A Rescue Operation

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This morning turned out to be rather longer than planned and required a little more energy than anticipated to be expended. We began with a trip to New Milton for shopping, including a new watch strap for me. We then returned home to collect two large bags of garden refuse for the dump.

It was to be quite fortuitous that we had the bags on board when we set off into the forest from the Efford Recycling Centre.

Lymington River with egret 1Lymington River with egret 2Lymington River with egret 3

Egrets were fishing on Lymington River,

Boats

where the usual boats were moored.

Hoarding mural 1Hoarding mural 3Hoarding mural 4Hoarding mural 5Hoarding mural 2

A long hoarding has been in situ around Threeways in Pilley for quite a number of years has at some time served as an art gallery. Paintings by a variety of artists remain in situ.

Pony 1Ponies 1Ponies 2

Ponies, in return for the freedom of the village, keep the grass in front of the houses cropped short.

Pony 2

There were many ponies in evidence at the road junction at St Leonard’s Road, East End. We weren’t going to get past them, so just watched this grey

Pony 3

leave its post on the centre line, turn,

Ponies 3

Ponies 4Ponies 5

and, passing a companion at the swampy corner, cross

Ponies 6

the road towards East Boldre, leaving another chestnut to take over traffic control duties.

Pony's legs

The pony standing in the pool

Pony eating and drinking

liked a drink with its grass, which took its mind of the fly on its nose.

Pony 4

Another grey advanced on me, no doubt seeking goodies, in which it was to be disappointed.

Ponies 7

Travelling on, we hadn’t covered many metres of St Leonard’s Road before our road was blocked again.

Pheasant cock

Pheasants, both male

Pheasant hen 2

and female, skittered backwards and forwards into the hedgerows,

Pheasants on road

except on Tanner’s Lane, where they gathered in a bouquet.

Tanner's Lane beach

Sunlight sparkled on the water between the mainland and

Isle of Wight and Needles from Tanner's Lane

the Isle of Wight.

Car on shingle 1

Hello. What was this on the shingle beach?

It was Emma’s car, a Twingo.

Watched by her mother, Paula, and two other young ladies attempting to offer advice, guidance, and assistance, the driver had, with her mother and dog, set out for a walk which had to be abandoned. It became immediately necessary to free the vehicle. But how?

The car’s wheels just span on the loose pebbles as Emma vainly tried to climb over them. I helped guide her onto a firmer section, but this involved first having to reverse further down towards the waterline, turning, driving at an angle to the foreground of this picture, then reversing as close to the corner post as possible. Despite her fears, the young lady kept her cool, and almost made it. Several times.

Car stuck on shingle 2

It was then that I remembered the orange bags. By this time Jackie had joined us, so she fetched them. We placed them on gravel behind the wheels. It was still difficult. We then roped Jackie’s hessian supermarket bags into service so we had all four wheels covered.

Car stuck on shingle and dog

Still no joy, until we were joined by another gentleman with rather more knowledge, especially about being very very gentle on the accelerator. Emma turned left at the point in the picture above, and reversed slowly towards the corner. With all hands on the bonnet; backs, thighs and knees straining, we tried again. We had lift off. Emma just avoided reversing into a hedge. We all gave each other hearty hugs, and Jackie and I drove home for a late lunch.

This evening we dined on Hordle Chinese Take Away fare. And very good it was too. Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the malbec.

 

 

 

74 comments

  3. We have had unhappy experiences of needing to get cars back on the road from skiddy stuff. Not easy! Especially not when in the wilder parts of wildest Africa.

    Reply

  6. A wonderful rescue effort, Derrick! I had been wondering if you rescued a pony. I loved the photos of them–and chuckled at the traffic control duties. The shots of the pheasants were also wonderful–it was kind of the male and female to pose for you. I enjoyed seeing the artwork on the abandoned site, too.

    Reply

  10. If I was a pony over there I would only walk in the middle of the road 🙂 Good Isle of Wight 🙂 In 2005 I took a party of 11 bush regenerators to Fraser Island to combat the weeds for two weeks. We had an experienced driver with us and a 4WD but we saw plenty of detained vehicles along the way. Fraser is a sand island. No we never stop; that would be silly.

    Reply

  17. Great rescue story! I always keep sacks in my car from mid autumn until mid spring to get myself out of difficulty in mud and ice. I like your wandering ponies and the skittering pheasants.

    Reply

  20. The artistry on the wall looks cool, I guess the artists were rather young in age. That was a good rescue operation. I know how hapless a vehicle looks with the wheels spinning into nothingness. Twenty years ago, when I was doing a mandatory assignment in a desert clad state, we used to load our jeep with wooden planks, chains and rucksacks. Even so, we failed to resurrect our jeep once, it kept sinking lower and lower in the sand, wheels flailing, engines wailing. We were offered an exit on camels after the sundown. The jeep could be extracted only the next day but I wasn’t there to witness the drill. That was the first time I rode a camel. It was an unforgettable journey back!

    Reply

  22. An eventful day, dominated by a shingle event. Excellent shots – beautiful – and nice to spot the Needles in the distance, having been there recently on an ABAB mission. I had no idea that the collective noun for pheasants was ‘a bouquet’ – whell, I niver did!

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  25. Well, it begs the question- what on earth was Emma doing, driving onto a shingle beach in the first place? Is this a designated parking area or was she trying to avoid walking too far with her dog? She was very lucky that you and Jackie turned up.

    Reply

  28. I love the pictures of the animals as I’ve said many a time, however I’ve noticed a growing propensity on your part to photograph the arse end of these magnificent animals, or have I been sleeping?
    Having been a professional driver for more years than I care to remember, I’m wont comment on Ema’s little escapade; says he head still shaking in disbelief……………….

    Reply

  32. Lovely how you both came to the rescue of a stranger in need! Please leave your contact info in the comments section, so you can be summoned should a stuck vehicle require your assistance. 😁 🛣 🚗

    Reply
  33. Pingback: Emma Would Have Been Under Water | derrickjknight

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