The Week Before Suffolk.
We decided to go away for Christmas once again and plan to leave on the 23rd for 9 days. This is becoming a bit of a tradition for us (except during Covid) and the only reason I know we went to Meriden is because I wrote a blog. This proves it was a good idea to start writing. But I don’t ‘remember’ being there which is very sad.
Mel and I visited Callum and Rory (and wives) a few weeks ago and after hearing about their plans for the holiday period and all the family members they are visiting, we felt a bit guilty for abandoning them all. Mel said to me that maybe we should host next Christmas at home and everyone can come to us. We announce this to our willing audience and I was impressed with their ability to avoid answering the question. It wasn’t that they said no, but they didn’t say anything to suggest yes! We aren’t sure if we are sad because they don’t want to spend Christmas with us or relieved as it means we can escape in Ethel again 2023.
Anyway, back to now. Ethel lives at my workplace when not in use, but I start her every few weeks to make sure she feels loved. Each time she springs into action like an energetic teenager, and I pat her as if I am a proud parent. However, in the middle of the freeze last week, she refused to get out of bed (again like a teenager but who this time refuses to move in the morning). Panic sets in as there is only a week before we are heading to Suffolk.
Fortunately, one of the residents on site has a battery charger thing and came to the rescue and after stroking Ethels engine (and ego) for a few seconds, she leapt into action and disaster was averted.
Seeing the charger thing in working so effectively pushed me to search Amazon for one as a back up plan in case this happens again. I start researching which one I need and discovered that I needed to get one powerful enough for her engine size. However, I have no idea what size she is. It could be 2L, 2.8L or 3L. Why would I know? But I am a resourceful lady and head for the government site where you can check if a vehicle is insured etc. as I’m sure it will be detailed on there (it isn’t).
As the page loads, My anxiety level goes from 0-60 in 1.5 seconds as wordsappear on the screen screaming at me in red. NO MOT (I know i said red, but wordpress doesn’t seem to red in the options). Disaster. How has this happened? It ran out in September, and it is now 4.30pm on the 16th December and we are leaving in a weeks’ time. Mel and I have been out and about in Ethel since September and have even driven through the Hindhead tunnel twice where there are plenty of cameras. How have we got away with it?
Anyway, I have no time to thank some higher power for not getting caught as I need an MOT urgently and start calling people. Firstly, I call Duarte. Duarte has a garage at work and is lovely. He fixes most of the teams’ cars and smiles so widely, his gold tooth blinds you. But I don’t think he is so lovely now as he has left for Portugal to spend Christmas
with his family. Selfish.
By now it is past opening hours for garages, and I pause my search overnight and as soon as it is 9am on Saturday morning, I start calling anyone and everyone anywhere. I am surprised to find many garages shut at the weekend, most don’t answer the phone and some can’t service a motorhome due to ramp clearance. Mel is beginning to accept that we aren’t going away after all. But finally, I achieve success and find a garage who can do a service and MOT next Tuesday. We can relax.
Now the logistical games begin. Ethel is at work, the garage is in Guildford, and we live near Farnham – the opposite side of the garage from Ethel. The garage kindly said I could drop her off the night before, so the first leg of the project was easy. I drove to work in my car and get into Ethel and fight through rush hour traffic to the garage. Mel collects me from the garage, and we head home.
Next day, Mel drives me to work (my car is there) and then heads back home. I wait for the garage to call and soon discover that whilst incredibly friendly, the garage people don’t seem to understand the urgency of the situation. If Ethel fails the MOT, they may need to order parts in causing a delay. I call them at 3pm and they happily tell me she is in the workshop and promise to call me back. They don’t and I call them again at 4pm and they again happily say the same thing. I ask if I can leave Ethel there overnight. No problem they say in a jolly tone. I drive home in my car.
Next day I again drive to work. At 8.30am, I call the garage. This time they are in a meeting and will call me back. Finally, they do call back and inform me that Ethel has passed with flying colours and no advisories!! What a girl! Now I must find Mel. She drives to my work from home (20 miles), picks me up, takes me to Guildford (10 miles), she drives home (10 miles), I drive back to work (10 miles), park Ethel, get in my car and drive home (20 miles). Mel and I are both exhausted. But Hey Ho, we can go on holiday on Friday.
By the way, I ordered a battery charger thingy (which looks like a power bank) and it has arrived. It is pretty and has buttons, but I don’t know how it works so I am sure it will be fodder for another tale in the future!
2LadiesTravelling 