Getting my hands dirty

I'm working today, it's not as busy as last Monday as we worked hard last week before the bank holiday.  I was a bit late because when I went to start the Golf it beeped and then said "Nah".  Oh.  Nothing on the ignition, nothing when I pressed the lock/unlock on the key fob.  Oh ok - battery then.  Checked that I hadn't left the lights on, and recalled that a couple of days ago it had hesitated uncharacteristically when starting.   

Thankfully, with a few years of driving classic cars behind me, I'm not the sort to shout 'help' before I need to.

Up bonnet, the connector on the negative battery terminal was loose - then I remembered that I think it has happened before on this car.   Next, search in the workshop/garage for a suitable spanner or socket. I really wanted Mr H's nice Snap-On set but he must have it in Scotland, I found a) a metric set of sockets b) a handle c) a converter because the socket was a different size to the handle.  Banged the terminal on with the end of the handle, tightened it as far as it would go and hey presto, she worked.  

It's still not as tight as it should be, and I think the problem is that the battery is too short so the outer box gets in the way of the cable and the connector won't push all the way on to the terminal.  If I'd had more time I probably would have ended up whipping out the battery and sticking a bit of wood under it to jack it up so that it fitted better!  In the meantime, the socket is now in the door pocket, in case I or Mr H are out in the middle of nowhere next time it happens.

I actually felt very good because it's a long time since a car has broken down on me, and with modern cars it's often useless even looking under the bonnet.  It made me enthusiastic to have a classic on the road again, when you carry a toolbox in the boot and the AA is a last resort.

I even enjoyed getting my hands dirty.