(no subject)

Fantastic socialising at sarah_mum and whotheheckami's Fete Worse than Death - the weather conspired to make it less than idyllic for outdoor pursuits (I wasn't actually aware the SL was amphibious, but we swam out of Birmingham) - met new people. rosamicula I have seen in various places online but never met, and has a wicked sense of humour; also saw Meltie's new MX5.

On return, found the Sunday curiously empty, so Jen & I went to see what the car boot sale at Wildmoor Oak was like. The three shabby, lonely people there with their selection of VHS children's videos and strange clothes really said it all. It was an experience that would be well summed up by the Meaning of Liff if I still had a copy - whatever the place name, it would be the "mutual feeling that this is a disappointment, yet being too polite to mention it".

Oh, actually, isn't that sex?

I then mowed the lawn with the new tractor. 1/2 hour - as it was just trimming it, I left the clippings to rest. Very quick indeed. Starting to get a pattern too, so I've got the edge where I need it. The new mower won't cut in reverse, which the old one did - I suspect the old one had a duff sensor somewhere since the manual simply says you can't do it.

Then I decided to do something about the mess of wiring in the SL. It has, aftermarket fitted:

Origin B2 GPS/speed camera detector - non functional.
Travelpilot E1 satnav/CD player/Changer - changer non functional, display faulty, won't play MP3 CDs etc.
Nokia 6210i car kit - probably functional since it makes the speakers pop when switched off, but utterly useless.
Thatcham Laserline alarm - functional and indeed, required.

To fit these various devices, there's a mess of wiring behind the dash which I can't reach. The previous fitters have smashed bits of trim everywhere doing the fitting, and I can't work out how to remove half the parts I need to. I am thinking I am going to cut the wiring to the dash-mounted GPS detectors and pull the wires through, but as I think the non-working devices WILL work once removed and powered up carefully, I'm reluctant to do this since I could probably sell them. So right now, the Mercedes is a mess of dangling wires and removed trim whilst I order up a new header rail trim, new A-pillar and speaker cover trims, and sob quietly about the alarm fitter GLUING the touchpad to the wooden centre console trim, thus meaning there's no way to remove any of the dashboard. Y'know, if the thief has reached that stage, a connector behind the dash won't make the slightest difference. Bloody twats. If I could get that console off, then even if I have to remove the whole dashboard I know I can put it back together again once I've restored the car's wiring to the original state! Other than annoyance at the mindless destruction, this isn't like the Alpine - I know I can solve it one way or another - but it's a more complex job than I originally thought I was taking on.

Once I've removed all the wiring and restored it to factory, I'll be fitting a cheap little Pioneer radio that plays MP3 and AAC files and has an iPod connector - due to the proliferation of holes in the dashboard (thanks, person who thought fitting a lot of soon to be obsolete tat to the car as recently as 2003 was a smart idea) I'm going to see if I can modify the iPod holder from the RX8 to fit the bracket of the Nokia car kit.

Here's the beast in question; now named Maximillian after naming the lawn tractors VINCENT and BOB.