PADS #28

The drive in Elms’ car, was an uncomfortable journey. Not only due to the situation and the muesli breakfast bar, which Elms had assured him was the best way to start the day but because of the car seats, which were apparently called bucket seats. In fact the whole car was a regrettable experience. Elms had fiercely defended his car, insisting it wasn’t a boy racers car but a car enthusiast’s car and you couldn’t actually buy go faster stripes to make the car go faster, no matter what anyone in the mess room said.

The road humps provided a melodious interlude whilst Wyse watched Elms move his jaw, practicing a question.

‘Well Elms, out with it?’ demanded Wyse.

‘I was just wondering, are you okay? You seem very quiet and a bit out of sorts, if you don’t mind me saying so,’ apologised Elms.

The silence seemed an appropriate answer to such a question, thought Wyse. It was indeed a day that was out of sorts, one he hoped to resolve very quickly when they reached their destination, although with no satisfaction upon his part. They soon approached the ambulance station, an abandoned fire brigade station complete except for the pole, which had been removed by the Fire Brigade before they vacated. This had started mutterings about the brigade being killjoys and initiated the underlying contempt between the two emergency services.

It had been a long standing bone of contention, not only confined to the Fire Brigade that there were only two emergency services, the Police and the Fire Brigade and the Ambulance Service was an essential service rather than a proper emergency service. This reasoning meant third place was still up for grabs with The Lifeboat Service pushing for a higher place and even roadside recovery organisations were making a claim, often with impressive credentials.

This had always seemed to rile even the most sedate ambulance road staff and had been among a number of reasons, why the Fire Brigade had become the focus of such enmity. The Fire Brigade even had the temerity to say they didn’t want to take over the Ambulance Service, but of course they could at any time if they wanted to do so. Although Wyse thought the pole a ridiculous reason for such dislike between the two services, he would agree the obvious superiority complex displayed by the Fire Brigade service would provide reason enough. Especially as it was the Ambulance Service which held the moral high ground in dignity and supremacy over the Fire Brigade.