When you’re young racing down hills is, for the most part, one of the most fun things to do. Young at heart Andrew proved in true Peter Pan style that he truly is the boy who never grew up, opting to race down a veritable Matterhorn in the Nottingham downs during Festivus…in a shopping cart…with a dodgy wheel!...in his early twenties! Andrew volunteered to rest precariously on the front of the cart whilst the other rider held up the rear, thus maintaining the cart’s delicate balance. As the cart gathered momentum the equilibrium of the vehicle was shattered as his co-pilot drove off the back of the trolley sending Andrew careening towards the bottom of the steep incline. With no suspension on the Cart and gaining momentum with every passing second Andrew clung on for dear life, at the mercy of the cart and the road like a Japanese woman caught in a tropical cyclone. As he swerved out of control the cart toppled over, landing Andrew flat on his face and sending the trolley over his head, catching him for good measure along the way and rendering him almost unconscious. Andrew’s wrist hurt but not wanting to be a stick in the mud he grit his teeth and got on with the rest of the evening.
On realizing his wrist was broken Andrew and a few colleagues raced to Queen’s Medical Centre to save his hand. The usual long wait greeted them so to pass the time Andrew decided to ask the Paramedics to “nip out and get us a meat feast pizza.” Apparently the medical staff took exception to this and patients looked on in bewilderment as Andrew and his piers were ejected from the A&E.
Today Andrew has regained the use of his hand though he still cannot straighten his thumb completely as a timely reminder. Mused Hindley “Shopping carts are no longer my first choice mode of transport for getting down hills”
