High maintenance

I was suddenly gripped by curiosity this afternoon as to whether or not our car has a spare wheel in the boot. Went outside and slowly cleared out my daughter's clobber to reveal what lay underneath:

* Two complete changes of clothes
* Sunhat
* Peaked cap
* Swimsuit
* Towel
* Leotard
* Sunscreen
* Water bottle
* Hair bands
* Anti-histamine
* Witch hazel
* Plasters
* Wet wipes
* Yoga mat
* Soft blanket
* Sand shoes
* Torch
* Hoodie
* Waterproofs
* Emergency bag of marshmallows

My sole personal.possession in the same car is the CD album Spiceworld, but no working CD player to listen to it on 🙄

How on earth did my parents cope with four girls? 🤔

Found the spare tyre 👍

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ninalanyon · 61-69, T

If you ditch the spae you'll have more room for changes of clothes. :-)

My current car doesn't have a spare, all the previous ones did. But in nearly fifty years of driving I have never changed a wheel at the roadside. Spare wheels are just unnecessary extra weight unless you are driving far from civilization.

I have had three flats. Two were on rear wheels and I was close enough to home and a tyre supplier for it to be safe enough to continue driving very slowly.

The third was catastrophic blowout caused by a pothole in the winter, on a country road near Ilfracombe, on a slope, in the dark and rain. That was just a few years ago (2020 I think) and even if I had had a spare and a jack it would have been ludicrously unsafe to try changing the wheel in such conditions.

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

@ninalanyon My daughter helped her uncle change the front wheel a couple of weeks ago after he shredded the tyre against a high curb. Took just 20 mins and saved a £100 call out fee . . I was most impressed 🙂

Ilfracombe is quite far removed from civilisation 😬

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@SunshineGirl The car was on the back of the local tyre company's lorry within 45 minutes. And they didn't charge me for the call out, just for two new tyres and fitting. Had to have two because it was not possible to find another Michelin Nordic Winter tyre in the UK.

walabby · M

@ninalanyon I gather that you are talking about the original Ilfracombe, across the Bristol Channel from Swansea? .... and not the one near Longreach, in the middle of Australia... XD

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@walabby Definitely! I think the Queensland one qualifies as far from civilization. If I were driving in that part of the world my Tesla S would not be my first choice of vehicle. I'd probably choose something like a Toyota Landcruiser or Hilux, and I'd definitely have a spare and the necessary tools.