Great (but small) country

Delays seem to follow me around these days. 

After the experience of early February  - floods and then a ripped tyre on consecutive days -  I found myself again stopped on a rural road , this time between Dunkeld and Crieff.  

I had been at Land Commission meetings in Granton on Spey and Dunkeld and was making my way home.   There was a single  "Road Closed" sign at the junction with the A9  (and nowhere else in the intervening ten miles or so)  but I checked carefully on line when I saw it and everything indicated the closure was over.  

It had been, but  one of the electricity poles had been damaged  by the accident that had taken place several hours ago and the wires needed to be re-strung.  

After about fifteen   minutes in the queue one of the linesmen briefed the driver of the first waiting car that it would be at least  an hour before the road could be re-opened.   

That person - who was from London and on holiday - then  briefed the next two drivers and it was  the woman from the car in front of me who  then came back to pass on the message.

I wound down my window as she approached but then we both , simultaneously , expressed complete astonishment, as "the woman" was my former Private Secretary, Ellen Birt ( as now is) who has featured in this journal before, in fact several times. 

Anyway we didn't really have time for much of chaat beyond the astonished stage given that  part of the message was that if you didn't want to wait or turn back, you could take a short cut through the field on the left of this picture (which I had taken about five minutes before).   I had in fact seen the farmer coming through the field on the other side of the road in his 4x4 about ten minutes earlier. 

It was worth a try so we all set off, though the driver behind me  decided to turn back given the very wet ground.   Despite that we all got through though Ellen got caught by a muddy patch and had to reverse a couple of times before completing the short cut.  

The Tesla was , however, rock solid, having four wheel drive,.  I was a  little concerned about clearance at the two gates but in the end   neither gave any trouble.

Ellen's parting shot to me, as she went past , was "Hope you have a good blip for today" , she having suffered me looking for blips every day for the more than three years we worked together.   

I also noticed her taking pictures of the cars in front as they drove along the field , so both of us had a pictorial record not only of a wee incident, but also of the type of co-incidence that makes Scotland a great place to live !