It makes you wonder about parallel universes, doesn't it? A couple of times, murderously heavy objects have fallen from above within inches of me and I've lived to tell the tale.
I helped the vicar's wife repot her Acer this week and gave her the last of my ericaceous JI compost and some feed granules for it. It probably bought me just enough favour to let me off this time.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
When away with a university group back when I was at Liverpool we went to Hexham for a canoeing event. In the Sunday late afternoon I was driving the minibus with canoe trailer when there was a problem with the trailer. The uni hire van had AA cover so we called them in. We were a mile from M6 near Carlisle it was a big minibus with big trailer full of kayaks parked in the pub carpark. We gave them the name of the pub, told them it's about 1-2 miles east of the M6 junction included junction number and that we had been traveling to the M6 from Hexham. They said about an hour wait. Great! Students in the pub drinking and me not.
One hour later no AA. Two hours no AA so we called. They had sent a van there not no van so they cancelled the call out. They reinstated it and no AA van. After an hour. Called back and the AA van had been unable to find us.
Then they decided to call in an independent, local flat bed operator. He spent half an hour driving up and down the road then on a hunch he thought he'd get something. He knew there was a pub about a mile from the m6 so he went there and found us straight away.
He told us that the call out had told him we were on the road from M6 to Carlisle. There was no way anyone could mistake what we said in the original call to AA that we were West of the M6. We were quite clear we were East in the road from Hexham. It was an absolute joke. Not least because it meant I got home in Liverpool at 4:30am and had to be in university by 9:30 having dropped the van off and walked a mile or two back to university from the van hire garage. I was shattered once that Monday was over. All because of AA incompetence.
I changed from Green Flag to AA ... Green Flag nearly got us killed both sides of the Dartford Tunnel a couple of years ago ... we broke down just going into the tunnel ... they sent a chap who assumed that I'd stalled it (being a woman with white hair ... I told him it was an electrical problem but he ignored me ... he was even cross with me when I kept repeating it) and he hit the starter motor with a hammer, bump started it and said 'You don't need to stop for fuel do you? Good. Don't stop until you get back to Norwich!'
We broke down again just as we emerged from the tunnel ... no electrics hence no hazard lights, no way to charge the mobile phone battery which was almost flat due to the long drawn out conversation with the first Green Flag man who 'couldn't find the Dartford Tunnel' ... managed to drift to the side wall (no hard shoulder!!!) put a fluorescent jacket in the back window to warn oncoming traffic ... couldn'tt get out of the passenger side 'cos of the wall, daren't get out of the driver's side 'cos of the traffic ... managed to phone Green Flag again, asked them to tell the police as we couldn't ... they didn't tell the police so we were stuck there with traffic swerving around us for nearly 90 minutes ... probably the most terrifying time of my life ... before a Green Flag tow truck arrived and took us to the nearest services where a mechanic found that the battery earth wire had detached and caused a major electrical failure. They were horrified by what the first chap had done. Lots and lots of phone calls to Green Flag got a reluctant apology. Never again!!!
We changed back to the AA ... the first time we needed them they found us within a very short while up a hidden driveway in the Norfolk countryside, found the problem and fixed the problem in a very Covid safe way and didn't treat me as if I was a woman with fluff for brains... we'll stay with the AA.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I had AA cover for a year with a new car I bought. Mostly I have never bothered, put the money you would spend to one side a pay a local garage if you need to. I have always relied upon professional servicing to keep cars in working order. We had to call someone once on our way to Scotland, the power steering fluid leaked out. We got to services called a local, he came within an hour and fixed it. The charge was less than the Annual cost of membership to any breakdown service.
I remember when we were young that dad belonged to the AA, in those days we had one of their badges on the front of our car and when we passed the AA chap on his motorcycle and sidecar and dad and said chap acknowledged each other we thought we were the bees knees, we thought he knew us personally, nothing to do with there being a badge on the front of the car!
My dad had the RAC badge on the front of his motor bike & sidecar, they would salute each other as they passed. Years ago it was AA policy not to pick up and take to your chosen destination in one hit, we would have to wait at the next services for another pick up truck, would take hours to get home.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
When I got my first car - straight out of university - my Mum put me as a joint member on her AA membership and I remained a member for about 25 years. Called them out a few times and in the early years, they were always really good. I called them from the middle of Bodmin Moor late at night (so lucky to have a signal) and told them I was driving a Rover with an overheating problem and they said "ah right - that'll be dead. We'll get the tow truck to you - might take an extra 20 minutes". He towed us to my parents' house in Truro and dropped the car with a friend mechanic near by who confirmed it was a right off. But then a few years ago something changed in their loss adjustment strategy and suddenly anything I called them for was mysteriously not covered and would be charged extra. Three lots of £100 extra charges and I changed to the RAC. There's no point having insurance if they're just going to charge you anyway.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I had AA cover for a year with a new car I bought. Mostly I have never bothered, put the money you would spend to one side a pay a local garage if you need to. I have always relied upon professional servicing to keep cars in working order. We had to call someone once on our way to Scotland, the power steering fluid leaked out. We got to services called a local, he came within an hour and fixed it. The charge was less than the Annual cost of membership to any breakdown service.
The car being professionally serviced does not mean it can't, and won't, break down. My last breakdown was in a car which was serviced absolutely in accordance with the manufacturers handbook. It broke down on the sliproad onto the motorway, probably the most expensive place to break down. The car had gone into 'limp home mode' which was far too slow to drive safely on a motorway. The AA towed me to the nearest services and then arranged a wagon to get me and the car back to my local garage. I suspect that would have cost a lot more than my annual membership.
Posts
One hour later no AA. Two hours no AA so we called. They had sent a van there not no van so they cancelled the call out. They reinstated it and no AA van. After an hour. Called back and the AA van had been unable to find us.
Then they decided to call in an independent, local flat bed operator. He spent half an hour driving up and down the road then on a hunch he thought he'd get something. He knew there was a pub about a mile from the m6 so he went there and found us straight away.
He told us that the call out had told him we were on the road from M6 to Carlisle. There was no way anyone could mistake what we said in the original call to AA that we were West of the M6. We were quite clear we were East in the road from Hexham. It was an absolute joke. Not least because it meant I got home in Liverpool at 4:30am and had to be in university by 9:30 having dropped the van off and walked a mile or two back to university from the van hire garage. I was shattered once that Monday was over. All because of AA incompetence.
We broke down again just as we emerged from the tunnel ... no electrics hence no hazard lights, no way to charge the mobile phone battery which was almost flat due to the long drawn out conversation with the first Green Flag man who 'couldn't find the Dartford Tunnel'
We changed back to the AA ... the first time we needed them they found us within a very short while up a hidden driveway in the Norfolk countryside, found the problem and fixed the problem in a very Covid safe way and didn't treat me as if I was a woman with fluff for brains... we'll stay with the AA.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Years ago it was AA policy not to pick up and take to your chosen destination in one hit, we would have to wait at the next services for another pick up truck, would take hours to get home.
But then a few years ago something changed in their loss adjustment strategy and suddenly anything I called them for was mysteriously not covered and would be charged extra. Three lots of £100 extra charges and I changed to the RAC. There's no point having insurance if they're just going to charge you anyway.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
The car being professionally serviced does not mean it can't, and won't, break down. My last breakdown was in a car which was serviced absolutely in accordance with the manufacturers handbook. It broke down on the sliproad onto the motorway, probably the most expensive place to break down. The car had gone into 'limp home mode' which was far too slow to drive safely on a motorway. The AA towed me to the nearest services and then arranged a wagon to get me and the car back to my local garage. I suspect that would have cost a lot more than my annual membership.