Today has been a disaster. Someone who shall remain nameless (but is female and a stroppy teenager) suggested a day in London today and I thought it was a great idea to see the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park as there was talk of mulled wine and German Bratwurst! Yum! It would mean fresh air and exercise and promised to be a great day.
We set off in the freezing cold and treated the wee ones to a MacDonald's breakfast and then made another stop to buy some screenwash as mine was frozen solid. For a change we decided to go down the M40 and into London that way, thus avoiding the roadworks on the M1. Half way along the M40, the heating packed up. This was a bit worrying and came hot on the heels of a strange noise coming from the front vents on the dashboard. We pushed on and Keith told me to keep an eye on the temperature, which I did.
However, on the A40 (we went wrong somehow as the last time we came this way home, I'm sure we went on the M4 and the M25) the temperature gauge suddenly shot up and my coolant warning light came on. Luckily we were right next to a bus stop, so I pulled in just as a load of steam erupted from the bonnet...
Keith went to investigate and shot me a look of absolute despair. It was clear we were going nowhere fast. We topped up the radiator with water but when we switched the engine back on, the warning light flashed up again. I thanked my lucky stars for my AA breakdown cover but getting through to them proved a wee bit difficult. Every time I called them the number was engaged. Keith and Mikey went off in search of more water but came back empty handed while I tried again and again to get through to the AA. I later found out that on an average Sunday they get 300-400 calls, while today they had over 4,500 due to the weather!
On my fifth attempt I managed to get through and was told a mechanic would be out within two hours. Amazingly, within ten minutes he arrived but it was clear that our fault was not repairable (a split water hose) and we would have to be taken home. The most annoying thing is that in September the AA wrote to me offering an upgrade to Relay for just £10 and I forgot to do it, but when I upgraded at the roadside it cost me £114! Ho hum!! A lesson learnt there, I think!
I have to say our mechanic was brilliant. As we were by the side of a very busy road he suggested we follow him around the corner to a MacDonalds where we could get a cup of tea and wait in the warm for the recovery van. He filled the radiator with water and Keith followed him the short distance to the restaurant.
Within the hour, I had a text saying the recovery driver was waiting outside for us so we hastily gathered up our things and went outside to meet him...only he wasn't there. He was at a Macdonalds four miles away! Now four miles in London is a long way, especially on a busy Sunday afternoon. I gave him details of where we were as the office had given him the wrong address and by the time he reached us he told us he was almost out of driving time. We managed to get to the London Gateway Services where he had no choice but to stop for 45 minutes to take a break. He then took us onto Toddington Services where we waited three hours for our next recovery man.
Motorway service stations are depressing places at the best of times, but when you have no choice but to wander around they are even worse! We had a hot drink, used the facilities and then went back to the car, only to be told the driver had been delayed by the traffic. We had a walk over to the southbound services, had a snack and then wandered back to sit in the freezing cold car and await our saviour. By 8pm we were on our way home, but another two stranded drivers were also wondering where their vans were and I think we were very lucky to have had to wait just the three hours.
We were home at 9pm and never has a whisky Mac tasted so good!
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