Feeling safe

Friday 6th Mar 2026

‘Beep, beep.’ I was hurrying along to visit a friend in hospital when I heard this noise from a car behind me. Then ‘Honk, honk,’ it went even louder this time. I had only just left my car in the car park when heard the noise. It sounded impatient but I cannot walk any faster. ‘Honk, honk, honk,’ it blared.’ How dare they? The park is for walkers as well as cars. I was getting annoyed as the engine revved and the impertinent car edged along. She slid her window down. Here it comes, I thought, she will be shouting at me and telling me to get out of the way.

“You have dropped your scarf,” she yelled against the noise of the driving rain and interminable traffic. I turned around and saw my beautiful scarf flapping along in the puddles powered by high winds.

I did not have time to thank her before she sped off away from the crowded park. This was my warm, woollen scarf which I bought on impulse when I ordered my last jumper (the colour was appropriately called ‘Wreckage’!) in the on-line sales. It is a beautiful colour with different greens interwoven with highlights of red. I turned to retrieve it but before I had the chance to do even one step another monster car was coming and my poor scarf was flapping helplessly in the line of its muddy wheels. But he saw it and steered expertly, so my scarf went under the car but not under the wheels. I waved and we grinned to each other. My scarf is safe at last.

You do not always feel safe when car lights are dazzling at night. I expect you have noticed that the new ones seem even brighter than ever. I have read that some people are giving up driving because although their eyesight meets the required standard the new headlights are dazzling them.

Soon new cars will have to have headlight levelling. I remember when I was a little girl, I was the one in our family with good eyesight. Dad was the driver and disliked driving in the dark. I helped him read the wooden finger posts in the gloom. We often had to guess the direction. He hated the car headlights and told us not to stare at them but to look away at the road or the verge. How I long for those friendly yellowy lights now, but of course they would not show the way as well as the modern ones today.

We have just put up a blue tit box with the entrance pointing away from the sunlight. The blue tits would not come if they were being dazzled.