"My turning up was music to his ears"

You may be surprised to know that AA Patrols don't always get called out to breakdowns on roads and motorways. There are times we find ourselves at more exotic and unusual places. For instance, I've heard of patrols fixing vehicles on farms, on beaches and even in wildlife parks. I had one myself just recently - at the magnificent Peterborough Cathedral.

It transpired that the member was parked in the cathedral grounds and was having a problem with the brakes on his Renault - basically they were jammed tight. When he explained this to me I immediately thought that it was probably a fault with the car's electronic parking brake. And a quick check proved that I was right.

I told the member that I could fix the problem okay, but that it would take me about half an hour or so. He said that was fine as he had something to do inside the cathedral.

When I'd finished the job, I went into the cathedral to tell him that his Renault was as good as new. As I entered, someone started playing a beautiful piece of music on the organ - it was the member. After he'd stopped playing, we had a little chat and he told me that he was fixing and tuning the organ. I commented that he obviously had an important job, to which he replied, "Not as important as yours."

Dave Fendley, AA Patrol