shining light

Shep had a run in with the police tonight. Seems a long time since I've had a crack with a policeman, took a few seconds for it to sink in as to who it was that was shining their flash light into my car........obviously it was dark at the time!

I'd travelled over to Rothbury in the Coquet (a good half hour from here in a north easterly sort of direction). Anyhow, there's one of those wonderful things called a fish and chip shop which meant Shep didn't have to come home and burn something for dinner.

I pulled up outside with mouth watering and belly grumbling and commenced rummaging about to see if there was any money available when a flashlight lit up the windscreen followed by mutterings about not having a tax disc on display.

As already said it slowly dawned on me that this was a police officer and I may add a very pleasant one. A car check must obviously have already been done as he seemed to have a vague idea as to where I belonged and wasn't surprised to hear I was whom I said I was.

A rear light off apparently, and rightly so, on closer inspection there was no doubt what so ever, I did indeed have no drivers side back light - oops! unfortunately I'm not often behind my car when the lights are on. It was very kind of the officer to draw it to my attention and bode me on my way after watching me hunting for my roll of red insulating tape (used for draft ewes horns), so that I could tape my tax disc onto the windscreen which had inadvertently fallen off the windscreen and found itself lying in the passenger foot well with all the chocolate wrappers, baler twine, calving ropes?, dog leads, shears, mouldy things I'd sooner forget about etc that any self respecting car would have in its foot well!

As I was making the journey home, with fish and chips steaming beside me for company I mused over the unexpected meeting, my luck at meeting an affable bobby. No need to produce my documents at a police station within seven days as used to happen in my youth, no threatening tickets to be signed by a garage to prove the work had been done, just a polite warning, or ought I say, drawing to my attention, of the fault on my vehicle.

Wonder what might have happened in daylight? The syringes and needles on the dashboard for starters, lying alongside a skewer for the wool bags (a long dangerous looking stabbing type of device), then there are the four pairs of hand shears in the door well........ the heavy stone hammer lying in the back, alongside a spade and pick...umm, the two dogs (one which can smile in a menacing fashion)................. what else have I got lying around in this vehicle of mine? Do y'know, I actually dread to think, I could be had up for all manner of things. Then there's the question of the pocket knife I always carry, I do believe that's illegal nowadays.

I concluded that this is a rural area and obviously the police officer would fully understand, however, I will, eventually, get around to having a mucking out session - that's a good idea! See if I can find the floor in my vehicle and who knows, I might unearth something I'd forgotten I had. I'll put that on my list of to do's......