November 16th 2020 was a sad day for all of us here in Charlotte Close at the impending departure of our little run around car“, The Blue”. This loyal and faithful Yaris friend has been with the family for the past 16 years and we all loved her to bits.
You know the way you can love your pet dog or cat or whatever , well ,we were like that with the blue Yaris or the more lovable term” The Blue”
On the eve of her impending departure, we informed the family that their friend ,The Blue ,was going on permanent holiday. We drove out to give the grandchildren one last look. We posed for final pictures and all present sadly waved farewell to The Blue as she slowly made her way out through the electric gates for the last time.
The blue was a great loyal reliable member of our family. The girls learned to drive in her. She was also an emergency vehicle when other cars broke down. It was used occasionally for the odd pleasure drive before they obtained their own wheels.It also got a few dents in this period, but they were quickly tapped out and Blue reigned supreme again.
It brought people to school ,games and Art classes . You could see the joy in the grandchildren’s faces every time they saw The Blue approach their garden gate with the thought of a granny hug and possible treat. Granny was the main driver and very proud custodian of :The Blue".
It brought us on many a trip to Courtown to build sandcastles and play in the dunes. We drove down for the 99s and relaxing walks. It did all the shopping with regular trips to the main supermarkets and it never let us down.
Yours truly incurred the wrath of senior management for reversing into it and breaking a front light and damaging a front body part. Thanks to Ben Horan’s panel beating and respraying a new and better gleaming Blue emerged.
We all had an emotional attachment to that Blue 2004 Yaris. We willed it on to
keep going. We were all so proud of it and kept the externals immaculately spotless. Her inners were regularly hoovered, and glass parts were gleaming .
I remember the annual NCT inspection. The annual check up was booked into Boggan’s Garage and any necessary repairs were done.
We went to Arklow for inspection and waited anxiously for the result. There was a discernible joy in the air when Blue got the gold medal for another year. We always went to a hotel or coffee shop for a little treat to celebrate . The Blue had done it again.
In the past year couple of years however, Blue was beginning to show her age .in 2018 we brought her for a tyre check.Here we got the bad news that her footwear was not in good nick. She had the same tyres from her launch in 2004 to 2018.Our tyre man could not believe that we never changed tyres. Neither could he believe that we were driving around with 4 perished tyres. She had to be retyred immediately.
In 2019 Strange noises were being heard under the bonnet. She was sounding a bit chesty and lacking energy. Blue had to go for an interim auto check to Boggan’s Garage.
The result of this check up was that she was diagnosed as being in terminal decline and needed a long list of implants such as new water pump, new main bearings ,suspension etc which would demand a big injection of dosh into a declining body. And so, an emergency board meeting of the two main directors of Charlotte Close Inc. was called and the sad emotional decision was taken that Blue be retired as she was not safe or reliable to drive anymore.
The search for a replacement was set in train . We were lucky that a good as new demo model Yaris came into our local garage that day and we got first refusal on it. We took it out for a test drive . We were happy with her road performance and so a deal was struck .The blue is now pensioned off to retire to Yarisville retirement home where she can scrap it out with her fellow retirees.
We were in the blues for a few days after Baby Blue's departure but it’s nice to look forward to the new model and to drive around in style and comfort in a gleaming white model.
Farewell, to you Blue . We thank you for all your years loyal faithful service to all of us .
Deo Gratias.