Monday, Monday

The day started off with a bang - although I didn't hear it. There was a note from Ross on the stair this morning asking me to check my car. Apparently, he had decided to take Harris home just after midnight, but, instead of just using my car, which was at the bottom of the drive, he use the big red Jag, which belongs to Derek Glass.

He though he could squeeze past, but failed and there's a great big scrape on the Jag now - and some on the Volvo rear bumper too. Ross is apparently insured and he tells me it's fully comprehensive alright, but he can't afford to make a claim just now - I guess that means he has a large excess. Of course, the root problem is that he has no cash now and no immediate prospects of bringing any in - but does that mean he's searching for a job? What do you think? Apparently online gaming is far more important.

Do I sound dispirited and frustrated? You bet I am.

I think I took out some of this frustration at Arnold Clark's this morning. My car had come up with red warning lights this weekend, "saying brake fluid low - urgent service required", so I decided I had better go straight to Arnold Clark's and get them to look at it. The car is theirs (under contract hire) and service intervals are 18,000 miles - the last service was 54,000 miles and the car has done 62,000 miles, so the next service is not due for another 10,000 miles yet.

I was there sharp at 8:00 am when they open and I explained the position. I had hoped they would have a quick look at it and top up the brake fluid there and then. I was happy to wait a couple of hours if necessary, but was immediately told that they were very busy with other cars that had been booked in for this morning and would not even manage to look at it until this afternoon. I tried, in vain, to ask that they at least treat this as a priority, but I got a pretty snotty response from a little jobsworth.

OK - what about getting me back from Tullos to Bridge of Don? "There's a courtesy vehicle that can take you to the centre of town" - that's all? "Sorry, sir". The steam was starting to come out of both ears now and I told her what I thought about their service and especially her attitude.

Hope the rest of the day gets better.