When You Are At A Garage...

...and the garage owner, upon hearing the noise your engine is making after being started up, exclaims "Bloody Nora!" before he has even started the test drive he said he was going to have to do; you know that whatever the problem is, it is bad.

When you are at a garage and - after the "Bloody Nora!" moment - the garage owner, upon raising the car up on the raising-the-car-up-thingy* to take a look, exclaims "holy shit!" as he waggles the exhaust pipe back and forth (in a way that it isn't supposed to be able to waggle); you know that whatever the problem is, it is very bad.

When you are at a garage and - after the "Bloody Nora!" and "holy shit!" moments - the garage owner, upon making a very thorough inspection, sucks his breath in through his teeth and says "I'm not going to lie; this isn't good. Things need to be replaced, and as Theodore is a very old car, I'm not sure what you will decide you want to do"; you know that whatever the problem is, it is very very bad.

When you are at a garage, however - despite the "Bloody Nora!" and "holy shit!" and "I'm not going to lie; this isn't good. Things need to be replaced, and as Theodore is a very old car, I'm not sure what you will decide you want to do" moments - and the garage owner, after filling your heart with dread; tells you that the entire cost including V.A.T and labour will come to a little under £80, you will immediately begin to feel A LOT better.

...Bloody man...
    If he weren't so good (and nice. and honest. and dependable.) I'd swing for him, I really would.

As it was, we waited while he ordered the new exhaust pipe, door-handle fittings and doohickey** - thank goodness for the parts supply shop just down the road. That saved several weeks of waiting - paid the £74.87 bill (rather than having to spend several hundred on a new second-hand car) and skipped (well, drove) our way home happy as Larry.

I'm going to sit down, now. With that temporary stress on top of the heat and with the extra hours I've been putting in at work this week, I feel quite limp.

Tara.
    Alice x


* a technical term used by ignorant people like me, who have no idea what certain things - such as the various car and/or car fixing components - are actually called.

** another technical term. Never fear, I've got loads of 'em.