Well it was nearly the shortest night of the year, and it felt like it when the alarm went off at 4am! There was a bit of rain in the air, but not much and it cleared as we got further south. Dave was giving me a brief history of the Napoleonic wars, when unfortunately this happened:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4713490879_f19efc3018.jpg)
We'd managed to get to Huddersfield, which is roughly halfway to St Helens for us. The van had died completely and we had to call the AA (and I had to run to the nearest mile marker, no good at 6:30am!) They said they'd be out within an hour.
As we sat on the barriers, we did our best to entertain ourselves. I found a road sign, which Dave wasn't too keen on taking home with us:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4070/4714131838_392cab68ed.jpg)
And there was a golf course at the side of the road. Why someone would want to play golf at 7am on a Saturday is beyond me:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4713495429_da800d9b7d.jpg)
The first AA van arrived at 7:30, and proceeded to tell us that he couldn't take a van of our weight, so we'd have to wait for another van. Which was useful. The Highway Police stopped by in the meantime to tell us to stay on the other side of the barriers, in the weeds and nettles, which I wasn't too keen on.
The second AA van arrived at 8:30, and got us straight on the back:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4714137162_73fb0d63a5.jpg)
He took us to a services in Leeds, where the van was checked and the verdict came back as: Terminal/Dead/'Ad It.
So we all jumped back in the van, and the nice AA man drove us all the way back to Middlesbrough. Aside from the mistake with the vans, the AA were excellent, and the driver was a very nice fella, who talked endlessly about cars all the way back. The van was dumped back at Pendraken HQ, and that was that.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4713501489_4b5b1033ab.jpg)
We'd like to apologise to all the people who were expecting us at the Phalanx show. Unfortunately these things do happen from time to time, and this is only the second time in 18 years that we've been unable to attend a show. We hope to see you all next year. We will also be contacting anyone who had placed a pre-order, to arrange sending your orders out free post. Luckily Megamatman and Jenna had an excellent time up at the Glasgow show, which was a highlight of an otherwise disappointing day.
The van will be fixed this week and will be back on the road in time for Claymore in August.
Quote from: Leon on 19 June 2010, 07:56:02 PM
(...)he couldn't take a van of our weight
I know, what happened to you is not funny.
But I had a smile when I imagined
- "hey, your van is too heavy ! What are you carrying ? Lead ?"
- "err.. Yes !"
- :o
Quote from: ronan on 19 June 2010, 08:25:58 PM
I know, what happened to you is not funny.
But I had a smile when I imagined
- "hey, your van is too heavy ! What are you carrying ? Lead ?"
- "err.. Yes !"
- :o
:D I know! We estimated about 400-500kg of lead!
The driver who took us home was quite interested in the figures, we should have tried to sell him some.
:)
Bad luck old chaps... :(
Hope you van's machine spirits haven't died completely....
Quote from: Luddite on 19 June 2010, 09:26:30 PM
Bad luck old chaps... :(
Hope you van's machine spirits haven't died completely....
Not sure yet. It'll be fixable in some way. The AA guy thought that the chain which drives the valves could have skipped a tooth, which would cause all kinds of compression problems. We'll have to see how much damage has been caused when the mechanic gets the front of the engine off.
Nightmare...although I have to say, that's the best coverage of a non-event that I've seen for years :P
Quote from: nikharwood on 19 June 2010, 11:20:13 PM
Nightmare...although I have to say, that's the best coverage of a non-event that I've seen for years :P
You not watching the World Cup then?!
8)
Quote from: Leon on 19 June 2010, 11:45:50 PM
You not watching the World Cup then?!
8)
Oh snap! :P
You know, that golf course would make interesting terrain for modern skirmish...