as a general rule, it would be fairest and (hopefully) true to say that i do all that i can to veer or steer well away from any matter which is trouble, or likely to cause some silly bother. unfortunately, it is so that, look you see, one ends up in such anyway. often when care is perhaps not taken as much as it might have been to avoid such.
which is how i came to be - briefly - detained and questioned by no less a body that the respected RAF. and i would up front like to stress that this was all an unfortunate misunderstanding.
so, i was merrily motoring along, like, as i do, for verk. they give me an address, i go to that address. quite simple. yes, as i drove to a certain, particular address, i did indeed note signs warning me of an RAF base. i took it as this meant that there would be a turn off for it somewhere up ahead, and it would not be where i was going. for, surely, no one would send me to a highly restricted area with absolutely no warning of such.
oh. that is a thought i have had frequently about things, and have shared such with some select people as i have made my way through life. there are people, some with whom i correspond with to this day and others who i may well not have spoken to (so far) this century), that may well associate me with such a phrase. not that i have it trade marked or anything.
in this instance, the "oh" was muttered as i found myself parked in front of some hefty barriers, staffed by some hefty military types, as well as select members of our constabulary. they asked for the details of my appointment to be there, and my clearance certificate, as it seemed they were not expecting me. no, i said, no prior clearance (although generally prior would be a given for anyone cleared) and no formal appointment as such. my intention was to wax lyrical about how, for verk, i generally have a free hand to manage where i am and when. unfortunately, chance did not permit me to do so, as i was instructed to go, accompanied, to an office.
how much of what i can tell you of that office is uncertain. there is probably some sort of official secrets act thing that i have agreed to, in a tacit way. but, in short, it wasn't at all intrusive. they just did one of them full body scans of me, checked my temperature (presumably for plague), and requested minor details such as my driving licence and other, full and complete details of me and my life. as well as asking what the f*** i thought i was playing at, being there unannounced.
the latter was asked of a uniformed gentleman who seemed quite cross. indeed, if one sought the personification of what quite cross means, it would be him. he was quite gruff and short with me, perhaps understandably so for he had a suspected intruder on his hands, but what caused me to raise an eyebrow was when he elected to deal with a ringing telephone by picking up said telephone and ripping the cord out of it. i am unsure if he was having a bad day in general, if i had made it a bad day, or this was his natural way of doing things.
eventually, i left. well, i was told (in no uncertain terms and with no margin for doubt) to leave. also, i was encouraged to never, ever return, or "else". but, i took some selfies anyway, especially as, at the start as you can see, when i was ringing in to verk and explaining that there might be one very minor and quite unforeseen issue with this particular task.
yes, much like with traffic cones and trolleys, as far as i am concerned much of the RAF is technically "mine", as it is so for other fellow citizens, for we have funded it with taxes. but, well, i was not inclined to argue, or even raise, this point. they could, after all, have put one of them planes in the sky, fired one of them heat seeking missiles at me and claimed i was a "legitimate strategic target".
do i have any interest at all in trying to repeat the above, but next time with a naval base? if the opportunity arises, and i am still prone to putting far too much faith in the clarity of instructions received and my sat nav, then maybe.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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