One way to spend a Thursday evening

On my way home this evening, I crossed the zebra crossing and started to walk up the little pedestrian access around the bike racks outside of SCS sofas, 'cos I like to stare at the sofas after dark. There's a pair of legs visible, sticking out from the round the corner. No movement. I'm a tad nervous at approaching:  a fortnight ago, I nearly tripped over a gentleman sleeping rough beside the furniture store on the other side of the road, and disturbing someone's sleep isn't a good thing (and I felt like I was intruding into his bedroom). But my gut feeling was that there was something wrong. The bike jammed against the legs rather confirmed this.

The young man (boy, even, 16 or 17 at the very most), W--, was conscious, just, but not moving. He said his neck hurt and he couldn't move his arm. He was, but for being tangled in his bike, pretty much in recovery position, breathing, in fact coughing and wheezing painfully. I didn't move him. I sat with him and reached in my bag for my phone--which was in my coat pocket hanging up in the hallway at home.

I stood up. Looked round. No cyclists coming along the road. No pedestrians. Precious few cars and I was a bit leery of flagging one down. It was after closing up time for the stores and the security guards' offices on both bits of retail park were dark and shut up for the night. I considered jumping up and down in front of a CCTV camera.

Instead, I crossed the road, went to the first house with a light on, which was fortunately just opposite, and I could see a woman inside. So I knocked on the door, asked for help pretty incoherently, and two very helpful men, A-- and his friend, came out, phones in hand, and we rang for help. And kept W-- talking, including getting his mum's phone number out of him. A--'s friend went back to their house and fetched blankets.

The paramedic went into the wrong bit of carpark and had to be chased. We left W-- with the paramedic, A-- taking the bike into safekeeping, and the ambulance on its way.

I'm sure W-- will be patched up fine. I feel so sorry for his mum haring off to Addenbrooke's to find out what's happened to him.

Tea, now, much tea, and then, maybe, wine.