Saturday, April 16, 2022

The service history.

 

I chat with the Old Farmer about getting him a 'medallion' from Mercedes to show he's done nearly 750 thousand kilometres in the silver saloon - ( a service kindly brought to my attention by  ' The Life of Riley ' a few days ago ) . As the old car is his pride and joy this would , presumably, give him great satisfaction. Mercedes need to have the mileage certified before they'll consider the request. 'The service records from the dealership will do' a man at the head office in Stuttgart informs me in accent free English. ' When did you last take it to dealership ?' I ask The Old Farmer. " Oh, about thirty years ago " comes the reply. The Old Farmer is a believer in self servicing his vehicles.  Some other method of certifying the mileage will need to be found.

The exterior of the silver Mercedes may be pristine but the interior has the 'feel' of 750 thousand kilometres of use.

The grass verges bursting into bloom with wild flowers. Sophie plows through them, nose down, in search of anything the owls might have dropped. This morning she bounces, ever so slightly, as she walks through the grass. Happiness will do this to a girl.

The orchids in the field at the foot of the hill coming into bloom. It looks as if they suffered in the strong winds on Monday and Tuesday.

Angus goes to the hospital. It's time for his six monthly post falling off a ladder check up.  He is passed from one doctor to the next for a full two hours. There is almost no waiting time between specialists. A brisk young German surgeon finally informs him that ' Everything looks acceptable but avoid climbing ladders at your age '. Angus makes a mental note to make sure the first thing he does when he gets home is climb up a ladder. The cost of this check-up ? The grand total of 70 euros.

For once, Sophie looks almost presentable. She sits with 'The Font' at a cafe on the Place de la Republique waiting for Angus to reappear. A cheerful Newfoundland is told in no uncertain terms that she doesn't want to make his acquaintance.


Last night we dine, virtually, in Glasgow. Post Brexit fish shipments to Europe are down so a new breed of Scottish sea food restaurant is taking off. The sort of place that offers everything from fish and chip suppers to oysters :https://static1.squarespace.com/static/61f6af2eda35940165dc0042/t/6250075cd256d97cc8b32c88/1649411934458/Crabshakk+Finnieston+Website+menu+April+2022.pdf


6 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

Lovely to see the grass verges bursting with spring blooms. The Glasgow fish menu looks excellent (and the prices reasonable). I'm no fan of Brexit, but it always seemed regrettable that so little of our wonderful Scottish fish and seafood remained in the country.
Now do go carefully on that ladder!

The Life of Riley said...

Wow "about thirty years" is a long time, but seeing the interior photo I recalled so many quotes about it being all about the journey not the destination! I also loved seeing the dog image piece of fabric on his seat. Hoping the old farmer will have many more adventures (to add to his old car's milage certified badge or not) in the future.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
That's a proper posed pawtrait shot, today, Sophie! Glad Angus got the all clear and is prepared to defy the age ticketing...YAM xx
N=Noble

Lisa in France said...

A lovely portrait of a pensive Sophie. It's interesting to know about the seafood restaurants in Scotland. One of the most memorable sights for my husband was the lobster boats in Anstruther, headed for France. He has been thinking about them for at least four years now.

Travel said...

It is not the climbing ladders we need to avoid, it is falling off of them. The car looks loved and enjoyed, as they should be. The dealer we bought ours from would certify the mileage as a courtesy and take photos to encourage shoppers that yes, some people do drive them for the rest of their life. The take cars like that in trade, polish them up and put them on the showroom floor to show how durable the cars can be. (We are on our second one, it will probably outlive us as we only drive it 2,000 miles a year.)

Linda Sue said...

BEHAVE sir! My friend fell from a ladder and died right there on the spot! Just sayin'.
Sophie looks like a show dog!