More A303 goings on .....

On Wednesday, Watch Bustard and wife were out on the A303 at the junction of the B3083 in Winterbourne Stoke, waiting with camera at the ready, for the abnormal loads mentioned in a previous posting but.......they were late - by about 2 hours in fact!    However, no matter, they were entertained whilst waiting on the monster trucks by another mini crisis - all part of "a day in the life of the A303".   As one of three Movie Maker artics complete with hooked on motorhomes hove into site with much blowing of horns, stuttered to a halt right on the slip road to the B3083, It was presumed they had left Worthy Farm after the Glastonbury Festival.   So! W B thinks.....got to get this off the carriageway before the monsters show themselves around the bend at Scotland Lodge!!

The vehicle may have had British plates, but the driver and his side-kicks, didn't have a word of English between them.   Watch Bustard was able to make Guiseppe, Mario and Valentino, understand the need to remove their rather large vehicle from the carriageway tout de suite or in this case.... them being Italian - subito!!   This done, he gets on the mobile and calls Wiltshire's Finest, who arrive within minutes on the way to another 'shout'.  
Watch Bustard then goes into traffic direction mode, guiding traffic into and out of the B3083 with drivers using sat navs taking them through local villages, to avoid queues caused by yet another accident at Stonehenge Bottom (2nd in 2 days - our Wiltshire police stretched again!)
Meanwhile, the Italians are trying to find out what may have gone wrong with their vehicle.....can you spot Guiseppe under the tractor unit....?   when....
to our surprise..... out comes the problem - bits of shattered brake disc too hot to handle!!!   There's much phoning, gesticulation and arm waving, and...."Ello, ello, ello" says the policeman, "you can't go on without brakes, or I will arresterate you!" so, its decided the two other trucks drive on, to rendezvous at Countess Services, leaving Guiseppe waiting to be recovered.   Not wanting to miss his spag bol with his mates, Guiseppe hits on an idea of isolating the front air brake lines!!!   Finding neither clamps or cable ties conveniently lying around, he unearths a piece of fence wire, does the dubious bodge job and off he goes.....only to break down at Longbarrow - about 3km up the road.....right in front of two bike cops!

And now to the point of us being out on the A303 in the first place - to take photos of the abnormal load, which must be getting very close now.......enter Bike Cop to direct the west bound traffic.....first of all to .....stop them ......and secondly...... to ask them politely to remain where they are....the driver of this silver vehicle didn't seem to understand tho' and she was sure the traffic cop was over reacting and that she would get through no problem....... I think she may have had rather a shock when she saw the size of the convoy........

For those of us who think that police escorting comes out of the tax payers budget, it should be noted that: "resources are being provided by volunteer police officers on rest days, paid for by the haulier at no cost to the public."

The job would have been much easier had the A303 been dualled and a by-pass around Winterbourne Stoke in place!

Sign our petition please at: www.sh2.co.uk

Watch Bustard at STAG thanks the Great Bustard breeding program on Salisbury Plain - see more at: www.greatbustard.org