Well my friends! ...Having reached the Tender age of 50. I find myself in a situation I never expected to be in, Fear/Anxiety of the Big Wide world out there.
After so long ...Being a Parent ...Worrying about the Children, Thinking about the Children ... WE (Ann & I) have become so customised in our life that we tend to forget about ourselves, Our needs, Wants and preferences take a back seat. However the sudden realisation that you no longer have to bow to the Needs of your Children (The Youngest is now 17) Means that you suddenly have presented to you ...This Freedom ....You can do what you want! But somewhere at the back of your mind is this Mental block! ...Can we really go ...Can we really trust them? ...Will we return from a day out and find a pile of ashes where our house was .. God forgive me ....I am scared!
However We made the choice ...We were going to go out for the day, (Come what HELL) ...
Well to stop raving like some obsessed Parental Lunatic ...Let me explain. Several weeks ago, We noticed an advert in the Local Newspapers for an up and coming event .... A days racing (Formula3 cars) at the nearby Knockhill racing Circuit.
Now both Ann & I are great fans of Motor racing ...We love Sundays in front of the Television ....Formula 1 ...American Cart ... Nascar ...You name it ...We watch it :)
So when the Opportunity arose ...Did we jump at it ....NO ...certainly we talked about it ...We dreamed ...We thought ...We wished ...BUT ...Sadly as usual we did nothing.
Well!.. that is until I went on-line ...One day and typed in www.Knockhill.com and found their website ....Now perhaps it was the Scottish Blood that courses through my Veins ...Perhaps it was foolishness Who know ...But the Entrance price of £20 per person ...Was reduced to £16 IF you ordered Online!
Mmm! ...I hate using my Credit card ....Even more so giving the Details over the Internet ...However on this occasion ...Madness prevailed ...And we ordered 2 tickets (Christ we are having a Day out)
Our tickets arrived ...Almost the next day ...Yahoooo! ... Now we spent the rest of the week planning our day out (Sunday 19th Oct.). No! not thinking about our day ....Thinking about the Dog ...The Kids ...Planning Their Food Intake (Considerable) the Walking of the Pup (Nature takes its course) Etc.
Having made all these plans ... The Penultimate Day arrived, Now we HAD to consider OURSELVES.
OK! Lets use an American racing Term here ....WE WERE ROOKIES ..New comers to the event ... We didn't have a CLUE what to expect.
So Saturday evening we "Tooled up" for the Forthcoming event :) Loads of food ...Picnic hamper ...Chicken legs, Sandwiches, Flasks of Soup/Tea ...Biscuits ...Pasta Salad ...Even Crisps, YUP We were ready to GO.
Sunday morning arrived ...The days events started at 09.25 and lasted until 17.30 (a Long day). At 08.00 we packed the car and headed off :)
Oh Dear! First thing .... It was raining Cats & Dogs ...Still we were driving some 80 miles to the Race course ...So as always we hoped the Weather front would be breached and the Sun might shine.
Secondly ...As the racecourse was hosting the FIRST Ever F3 event
to be held in Scotland ...They expected a Big Crowd ...So! ..
Totally unexpected to US ... We were stopped by the Police and re-
directed into a Field (Carpark) some 6 miles from the Race course.
OK! So theres was a free Bus service to the Race track ...However
it was plainly obvious that the Picnic Hamper ...Etc. could not be
carried ....ALL our plans were now suddenly in Disarray.
Carrying the Basic necessities we entered the Double-decker Bus,
Leaving our beloved car sitting in the Middle of this field
...Worrying if it would get foot & Mouth :( Still! Excitement mounted as we Arrived at Knockhill Circuit. We
had been there before ...Some 6 years ago when I signed Ann up for
a F3 Driving course ...A Birthday Present ...And a great day
...That we still remember and talk about. However Knockhill with
3,000 people and hundreds of Racing cars ...Was completely
different from what we remembered. Now we had arrived ... The rain from Cumbernauld had turned into
Mist (Scotch Mist) ...We couldn't even see the Opposite side of
the Race track ...Oh Christ ... Was this our day out? However in true Scottish tradition the Mist lifted, and was
replaced by Rain ....Now at least it was Scottish Rain ...It comes
Straight down ...Not Sideways like the rest of the World ...Just
Straight down ...Brilliant! ...Because providing you don't move
and have something over your head ...You stay dry. Suddenly The ROAR of Engines split the AIR ....A quick dash to the
nearest area of the Trackside ..and there they were ....Souped up
Cars speeding down the Track at Breakneck Speed ...Throwing up
Spumes of Spray behind them. The Noise was incredible ...The Screech of Brakes ...The Squeel of
the Tires ...The sound of the Turbo's ... It was something that
You can't imagine ...Not even the Sound of the F1 racing on TV
could prepare you for this! After watching the First Race ...We suddenly found out the TRUE
Meaning of ROOKIES ... You could easily pick out the Regular Racegoers ...They were the
ones with Foldable chairs, and waterproofs ...WE ...The Rookies
were the ones Standing and Soaking ...But we did have Sandwiches,
WE didn't need the Chips/Burgers/Tea that the Host of Vendors were
selling. After 2 hours at the Racetrack ....I would have cheerfully killed
for a Seat of any description ...SO on to the Host of Stalls
selling Equipment ....Past the ones selling Mclaren & Jorden
Baseball caps ...And YES! there was one selling Foldable Stools
....OK! we have seen then in ASDA (The exact same) for £4.99
...This Stall were asking £19.50. Faced with the Choice of collapsing into the MUD or Buying a chair
..It became clear that £20 was a small price to pay for being a
ROOKIE ...So in unScottish Tradition the Wallet was opened :( Armed with 2 Foldable chairs ...Ann & I headed for the Trackside. NOW we were equipped ...Waterproofs/Food/Chairs ...We blended in
with the Regular Racegoer ...We happily sat in the Rain and
watched the Thrills and Spills of the forth coming 10 races
...Including the Incredible Noise of the TVR's and Formula3 Single
seaters. Nothing and nowhere in the World could prepare us for the Sheer
excitement and sound of these high powered vehicles powering
around the Racetrack ...The Smell of Fuel the Sound of Rubber on
Tarmac the Crunch of Carbonfibre meeting Gravel as the Cars spun
off track was something that will stay with us for the rest of our
lives. All to quickly half past Five came round, Back to the Bus, Tramp
through the Wet grass to the Lonely Renault Clio sitting Abandoned
in a Sea of Mud. Fired up the Engine and power out of the Field and back to solid
Ground and the long road Home. NO! ... the house wasn't reduced to Ashes, In fact Everything seemed
Quite Normal! As things would have it ...Ann & I had bought a Bottle of Vodka,
Just to Complete an Amazing Day :) The First third of the Bottle was used up while discussing the
Racing. The Second third was Host to a discussion about how well the Boys
Coped without us. The Final third ....AH! Well ...Then we suddenly realised that we
were no longer a necessity in the Lives of teenagers. As Guiding
Spirits we had become obsolete. They could manage without us! Far from experiencing a New found Freedom ...We experienced the
feeling of being Redundant. Will we return to Knockhill? ...You Bet :) Will we take the Boys ..... AYE RIGHT The final third only lasted a couple of Hours! We are free to do as we want and by GOD we are going to Enjoy
ourselves :)