Wham, Bang, Thank you, Ma'am!

It can take a while: months ... years even, to build up a trusting relationship and then in a flash - call it carelessness, oversight, complacency ... whatever - all that building effort is rendered to dust in an instant.

I've lost count of the number of times this has happened to me ... although no more than most of us, I imagine.  But on Sunday afternoon, it happened again.  I'd been out to lunch, as I often do, and was driving home again when out of the blue ... SMACK! ... a Mercedes came at me from where I thought there was nothing and biffed me on the roundabout.  I tried to avoid him, but it was too late. I came to rest by the 'keep left' bollard of the road joining from the left.

I suppose I was in shock, although I didn't recognise it at the time.  I got out of the car, looked briefly at the ripped wing and smashed headlight and thought, "Well, it's the end for you, old girl!" before turning my attention to the driver of the Merc.  Like me, he and his passenger were unhurt and, mechanically, we went through the standard routine of exchanging names and addresses.

Surprisingly, I found that I was able to drive away from the scene, albeit with a lot of screeching and whining.  Realising that my route home passed an accident repair centre, where there were often people working on a Sunday, I stopped there to seek advice.

This was immediately forthcoming: "Don't drive any further!"  They were surprised that I'd made it the three miles or so to them; a sharp edge of the body was gouging a deep channel in the tyre, so there was an increasing danger of a blow-out if I were to continue and I was persuaded to leave my beloved 'Tina the Tigra' on their forecourt.

In addition to the damage I could see, I had already discovered problems with the steering, and it transpired that the main structure of the vehicle had been distorted as well.  The estimate for repairs was more than I paid for the vehicle two-and-a half years ago!  Once contact had been made with the insurers, action was swift.  By Wednesday afternoon, a payment was on its way to my bank and I noticed the next morning that the 'corpse' had been removed.

Now I'm off for a different adventure ... one that will be a much happier one, I'm sure: the celebration of my cousin's birthday, and a weekend away from home and all its challenges!