A lazy (ish) day today! – which is very unusual for us, even though it is a Saturday! I took Ann’s car to Richards in for its ‘A’ Service – it only took just over the hour, but they did spot a balding back tyre and front brakes that will need replacing in a few …
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Category:Car
Track Day – Jaguar f-type
Neil and I were lucky enough to secure a couple of tickets for an invite-only track day for the new Jaguar f-type at Millbrook. What fantastic day! Perfectly hosted by Jaguar with an opportunity to try-out all the variants of this gorgeous car! There were 25 of us – and rather spookily 25 cars. So, …
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Lunch with Alison W
Dessert! I drove over to Peterborough today in Marco – its first long(ish) journey since taking ownership a few weeks ago. It’s running a lot faster now I’ve added red car mats! Putting fuel in it was like going back in time – 25 quid and the tank is now three-quarters full! (that’s a big …
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The Generosity of Friends
VW Polo – ‘Marco’ We’re lucky enough to have lots of friends – friends, who over the years, have been very generous to us. Today was another of those times when we were ‘bowled-over’ by a someone’s actions. Lee, our good friend of many years, told us today, that after a lifetime of driving, she’s …
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Topless
Val, our neighbour, had her new car today. WOW!! It’s an Audi A3, and unusually, it’s a cabriolet. The clever bit is that the roof doesn’t retract into the boot, it sits above it, so there’s no loss of luggage space. It’s got beautiful light-coloured leather upholstery and looks very sporty from all angles. A …
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Fire and Ice
We woke to find that we’d had around 3-4 inches of snow overnight – all that on top of the ice from yesterday! Nice!!! The house felt freezing, so we fired up the err, fire and were soon ‘toasty-warm’. We postponed our drive over to Peterborough preferring to stay in and catch-up with stuff on …
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Farewell Insignia
Those that know me well, know that I always have a emotional association with my cars – not sure whether it’s a ‘bloke-thing’, or just a ‘me-thing’, but today is a sad day. Now that I’ve retired, I’m saying good-bye to my Vauxhall Insignia (19100 miles!) as it’s returned to the Leasing Company – it’s …
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Mains, Greens and Automobiles
Nicki joined us today. We started off by doing nothing much at all, just chilling-out before staying local and looking for a possible replacement car for Ann. Nothing wrong with the Fiesta, but as we’ll be down to just one car from next week – and for the foreseeable future – we wanted to try …
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Are Friends Electric?
I met up with Ralph for lunch today at the Toby Carvery at Enderby (we know how to live!). It was the first time I’d seen his new car – the rather spectacular Vauxhall Ampera. I was even more impressed when I got inside. DVD player, Sat Nav and reversing camera are all standard equipment. …
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Concrete Evidence
Me – I hate concrete kerbs! – The car’s not too keen on them either!!!! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of …
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Pre-Easter Break: Day 4 (Monday)
A frosty night here, but it looks as though it might warm up later. We’re off to Cirencester today- it’s only a short drive away and hopefully it doesn’t include any mega-complex roundabouts like yesterday! On the way there, we stopped off at the Barn in Great Coxwell – a 13th century, err Barn that’s …
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Ziggy Returns
I got the car back today. The paint ‘blister’ that had re-appeared on the rear bumper is no-more, and it all looks shiny-shiny! The body-shop stripped the car down removing the rear bumper and concluded that it was some debris on the cross-member ‘pushing’ into the bumper from the inside. They felt the blister had …
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First Service – Vauxhall Insignia
‘Ziggy’ went in today for its first service – I’ve covered just over 11000 miles. I’m continually impressed by the standard of customer service at my local Vauxhall Dealer – Forest Gate, Kettering. For a volume manufacturer, they demonstrated all the right moves – happy smiley people, small talk, efficiency and a good explanation of …
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Birthday Weekend – Aborted!
