A charmed day? #2

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WITH sunny confidence I drove the aerial-less Henry into the car wash.

Having miraculously remembered to pull his mirrors in I scrambled out and checked that he was inside the tramlines that prescribe the limits of the wash gantry.

I pushed the card into the machine and stood back to admire the mechanical magic that would transform Henry from dust coloured to sparkling ivory.

Today was a charmed day where nothing could go wrong – until the machine started its journey towards Henry’s nose.

Just short of said nose it stopped short, spewing out copious amounts of soap and water, but not over Henry. It bucked a couple times, but no further would it proceed.

Then that it dawned on me that the reason for this errant behaviour was because Henry was within the tramlines, but not within the right tramlines!

I knew how to handle this anomaly – I pushed the emergency stop button. The machine receded. I let go of the button – the machine recommenced its fruitless journey. I pushed the button again. The machine receded. I let go of the button, and once more it commenced its futile endeavours.

I stood, a maiden forlorn, holding fast the emergency button. I feared that if I let go of it the machine might eventually lose its temper, and force itself over and round Henry, wrecking either one or possibly both of them in the process.

What could I do? Would the insurance cover a new car, and probably a new carwash machine?

Find out next week……