In the US, they have a whole lane for people who are car-sharing, it's called a 'car pool lane'. This is not the lane which leads to the car-wash, as I first thought. I thought that demonstrated a particular commitment to keeping cars clean. I took Purple for a good wash the other day, to the car-wash on the A20, shortly after a van driver had decided to do a u-turn straight into the side of my beloved Purple, my first grown-up car. I was a little shaken, particularly as I was on the way to the car-wash and to collect a load of donated equipment for one of my plethora of groups.
So Purple is a little dented and is off to car hospital when I get back - yay - hopefully not at my expense. They've offered me a courtesy car or £200. I didn't get on with the last courtesy car when someone went into the back of Purple - in fact, I had to recruit a nearby builder to help me to get it moving; he, most awkwardly, rolled it into my neighbour's car; they've moved now. It's doubly sad really - poor Purple had been making a noise like a helicopter for four months, to the extent that people in neighbouring boroughs could hear that I was on my way - I finally got round to taking her in for treatment, to CHL Motors in Herbert Road SE18 - highly recommended, then two days later a van went into her. Hey ho. If you go in the car-pool lane and don't have at least one passenger, you can be fined $341 - I thought this was a curious amount - I wonder how they came up with that. There's no punchline, I just don't know.
Early in the morning, I had a magical hour with my nephew whilst we waited for my sister and niece who had an appointment. We played word games, drew pictures and played that game like consequences but where you make a peculiar creature. It was really fun.
We were sitting on a bench in a so-called 'parking lot' (due to there being a lot of parking). It should really be called 'Parking Lots'. There was a multi-storey bit. I don't like multi-storey car-parks - there is a lot of crime; it's wrong on every level.
We then headed all headed to an enormous park, via Dunkin Donuts where I had possibly the worst coffee I have ever had in my life, but shared a most delicious doughnut with my sister, although we mutually agreed that this doughnut had never been near any natural ingredients. Hey ho.
My nephew roller-bladed around the park whilst my intrepid niece headed to the water and bounced between strategically-placed rocks whilst making friends with ducks and cute turtles who basked in the afternoon sun.
We popped to the supermarket in the way back, where my niece kept adding clandestine items to the trolley, including a dragon fruit which looked more like a dead animal than a fruit.
The fresh produce stall was lovingly watered with a sprinkler and spray and even had damp sound effects for added impact. Only in America.
We enjoyed a delicious dinner of steak fajitas, our last supper together for a very long while.
I loaded up Bluebird, including a precious cargo of 'inflatable fun' iron-on cloth badges for the 165 children and young people who came to our epic AirThrill takeovers a few weeks ago. This badge company - the only on the planet who do an 'inflatable fun' badge, only deliver in the US, so collecting them in person was quite expensive, but worth it. The easyfundraising donation via Booking.com which this trip will generate, in about a year, was also, most welcome. In case you weren't aware, AirThrill is on Catford Island in SE6. It is a cross between an obstacle course and a trampoline park. The site used to house Mecca Bingo, which was less fun for children and a bit strange for anyone en route to the nearby mosque.
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