Happy Halloween!

I’m writing this on a Friday afternoon, waiting for the mechanic to call because … yep, you’ve guessed it … the car is broken again! The last time we spoke the car was back in the garage after a spectacular failure to start in Tesco’s car park. Well, after having the car for several days and examining it and cleaning various bits of it, the garage phoned to say they simply couldn’t find anything wrong with it, and that it was flying into life every time they tried it.

I walked to get the car. It started fine. It continued to be fine for almost two weeks, then today when I was trying to park outside my house after collecting my shopping, it died on me. Big Time! It wouldn’t reverse. It wouldn’t go forward. I could still change gears, but the car wouldn’t move. It was like it was paralysed. A message lit up on the dashboard in big, red letters – TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION!

Transmission? I panicked. Isn’t that the gearbox? I know from bitter experience that once the gearbox goes in an automatic that is that. The only thing that can be done with the car is scrap it. I phoned the garage again. There’s no mechanic free right now, they told me, we’ll call you as soon as one is available to come around.

Please, I begged. The front of my car is sticking out into the road. I only need one careless herbert to come roaring up the road and that will be my front wing taken off.

That was at 11am, it’s now gone one and no one has called. I phoned the garage I bought the car from. Oh dear, they said. Keep us posted. The engine and gearbox are covered by warranty, but we will need to do the repairs.

Now, that’s all well and good, but they are almost a hundred miles away so it’s a question of getting the car there and back to them.

Surely, I said, it would be cheaper and easier all around for you to liaise with my mechanic about the fault and then pay them to carry out the repairs – if, the car CAN be repaired.

No, they said petulantly, we have our own way of doing things.

Great.

It’s a shame because otherwise, I had mostly good news. I’ve finished painting the walls and woodwork in the dining room, plus the builder has been back to take out the old window, fit the new smaller double-glazed one, plaster the ceiling and around the skylights, and finish the tiling.

He did a good job, and it will look amazing, but the bathroom needs a deep cleaning. Plaster dust coats every surface, there is plaster splattered up the walls, and tiny chips of tile everywhere just waiting to catch unwary feet.

It was on my to-do list for today, but instead, I’m doing non-messy jobs so I can stop and deal with the car when the mechanic calls – if he calls. How long can I leave it before calling back? I mean, I don’t want to be pushy or rude and although I don’t need the car until Sunday I am aware that the garage shuts at 5:30 this evening and doesn’t re-open until Monday. Maybe give it a little longer and then call them.

Why does it always break down just before the weekend?

I had a letter in this morning’s post from H.M. Revenue & Customs. The tax refund I thought I wasn’t getting until next April will be with me soon. No mention of how much, just that they will send me a cheque. A cheque? How very 20^th century. Problem is, I don’t think I can pay a cheque into my bank account anymore. I bank with First Direct which is an online bank. Up until last year, I could use my local HSBC bank branch. Then First Direct stopped using Visa and swapped to Mastercard but HSBC machines weren’t compatible. I did not find this out until after a car boot sale when I tried to pay cash into my account and the machine wouldn’t accept my card. The assistant explained why, we paid the cash into Franki’s bank because she happened to be with me at the time, and she transferred it to my account. However, a cheque must be paid into the account of the named person so that won’t work. There is no longer a counter service anymore so that’s not an option either. I was going to call my bank and ask for suggestions, but I’m waiting for the mechanic to call so can’t use the phone until they do.

Why is life so difficult?

Correction, why is MY life so difficult? Yes, I know other people have trials and tribulations but seriously not like this. Nothing ever goes right, I face problem after problem, and to be honest, I am getting tired of it.

Soooo, what else?

Okay, as I said the bathroom is almost complete. It needs a darn good clean, including the glass in the skylights which are covered with plaster splatters. I guess that’s me back up the ladder.

Once the plaster is dry on the ceiling it will need three coats of paint. The dreaded pink Dulux again, but at least it’s so light and bright in the bathroom I’ll have no trouble seeing where I’ve been. All the pipes will also need two coats of paint.

I love the colours in the dining room. A soft classic green, it complements the new deep mahogany of the woodwork. As I’ve finished all the decorating in there I’ve put the light fixings back up and rehung our pictures.

When I last decorated in 2013, Franki and I made a piece of artwork, especially for the room. Buying a large, blank canvas, we used the colours in the room and splattered it with paint for a Jackson Pollock-type effect.

Although I still liked it the colours were all wrong, so I decided to have a go at giving it a makeover. I painted it with two thick coats of grey paint, let it dry, then splattered the green paint onto it as well as a little of the dark grey wood paint.

I like it. I think it’s restful and it goes well in the room. Plus, it was free and that is always good. I did take pictures but it’s so dark in the dining room even with the lights on that it’s not very clear.

The next step is the furniture. My large Welsh dresser and basket unit need to be cleaned, lightly sanded, and painted with two coats of wooden furniture primer. Then I will paint them both with a thick heavy cream gloss paint – except for their tops – these I will paint grey. All the wooden knobs that came off the basement furniture were saved, and I’m going to prime and paint six of them with grey paint to finish the look of the Welsh dresser. I will take pictures.

