New Year mind games

I quite enjoy playing little mind games whilst driving. One game, which Jan does not like, is seeing how far I can go without running out of petrol. For the record, the best I have ever achieved was driving the car so dry that I managed to put 78 litres into a 76 litre tank. (Good effort - Ed). I'm not sure that that can be beaten. Anyway, this afternoon we're driving down the motorway and the petrol warning light came on. I had a little brainwave. "I wonder whether I can make it to Laon before I fill up," I said to myself. I know that the light tells me that I've got 10 litres left and that that should give me about 100 kilometres. Laon is only about 85 kilometres away. I passed this thought across the desk of my dearest. She was not amused, and warned me quite clearly that I was the one going for petrol, if we ran out, and that she would not help in any way whatsoever. Hmnnn, a bit over the top, I thought.

Boy, was it scary. I watched the needle drop below the empty level so that there was even a gap between the E and the needle. I started to sweat, this was close, I even slowed down so that I was driving more economically. The last few kilometres were really scary because not only was it a public holiday and I couldn't buy a can even if I could find the fuel but I would also have to face the wrath of Khan. I pushed or rather willed the car on and on. I could swear that the needle was getting bent backwards over the stop. I was really sweating. Had I done the calculations correctly? Did the light go on at the 10 litres mark or was there less in? I started to panic (quietly, because I didn't want to lose dignity in front of my beloved) but it was getting really close. Sweat ran down my back, it was that close. Then I saw it. A petrol station in the distance. But, there was going to be one big disappointment. The automatic (it was a holiday) pump would not let me fill up, so I would never know how close it was. (You're round the bend - Ed) I suppose it's just a boy thing. There was however a light on the horizon. I could fill up tomorrow at another station and go for the big one! See if I could exceed 800 kilometres on a full tank. In theory it was possible but I'd never done it before. I couldn't wait!