The Godhead, the mighty Trinity, looked down from heaven a couple of days ago and noticed that Neil Calder had been having more than his fair share of good luck. This offended their innate respect for fair play and they decided to do something about it.

I start the truck and am greeted by a very loud roar and bark! I check and notice that someone has sawn off the catalytic converter during the night.

James and I head off to the Smog Shop.

This means a drive through the centre of San Francisco making a lot of noise. I am embarrassed, James is not.

The people at The Smog Shop are typically helpful and efficient. However the repair is wildly expensive.

“We get about 12 of these a day. Catalytic converter theft is one of the city’s bourgeoning industries.”

The guy at the shop is very frank. “These guys target trucks because the high ground clearance allows them to saw off the converter without jacking up the vehicle. They will be back for the new one. You can’t even shoot the mothers if you catch them at it.”

I get a protective cage than will hopefully persuade the baddies to try another truck.

Anyway the Godhead is placated, er hopefully.

They, not the mighty Trinity, but a gang of fun Hispanic guys, have been renovating the house for well over a year. This is wonderful as we only pay 50% rent. They don’t seem to be making much progress. Keep it up muchachos.