What the Hell?
This is a short reminisce from about 1961.
I lived in an Old Pre-Cromwell town in the west midlands. The town had a rudimentary bypass, as the main road into the main street was very narrow with houses, pubs and shops pressing up against the pedestrian walkways, which were barely two people wide.
The road had no drainage and was prone to flooding so the council had excavated the road it self, making the footpaths quite high. There was of course no parking along the 200-yard length of road, which ended in Stop signs on both carriageways. The buildings were heritage listed almost without exception.
On market days and at weekend, locals avoided the traffic down this narrow congested road, but people who were strangers to the area were often trapped in the gridlock.
It was a typical English summer's day about 72 Fahrenheit, that is about 20 in the new Centigrade scale. Sunny with lots of white fluffy clouds and a nice southwesterly breeze. I was in town to do the weekly shopping. Money was tight, so I always did a round of the shops that sold what I needed and compared prices and quality. There was a good butchers shop at the bypass end of this old main road, I usually went there last on my round of the town shops, and the market stalls.
To gain access to this narrow street was almost an art, as crossing it was to run the gauntlet of frustrated bumper-to-bumper motorists. The clue was to cross the main wide high street at the North Gate, then travel back south and turn left into the old main road. This involved in effect a detour of about 100 yards so if traffic conditions were right a quick crossing of the main street at the junction on to the right side of the main road, cut the distance and time to get to the butchers.
On this day, I was fortunate and made the short cut, but I almost came to grief!
There was a car, a flash car; one with the very new metallic finishes waiting to exit the old main road and in the front passenger seat was what appeared to be a naked young woman!
I had clocked the car as I began my transit of the broad high street. There was a couple in front of me, perhaps ten yards in front. I saw the passenger raise a broad map book and only her face was visible through the windscreen. As the couple in front drew level and then passed, the passenger lowered the map book and I could only see flesh!
I was hurrying, trying not to get run over by the traffic traversing the wide main road, so had but the merest glimpse of the passenger. There were no clothes in view, but I had not seen anywhere near enough!
I gained the refuge of the footpath and turned to look at the flash car, which had at last gained access to the main road turning left towards the North Gate. I saw a smiling face looking at me. The occupants knew I had seen the flash of flesh!
