22 Days

 

And finally we get Lynda's car back after what was estimated will take 10 days, took 22 days at the panel beater, Auto Magic. The new bumper looks different, and I had to look at other Brios to see what was different, oh they forgot to paint the one section black, doesn't bother us too much but what does is that the car doesn't have aircon anymore. 

We told the insurance and the panel beaters that the aircon was damaged in the accident but the report from the panel beaters is that there is nothing wrong with the aircon, only out of gas. Oh well now we have to do it ourselves.

Additional Note: We took the car to an independent aircon specialist. They tried to fill it but found that the compressor was damaged in the accident. It is cracked and leaking gas. Which begs the question how did the panel beaters test that the aircon is okay without putting gas in? I think they must have taken a chance. Now the car has to go back.

Wind in my Beard

After another comfortable sleep at the Protea Hotel in Clarens, we had a late start to the day, but we are on holiday so it is worth it. After brunch we headed to the Golden Gate Highlands National Park for a round trip back home.

It was stunning driving the rolling hills through the majestic sandstone cliffs of the Free State. Yes not all of the Free State is flat; some of it is very beautiful. It was so peaceful to be away from the madding crowds of the city and be so high up, close to God with the wind in my beard.

As I stood there with on this high mountain hill with this Watsonia Confusia iris at my feet and a breezy wind blowing, I thought of Elijah, who had just ran away from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel in fear for his life, how he too stood on top of the mountain seeking the Lord God. A mighty wind tore down the mountainside, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake, then a fire, but the Lord was not found in either of them too. After all these mighty things, Elijah heard the Lord in a gentle whisper.

So as I stand on this high place, not knowing what is before me, but knowing that God is all around me. I push in towards God, and hear His gentle voice, “I Love you, I will not let you fall”.

Marvellous 3 Inch Nails

Yes 3 nails caused Lynda to be stranded on the side of the road yesterday evening on the way back from work. Let me start from the beginning, Lynda left work but did not get very far as she discovered that she had a flat tyre. Firstly it was getting dark which is not funny, plus the jack of her car had become stuck and difficult to remove from its storage place to be used so after phoning me, I called the Discovery Insure’s Roadside assistance to come to her aid, isn’t that what we pay insurance for.

About an hour later a person called Marvellous from TMA Towing & Recovery arrived representing Discovery Insure in a clapped out Volkswagen Golf. He had to pop the bonnet to switch the car off, and later to start the car with a whine of a loose fan belt in a way the only VWs can do.

Anyway Marvellous was very courteous and helped Lynda change her tyre, thank you Marvellous.

So now today, I had to take Lynda’s car in to get her tyre fixed. I didn’t want to go nowhere near Tiger Wheel and Tyre Woodmead which was just down the road, since the petrol incident and are now known by their acronym TWAT. Instead I decided to take it to the Rivonia branch of Tiger Wheel and Tyre. The guys fixing the tyre discover 2 large nails about a inch long in the tyre and they informed me that another tyre also looked suspicious as it was half flat. Behold a third nail was found. Uhmmm.

Marvellous 2 new tyres later and a rather lighter pocket, Lynda’s car is back in action.

Matthew's New Bed

It has been one of my goals to get Matthew a new bed and I have been looking around for a while but never satisfied.

After church, while Matthew played with the BBC youth, Lynda and I went looking for some tropical fish to populate her new fish tank and we were side tracked with beds. We finally found a bed that would be perfect for his room and I don’t know how but we somehow managed to fit it all into the little Honda Brio. A little car with big space.

Honda Brio

Late this afternoon, Lynda received her new chariot, a super sexy 2013 Honda Brio 1.2 Comfort. When choosing, Lynda wanted a car that was fuel efficient, nippy, comfortable, not too old, a service history, and above all affordable. After scouring the internet, the contenders fitting into the initial list of benchmarks consisted of Citroen C3, Ford Figo, Kia Picanto II, and the Honda Brio. There were others like the Kia Picanto III, Toyota Auris, Toyota Yaris, and the VW Polo but sadly the dealers never got back to us. Oh well their loss as Lynda is ecstatic with her zingy Brio.

The word brio means great energy, confidence, full of zeal, and this zesty Honda Brio sure looks good, it is nippy, light on fuel, drives with enthusiastic vigour, like the Doctor's Tardis it looks small from the outside but wow does it feels spacious inside, and most importantly didn't break the bank. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Lynda and her vibrant Honda Brio.