Where were you half an hour ago?

...and are you carrying matches?

I've had a lazy day just pottering around, doing the odd job and very little else. I  sent a text to Jude about quarter to six to see if she was home from work. My phone was on silent and so I missed the call when she rang me back. I listened to voicemail and the message asked if I would like to go round for tea and she'd be home about six thirty. Well, that sounded great so I got ready and walked round.

I hadn't taken a photo all day, but I decided to only take my phone with me. I had just turned onto Jude's road when a huge plume of black smoke bellowed up into the sky. "Bugger," I thought, the day I don't carry my camera with me and there is a fire. I was half way between home and Jude's and whatever had happened was somewhere just beyond her house...should I go home for my camera? Would I miss the best pic?

I didn't want to miss anything. I walked faster...on my painful leg...I passed Jude's house and went to see what was occurring. I heard a siren.

There was a fire engine parked at the side of the East Lancs, the firemen had already put out a blaze on the loop line path. There were a few pallets and the firemen said there was quite a bit of tar, which would account for all the black smoke. I'd missed the fire, so I took a sneaky pic of the firemen cleaning up. One came over and kept a straight face as he asked where I was half an hour ago. He then laughed as I made a hasty exit. lol

I knocked on Jude's door...no answer. I gave her a call, she was still in town...and the message I had listened to was an old one...doh! I walked home to make my own tea.