Thursday, August 14, 2008

A Stanage Pole Story (or Jags in the Mist)

I hope Jon Fyne doesn't mind me posting his rather amusing little story, over to you Jon with the lost land of the Jaguar........

Just before I went on my hols a week last friday, I was cycling towards Stanage Pole (en route to Hathersage) by the side of the wood above Redmires. At the top of the (now) smoothbyway (by the gate that leads to the rough track up to the pole), I noticed an AA van and a police car. As I approached, I was stopped by one of the boys in blue (actually flourescent yellow) who wanted to know if I has seen "a grey jag" anywhere on my travels. Replying in the negative, I asked what the problem was. I was told that the driver had "got stuck" somewhere in the vicinity and had called the AA, but was nowhere to be seen. Suspecting what the driver had tried to do (probably with the help of a sat-nav), I suggested that they should check the other side of the pole. Would do, he said, but as the track was evidently too rough for either of their vehicles,he said he would walk over.I would mention this to the driver if I saw him, I said, as I cycled off on my merry way.

Sure enough, as I approached the really rough part of the causeway (the so-called'bear pit' - which even necessitates a dismount for all but the most technical of MTBs) on the descent, the way ahead was blocked by a large grey jag. I sauntered up to the top-of-the-range jag (replete with buff leather seats) with, it has to be admitted, a decided sense of schadenfreude, with the intention of telling the driver that the old bill were looking for him, to be greeted by an empty vehicle (the driver, realising finally that his trusty steed wasn't as capable as he had originally thought, or been led to believe, had ignominiously abandoned it). I would have liked to have stayed around to see the exchange between the driver and the AA chap / copper concerning recovery of the vehicle, which would be nigh impossible by conventional means, but I contented myself with the thought that there isn't a positive correlation between wealth and IQ / commonsense

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