looking upriver towards london 

oh so tired

having tumbled out of a deep sleep at four & pedalled like hell to get to work, i was just driving gently down to a roundabout on the outskirts of london with a relaxed smile on my face when the engine stopped

it hadn't groaned or whined or clunked, it just wasn't there all of a sudden, and neither was the power steering, so the adrenalin rushed up as i used the last bit of momentum to wrestle the long van through the roundabout and into a nice comfy sit & wait forever position

of course the real stress was on my manager rod, who had to sort out a rescue and has been trying to rent another chiller van, almost impossible at the height of the summer season when the outdoor catering business is so busy

and there was stress for quentin, the driver who brought another van out as quickly as possible during the rush hour before the temperature of the goods on board mine had risen noticeably

but then i had to move a ton of boxes from one van to the other double quick, so i'm knackered

on the way back, about eight hours into the shift, i was so tired that it seemed safer to stop and rest for a while, so i turned off to visit the thames barrage and tried to imagine what the river must have looked like when it was full of wooden boats under sail

check above to see what it looks like now