We were up bright and early yesterday for the drive to Warrington to have a solar panel installed on the caravan, together with an additional battery, and also have all the bulbs swapped out for LED units.
It makes sense for us as we can stay on Caravan Club CL (Certificated Location) sites like this one for about half the price if we choose ones without an electricity supply. It also gives us a lot more choice.
The day dawned
Pat looks at the alarm clock – without donning her glasses. Nearly 7.00 am, time to get up.
5.45 am Pat goes downstairs (with glasses on), sees the time on the kitchen clock and realises she has seen the little pointer that shows the time the alarm will go off, NOT the hour hand. Pat makes coffee.
7.00 am Alan leaves to take Mac for a walk while Pat starts making a packed lunch.
7.02 am Alan comes in to say the car won’t start.
7.03 am Alan goes out and tries again. Pat watches from the front door.
7.04 am Alan lifts the bonnet (hood, for our friends over the pond) and mutters imprecations. Pat fetches the garlic. (OK. It may be primitive but sometimes it works on the malevolent spirits which inhabit a computer so perhaps it will work on the car).
7.06 am. Alan closes the bonnet/hood and Mac emerges from the car looking bewildered – as well he might, he usually goes to a nice green field at this point. Pat makes coffee.
7.07 am Alan and Mac set off for a local walk and Pat surveys the rolls, tomatoes, ham, pork pies, etc., and shrugs. She carries on making lunch – optimist.
7.30 am Alan returns and repeats the exercise of trying to start the car, hoping to catch it by surprise. A neighbour emerges and expresses sympathy – slightly spoilt by his grin which says “I feel better seeing someone else suffer.” That’s schadenfreude in German, a lovely word. Pat makes coffee.
7.45 am Alan phones the RAC. Pat stows the packed lunch in the fridge.
8.15 am The RAC man arrives.
8.30 am The RAC man declares that the immobilizer has immobilized the car. Alan phones our usual service folk. They are overbooked for today. In any case it ‘should be’ covered by the warranty so has to go back to the dealer it was brought from. Pat makes coffee.
8.45 am The dealer agrees to look at the problem today or tomorrow. Alan goes out to tell the RAC man where it is to be delivered.
9.15 am The car departs. Alan and Pat have breakfast. Mac goes back to bed in disgust.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom as the gas engineer phoned to say the new thermocouple had arrived for our cooker a day early so he came and installed it.
On the principle that you might as well do miserable jobs while feeling fed up, we now have clean windows (Pat) and a clean cooker (Alan). At least lunch was in the fridge and supper ditto, as Pat had made a Beef Stew the night before.
Next week we will try again to be green and mean.
No comments:
Post a Comment