty!

Ok, so the last message wasn't there, but it might as well have been. I get the impression you can bring your kids up in Glasgow according to the ten commandments of the M8! Just take them round the motorway every weekend, and you'd be sorted for a law abiding decent citizen.