Monday's painting...

...an Angel.

I think these angels have been helping me.

I have a wee bit of a battery problem with my car, as I suspect many of you may be experiencing with cars having an enforced rest. My car is only a year old, but because of Covid it has spent much of its first year sitting idly in my driveway. I discovered my battery problem at the shops on Saturday. The car refused to open. So I had to manually unlock it. Black screen of death on the iPad sized display, with just the words it had shut down displays and non essential stuff to conserve battery. Panic set in.

I pressed the button to start. Car started. Phew. But still blacked out displays. So I thought if I drive for a bit then this will recharge battery. By the way all the non-essential shops (apart from charity shops) are all open and trading, so they are not closed as per tier 4 Welsh rules. Also in 3 shops (I went in) not one shop assistant was wearing the requisite face mask. This appears to be some lawless frontier town where the sherif sits in his office all day twiddling his thumbs. Yes the police station is on the same road...

Anyway I drove to the next town where the law abiding citizens all had closed their non essential shops, in fact not one shop was open. So I was now driving on dual carriageways at 60mph, it was below freezing still so I wasn't risking 70 mph. Black screen of death still on displays. Two hours later the screens came back on. So I drove another half hour just to make sure.

Back home I then was researching battery chargers. Then I came across a solar powered trickle charger, which you plug in your cigarette lighter, and my car windscreen does face the sun all day. So I went to check the cigarette lighter is on when engine off, but alas no.

So that idea won't work. I cannot lift a normally heavy battery charger, And neither could I lift a spare battery if I went down that route. Also my car is in my driveway right by the road (and scallies driving around), so I can't leave the bonnet open unattended to recharge the car.

New idea now is drive the car every day this week for an hour. It is Monday today. Next week will be 3 times during the week for an hour. Then following week twice a week for an hour, and carry on with that frequency. Weather permitting of course.

First of all I was annoyed this is going to take a huge inroad into my time, and I don't have the spare time with everything else. But then I changed my attitude. Sun rose at 8:26 today, and I start driving, well not exactly east at this time of year, but more or less South East at this time of year, and see the sun rise. I love watching the sky as the sun rises. Trouble is England is in the way. This stupid border problem and I live on the border, but on the Welsh side. So I need to drive South first for a bit, and then I can drive South East a little. I need the dual carriageways so I can get those revs up to recharge the battery in the shortest time possible.


Later in the day, today, Monday..
A beautiful dawn, wonderful sunrise. Found back roads I didn't know. Found village shops I had never seen before, better than the wild frontier shops on my high street, and these village shops sold some nice and different, and some home made type stuff. Much more interesting.
And the car battery got some good charging. But the car display is not at its brightest yet, so car still needs some more trips!!!!