I'm going to do this in 2 posts....

just to keep you reading....and cos it's a LOOOOONG story! My adventures at the Used Car Roadshow by Sally Edwards aged 35 1/2....

The journey....

Left in plenty of time. Happily driving along with a great mix tape...eating Haribo and singing our heads off. Got through the Blackwall Tunnel (I hate that tunnel), went past Cambridge and were on the A14 and were debating which services to stop at (Toby fast asleep in the back) when I suddenly noticed that the acceleration didn't seem quite right...

Then we couldn't go over 70.. then 60... then 50... and there was this awful growling sound when I tried. So we pulled off at the next exit (thankfully we were on an A road ratherthan a motorway, so there were more exits and slower traffic!), found a petrol station to park at, and called the RAC. I breastfed Toby in the front seat watched by a procession of drivers pulling up and filling their cars.....very bemused. But at least there was a toilet, a shop that sold chocolate and it wasn't raining.

After about 45 minutes, the RAC mechanic showed up, took the car out for a drive while Kirsti stayed at the petrol station with Toby. He diagnosed... the gear box had gone. And he said that with the age of the Volvo, it really wasn't worth the cost to replace it.Basically, the car is scrap. I'd just had it MOTed on Tuesday and paid for it to be fully serviced. And it's scrap. The RAC guy said there was no way the garage could have forseen this or prevented it. But I was not a happy bunny.

So we were stuck in Huntingdon. This being 3pm on Saturday, no car rental places were open (that was Kirsti's first suggestion - we rent a car, driveto Leeds, then hopefully buy one of the options the show has, and drive it home). But there was a train station that was on the line towards Leeds... I was on the phone to Jaqui from the Used Car Roadshow who said the train would be the best option....so we drove the Volvo there (it was fine if I stayed under 30) left Kirsti and Toby and the luggage while I drove the Volvo very slowly behind him to one of their garages to park it... of course, we had to take everything ofvalue out of it, including Oscar's car seat... and because we thought we were driving, we hadn't packed rolling suitcases or anything, just a lot of shoulder bags and nappy bags. *sigh*.

So I get to the station in the RAC van (he was such a nice guy) , Kirsti had bought the tickets, and we then had to haul the buggy and luggage and car seat over the over the footbridge to get to Peterborough. I had to breastfed on the platform watched by a gang of smoking punk teenagers. Fun.

Changed at Peterborough (where there was a ramp thank God) and got to Leeds. Finally. Got a cab to the hotel and had another adventure. Our hotel booking was cancelled because they hadn't paid for it. So I was on the phone again to Jaqui the amazing production person at Used Car Roadshow. Bless her - she fixed it - but the hotel was....erm....not exactly the ritz. The room was about 8 ft wide by 15ft long. One double bed....one bunkbed above the double bed....the shower and sink next to the double bed and a cupboard with a toilet in. I kept thinking someone was going to open a window in the door and look in to check we were ok - very institutional. We'd envisaged room service....they sold Pot Noodles in reception - really.

So we got Toby back in the buggy - he'd been such a good baby - and went into Leeds. We contemplated LiveBait and an Argentinian Steakhouse but I wasn't convinced the TV company would cover that (and it turned out I'd got it wrong - they don't pay for a meal for you) so we went to a very cheap and semi-nasty all you can eat chinese buffet. It was food. It was quick. Sod it.

Back to the hotel. Had a seriously uncomfortable night on a bed that felt like a rock. With Toby in the middle of it and me moving from one side to another feeding him as he woke (every hour to an hour and a half) - hoping not to wake Kirsti above us.

Morning broke. We attempted to get dressed and ready in the teeny tiny room. And to go down to breakfast which was advertised as "Pastries and butter" and coffee from the drinks machine....

BUT - the lift was broken. Both lifts were broken. And we're on the 7th floor (remember how much luggage we have) and Toby is asleep in his buggy......

Kirsti walked downstairs with half the bags to ask if anyone could help us. No. The man on reception said he was on his own and wouldn't move. So K came back up the stairs and carried Toby back down and I bumped the buggy with bags on it all the way down 14 flights of stairs. No breakfast. No time. Not even for a cup of tea.....

So we were off into a minicab - which of course didn't know where to go and had to look it up in an A-Z.......and FINALLY got to the Studio where UCR was filming....and from here, I promise, things got a LOT better! I'll write that installment in a bit....