Long Distance Runaround

Well ... errr ... Yes. No wonder I'm feeling Fragile "That's quite enough of that" - ed. 
An

And I bet you never ever imagined that there would be a steam locomotive involved in this either. But more of this anon.

Just for a change I woke up early "lucky Early" - ed and after breakfast I went to fetch the two spare wheels for the caravans.

And I know that they are here. I had a blow-out on both of the caravans when I brought them down here and I changed the wheels at the side of the road. And I know exactly where I put them too. But the way things are around here, if they aren't in their proper place then I'm snookered.

In the end I turned over four piles of tyres but they weren't in any of them and that has really got me puzzled now. But no matter - off to Liz and Terry's to get the two on the trailer. And I really didn't want to do that as I need those two to stay inflated as I want them to move the other caravan chassis around but it really can't be helped.

So having liberated those, it was off to Commentry to the tyre place. And it was indeed the guy who I had met at the autocross back in 2008 and who reckons he can source all kinds of unusual tyres. So having posed the question, he replied "well, I've switched the computer off now. Come back Monday afternoon and I'll order them. We might have them by Tuesday night".

But Tuesday morning the tractor needs to be on site so that's no good. Off to St Eloy to the new tyre place. And the only 13-inch tyres that he had were "reinforced" - not even "commercial van". And there he was, insisting that they would be good enough. I don't like the guy at that place and I never did and I'm not putting any old tyres on that trailer just for the sake of it.

So off to Pionsat to referee this challenge match. And the pitch all overgrown and full of weeds and two players practising their golf on it.
"When's this match taking place then?"
"September" Matthieu replied.

Ahhh well.

But in for a penny, in for a pound. I had an unexpected couple of hours of freedom and an urgent task to undertake so I went chaud-pied to Montlucon to the tyre place at the back of Carrefour - he who had done me proud with tyres for Caliburn in December.
"What's it for?" he asked
"A caravan chassis that I've converted into a trailer for carrying heavy loads. The existing tyres just collapsed under the load"
"What kind of load will it be carrying? A tonne?"
"At the very least" I replied

So a rummage down at the back of his storeroom produced three 10-ply steel radial commercial van tyres. "These will do you fine" he replied.

Downside is that I can't have them fitted until Monday as he is full to the brim. But that gives us Monday afternoon to play about with them.

He is also having a sale on tyres for Caliburn - buy two and get the second half-price. And I need two to go on the front as I don't want to wear out my snow tyres. These will set me back €216 which is a far cry from the €272 that I was quoted back in December. All of this is working out expensive.

So then I realised that I hadn't done all my shopping (I'd bumped into Bill in Carrefour and while we were waiting for the tyre place in St Eloy to open, we went for a coffee) so off I popped to the Intermarche at the back of LIDL. This borders on to the railway line and there was a crowd of people gathered around the fence.

And thus the steam engine.

Tonight was the cheerleaders or majorettes competition in St Eloy and I was thinking about going. Piles of girls in skimpy costumes chucking sticks about and sometimes catching them - but after today's exertions I don't think that I could stand the strain.

I hope Terry is grateful for all the sacrifices that I'm making on his behalf  so that we can get his show on the road! Missing out on a display of girls in skimpy clothing is not something I would do lightly.

And in other more depressing news, here, in the comfort and safety of my own attic, I have been flaming well stung on the leg by a perishing blasted wasp!