windows phone by any chance? my partner put in a destination last week on hers and 75miles was going to take over 6 hrs !! and thats in a car and not by bus/walking. lol

17 minutes ago, iantt said:

my partner put in a destination last week on hers and 75miles was going to take over 6 hrs !! and thats in a car

If that involves any Trunk roads or m/ways run by the Highways Agency, then 6 hours sounds quite optimistic to me!

By day, all main routes are clogged by traffic, incidents and roadworks. By night, half of the road network is shut for more roadworks.

It has been a nightmare trying to plan journeys from Dorset to Derby & back, avoiding massive traffic hold-ups and overnight closures. In February there were closures on the M5, M3, A46, A34 and M1. That just about isolates the southwest from the rest of the country, at least for Trunk roads. I don't know how long distance truck drivers cope with it.

54 minutes ago, tarbyonline said:

So..  When are you testing it out ;p

I've got tomorrow off, so I thought I'd try it then.  9,123 miles isn't that far...  Is it?

50 minutes ago, iantt said:

windows phone by any chance? my partner put in a destination last week on hers and 75miles was going to take over 6 hrs !! and thats in a car and not by bus/walking. lol

Indeed it is.  Depending on where you are going, 6 hours for 75 miles may not be all that inaccurate...

well, i used maps on my tablet at the same time and it was just over 2. the journey actualy took 2hrs 20 mins

10 minutes ago, iantt said:

well, i used maps on my tablet at the same time and it was just over 2. the journey actualy took 2hrs 20 mins

Problem is you can't affix a tablet to your windscreen, so it is a bit prohibitive as a sat-nav. 

I do like taking Pipper for an extended stroll down to Studland and then along the Purbeck Ridge to Corfe Castle and coming back through Bushey, Wareham Forest and along flood meadows adjacent to the A351, contrary to it's name, Bushey is a boggy heath and lacks anything remotely bushy.  There is rumoured to be a herd of wild boars in Wareham Forest, in 16 years of walking Brandy through it: I've yet to have a wild pig encounter.  We did come across some Wareham based huskies practising their wheeled sled racing on the forest tracks.

Pipper is now fully "converted" to raw food, she had a bowl of necks for breakfast with a couple of chicken livers. She's got a semi-self assembly chicken for tea (carcase, neck and a pair of triple jointed wings)

12 hours ago, Tdci-Peter said:

If that involves any Trunk roads or m/ways run by the Highways Agency, then 6 hours sounds quite optimistic to me!

The A31 for example, last week every time I needed it, it had either been partially closed as a result of a collision (more often than not involving a Corsa or BMW), or was at a standstill as a result of the traffic avoiding the numerous A35 stoppages. 

A mate of mine has an office in London and an office in Bournemouth, it takes him three times as long to go between the offices now  on A31, M27, M3, in a Volvo XC90 than it took his Dad to make the same journey using the A35, A27 and A3 in a Rover P5, in the 1960.s

I have been offered a Lexus is250 2006 with 117k miles all kitted out. Needs new tyres as it has been parked for over 6 months. He wants 2500? Good deal?

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41 minutes ago, Ken.K said:

I have been offered a Lexus is250 2006 with 117k miles all kitted out. Needs new tyres as it has been parked for over 6 months. He wants 2500? Good deal?

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Does it have an MOT, or has that expired whilst it was sitting?  Also, is it manual or automatic?

Does it have an MOT, or has that expired whilst it was sitting?  Also, is it manual or automatic?

not sure about the mot likely expired. It is an Automatic.

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I do like hopefully getting the Ghia sold today (waiting on buyer getting back to arrange a time to collect).  Offered less than what I wanted, but it has under two weeks MOT left and is undriveable, so I'm just happy to get it sold full stop.  Then I can transfer the insurance to the Nissan and drive that for a few months, then once I get bored with it I'll sell it and buy another Focus!!  This time hopefully not one that'll blow a brake line after 1 month of ownership...

3 minutes ago, Ken.K said:

 

not sure about the mot likely expired. It is an Automatic.

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If it has expired then I'd be a bit worried about what it'd need to get through another one, as although 6 months isn't a very long time, it is enough for brakes and suspension components to suffer the effects.  A 2006 is over 10 years old now as well, so I'd probably try and get the price down more than it is, purely for the fact that it could cost you hundreds to get through an MOT.

If it has expired then I'd be a bit worried about what it'd need to get through another one, as although 6 months isn't a very long time, it is enough for brakes and suspension components to suffer the effects.  A 2006 is over 10 years old now as well, so I'd probably try and get the price down more than it is, purely for the fact that it could cost you hundreds to get through an MOT.