SATURDAY Well, the weekend started very well – a sunny day, and we’re almost in October. David, Val, Lee, Ann and I are all ready for a bit of a celebration with David and my birthday within a day of each other. Everything was planned, and all we needed to do was to enjoy what …
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Lunch with Denise
I dropped the car off at Forest Gate just before 8 to have the tyre sensor looked at again, and they kindly gave me a lift to the station. I took the train down to London, quickly followed by the short tube journey across to Holborn. Denise is now more-or-less full-time in London with her …
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Vauxhall Ampera/Jane Eyre/Colombiana/Last Night of the Proms
Ralph, Karen, Lee, Ann and I took the 9.30 out of Kettering today and headed for London. For Karen, Lee and Ann, the mission was to seek out some suitable material for THE wedding dress. For Ralph and I, we concentrated on much more important things like Vauxhall’s soon-to-be-launched Ampera – their first extended range …
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Trip to Lyveden New Bield
On the spur of the moment (unusual for us!), we decided to risk the iffy weather and take the short drive, about 25 minutes away, to the NT property – Lyveden New Bield (a bit of a mouthful!). Apparently, we went there around 10 years ago – but I don’t remember it at all! The …
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Photo shoot II – Insignia
It was an early morning – even by my standards (3.45am!) – and the plan was to take some more shots of the car and make the most of the summer, specifically to catch the Sun rising. God and the BBC weather-team, however, had other ideas – and it was a misty start, and no …
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TLC for Ziggy
I took the Insignia over to the Vauxhall Body Centre in Corby this morning to get some TLC for the damaged bumper. It should be done by Friday afternoon! Whoever you are – thanks for driving off and not leaving a note when you pranged mine. Come the revolution, you’re one of the first in …
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I Believe in Angels!
After many years faithful service (I think I bought it in 2005), it’s now time to upgrade my Road Angel (the device that helped me to keep my Licence free from additives!!!) – shown above – to the latest incarnation of the device. My original Road Angel was upgraded to the ‘plus’ version a few …
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9…6…3…Zero!!!
Today, the 22nd May 2011, is a very special day in my motoring diary. It’s the first day for about 35 years, where technically, I no longer have any points on my driving licence! From that pants-moistening day back in 1975, where I was caught in Catford, South London, doing 52 in a 30 (eeek!), …
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Photo Shoot
I was up with the lark this morning (what a surprise!). I picked up John W and we headed to Burton Latimer for a photo shoot featuring my new car. We wanted to make best use of the natural early-morning light. More piccys to follow, but here’s one that makes it look really eco friendly …
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Another trip to ‘Ireland’
What a spooky coincidence! I’d already to planned to catch-up with Denise for lunch in London, but due to a change in both our schedules, we realised we didn’t need to travel that far! Instead, we went to the village of Ireland, in Shefford, and The Black Horse, a lovely Pub/Restaurant – the coincidence being …
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Easter Day (2011)
After dropping into Central Garage to have the locking wheel nuts changed on Ann’s Fiesta, we headed up to Denis’ for lunch. It was another fine day here and even hotter there – 27 degrees – another scorcher! After a full-scale roast chicken lunch followed by Ann’s ‘plums cooked in red wine and served with …
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..and so, ‘Bye-Bye Mr Mondeo’
And so, with just a few days until its three-year anniversary, my trusty Mondeo is leaving today for a new home. I’ve always had a close relationship with my cars – maybe it’s a bloke thing or maybe it’s just me but and I WILL be sorry to see it go. It has to be …
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Cats in… Shorts and Carnuba Wax out!
Image by Steve Palmer (UK) via Flickr What a glorious day! it has to be the warmest day of the year so far – 23/24 degrees C! So, after Ann and Lee dropped off the Biscuit and Bon-Bon for their six-weekly spit-and-polish with Patsy, it was time to …
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Ralph and Karen here for the Weekend
FRIDAYRalph and Karen joined us tonight – they’re here until just after breakfast on Sunday. The plan is that Ann and Karen will take the train to London on Saturday for shopping (now there’s a surprise) whilst Ralph and I waited news of my new car. SATURDAYGood news to start our day then! At around …
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…and finally, the new car is here
After many months of indecision, and a false dawn yesterday, my new car is finally here. More photographs to follow… Another Boy and his Toy!!!! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of …
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Insignia: Sneak Peek!
Having learned that the car had been delivered to the dealership, we took a chance that it would at least be visible, if we took a drive down there – even though the place was closed. As luck would have it, Dan, the Sales Executive who’s looking after the deal, was just locking-up, and offered …
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A Pleasant Surprise
I just phoned the dealership to see whether they are still on target for my car being delivered to them on the 28th. To my utter surprise, they said it had been delivered a few days ago. Sod’s Law is such that I’m just so crammed with work and other stuff, I can’t get down …
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