A Trip Into the Past

I had to make one of those rare trips into 'town' today, 'town' being Bristol. With Peak Oil Indicators and Climate Change Manifestations all around us now, it was perhaps more an exercise in nostalgia than anything else. The city didn't really begin until the last few miles. The southern approaches to Bristol are actually quite attractive, especially through Pensford, one of those fairly quaint places that are enhanced by the work of man - in this case by the impressive viaduct (closed 1968 due to the floods, reopening about 2020?) and along past Dundry. Suddenly the town starts to close in and all those impediments to sanity start appearing - traffic lights, chain stores, bus lanes etc. I felt like a duck out of water. Needless to say my reason for going made it all worthwhile (thanks Trin!) but I always get that resonance that all around is on borrowed time - the suburbs, the hilarious joke transport system (car anorak frenzy!), the shops selling muck that nobody needs. How are these millions going to manage when Peak Oil hits or when there's a huge disruptive climate event? I'm glad I'm 450 feet up and five miles from the nearest market towns and 25 miles from the cities. Still, you have to laugh ....