Last night we went to a bonfire night.  At least I'm told there was a bonfire and fireworks but I didn't see any.  It was the Boys' Brigade bonfire night and our son is one of the leaders.  I had a phone call this week asking if I had any time free this week because they wanted me to make soup.  I made 6 litres of tomato soup and my son made 5 litres of pumpkin soup and there was very little left over. We also served hotdogs and tea, coffee and squash.  Despite the heavy rain in the afternoon, the bonfire lit and a good time was had by all. 

However, we ended up in the kitchen fulltime and never got out to see the bonfire because my son and another leader arrived over three hours late.  There had been an accident on the motorway they were on and everything was closed down until the air ambulance came and took away the injured and the police sorted it all out.  It occurred to me that it was a bit like the ripples on the pond analogy.  Somebody's misjudgement or momentary lack of concentration caused serious injury to some, lots of money spent in terms of people attending to deal with the result - helicopter, ambulances, police etc, thousands (literally - Friday evening rush hour) of people held up so late home, meetings/appointments missed, dinners spoilt, right down to trivia like a BB bonfire night and me missing the actual bonfire because I was in the kitchen all evening.  Such a small thing but it affected so many people in so many ways from the really serious right down to the minor ripples at the edge of the pond where I was.  This is one of those situations when mobile phones actually prove themselves useful and I didn't mind helping out.  I just hope that those injured will recover and quickly too.

(edit - This was not the dreadful M5 catastrophe but another accident)