They say that Volkswagen is more reliable than life itself, least that was the advertising campaign of long ago. So, having had the car breakdown on the way up, the exhaust make noises it shouldn't and necessitate a prolonged stay upt' North to sort, I was expecting the journey home last night to be an uneventful one. But, they say, problems come in 3's. And I can confirm, least in my car, that this bode true 
You may remember mention a few weeks ago about split cooling hoses. Well, I'd refilled the cooling system with more and more water as it needed topping up. And this must have stressed the system somewhat, as another pipe burst not long after. You can obviously guess what's coming, if you read those 2 stories, particularly noting what happened on the last trip home.
Needless to say, another pipe burst. Or, rather more, split, all the way down it's length, like a banana 
Fortunately, I'd got bits in the car to effect a repair. And with a roll of insulating tape, a pair of pants, six tie-wraps, and 5 litres of coolant/water mix, we were back on the road and heading home.
Looking today at what needs ordering, and checking the part number on the side of the pipe, the actual date it was made on was 17 January 1983. Which means it's been on the car since new. So, I guess, it's allowed to break. 22 years or more service is more than can be expected of a simple piece of rubber, don't you think 
