Annie and I meet snow

A light dusting of snow

It’s been quite a while since I wrote about Annie because, for the most part, she’s been extremely well behaved, happily carrying us from A to B and back again, trundling along without a care in the world. All through the lovely long hot sunny weather last year, she never put a wheel wrong, passed yet another MOT without issue and basked in admiring glances wherever she went.

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Happy Birthday Annie

Annie today

On 13th February 1985, my long wheel based, series III Land Rover ‘Annie’ was first registered with the DVLA. We have no idea what colour or specification she was when she left the factory and we can only speculate from clues found around her bodywork, on her initial employment (which we believe was as a tow truck) but these days, she is a much loved marine blue, truck cab with a 3/4 length tilt (canvas) over her load bed

I still remember my misgivings when, back in 2011, Mud announced that after careful consideration and much trawling of the internet, he had come to the conclusion that the ideal car for me was a Series Land Rover. 

It’s that time again

Ciggy Series 2 SWB Land Rover battery not included …..

Every year, on two separate occasions, I find myself sitting in a waiting room, nervously thumbing through dog eared magazines, anxiously checking the clock, hoping for good news, anticipating the worst. Everything hanging on the verdict of one person, probably the most terrifying and yet powerful person in the automotive industry ……. the MOT inspector!!!

February it was Annie, my 30 year old, Series 3 Land Rover, who passed not quite with flying colours, as she did have one advisory but at least that one minor detail can be fixed by Mud, on the front drive for minimal cost and frankly, for such an old vehicle, one advisory is pretty good going all things considered.

Repairing a gap in the hedge the Land Rover owners way

Fence panel with a difference

We have a 60 foot long stretch of native hedge that runs down the side of our house which has been a haven for wildlife and has provided much needed privacy, as the next house along, although separated from us by a road and grass verge, is slightly elevated and set back.

The location of this house has never really been a problem in the past, as we have carefully managed and maintained the hedge, which has provided bushy green cover through most of the year and a healthy tangle of branches during the winter, so it came as a bit of a shock last year when we realised that a gap had appeared (with a little help from another neighbour, as we later found out)  in the hedge and it allowed the neighbours an unhindered view of our dining room and patio area.

It’ll only take a few minutes

I think I may have mentioned once or twice, Muds’ amazing talent for under estimating the time that a job will take, whether it’s Land Rover related, or to do with the house, or garden. So many times I have been happily engrossed in some task of my own, usually down in the vegetable patch when the words “Hun? Have you got a minute?”  will ring out, more often than not these days, from the workshop.

Bean pyramids – handy for hiding behind

Of course these ‘little jobs’ rarely turn out to be little and invariably my list of jobs is put on hold for the next few hours (if I’m lucky) whilst I help Mud with whatever it is that he is currently doing.

Lego and Land Rovers …. just another Sunday

Even at my age, I find building with Lego really therapeutic, relaxing and down right satisfying . Rummaging around in a box or three of bricks, creating something out of nothing and then sitting back and surveying my efforts with a relaxed sense of satisfaction.

It’s not often that I get the chance to indulge my thwarted architect side but last night I designed and built what I thought was a pretty impressive, eight stall stable block for my youngest daughter, complete with water buckets, hay in mangers, hay loft and tack room! Of course ultimately, it would be Little Mudlet who would decide on how successful my build was and I would have to wait until morning to get her considered opinion on things.

Annie gets a hard top

The main reason behind the purchase of Annie has always been that, as a 109” Land Rover, she is the natural successor to our Jap’ pick-up truck which is fast approaching terminal status and should have retired 12-18 months ago.

As a truck cab, Annie was unable to fulfil her full potential as a family car and so Mud has been on the look out for either a full tilt (canvas soft top with windows to you and me), forward facing seats and 2 bench seats for good measure, in the load bed or a hardtop with seats as mentioned.

Mummy me time

Mummy “me time” is a rare commodity in our household and so I tend to make the most of the opportunities I get.

Take today for example. It was chucking it down, my umbrella was broken and although I needed some shopping, there was nothing so urgent that it couldn’t have waited a day or two when the weather may have been slightly more inviting.

The Land Rover Owners wife converted ……

When Mud first suggested getting another old Land Rover but this time for me to use, I have to admit that I wasn’t totally enamoured of the idea, mostly due to the fact that he had spent the best part of the last 10 years telling me how unreliable they are and how uncomfortable they are to drive. Things didn’t improve much when he told me that he had found the perfect vehicle – a 109 inch Series III. In case you’re wondering, that equates to an incredibly long and heavy vehicle, with no power steering.

He had also spent a fair amount of time since buying Ciggy, explaining to me how dangerous it is to drive an old Land Rover like I would the Jap truck, as they were completely different animals.

“Drive a Land Rover like the truck and you’ll kill yourself”, he said which, you have to admit, wasn’t exactly confidence inspiring.

New fuel tank for Annie

It’s a job that we have been putting off for a while but with Annies’ MOT just days away, Mud and I finally had no choice but to get on with fitting her new fuel tank.

We knew when we bought Annie that her existing tank was unlikely to pass the next MOT due to the amount of corrosion that was on it and so we decided to bite the bullet and buy her a brand new one which Mud then stripped and repainted in primer topped with the Hammerite Blue heat resistant paint he’d used on her axles, when he had refurbished them.