Fat Bloke and Poppy - Part 4

by Mike Peake

It was a particularly bad winter the year of 2009/2010, so when the MOT came due in April, she hadn’t been out of the lockup for a couple of months and as you can probably guess, she had a sticking right calliper…and broken washer pump!  

Fat Bloke at the wheel

​My eldest daughter wanted to use Poppy as her Prom transport in May the following year (2011) so if I delayed the MOT to June, it would still be in force for her Prom. (You have to plan ahead when you’re potless!)

​So Poppy stayed in the lockup for another few weeks. Budget was still non-existent and with the memories of my last adventure with callipers still etched firmly in mind (I now have a slight but permanent bow legged stance) I went in search of a very cheap 2nd hand replacement calliper and pump.

​These were found locally on the great bay of e so I didn’t even have to pay postage. Parts were fitted and Poppy came through for me with a clean bill of health from the ministry man and we spent a summer of short but frequent drives and a winter of short and less frequent drives. I didn’t really trust the calliper for longer drives.
 
As the date for the Prom approached, all discussion in the house turned to dresses, shoes, hand bags, hairstyles, make-up, shoes, nails, shoes and everything else that women seem to need for these occasions. After one too many exclamations of “HOW MUCH?” from me, I was banished from the house.

So I went to give the gilded carriage a bit of a check over and cleaned her to within an inch of her life. It was during this mammoth cleaning session that I learned 2 things:

1. I would never, ever enter a concourse competition as I didn’t particularly enjoy the cleaning process (who am I kidding? As if we’d stand a chance among those gleaming, pampered beauties anyway!) and ..
2. The 2nd hand calliper was leaking

I finished cleaning Poppy and nursed her through to the Prom keeping a very close eye on fluid levels and topping up when necessary.
​
The date of the Prom finally arrived, and as you can see from the picture, all the preparation and hard work were worth it. She looks absolutely stunning! Mind you, my daughter doesn’t scrub up too badly either!

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The Belle of the Ball ... and Fat Bloke's lovely daughter too

Well the prom was a huge success and Poppy performed her duties perfectly with many positive comments to both my daughter and my car. I smiled politely at the comments about the car and tried very hard not to give my “Hard Stare of Death” or wave the cricket bat I keep for just such occasions at any boys that made comments to my daughter.
 
But the MOT ran out 2 weeks later so Poppy was parked up in the lockup with the promise of being sorted out soon. Although it was a pretty hollow promise as we’d spent all our money and all the in-laws money on the Prom.
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to be continued ...

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