What made you UNHAPPY today!

[Stuart Monument]

So sorry to hear of your loss Chris. Keep strong and remember the good times. 

[Bibs]

Very sad news Chris, sorry to hear about your Mum. Thoughts with you and the family mate. 

[Dave Eds]

So sorry to hear this Chris. Just passed 5 year anniversary of losing my own Mum in similar circumstances, it does get more bearable mate but you'll  think of the good times too every single day without fail.

So glad to have met your Mum too on that strangest of days out, albeit so very briefly.

Thinking of you and your family mate.

 

[elise 147]

So sorry to hear of your loss Chris, 

Stephen & Kim

[Mysterae]

Back in March I had a hole appear in one of my back teeth which was subsequently filled. That failed a few weeks later and I went back to the dentist to get it repaired only for the appointment to be cancelled because of the lockdown. Tonight whilst eating dinner that hole has now resulted in the tooth splitting in half and me swallowing the other half of it.

That's going to bite me in the arse later 😬.

[Bibs]

Ouchy! 

[Mysterae]

Today was a shit day, literally.

The previous owner of the house we moved in to last September lied about when the septic tank was last emptied; last year my poopchute. The sewage was backed up all the way from the tank to the drain covers of the house. So I bucketed a lot of it in to a rainwater butt (near enough filled it) just to make enough "space" to see us through a few days. Thankfully I managed to get a company on short notice to empty it, the bloke was excellent and really knew his shit.

Despite stripping down, clothes in the washing machine and a deep clean shower, I can still smell it in my nostrils 🤢.

Nor did I find my broken tooth 🦷.

[Barrykearley]

Shouldn’t back up - there’s an issue there. If it’s a septic tank it should have a soak away which takes the run off. A functional septic tank won’t need to be emptied.

you sure it’s not a cess pit?.

[Mysterae]

Yes Barry, there's a little more to it. There was a bit of a fatberg that he had to backflush out and it looks like a tree close to the port has moved a pipe of the soak away. The manhole cover is the type that looks like an engine mount only bigger and smellier. I sense I've got some repair to the soakaway to do in the future.

[Barrykearley]

I had a few years of problems with a soakaway on our old septic tank - in the end I bought a treatment plant and moved the whole lot. However with a treatment plant you do need to desludge every 2-3 years. Ask the desludgers and they will say it needs to be done every year as it’s better for their pocket.

[ChrisJ]

Finally got my hair cut today - by my wife - see this thread

[tim_marra]

Groundhog day!

[RoflOnMyWaffle]

Took the plynth off the rear - found whoever's put my plate on drilled through it, the plynth, and into my clam 🤬😡

Doubt I can get it sorted by the dealer who sold it to me - worth a shot 😂😂

[mayevora]

I took a car full of garden rubbish to the local tip yesterday. I waited 50 minutes in a cue to be told, sorry we are now shut, come back tomorrow. Got to the tip again this morning at 8.20am thinking arrive early and front of the cue when it opens at 9am. Arrived and I was first car in the cue. Didn’t open until 10am. Doh!!! 🙄 

[andydclements]

Well, you did get first place, would have been worse if you got there at 8:20 but still were't first for it opening at 10:00

[Alfa2Evora]

Over the years, I've gradually converted our garden from the sterile manicured lawns and formal rose beds that we inherited when we bought the house to a wild nature garden with a wide variety of native plants and trees which in turn have attracted a wide variety of birds, mammals and reptiles to our little oasis on the edge of suburbia. Jennifer reckons the real reason behind it was so I could avoid all that mowing, weeding and pruning - how very dare she! 

So how have certain members of the avian branch of my wildlife visitors, most likely the magpies or the jackdaws, chosen to thank me for all my efforts on their behalf? Why, they've only gone and used the Evora as a dining table,  . They've pecked away so vigorously at their chosen foodstuffs that their beaks have ripped holes in my lovely, custom-made outdoor car cover and chipped the paint underneath - mostly confined to the door mirrors fortunately but there are also a couple of bits on the roof,  .

That's gratitude for you. Well, two can play at that game. First thing tomorrow, 50 tons of concrete will be on order!

The cover is blue - don't know why these next 2 came out grey.

[andydclements]

My cat keeps the bids away, but I have a wide line of claw-plucked car cover running the length of the car cover, and cat claw marks where gnats etc have interested him in the evenings. Loose either way.

[Alfa2Evora]

OK, so I realise that with a motoring fleet that comprises of a Lotus, a Saab, and an Alfa Romeo, all of which are around 10 years old, and a Triumph that is knocking on 40, some might consider me a glutton for punishment but actually I quite enjoy a challenge and don't mind breaking out the spanners and getting my hands dirty when the mood takes.

Lately though, things have just got a bit silly when it comes to trying to keep even one item of personal transport in a functioning condition. The TR8 was never up for consideration in this respect - it's currently a long-running restoration project and is nothing more than a bare bodyshell sitting on blocks in the middle of my garage floor, surrounded by a huge pile of boxes containing a myriad of bits. The Evora is also out of contention as it has been lurking under its waterproof cover, 'abandoned' on my driveway after the last minute cancellation of its service and MOT back at the end of March when my chosen repairer was closed by the virus and although recently re-opened, I have yet to agree a mutually agreeable appointment date and time with them.

That leaves us with the two 'daily drivers', both of which are somewhat under the weather. The 9-3 is fitted with the very rare Hirsch suspension kit and has a leaking front strut. The part has been on back-order from the factory in Switzerland since February with no delivery date yet promised and the car is becoming steadily more undriveable to the point that I'd only consider driving it, slowly, in a dire emergency. The Giulietta has a problem with the synchromesh on 1st and 2nd and again the necessary parts are on factory order, but thankfully I'm of an age where I learned to drive on a car that didn't have synchro on any gears and so I'm still able to drive the Alfa, albeit with some deft clutchwork and rev-matching techniques.

