♦ Friday: De-flooded engine, cons: Engine ran terribly and couldn’t idle, we suspected this was a fault with the spark plugs.

Saturday: Bought tools needed to check spark plugs, scratch-remover and wet & dry sandpaper for de-oxidising front headlights. Cleaned spark plugs, de-oxidised front headlights, and managed to get engine idling by itself.

Sunday: Bought black silicone sealant for fixing leak in drivers side rear tail-light and boot seal. Cleaned tail pipes back to chrome, de-misted drivers side rear headlight and filled cracks in the seal with the silicone, fixed seal on right side of boot where it had been pinched, fixed seal on rear window. Both front side-lights blown (would fail an MOT, which I need to be able to get the car places!), luckily, they only cost £3.75 for 2 at Halfords. (rev: £1.58 from Mazda dealer, mmm Halfords!).