I dropped Rufus off at the hairdresser looking like a shaggy black mop. I know when it’s time for him to have a haircut because he pants a lot. In fact, he sounds like a little steam engine. He’s good as gold when we go there; it must be strange for him with all the other dogs there but he’s been going there for most of his life so it’s as familiar is it can be.
Then I set off for the garage and the paperwork-fest that is exchanging cars. It was fairly straight forward. I had packed all the stuff from my car into a small back pack and with Rufus’ blankets and seat protection, it looked like I was going on a trek. The salesman was great, once again, and the process went smoothly. Sinclairs have a preparation room where your car sits waiting for you. I walked straight past it without spotting my car. After all, it’s a fairly non-descript red.
I was just about to drive off when the salesman said ‘have you got enough fuel’? When I checked, they’d brimmed the tank. A nice little touch that I hadn’t asked for and which, in days gone by, formed part of the final haggling over price. My experience of buying a car from Sinclairs has, once again, been excellent.
Of course, the A3 is worlds apart from the Freelander. I drove off hesitantly, conscious that everyone knew I was in a new (to me) car. But I quickly got the hang of the clutch and the fact that I didn’t need to use as much accelerator to get it moving. And it was nice not to see the fuel gauge needle moving as I drove. As I drove through town I found myself looking up at all the traffic around me, and even up at some of the kerbs.
I went back to pick Rufus up, now looking slick and feeling a lot cooler with his new haircut. He couldn’t fail to notice the bright redness of it, but he was more interested in having a wee after his styling, and when I opened the door there was a moment’s hesitation before he stepped in. It’s lower than the Freelander, and where before he would normally take a run and jump, now he could climb in easily.
We set off for Cefn Bryn and the second part of our walk and yes, maybe I did take the long way around to get there. But I have to learn to drive my new toy!
franticsmurf 