27th November 2011

....so Monday morning we set off in good time for the test drive. Don't have GPS, so mappy.fr gave me the directions. Looked easy enough. Came off the motorway o.k. But then, oh no - isn't this the slip road to the motorway again?  Look, there's a big sign 'Land Rover', but unfortunately it was behind the barrier at the side of the A20! How far to the next exit?  30 km.  Nothing for it. Need to get off there and return and try again. 30 mins later, unbelievably, it happened again!  Eventually, with the aid of a very patient postlady, we found the garage - wasn't a road at all, just a dirt track leading to an industrial area, the garage hiding behind another building.
It's done. We've ordered Him indoors' dream car, but he'll have to wait until April for delivery from Solihull. I wanted the manual version, but they all carried that impossible 'Stop:Start' system. Imagine starting the engine on a cold morning, only to have it deliberately stop at the first set of lights. All in the name of global warming. Nonsense. Yes, the world's ice-caps are melting, but it's all probably just a natural planetary phenomenon. Meantime we're all suffering from the scientists' unproven nonsense.  So, ordered the automatic Freelander model, without that stupid system. And, of course, with GPS - complete with a Brummie (B'ham) voice. Where am ya? Turn roight at the next loights..... Now we're sorted.