Dead parrot

Insomnia struck again last night and the cricket was less pleasant listening. Early start to get up to London for work this morning. As you can see we didn't quite make it. The clutch started to stick at one roundabout, came out but failed at the next. I managed to nurse it round the corner and bring it to a safe stop but it wasn't the ideal position to wait for an hour. So K deciding the car was a goner anyway managed to get it up to the asda car park.

Getting to work from where we were would have taken way too long. My breakdown would have taken me there, 60-90 min late, but then the car would have been stranded in a hospital car park. So we were left with very little option - call work to get someone to cover (way, way more difficult to even contact than it should have been) and then ride the tow truck back to Winchester.

So at lunchtime we had one car with a dead clutch which would cost more to repair than it's worth, one car SORNed and needing work (it's hardly a commuting car) and one car with the wheel touching the rim after an altercation with a low wall. Hardly helpful for work on Monday.

By mid afternoon we'd bought one car and decided to hang fire on another until we know what's happening with my work life in the new year. And whether the tyre-rim problem is easily, or more importantly cheaply, sorted. I've only 9 days left in the current job and we can work around that with a bit of effort.

And agreed a price for the dead car for scrap. And organised a free loan of a courtesy car until they can have ours ready. And sold a phone, sorted the kit for getting the petrol out, turned the house and car upside down to find the misplaced driving licence and done a supermarket shop.

Collapsed in the sofa thinking I was late for Strictly only to find it was still only 5:15. It's amazing how much you fit in when you start at 6am. I'm not recommending it though, I was a bit brain dead after <4 hours sleep. Again.

And as I'm listening to the cricket unable to sleep again I don't think tonight is going to be much different. Painful listening too but I could never be accused of being a fair weather supporter.

Vx