The Case of the Exploding Orange Drink

Today went with a bang - well, at least part of it did.  It was loud, unexpected and with terrifying consequences. If you have read yesterday's posting you will know that today I was working in Shropshire with the members of Pontesbury Congregational Church.  They had also booked Brian Fisher to take the morning sessions; I was to look after the afternoon with a focus on prayer.  However, I was keen to get there as early as possible and get a "feel" of how the day was going, and so I set of around 8.30 this morning expecting to arrive by 10.30.

My route took onto the M6 within about 30 minutes.  It was a clear day with a motorway to match.  I guess I had been driving for about 45 minutes since leaving home and was close to Coventry when a really loud explosion sounded very close.  In the nanosecond that followed I guessed a tyre had burst.  But my mind changed a nanosecond later as the view out of the windscreen largely disappeared behind streams of sticky ooze, and orange juice dripped all over me from the roof of the car.  A bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice that had been lying innocently on the passenger seat next to me had exploded.

The offending product had been purchased from a reputable company the previous Saturday.  I had taken just one small drink and the bottle had been resealed and kept in a fridge.  Yes, the sell by date was 7th March and today was the 13th, but Doreen thought it was a healthy drink and had been kept in the fridge and should be OK.  Obviously the brief time it had been opened was enough to start a fermentation process resulting in my being soaked in the stuff and the front half of the car being liberally sprayed.

It was too big a disaster to sort out on the hard shoulder and I reasoned the most sensible thing was to make it to the Service Station which was only a couple of miles further on. Strangely the Service Station had the same retailer as the garage where I had purchased the exploding bottle.  The manager, a lovely young lady called Krystle, showed considerable sympathy and helped clean up the mess after taking photos.  I then had to head back down the Motorway to a branch of Tescos where I was able to purchase the much needed replacements for almost all the clothes I was wearing, which were well soaked, stained and smelly strongly of oranges.  You can see me looking very over-dressed for the occasion posing with the church secretary.

Just as well I had left home early.  I arrived at my destination at 1.05 just in time for the lunch break and just 55 minutes before I was on.  For various reasons numbers were lower than the preceding time I helped to lead an away-day for Pontesbury, but the enthusiasm was great.  Apparently what I said was just what was needed and that made the journey and time spent preparing well worthwhile.  The location for this event is a Methodist Church in the Shropshire Hills cleverly adapted to double as a Conference Centre.  Perhaps more about that tomorrow.

Happily, the journey home was less eventful and I was back home by 7.30.  In all my years of travelling at home and abroad in ministry I have had some sticky situations, but none quite the flavour of this one.  Most of it is now out of my hair and the washing will get done on Monday.  That just leaves the car to be totally valeted!