The internal dialogue of a woman stuck in a tailback on the A80 at night on the way home to Dunblane. The woman’s baby is thankfully asleep in the car seat. It is a full moon... “This is rubbish. There was no warning of this hold up. If there’d been a warning I’d have taken a different route.”

Five minutes later. “I HATE roadworks. This is pointless it’s just cones, they’re not even doing anything.” Five minutes later. “That man is picking his nose” Five minutes later. “This is *%&^$!S!” There follows several minutes of internal seething and swearing... “Oooh look at the moon! It must be full tonight. Yes I think it is. It’s the harvest moon. I have a ritual to get home to this is so UNFAIR!”

Several more minutes of harumphing. “Well I suppose I have some time to think about some stuff...I ‘ve kinda been avoiding deciding about work and the move...” A notepad and multi-click pen is spotted on the passenger seat. Some extremely artistic representations of life’s current blockages and the desired outcomes and solutions appear on the faint margin notepad illustrated in 4 shades of Biro. “Hmmm nice. Oh we are moving a little! Oh we’ve stopped again. I wonder if I could do my moon ritual in the car...” A quick inventory of the (very messy) car.

“Ok we have some crystals, some frankincense oil, where did that come from?? No candle but I do have a car cigarette lighter I guess that would do... I wonder if chanting would wake the baby?” Some quiet-ish test chants are attempted which grow in confidence and  volume. A circle of protective energy is imagained around the Volvo, the only thing that can improve on the Volvos impressive safety features ;-) the frankincense is dripped onto the cigarette lighter which is clicked on, the Goddess is invoked through a chant and a connection to the moon is made and an intention set through the extremely artistic scribbles from the notepad. There follows a blissful period of silent meditation and connection to the bigger world out there...

This is rudely interrupted by a car horn “Toot Toot”.

“Oh we’re moving! Second gear! What is nose picker looking at?” As second gear shifts to third, fourth and finally fifth a milkyway is discovered. “Mmmmm not quite cakes and ale but I’m sure the Goddess and the baby won’t mind” They arrive back an hour late to   Dunblane but focused and happier. So what is the moral of the tale? Sometimes a hold up is just giving you space to think? Make the best of whatever situation you find yourself in it’s about how you perceive your surroundings?

“Yay! We are home and he is still asleep, I’ll just jump out and take him straight in to bed. What the *&%$!” As the car door is opened the car alarm is bizarrely set off and screams into the night presumably waking all within a 1 mile radius, including the baby in the back seat. So perhaps the lesson is to always remember to close your ritual and your circle properly when you’ve finished, and not get sidetracked by a MilkyWay...