A Stress Free Ride - Friday 27/05/11

Wednesday morning Emma had what the midwife told her was a 'show'. I can't bear to go into details. Girls are gross.
Basically it could be a sign of the beginning of the end of her pregnancy. So to play it safe we decided it made little difference to leave Lammas a couple of days early and go back to Stroud.
The aim was to leave around 13:00 on Thursday after Emma had had a small "Blessing Way" held for her up at Jasmine's. Whilst she was blessing, I was messing. A large tidy up was in order and I took a trailer load of rubbish to the tip.
Just before I left, Nigel popped round to wish us well and I told him about my schizophrenic indicator. He advised a blitz of WD40 everywhere. That fixed it! Damp in the stalk I reckon.
Anyways, we didn't leave until gone 15:00, but not a problem as we had no time constraints. Just as bloody well too.
Outside Cardiff our truck threw a wobbly. Understandably too I suppose. Neglected for months and then thrown along at motorway speeds. I wouldn't be happy either.
The first sign was a drop in oil pressure and as I pulled in at the services I noticed my left foot was unusually warm. Not good.
An oil check said it was full but I remembered the mystery of the disappearing oil from Christmas so chucked in 5 litres of very expensive (£39.99!) dino blood. I remarked to Emma that I'd never heard of anyone damaging an engine by having too much oil in it. I have now. I have damaged an engine by putting to much oil in it!
Pulled back onto the motorway and she got very upset. The engine accelerated on its own and after dipping the clutch it went wild. Smoke was billowing out of the back as the hazards went on and I pulled onto the hard shoulder.
"Abandon ship!" says I. Fran struggled with her seat belt but Em was there in a flash. Despite removing the keys from the ignition the engine was igniting itself and racing. When I lost sight of Emma and Frances I was puzzled and realised they had gone down wind. I bellowed for them to come to me and guided them to a safe distance away and high up the wooded bank.
Before I had a chance to whip out my phone, two police bikes rocked up hotly pursued by two fire engines. The exhaust was still churning out thick smoke but this died off as the firemen approached. So they buggered off.
The policeman was pretty amicable but when he asked if I had insurance as it wasn't 'showing up' I chose my words carefully. I explained we insured it daily and he left it at that. I was not in the mood for revenue collection and he must have sensed it. So he too buggered off.
Although I'd rung the AA, an RAC low-loader pulled up and offered to take us to a safe location. I'm not ashamed to say my response was "How much?". God bless him he did it for free. Almost. We ended up with a years super deluxe cover and a £75 surcharge for the onward tow. Don't get me wrong I was bloody grateful! £75 was actually a small price to pay and by 21:00 we were glad to arrive at our destination.
T'would appear I have another 4x4 in need of a new head gasket. So much for fearing boredom!
I would love to do it myself. It can be a project and an educational experience but if possible I'd like to find a teacher. The parts should come in under £100 by the looks of things but after having a look this morning it appears daunting to say the least.
I have posted an SOS on the Freeconomy forum and will be interested to see what response it gets.
I would rather not have to get a job to pay someone else to do it, as it that wouldn't be very educational...
I am both surprised and conscious at how at peace I find myself. Even staring at our vehicle as it looked about to burst into flames, I was at peace. I trusted the gods implicitly at that and indeed this moment. There are simply so many possible positive outcomes, and I assure you that is not me deluding myself with sickly glass half full stuff...
The family is now covered in the event of a breakdown for a year.
We could sell a car we rarely use and put the money towards bikes. I could try and fix the car and, success or failure, learn something.
These are just a couple of things that jump out and I know there are certainly some others that will emerge and transpire.
One thing is for certain, this life is not boring.

Car Being Dropped Off At The Services.

Did Not Forget To Notice The Beauty Exhibited Around Us

M Jones