Damp squib

Yet another wet, windy, miserable day. The saga of my car and its NCT continued. It's booked in for re-test on Tuesday, and I'd arranged to have new rear shock absorbers fitted today in a local FastFit place. They explained yesterday that I couldn't just get one replaced ('because that'd just shift the imbalance problem to the other side') and quoted 125 euro for fitting the pair. I was told to 'leave it until after 11.30 so we can get them in', and got to the place at noon. That's when we went through the same business we'd already done over the phone yesterday: 'What year is the car? What's the engine size?' 'Hmmmmm, that's 260 euro, so.' HUH? Other guy takes me aside and apologises for the 'mixup': 'You'd only put the phone down yesterday when I realised we hadn't taken a contact number and hadn't checked that we'd actua;lly have the shocks here for you. Also, I overheard you being quoted 125, so I'm not surprised you're upset. I'll have a word with the boos and see what we can do to improve on that price.' So I left my number and was just leaving when the original guy who'd done the part checking called me back. 'We have a problem. It'll be ten days before we can get them in.' HUH! 'But the re-test is on Tuesday. I'll be penalised if I rearrange at this short notice, and anyway the re-test has to happen by the 16th'.

So I left, and called into the Fiat dealer near home to see if they could work a miracle. The FastFit crowd had warned me that going to a Fiat dealer would 'cost a fortune' and that what they'd fit 'won't be as good as what we'll use'. They'd also said that the reason for the price misunderstanding was because Fiat used different, more expensive shocks since the year beginning with my model. Finally, they said a front set would be cheaper. Now the guy in the Fiat dealership said the opposite when I asked how much he'd charge: 'Well, we fitted a front set recently and that cost around 300, but it'll be less for the back'. He also said that he should be able to do the job tomorrow, and that he'd phone me later with a definite price. He did, quoting 285 euro for the pair. A follow-up call was then needed before they could confirm that could actually do the job tomorrow, which they did. So far it's been 450 euro for the service which was supposed to get the car test-ready, then 50 euro for the test and a further 27.50 for the re-test, and now it's another 285 on top of all that. Will it ever end?

After all that it was good to go out to see Derek and Rita this evening, even though the weather was absolutely miserable, traffic was backed up on my usual route, and it took ages to get out to them by an alternative route. When I got there it was to find out that they'd invested in a full new HD-TV setup -- HD flat-screen LCD TV, Blueray player, HD satellite box, and surround sound system. We watched Land of the Jaguar on the BBC's HD channel and it was gob-smackingly fantastic. Now, of course, I'm tempted in turn, at least in terms of the HD satellite box (FreeSat) to replace my old Freeview one. More money!

So, what's the blip? After the visit to the Fiat dealer I went to the bank to switch some funds to pay for the car. It was wet and windy, but still I braved the elements for a quick blip-wander through Temple Bar and onto the Quays. That's where I saw these wind-blown banners announcing the International Scouting Jamboree which is on at the moment. I later saw a photo in one of the online newspapers showing some of the visiting scouts cavorting in the mud with their tents in the background. They're getting a fine impression of the Irish climate.