And we nearly got there! in The Opening Book.

We are a car down to day, I with my son almost got to the rubbish tip neat to Newquay yesterday, just half a mile from the tip the car just stopped, the engine was running but other wise there was no moving, and the power steering was down; I turned it off and tried to restart! All I got was a clicking, and there I was with £4 on my phone, I called home so Sweetheart knew, then I rang my recovery service, with a mobile the free 0800 numbers are quite expensive for something free, the UK regulator is going to force the service providers to remove all costs from free numbers; but not very useful there and then. On calling recovery service I heard the usual voice telling me this free number would cost me, and did I want to continue, there was no option if I wanted to get moving. My recovery service have a recoded lady using up my £4, ‘we are very busy just now – would you like to call latter’ ‘No’ ‘Please wait as we ….’ ‘Irritating’ Two minutes of music and [un]necessary chatter; then I found a real person on the other end – who wanted to play twenty questions!! The telephone used to be useful now I’m not so sure, as these long winded call centres are a barrier, a device to save money and keep us listening to calming music that doesn’t calm. Once I was passed the question section things improved, and one passed the phone stuff things really improved, the repair van arrived. It wasn’t as big a problem as I thought – I hope, the drive belt to the alternator had left go on a car with under 10.000 miles on the clock. Most of the action as we waited for the pick-up truck was avoiding traffic on a narrow road, and filling in pages for services rendered, Sweetheart arrived to take our son home, and to loan me here mobile. While she was there the truck arrived; it amazing how keen other drivers are to squeeze pass a truck while loading a car on to it! Surprisingly quickly we were on our was to the dealer, they must have been to have an immobile estate-car dropped in their car park; spoiling their one way system! And not just an immobile estate-car, but a immobile estate-car with a full load of rubbish, nothing that should cause a stink – hopefully. The dealers I find are very helpful, I will have a call on Monday as to will need going, once all things were dun I went in search of their facilities, I had been standing about in the cold for over an hour …… I made one last call with my mobile, one of the sales men in the showroom made a cup of coffee, then I sat down to wait for Sweetheart, after a sip of warm coffee I checked the remaining funds in my phone; 24 pennies! Note, it was after three when I got home, I had intended to have a second session in the gym at three; it will be to be three next week.