Of all the animals of prey, man is the only sociable one.
Every one of us preys upon his neighbour, and yet we herd together.
The Beggar's Opera: John Gay

Monday 27 October 2014

Of mud and stars

Oh dear; decisions, decisions!

Returning from a few days of bracing (if somewhat muddy) walks in one of the more picturesque parts of the country, I am faced with not one but two irresistible topics.

Firstly there is 2014 UF56, a bus-sized asteroid passing by a mere 158,000 km above our heads just after 9pm tonight - have your glasses filled and ready!

And secondly, to brighten up a dark October evening, there is the boy racer who spent yesterday watching his pride and joy sink slowly into the mud near Burnham on Sea.

We have, of course, reported from the area before;  despite warning signs and publicity, a combination of Britain's biggest tidal range and vehicle access to the beach is clearly too much temptation for some.

Just a few months after a father-and-daughter team discovered the hard way that coastal mud makes a less than ideal driving surface, a 22-year-old from Bristol decided that his Saturday night would not be complete until he had taken his souped-up Celica for a spin on the beach.

Finding himself inextricably embedded in mud over the axles with an incoming tide, he abandoned the vehicle (and his chances of a Darwin Award - this time, at least) and escaped to shore. Recovering the car, however, has proved considerably more problematical, as the pictures show.

And there's more to enjoy in the comments:
It's got a GT-Four boot spoiler on it but DVLA states that it's a 1762cc car, which means it's not actually a GT-Four (they were 2 litre).
So, a Saturday night boy racer and a poser; our cup of Schadenfreude runneth over!

Speaking of which, it's about time for our annual musical comment on Sober October; after a sparse few months, we are entering a reasonable crowded part of the orbit - last Friday produced the undeniable convenient 2014 SC324 - and can look forward to plenty more close approaches in the near future.

The man who drinks cold water pure
And goes to bed quite sober
Falls as the early leaves do fall
So early in October,
But he who drinks just what he likes
Until he's half seas over
Shall live until, until he dies
And then lie down in clover.




7 comments:

  1. Good thinking. I'll put a bottle of fizz in the fridge.

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  2. I feel slightly sorry for the lad. That car was probably his pride and joy.

    Still funny though.

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  3. Absolutely crammed with info for the unsuspecting, Macheath.

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  4. Demetrius, that's what I call doing things in style!

    AKH, I doubt his insurance will help either - I can't imagine it covers amphibious activities.

    Unkind, perhaps, but I rather like the idea of him watching forlornly from the end of what Burnham's website proudly describes as 'the UK's shortest pier'.

    JH, if "getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant", I like to think of this blog as providing a handy pint mug.

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  5. "The man who drinks cold water pure
    And goes to bed quite sober
    Falls as the early leaves do fall
    So early in October,
    But he who drinks just what he likes
    Until he's half seas over
    Shall live until, until he dies
    And then lie down in clover."

    Before I scrolled down to see the video, I had already put those lyrics to the tune of "Who would true valour see"

    Try it, it works!

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  6. Rightwinggit - so it does!

    I do think that we ought as a nation to revive the tradition of the drinking song; its demise* has been a sad loss to our cultural heritage.

    *Bawling a vaguely-remembered verse or two of 'Don't Stop Me now' or 'Angels' outside Yates's Wine Lodge at 11pm on a Saturday definitely doesn't count.

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