Family barbecue

Today started as planned with a little exercise and some work, then packing the car for a visit to Northumberland. So far so good...

However, about 25 miles into our journey south our car started to struggle to accelerate, rather like it did on our way back from Nottingham on 18th June, but this time with funny noises for added entertainment. We managed to chug over Soutra Hill and roll down to Lauder (holding our breath), where we knew that there was a garage.

When we got out of the car we also discovered a terrible smell. The mechanic in Lauder loaded the car onto a viewing ramp and checked it from underneath. The diagnosis was not good, and the prognosis worse. The gearbox is defunct, and given the age/state of our car it is not worth repairing.

With another 75 miles to reach our destination we phoned our brother-in-law, who kindly came to the rescue. We are now at my parents' house with all our stuff, and plan to return to Edinburgh by train. In the meantime we need to arrange for the car to be collected and scrapped.

The party planned for this evening still went ahead. It has been magical to sit outside for a barbecue followed by musical entertainment led by my niece's boyfriend Danny. He's the lead singer in a band called Dome Hall. If you play his song Marske Woods on YouTube, you'll get a sense of Danny's musicianship. Mr hazelh and my nephew were the support act.

In my blip are pictured my brother-in-law, my niece, Danny, Mr hazelh, and my nephew's girlfriend. The picture captures the wonderful atmosphere towards the end of a lovely evening with my family.

Exercise today: sit-ups, weights and stretches.