Ever Had A Bad Day?

Photos Copyright: Maggie May

Ever had a bad day from beginning to end?

I woke up with excruciating sciatica. Well, that is an understatement because I've been battling with it for weeks but this particular day I felt I just wanted to sit and cry with the pain. It is a problem that keeps recurring and has done since I was in my late forties.

Harry is just starting chemo 3 and isn't very well right now, though he has been doing fine since the strength of the treatment was reduced last time.

The area I chose to do my shopping in that day seemed to have a great problem. I realised that the roads were blocked off and buses had ground to a halt. Passengers had to get off and walk and eventually the vehicles had to go a different way through some really tricky side roads and narrow streets full of parked cars.

There was a terrible smell of acrid smoke and fire engines all over this (usually) very busy road. Pedestrians were eventually stopped and I turned into a little lane, up a hill and suddenly saw the shop....... or rather what was left of it. People witnessing everything, told me there had been several explosions, as the shop had been a nail bar and had chemicals stored there. Luckily no one got hurt but the flat above was gutted as well as the shop.

I felt a bit of an unsavoury character taking photos but lots of other people were doing so too. I do carry my camera at all times and am always ready to snap unusual things but of course this was tragic for the people involved, losing property and possessions. However, when it comes down to it, no lives were lost and it could have been so much worse.

Some hours later, I went back a second time and the fire engines were still there but this time pedestrians were allowed to walk to the other side of the road. Still there were no other vehicles allowed....... only Police and fire engines and crew. There was a car next to the nail bar that had partly melted with the heat.

When I eventually got home....... a phone call that I answered made things so much worse. My friend, who had been in hospital for several weeks had died that morning. She wasn't expected to die as she'd got over the worst. She'd even talked about coming home in a few weeks last time I phoned her. I'm so glad that I did phone her when I did a few weeks ago, little realising it would be the last time I would ever hear her voice.