I am used to travelling. As my regular readers will be aware one of the Edwards traits is timekeeping: lateness is totally anathema. If I am using any form of public transport I check and re-check my times and I always leave time for eventualities such as hold-ups on the road if I’m going for a ferry.
When I’m going for the morning ferry from Stornoway I just use the setting on my alarm clock and iPhone. It’s the only time I ever use an alarm to wake up. This morning I was vaguely puzzled after I’d had my shower by the amount of time I seemed to have to get all the other things done before I set off. I eventually set off good and early for the closing time for the ferry (which is 45 minutes before departure). I arrived, as I thought, 20 minutes early. In fact I was 10 minutes late. I’d got the ferry time wrong.
Fortunately the ferry wasn’t full and there were no weight-listed vehicles so I got on….just.
I am still recovering from the trauma. Missing the ferry would have been an irritation though not a disaster: there is another this afternoon. However the personal mental shame would have been just a bit too much.
The strange thing is that if I miss a flight connection or am late through no fault of my own then it doesn’t worry me in the slightest. What I can’t control is not a problem for me.
So far as I can recall this is the first time in 40 years of ferry travel that I’ve done this. It’s also the first time I’ve been 71. I’m beginning to draw conclusions I do not like.
(Written yesterday on the ferry).
Graham, blame CalMac. They are forever changing schedules, cancelling sailings and failing to get new bridge spans built on time.
ReplyDeleteIt's not you it's them and if you managed a bacon buttie you were on the morning voyage.
They are Adrian. But that's all the more reason why I should have checked more carefully. The bacon roll is mandatory on the morning ferry (even when I was a non-meat-eater bacon butties didn't count!)
DeleteHopefully not a slippery slope, just a brain fart....
ReplyDeleteFiona. I think it was just a brain fart. I hope I don't have too many of them.
DeleteAs someone who likes to be on time, or early and as such prepares for travel allowing for any uncertainties, living with someone who is often always late, or in a rush has been a huge shall we say 'learning' experience for me....I now never give a correct time we have to be somewhere, I always say that we have to be wherever much earlier than we really do to try and counteract this.
ReplyDeleteSo I can fully understand how you must have felt....I love what Fiona calls it....just a brain fart - will have to remember this!
It would seem, Serenata, that we gravitate towards like-minded people without even knowing it. The odd thing is how many have partners who do not share our particular trait.
DeleteHa Ha! You didn't tell me that yesterday. You really gave me a laugh this morning. I never thought I would see the day when an Edwards would be late. Ha ha join the rest of us!! Have a good trip in all respects my friend.
ReplyDeleteNo Spesh, I sort of forgot to tell you! I knew you'd find out eventually and get some amusement at my expense.
DeleteDon't beat yourself up! 71 is pretty cool! I know! Now as for being on time and leaving lots of lea way. That's me. When the Micro Manager makes me late , the smoke comes out of my ears!
ReplyDeleteRed 71 is a Good Age, I agree. I remember you writing about your love of timekeeping.
DeleteOh, we have all done this at least once, Mr. Edwards. But I know how you feel. I like to be on time, also. But the Big Bear.....well, that is another story. He not only wants to be on time but very, very early. Then we get to where the transport is (plane, bus, train, boat) and we sit and wait and wait and wait..... And, he wonders how I am able to read so many books!
ReplyDeleteOh Mrs Thyme that's taking it a bit far. I'm nowhere near that bad.
DeleteGraham, I too have a thing about being late, especially if it involves keeping people waiting. I was meeting a friend for lunch recently, and she was searching the streets for me because I was five minutes late (I'm always early). And I'm not an organised person.
ReplyDeleteYes Frances keeping people waiting is really bad manners. I had a partner whose sister could be several hours late for a dinner party. She was never invited again after the first occasion. The concept of insult was beyond her comprehension to the same extent that her rudeness affronted me.
DeleteAs I see it, your policy of being early paid off this time. If you had been a "last minute" person and made the same mistake about the time, then you would have missed it! I hope the rest of your journey went well. :)
ReplyDeleteMonica you're absolutely right.
DeleteRight now, it was a 'first' ~ a 'one-off'. To worry about it being anything more at this stage is self-defeating. Just have a good laugh at yourself GB and celebrate being human like the rest of us. And perhaps a strategy might be to just diarise it in your phone, so you have a record over time for your doctor when you really need to worry.
ReplyDeleteCarol in reality I was a bit taken aback with the fact that it could happen but by writing this post I knew that those who really know me would have a good smile at my expense. It's well and truly logged now!
DeleteI would rather be too early than late- I haven't counted times either way. But I definitely cannot tolerate being late! Since I have 4 years on you, don't count this as one of those things for this decade. The big change I've noticed is how long it takes me to recover from a really busy day.
ReplyDeleteNorma you have always struck me as a person who would want to be on time so your comment came as no surprise.
DeleteNow don't go overboard drawing conclusions. Like you, I prefer to be a bit early rather than in the nick of time or worse yet, late. Glad you caught the ferry.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terra I'll try not too.
DeleteSo what do we have here...the ramblings of an older man who is finding it hard to admit that age does all kinds of funny things to you.
ReplyDeleteAs you know I just celebrated another birthday...talk about my body and mind not cooperating like before....maybe we should both write a book, "What's This Thing they call Aging Gracefully?"
I glad you were still able to catch the ferry.
Virginia that's an idea. Mind you with our lives it might take quite a long time.
DeleteDon't worry, GB. Like a fine wine, you're not getting older, you're getting better! Love you, DeeDee xoxox
ReplyDeleteDeeDee. You are such a sweetie. Thank you.
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