There is a large expanse of grey concrete in front of you. Look at the lines painted on it. It separates the road into three lanes. Concentrate on the lane you are driving along. A large red lorry is coming up behind you. It moves to the right-hand lane and passes you. In front of you are many cars all going in the same direction. This is a long road. There is no way you can turn off it for several miles. You just have to keep driving in a straight line. Concentrate on driving straight ahead. You cannot stop or turn around. This is your only available choice. You have to keep moving forwards in the same direction. To your left is a grassy bank, which is occasionally dotted with unusually small trees held up by wooden poles. This is all you can see. To your right is a barrier, and beyond that is an identical road with cars all travelling in the opposite direction. You must stay away from this road, but there is no turning back now. Ahead of you is a concrete bridge. It is grey and you cannot see the road that it is connected to on either side. To your left is the same high grassy bank; to your right is another high grassy bank. You have no idea what lies beyond: the grassy banks are designed to stop you being distracted by the outside world. You just have to concentrate on the road ahead. For now there is nothing else to see. A blue car goes past very quickly on your right. Coming up on your left is a road from the outside world that allows other cars to join you, so you will be travelling together along this expanse of concrete. A white van is joining you and the other cars. You must move into the lane to your right to let them join in. Signs flash by telling you how many miles until you can leave this road. It is always too many. There are signs with the names of places you’ve never been and probably never will. Many are places you have never heard of. Who lives there? What is it like? Don’t allow these thoughts to intrude.