I am sure I can always haggle in a deal. And say pending mot. They are going for about 3-4k on auto trader and although I do not need to change my car it is a good deal and those guys are said to be bulletproof.

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1 hour ago, GMX said:

I do like taking Pipper for an extended stroll down to Studland and then along the Purbeck Ridge to Corfe Castle and coming back through Bushey, Wareham Forest and along flood meadows adjacent to the A351

Have you tried the cracking scones in the tea rooms near the castle?

9 hours ago, jmurray01 said:

Problem is you can't affix a tablet to your windscreen, so it is a bit prohibitive as a sat-nav. 

Dad used to have a windscreen mount for an android tablet actually!  Probably an eBay special mind and personally I thought it was a bit distracting due to the size!.  

Brodit do tablet mounts.

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7 hours ago, Ken.K said:

I have been offered a Lexus is250 2006 with 117k miles all kitted out. Needs new tyres as it has been parked for over 6 months. He wants 2500? Good deal?

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Money aside two comments mate:

(1) Not sure if I would "downgrade" to an older car than you already have, if I were in your shoes I'd rather have your Focus than the Lexus. Plus better the devil you know.

(2) Not having an MOT and sitting idle for 6 months is a bit sus, and even if not, a very risky purchase. Even with an MOT, there are lots of shady garages that will pass a car that in theory shouldn't.

So in short I would advise against buying it, but if you really like that particular model, maybe find a better example? 

Money aside two comments mate:
(1) Not sure if I would "downgrade" to an older car than you already have, if I were in your shoes I'd rather have your Focus than the Lexus. Plus better the devil you know.

This is what I was thinking exactly either the same age as least or newer. Only older car I really have in mind is a e46 330 coupe. Will stay away from it then. I like my focus really and even looking at an ST. Haha this just happen to show up and I was tempted

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I do like that I have started my 'Gin Appreciation'  course. ie I'm starting at the top of Wetherspoon's gin list! 

 

1st one is Caorunn. No tasting notes, too poncy  

Trying a Broker's now 

 

Gins on the list I've never heard of before!

You are making me slightly jealous...  But, with a 9.5 hour shift tomorrow I don't think gin would be a good idea for me tonight!!

10 hours ago, GMX said:

Bushey is a boggy heath and lacks anything remotely bushy.

A few weeks ago, I was working (unpaid!) not far from Bushey, here:

http://www.geograph.org.uk/showmap.php?gridref=SY987864

Plenty of bushes there, of the prickly gorse variety, but they made a good bonfire .

It is a remote and lovely place, incredibly peaceful, beautiful, and a real haven for wildlife. Which was why I was removing a few gorse bushes, I should add.

But strangely, it is also right in the middle of the biggest onshore oilfield in Western Europe! There are industrial oil workings scattered all around, but you would never know it while you were there. You can see some of the nodding donkeys and oil works on Google satellite.

The views over Poole Harbour were really enchanting by day. But then just as the sun set, and the fire was burning down, I saw one of those flocks of starlings, swirling and morphing like a dark, living cloud, pass overhead, circle and gather, then swoop down into the trees a few hundred yards away. Stunning.

I did not see any wild boar either. Pity, one would have been very nice barbecued on the bonfire!

18 hours ago, jmurray01 said:

You are making me slightly jealous...  But, with a 9.5 hour shift tomorrow I don't think gin would be a good idea for me tonight!!

Aye, better be safe than sorry 

 

I do like spending an hour or so exploring my first real salvage yard http://www.antiquesandsalvage.co.uk. sold the owner some stuff I have gathered over the years and nearly gave it straight back to him plus another 25 quid when I saw this.......

 

 

2 hours ago, Turvey said:

Aye, better be safe than sorry 

 

I do like spending an hour or so exploring my first real salvage yard http://www.antiquesandsalvage.co.uk. sold the owner some stuff I have gathered over the years and nearly gave it straight back to him plus another 25 quid when I saw this.......

 

 

Very nice!!  I couldn't have resisted that either.

I do like taking the Nissan to and from work today, during both lengths of the journey it handled itself very well and almost felt as good to drive as the Focus...  Note I said "almost"!

On paper it has the same BHP as the Focus (115BHP) and it does feel equally powerful, but the way it delivers the power to the road isn't as smooth or sophisticated as the Focus by comparison. 

The headlamps are on par with the Focus though, giving good illumination on dipped and spectacular coverage on high beams.  On the 405, even with Osram Nightbreakers it is difficult to tell the difference between dipped and high beams, and neither are all that good to be honest.  I suspect it is just how they were even when new, or perhaps the reflectors are on their way out. 

I also like the glass (or three) of quality white wine I am enjoying to get over my 10 hour shift today.