A WHOLE NEW MEANING TO "P.O.E.T.S" DAY
On Friday I collected Little from Up airport at 7.30am, we did some food shopping [ I managed to get three packs of chorizo and some herbs! Wehey!!!!]and raced back to the farm.
In so doing I completely forgot to stop in Kak, and collect little's Intercape coach ticket back to school on Monday evening. The tourist office in Kak issues these. So realising that we were facing a Bank holiday Monday and he was meant to be travelling on Monday night, we flew back into Kak to get the ticket at about 3.00 on Friday afternoon.
I always try to avoid the roads on Friday, as its payday at lunchtime and this brings flocks of people out onto the roads. and I really do mean "ONTO" the roads.
It amazes me quite how rapidly alcohol must be being consumed in order for people to be weaving across the roads and lying semi comatose in the lay-bys so soon after they have been paid. But this is what every Friday afternoon is like here. A whole new meaning to "P.O.E.T.S" day
Upon approaching the junction where one can turn left to Kak or right to Poffadder, there is a large stop sign. The lady in the car in front of me, did stop and I trickled along behind her, following her out onto the road as one can see for about a mile if one looks to the right..No traffic! [not unusual on our roads]
No sooner had I turned left, than a very exuberant policeman jumped out into the road right in front of me. The fact that I managed to avoid running him over, is proof that I was going at the pace of a snail! [they are quite crazed ,the policemen here!]
I was charged R 400 for failing to come to a complete stop at the junction, in spite of my protests that there was nothing coming, also my pointing out that there were several drunken souls weaving across the road to our left, along with an assortment of ramshackle vehicles that were whizzing past us, with number plates hanging off and without indicator or brake lights.
A small buggy passed us with at least 20 people squeezed in the open back and at least 10 more pressed up against the windscreen inside..No, this young man was not to be deterred in getting his ounce of flesh from a cross woman in J6NUT.[ "what does that number plate mean? And where does it come from?] Finally this road side drama ended [much to the sadness of the growing crowd of drunken workers who were lining up haranguing one or the other of us.]
So Little and I headed straight for the Kak police station to pay my fine. A group of drunken workers had just been committed to the cells for fighting in the street, and all was chaos there.
Not topic approprite but I did not use my camera during this experience!
An exceptionally large quiver tree..probably well nourished!
Nevertheless I managed to explain why I was there, this caused great mirth to the coppers behind the desk for some reason. Later I discovered that no-one pays their fines immediately here, and everyone writes some sort of objection to the courts and gets their fine reduced, fines are levied high on the roadside, to take this into account..In my case I could have reduced it to R50, if I had of sent an official complaint..But how was I to know? The policemen were boggle eyed when I handed R400 over the counter. [About £30-35]. And I left still hugely irritated at having to pay for an innocuous offence, when all around me were committing far worse. But I suppose this is not the point!On Friday night we ate at Lake Grappa, and fun was had by all, at my expense..hey ho!`the joys of being an Englishwoman in the desert!
2 comments:
Somehow I can see you seething and simmering during this whole affair of the traffic ticket! Was Little laughing, too? Or did he know he'd be making his own supper if he giggled?
Ancient Reader
He was as cross as I was Gerry..if he had of laughed [which he didnt] we would have done that together..but he was definitly disgruntled.Both had a sense of humour failure.
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