Hi, hope someone can help put some light on what happened...
Going home for work yesterday, after about 15 minutes of cruising at what my speedo says it's 80-90 Kmh (meaning it's probably 90-100), I smelt something burning, I checked the water temp and saw it quite a bit higher than the usual (it normally sits just above the C, especially in cool days), so I eased it off a bit and kept an eye on it.
The smell kept going, the temp gauge was slowly rising and I noticed a decrease in power, so at the first opportunity I pulled off. As soon as I pressed the clutch pedal, the engine died. The temp gauge never reached the H, by the way.
I saw a puff of vapour coming out of the bonnet

, so I turned everything off (the radio was still playing and the blinker was on) and went to have a look under the bonnet, knowing already that somehow my radiator would have been empty.
I got a rug, opened slowly the radiator cap, and sure there was a lot of vapour but no water in there, even though I checked it no more than a week ago.
I was getting ready to take a walk to the nearest servo (about 1 Km, luckily) when a car pulled over and a guy came to my rescue. "I owned three minis, I know how it is" he said

. I thanked my guardian angel (again) and off we went to the servo. Got some water ($3.40 for 2 litres!

) and headed back to the car to fill it in. The guy told me "It's better if you turn the engine on and we pour the water in slowly, to avoid the risk of breaking something with cold water in an overheated engine", so I went to turn the car on, and bloody hell nothing was working!

Everything was dead in the water, like if the battery was disconnected.
So off I went to the boot, lifted the battery cover and I found what I expected: the battery kill switch somehow came undone and the passthrough fuse was blown.
Fixed the switch, the engine started, put the water in (about 3 litres all up) and everything was fine, I got home with no further drama.
Now, please tell me if I am right in my analysis:
- during the cruise the kill switch came undone, but the engine kept running because of the alternator and the radio to work because of the passthrough fuse;
- because the battery was disconnected, the water pump stopped working and the water slowly evaporated;
- when I tried to turn it on after getting the water, the fuse blew (as expected).
What is strange to me, is how all the water managed to evaporate in such a short time, unless there is something else going on. I kept an eye on the driveway this morning. and it was absolutely dry, so I assume there's no leaking anywhere. Any ideas??
Also, should I keep an eye on something in particular after this, even though today I got to work as usual, driving at my normal cruising speed?
Thank you for any input.