The Travels & Adventures of Flog-It Removals.

Well we managed to get away with a totally uneventfull trip this time and you don't know how good that feels at last. Thursday evening we travelled to Pineda de Mar for the collection, just missing an absolute downpour so we managed to load the van and keep ourselves and the furniture totally dry. Then we had a very late drive home for a McDonalds and a nights sleep followed by roughly an 8:30am start for the 850km drive south.  Driving west from Lorca everywhere was soaking wet so we guessed the weather had not been too good and arriving at the drop off we were told it had just stopped raining and had been bad for three days, unlike good old Tamariu where we had not seen a drop for weeks.  Around 7:00pm we hit destination and were pleased to be able to unload that same night so that we could continue to our hotel in Murcia and have a relaxing evening and meal followed by a complete rest day on Saturday.  After a very large breakfast on Saturday it was on to the tram (totally free of charge) to the town centre and a days shopping, wow it's cheap down here, you lot that live down there should count your lucky stars - we estimate that it is at least 10% cheaper than up here in rip-off Catalonia. For us diesel is still 1,19 a litre, the motorways have tolls and Heinz baked beans are almost a Euro a tin. Saturday evening saw another meal followed by a viewing of Donkey Xote which was actually rather good which surprised me. Sunday morning another hearty breakfast and a midday departure for the scenic drive north, I love this drive, but now it started to rain again. Stopping briefly at Devils Bridge in Tarragona for a photo shoot we continued virtually non-stop to arrive back home at 9:00pm.  Over the entire weekend we managed to stay dry while all around us got soaked. Hopefully we have another couple of runs to do down here over the winter if all goes to plan, but for now that's it and the photos will appear in a day or two in a new online album.

Where are we going next? Well that depeneds on you!!

The plan was to install a GPS tracking system in the van asap, not only for the added security but also to provide a live link on our website where clients could watch our progress to see how close to delivery we are.  However upon first test I thought the icon said Begur and I thought "Great!!" - But then I suddenly realised it said Bergen.... Norway? No way Jose!!  Back to the drawing board I'm afraid, maybe the next trip.  Anyway tonight we collect in the Costa Brava ready to head down to Andalucia again tomorrow. More as it happens.

Here we go again, this time hopefully we will get away without exploding tyres or rear brake failure or any other kind of major disaster that we have become so recently famous for. As far as we know at the moment it's collect Pineda de Mar on Thursday 25th September then head south to deliver and have a day off in the sun on Saturday and arrive back home Sunday 28th. This time we are transporting a friend of the person we took down last time as he is also fed up of the colder weather up here and the not so friendly Catalan people. I can't say I really agree about the weather, it's only a few degrees warmer, but I totally agree about the people up here - Not as friendly as the rest of the Spanish population that's for sure. Anyway more of that as it happens. Hasta luego.

Well the plan was that after a long period of working 7 day weeks we would try and get away for a few days down to Calella Costa to unwind. After working until around 5pm Friday we drove down the coast about an hour, dropped all the stuff at the hotel and just as I was about to enter the car park (about a mile from the hotel) there was a loud clunk from the back of the van followed by a horrible metal grinding noise and lack of effective brakes. Pulling to a halt on the beach front I jumped out and took a look at the rear wheel from underneath and behold, there was one of the brake pads, well worn & broken, trapped between wheel and disk but totally out of the calipers!! Oh bugger!! Here we go again!! Park it (Pay & Display), go for dinner and drink and leave the damned thing until the morning. Next morning after multiple unanswered phone calls it was decided that all Spanish repair centers obviously have too much money as they don't work Saturdays so down to the van I went, took off the wheel and looked in confusion at how the pad could actually come out of the calipers leaving me with just the piston pushing against the brake disk making the awful noise. Now being tight, I needed to get out of the pay & display asap so off came the calipers altogether, clamped the piston, and tied them up with washing line (yes I have everything in the back of the van) to the suspension so at least I could move the van without any noise past the police station to a car park nearer the hotel that was free. Don't try that at home. So Sunday afterall became an enforced day of rest after half of Saturday spent under a van getting well oiled in totally the wrong way while a certain other person sunbathed on the beach. Monday morning, off to Blanes to buy new brake pads and then Monday lunchtime fit new pads to rear axle while somebody else sunbathed on the beach. At last job done, back on the road to Ikea so we could spend another couple of hundred Euros and then on to Barcelona airport to collect the youngest off of his first solo flight from the UK at 10pm. Delayed!! Oh this is just the perfect end to the perfect weekend. Thank goodness now it's Tuesday and back to work, far less stressful than having time off.