Richard

Quadrophenia got one detail spot on- Sting is a massive prick.

Quadrophenia got one detail spot on- Sting is a massive prick.

Quadrophenia got one detail spot on- Sting is a massive prick.

Quadrophenia got one detail spot on- Sting is a massive prick.

Quadrophenia got one detail spot on- Sting is a massive prick.

Quadrophenia got one detail spot on- Sting is a massive prick.

Quadrophenia got one detail spot on- Sting is a massive prick.

I didn't mind the inappropriate cars in Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, What I minded was that they were UTTER SHIT.

N955RAV, a TD Escort estate. The newest car I've ever owned and to date the only one that's ever been towed home by the AA. Because I paid quite a bit for it I had to keep fixing it when it broke. The final shape Escort shared virtually no parts with the one before so a lot of parts were dealer only. Things I needed to replace in the couple of years I had it include the following...
 
Rear brake adjusters (Dealer)
Starter motor
Wishbone/ ball joint (several)
Alternator (broken casing)
Brake drum and shoes
Handbrake cable (Dealer, and didn't fit properly)
Front brake flexis (Dealer, and far too short)
Timing belt (16000 miles old, by some miracle the engine survived the experience and actually went better afterwards. Chose to buy from dealer)
Driver's seat
Driver's seat pad (Dealer and £££)
Rear springs
Clutch pawl (even though it was a manual adjusting clutch)
Clutch kit
Battery tray
Sills
 
Nearly every one of these things was an absolute bastard to fix- much harder than anything on a French car, the clutch was a particular highlight as I recall. This was the model of Escort that the motoring journalists raved about when it was new, almost as if Ford had paid them to be nice. It was the last Ford I bought and the last time I believed a word I read in a magazine. It's one of two cars I've paid over £1000 for and the other one (Xantia HDi) was a disaster too, so that's another thing that won't be happening again.

I believe the rule is half your age plus seven years,.

You didn't catch that from Xsara

I am convinced that these scooters will eventually become the normal way for everybody to get around and people who use their legs will be viewed as odd. Then walking will become purely a leisure activity, and monetised accordingly.

I am convinced that these scooters will eventually become the normal way for everybody to get around and people who use their legs will be viewed as odd. Then walking will become purely a leisure activity, and monetised accordingly.

I saw what appeared to be a 16 year old lad wobbling along my street on a V suffix FS1E tonight. He's wobbling now, but I bet he goes on to become a safer driver than any of his friends.

I saw what appeared to be a 16 year old lad wobbling along my street on a V suffix FS1E tonight. He's wobbling now, but I bet he goes on to become a safer driver than any of his friends.

I saw what appeared to be a 16 year old lad wobbling along my street on a V suffix FS1E tonight. He's wobbling now, but I bet he goes on to become a safer driver than any of his friends.

If only you knew a friendly breakdown van driver.

Russells? I seem to remember having trouble finding that open. It would be good because Upullit is a bit of a trek and they have a camera set up at Halbeath so they can see me coming and make sure any examples of the car I'm driving can be removed from the yard.

If only you knew a friendly breakdown van driver.

Russells? I seem to remember having trouble finding that open. It would be good because Upullit is a bit of a trek and they have a camera set up at Halbeath so they can see me coming and make sure any examples of the car I'm driving can be removed from the yard.

The BBC Micro is in the Scottish Agricultural College in Aberdeen. I took a crappy phone picture of it last year.
 

These pictures really do show how unpleasant the current Civic is, I bet the old one beats it in almost every way.

That did the trick, I'd forgotten all about Cosmo Jarvis. I still have absolutely no idea who or what Rihanna is and I'm hoping to keep it that way.

The Royal Mail will be gone soon anyway. It's been put up for sale (they buried that news under some story about MPs' wages) so one of the big couriers will buy it to shut it down.

I'm glad he did, because there's a £30k bill in the post for putting that bastard song in my head.