Yesterday I was subjected to a fierce bout of horn blasting. I was in my car, waiting at a T-junction for a gap in traffic, when the driver behind began to lose patience. I had only been there for about 30 seconds during which, without risking a collision, there was no opportunity to safely pull out. I looked in the mirror to see the man shaking his head and gesticulating.

When I did pull out, I was disgusted to see that he drove only about 200 yards to the paper shop before pulling over. It certainly wasn’t a matter of life or death.

Sadly, such behaviour is commonplace. People are so impatient, everything has to be done at the moment they want it doing, or available the second they need it. For many, waiting isn’t an option.

I encountered this again at the opening of a new store near my home. In order to buy a voucher for my daughter’s birthday the following day, I had no choice but to go on the day of opening. People were queuing in the wrong area, so had to be moved, prompting a minor skirmish between two parties, who each said they were before the other. With a long row of tills open, the wait would have been just a few seconds more.

York Press:

Keep calm please: traffic queues in Fulford Road

And at the fish and chip shop recently, I was behind a woman who tut tutted and walked out when told that she would have to wait six or seven minutes for a battered sausage.

Were people were like this in days gone by? You would imagine that older people who had been through the war, rationing, austerity and all that goes with it, to exhibit a greater degree of patience, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. People of all ages, from toddlers to OAPS, seem to want instant gratification.

If patience is a virtue, few among us display it. We - and I admit I am also guilty - make a fuss when we have to wait seconds for an internet page to display. If it doesn’t come up immediately, we jab away at the keyboard, ranting and raving.

Having super-fast-as-a-speeding-bullet broadband could in itself be impacting upon the way people behave. They live our lives through laptops, phones and tablets, where if it’s not instant they are not happy.

This level of wanting things now can’t be doing people any good. Surely it adds to their stress levels. They should try focusing on what matters most in life, and if it is being able to drive to the paper shop without any momentary hold ups or being served at the chip shop within two seconds of arriving, then sadly there isn’t any hope.