Spinney

He was always going to get his own back. As BBC reporter Frank Gardner said, Prighozin has been regarded as a dead man walking ever since his failed mutiny.

Eugh. Well, if nothing else, I guess it was quick!

Back in the 60’s a neighbour of ours was in the RAF and was sucked into the inlet of a Hunter. Luckily for him the inlet was relatively small and he was rather large, nevertheless it did scalp him and his hair never grew back, so far as I can recall. Being hit by a rotating prop probably isn’t much fun either! 🤦

They also possess the will and determination to win which, I would suggest, is missing from the vast majority of Russias fighting forces in the region. Probably, for the most part, all the Russian soldiers want to do is survive so they can go back home.

Now you're talking, I was only listening to the War of the Worlds CD earlier today, so it all makes perfect sense!

Like I said, any action I’d take would depend entirely on the nature of the issue. Nukes, no I couldn’t do owt about but floods or fires, for example, yes maybe I could take suitable avoiding action. Whatever the problem, I’d still want to know. I’m a fatalist by nature and if my demise is inevitable, so be it, but if there’s the remotest chance I can do something about it, then I’d grab it.

Yeah I agree recent governments have been utter shitshows but I’m a naturally glass half full person and like to believe some good things can still happen. To be honest, it’s conspiracy theorists who go against all the proven science just for the sake of it that really irritates. I’m all for seeing the positives until proven wrong by proper and genuine research.

As I understand it, genuine alerts will only be transmitted within the affected areas. Obviously, tomorrow’s test is nationwide as it is just that - a test. I also believe the intention is to give advice related to the particular alert. Let’s see how it all works before condemning it as some sort of conspiracy shall we. 🤷‍♂️

I fear you may well be right about that. 🤦 I’d still rather know about it myself though.

Well I guess that very clearly would depend on the exact nature of the emergency. 🤷‍♂️ I’d still rather know about any impending doom that’s about to befall me. At least then I could try making an informed decision about what to do next. I don’t think I’d panic but instead try and think of a way round the problem. My wife would definitely panic though!🤦

We were in Boston USA a few years ago when there was a presidential test alert. We had just arrived in the US, checked into the hotel and walked to a local coffee shop when suddenly everybody’s telephone, including ours, started going off with a high pitched bleep. We knew nothing of this test, so were slightly alarmed, wondering what the hell was going on. Fortunately, the other customers, seeing our concerns, explained what it was all about. 😁 I don’t see any problem with receiving a warning in this way about life threatening issues to be honest.

Colin adding weight for a change!

Well yes that’s what I meant by reset. Pressing the cancel button has exactly the same effect as touching the brake, which you often need to do anyway if the car in front decides to slow. That is where active cruise control comes into its own since you can set the speed you want to do but if the car in front slows, then your car follows suit. Then if that car speeds up, your car does the same up to your preset speed. Active cruise is by far the better option if available.

Same here, only use it on motorways in the all too common average speed zones. My Merc daily has what I consider to be a far more useful speed limiter which means I can just set it for the average speed setting (+ 2 or 3 mph) and be safe in the knowledge I won’t accidentally go over the limit. Trouble with passive cruise control, like the Evora has, is you keep needing to reset every time you touch the brakes.

So it’s claimed today that yesterday Putin made a visit to Mariupol. I bet there are many in Kyiv who wish they’d known as they could have arranged a big welcome party with mucho fireworks.

That’s an affliction of a totally different kind and I’m not sure there’s any cure for it! 🤔😃

You’re not alone with this. We had Covid first time in Jan ‘22 and main symptoms for me were a really thumping headache, acute tiredness which took around 3 months to get over and, possibly worst of all, severe tinnitus ever since. Then in October last year I had another cold which wasn’t too bad in itself but really buggered my breathing, to the point where the only thing that cleared the chest infection was a 7 day steroid course. Then 2 weeks ago, we got what we thought was another cold but after a friend we’d been with a couple of days earlier emailed to say she was testing Covid positive, we tested and, sure enough, it’s bloody Covid again! So, move on to this week and again I’ve got a chest infection and my breathing is proper buggered again. Yesterday I was prescribed more antibiotics, together with a course of steroids, so hoping to start feeling human again in a couple of days. Before the first Covid, I was rarely ill, apart from a long term asthma which is generally very mild and doesn’t bother me. Now, however, I’m feeling even older than I really am (and I am old!) and just can’t do anything that requires a bit of exertion. Even climbing the house stairs without a short stop half way is becoming impossible for me at the moment. It’s crazy, I’ve gone from being a fit healthy bloke to having the stamina of a severely asthmatic hamster in little over a year. I’ve got a rowing machine in my home gym which normally I love using, but I’ve not been able to get on it with any serious intent since before the first Covid. Previously I could easily do 30 minutes of strenuous rowing but best I can do in one sitting since Covid 1, is about 4 minutes tops. I’ve had enough of this now!😡

Speaking of sleeping in strange positions. Both our Maine Coons sleep on rugs my wife drapes on the sofa to protect it. Lando, the large one will often slide down while he’s asleep, onto his sister, frightening the life out of both of them! 😁

Maine Coon? This is our Coon, 3 years old now and only 8.6kgs! He’s a big lad alright. 🤦

Sounds as though the dealer has done a top job in owning up to and correcting the issues to your satisfaction, so may we know their name now? I’m all for taking dealers to task over poor service but, equally, think praise should be forthcoming for great service, as your experience with them seems to have been.

Seeing that picture again has made me realise just how much I miss that car. ☹️ There are a few of my cars I regret selling and that Exige is probably one of the biggest regrets. Mind you, I couldn’t get out of the bloody thing with the roof on, so I guess it couldn’t stay.

My 6’-4” son fits into my Evora with his skid lid on, no problem. He even (just about) fitted into my Exige although we had to leave the roof off or his head would have been tilted sideways! Here he is driving my Exige with more normal Chapman height me in the passenger seat.

Never ever use a jet washer directly on to an internal combustion engine. At the pressures used, the water can and will get into wiring connectors and all sorts of places it isn’t meant to go. I suspect the reason the car started and ran fine after standing for a few hours is due to residual heat from the previously running engine having dried out the water. On all my Lotus cars I’ve only ever used a low pressure hose with spray attachment to wet it all down before washing with a noodle mitt and then to rinse afterwards. Even then I still wouldn’t aim it directly at the engine. Others have already addressed the Ackerman issue which is certainly disconcerting when you first experience it but not unusual in high performance sports cars. Some Lamborghinis have the same as well as Porkers. Get the car fixed and go enjoy it.

Many years ago, while the wife was out one night, I decided to stick a stripped cylinder head into the dishwasher for cleaning. Brought it up a treat but the dishwasher stunk for several washes afterwards! The wife never did know what caused it and blamed it on the dishwasher drain, so went out and bought a specialist cleaning powder.

Message sent Paul.