The Wedding

Went to a wedding on Saturday.  Had it planned for months.  Nearly didn't get there though.

Been having problems with my car of late and in the latest of incidents I have lost my indicators and my brakes weren't great. 

Driving without indicators is a whole new experience but unlike on a bike your right arm does all the signals, and to turn left any passer by will see you with arm out of the window frantically doing a royal wave.  All you can think is that I hope no-one sees me - well no-one I know - but everyone else obviously otherwise I'm in trouble.

To cut a long story short people are starting to say I jinx cars - that's how many problems I keep having.

So I was meant to be driving my brothers up to Lincolnshire the night before the wedding.  I had my car in the garage the same day.  I was hoping both brakes and indicators could be sorted.  It wasn't to be as the electrician didn't show till gone 3 so barely had time to check the car - but at least find the problem - before I needed to go.  However the brakes were done.

My Dad, forever helpful of which I'm forever appreciative of, drove me to pick up my car and we headed out of the industrial estate.  I heard a weird creaking noise.  Not good.  Pulled over, Dad did the same - he was following me home since no indicators for me - and looked at the front wheels.  Seemed OK.  Dad said everything looked fine, prob brakes bedding in, so I got in and drove about 3 meters when the noise came back worse.  Again we stopped and I jumped out except this time - and thank god Dad saw - my wheel looked ready to fall off, another few meters and I was going round a tight bend and the wheel would have got home before me.  Luckily we spotted this in time and the mechanic said come bring the car back we'll sort this - I told him we're going nowhere and he diligently came out and sorted the problem.

Eventually got home but with no indicators it was down to Dad to drive us to Lincolnshire and try and get back home for a darts match.  (Before coming to get us Sunday.)

We arrived in Lincolnshire and spent a relaxing evening with some now new and old friends, including the Groom.

Saturday came.  Surely nothing could go wrong now.  One of the guys offered to drive us all to the hotel, so me and my brothers alongside the Groom jumped in the car and we were followed by the best man in his as we headed to the hotel.  So far so good...

Overheating Light. 

At oh, that's not good, so the driver pulls over and lifts the hood.  No problems with car before and did the 150 mile journey there fine on Friday.  My brother makes a comment about the car jinx.  I wave it off.

Nothing, so we move off again, no problem, cross two level crossings and on a major single lane A-road come to a hill where we promptly lose power.  We have 35 minutes till the wedding and no car for us all, even worse we're stopped by a ditch and can't push the car further off the road, it could tip over.  The best man takes the groom and my brothers jump in another car that's appeared - luckily  the best man's parents - and I say I'll stay and help get the car moved. 

'You've got  AA or Green flag right?' I ask
'Not anymore, think it run out ages ago.'
'We need a towing co. then quickly.' 

The driver makes a call to a 118 directory co. and tries to get info.  We don't even quite know where we are.  That doesn't help.  I go online via Nokia Maps and pinpoint our position. OK we're on the A607 I tell him and point at the junction we're near. 

The driver is now searching through his wallet and finds his AA card, he tells me maybe it is still in date, he can't remember as his brother pays it for him.  We go to call the AA but his phone battery died. 

Good job I stayed here then, no other had a mobile on them and he would have been stranded uselessly along the A607 on a Hot Saturday morning.

After several calls back and forth with the AA it is agreed his accounts still active and that help was on its way.  An AA Van almost immediately goes past us in the other direction - coincidence?

I say he'll be back and a second later we get a text saying the AA man will be 10 minutes.  Result, we've missed the wedding but we shouldn't hold the food / reception up at least.  We can get towed to a garage in town and get a lift somehow to the hotel.  Job done.

The AA turn up and after my friend proves that he isn't a woman - honestly they had his down as Miss, his brother's obviously laughing at that one - he reveals the nasty truth - the truth my brothers will mention again during the day, the car jinx has struck again. 

Dirty mud like watery oil only means one thing and you don't have a warning (except maybe an overheating light?).  Thanks for inventing the head gasket guys.  Bloody good at its job but no half way point is there.  No one says you need it changed; a car light doesn't come up saying change head gasket does it.  Dam.

The AA man tows says his priority is to tow us to safety.  I'd like to say this guy was a legend, someone else was coming on this job but he;d been the guy we saw drive past, he'd spotted us and as the job flashed on his screen and was allocated elsewhere, he said no.  Give me it.  I've seen them.  I'm close and they're in a  dangerous location. Legend.

So we're taken to a services where we find out, getting better now, that his policy gives his a courtesy car and the vehicle will be towed the 150 miles back to his nearest garage to home.  Result!

So after much paperwork we're at an enterprise, we're about to get to the wedding, he's paid his deposit, we have a car, and we get in to go. 

RRRRRRIIIIIIIPPPPPPP.

'C'mon I say lets get there', sat nav on, we're about to go.
'We have to go back' he says.
'What?  Back where?'

My friend puts his hands down his trousers - yes extremely dodgy - and his hand comes out the bottom of them underneath the fly.

'I ripped them sitting down here.  We need to go back to the Groom's house for my jeans'.

So we did, no other choice, 25 mins back to the house, quick change, jump in car, I call the hotel and say we're on the way and we get there 3 hours after the wedding but in-tact and to a reception of claps for making it.  Everyone friendly - although maybe some sarcasm there, I imagine many starved why we valiantly tried to get there - the groom couldn't 't hold up the wedding - nor should he not -  but he did hold up the dinner.

40 people had to wait for us to eat.  We were kings for a moment.

Can't count the number of drinks I had the rest of that day but I felt it didn't matter.  We'd deserved them.  We'd missed the wedding that we'd travelled so far to get to but made the reception/disco.  Everyone had a great time. 

I wish the happy couple well.  I think my friends at home thanking the lucky stars he's with the AA and although I'm still a car jinx - don't think that stops overnight - at least
I'm not a mobile phone one.