Road trips aren’t what they used to be at today’s prices

A few years ago some of my friends decided to move to England. They weren’t Scottish in the first place, although they had brought up their children in Edinburgh.

The excuses were elderly parents and young grandchildren, all of whom lived, obviously, south of the border. It wasn’t like they were running away. Anyway, one who lives in the Midlands thought it would be a good idea to visit one who lives in Dorset. So we put some dates in the diary which seemed to suit all and in the meantime I thought it would also be an opportunity to catch up with others who live on the way or nearby.

Well, I managed to put off arranging very much. To be honest I wasn’t even sure that there would be enough petrol to go round for this trip.

Luckily I only have a little car and not a gas-guzzler, and so a full tank of petrol does get me a long way. Mind you it does cost a bit more than a few months ago. So, as the date draws near I have finally got around to getting in touch with people. In days gone by, when I was organised and had more than half a brain, this would have taken about 20 minutes.

However, it now seems to be going on forever – mind you when you call people that you don’t see often it is never a quick conversation.

They want to know the chat from the Capital (none in my case), catch up with what all the kids are up to and we all talk about various aches and pains. There was a time when I thought that road trips would be a great way to spend our time. I thought of getting a mobile home so I didn’t need a bed when I visited, just the occasional cup of tea.

These days in the summer you don’t get very far without coming across such a vehicle and Lord knows what the North Coast 500 is like in mid-July.

Especially when they come across a pile of lycra-clad cyclists sweating their way up a hill. So that is now definitely off the bucket list. All I need to do now is get the car washed and vacuum the inside as there is usually a muddy dog beside me.

I wonder how long it will take me to get around to doing that?