When the battery runs out …
Have you thought about what you’d do when the battery in your key fob dies suddenly? Me, neither! Imagine the scenario – a delicious brunch in TOM’S, Cuckfield (best Turkish Eggs in Sussex) and a grand plan to go to a garden centre for provisions straight after. Chatting cheerfully, Mr. W approached the car, clicked the fob, then noting happened. Ah that’s OK the fob holds a key, but there was no keyhole, and we hadn’t watched the YouTube video of how to use the key without a keyhole.
We were fortunate. There was a small supermarket nearby that sold batteries in packs of two, although there was still a way to go. The first new battery rolled gently under the car in front. Lots of fiddling and quite a bit of polite cursing found my husband in the car eventually, although it wouldn’t start. The joys of modern technology eh? A little more fiddling and jiggling of the battery (after a gentle rub on a tee shirt) the car was ready to go.
Pride just about intact we drove off to the garden centre as though nothing had gone awry, yet I couldn’t stop thinking about the predicament. The car manual doesn’t recommend carrying spare batteries in your purse ‘just in case’. This is my fifth car from the same manufacturer, and it hasn’t happened before, so why would we think it might happen today?
The short answer is that we didn’t even consider the consequences of such an event. And we certainly felt safe that the key fob housed a key for such emergencies. We adapt to the little modifications the car manufacturers provide without a care until something goes wrong. Our experience today may have been a fluke, although I urge you all to check your key fob batteries or at least always have a spare battery with you if you haven’t watched the video.
Back home safely, pride restored, and soil improver piled on the front path, it’s time to get on with the front garden restoration work. My only concern is that we haven’t reviewed the YouTube video of safely handling garden tools. Well, who does? How many of us ‘do what we’ve always done’ without thinking about the consequences? I’m not suggesting that we all become ‘risk averse’ just that we make time to explore the essentials.
All too often we suggest that we don’t have time for something because there’s always something else that demands our attention. Me? I much prefer creating a brand-new front garden to watching just in case ‘how to’ videos, but that’s my choice. I’d choose hydrangeas over electronic keys any day and right now I can’t even think about an electric car.
