Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

Sent to me from a recent posting on social media…..This has a lot of potential…?
Unedited and thanks…

I’ve invented a new board game which I hope to have on the market in time for when we get a bridge over the Kings Dyke crossing or eternity which ever comes first.

It is called ESCAPE FROM WHITTLESEY briefly based on Monopoly whereby the players choose a vehicle🚗🚕🚙 then rolls a dice, make circuits of the board  and then eventually choose a road to try to escape, picking up 200 pence if they don’t go to jail  every time they complete a circuit. The more circuits they complete before taking their chosen exit route the more funds they will have accumulated and the better chance they will have of getting to their destination and claiming victory over their opponents .

Completing each circuit will be not easy, many hazards such as speed cameras detecting anyone travelling more than 6 mph exist and fines for this and landing on an illegal parking square on the board will diminish your funds and delay your attempted escape.

Station Road will be closed at the crossing,  Eastrea Road will be no entry so those attempting to go via the A605  (the seemingly cheapest option)  would find that there will no chance  to turn back once stopped at either a succession of road works or the railway gates, get fined every time they  swear 🤬 and more than likely leave the game and go and put the kettle on. To the survivors who had been sensible enough to accumulate enough funds they will be met with a road closure at Stanground  and their  only route back to the board will be via Farcet and the Fen.

Those escaping along  the obvious route via Pondesbridge will find to their amazement that it is now a toll road and will have to return and circuit the board a few times to raise more funds. Those that do eventually manage to afford it will find that the only route open will eventually be Gosling Drove with the left hand lane closed for resurfacing and will then meet head on the survivors of the A605 travellers coming back to Whittlesey from the other way. Collisions will mean instant expulsion from the game.

The third and final option will be via Thorney  ( The North Bank will obviously be closed but no doubt many will still use it 😉) and a lucky player landing on square 13 will after accumulating enough funds be able to buy a boat 🚣‍♀️🚣‍♂️⛵️🛶 to negotiate the B1040.

This board game will probably be renamed by anyone who is still reading this post as a bored game and in which case thanks anyway and have a lovely evening 😂😉😂

PS as the game is in an early stage of development any suggestions of possible amendments would be welcome but “stick it in the bin ” would not be considered viable. Thanks for playing! 🤓

RG – I am sure there will be a lot of other additions to this very realistic game – keep it coming…

My thanks to JF, AO & RB for the photo’s.
(Click in the bottom left corner to advance/retard pictures)

Thanks to JF for the pictures….

My correspondent sends me this picture and said ‘What a Welcome’ – although not our main entry.

So some 8 months behind their orginal start date – having encountered more than expected contaminated ground/earth + wet weather at long last the ‘Hole’ has been filled in and is settling. No news on when building work may begin.