I just want to go home!

Last Saturday the Rugby club at the end of the road was having a bonfire and firework evening. We already had plans to go to our friends in Sheffield, so I hadn't taken much notice of the adverts about it, but when I walked the dogs up to the canal on Saturday afternoon I did notice a rather large bonfire was ready to burn in the corner of the field, and there were a lot of fairground stalls in front of the clubhouse. 

It was going to be a big event.

We left at 5pm and there were a few people starting to make their way down past our house. There is parking for about 50 cars at the Rugby club and our road is a 'no through' road, although there is a gate that can be opened to allow cars to drive out the far side of the Rugby club, in emergency situations.

In anticipation of the louder fireworks that big displays tend to set off, we had decided we needed to be back by 8pm to make sure the dogs were OK. They don't seem bothered by fireworks, and if anything, they just bark at them - but we hadn't seen them deal with the really loud bangs.

After a couple of hours with our friends, watching fireworks in their garden and enjoying some bonfire night food and drink, we said our goodbyes and set off home.

We had noticed, on the way to our friends, that there were a lot of cars on the road - I think because it was a Saturday evening, and it wasn't raining, lots of people had decided to go to friends or formal bonfires. As we drove home, the roads were empty, and quicker than normal we were turning onto our road ...............

....... to be met with gridlock!

There were too many cars for the car park. There were cars parked on both sides of the road, the full length of the road, which had turned it into a one-way street. With no room in the car park and nowhere for people to turn round and come back - everything was stopped.

As I was behind the wheel, I suggested that Neil jump out and walk the 400 yards down to the house to be with the dogs, and I would wait and see what I could do about getting out of the traffic. Behind me was a police car and, having put his flashing lights on, he managed to get past me and 3 more cars to a side road, which had people also queuing to get out and up to the Rugby club.

It was chaos.

The police parked their car across the road, blocking it off. They directed the cars coming out of the side road to go away from the Rugby club to clear that junction and then they started to move us all along the side road towards town....

......and me away from my house!!!

'I just want to go home' I told the officer as I reached the road block.

'No one's going up there at the moment, you'll have to follow the traffic into town', he replied.

As I drove into town, I knew I would pass 2 car parks and I hoped I would be able to get into one of them and walk home, going back for my car later. No joy though, they were both completely mobbed. Finally, I was in town and suddenly, it was like I'd entered a ghost town. It was deserted - no people, no cars, no nothing.

It seemed the entire population of Worksop was busy trying to get to the bonfire party at the end of our road. I drove into the car park behind the shopping complex to find 2 other cars in a car park that would hold a few hundred, and only a 10 minute walk to the Rugby club - why, oh why had police not been directing people here from the beginning of the evening instead of allowing the chaos that they were now trying to sort out?

As I walked towards home, I joined a still large wave of people moving towards the rugby club and soon I reached the chaos of our road. A couple of minutes later I reached home, to find a strange car on our drive, trying to get back into the traffic, going against the flow.

'You won't be going anywhere soon, they've closed the road off' I told them.

'Oh. We don't live here', the young couple inside informed me.

'No, I know you don't - I do!' I replied. 'If you get desperate for the loo, knock on the door' I told them as I walked past them.

'Do you mean that?' the young lad shouted after me as I turned the key in the lock.

'Of course I do' I replied, and vanished inside.

Once inside the warmth of our house, mug of coffee in hand, I was able to watch the chaos continue from the comfort of our front room. After about 15 mins, I noticed the car in the drive reverse up to the house and the young girl get out - thinking they were going to take me up on my offer I went out to open the door to them, and just as I did I noticed the police had cleared the road up to our house.

'If you go now, it looks like you'll get out' - I told them, and in a flash, the young girl had shouted thanks, jumped in the car and they were gone.

Knowing there would be a similar chaos in reverse when the fireworks were finished, we settled down in front of the tv. Occasionally, we would go out into the garden and watch the fireworks for a while before feeling too cold to be out anymore.

Finally, at 10.30pm, it seemed most people had left the area, there were a few stragglers but nothing much to worry about, so we put the dogs in the back of Neil's car and drove the 5 minutes to town to collect my car which, by now, was all alone in the car park.

And so, Bonfire night was over for another year. Next year we have already vowed - we are going nowhere - nowhere, unless we can walk there, and walk back again.