Going out of my way

10:26am Friday 18th April 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

I LIVE in Evesham and five days a week I drive through Sedgeberrow to get to Winchcombe for work.

I sometimes go via Broadway if necessary ie when the roads are flooded. On Monday, April 7 I went to work as normal via Sedgeberrow at 9.45am.

However, on my return journey home at 3pm a policeman in the middle of Winchcombe Road, Sedgeberrow, greeted me, making a circular hand motion.

I wound down my window to ask him what he was asking me to do. "Turn around" was the reply. I asked why and he replied that the road was closed due to a procession.

I asked him how I was to get to Evesham and the policeman told me that I would have to turn around and then turn right and drive through Dumbleton.

So I duly did this and was 15 minutes late collecting my nine year old son from school.

I have since found out that Princess Anne had come to visit the village meeting people who suffered in the floods.

Obviously this visit had been planned for a long time as marquees were erected in the playing field, there was a man picking up litter in the morning and all the builders had been told not to park all along Winchcombe Road.

However, no one had thought to inform us - the mere motorist, that the road would be closed for sometime during the day.

I feel angry that I was late for my child, and had to incur additional unnecessary mileage on my vehicle and my time, when all that was needed was polite notices on the Evesham by-pass and the Toddington/Sedgeberrow/Winchcombe crossroads informing of the impending closure.

I would have then travelled home via Broadway and I am sure that the many other motorists who also use that road would have made other arrangements.

I also found the policeman's tone rather abrupt, I suppose he must have been fed up repeating himself, - which had there been notices, he wouldn't have needed to do so much.

I do hope that the person who organised the visit reads this letter and has the decency to apologise for not informing us - the motorists!

J BOYLES, Evesham.