Sniff ...

Just waved bye bye to my little Panda on the back of a low loader.  Martin thinks might be a problem with the fuel pump as we could hear it whining.  May be gunged up with nasty fuel from Tesco's or more terminal.  He got his lad to push him back up the hill while he gunned it to confuse it into starting and he managed to get it onto the low loader under its own steam.  Promptly conking out just as it levelled out so only just enough oomph.  Looks like I may be calling Enterprise to get me out of a pickle.  Timing is impeccable.

Boating Fix - tick

Spent last night on the boat.  The stove got it nice and warm plus it stayed in all night.  However I got no sleep whatsoever due to really heavy rain ALL NIGHT.  Wasn't the rain per se that kept me awake it was the worry that the car wouldn't start in the morning for me to take fellow boater to the train station.  The car has been misbehaving the last week or so.  I think it might have been dodgy fuel from Tescos in Skipton.  Normally I fill up at Morrisons in Mansfield.  If the problem goes away again now that I have put a fresh lot of fuel in that will help with diagnosis which has been bugging us for two years now.  (Intermittant obviously).  It is as if it has air in the system but only happens when it is cold and wet.  Go figure.  Had a lovely meal out in the Ash Tree Pub to boot.  All in all a good 24 hours.

I could scream

Dearly beloved has swanned off to New Zealand for a month having cleverly just ordered two items to be delivered.  The first one offered a fantastic deal whereby it gets delivered to your local spar shop.  Wonderful fabulous I got sent the notification that it had arrived to my mobile phone went to collect it gave them the reference off the phone and job done parcel duly collected.  Second one was more problematical whatever it was was out of stock but eventually in stock and on its way by DHL.  They are notoriously useless, can never find our house, don't let anyone one know, and when you finally ask where it is, it is at East Midlands Airport and you have to fetch it within 48 hours of them failing to deliver it or it goes back from whence it came.  So of course it is normally well on its way, far far away.

However this time they have excelled themselves.  I was sent the link from himself in NZ and on Monday I checked it and it was at the depot.  So unlikely to be arriving Monday - I nipped out.  Tuesday I was in ALL DAY and playing around with the link discovered I could add my email address to the service.  I then get an email about 5pm stating it is still on its way so I advise them to deliver before 12 Wed or after 12 Thurs or to ring the landline or mobile.  Playing around with the link again I discover that apparently it has already successfully been delivered at 13.50.

The notifications go thus
Mon 12 12 11 - 13.13 the shipment has arrived at the import parcel centre
Mon 12 12 11 - 23.49 the shipment is being prepared for delivery at the depot
Tues 13 12 11 - 13.11 the recipient of the shipment is unknown.  The shipment could not be delivered
Tues 13 12 11 - 13.45 the shipment could not be delivered
Tues 13 12 11 - 13.50 the shipment has been successfully delivered.

The question is where?

At the time of the delivery I was actually sitting on the sofa with the window directly in front of me and no one passed the window to knock on the door!  We are on a dead end lane so no truck has been passed to turn around in our driveway that I wasn't aware of.  I was up and down like a jack in a box every time a car did go by so I know this for a fact.

Today I have been door knocking and no neighbours have it (and anyway they would have brought it straight up as normal) I have even been given the number of a house in another village with a similar house address to check they haven't got it.

I despair.

and so far no response from DHL as to what they have done with it!

No longer in your face

Can only be a good thing but I notice that the picture at the top has been resized.  The gremlins finally working for the power of good.

It has snowed here again.  I am not happy.