Or at least I was able to drive it. I was last out in it last Tuesday on the weekly shopping run then it sat parked until Sunday when I decided to have a drive out to test my eyesight and give the battery a bit of a boost. When I got out to it, I discovered that sometime during the preceding few days of immobility, the coil spring on the rear driver's side had decided to 'explode' and the bits were lying on the ground below, having left their impressions on the fuel tank, the exhaust system and the boot floor as they ricocheted around converting all that pent-up potential energy into the kinetic variety. Extra annoying because those springs were only replaced about 3 years ago but are clearly constructed of an inferior grade of cheese.

A shop around online on Monday morning found the best deal to be with EuroCarParts. They showed a pair to be in stock at their nearest branch to me (about 15 miles away) so I proceeded to compile a 'Click & Collect' order - as a key worker I was permitted to do this according to their T's & C's. Then the final page of the transaction announced that I wouldn't be able to collect until Wednesday, although I could have them delivered (for an additional charge of £4.95) by DHL next day i.e. today, Tuesday. Why they reckoned they were able send an item via a courier quicker than they could hand it to me over the counter still (and will probably always) eludes me, but the main consideration was to get them here ASAP and it saved me risking a trip in the Saab so I went along with their possible subterfuge.

Well, today I was up at the crack of dawn in case the DHL guy arrived at the start of their advertised 0800 to 1800 delivery schedule. That way I could get the new springs fitted and the car back on the road before the forecast break in the good weather we've been enjoying in recent days. So I sat and I sat and I sat, then at 1652 my mobile pinged to signal an incoming text. It was from DHL. I opened it expecting to see a message advising that their driver was but minutes away from me. But, oh no! "You're delivery from ECP will be with you between 0800 and 1800 Wednesday." FFS!

Of course, it's now persisting down and the prediction is that it will continue to do so until about Sunday. Thanks a bunch EuroCarParts / DHL.  .......................... and breathe!

[Alfa2Evora]

UPDATE: 

Well, the delivery from ECP finally arrived at 1230 today.

Now I know why they were offering a 50% discount to key workers - they only send you 50% of what you ordered!!!!!   2 springs on the order, 2 springs on the invoice, 1 spring in the box.

Huge package for what was in it, even if they'd sent what should have been in there, with loads of bubble-wrap (probably full of Chinese air so I'll have to dispose as a bio-hazard) to take up the slack.

Useless bunch of cretins doesn't get close.

 

[C8RKH]

You should pop down the shop to pick up the other one over the counter. Click and collect maybe?...

[philcool]

When dealing with euro car parts it's a propper Turkish bizarre.

Never had a problem taking parts back but often have to or should I say did.

I've even rang to make sure the parts are there oh yes come on down you get there not in stock but the computer said we had it.

I've been given air filters that have been used oil that's been opened with some missing the wrong spare in the right box.

So even before I leave the counter open everything and check it all.

I ordered 5L of red OAT antifreeze and that turned up a day late but was ok when it did turn up.

I'm sorry for your frustration but that's euros for you.

On the flip side I also use AUTODOC in Germany and although usually £10 postage they have never got an order wrong and a fare larger selection of parts as well 

[Alfa2Evora]

@C8RKH My original intention was to use 'Click & Collect' (it's use is limited to key workers only, but I qualify) but as I needed the parts ASAP, the bizarre lead times of 2 days for C&C but 1 day if you have it delivered swayed me in that direction. I can't get hold of anybody at ECP as their recorded message is quoting at least 2 hour's waiting times on both phone calls and online live chat, and you can't just turn up at one of their stores unannounced apparently. I posted up my displeasure on their Facebook page and all they've done with that is delete my post without replying. I could place the order again, but then I'd have to pay for it again and still have the issue of trying to return 1 item (eventually, as they're not accepting returns at the moment) whilst trying to get a refund for 2, and it would be Friday before I could collect if I can't speak to anybody and get them to extract their collective corporate digits.

@philcool I'm kicking myself now. I looked at AUTODOC and they had them in stock at pretty much the same price but it was only their delivery time of 4-6 days that put me off. Looks like I would have been quicker with them in the long run. Similarly, Alfistishop (also in Germany) were dismissed for the same reason.

I know where my business will NOT be going in future!

[C8RKH]

I knew that @Alfa2Evora. Was just winding you up....!

[Chillidoggy]

I’ve only had one transaction with ECP. I went in to ask for a fuel filter for the Esprit. Gave the girl at the counter the part number, and she just looked blank. She then asked me what car it was for. I told her she wouldn’t find it on the ECP system as I’d already looked that morning but she persisted. When I told her she said tapped away and then said, ‘It’s not on the system’. I said, “I know, that’s why I gave you the part number’. This was followed by a request for my registration number, which, as expected, also drew a blank. I told her to search for another car the filter fitted, but no dice. As luck should have it, another chap appeared from the back office, I collared him, and got the same runaround. I’ve never been back in there since then, preferring to use my local motor factors where the blokes know what I’m talking about, as I don’t have time to waste.

I can’t blame the ECP staff if they haven’t been properly trained to do what most people in the automotive parts business would think is reasonable, that’s simply unfair. But surely they need to engage staff with some kind of basic knowledge of cars?

[C8RKH]

@Chillidoggy surely they need to engage staff with some initiative, motivation, a working brain, and the power of reason and deduction. Basically, some staff who actually give a shit.