I cannot tell you how relieved I am that my tax refund is imminent. I think it’s going to be over £1000 which I desperately need. I have the builder and carpet fitter to pay. I want to buy a new bed and mattress for the basement, plus Christmas is almost upon us. I was seriously worried about how I was going to pay for everything so this couldn’t have come at a better time. Always assuming I can find a way to pay it into my bank account,

To save money, I haven’t yet put my heating on. Instead, I have been lighting a small fire in the lounge in the evening which is enough to keep the cat and me toasty warm. Last night, I knelt before the fire to put another log on and moved the fireguard to one side. I felt something run over my hand and onto my thigh. I looked down. A MAHOOSIVE spider was crouched there. Seriously, this thing was big enough to carry away my firstborn.

Now, I’m not afraid of spiders. But big, hairy, monstrous things that have the audacity to crawl onto my leg. Nope. Absolutely not. In a moment of blind terror, I grabbed the thing and slung it onto the fire. Where it hissed and vanished.

Do I feel guilty?

Maybe. A little bit.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely.

Sorry/not sorry.

On Tuesday we had a lady come into the shop to train us in evac chair handling. For those who don’t know what that is, an evacuation chair is a weird contraption that can be used to transport people downstairs in an emergency if they can’t walk or the lift is not an option – if there’s a fire, for example. The chair has skis fitted which grip the stairs and allow you to push someone down them safely. My male colleague got a glint in his eye when asked to push me down the stairs and I must admit to shrieking like a little girl when the chair slid over the edge of the staircase. Apparently, it is impossible to tip the chair over, but I wasn’t sure I believed that. After thirty minutes of training though, we were both pushing each other down the stairs – much to the howls of laughter of the few customers in the shop.

It was fun and broke the day up. Things are a little quiet at work right now, so any distraction was welcome.

It’s Halloween this weekend plus the clocks go back here in the UK. For the first time, I’m not doing anything to celebrate the spooky date. To be honest, it’s been the last thing on my mind what with everything else that’s happening and now that Franki isn’t here it all seems a bit pointless. Gaining an extra hour Sunday morning will be nice though, but unless my car is fixed – which doesn’t seem likely – or a colleague gives me a lift home, I shall be facing an hour-long walk home in the dark. So not looking forward to that.

It’s also the last happy hour with the neighbours this evening. I do enjoy our little weekly gatherings but once the clocks change it’s too dark and cold to want to stand outside.

I can’t believe we’re almost into November. Already I’m buying things for Christmas and making plans. My Christmas will mostly be happening the week before because Franki and Mx R will be arriving on the 15^th and leaving on the 23^rd. We have lots of things planned and luckily due to my shift pattern and being able to book my remaining eight hours of leave, I only work on one of the days they will be here.

November will be busy – what with trying to get all the decorating finished plus a Maker’s Market on the 13^th and the two-day Christmas Fair the following weekend, I just know the month will whizz by.

It’s now 3:30pm. Do you think I should phone them? I think I should. I’ve been jumping up, my heart thudding into my mouth, and peering out the window every time a car has roared up the road. It’s not so bad whilst it’s still light, but once it gets dark I’m scared it’s going to be damaged.

Okay, spoke to my mechanic, they are calling around soon to get it safely parked and maybe have a look. I also spoke to the seller again. Apparently, I must pay all the transport costs for getting it to them and back to me again. So that’s going to be £400! And there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again. I’m at my wit’s end and don’t know what to do. I’m outraged I must pay to get it to them. It’s my bad, I should NEVER have bought a car from so far away but carried on looking locally. I’m wondering if it might not be a better idea to get my mechanic to look and give me a quote for fixing it. If it’s less than £400 get them to do it, then sell the car or trade it in locally for something more reliable. I hate this car so much. I think it’s cursed. I don’t trust it and I’m sick of playing Russian Roulette every time I need to go somewhere. Will it work? Will it not? Who knows.

Okay, deep breath. I should try and calm myself before the mechanic gets here. I will keep you posted as to what happens but send good wishes my way and keep your fingers crossed for me.

All the best.

Julia Blake

Update: Mechanics came and managed to get the car working, for now. Because it misbehaved for them, they were able to plug in some scanner-type thing and a few error codes came up including communication issues. So, it’s parked outside the house and fingers crossed it starts over the next three days and gets me to work and back. It’s booked to go into my garage on Wednesday for them to look, assess, and quote me. Once I know the score I can plan.

I’m thinking if it’s under £400 get my garage to do the work then sell the fecking thing. The way the second-hand car market is now I will certainly get back what I paid, maybe even more. I’ve even discovered why I struggled to buy an automatic locally. It’s because we have two American air force bases close by and most Americans can only legally drive an automatic.

As for me? Well, I will look for another car locally, and I won’t be fussed if it’s an automatic or not. I drove a manual for years, I’m sure it’s like riding a bike and I’ll soon pick it up again. Okaaay, the last time I rode a bike I fell off and ripped the skin off my kneecap, but I’m sure I’ll pick it up quickly.

Who knows, I may even come out of this with more money than I went in with.

Oh, and the cheque from H.M. Revenue & Customs arrived Saturday morning. My sums were a bit off, rather than the £1000 I’d hoped for, I got £1600. So that’s rather marvellous.

Still unsure how to pay it into my bank though.