It’s been seven days since my last post. Seven days during which we have waited with bated breath as Alfred wandered around like an old man, seeming to forget where he was going, soaked us all and finally blew himself out well inland.
There have been some places much more affected than this community. We got lucky this time, but it has distracted, somewhat, from the preparation.
And yes, Peter with its brake problems. did make it back to shelter in time. But its problems had not finished. “We’ve changed the master cylinder”, said the mechanic, “But you have to push the pedal a long way… there’s still something going on.” Oh. “But it works OK, now” he finished, sort of lamely.
Off home before the rain. As I turn into our road that pesky brake warning light came on again. So not OK.
Time to get some real Land Rover expertise. Here’s one: ‘An expert mechanic’, the website says. ‘Decades of dedication servicing these vehicles. Unparalleled Land Rover expertise… top notch emergency maintenance’. Sounds perfect. I phone. “Your vehicle is how old? 1989?” He laughs. “I don’t work on any vehicles older than 15 years now. They’re a can of worms! I fix one thing, and another breaks. Owners say it’s worse that it was when they brought it in. Sorry.”
Two thoughts go through my mind. We name this trip the ‘Old Crocks Simpson Desert Can of Worms. And as far as maintenance is concerned, like being in the Simpson. Or in space; ‘We are on our own.’
But not quite. There is, in that ether-world, the Land Rover-equivalent of Aragorn’s ‘Dead Men of Dunharrow’. Ghostly figures, heroes of the hour, lending a hand, writing from the past with the knowledge to solve ancient Land Rover nightmares. So, THANK YOU, ‘Reb78’, whoever you are, for this gem you wrote in 2009. You are a legend!
“The shoes are sided – the adjuster peg on what should be the front shoe is further from the shoe body than the adjuster peg on the rear shoe. I’ve never read this in any manual, but was told by the garage when I bought the shoes.”
Problem solved!
Again in 2009, in the war in Afghanistan, British and Australian forces lost between them 112 personnel killed in action. Many, many more were injured or affected by their service. That’s why we think it’s really important to support Mates4Mates and Combat Stress. Both charities work to help service personnel and their families when there is a need to recover from their service and reintegrate with the societies they came from. Please help us to help them by contributing at the link and sharing this story.