Tuesday, May 25, 2021

The electric van.


Today, we take the little Volvo down to Toulouse to find out why the aircon isn't working. Yesterday was the first hot, muggy day we've had since we bought the thing and the first time we've needed the aircon. Goes without saying it didn't work - as in 'stone cold dead' didn't work. Not even a puff of restorative cold air. The relationship with a certain Swedish car manufacturer is not proving to be a happy one.


Before I head off there's time for a quick tour of the village with Sophie. The village is quiet at six am . We are surprised to find that the second builder ( tasked with laying the stone around the pool ) is up and about in his large electric van .  What is it with builders and crack of dawn working hours ? He parks outside the gate which is an improvement over yesterdays builder who left his truck and trailer in the courtyard all day. Sophie stops and stares at two morose lads who emerge onto the lane and stand and do nothing. She eyes them warily as they light up their first cigarette of the day. She is encouraged along before she makes her displeasure known.


With two sets of builders around the family  diva has a  day of intense home guarding ahead of her. Best to settle down at the front door for a quick nap.


Vegan burgers have gone mainstream in London. They are much in demand from the 20 somethings at the little AI company :https://haloburger.co.uk/    I'm told ( but don't believe ) they taste almost like the real thing.


7 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

The air-conditioning in my Ford Fiesta isn't working either (although it used to). Not such a problem in Scotland this May. Or at any other time, for that matter!
Sending fond ear scritches to Sophie.
Cheers, Gail.

Liz Hamblyn said...

I have a little Ford Fiesta, and I must say, notwithstanding the fact it was assembled in Thailand and some of the inside fitting and fixtures are a little plastic, it is one of the best cars I have ever driven. 1.4l of peepiness. This car will be going to my daughter once I pick up my new Golf R from our local dealer.

Coppa's girl said...

Sophie looks a mite fed up in the last photo, so can we assume there's not a Jaffa cake in sight? Inca wants to know if the electric van smells different (apart from not smelling of petrol of course) - don't think we've seen one hereabouts.
There's an ad on UK TV for a brand called The Vegetarian Butcher, which claims to produce meatless dishes that taste like the real thing. Not really the point, I would have thought!

Linda said...

We have a Volvo something-or-other cross country. We are not enthralled with it. It has 4 wheels and moves forward when you want it to but that's its only recommendation. The interior seems to have been designed on cuisine minceur lines ie impossible to fit a small water bottle into the door compartments, and the glove box seems designed to take only one pair of those and nothing else.

Lisa in France said...

That's quite a nice shiny electric van - the builder must be doing OK with people doing pandemic improvements. The vegan burgers have even reached Tokyo. I've been a vegetarian since I was 20, and somehow the idea of a vegan burger that tastes just like meat is kind of offputting.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
as Coppa and Lisa both remark, the idea of 'tastes like' is quite redundant on those of us who have lived a long vegetarian/vegan life. We don't want it to 'taste like'! That said, I do understand the need to market that way in order to begin a wider conversion from the mass meat consumption that is starting to be viewed in similar terms as taking a flight, or lighting up a cigarette. (I can feel a blog post coming on...)

Enjoy vegeburgers for what they are and not for what they might be! (And they are mostly pretty good - but like any other product, there are variances.)

Oh dear - I do hope the aircon matter doesn't turn into quite the marathon earlier troubles did. YAM xx

Bailey Bob Southern Dog said...

Sophie looks so tiny standing next to the electric van.