Little things mean a lot!

Yesterday was a hot day.  So was Sunday, but at least I could sit in my lounge with the windows open.  Yesterday was a hot working day!  After my arrival at the office, I found I faced quite a long wait until I was likely to be sent out on a job, so I tried to keep cool by sitting inside, reading a book, or attacking a newspaper crossword.  Drinking lots of water seemed a good idea as well.  Around 11.30, I was despatched with a parcel for an Italian café on a retail park in Ellesmere Port.

As I drove down the road from the office, I felt desperately hot.  I knew that this was partly because there is nowhere there to park our vans in shade, so it had been sitting in the full sun for over three hours.  Although I knew that this extreme heat was only temporary, and that it would ease as I drove along with the windows ajar and the fan on, I still wasn't satisfied, so - despite the adverse effect on being able to hear my radio - I switched on the 'emergency cooling apparatus': a cheap clip-on fan that I'd bought long ago in a supermarket.

This fan has been clipped to the shelf above the passenger door since I've had this van, and ever since the rotating mechanism ceased operating after only a few weeks that first summer, it has been skillfully trained on my head and neck.  As I switched it on yesterday, its refreshing cool blast was most welcome.  But then it stopped, and my comfort level plummeted.

After I'd gone a few miles, I realised that my SatNav was still working from its internal battery instead of from the feed from the van.  I pulled over when it was convenient, to find out why.  Now, when I bought this van, I had promptly installed a four-way adaptor for the cigar-lighter (Thinks: no-one smokes cigars in vans - thank goodness - so why should it have such a ridiculous name?) socket.  Many people have since commented about the range of switches and the cables that wander across my dashboard from this, and to be fair, they do look much more impressive than they ought.  The four sockets were used for i) the reversing sensors (another self-fitted accessory upon the van's acquisition), ii) the SatNav, iii) the charger for the mobile phone's hands-free device, clipped on the passenger sun-visor, and iv) that fan.

I decided that the unusual fact that I had had all four of these items switched on at once had been just too much for the adaptor unit, so I unplugged this, plugged SatNav in directly, and proceded to my delivery, thinking that I should have to get a new fuse this morning.  Consequently, first thing today, I went in search of the appropriate fuse and found some at a well-known motor spares chain with an orange-and-black livery. (Why should I advertise Halfords?)  I quickly replaced the offending item, and then by way of a test I tried the fan once more.  It worked ... but for a couple of seconds only, and when I disassembled the plug again, I found the new fuse neatly blown!  What a good job I had had to buy a pack of three; at least there was thus a reserve supply.  Another replacement was fitted, and this time I didn't try the fan again!  When I got back to the office, I carefully removed it, unthreaded its wiring, and awarded it pride of place in the official rubbish skip.  After two years, and having cost me only £9.99, I felt it owed me nothing, and certainly wasn't worth attempting to get it fixed. 

Today was cooler, but after surviving yesterday's heat without it, I don't think I shall hurry to replace that fan - the fuss over the fuses was quite enough, thank you!