Not So Happy Holidays

Well, I got twenty miles down the road yesterday, with the aim of kicking off my Summer holidays with a trip to the coast, when someone went into the side of my car at a junction, thereby bringing my leave to a grinding halt.  I spent the rest of the day trying to sort out a claim for repairs with my insurer.  Luckily, as the other party was co-operative, (not to mention very apologetic), I had their details and the claim will be made against their insurance, leaving my 'no claims' bonus intact.  Luckily, the damage is fairly minor, but the whole rear bumper will have to be replaced.  My insurers have arranged for the car to go to their body shop next Thursday, when I'll get a rental car for the duration.  In the meantime, they've cleared me to keep driving my car, despite the damage.  So, hopefully my holiday plans won't be disrupted too much.

Indeed, once they'd decided my car was still safe to drive this morning, I resumed my attempts to reach the coast and eventually spent a relaxing afternoon on the beach.  It's surprising how much even a minor accident like yesterday's can affect your confidence behind the wheel.  Even though the collision wasn't my fault, I found myself driving very hesitantly and over-cautiously on the journey down to the coast today (via a different route which avoided the offending junction).  I'm happy to say that the journey back was far better, not to mention quicker, as my confidence returned.  Nevertheless, the whole business shook me up enough that I couldn't be bothered to shoot any proper holiday film footage today.  So, the traditional holiday film season will have to wait until next week.  Although nobody was hurt in the accident and the damage was minor, the whole incident represented hassle I could well have done without at the start of my holidays.  Indeed, after spending a large proportion of yesterday on the phone to my insurers instead of being on the beach, I'm left feeling that I've somehow been cheated out of a day of my precious time off.