Get Home Car Kit For My Wife

The wife makes a fuss about carrying extra stuff in the car because I'm paranoid. But if she's gotta go to work she's going to be prepared!

Not sure what else I should pack for her, but in there she's got 
Good sleeping bag, 
Folding shovel, 
Snow chains, 
24 hour ration pack, 
Water, 
Flashing beacon, 
First aid kit, 
Head torch and normal torch, 
Boots, 
Extra socks
Good coat and bag. 

After posting this on Facebook, I'm going to add a phone charger and maybe some jump leads, extra chocolate, a small knife, matches and a few candles. A battery pack for her phone would be a good idea as well. 

I also need to check there's a hooking eye for towing and buy a tow rope for my truck (ratchet straps would do at a push but not ideal)

What else would you add to this car kit?

Fixing the Car When On Holiday

It had to happen whilst we were away, the car broke. Not seriously but the electronic boot catch stopped working, a bit annoying when you're on holiday and using the boot (trunk to the Americans) lots. Luckily it was just after I got all our luggage into the holiday house.

Now I've got no idea why this catch is electronic as the switch is just above the catch and a button would do the job just as well, but I guess a button has less chance of going wrong so a repair is less likely, or maybe I'm just being pessimistic. 

Boot stripped of covers

Googling the problem showed it to be a fairly common fault with two options an easy fix or a tricky one. I hoped for the first one and checked the fuses under the bonnet and in the boot. None had gone, this meant it was the harder fix. 

Switch at the bottom

I had to strip off all the covers to expose the switching mechanism. So I went and brought a set of screwdrivers and bits and set to work. I used a large flat head screwdriver to manually open the boot and then it didn't take me too long to have it all apart so I could see what the problem was. I think that the switch was pressing against the metal work of the boot and this caused it to stop working. So using my girls scissors I cut some plastic spacers out of a yoghurt pot and put them in before putting it all back together again. 

It worked fine then and we could get the pushchair out of the car when we wanted - a big deal when you're on holiday with two little ones! 

It's funny because the thought of taking the car to the garage to get it fixed didn't even cross my mind and I'm sure my wife didn't even think to suggest it! 

i guess I try to be as self reliant as possible on holiday as well as at home. (next time I'll take a few more tools with me though!)