MOT not so good this year

I've been pretty lucky with MOTs so far since I've owned Billy, but this year... booooo. I had to fork out £480, which smarts a little after the engine expenditure last year. The main issue was brakes, which is more than ok considering they are pretty important - both rear brake cylinders were leaking badly, and one of the rear drums was paper-thin. The handbrake cables were all stretched and two rubber gromits were perished as well. On top of that, it seems my two front shock absorbers have been pretty much hanging off, so they had to be replaced - I thought that creaking over speed ramps was a bit suspect. Together with one new tyre and a couple of halogen bulbs, and a little bit of fibreglass and underseal on the rear inner sills, it was a bit of an expensive year.

This gives me an opportunity to write about my garage, Jack's Garage in Ladbroke Grove. I really like these guys - a bunch of Kiwis, led by a guy called Grant, who have the cleanest most hygienic garage I think I've ever seen. One of the things I love is that they keep all the old parts they've removed and lay them out on the table to show you afterwards. On the left you can see my handbrake cables, shox, cylinders and bulbs. It's just great to have guys that explain exactly what's going on, without being patronising. And they're not too pricey either.