As mentioned, Bertie’s no trailer queen (king?); 200,000-plus miles have left their scars. At some point he must have been in an altercation involving his nose; he’s a bit Streisand-esq. Was this character enhancing, or unsightly? I didn’t want to blow-it 🙂.
Estimates for a nose job varied from £2,500 (a new shell) to £300, with many of the classic specialists quoting around £700 for re-chroming alone. Most were non-committal about repairs, but Chromefix of Birmingham seemed keen to administer a bit of rhinoplasty. Sam, their sales guy, obviously nose what he’s doing 🙂. I told him I was coming to the UK in a few weeks’ time, but would send it ahead to pick up while there.
Swisspost are super efficient. I paid top-dollar for tracked, signed for, and expedited delivery, but hadn’t reckoned on Parcelforce. They’re the forwarders for Swisspost in the UK, and it fell to them to deliver to Chromefix. It took a week to get to the UK, and four to get to Birmingham!
Parcelforce’s Central Customs Bureau (CCB - Eastern European?) wanted an EORI number, commercial invoice, IPR form, and a hundred other things I knew hide nor hair of. Basically they wanted to know everything save the colour of my grandmother’s pubic hair.
No amount of explaining I was not importing the part, just having it repaired (hence sending it to a repair shop - duh!) made any difference. Over the course of two dozen emails, and numerous ‘phone calls, I dealt with five ‘helpful’ people - all as bright as a solar powered flashlight. British business needs partners like them to drive overseas sales!
Another ‘helpful’ person said I could pay the (not due) duties and then try to claim them back by filling in several 30-page forms. Of course I wouldn’t recover the ‘administration’ fees (nor time) these highwayman charge by processing undue duties, but what choice did I have? Some might call them Extortioners, but they prefer Parcelforce, part of that bastion of integrity, Royal Mail.
During this torture I’d been to the UK and back, so had to travel a second time to avoid who nose what 😊. Still, I’m delighted with the great job Chromefix did for not much more than the postage, undue duties, and stolen fees.
Looking at the now perfect grill sometimes makes me a little nose-talgic for his old, rugged look 🙂.
Lots and lots of love tuppyglossop
Bet Substack is not at all cultural