Yesterday evening tother half gets stranded at work with a flat battery, recovery guys rolls up after nearly 3 hours wait and simply jumps starts it, missus drives home, tries to start it after returning home and it's dead again (and reading 12.3v).
Iit's a bl**dy good job it wasn't the alternator else she'd have been stranded half way along the M42..........
So back home, with her in a rather emotional state the discussion starts as to how we're going to fix this and get her to work for her two rather important meetings early the next morning (this morning). It eventually boils down to having to buy a battery and fit it ourselves, as nowhere that fits batteries is open early enough.
Now something odd happens, she's determined to change the battery herself, she asks me to give her full instructions and the tools. I did this and I made sure to put the fear of god in her with respect to what could happen if she gets it wrong.
This morning we got up early, went out and got a new battery from Bromsgrove Motor Factors at 8am. I refused to leave her on her own to change the battery because I was worried she might drop the wrench and short out the battery to the chassis (there's not a lot of room in a Ford KA).
She only went and did it, exactly to my instructions and without any fuss at all!!!
I don't think she'll be building any Westfields any time soon, but I'm really proud of her for getting her hands dirty and proving to herself that she can actually do these things!
These days I think most blokes would baulk at the very thought of doing what she did this morning!