Salut!

My poor baby is ill.  She has ‘une enorme fuite’!  Sounds serious doesn’t it!?!  The price certainly is. 

Does having an MOT in England take loads of time?  I don’t understand how people live here and work normal hours - it seems impossible. 

I had an appointment at the garage at 10.45.  I arrived at 10.30 and left the car and wandered round until 11.45.  Apparently the brakes are all a mess and I’m driving a death trap!  Hurrah for the MOT!  Anyway, they can’t repair it because that’s not how it works in France and they can’t reccomend any garages either.  So I had to drive around (in my death trap) and try and find a garage.  Baring in mind I am in a HUGE city where every road seems to have 20 lanes and predominantly suicidale drivers. 

Eventually I find a garage, then have to get stuck into the parking challenge.  Another 10 minutes lost.  Anyway, walk in and they tell me they only do MOTs and not repairs.  They do however give me an address of a garage in the neighbouring town.  Head back home, becuase by this time it’s 12.30 and of course everything will be closed until 2pm… 

Ring at 2pm, ‘can I come?’  ‘Yes, come straight away.’  Manage to get there relativly easily and give myself a silent pat on the back, it’s 2.15.  Walk in to find 3 men standing around with fags in their mouth and talking in Arabic.  Feel quite ill at ease.  Anyway, it turns out the manager isn’t there and I need to come back in half an hour!  So I wander AGAIN (Thank goodness for cafe culture and Glamour magazine) and go back in 45mins (because I know French time keeping).  At the garage all 4 men then stood around talking about the apparently ground shattering problem of Fifi’s brakes.  And I thought this was their job?  Wait an hour stood up while the men try to find the problem and work out how much it’s going to cost etc.  They even bring me in and show me little Fifi strung up high stripped of her wheels and point out various bits of pipes and metal.  I nod patiently, trying to pretend that I’ve got a PHD in mechanics and will not be allowing sharks to rip me off.  My empty stares and Glamour Magazine might have given me away…

The end of the story is that it’s 4.05pm and Fifi has an expensive vist to the doctors on Friday morning to have her rear brakes changed.  Is it normal that this took the best part of a day to sort out?!