You take the high road and I’ll take the A90 - Fiona Duff

So I am sitting in a cafe just off the A90 on my way back from Aberdeen.

Peggy Scotts Cafe on the A90 near Brechin

I actually spent several years there as a student, although much to my parents’ disappointment I didn’t leave as a graduate. Then again that’s another story altogether.

I was staying with a friend and it’s always great to see her as we can chat and gossip until the wee small hours. Mind you we didn’t manage that yesterday as I had driven up in the afternoon and was fair cream crackered, as they say in EastEnders. Driving back today means I’ll be double cream crackered this evening.

I never used to mind driving long distances. When I lived in London I would regularly whizz up the M1, or M40 depending on my mood, in my wee Renault 5 in a oner with perhaps only two stops for what they say in polite circles is a “comfort break”. Well, I don’t move in very polite circles so suffice to say I would need to pee a couple of times during the journey. In fact I got to know the best and worse service stations quite quickly. However, I can’t give you any recommendations as it’s been a long time since I did that journey.

These days I find myself falling asleep or my eyes going fuzzy after about an hour. I realise then that I need to stop for a cup of coffee and perhaps even a cheese toastie just to keep going. I also find a bar of chocolate helps the time go by more quickly. Sometimes even a second one finds it’s way into the glove compartment.

Anyway, I now realise that driving long distances may be a thing of the past. Have you seen the price of petrol? Absolutely criminal if you ask me; although I may not say so if I owned shares in BP or Shell.

So I’ll just finish the huge mug of coffee I was served and due to the size will have to take in another comfort break before I get behind the wheel.