Paris it ain't...
The trip to UK, Paris and the Basque Country has had to be postponed and I am sulking. Big, mopey, bottom lip-quivering sulking. Reasons I am not going are: the shoulder is playing up, I don't have enough leave left to go away in March and the car finally packed it in so I had to use my travel budget on a new one. Instead of being grateful that I had enough cash, I am grieving the loss of Paris and this heap...
My mechanic kept telling me it was on its last 20-year-old legs and that he had replaced evey part in the damn thing except the number plate, but no, I wouldn't give up Little Car. I finally had to cave in a couple of weeks ago when the suspension and axles were creaking so much I thought it would fall to bits. I couldn't justify spending any more to repair it. The mechanic gave me the name of a reputable mate in the business and the chap arranged a wonderful deal on a 2007 Getz but no, tears still fell as I said goodbye. The salesman was a bit dumfounded that anyone could prefer the above to this:
It is pretty swank but I can't get used to the fact that: it has power steering (your shoulder should hurt when you drive); the fuel gauge works (you should have to write down your mileage and fill up every 250 kms); you don't have to prop the hatch open with a stick (all hatches should drop on your head when you are trying to get into the boot); it doesn't creak when you drive it (all cars should make noises akin to the rending and buckling of sheet metal); there are no holes in the roof (rain should drip on your face as you tootle to work) and the air con is cold (frying is a necessary adjunct to driving in Australia). But I miss Little Car. We had ten years of wondrous times together. So many memories. *sigh*
So now I have to save hard to fill the bank account up again. In these uncertain times it is a worry to spend anything. I could have had a trip around the world for the price of this little gadget and had a ball meeting all my LJ friends. :0(
Maybe 2011.