In late 1977 I was in the British Army stationed in Shrewsbury.I had decided to visit my parents in the North East. Prior to my leaving that Friday afternoon my Sgt asked if he could give him, his wife and two children a lift to Hull. Their car had broken down that morning. We set off in my Morris Marina TC and the route was north on the M6 then east on the M62. As we traveled on the M62 a piece of metal debris sliced off the bottom of my engine sump. I came to a halt on the hard shoulder and we all got out and got behind the crash barrier. As I walked to the emergency phone, a number of other vehicles had hit this debris and were coming to a halt.I rang the RAC and police. When I returned quite a few damaged vehicles were lined up on the hard shoulder. Police arrived and cleared the debris and shortly afterwards a RAC Land Rover arrived. All around were shouting for help but the RAC man shouted for Mr Robson (lucky me I thought). The RAC then towed me off the M62 at the next exit and stopped at a layby. He then explained that he was going to take my passengers to a Railway Station for their onward journey to Hull and return for me!!!! He said don't leave the vehicle. The layby I was dumped at was high up on the moors and some distance from the Motorway Junction. (I have searched on Street View and I believe it was the A672 Junction). I could see no other buildings. When they left it started to snow! I could not start my engine as there was no oil left in the engine. Luckily I had my army combat jacket and trousers, gloves, boots and a small camping stove with two gas canisters in the boot. I sat in the car with the stove alight between my legs and the snow kept falling. Hours passed and I must have fallen asleep. I was woken up with someone knocking on the window. The stove had gone out and the inside of the car windows and my glasses were frosted up! I scraped the window and with my glasses off I saw what I thought was a big black man in a fur coat. He waved and walked away. I quickly changed my gas canister and warmed up. At around midnight, some 2 or 3 hours later, the snow had stopped falling. A Police Landrover turned up and a Policeman shouted out of his window with the words "What was I up to?" I told him I was left there by the RAC and they had not returned. They radioed their Control and after a few minutes told me the RAC had been looking for me and thought I had got help elsewhere!!!! I asked them if they had seen a big black guy in a fur coat walking about but they said they had not. I eventually got recovered to a garage in Dewsbury. I did complain in writing to the RAC about their shit service but cannot recall the reply. I am, however, still a member! I have over the years retold this story about the night I nearly died and the strange black guy in the snow. I always travel with an emergency kit in my car. Over the years I had never made the possible connection between the 'big blackman in a fur coat' and a 'Bigfoot'.
Now I wonder if he was worried about my safety!!!
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