Oh Blimey, I'm Such A Twit **

It's quite nice, when good and pleasing things happen to be able to put them on the blog. And now I'm into photography, to be able to add pictures of those good and pleasing things is a bonus. When the blog books are viewed in years to come, family members and friends might smile at achievements, and even (hopefully) admire my images. So ... I think it only fair to present a 'balanced' view of life, and also note when things don't go quite so well.

I once wrote a blog post called 'Driving Miss Maisie' which was about me and my experience of driving (and learning to drive), but which also introduced my readers to Maisie, my fabulous little car. She's not posh or anything, but she is lovely. In my June Round Up of last year, I also posted a picture of Maisie (well, a bit of her) when she'd been valeted and looked gorgeous and shiny.

Poor old Maisie isn't looking at her best at the moment. :-(

I'd like to be able to tell you it was all the fault of some horrid anonymous other. To tell you that said other wasn't looking where they were going and was driving in a totally inappropriate manner. To tell you that this wasn't my fault at all, and that I was the victim of circumstance. But I can't. Well, I could, but I'd be lying, and then I'd get big white spots on my tongue (at least that's what Grandma C said would happen if I lied).

I'll tell you what actually happened if you promise not to laugh. Do you promise? You haven't got your finger crossed behind your back have you? So the promise doesn't really count? Hmmmm. OK then.

What actually happened was that I'd dropped the kids off at school and thought I'd be very efficient and nip into Waitrose on my way home, to get a few bits. I drove into the car park and picked my parking space - over in the corner, between the black VW Golf, and one of those 'trolley bays' where people put their trolleys for the young man to collect later and take back to the front of the shop. I reversed in, as I always do. But I didn't do it very well. :-(

Total understatement of the year ... I more than didn't do it very well. I totally cocked it up! Those iron railings they've got round those trolley bays are really, really strong! 'Was the fence moving very fast?' asked one of my friends when I told him what had happened? *blush* Erm, no ... it wasn't. I was so very cross with myself - what a stupid thing to do. In my defence, I had been ill all week with one of those feverish, achey viruses, and really wasn't feeling at all 'right'. I've been driving for over 20 years and this is the first time I've done something like this.

Anyway, I came home and burst into tears (like you do). It was one of those times when I wished I wasn't doing 'life' alone. I wished there were a lovely man here to put his arms round me, comfort me, and tell me not to worry - that it was an accident, and he'd help me sort it out. But of course that's not how it is.

So, once I'd stopped being angry with myself and calmed down a bit, I did what any sane woman would do: I baked. I baked vanilla biscuits and flapjacks, because as we all understand, that would help. It didn't help with the car, but it helped with me. When a couple of days had passed, I rang a local car body repair place and a nice man looked Maisie over. He said I need a new door and a new sill and lots of paintwork 'doing'. He sent me a letter telling me how much he would like me to give him to do the work. After I'd picked myself up off the floor, I called my Insurance Company and said 'help!'

The insurance company sent a different nice man to look Maisie over. He said she needs TWO new doors and if it's a high grade steel job, she might even be a write off, given that she's several years old, and a Toyota (the value of which make of car has plummeted badly in recent weeks.) :( Oh flipping heck. I'm waiting to hear from the insurance company now as to what they're going to do - to repair or not to repair; that is the question. Whilst I am able to think it is probably a good job I tangled with the metal railings rather than the black VW Golf. And that I was on my own so the kids weren't upset by witnessing the accident. And that nobody was hurt; I still feel a total numpty, and cannot believe how much hassle this has all caused. Tsk.

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** Please feel free to exchange the 'i' in 'twit' for another vowel of your choice.