Changed times

I gather today is the 50th anniversary of the M1. On the BBC website this morning is a photo of the motorway in those days. The road is virtually deserted. A man is sweeping the road with a broom. He's not wearing any safety gear, nor is he surrounded by cones.

How things have changed. Last time we ventured along the M1 cars were in easy sight of each other. At times it was just one long snarl up, cars bumper to bumper, barely moving. We've tried travelling in the early hours of the morning. Even then there's a fair amount of traffic. No man would venture on foot on to that motorway without considerable protection & lane closures.

But I am left to wonder how they manage to keep the motorway so uncluttered with life's debris. Leaves & litter must blow on. Not to mention scraps of blown tyres & exhaust pipes falling on it. And then there's the squashed hedgehogs & birds that venture across the road. Yet it has to be said there tends not to be that much litter compared to so many urban & rural streets. Well done to the men who keep them so tidy.