Elderslie-Manchester-Glasgow and home again

Ross and I drove down and picked up Brian and his pal Jim from Glamis Avenue and we all drove down to Manchester together. The match was great and we had a good time catching up with Brian again. Here we all are having a beer after the match:


Today we drove back and dropped Brian and Jim in the centre of Glasgow (they insisted) and then went off for a quick bite at the Pond Hotel before going in to see Dad at Erskine Glasgow. He had just had lunch and was dozing in a chair at the end of the corridor on the SW side of Flanders House:

We didn't waken him but Ross and I spoke softly and he eventually came round slowly. "Who are you?" - it got a lot worse after that - his lips were thin and he snarled at us and would probably have verbally abused us, if he could find the words. Suffice to say, he told us to scram - so we did - for a while anyway. We then went back and tried again, but his mood was no better, and this time, he got up and walked away. We followed him round - at a safe distance - and he took the same seat in the NE corner, just outside his room. I watched as one of the care assistants got the same treatment as we'd just had, so I decided there was no point in trying again - although we did say cheerio, but all we got was a scowl.

I've never seen him like this and it was a bit upsetting. I spoke to the care assistant and he said it sometimes happens after lunch - he didn't elaborate why, but said it was best just to walk away.

Anyway, Kelly - I previously got a row from Gary for talking prematurely about the Apprentice result in my blog - and what did I do today on the road back from Manchester? - Yup - I read your blog - I obviously hadn't seen the Apprentice last night when we were at the football, so it was a bit of a bummer to stumble across the result before I got home and watched it tonight on Sky +. You've spoiled the surprise!

Wednesday

Despite all the promises, it seems only Gary and I are updating our blogs regularly - mmmm

Just heading off to Old Trafford with Ross - picking up Brian and pal in Elderslie. I finally got my car back at 6 pm last night - touch and go. Just wakened Ross - he promised to do us all a favour and shower before travelling down, but it hasn't happened yet - no surprise there then.

Waiting for a car

I took Cathy Clark's BMW home last night - luckily no mishaps in our drive overnight - and then returned it to Jacquie's this morning. So here I am waiting for a call from Arnold Clark - will they let me down? Will I have go to Plan B to get me home tonight and down to Manchester tomorrow? Who knows?

I just spoke to Brian, so I have agreed to go and pick him up in Elderslie - bit of a detour for us, but Brian seemed a little uncertain about meeting us on the motorway and he's got some work to do in the morning.

Not much else happening, but looking forward to Barcelona - Chelsea tonight - hope it's better than last night's Newcastle - Portsmouth.

Car update

Just heard from Arnold Clark - obviously they did look at my car this morning after all - perhaps because of the fuss I made? - apparently they have found another fault which requires a part - and, true to form, they don't have it in stock and will have to order it in. They say they should get it tomorrow, but it's a full day's work and the earliest I'll get my car back is tomorrow night - and, of course, I need it to drive to Manchester and back on Wednesday morning - Ross and I are meeting Brian and his pal near Glasgow.

I'm now trying to put back-up options in place.

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.