4th February 25 London to Exeter via Plymouth!

This was going to be a very long day.

I didn't know, when starting today, heading to Hendon, north London to collect the first car from Brayleys Honda.

The train from Aylesbury to Marylebone was it's normal slow steady journey down through Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Greater London. As many times as I have travelled on this line. The diversity of housing is incredible. Some of the lucky ones in huge detached houses with great big gardens stretching to the railway line itself. Only confirms my belief in the luck of not where you are born. But to who. That one thing on life you have absolutely no control over. Who you are born to. That one thing determines whether you are a prince or a pauper. What a crazy existence we have.

So arrived at Marylebone dived down into the tube to collect the favourite Bakerloo line, change at Baker Street to any eastbound line to Euston. Then the Northern line up to Hendon Central. A short walk to Honda's Showroom arriving around 9.00 to try and get there before that horrible daily routine for sales people. The morning meeting. Of course this is where the day started to go wrong. A delay here will kill the days planning. I have a long drive now to Plymouth Honda and another job after this.

Of course being the dog shit on sales peoples shoes as we drivers are. I had to wait. As an ex boss of these places. It's always delightful to have to wait while you watch various sales execs laughing and joking around. Getting their coffee, from the customer only coffee machine., and doing those important things on their phones they do in the morning.

So 40 minutes later I go out and find the car , on the forecourt, where it's been for so long the battery was flat. Finding this out only when the very helpful exec finally comes out with the keys. So we finally get the car started. I do my stuff and off to Plymouth.

Thankfully the north London traffic had died down by 9.50am and it was a pretty uneventful journey to Plymouth.

Never been there before. It was a good three and a half hour drive or possibly more. I got bored by Yeovil. Passing Stonehenge again. Never understood the attraction of visiting Stonehenge. Possibly years ago when you could actually touch the stone giant pilllars. But now you can't get close. And probably that's correct. Neither could I understand the visitor centre.

You pass on the road can see it clearly. After this go home and read about it on the internet. Job done.

So arriving at Vertu Honda Plymouth the Honda CR-V was dropped off. My next job was from Exeter so not too much of a train journey. Going via one stop at Exeter St David's and taking about an hour and a half.

Then an Uber to Vospers Ford Exeter to collect an Electric Transit van for the next days job. Which was another cross country job to the east Lincolnshire coast. Yes in an Electric Transit with 120 miles range. If your lucky.

The sales manager at Honda Plymouth upon hearing my trip was to Exeter. Asked me if I wanted to take a car from him to Vertu bodyshop in Exeter. Saves me a train and a lot of time. Great!! I thought.

He gave me the postcode and told me it was at a place called Marsh Barton in Exeter. Very close, in fact walking distance from my next job.

I dutifully follwed the Sat-Nav to his postcode. Took about an hour to drive. So saving time is always helpful.

Idiot. Why do I fall for it. He gave me the wrong postcode. So after searching for an age and finally getting to the postcode he gave me. Which was bang in the middle of some roadworks which obviously had queues either way. I finally woke him up and reached on the phone and he apologetically gave me the correct one. Again I couldn't find it. Even Googled the bodyshop myself and it was nowhere close.

I finally gave up. Drove to Vospers my next job location and left their car and the keys with them. Vertu Plymouths manager can sort this out themselves. Job done.

Collecting the van from Vospers was easy enough and I was very grateful for their helping me leave the other car in the carpark and taking control of the keys.

It was getting late, 16.30. I still had what I imagined a three to four hour drive back home. I wish. An Electric Transit van a high roof long wheelbase job is not going to give me 120 mile range. I was going to have to charge this thing twice at least to get home.

So. A few 40 minutes plus stops to charge and driving as slowly as possible to maintain range. I arrived home around 22.30. having dined on the finest McDonald's cuisine on the way. Falling into bed as an early start tomorrow.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZ😴