Hello all,
It's been almost 2 weeks since I left Leighton Buzzard, but since then I've been too busy to write a concluding post. After leaving Leighton Buzzard, I had 48hrs at home in which to get ready for my
Aberdeenshire residency. Needless to say, June has been hectic ...which probably explains why I have nearly 100 unanswered PMs in my inbox! To all those who are awaiting replies, I will do my best to get back to you all over the coming weeks.
This Leighton Buzzard residency was, without question, my busiest yet. Other commitments, such as the
A2OC Aberdeenshire Social, meant that I was limited to 2 weeks in Leighton Buzzard. However, my desire to meet as many requests as possible resulted in me trying to squeeze 3 weeks worth of work into 15 days. Perhaps predictably, this resulted in a good number of late nights. I hope that, despite the hectic schedule, I managed to fulfil everyone's requests to my usual perfectionist standards. Although I didn't have time to acknowledge it at the time, I am hugely grateful for the positive feedback that was left here by so many club members who visited. Your continued support means a great deal to me.
I'd like to dedicate the rest of this post to the shining beacon known here as
@Proghound. The simple truth is that I could not have managed this Leighton Buzzard residency without Ian. Of course, by virtue of working at Ian's house, this could be said for all previous Leighton Buzzard residencies, but this time was different. Ian had taken 2 weeks of annual leave from his usual job such that he could be a continuous part of the happenings on his driveway, and, given the busy schedule, thank goodness he did!
Day after day, Ian looked after me such that I could concentrate wholly on the task in front of me. Lunches were served up for myself and others. Countless cups of tea and coffee were made for visiting club members. At my request, Ian bullied me to keep drinking water such that I didn't end up with dehydration headaches at the end of each day. I don't think I did the washing up any more than once during the whole fortnight!
When he wasn't playing the role of the perfect host, Ian picked up tools to assist me in valuable ways; removing and replacing door cards, lifting seats in and out of the cars, etc. Over a total of 26 door lock repairs, the time saving really added up.
Whilst I invariably got straight into the prearranged job, Ian performed a number of routine checks on the cars: are the rear seats latched properly?, are the door check straps worn?, is the wiper arm in danger of scratching the windscreen?, does the rear interior light work?, are all doors locking and unlocking correctly?, do all the microswitches in all doors work properly?
Under less pressure, I'm usually adept at working on A2s and holding conversation simultaneously. However, I shan't deny that, on occasions, it was also great to be able to duck out of socialising such that I could devote 100% of my attention to the job in front of me. Of course, Ian loves having a 2-week drawn-out A2OC social on his driveway, so he gladly kept conversation flowing when he could tell I needed to enter 'the zone'.
I am delighted to see Ian's name mentioned so many times in the feedback. Whilst I humbly acknowledge that people travel to Leighton Buzzard for my expertise, it thrills me to see 'Tom and Ian' being spoken about as a team. Given his kindness, generosity and mammoth efforts, that is only right. So, once again, massive thanks to
@Proghound.
Lastly, thank you to everyone who visited. Leighton Buzzard may be a lot closer to you all than my base near Lancaster, but I appreciate that many club members nevertheless drove for a few hours to visit. The A2 seemingly attracts good people; I equally enjoyed catching up with familiar faces and meeting new members.
My schedule for the rest of the year is filling up rapidly, with lots of commitments sprinkled throughout my diary. At present, it remains uncertain whether I'll manage another Leighton Buzzard residency this year, but if it happens, I can only hope that it'll be as enjoyable as the one just gone.
Best wishes to all,
Tom