First Saturday off in a year

We both take Saturday off, the first time in a year. Cat goes to have her hair done and I have been invited for cocktails by the river in London with some fabulous friends.

I borrowed Cat’s Land Rover as my car has a few issues at the moment, and was super excited as well as super anxious as I haven’t been ‘out out’ for over 2 years. It was all going so well until the car broke down on Park Lane, shutting 4 lanes of traffic on a hot Saturday afternoon, involving 6 policemen who towed me off the main road where I sat and waited (in 30 degree heat) for over 5 hours for the RAC to arrive… It couldn’t have been more dramatic!

The car over heated, in fact the water boiled out in quite dramatic fashion.

If this had happened 30 seconds later I would have been on Hyde Park Corner which would have been a whole other level of hell.

While waiting for the RAC to (not) arrive, I replaced all the lost coolant, assessed it wasn’t the radiator or a popped hose, so set off again only to get a further 10 minutes down the road, right past Buckingham Palace to Embankment before it over heated again. There was no leak, it just kept boiling out. More police arrived and thankfully so did the RAC at this point.

My second point of break down.

Never a truer word said.

The brilliant thing was that as I wasn’t going to be driving home (I would have to leave the Land Rover and get a taxi home) I made it to the party and could actually join in the drinking, and boy did I need a drink! A fun filled evening ensued and I eventually got home at 3am very, very drunk.

Sunday afternoon and I finally get up to find Cat and Colin crazily gardening our somewhat neglected and overgrown back garden.

Untangling the Clematis which are growing fast.

The B17 Flying Fortress passed overhead on its way back from The Midlands Air Festival.

Colin is working on reinstating our lawn, tidying it up, mowing it and digging up the overgrown areas.

This area in the middle of the lawn is where the main waste pipe and a soak away were dug deep under the lawn. The lawn was never put back as it was and has since grown into this lumpy patch which does look like we have buried a body in the garden…

Dad really needs a haircut. I think he is enjoying having long hair but he does look like a tramp (says me with a grey/blue/green overgrown mullet).

Emptying the garden rubbish into the skip is not easy.

Colin has built a ramp to make it easier, although I don’t think this looks easier tbh.

I can barely watch.

More ramps, more trip hazards. Our garden is a health and safety nightmare.

Jasper copying his hero and BFF.