I need to get something off my chest . . .

. . my plan chest that is!! It was all going so well – I was on my way to London to pick up the plan chest I had won from e-bay – via Ikea!!! (Why do we say 'won' as if it's free,?!!). Everything was going well - too well! I'd left on time (unusual!) I'd remembered my Ikea blue bag for my goodies (unheard of!) there was a car parking space right by the door (no, it wasn't a disabled spot!) and Ikea was really quiet!! The restaurant was deserted when I went for a sandwich, and the checkout queues non-existent.

Now this is all unheard of for an Ikea trip, so I just knew that something was going to go wrong – I never have incident free times like this!!

The Sat Nav knew exactly where we were going to pick up the plan chest – I'd never have found it by myself – although when Sat Nav said we were there I had to phone them as I couldn't see where it was!! No problems, it was one of those run down old buildings, and I was directed round the back to the car park.

This had all run far too smoothly.

The car park was one of those squashed affairs. I could see a drop to my left, with 2 parking spaces below, I followed the road round carefully dodging a lorry sticking out to my right. And that's when I heard the crunch - and felt the car drop down! I hurried out to look, and found that the road going round went down a drop too, and the passenger side of the car was sitting on a ledge, and the front wheel was spinning in mid air! OMG! I knocked on the door of the building, and a man looking and sounding exactly like Manuel from Fawlty Towers said "oh yes, it 'appens all the time. You need to see Jim round the corner." So I rushed round to Jim, who told me he'd be round soon with his fork lift truck!!

Horrified, I saw the vision of my not even one year old car being hoisted by a dodgy looking Jim in a forklift, and said no thanks, I'll call the RAC!! An hour later RAC man arrived. Fortunately the car had not been damaged at all, it was just a matter of getting it off the ledge he declared. But there was no room to get a vehicle round the front to do it!!! Aha – I knew a man with a forklift truck!! So I persuaded poor RAC man to come with me to see Jim. Jim was in a huff at my previous rejection, but was persuaded to help us. He told the RAC man how he usually did it (!!!!) and the RAC man made sure it was done properly. A few minutes later, my car happily had four wheels on the ground and RAC man checked everything was fine - not a scratch to tell the tale, so all was well.

It was then that we discovered the chest didn't fit in the car!!! Manuel, looking very relieved that he didn't have to lift it in, was disappointed with my brainwave of unscrewing the sides to make it fit!! But he went along with the plan, and before long I was driving back to Southampton in my plan chest! Well that's what it felt like anyway.