Alex Harries's diary

Before I say anything else, I want to make it absolutely clear that no-one was injured in this incident. Oh, and this post is only work-related in as much as I was on my lunch break when it happened so, err, it's not work-related at all... Oh, and this is quite a non-event really, so don't read it expecting tales of heroics or great action, etc. ;o)

Something happened today which has left me absolutely fuming at three people who Should Know Better. Let me explain... 

The Registry - a student pub in Portsmouth - has recently been refurbished inside and out, and I found myself sitting in their outside seating area today having a coffee with a friend (let's call her Jade, since that's her name...), talking over the noise of passing traffic about not-a-lot-really.

The traffic is normally loud - the pub is next to an arterial route - so rattles and bangs from the traffic aren't uncommon, but the unmistakable noise of something big and heavy hitting something much smaller and lighter, followed by several more smaller-and-lighter things also taking a beating, is pretty recognisable. I turned around from rolling cigarette number 3, mouth flopping open, just in time to see a large artic lorry coming to a halt on top of a row of what used to be bicycles and bicycle stands, and God knows what else.

Everything - us, traffic, people - waited in stunned silence for a heartbeat before our instincts (or, whatever is it that tells us to "get your arse up and do something") kicked in.

While Jade was on the phone summoning police, ambulances, army, Navy Seals and anyone else who wasn't on their lunch break, I - along with what seemed like the rest of the population of Portsmouth - ran* over to the cab of the lorry. I could see the driver inside the lorry, sitting upright and seemingly alert, and his first words to me as he stepped down from the cab were "I don't know what happened...". He's in a couple of the photos below, holding a cup of tea and looking pretty much as bewildered as he was when he got out of the cab.

I don't do mind-reading, but I can be fairly certain the first questions in everybody's minds were, "is it going to blow up and kill us?" and "is there anybody trapped underneath?". In that order. I was vaguely aware I'd lost a flip-flop in the scrum and, surveying the scene, saw the lorry was sitting on top of what was left of a tall lamppost and the smashed remains of maybe 10 bicycles, making it hard to see if anything - or anyone - else was trapped.

Several people, myself included, had a good look under the lorry to check for ... well, anything under there wouldn't have been in very good shape; thankfully, the only casualties were inanimate objects. As I got to the back of the lorry, I looked back to see the traffic was still backed up with the drivers who had been behind the lorry sitting in shock as if waiting for someone to tell them what they'd just seen was supposed to happen.

As I got to the other (left) side of the lorry, I came across a street cleaner with his cleaning trolley wearing a look that, put into words, might have gone something along the lines of "you can f*** off if you think I'm cleaning that up...". Once the police started arriving, and it was clear that no-one was even scratched, I shot off and grabbed my camera, taking the shots you can see below.

This is where things got a little weird; while I was taking pictures, I still had my work ID around my neck (and no shoes, but that's not important...). Three women, who I knew worked nearby in a business very much related to mine, approached me and a conversation followed which went something along these lines (I don't...