Blog
Out in the rain
Tuesday 25th April 2023
My first wedding of the year took place recently. It was great to be out and about again but it wasn't so great to be out in the rain. And it wasn't just a light shower or two; it was torrential rain throughout the day. There was nothing we could do about it, so everyone made the best of it. What else can you do?
I usually stay with the car whilst the ceremony takes place but, this time, it was so chilly and miserable outside that I sought refuge in the church. It was a large building, with a separate foyer at the entrance. I found a seat and was about to settle in when a lady came over and asked if I would like a coffee. Wow, that is an unusual occurrence and I quickly said "Oh, yes please, if it's not too much trouble". She came back a few minutes later with a mug of refreshing coffee and a pack of biscuits. What a generous gesture. The humble driver is so often ignored and it was fantastic to be spoiled like that.
Actually, I prefer to stay in the background but sometimes I am dragged into the wedding photographs. I am the most unphotogenic person you can imagine and I usually protest and tell people I don't want to spoil their wedding photos. But they sometimes say I am a part of their big day and so I should be in the pictures. I do whatever it takes to keep the customers happy but I suspect they may regret it when they look at their photo albums in the future!
As well as putting a bit of a dampener on the day, the torrential rain at the wedding has made cleaning the car a particularly tiresome job. The water splashed into all sorts of nooks and crannies, leaving muddy marks everywhere. The front axle is exposed on the vintage car and it has taken ages to wipe everything down. But the worst problem was the honeycomb radiator. This is a very prominent feature on the early Austin cars and has to look pristine. Unfortunately, the rain and muck from the roads had found its way into the honeycomb and I had a major struggle to clean it. Firstly, I tried using a thin wooden stick with a rag wrapped around the end and pushed it into the little holes. That didn't work so I tried using a toothbrush and soapy water. That didn't work either so, yesterday, I tried spraying WD40 into all of the holes. It looks better but I'm not sure how it will dry. If it isn't up to scratch when it dries, I'll have to repaint the whole thing.