The skudsmobile has been playing up lately. Actually it has been playing up since I got it: there is always something wrong with it, and if I get that fixed something else goes wrong.

In the last week or so it has been refusing to start in the mornings. The battery is fine but the engine is just not catching. I figured it was possibly an HT lead problem as I had that before and had one replaced so maybe the others need replacing. I was thinking about putting it in the garage to check it out and also replace the head gasket which is on the way out, but with all the moving and decorating we couldn’t afford to be without the car for a day. We have been parking the car on the street, facing downhill, and bump-starting it in the mornings as a temporary measure.

Last night we forgot to leave the car on the street, and just before going to bed Jayne went out to move it, but it didn’t start. The kids pushed it out of the drive and Jayne tried to bump it but it wouldn’t start so the car spent the night at the bottom of the hill, and we intended to try and get it to the garage today even though it would cause quite a bit of disruption to Jayne’s plans.

First thing this morning Jayne called the AA. They turned up within 20 minutes and found that the rotor arm in the distributor was burnt out. The AA man had a spare in his van and fitted it. The car now starts and also runs a lot better. After all that J still managed to get me down to the station in time to catch my normal train.

I still need to get the head gasket sorted, but at least I can now put that off until after payday. With the amount I have spent on the house this month my bank accounts need a breather.