A Fresh Start

I got to the Park and Ride this morning and was struck, as I left the car, by a strong smell of fuel.

Oh bugger, I thought to myself. Oh well, I’ll sort it when I get back this evening and tootled off into work (in work at 7:20 - lucky me, eh?)

My plan to leave at 4, of course, came to naught and I eventually escaped shortly after 5, arriving back at Thickthorn P&R soon after half past. Warily I approached the vehicle but couldn’t smell anything. There was a faint aroma inside the car, but nothing strong enough to concern me, so I fired it up - again, no problem - and drove home.

Getting out of the car it immediately occurred to me that I’d done a Very Silly Thing - the smell of fuel was overpowering. Time to ring those nice rescue people again.

This time they were here within half an hour (typical, seeing as I was now safely home). The chappie stuck his head under the bonnet and swore. “I’ve got a stinking cold and I can smell it. How far have you driven this.”

I told him.

“Bloody hell!”. This was not the most reassuring thing I could have heard at that precise time.

We’ve left the car outside the local garage (having towed me there - and that was disconcertingly fun, driving 5 feet away from a big van on a rigid tow bar) and I’ll give them a call in the morning to explain why there’s a leaky Renault dripping petrol all over their forecourt. Odds are they’ll be fully booked this week, of course, so I’ll be well and truly scuppered. Luckily Hazy lives at the other end of the town and so can get me to and from the orifice. She’s even working on Friday this week, which is unusual but suits me nicely.

What’s especially fortunate, of course (hence this post’s title) is that (a) the car didn’t explode as I drove either to or from the Park and Ride, and (b) the fuel pipe didn’t start spewing out petrol yesterday on the M4. That would have been really inconvenient!

Do you think the Em³mobile is trying to suggest that it may be time to be changed? If so, it can just wait - there’s no way I can consider that at this time! Just as well I don’t believe of things coming in threes, eh?