Yoss

Most modern buses are actually air sprung though I know it doesn't feel like it. That's mainly because the many other joints in the suspension are bolloxed. Obviously being an ex Routemaster owner I'm biased but they have independent coils on all four corners so ride better than anything else but even they need a decent load to ride properly. They ride far better full than empty. Which makes sense of course. if you set them up to ride well empty then they'd be bouncing off the bump stops when full. When you consider a bus full of passengers will double it's weight it's difficult to find the sweet spot.

A good train journey is absolutely the best way to travel. Unfortunately there aren't many of those left in this country anymore. This was a trip from Brno to Prague last year. Even at 5.30 in the morning the restaurant car was open and practically empty. So I had their version of a full English (they were giant baked beans and the sausage was a frankfurter type). Followed by cake. With two coffees, all for about £10. In these surroundings. What's not to like?

Found this on one of our regular dog walking routes. Never seen it before so either somebody has bought some shite or they just have visitors. I shall keep an eye out. Chieveley really doesn't like his muzzle but it is unfortunately now a legal necessity as he is classed as an XL Bully. He's lazy at the best of times but now doesn't really want to go out at all.

Spot on. You can claim your free prize.

Went out for a drive in The Forest this morning and the whole area is as waterlogged as I've ever seen it. No chance of taking the dog off the major paths and even some of those were impassable. On the plus side , the place was deserted. We had one of the New Forests major car parks entirely to ourselves at 9 o'clock on a bank holiday morning which is unheard of.

Multumesc! (I've learnt a few words and numbers but certainly not enough to have a conversation). You certainly seem to know the area. A 24 hour shop will certainly be handy as a couple of mornings I shall be leaving too early for the hotel breakfast. And I had already seen the bakery on Google maps but thanks for the tip.

Thanks, I'm going at the end of May so hopefully warmer even in the mountains. I have Sinaia and Brașov on my weather app already but I will keep the link above. I know it is high up, Predeal which is 25 minutes up the line, is the highest station in Romania at 1034m. Which is way, way higher than anything in the UK so I am looking forward to it. The hotel I've booked is the Rina Cerbal which, looking at the map, is within earshot of the Sinaia Hotel. I'm not really bothered, I picked it due to it's price and proximity to the station. Whilst I will obviously have a look round the town I intend to spend more time on the trains than not on them. So even if I don't sleep well I only have to stagger down to the station and I can fall asleep on the train. I find it very easy to sleep on trains.

This is good to know. I'm flying to Bucharest in two months and staying in Sinaia for a few days. I picked Sinaia because it is on the Bucharest to Brașov main line so there will be plenty of trains to mess about on whilst also looking quite scenic being up in the mountains. I hope it looks like the picture above.

This tour would have to include the Farringdon Yew, in the churchyard in the village of the same name near Alton. It doesn't look very well but it is still going. And according to this sign is thought to be one of the ten oldest in the country. The church itself is getting on a bit too.

I'll admit I hadn't thought of that but the main problem is I don't know if I'll be on the same duty by then. It's looking more likely that I will be but there is constant talk of a resign before then but as each week goes by that seems less likely. I know they want to make our start and finish times an hour later by June. So at the moment I'm just marking my days off on the calendar a month at a time.

I do intend going but unlike at RM 50 and 60 I don't have a bus to bring so I'll probably just pop in. I haven't worked out my days off that far in advance but if it's a long weekend (the chances are 1 in 3) I'd probably go on the Saturday, if not it would obviously be Sunday. Chiswick is a lot easier for me to get to than Finsbury Park anyway but probably not for you. You could use the North London Line direct from Dalston Kingsland to Gunnersbury which would be the nearest stop. But that would be dependent on there being no engineering works which seems unlikely going by my recent experiences. Otherwise you could drop down to Aldgate or Whitechapel and get the District to Gunnersbury. If you go this way you can get off one stop early at Chiswick Park. You would have slightly further to walk but Chiswick Park is one of my favourite Charles Holden stations. I would definitely do this.

Anyone fancy a Mondeo? This guy gets out of this Mondeo clutching an Amazon packet and asks me where number 33 is. It's in that big block behind the car but, I tell him, you have to go back to the main road in the background and turn right to get to the entrance. So off he trots leaving the car just sat there with the engine running. What I didn't tell him is it's on the third floor then along a corridor pretty much back to where the Mondeo is then off to the right a bit. And then back the same way. I've seen courier drivers stop in the middle of the road before and get out with the engine running but they've normally parked outside the house they're delivering to. I've never seen one walk off for a full five minutes before. So if you see him about you can just drive off with his car if you want. And presumably a car full of Amazon packets too.

I bet that rides well.

A much smaller but probably more famous German bridge. Gleinicker Brücke. More commonly known as the Bridge of Spies.

That is the more obvious landmark, I'll agree. Probably one of the most famous in Germany after the Brandenburg Gate. I have walked to the top of one of the towers of the Dom (on the inside obviously, I'm not an idiot). Interestingly* the Hohenzollernbrücke on the left of the picture was blown up by the Germans themselves in the dying days of the war to try and slow down the Allies progress if we got that far. In the end the war was over by the time we got there so it was the ultimate case of cutting your nose off to spite your face. Two of the spans were rebuilt as quickly as possible as can be seen in the original picture... And it was finally widened back to the original three spans in the 1980s giving six lines into the Hauptbahnhof.

Above her head is Köln Hauptbahnhof, one of my favourite stations. Spent many hours there.

Poor man's 911 already existed long before the TT.

Any pictures?

I picked some nice roads to drive on the on the way up, primarily the A272, and it took me 2 hours 25 minutes to get there. Went straight back via M25/A3/A31 in an hour and 20 and ten minutes of that was queuing to get off the M25 so a good run in both directions really. Most of pictures I took look like the ones already posted but here's just a few more. The two Favs together. We decided they are supposed to be the same colour. Richards Tipo Cross. He hid out of the way but I don't know why. When did you last see another? Probably the rarest car here. Sitting in the back of the Rolls. Which is where you are supposed to sit obviously. But I have to say the seats in Chris's Mitsubishi looked very comfy too. But this was the best interior of all. I've seen these in black and white before but not brown and beige and white. This is great. And lastly I've realised I don't have any pictures of the Xedos, whose was that? I apologise but you were just unlucky to be parked next to two Favorits that were getting all the attention.

Arrival

En route pez station shot.

Mrs Yoss now informs me she wants to to the gym tomorrow and blue Favorit is the only car she has registered for the car park. So I'm probably bringing green Favorit now. Which hasn't been washed for several months. Anyway you'll hear me before you see me if I'm in the green one.

Leather in a big Vauxhall is doubly tragic. They were the kings of velour. They had some beautiful interiors. And I assume you paid extra for the inferior leather. Makes no sense at all.

Well I've just filled blue Favorit with petrol so that's the one that will be going.

Just found this on eBay. I'd take that. Mine cost £22.