Further Adventures in a Rover 114

I do some volunteer work for a charity and left there about 5.30 pm after an afternoon of putting leaflets in envelopes.

Got to the car and put the key in the ignition. It went clickety-clickety-click and didn't start.

Luckily I am a member of the RAC so I called them from my mobile - which merrily told me there will be a charge for an 0800 number but there you go - such are networks these days that they cannot let you get to an 0800 number for free.

The RAC man turned up in due course and assessed the problem. He diagnosed a flat battery and nipped under the hood to check the alternator output. He connected up my battery in parallel with the one on his car and charged mine up. I revved the engine and he deduced the alternator was not only not charging, but after I had switched the engine off, noted the alternator was actually draining the battery.

He followed me all the way to my 'usual garage' and I left the car there overnight. The RAC man even took me home. The next day I rang the garage only to find the repair bloke was away on holiday and they suggested another garage I could ring that was near them.

I rang that garage and they said they were fully booked out until Monday and then said 'Not sure where we'll get an alternator from, though'.

Last time I replaced an alternator on a car, it was a fairly simple task of removing the alternator, going to Lucas and getting a recodnitioned replacement unit, then returining to the car and fitting the new alternator.

My previous cars had been Minis and Metros and the alternator on those was readily accessible at the top of the engine. The alternator on a Rover 114 is in a different place, below the exhaust manifold and above the oil filter. This makes it a fiddly job to get the alternator out and and even fiddlier job getting the replacement unit in. As I have a back injury I decided it was worth paying a garage to do the job.

Anyhow not only did my 'usual garage' not have any repair work capability they also did not have so much as a booster box or jump leads to start the car. So I had to ring the RAC again and the same man came out to help me.

We charged the battery up again, which by now was fully flat, and took the car to an autoelectrician who was able to repair it that same afternoon. It cost me £160, a day lost to repairing the car and I now have a brand new Bosch battery and a shiny reconditioned alternator.

I don't think I'll be bothering with my 'usual garage' ever again. I can get the car MoT'd elsewhere and I'll find other garages for doing any repairs.

I was already wary of them after I booked the car in for a service the day after I bought it and asked them to change the fluids and check the brakes. Three weeks after that a water pipe burst and I found out I had no anti-freeze in the water system. I also had to have the rear brake rubbers done recently despite him saying they were ok two months ago.

Anyway, the car is fine now.

That was good ..........

I went for a great ride out on Sunday and covered about 140 miles. It was good to be out on the bike again.

Monday was a busy day. I started a furniture making course and a Psychology A level. Looking forward to more next week but it was a very busy day.

The A level is now divided into two parts - the AS level and the A2 level. The AS level represents the first year of an A level but you take an exam at the end of the year and you have the AS qualification. If successful with that presumably you can continue on to the A2 level.

We sat and watched the Aversion Therapy part of Clockwork Orange while a thunderstorm raged outside. Quite surreal.

Tuesday was a busy day too. I went to a course to show me how to fill in a self employed tax return. In the UK we have to file by 31st January after the close of the tax year. If we file paper records before 30th September then the tax office will calculate how much we owe.

Then I took the cat to the vet and showed her the bald bit MsP had created on her cheek bone. We are back down to boiled chicken - she won't touch the roast chicken I cooked Sunday evening so I am boiling chicken fillet for her. I have to decide how long to keep her on the boiled chicken but it will be at least four days and I am tempted to keep it going for at least a week to make sure any allergy is out of her system.

Then I will reintroduce the Royal Canin Persian 30 dried food and see how she goes with that for at least a month. I shall take the cat food I have got to one of the cat rescue places.

Screaming into the empty bowels of subsistence

It's just gone 7 am on a mild September Sunday morning.

Since I last posted I have spent about £320 on vet bills for the cat.

She started scratching herself bald in three specific areas in May this year and I initially thought it was because she was an indoor cat so started trimming her claws and washing the lacerations with salt water - one thumbnail of salt to a pint of water in case you need to know.

The home based treatment continued for a while until she was simply left with crusty legions on one bit that wouldn't heal and wouldn't regrow fur.

I took her to the vet and he prescribed skin biopsies and scrapes. I had her tested for FiV/FelV at the same time. The results showed an increase in normal skin bacteria and no mites or other nasties.

So we tried Synulox and that didn't work. I paid out for Fuciderm and that seemed to work at clearing the crusty legions except that this morning she proudly scratched bald another spot on her cheek. I've fucidermed it to avoid bacteria etc and she is back on boiled chicken but she'll have to have the collar back on to prevent her scratching anymore.

On top of that, due to post menopausal night sweats I haven't had a decent night's sleep in about three or four weeks and I am supposed to be going on a ride out this morning.