Friday 1 March 2013

To Buy Or Not To Buy, That Is The Question

 Well yesterday turned out to be even more fun than I imagined it would be.

First up was a visit to an Alfa Romeo dealer in Hemel Hempstead to look over the Mito. The first thing that struck me was how big it was. Despite being advertised as Alfa's 'baby' it is almost as long as my 156, which was a bit disappointing as I really was looking for something much smaller. However my trike fits nicely in the boot with loads of room left for shopping and the interior is nice and roomy and I liked the lay out. As always the salesman was extremely pushy and soon started blasting me with facts, figures and brochures I didn't really want. The stuff I was interested in he couldn't tell me because he 'hadn't been on his motability course yet'. The only bloke who had was on a day off so I came away with an appointment for a test drive and an idea of what the car actually looks like, inside and out, and not much else. The motability bloke is back in today and is supposed to be giving me a call today to answer the questions I'd asked. Although it is a nice car I'm not sure it is right for me but I'll give the test drive a go before I finally decide whether to go for it or not.

Then Peter had to pick some electronics up from a specialist supplier and while sitting in the car park waiting for him I spotted one of those roadside snack bars so wandered over to have a look. By the time Peter returned my mouth was watering and we decided to grab something to eat there and then rather than scour the countryside looking for a pub we liked the look of. I was soon tucking into the biggest egg and bacon roll I've ever seen and, washed down with a large cup of sweet tea, it was one of the most enjoyable lunches out I've every had. We sat in the car pouring over the literature we'd been given and discussing our options while munching away happily. I was taken back to before we were married when we used to go out with our camera stuff and would often stop at a roadside cafe for a cuppa and a bacon butty. I don't know why we stopped doing this, probably because of the kids, pressure of work etc but it is something I'm quickly going to reinstate as soon as the weather gets a bit warmer.

Then it was off to Watford for a trawl around their many charity shops, a trawl that wasn't as successful as I'd hope but it was still fun and the roughish pavements gave my trike a real work out. Then we went into the shopping center and I was horrified to find the big Waterson's had closed up. What a shame, good bookshops are becoming harder to find and I love the smell and feel of new books so again I was disappointed. However things started looking up when I discovered a brand new and huge cook shop. It had everything in it, even things I didn't know existed and Peter had to drag me away as I could have happily spent hundreds in there.

Back home the heating was still determined to keep us on our toes and this time all the radiators downstairs were icy while upstairs it was like a sauna. By the time we went to bed things were reversed. This morning we are back to all the radiators working upstairs and three downstairs. Peter is gearing up for a shout at British Gas this afternoon, though I suspect it won't do that much good. To be fair even with only half the radiators on it is quite comfortable as long as you wear a jumper, however we could be in trouble if we have another sudden cold snap.

Well time to go and decide what to make for lunch, all I can say at this point is that it will be 'warming'.


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