The joys of motoring.

I have on occasions mentioned the delights of being a passenger in the car with the management.

Occasionally though I get the chance to return the favour. Sometimes too we are in a bit of a hurry. Now, many years ago I did some suplemental driving training with a chap who had done a driver training course in Hendon.

Hendon for the uninitiated is where they teach Police driving instructors and he was a qualified police instructor.

It's a shame they do not offer this type of training to the public as it's a type of driving that is not only quick but very very safe.

It also means you cannot half get from A to B in a little time.

So running late I deployed the "system of car control" and away we went to take Tigger to rugby. The Xantia is not what you would call a quick car, but it's no slug either. The suspension is a bit soft and gets caught out occasionally. The engine is a real gem and within it's rev band it is eager and lively.

So of course off we jolly well set. Nice open B roads, good visibility and decent surfaces. Then over the top of the mountain, down the other side, still nice sweeping bends then into narrower sections, short straights tight bends and junctions. Lots of jinking to get the right position. Accelerate hard, brake hard.

Point of Maximum vision.

Course Mirror Signal Brake Gear Accelerate..

The managerial chat seemed to be fading. She was quiet, introverted even.

Unusual for her.

The pitch of her voice was going up.

Round the corner and wipe it all off. A bus going the same way as us. Was that a sigh of relief from the passenger seat?

For some reason she was keen to go to the pub after we dropped Tigger off. She would normally have beer, today for some reason it was whisky, was that a slight tremor in her hand.....

R

The high ground of morality

Well today I have the high ground.

She went off with her axe and saw in pursuit of mayhem and trees, I spent the day with the vacuum and dishwasher, stacking fresh wood and keeping the fire in for two very appreciative cats.

Of course when I said vacuum I was careful to steer the diplomatic middle ground, not such a bad job as to trigger rioting or such a good job as to engender managerial feelings of inadequacy or worst of all an announcement that I was so good at it that I had the job in perpetuity.

Now i must rush off to school to collect Gwion

R

AGA and out

OK I give up.

I am calling the AGAologist in the morning, the house reeks of parafin.

Will have to run the fire full bore for an hour or two to ventilate the building.

Why didn't we get an electric cooker like anyone sensible would have done.


R

Oh dear....

Now occasionally, just occasionally something really gets to the management.

Currently she is railing about the training package offered by daycastle, she is wandering from room to room spraying flies and ranting.

Should I tell her she has picked up a tin of polish and not the fly spray?

Hmmm perhaps not.

Still the house does smell nice.

R

AGA out.......

Fingers and other items crossed lets see if it goes.

Rebuilt again cleaned again.

My hands grained with very fine black soot.

Real b&&&&& of a job as I cannot get my hands in to lift the central bell out with proper fire gloves on and I do not trust the grip of latex surgical gloves, the bell is a serious weight and if my grip slipped or the damn thing rolled off the top of the aga, serious injury would be inevitable.

It's looking better.

I wrote in my blog a while back I would never need to strip it again, how wrong I was.

R

Aga louts ongoing.....

Did that do the trick?

Nope, complete strip down again....

Ahh well it is supposed to be raining tomorrow so I will be in the dry.

This is growing into another epic.

R

AGA lout the second

Of course this is us and our best laid plans...

Somewhere in putting the bell back in I managed to give the burner a whack and it is not flat.

So it was poping and flaring on one side and not burning at all on t'other.

Fortunately management went off to school to get Gwion and I was able to get further kit from the fire engine and make a slight adjustment. Doing this while the fire is lit is the sort of thing you need her out of the way before you do.

With possible alternative outcomes including things like flames and fires.

Fortunately she came home and I was not there with the fire engine damping down.

And I have ordered a special kit to sharpen the chain saw which will save our trips out which are now a weekly event.

Fortunately the weather is looking grim so I will not need to be outside waving the saw for a day or two.

R