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Random
Nov 10, 2024 18:07:00 GMT
Post by ChrisM on Nov 10, 2024 18:07:00 GMT
Been looking at using up the last 2 days of my holiday at work before the end of the calendar year... contemplating Eurostar to France, getting the train up to London after work one weekday evening. One night in a Premier Inn near Kings Cross/St Pancras is as expensive as 3 nights in a hotel in Lille... over £220 for a Premier Inn !
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Post by ChrisM on Nov 7, 2024 21:28:38 GMT
^
Yes, but you are still going to need an exhaust system of some kind in the future.......
All you need now is an M5 V10 to go with the gearbox.....
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MAGA...
Nov 7, 2024 12:40:13 GMT
via mobile
Post by ChrisM on Nov 7, 2024 12:40:13 GMT
What odds on Elon Musk being the next President, or the one after next?
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Post by ChrisM on Nov 3, 2024 20:54:45 GMT
Having just looked at a summary ofsome tax increases from the budget, I now see why airfares from the UK have risen so much in recent years - APD has been increased significantly and will rise still further over the next 2 financial years. A majority of many short-haul fares is now the tax element.
When you think that we never used to have APD in the UK until fairly recently, and tourists/visitors coming here are going to spend money in local economies, personaly I find it sad - a sort of rip-off Britain tax. Why can't governments focus on lowering taxes rather than raising them all the time?
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 28, 2024 22:29:35 GMT
Update on the story: www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ygw9ye90poLikely to end up in Russia or the middle east - both areas where there are effectively wars going on. Not sure how much energy a ration of cheese will give you. If a certain country's leader is applying slices of the cheese to a well-known savoury snack before eating them together, would it be a case of Putin on the Ritz ?? |
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Cardle
Oct 27, 2024 18:05:11 GMT
Post by ChrisM on Oct 27, 2024 18:05:11 GMT
Didn’t know today’s even when they gave the answer! Same here |
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 25, 2024 19:03:45 GMT
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 23, 2024 20:11:32 GMT
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 21, 2024 19:21:26 GMT
You do realise that the fish tank "exploded" almost 2 years ago killing most of the 1500 fish inside. The Radisson hotel has yet to re-open and most of the street level shops in the affected building are still boarded up. Tragic event
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 18, 2024 20:14:12 GMT
Guess where I've been to again? Festival of Lights was better than it has been for the past few years. Some serious issues trying to get around the City due to a state visit by Zelensky, but I'm glad I got out before Biden arrived as it appears to be much worse as public transport is halted and roads closed off.      Someone's managed to damage the World Time Clock, I wonder how? and....  We found a convenient Harry Potter store...... that's my cousin who arranged for the UK Med charity hopsital to be built in Gaza. He should have been back in Berlin before I arrived there but he was flying back from Jordan, and their air space was closed for a while when the Iranians fired their missiles into Israel. He arrived a day after I got there, and he's bravely volunteered to go back for another stint starting next week, his 4th or 5th "tour" out there. He may have retired fom the British Army but he still wants to keep helping those in need. He showed me some of the photos and videos he took in Gaza last month/earlier this month. It's horrific. |
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 15, 2024 20:57:33 GMT
Excellent photos, congratulations
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 8, 2024 15:17:35 GMT
£2750
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 1, 2024 15:12:20 GMT
We're approaching the days where you'll be able to pop out to recharge your car locally in ten minutes, while you have a coffee and donut during the wait. I'm not over-keen on coffee, I much prefer tea and donuts are far too sweet for me.. ugh, can't remember when I last ate one. Lane assist: Positively dangerous under current weather conditions. You want to drive away from the nearside of the road, well over to the right-hand side of your lane because the puddles are taking over the carriageway but lane assist tries to force you back over to the left where you may end up splashing pedestrians and/or throwing up a large column of water. A really simple deactivation button needs to be mandatory |
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 1, 2024 11:59:16 GMT
Not everyone (by a long way) has the ability to charge at home or work, so no public charging infrastructure growth is plain stupid
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Cardle
Sept 29, 2024 7:25:09 GMT
via mobile
Post by ChrisM on Sept 29, 2024 7:25:09 GMT
In 1. Clue: it's not a Renault
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Cardle
Sept 27, 2024 10:53:59 GMT
via mobile
Post by ChrisM on Sept 27, 2024 10:53:59 GMT
Any Harry Potter fan should get this in one, as I did
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 23, 2024 19:47:08 GMT
This is what it all comes down to in life isn't it: balance. Time and money especially are limited resources... My wobbles came from feeling there is too much capital and ongoing investment in this car, for the use it gets (and for how much I use what its really good for). Yes but... every time you use it, you should be enjoying it so it fulfills a need. If you were to look at not tying up a lot of money in a car, you'd be driving round in, say, a Fiesta ST..... and I can't see you being over-delighted in having something like that as your "business tool" for long journeys. Boris and covid have changed our lives for ever (and not in a good way). You could afford it, you've got it, so make the most of it ! Don't spend half your life wondering if you have done the right thing |
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 22, 2024 17:06:34 GMT
Second go as the answer was in the photo. Exatly the same for me too |
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 18, 2024 21:12:36 GMT
Chris won’t sleep tonight. TBH I don't mind how mucky other people's cars are. What's worse is that I have discovered today the the free VED band is disappearing from next year, so low emissions cars such as my Fiesta will be charged annually from around April 2025. this apparently applies to all the EV cars that also have had zero VED until now |
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 17, 2024 20:58:37 GMT
I've not been offered a Covid jab for a couple of years now. It's definitely still about though; someone at work is off with it at the moment
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 17, 2024 20:55:28 GMT
If you hadn't included "in the UK", I'd have said Canada, and then worked out where ! failing that, Berlin except that not knowing much German would be a hindrance when needing medical aid etc, plus you aren't allowed to wash your own car in Germany......
