Quirky car

I flew back to Carcassonne today - nothing remarkable in that you might think.

My lovely wife drove me to Stansted because, being a weekend, there were engineering works somewhere along the Stansted 'not really what you would call an' Express line, which meant the dreaded words 'coach replacement service' came into effect. Just reading those words had me pleading with my wife. "I know it's a Sunday but please, please drive me to the airport - I'll have to leave 4 hours earlier if I take the coach replacement service". They seem to change coach drivers these days as often as they changed horses once upon a time - shame we can't whip them to make them go faster!!

Anyway, airport normal, security normal, dull dull dull - flight on time - no 'tasty' snacks due to in-flight catering cock-up. Big cheer from my fellow passengers for that one.

All the time, in the back of my mind, from the moment I left North London, a nagging question that wouldn't go away. Will the car start?

In France I am the very proud owner of a 1992 Audi Cabriolet, metallic green with a black roof. It was always a fine car and it still cuts the mustard looks wise, especially in open top mode. It was born in Germany, moved to England and now lives in France, so like me, it's been around and done some mileage. Also like me it's looking a bit battered here and there and isn't quite as reliable as it used to be - hence my nagging question.

I know it has an electrical problem. There have been enough non-starts and flat batteries for that much to be so very patently obvious. If I don't drive it every couple of days in the winter, the battery drains and I have to take it out and put it on a charger for 24 hours, which you might think is a bit tedious but I think is part of it's charm.

In fact, before Christmas I booked it into the local dealer to check out the electrics and an engine vibration. "Il y a une probleme avec le moteur et le systeme electrique, je pense". I was quite proud of that sentence in the dealership and, whether it was right or wrong, they took my car into care whilst I went back to London for a week. I returned to find that the engine problem was nothing - "C'est ne pas grave" - but the electrics hadn't been looked at.

I took the car away to use and booked it back in to coincide with my next 10 day London trip. When I returned I was shown some very dodgy wiring behind a panel in the boot. Alas, no attempt had been made to rectify it. So, they jump started it for me. I drove it home, took the battery out, charged it up again, used it over Christmas and New Year and took it back in early January when I was returning to London for three weeks.

Now I can be quite cynical about things but even I thought they would do something this time. But no - I returned and they apologised. How do French businesses make any money if they won't do any work on a blatant problem given to them on a plate? . They had now had my car for five and a half weeks and not fixed it and not charged me anything!! So, once again, they got the jump leads out and I drove it home and took the battery out and charged it up and - and well, frankly I can't be arsed to take it back again and the weather is getting a bit warmer and I quite like the quirkiness of it.

Hence, I arrived today with the nagging question in the back of my mind. The jump leads are in the boot just in case, but this time they weren't needed - the little beauty started up all it's own. Why, oh why, did I ever doubt you.