I'm glad to report the green machine has returned from repair. We passed by the garage at Couture yesterday, and were amazed when Laurent said it was finished. In fact, Nadia, his wife and finance director, had left a message on our answerphone during the morning but we hadn't picked it up. On our return to the house, we rang our insurance to retransfer the cover fron the 206, that Laurent had kindly lent us, to the Berlingo. It was timed to change at 11am Saturday morning. This morning, I hustled to fill up the loan car with diesel and get to Garage Bayou at 11. Kim originally wanted to come, but had had such a bad night that she went back to bed, so Laurent passed the van back to me. I returned to Mort Limouzin, amid a most amazing hailstorm, Spring hasn't yet permanently sprung...
I found the van far easier to drive than the 206, which lacks power steering and therefore manoeuvre facility at low speeds. The clutch was very fierce, too, quite difficult to drive smoothly.
It is amazing the difference in attitude between French and English garages. Although the bill was considerable, the car was handed over with no payment, Nadia suggesting I should call in in a week or so, as she hadn't prepared the bill yet. There is also no problem to spread the payment over three months. An English garage wouldn't have released the car without cash or a certified cheque being handed over!
I'm really enjoying driving the Berlingo, I was beginning to doubt my ability to drive safely as the 206 had such heavy steering .
That's all for now, looking out the window at the green machine!
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