Tis the season for ... car -related woe? And insurance renewals.

Helga the Saab flashed up a plaintive message at me this morning: "Time for Service"

She reinforced this when I cruelly clicked the clear button and ignored her, by releasing her left indicator light as I drove along, so that it flapped about on the end of its cable.  I had to stop and shove it back in.   And I KNOW she needs a new tire.  Pants. 

Also, Az's pet insurance is up for renewal, and they want £351.69 for the next year!  That's only fifty quid less than the insurance on Helga!   Mind you, both of them are getting on a bit, so I don't know which one I expect to break sooner...

Ashes to ashes

I collected Darwin the foster coonhound's ashes today (for some reason it took ages for them to come back). They are in a terribly posh sealed wooden box with his name on the top.  I was expecting a bag in a pot at most, that's what I got last time we had a pet cremated at that vet.    It seems a bit of a major environmental footprint for the  end of a saggy old dog. 

I'm not a big one for keeping remains forever: I don't do graves, and usually don't even ask for the ashes back: I'm not quite sure why I did this time.  I was just planning to take them on one of his favorite walks and let the wind take the ashes, but this thing is a great solid awkward lump (rather appropriate really, Darwin was something of a solid awkward lump too ). Now I don't know what to do. Maybe I'll take a spade and bury it instead.