The good Samaritans

This morning I drove over to Richmond Park to go for a run. Although I'd had a coffee and something to eat, and the sun was shining, I was still feeling a bit out of sorts. Last night, I'd watched Question Time for the first time in about 18 months and I'd stopped watching after twenty minutes. This whole Ukip business is thoroughly getting me down, plus there's something really miserable about watching female politicians behaving as pathetically as their male counterparts.

As I drove down Queen's Road, there was a cyclist immediately ahead of me. Since I couldn't overtake him safely and as he was managing a fair clip, I settled in behind him. I saw him approaching a drain that had a pothole next to it and I slowed a little more expecting him to swerve around it. I don't know what it was - maybe his sunglasses prevented him from seeing the hole in the road - but he cycled straight into it. His bike came to a dead stop and he went straight over the handlebars, coming down on his (thankfully helmeted) head.

I stopped the car and jumped out but by the time I got to him, there were already three other people around him and more coming. He was groggy but conscious and although he was in the road, I thought we shouldn't move him but in fact he sat himself up and slid across to the pavement. Someone was already ringing an ambulance while the other people checked how he was.

This seemed like a good time to move my car as the traffic had rapidly backed up and, as there was nowhere to park up, I headed into the park. Suddenly, I found I was feeling very cheerful. Obviously it wasn't because I'd seen someone have an accident - and I wouldn't have been happy if he'd been injured - but it had been really heartwarming to see everyone rushing to the cyclist's aid. It was a good reminder that most of us aren't like the politicians who like to tell us who we are and what we think.

Thus, I had a lovely run around the park in the sunshine!