The Pink Peril has Mobility Problems!

I planned on a nice quiet afternoon and evening yesterday, but things just didn't quite work out that way!

It was about 17.15 when the phone rang, and on the other end of the line was a distressed damsel by the name of Hannah. "Dad, I've broken down in the middle of Bradford. The car won't go! Can you come and help me?"

So it was the white dog walking waterproof jacket on (high visibility) and grab a 9 led torch, so I could have a look under the bonnet.

"Where abouts are you?" I asked.

Back came the reply, "If you go past Morrisons, to the second set of lights, turn right and right again, I'm at the bottom of that street!" [Barry Street for those who know it!]

What a wonderful time and place to break down! Rush hour, centre of Bradford, Friday Teatime, on one of the main arterial roads out of the city!

I jumped in the car and got there as quickly as I could, to find that two kind gentlemen had pushed her car to the side of the road, so it wasn't blocking anything. As I was driving there I was wondering what am I going to do if I can't get the car to move?

As I pulled up I ascertained that the car had refused to go into gear and move either forwards or backwards. Fortunately Hannah had joined the RAC, and within an hour an RAC van had pulled up. The RAC man tried to get the car to move, but no joy. He thought it might be clutch or transmission problems. Back in his van he consulted a computer after entering all the car details, but there was nothing he could do.

So he summoned a suspended recovery. (It is fatal to try to move a Smart car which has clutch or transmission problems, and it has to be put on the back of a recovery truck.)

About an hour later a T F Smith Recovery Truck arrived and the little pink peril was hauled on to the back of the truck, taken to "Drive In" in Shipley, which deal with Smart Cars, and left outside their gates.