Holidays!

Yeah, the Merc needed a new AdBlue sensor, simple enough fix apparently, but the part had to come from Germany and we didn’t have time to wait for that.
The Jeep did just fine though.
Berlingos seem even more relevant in France than here, their natural habitat I guess! Bloke we kind of got to know while we were there had a white one mainly to accommodate bikes. New version, didn’t dislike it actually. Quirky things.
We’ve been home a week now and I’m still using the Jeep even though the Merc is home too. My wife has suddenly realised that the dog cage is much easier to get in and out of the estate car and has been using that this week to ferry him back and forth.
Think I might have already got a Renegade by default so at least I don’t have to buy one now!

Yes, enjoy the break and hope you get some decent weather. It's rained every day since we got home, feel like running away again...

Having said all that, my wife’s sister and her husband went to the Vendee last Monday and it has been throwing it down there since they arrived. Better outlook this week apparently.

I had a group three hen pheasants run out in front of me on a country road the other day, they popped out of a thick hedge right by the side of the road, and as I was driving back from a funeral (Mrs in the car still visibly upset from the funeral) I didn't feel like running the poor sods over, so I did the wrong thing and braked. A VW Touran following behind me was, fortunately, far enough back and paying enough attention to stop in time before hitting me, but he did careen a bit.

Absolutely, I shouldn't have done it, no excuse, but it happened so suddenly I didn't have time to over-ride my instinct to brake, which has shaken me up a bit. The guy in the Touran was utterly livid, and, despite having 2 children in car seats in the back, he then proceeded to aggressively tailgate me, which is where the blame switches from me to him. Shortly, he tried a risky overtake near the crest of a incline, with a bend in the road approaching. And, inevitably, a car appeared coming the other way from around the bend and he had to brake hard and get back in behind me. Once on a flat straight bit he finally overtook me at warp speed, and visibly in an utter rage. I just had to think, well, I'm better off with him in front of me and gone.

I hope when he got home he had a long hard think over a cup of tea and realised he'd let anger get the better of him and put everyone at risk.

There are some stupid drivers around. Some drive very aggresively, others like I witnessed this morning, drive in the outside lane of dual carriageway at 31mph in a 40mph limit because in two miles time they are going to turn right. Cue a huge amount of undertaking, hooting and various dangerous manoeuvers etc etc because an old bloke in an old Skoda refuses to follow the highway code.

When I see a driver driving too close behind I'll let them past as soon as possible - better in front of me I think. When all the drivers start bunching up on the motorway in the outside lane I'll get out of that lane. They all want to go faster but clearly that is impossible so they all become a pile up waiting to happen.

Back in the late 90s I was doing one of my frequent trips to Leicester from Manchester. Traffic that day was closely stacked and cars to close for my liking. It happened less then.

There was no way of me getting out of the outside lane and the idiot behind was way to close. Cars in front brakes hard. I had a decent amount of distance ahead. Car behind locked his wheels and was still heading for my boot. I lifted off the brakes and risked getting close to the cars ahead. It worked out.

I do wonder if the idiot who'd been behind and too close literally crapped himself. Because I could see he was surprised and when we got moving he looked in shock still and held right back. A narrow escape for me and him because of my distance to the cars ahead of me. Which is why I still maintain a gap which idiots still try to squeeze into.