The Breakdown

It is times like this when your faith in human nature is restored.
As we waited nearly three hours for the breakdown truck to arrive we had so many people stop to admire the car and ask of we needed help.

Before I called the breakdown service it stopped three times and each time I managed to get it off the road and within minutes someone stopped and asked if we need help.
When it stopped for the third time I knew we were about to swap to a major busy road so I said enough and sat on a wall while I decided what to do.
As I sat a man stopped in a car and asked if all is well and I said not really so he took his wife home which was nearby and came back. He explained he was a mechanic for an international touring car racing team all his career and now he's 82. We ran through the problem and thankfully we agreed it was one of two things. Then he took me in his car to see his Corvette and have a tea. Then he (John) offered to take Mandy for a tea but she was content painting so he phoned around to try to find a coil but none were available locally so he phoned a friend who didn't have one.
As we chatted the breakdown truck arrived and the man appeared more interested to take us and the car to Suffolk than he was in even looking at the problem. Then within minutes his boss had booked us into a very nice hotel for the night and agreed to take us home tomorrow. I know what wrong and how to fix it. Next time I'll add a coil to the spares I carry.
I'm absolutely sure that if this problem had happened 40 or 50 years ago the parts would have been replaced by any garage and I would have been on my way in an hour.Read more