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Monday 2nd and today was to be the start of the scheduled tasks we’d set ourselves whilst in Perth. Unfortunately, it started with a bit of confusion - we had booked the car in for a service at 10:00am at Cannington which was about 12 kilometers away. We had also arranged for Graham to see a doctor so that he would hopefully be able to obtain an additional supply of tablets to see him through the period of our visa extension. That appointment was arranged for 9:50am on Tuesday – or so we thought. On closer inspection, I noticed that the doctor’s appointment card said MONDAY and not Tuesday. Graham dashed off to the nearby medical centre to get confirmation and, sure enough, he was booked in for Monday but they were quick to offer a change and soon re-arranged it for Tuesday. So we didn’t have to ring Nissan and tell them we’d be late – we went at 9:30, as we had originally planned, and left the car with them for an interim service. We then strolled the kilometer to the huge Westfield shopping complex where we thought we could pass an hour or three before picking up the
car. Westfield was manic! It’s a fantastic combination of all the variety of shops imaginable but it was really busy – not Graham’s idea of fun. But we spent quite a bit of time there and were just beginning to make our way back to Nissan when the phone went. Surprise, surprise – the car would be another hour (this has happened nearly every time the car has been serviced)!! So we went back into Westfield and found the Canton Noodles place we used before and had some steamed chicken with rice. Eventually, at Nissan, we discovered that the car was still in the wash bay (all part of the service!) so we were able to discuss the service in detail. As expected, PIE was now in need of new front brake pads. We had been warned about this when it was last serviced in Adelaide so we weren’t surprised. We were surprised, however, at how much it would cost to have them replaced. With PIE essential to our on-going plans, we just had to arrange for them to be fitted on Friday but we were beginning to wonder how we were going to pay for everything. The credit cards
were near their limit and the bank card is not acceptable for certain transactions. Other bills – car/caravan insurance and breakdown cover - were due by the end of the week!! It was becoming a bit of a balancing act but we paid for PIE using a credit card and drove her back to the caravan park knowing we would be returning to Nissan on Friday for the brake pads - at least she’ll get another clean in the wash bay!!
Tuesday dawned with two appointments on the cards. Graham visited the doctors at 9:50am and was clearly worried about how things would pan out. If he couldn’t get a prescription for additional tablets then our trip would have to be cut short, or at least shorter than our current plan, but he needn’t have worried. Without hesitation the doctor gave him 6 months supply of prescriptions but warned him about his blood-pressure which was very high. One or two people had commented on the effects that all the pies and cakes were having (including me!) so that might just bring him to his senses! The doctor’s fee ($70) had to be paid there and then and we squeezed
that onto another credit card but hopefully we’ll get $35 back eventually. We checked with the nearby chemist about availability of tablets – no problem – and assessed how much it would cost each month – there are no free prescriptions here and it makes us realise how lucky us over 60’s are in the UK.
We did a bit of shopping and then went back to the caravan park and had some healthy sardines for lunch! We had arranged for a mobile caravan engineer to come at 2:00pm to service Sweetie’s wheel bearings and brakes. Spot on time, Craig arrived and promptly did his stuff. The bearings were sound but were in need of a clean and re-greasing. The brakes needed a bit of tweaking too but there were no particular problems. He kindly fitted two new adjustment bolts on the slide bars of the awning which had caused Graham a bit of extra work when setting it up and putting it away, so it should be much easier for him now. (Silly me – I sat and watched Craig busily working away and didn’t take a single photo!) We had no problem paying Craig – he was
a “cash only” man and we had prepared ourselves for that, but he was excellent value for money. The aim was to get PIE and Sweetie both fully fit to cope with our on-going journey which could well be quite arduous at times, especially if we are to complete the full circuit of Aus. So when the brakes are done on Friday, both car and caravan should be ready for anything.
At the same time, the car insurance was due for payment. We didn’t have any new documentation as it had all gone to Grant’s in Melbourne. We knew that, in normal circumstances, we could pay over the internet or phone using a credit card but now they were both pretty full. We rang RACV only to find that they couldn’t accept bank card details in the same way so, all though we had the money to pay, we didn’t have a payment method that was acceptable. Eventually, with the help of a very patient Hamish at the other end of the line, we obtained some codes that would enable us to transfer the money to RACV directly from the bank, using the internet. We needed a specific code
in order to do it but it worked perfectly (we hope). We’ll need to do a similar transaction when the caravan insurance becomes due in a few days time – and then there’s the breakdown cover to arrange – will it ever end?*!!
We had been toying with the idea of going back down the coast to Bunbury to visit that part of WA we had driven by on our way from Busselton to Perth. Even though we were in the middle of a mini monetary crisis, we felt even more like having ‘a bit of a break’ if that doesn’t sound too silly. I phoned a caravan park there and booked us in to stay in a Swiss Cottage style Cabin for three nights – of course he wanted a deposit but said we couldn’t use the bank card (we should have learnt by now!) so out came the credit card again. We do have a ‘love-hate’ relationship with our credit card company but today we love them!! (Tomorrow when we hit our meagre limit we’ll no doubt hate them!) After that we went over to the CP reception and booked to stay for three days, with Sweetie in storage, and two more back in the Perth park on our return from Bunbury so that we can prepare for our onward journey. That done the receptionist said with a broad smile: “so, you leave us on Friday the 13th then”!!
We really needed to go and lie down in a darkened room by this time but I cooked a healthy chicken supper and then we collapsed in a heap!!
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