Page 54 - IT'S A RUM LIFE BOOK FOUR Volume 1 "Northcote 1984 to 1998"

St. Leodegar’s Church, Wyberton

This time, the unforeseen struck us quite suddenly as we were resting under trees
immediately outside the open church gates.
A noisy, bright yellow fork lift truck burst out of a yard immediately to our front and began to
roar down the road towards us.
The road was not wide by any imagination and we had nowhere to go and avoid this
“monster” which had immediately caught “Hebe’s” attention and set all our hearts to our
mouths.

To our right side, behind and ahead of us we were contained by the churchyard wall which
continued in solid stone splendour about four feet high as far as we could see.

On our left were a row of smart houses with large front gardens and boundaried at their
front by a long, large and deep dyke.

The fork lift rattled and banged and roared its way forward totally oblivious to the terror it
was creating in the mind of the horse never mind the human attendants.
Despite all our efforts to attract his attention, the driver seemed in a world of his own.

Then, in the blink of an eye, it was all over.

“Hebe” made her decision which was to avoid the truck the only way possible.

Like an arrow from a bow, she ripped the reins from my hands and dived sideways through
the church gateway. There had been no time to take any preventive measures, it had
made no matter to her that the carriage was still attached.