Program filming and the A40

I set myself a challenge the other week, to go and see the recording of the new Richard Hammond show at BBC centre. As luck would have it we not only got tickets but guaranteed admission ones. Thanks to the fast reaction of a dear friend. After much planning and steely determination I decided to catch the bus all on my own to an agreed meeting point and my friend would drive us straight in. Even with TFL's aversion to following their own time table and my smart thinking of leaving early we made it to Westfields Shopping Centre on time. From there it would be but a short hop.

So after a coffee stop and gritted teeth I got to the outside of BBC centre and joined the queue and not long after we were herded into the holding pen. Here we had the time to buy lousy coffee and BBC related products. Someone did buy the token cardboard darlek, well there is always one. Finally caffeinated to the tilt, those of us less mobile and our parties were lead the long hop to the studio where we were made to wait another good 10 minutes before the studio was ready. Not that my legs didn't need the rest I must have hopped for at least a mile since we let the car. Then we were escorted to our seats and we got middle of the front row, perfect!

If you have ever been to a television show being filmed, you will know how you end up with a man preaching health and safety and another warming up the audience with jokes that should never see light of day. Then finally you get the show, in this case we saw the 1st episode of  new Saturday night program hosted by Richard Hammond. Without giving too much away there are few images that will stay with me for a life time, and having seen a lot of Top Gear and the related presenters programs recorded that is saying something.

Fortunately my legs and back didn't give out till the finally few minutes of recording making the afternoon enjoyable. By 4.00 we were being ushered to the point of cattle herded out of the building, and after saying goodbye to a few friends ,made our way, painfully in my case to the shopping centre an a coffee stop. Then things went turtle in a legendary fashion.

We had allowed for the fact we were heading home in rush hour traffic. However neither of us had checked the travel news before we left the car park, because had we, we would have headed straight back to the shopping centre and stayed put for a couple hours. The moment we hit the main road the A40 we were introduced to a traffic jam. Not one of those little ones that is a 10 minute inconvenience, but one that had between an hour to two hours delays. That was bad enough but the driving of others in the jam was pure spite. It was so bad that I now have serious concerns to the level of most drivers and the thought of 10 year licence renewal is now a good idea in my mind. The reason we didn't come home via a tow truck and ambulance was purely down to my friends driving skill more than anything. That said I think the freezing fog was turned a vivid shade of blue by her language, I never knew a person could create 5 mins worth of sentences without the use of anything but 4 letter words and no air. After of an hour of travelling nor more than 1/2 mile we turned off and headed into the unknown, only to find so had many others.

By 7 pm we had lost our patience and needed coffee and calm, so we got to Acton high street and found Mc Donalds.. A meal and hot drink later, and in my case two cigarette's and we felt a lot more human. Whilst we were eating we looked up where we were and made a plan. For a good 10 minutes all was going well and then we met the M4 and there was yet another jam, fortunately the A4 wasn't that bad. So we made progress replacing traffic jams for freezing fog and traffic lights. By now I had already decided there was no way I was going to subject my friend to the M25 and told her to let me get the same bus home I met her from. So she left me at the bus stop as we just watched my bus depart. It couldn't have been helped as I can't run and certainly not on pavements white with frost. I waved her good bye and only had a 20 minute wait and then I was back on the road for the hour + journey. Due to work reasons husband couldn't meet me from the bus so I got off a stop earlier and caught a cab the last mile and a bit and finally collapsed on my futon at 9.30 tea in hand. 5 and half hours later from when we left the studio.

Do I regret my brave adventure, heck no, but I do wish that people would show some manners on the road and that includes the bus that nearly went into our side rather than wait in his filter lane.