Thanks for the replies! Much appreciated ?. Yeah, I think it will always feel ‘odd’ parking where you wouldn’t normally park (although I’m quite looking forward to parking on double yellows ?). Rich, your experiences sound very familiar to me. I too am able to use sticks, I too am in my 40’s (just!), and I too live very rural. I haven’t experienced ‘going out’ very much at all recently, who has? And prior to that I was adjusting to my new life situation, and trying to gain some confidence back. But I imagine I will feel exactly as you have described.
I didn’t have to deal with a tribunal, although I would have if it had been necessary. Speak as you find, and knowing so many others haven’t, but I had no problem with DWP. I did go through the mandatory reconsideration process but the anomaly was really clear and they agreed. The only issue was the time, but I guess the current pandemic situation slowed that down. It took 9 months from initial phone call to final award letter. I’ve taken a while now to consider whether I should go down the Motability route, and have concluded that it makes sense. My current car has been brilliant and I’ll miss her, but there’s no way of getting in (or out if I ever did!) anymore, and the manual gearbox is not happening either. Faced with the prospect of having to change makes Motability a good choice. Hopefully tomorrow will go well! Cheers