Comments on Wife in the North: More rats

Cars are a curse arent they? Someone stole the win...

2008-02-11T12:24:00.000Z

Cars are a curse arent they? Someone stole the wing mirror covers off mine just because they are luminous green... or were. I agree with Sweet Irene by the way and I am also Dutch..

With all those children surely one could have sat ...

2008-02-11T06:01:00.000Z

With all those children surely one could have sat in the foot well and pushed whichever pedal you demanded they push - it would have made for a more intersting journey than usual.

Not much differnt to the oldies driving around Budleigh/Sidmouth/Seaton area with their partners describing what's happening on the roads because the driver is practically as blind as a bat through cataracts!

We are the other way round. My wife has the drivin...

2008-02-09T23:01:00.000Z

We are the other way round. My wife has the driving seat set well back and I am such a short-arse I need it well forward. My family say if we were Lord of the Rings characters then my wife would be Arwen the elven queen and I, Gimli the dwarf. Well, with the beard I guess I'd qualify.
That blog was a good tale. Those rats are not daft, they know how to keep warm nibbling at the odd cable or two!

If the car seat is permanently jammed, may I sugge...

2008-02-09T16:02:00.000Z

If the car seat is permanently jammed, may I suggest you keep a pair of platform boots circa 1972 (colour optional, but silver look ravishing)in the glovebox? Might help when the pedals seem an awful long way away.

Mya x

The engine warning light staying on is a warning t...

2008-02-07T20:14:00.000Z

The engine warning light staying on is a warning that all is not well with the engine. Could be a good idea to take it to your garage a.s.a.p., just to be on the safe side ...

If the light is just the red one that cars used to have, it means that the battery is not charging and you'll shortly find you can't start the car or the headlights will go dim as you drive.

All things that can make husbands a bit critical of their wives!

I thought in Northumberland it was only GOLFERS th...

2008-02-07T19:21:00.000Z

I thought in Northumberland it was only GOLFERS that were warned to be wary after one of their motorised golf trolleys caused a car fire...and now its the farmers with their tractors and those rats....hah hope you get that car into the garage asap!

Our Northumbrian Neighbours know no bounds when it...

2008-02-07T18:44:00.000Z

Our Northumbrian Neighbours know no bounds when it comes to the laid back approach.

Crystal xx

Ah but, it's not just British. There's much here y...

2008-02-07T10:11:00.000Z

Ah but, it's not just British. There's much here you'd be more likely to associate with people across the water. Your average Brit wouldn't for a second consider the possibility of growing their legs longer to reach pedals. Happens all the time in old Irish literature---long before Disney cartoons.

I was surprised at first by the suggestion that the Dutch have no sense of humour. I lived there for 10 years and I hadn't been struck by that (although An Irishman's Adventures with the Dutch Language is the funniest book in Dutch I know). I was sufficiently surprised that I googled "Dutch sense of humour". It was time well spent. I now understand why a Dutch friend of mine who is very funny is so funny. His mother is Hungarian.

My favourite Dutch joke is Q. How does a German open a mussel? A. Knocking the table: OPEN UP.

My husband's roster seems to be getting worse, and...

2008-02-07T05:45:00.000Z

My husband's roster seems to be getting worse, and he's now away for probably 3 weeks out of every 4. It's a year TODAY since he went to work abroad. 3 hours after dropping him at the airport, a pipe burst on the side of the house and water started spraying out all over the place. My thoughts were: "Right, my first test, you're a pioneer, think girl think, call a plumber". It took me an hour to summons the courage to go under the house where it's dark and spidery. I wasn't sure exactly where the outside water supply tap was, and the only torch in the house was a dim Bob the Builder one with an almost flat battery. But when it was all sorted out, I felt very proud of myself.

Isn't it amazing what happens when the husbands ar...

2008-02-07T03:18:00.000Z

Isn't it amazing what happens when the husbands are away. And I don't mean that in a nudge-nudge-wink-wink way either. We are drowning in snow and ice here in Chicago to the point where I can no longer get my car out of the garage and into the grooves leading up the alley. (And this is in the city!) Even though my vehicle is 4 wheel drive and supposed to be able to cope with any tundra, I gave up trying to jump the ice mounds when my son became alarmed at the smell of burning rubber. Fotunately we can walk everywhere, but if my hubby thinks he's flying back from London tomrrow I'm afraid he's in for a surprise. O'Hare airport cancelled most of their flights today. The kids are beginning to ask if he will make it back and he's only been gone since Sunday night. They are obviously sick of me. That means they will be wanting to spend the whole weekend with dad. :-)

You have such a lackadaisical way of telling a sto...

2008-02-07T00:30:00.000Z

You have such a lackadaisical way of telling a story, it's wonderful. It gives it all the more value and interest, because you tell it in such an understated way. It's very British of you and I can say that, because I am Dutch and we aren't supposed to have any sense of humor at all. Oh, if only you knew how much we love the British sense of the absurd. You are the funniest people in Europe.

Or maybe the rats had gnawed at the Nissan's wirin...

2008-02-06T23:24:00.000Z

Or maybe the rats had gnawed at the Nissan's wiring? Just a thought.