One down!

[ollypenrice]

It's an ill wind...

Yesterday my neighbour's elderly but substantial people carrier came off its handbrake and hurtled way down the mountainside into oblivion. He doesn't seem too upset about it and was showing me the traces that marked its farewell trajectory.

And then I saw it; a couple of wires emerging from the ground, a few bits of plastic and glass; yes, the old car got it, the stupid low level street light that never needed to be there in the first place.

Excellent!

Olly

[brianb]

Woo hoo! Send a bottle of wine to the workers in the factory that built the flimsy handbrake cable!

Being in France, with any luck public sector strikes will ensure that the street light doesn't get re-erected for a few decades ....

[Brett]

Brilliant Have you got a Pic Olly ?

[Macavity]

"Another one bites the dust".

I see my neighbours have now installed two rows of Argos solar-powered(!) "landing lights" along either side of their driveway. But if it stops them repeatedly driving their "mobile home" over the edge/corner of my much-beleaguered miniscule lawn...

But as I gaze out upon a vista of bumper-to-bumper neighbours' PARKED occasional / convenience vehicles. I cannot help wishing there was a steeper HILL outside my house too...

[barkis]

HehHeh!, Are you sure you didn't set the guidance system Olly.

Hell of a lucky shot I would say. Those Bowden Cables fray quite easily with a hacksaw to help:).

Ron.

[jgs001]

... you couldn't have aimed it better...

[ZOG]

What an opportunity....... if there are any other annoying lights in the vicinity, take a sledgehammer to them and blame it on the car

[NickH]

Set up a Toyota dealership at the top of your hill...that would do the trick

[LukeSkywatcher]

I knew people carriers had to be good for something.

[ollypenrice]

Well here's my bid for POW this week!

I've even composed a little ditty for it;

There once was a low level light,

And a handbrake that failed in the night.

The light was extinguished

The car died distinguished

And we all raised a cheer of delight!

Olly.

[brianb]

Very nice Olly!

Just for the sake of completeness - just what was the wretched light supposed to illuminate? Or does rural France have a scheme for "fostering" street lights that there's no room for in Paris?

[ollypenrice]

Good question, Brian. A guy from somewhere else (a townie, I'll wager!) restored an old farm bulding and so created two rental properties and a place for himself. He insisted that the Mayor install this light in front of them and then promptly disappeared, never to be seen again. So we get the photons. (His place is behind me in the pic and our place is just over the first horizon about 200 metres away. The light doesn't 'get us' but we are glad to be shut of it.)

To be fair, this area is working quite hard on LP having realized that lots of people come here for the sky. (Some fly in it on assorted string and canvas death traps and some, like us, simply look through it.) There is talk of a 'starry villages' award for places which curb their lighting.

Olly

[FraserClarke]

Excellent Sounds like don't have much risk it will be put back again if the proposer has disappeared