20,000 stops.

The white panda has developed a new hobby. It likes to stop and rest now, and does so every 800 metres or so. Its some kind of electrical fault, which basically results in the car stopping very completely and very suddenly. I broke down fully 9 times on my way home from work on Friday, and a further 11 times trying to get the car somewhere near our garage later that evening. Its a concerning development, and on my reckoning will mean that we actually have to stop, open the bonnet and let things cool down a full 20,000 times in order to complete the trip.

On one of the breakdowns (at the top of a hill on a roundabout) - a policeman helpfully pulled up alongside me and asked if I'd broken down. Incredibly intuitive. Was it the stationary car, hazard lights and bonnet up that gave it away? I informed him that I hadn't really broken down, and that the panda was resting and would be fine again in a few minutes. Indeed it was, and I managed to get at least 200m past the island before it happened again.

After a week of the panda running really well, its all ended in tears again. And the little blighter is abandoned on a sidestreet somewhere...