[/caption]Friday 16th May 2008 was supposed to be a great day, a day Anne had been looking forward to for several weeks, her first holiday with her boys since the family unit had broken up and they had gone their separate ways.
We headed off that morning with a car full of music, dachshunds and food bound for Woolacombe, somewhere we had grown to love over the last 4 years. But this time we would be joined by her 3 sons and 2 girlfriends, a chance to bring the boys back together like they always used to be. We stopped off at Chieveley services on the way where Anne opted for a pastie and a can of diet coke, I wanted to get good, local, Devon food into my system so was having none of that nonsense, a strong black coffee would suffice.
We arrived at The Quest just after 1pm, sorted out the dogs, unpacked the car and made ourselves at home. For Anne that involved placing the books and magazines she intended to read next to her favourite spots indoors with the best sea views. That done we had a mission in town, suss out who was doing surfing lessons (for us and the boys), which pubs would be showing the play-offs and Champions League Final and grab a bite to eat and some finest cider.
Mission accomplished, we headed back to the cottage in good time for 6pm which was the start of the Tesco food delivery slot, there were mouths to feed and Anne was always a great planner. So we pottered around, Anne got text updates from the boys who were just heading off from Essex and I decided it was time to see about that bike. Just before I started Anne said to me "Burns, if I don't retire here there will be trouble!"
A few days before I had picked up a new folding bicycle bought under the government's Ride To Work scheme. Anne had laughed at me but I thought Woolacombe would be the ideal place to try it out, using it instead of the car for short trips. She reckoned it was far too hilly there and I would soon give up on the idea but then I'm a Bristol boy and a few hills are all part of the fun. So I got out the manual and put the bike together as Anne looked on, intrigued. After a few minutes it was ready so I tucked my trouser leg into my sock, got on the bike and cycled up the road for 50 yards or so, turned round and cycled back to the house and up the drive. Never one to be outdone Anne asked me to adjust the saddle for her, got on the bike and headed up the same way as I had done and like me she didn't think to put on a helmet for such a short ride.
I stood at the end of the drive, then in the middle of the quiet road watching as she cycled at a leisurely pace up the gentle hill, looking forward to her big grin and witty comment on her return. Then suddenly she was down. I waited for a few seconds all the while expecting her to get up, dust off her knee and get back on again but she remained down. I walked then ran up the road to where she was, but she wasn't cursing the bike, she was on her back some feet away from the bike with her head on the road making a really deep snoring noise. She wasn't conscious as I bent down to talk to her, she wouldn't respond in any way whatsoever. Then suddenly Dolly the dachshund appeared, she had escaped from the garden. I swept her up, to take her back and get my phone and call for help but immediately saw a couple reversing down their drive, I ran over and asked them to call an ambulance, locked up Dolly and the other dogs then returned to Anne. I was concerned she had knocked herself out and might swallow her tongue so I put my fingers in her mouth and cleaned the grit from her face waiting for help to arrive then noticed a trickle of blood on the road coming from the back of her head.
Within minutes the Woolacombe Fire Brigade arrived in a full-sized tender and took over allowing me to kneel beside her not knowing how she fell and thinking she was going to have a very sore head when she woke up and might not be very good for the first couple of days of the holiday. They put her in the recovery position and looked at her pupils while being instructed over the phone. Then it began to rain and they got a tarpaulin and asked some bystanders to hold it over us. This wasn't real.
A few minutes later an ambulance arrived and all manner of measurements were taken, eyes observed again and details of Anne were asked of me. It was clear this wasn't just a simple matter of being knocked unconscious, she would have to go to Barnstable in the ambulance and in view of her condition they would put her on a board just in case there were spinal injuries. This took a very long time, some 10-15 minutes involving 4 firemen and the 2 paramedics. They asked me if I had transport and could drive to Barnstaple but I had enjoyed a couple of pints earlier in town so they said I could travel with them to A&E just this once. Eventually Anne was moved into the ambulance, I went back to the house taking the bicycle, put the dogs in the conservatory so they couldn't mess on the carpet, locked the doors, grabbed some cigarettes and ran back to the ambulance. Somebody gave me Anne's broken glasses and some jewellery that had come off and the firemen gave me the ring they had cut off in a clear plastic bag. But it would all be OK, really bad things don't happen to Anne and me, not us.
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Oh ! Ali ! !
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