Incandescent.......

.....  with rage!!!!  Bloody ignorant, arrogant, bald french tw*t!!
Called into the CT (MOT) centre last week to arrange a rendezvous for the Land Rover. Really nice guy gave us a sticker with the date of the rendezvous written on (5.9.2011). Turned up on monday, nobody there, place closed. Waited for a while, still closed. Came home, rang them in the afternoon to ask why there was nobody there and was told 'non' the rendevous was for the 6th. Ok, but you have written the 5th. 'NON' the rendevous is DEMAIN le 6th!!! Ok, pas de probleme we'll come tomorrow.
Jim took the car and another guy, definitely not the nice guy, was frozen faced, took the sticky off the carte grise and without looking at Jim, threw it in the bin and without a word started the procedure.

Everything seems ok except he can't find the vehicle ID number on the chassis.. There is one under the bonnet, the other, where is it? Outcome - Refusé!!  It needs to be stamped on the chassis, you need to get it done!!

Our local garage can't do it, but suggested we go to the CT centre in the next village. We take our other car here, but they don't do 4x4's hence going to monsieur angry. So, Jim takes the land rover to see if he can sort it out and it turns out they now have the necessary equipment to do 4x4's which is good to know for the future. He brings out his trusty manual which tells him that the elusive number is stamped on the chassis just visible underneath the windscreen, having checked both numbers he pronounces 'bien' and today,armed with this information Jim goes down to see mr angry to get the certificate.

I wasn't there but I can imagine the scene as Jim described it. Mr ANGRY  wouldn't accept this, despite the fact that we had already been told that it was correct, just kept prodding the car and waving his arms, saying  'non' and getting redder and redder. Wouldn't listen, wouldn't even look at Jim, just kept prodding the car and waving his arms. Apparently it needs to be underneath - the manual has told us where to look - stamped under the windscreen, in full view, readable and everything, but 'non' it has to be underneath!!!
Jim had to just walk away - being locked in a french jail for gbh of a french, bald, arrogant tw*t is not really an option so, tomorrow we go to our friendly, in the next village CT man to see if he can do it. 

Our french is not brilliant, but also it's not too bad, we always speak french and try really hard to get along with people, we're not arrogant English folk who think that everyone should speak english and we don't expect them to. I don't know if this guy hates the english or he's just like that with everyone, but, what I can say is that I'm so glad that I didn't have to talk to the arrogant, bald french tw*t as I probably would be locked up in a french jail now - which really isn't an option!!!