John and I want to praise the efficient, professional, and empathetic AFFORD CAR RENTAL COMPANY at Stoke on Trent! Shannon and Dave couldn’t have been more obliging, kind and positive. No hard sell for extra insurance, no nonsense instructions on car care and above all, they were reasonably priced…they could have taken advantage of our situation and charged us anything…. and would have paid….we were desperate!
Stunningly, within 30 minutes of arriving, we took possession of our bright red Sportage and were winging our way north on the M6 to Glasgow.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself! Back story coming up.
In 2 weeks’ time, we’ll be starting our canal barge adventure from Stoke on Trent, so it seemed logical to hire/ return a car from there. We caught the 8.15am train from Euston to Stoke via Nuneaton and Milton Keynes with Avanti.
That would give us plenty of time to get to the car hire office at our 12 noon ‘out of hours special opening just for you at extra cost’ negotiated appointment time. We were so well organised, we arrived at said office by 11am. Choosing the comfort of the customer waiting area, we did just that, waited, and waited. 12 noon ticked by. No show.
Now, given our communication with this company the previous day, I guess we weren’t overly surprised this had happened. Just hugely distressed and disappointed! And to be honest, a little concerned about our next booking with them after the canal trip!
Called George at Europcar. He said he’d call back. He didn’t. Called Omar at Europcar. He said he’d get George to call back. He didn’t.
So we called AFFORD CAR RENTALS and voila!
Say no more!
The drive to Glasgow was all motorway, fast, wet and a bit scary. But we arrived safely, were welcomed warmly by Thomas our Airbnb host, into his gorgeous home, and freshened up for our long-awaited rendezvous.
We had arranged to meet up with Ashley and Ben, friends Katie and Chris had made when they’d lived in London. Ashley and Ben spent last Christmas in Australia, and we’d had a wonderful time then getting to know them, so it was great to catch up and see how they were settling into their new Glaswegian lifestyle.
As it turns out, pretty darned good! Much more affordable rent means they can live, eat and play without watching the pennies as much.
Having originally met as students in Glasgow, Ben is now a Professor at the Uni, and Ashley has successfully negotiated remote working with her Workforce Company in London. Being from the USA and Canada respectively, their lifestyle now consists of frequent trips home to see family, work/ friend catch-up trips to London, weekends experiencing the highlands on their doorstep and an ever evolving multicultural and vibrant living environment. Oh, and golf! Three times a week!
What’s not to like??
We ate sumptuously at the very popular Madras Cafe and then scurried up in the pouring rain to The Hootenanny Pub where we were treated to some great beer and great music.
It was so good to see them looking so very happy and optimistic about the future.
Heading north was a great move guys!
Kanga And Wombats Adventures 