We had swapped cars so that I could tow the trailer with its load of floorboards

Linda rang me while I was in the middle of rebuilding the jig

"I'm trying to drive your truck down to the shops to buy a few things and it has started to make a strange noise - can you hear this ?"

She holds her mobile close to the engine and I can hear, "tapokita, tapokita, tapokita"

Immediately visions of bent valve stems fill my mind.

I say, "Yes, I think basically the engine has totally crapped itself - you should really try to have it towed back home"

Five minutes later Linda rings back, "I almost managed to drive it home, but then there was a big bang, smoke filled the cabin and there's oil and metal parts on the ground"

Images of conrods through the side of the engine filled my mind.

So later that day we towed it down to the barn and covered it with a tarpaulin