Almost Perfect

my sibling's holiday here would have been perfect if not for something really stupid i did while they were here.

one lovely sunny afternoon, my sister and i went out to do some grocery shopping. it was her first time to go with me (it's usually my brother who goes with me). it was also the first time that she sat beside me in front. whenever we travel, she sits at the back between her son and my youngest, kian.  my brother always sits in front (my alalay: hands me this and that lol)

driving here is different from the philippines as it's right-hand drive. she would often comment how more difficult it is to drive on the left side of the road bec of some blind spot thingy with our left eye (she drives in the phils). i would contradict her saying the principle's just the same, whether you drive on the left or right.

anyways, i parked my car beside a pedestrian walkway. there is a post at the very end. as i was pulling out, my sister suddenly said "ate, babangga ka" (on the post). i dont know what i was thinking then (well it's more like i wasnt thinking at all!), i looked at my side mirror (left side) but instead of reversing (lessening the damage), i still went on. i heard the sound of metal on metal. it's depressing and scary!!! i parked again and i asked my sister to look at the damage first. i had to force myself to get out of the car to look at the damage myself. it was bad!!! i phoned tantan and told him what i did. fortunately, he's a very calm and understanding person (if he was the one who did it, he would never hear the end of it! lol). he just said "it's ok, nothing we can do now". of course we're not gonna claim on our insurance. it will only increase our premium. and looking at the damage, it's not that sore looking. i can put up with it (say 1000 times to psyche oneself lol)

of course my sister went on again saying that i've just proven her point (blind spot - left side). i tease her that she's the bad luck lol. anyways, everytime i remember what happened, i just shake my head thinking how daft and thick i was.

parang ni-rolling pin lang!

Who Are You Kidding?!

as a backgrounder, you need to pay car/road tax here if you want to drive a car. of course, you also need to be insured and have your car checked annually (MOT) - that is, if said car is more than 3 years old.

tantan's car's road tax expired in december last year. incidentally, his car insurance expired on the 3rd of january. since tantan used to cycled to work, and we have my car to use for errands, we decided to keep his car on the sideline to minimise our expenditures (road tax costs around 235£ annually and his insurance, about 500£+, not to mention petrol prices!). we didnt really use it much ever since tantan started his job locally. we SORN-ed (statutory off road notice) the car, meaning we reported to the governing agency that we're not going to use the car, hence, we're not paying for the road tax. and didnt renew its car insurance. we planned to have it taxed and insured in april, for when my siblings are here as we need a bigger car to accomodate everybody.

anyways, since the car hasnt been used much, the battery died on us. well, tantan actually forgot to start the engine after more than 3 weeks on non-use.

imagine our dismay when we got a letter from DVLA (driving and vehicle licensing agency) telling us that we have to pay a penalty (70£) because it has been reported that we used/kept the car on a public road on the 24th of january at 1:40pm. it also mentioned about court proceedings and bigger penalties, like they're threatening us to pay.

but hey, hey, hey

jan 24 (monday) - tantan was at work and he used my car

again: the car wont start bec the battery's dead

i only drive automatic cars and tantan's car has manual transmission so it cant be me

the car is parked off road, although we're not sure if the agency considers that public (but where else are we supposed to park - we dont have a garage!). but it's OFF ROAD (proper parking area) so they cant really say we are keeping it on a public road!

we wrote back to the agency and still awaiting their reply. our friend said this happened to his friend and he didnt pay. they were perhaps trying to intimidate people and see if they'll just cave in and pay upfront. but but but - they should make sure naman that before they send out letters like that, they have a valid and strong case! they are just wasting their time and their resources (money from the tax WE paid).

anyways, tantan had the car insured again and will be paying for the road tax soon (his insurance is still not appearing on the database so he cant order the road tax online. he doesnt have time to go to the post office to buy it there). he's got a new job and he cant cycle to work anymore, plus, his bike got damaged when he had an accident (will tell in a diff entry) so he's been using my car for the longest time. i cant wait to have my car back! i realised it's really handy when i want to buy something on a whim. or just go out and have some break.

ok, i digress. hopefully, the agency will see their mistake and wont charge us anymore. afterall, we are honest people. we pay our dues and we pay them on time. this is just totally unacceptable!