Last night was the District Exec meeting at the Chairman's house in High Wycombe. Which I ended up driving to, on my own. There's pretty much just one road to get to the motorway, which is a mad road - if varies between 50mph and 30mph for a few hundred metres each, with slight variations to 40mph, national speed limit, and max speed signs for the bends. It was windy as well, which I could really feel at times at 50mph.

Once I got onto the motorway I intended to stick to the left lane. Except that there were lorries on it and there's only so long you can go at 50-60mph keeping your distance, so I made it into the middle lane. I'm quite glad John Cleese (my sat nav) warns you when you're going to need the exit because I was passing a lorry when he said, ages before there was even a sign about it.

But then came the bit I was most dreading: the Handycross roundabout. I think they're had roadworks on it ever since I've been near Wycombe. And I'm not good at changing lanes on big roundabouts at the best of times. So I started off in the wrong lane, managed to get on the roundabout in the wrong lane, and was still in the wrong lane even after I changed lanes. It was just as well there wasn't many people on it.

After the motorway, being so close to people in front seems really strange. Wycombe seems to delight in randomly giving you two lanes in the road for no apparent reason, so I spent most of my time trying to work out whether I was in the right lane or not, only to find it was academic not far on. And the triple mini roundabout was almost as confusing as the Handycross roundabout.

Once I got there I parked, decided 1st gear would be good for leaving it on the hill. Took my foot off the brake and the car went backwards. I was parked on a bit of a bend but it was because I had parked badly. Once it rolled a bit it stayed, just creaked a lot. And it stayed where it was.

After all that I was light headed and shaking, but I had survived.

On the way back there was less traffic, which was good, although it seemed to involve stopping on hills going upwards. I think I did more hill starts in Wycombe than I've done since I started driving again. The motorways had only increased in the number of lorries, who seemed to think it would be a good idea to drive next to each other, so I went into the very scary right hand lane to pass them. Although it got a bit strange when the lorries started passing me, later on.

Turns out, the exit off the M40 to get home is about 2 metres long. Well, I exagerate, but not by much. After that it was strange to have cars coming at me so close down the country roads. And blinding me, which is so not fun.

In comparison, going home shouldn't be as bad, not least because it'll be in the light and I should have a good idea of where I'm going once I get close. And John Cleese is a pretty good guide - he's just not much use when he says 'take the next road on the left' and I ask, 'do you mean this one?'. And I won't have to drive in Wycombe again till the end of January (if I drive to Burns Supper) or the beginning of February, if not. Why do people want to live there anyway?

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