Traveled up to Kent to spend a couple of days in London and the surrounding countryside. Once again stuck in a traffic jam – this time on the M25 – the London Orbital Motorway which is regularly more akin to a car park. Friday evening was no exception, and this time I managed to out do my personal best record of 4Hrs 30 mins (achieved on the M6 a few weeks back when traveling to the studio in Scotland) by adding another 2 Hrs 15 mins to that time…

Listening to traffic reports, it transpired that a serious accident had occurred up ahead involving both sides of the carriageway… I sat in the car and waited like everyone else, hoping that no one had been badly injured. Six plus hours later (11.30pm), as I drove past the crash scene, it was apparent that this was indeed a very serious accident. Wreckage was strewn all over the carriageway and there didn’t look like there was much left of a couple of the cars. Strangely it’s the little things you notice at a glance…the belongings piled up at the side of the road – the contents of a car which evidently had children in it – evidence of a family summer holiday. ..I felt a little sick to my stomach at the thought of what may have happened to anyone in these vehicles.

As I drove on, it brought back memories of a serious car crash I’d had a few years back when I’d inadvertently decided to see if my car could ‘fly’ at Hammersmith in London…A truck had decided to pull across the carriageway to find a gap in the central reservation in order to u turn, except that he decided to do it just as I was approaching down the outside lane. He came out of nowhere and although I tried to brake, I knew that I wasn’t going to make it in time. Almost at the very same moment that whole surreal slow motion thing kicked in. It was really strange and I can still remember it now. Some people say that it’s because the brain is working on overdrive to assess the situation and find a solution to the imminent danger…I’m not so sure… but it is very strange, as anyone who’s experienced it will tell you. A few years later whilst working in the studio with Gary Numan, he told me that the same thing had happened to him when he had crashed whilst flying his own light aircraft. He said that he could remember, perfectly clearly, individual blades of grass go by as the plane skidded to a halt in a field.

In my case I can remember the face of a young child, sitting in her baby seat in the car next to me, smiling at me as I took my foot off the brake, realizing that it was useless to attempt to stop, as collision was imminent and any attempt to slow at that point was only going to involve the car next to me, as my brakes were locking up.

In those fleeting milliseconds I somehow managed to asses, with complete calm and clarity, that If I hit the truck head on I’d be killed outright…the only option, as there was no passenger in the seat next to me, was to turn the steering wheel at the final moment and allow the side of the car to take the brunt of the impact, perhaps then, there would be a chance. All of these thoughts must have happened in a split second and yet strangely, it felt like all the time in the world due to the dreamy slow motion event happening around me…

What I hadn’t factored in however, was that my action of turning the steering wheel was to have the effect of flipping my car into the air and turning it over to the other side of the road. Oddly at the point of impact the whole slow motion thing for me stopped, and everything became faster than ever…the horrendous noise of metal crunching all around me, the car feeling like it was never going to come to a standstill… and me, completely disoriented, wondering if the next second would be my last. I remember screaming No! the whole way through it, until It came to an abrupt halt as my head smashed against the windscreen… everything then went black for a few moments.

It took a long time after my accident before I could bring myself to get in a car, let alone drive one. My father kept on at me that the best thing was to get right back to it, as to leave it too long would only make matters worse. The thing that haunted me the most though, in the weeks following the accident, wasn’t the thought of the crash itself, but the noise of the metal twisting and crushing all around me… I kept hearing it all the time.
It’s strange to think we get in a car and feel safe, protected and somehow immortal in this strong metal box and yet if you’ve had a bad crash you’ll know just how fragile that ‘strong box’ actually is…it’s terrifying.

…The next day news reports suggested that a couple of people had been badly injured in the crash the evening before, but thankfully, no mention of any fatalities.

Sat 6th Aug

In London…a beautiful sunny day and the streets are buzzing with tourists. Little did anyone know what chaos was about to reign down on the Capital a few hours later, as the first of many riots was gearing up to take place.

Ended up at Canary Wharf (pictured) for something to eat before returning to my car which I’d parked at nearby Docklands. Canary Wharf is one of two main financial districts, along with the traditional City of London, and is home to some of the tallest buildings in the U.K. Usually busy with people in pin striped suits during the week, it takes on an altogether more breezy feel at the weekend – the many bars and restaurants gently buzzing with the delicate chatter of conversation.

Sunday 7th Aug

Traveled home, not a traffic jam in sight…

Julienne