Back round to Dad’s before murder was committed, called garage, car ready, called sister, sister and niece arrive and we all set off in good humour to the garage. We collected the car, and paid up for both bills, just over £500 for the two and said good bye to my sister and niece, whom we left at the garage, discussing her repair dilemmas.
Steve and I were congratulating ourselves on getting away so lightly, with a 16 year old car so much could go wrong, and be expensive to repair, and how we hoped to keep the old girl on the road for another year, or two. Disaster struck again, as we drove along the darkening country roads, the engine began to lose power and the temperature gauge was pointing at red, situation critical. We stopped, we got out, we rang my sister hoping she was still at the garage, but as she picked up her phone she also pulled in to take the call only yards behind us on the same stretch of country road, and my niece who had been driving ahead of her mother, pulled in just in front of our stricken vehicle.
Surrounded by family is the best way to find yourself broken down, at least we weren’t stranded. We called the garage and waited to be rescued, it wasn’t a long wait but it was a cold one, none of us had dressed for a country walk or a stranding in the dark. While we waited, the road became quite busy, people going home from work and taking the scenic route, many passed, only one stopped to ask if we needed help, but that was very kind.
Then a young lad appeared as if from nowhere to ask if we were alright, He’d come from a farm on the hill above the road, seen the lights of the three cars and come down on his quad bike to offer help, running out of fuel at the bottom of the hill he’d needed a lift back himself.
It was pitch dark when the mechanic arrived, lifted the bonnet, diagnosed a faulty water pump, he suggested we return the car to the garage and they’d look at it tomorrow. As we got back into my sister’s car, it began to hail again, and there’s still no heater in her car because the part hasn’t arrived. I will simply have to tax my car and run it till the BMW is fixed. Thank goodness I’m not so super efficient that I had already cancelled my insurance and declared the car off road.
We could sit here declaring what bad luck we have had, and wondering why us or we could look at it another way, thank goodness the water pump hadn’t gone when we were up in the Lakes last week, the tow truck would have cost hundreds. It could have conked out next week on my way to an interview I have planned, now that really would have been a disaster.
