Tchenko came for a visit and kindly kept me company on the journey back to Val d’Isere. However, he had no idea of what he was signing up for!
I had a hint of gear box trouble a couple of days before I left and didn’t have time to really get it sorted. At short notice my mechanic Ed squeezed me in and did a temporary repair. He thought it would get me through the winter so off I went.
However, on route to the Channel Tunnel, I noticed a funny noise in sixth gear. It was a little worrying, but I was hoping it wasn’t serious. Old cars do makes noises but knowing my car well it was enough to put me on edge.
We crossed the channel and were just getting started for our run through France. All of a sudden 6th gear popped out. At first, I thought I’d bumped it with my water bottle, but it started to happen more frequently. Eventually 6th dropped out completely and refused to engage..
I looked sideways at Tchenko and thought to myself that we were in real trouble. (that’s not what really what popped into my head!) The gearbox was grumbling, and we had a long, long way to drive.
My old car was wounded but not dead! I nursed it along in 5th gear at about 115kph and eventually felt that we had a chance. It was nerve wracking to say the least but eventually we made it. The journey took a couple of more hours than usual, but we were so grateful to finally arrive. Breaking down on a French motorway with a car full of belongings doesn’t bare thinking about.
Tchenko eased his stress by watching France v Japan in rugby, the Women’s World Cup race from Finland, the DP World Golf Final followed by the opening game of the World Cup on his phone. Thanks for the company Tchenko! Ha ha ha!!!
Thomas is now on the case getting parts and has lined up a mechanic to sort me out. Thanks Thomas!
Meanwhile, there is a decent snow cover for this time of year. Over the 40 years that I’ve been here I’ve seen worse at least half the time. So, fingers crossed and it’s not all doom and gloom!
Stay tuned!
PS And what a World Cup so far! England looked promising enough yesterday to get us dreaming again. And Saudi Arabia were sensational today in their upset of the much favoured Argentinians. Wow, what a match!
PPS I’ve posted a photo taken from my terrace this morning.