Knowing Winchester and Farnham fairly well, yos I'm sure that they would be good places to live but Winchester is certainly good to visit, living there may be problematic due to lack of facilities, its anti-car policies and the high cost of housing. Farnham is similar, a great place to visit but I'm not sure I'd want to live there.
Also taking practicalities into account, there would have to be nearby DIY places, supermarkets and a hospital. I'd also want good connections to an international airport and Eurostar at St Pancras on the basis that I'd still be able to travel. Watford was recenty apparently voted as the best place to live in England, and visiting it fairly often, I could settle for living there.
This is a really interesting question for me because hopefully I'll be able to retire in 2 or 3 years time and I'm really only tied to where I am because of my mum who is now 92 and getting more frail with each passing month. When she passes I'd have nothing that ties me to the area and with the traffic issues around this part of the world and alocal council who are pretty inept (mind you, many are) and high council tax, I'd love to move away to somewhere more affordable... but the question is really where to? Watford seems as expensive, if not more so, than where I am now and I wouldn't want to be too far (time-wise) from Heathrow, Gatwick and St Pancras as already mentioned.
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Cardle
Sept 17, 2024 19:17:04 GMT
Post by ChrisM on Sept 17, 2024 19:17:04 GMT
Hmmm, one of those cars I recognise but couldn't remember the name. I couldn't really make out the badge on the wing  It's frothy, man (if you're of the age that you remember a certain soft drink advert.....) |
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 15, 2024 21:02:48 GMT
.... but - in no small part due to the £5000 initial service/brakes/battery bill, then what has happened to car parts availability and insurance, I've been a bit scared to use it as much as I'd like.... it's just so bloody quick and planted. I have loved having an Alfa again - the looks of the thing, the driving position, the steering, just the embossed logos in the headrests give me huge pleasure. It also handles wonderfully, very planted and with that quick Alfa steering finally in a feelsome guise. The light weight is very noticeable. I was very lucky with the Jag running costs. Any used car can end up costing you money, you never know what it could be hiding. Don't let your luck with the low Jaguar running costs tempt you into changing the Alfa too soon. When you bought it, how long did you intend to keep it and how many miles did you intend to put on it? Performance cars generally need more spending on them to keep them in tip-top condition and being scared to use it could be thought of as illogical - same way as rising insurance costs - we are all feeling much pain over that. Unless you seriously need to downgrade to something in insurance group 12 or less and use Ditchfinder tyres etc, keep it and enjoy it for at least another year - and bu enjoy, I don't just mean look at for pleasure, drive it a lot ! |
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 11, 2024 20:17:47 GMT
Twice this week already I've "had to" wash the lower parts of the car after getting home from work.......
Somewhere I have a photo of the Kuga as the only vehicle apart from the wols van i nthe rear carpark of the palce I worked at at that time, in several inches of snow. Nobody else dared to venture into that car park. No probelm driving in, or out at the end of the day (and that was long before I had the Crossclimates fitted)
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 5, 2024 21:31:43 GMT
I've just had to double-check the insurance on the Kuga as I have to use it for business. Discovered that last year for some reason, Class 1 business use had been removed. I phoned this morning (LV) to see how much it would be to have it re-instated for the rest of the policy (5 September to 3 December and I proverbially bit off the arm of their staff member.....56 pence ! No admin charge either. That will be the smallest ever transacton on my credit card; new certificate was emailed to me about 10 minutes later.
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Post by ChrisM on Sept 5, 2024 21:26:51 GMT
Hopefully will have a new video in the coming weeks, after a stag do in Scotland. You're buying a Triumph, too ?? |
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Post by ChrisM on Aug 27, 2024 21:27:57 GMT
I'm not looking at changing cars at the moment but have a similar issue in that I can't see anything on the marketplace that makes me think "I'd quite like one of those".
Whether it is bad design or what, I don't know but I don't see any really good-looking, practical new cars on sale
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Cardle
Aug 27, 2024 6:44:11 GMT
via mobile
Post by ChrisM on Aug 27, 2024 6:44:11 GMT
Another fairly easy one today. From my childhood, and easy to remember! Same here |
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Random
Aug 26, 2024 13:22:08 GMT
Post by ChrisM on Aug 26, 2024 13:22:08 GMT
.....almost every single layby had one solitary car car parked up. That's two... |
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Cardle
Aug 25, 2024 11:27:57 GMT
via mobile
Post by ChrisM on Aug 25, 2024 11:27:57 GMT
I got today's in 1 and hope that at least someone else here got it in 1 too
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