51 weeks later... An unseasonably (this year) pleasant day meant an early start so I could benefit from extra sitting in a queue to get to Leeds.
Upon departing ms_tone's city centre luxury* apartment, I put the roof down so I could wave at her. Obviously, it being 7am it was just cold enough to create a mild Marty Feldman effect while whizzing past Don Valley House, and I froze all the way north because I didn't want to stop to put the roof back up again.
DSC_3578 by
Tony Lloyd, on Flickr
After the Leeds queue was navigated, I celebrated by parking next to a bin and getting a consumerist coffee, which helped make it just warm enough to convince me to leave the roof down. (It was still freezing onece I got back up to pace but it was too late by then)
DSC_3580 by
Tony Lloyd, on Flickr
When I reached Chez Mandeus I could see he'd been practicing hard:
DSC_3599 by
Tony Lloyd, on Flickr
We wasted no time at all playing car tetris, nattering about modern VWs or laughing about that time I pulled the wing off my car trying lift it up so the jack would fit under it.
In relatively short order a new cat was put on. A record-breaking 4 out of 6 bolts came undone without breaking. I helped by holding a thing, and at one point not standing in the wrong place.
DSC_3607 by
Tony Lloyd, on Flickr
Shiny thing made it better.
Then I drove home via a detour cos I definitely knew where I was going and totally didn't end up at that farm Islay used to ride horses on, rather than the shortcut to the A1 I'd remembered in my head.
DSC_3616 by
Tony Lloyd, on Flickr
Fun road though.
Pleasant day, with good company. Would recommend approximately every 12 months or so. FIVE STARS.