It has been a busy but inauspicious end of 2019/ start of 2020 for us. We made a New Year’s Eve trip to the beautiful, pristine beach at Portrush’s East Strand.   It was crowded with surfers and walkers, many of who, like us, had brought their dogs out for a romp in the clean Atlantic air.   Half the population of the town must have been scattered along the two and a half miles of golden sands between Portrush town and the start of the chalk cliffs at Whiterocks.   Credit is due to all those people because despite the number of dog walkers, I didn’t spot even one un-lifted dog poo.   Since the weather was mild, a few groups of kids were even sledging down some of the larger dunes behind the beach. It was on our way home that things started to go wrong.   While t here is no ideal time for car faults, being 80 miles from home on a New Years Eve evening adds a little more spice to the mix.   The engine warning light came on closely followed by a m...