Incandescent

 I was up early to greet Ellie when she was dropped off. Ellie, however, was in too much of a hurry to snuggle up to Nana and ran straight upstairs. Grandpa's greeting would have to wait. Other than that, we followed the usual morning regimen. The only addition was that Ellie was taking some flour, milk, and butter to school so she could make some scones! That's the sort of classwork with real benefits.

Dropping Ellie, I made the most of the dry morning and set off on my walk. I was back before ten and grabbed my breakfast before retiring to the study for some work on the family tree. I was intent on filling in more facts, supported by articles from the press, regarding various close relatives. When I had exhausted the articles that I downloaded at the weekend, I started to think about the regional press. Their archives are held in the British National Archives. I logged on and saw that there were various subscription models. The question I struggled with was "Would I use these archives enough to warrant the subscription?" I concluded that I wouldn't, but wondered if they were accessible through the West Sussex Library Service. They are. You can access them online, but only from a public PC in the library. I'm perfectly happy with that, so I will set aside some time for a trip to the local library.

After lunch, I enjoyed some Kindle time until it was time to collect Ellie from school. We brought her home, and we all tucked into her yummy scones. Zoe arrived to collect her just as we were finishing. We returned to our Kindles. The phone rang. It was the local Skoda dealer. Their only Skoda technician has just decided to take a holiday, and tomorrow's service has to be rearranged. Again. I was incandescent. They play me up every time I book the car in, they shift dates, they don't have the parts, there's always one problem or another. I said to the guy, "Is it safe to drive?" (Laying it on a bit thick). His response was "If you've got breakdown cover, give them a call if you have a problem". That impressed me, not. There's not a lot I can do immediately, so I rebooked the car for next week. Meanwhile, however, I have done some research and have found an independent VW Group specialist near the vet's. I will give them a ring in the morning (the garage, not the vet).