West Midlands Group

ITI conference 2013 Thelma and Louise aka Bärbel McCloskey and Ulrike Nichols are on the road again Saturday, 18 May 2013, 6.40am. I check my phone and notice I’ve got a voicemail. Bärbel has called me to tell me she slept in and doesn’t know when she will be there to pick me up. I am only surprised because she left the message an hour ago! Five minutes later she is there and I remind her that we wanted to meet at 6.45am rather than 5.45am. All is well. Deep breath and off we go to London. 8.00am - A light is flashing on the dashboard. I am put in charge of figuring out how far one can go with a deflated tyre. An impressive 280km we learn from the car manual, and decide to stop at the next petrol station. 8.10am - We have stopped. Bärbel is checking the tyres, being careful not to get her white (!) trousers dirty. I am also in nicer clothes than my usual jeans and t-shirt; we are on our way to a conference after all. But I am a useless bystander here and I am deeply impre