alastairq

One question I have for Edward to consider.....and I belive it may constitute an 'upside'....is....what railway modelling goodies are you going to spend the hundreds in compensation for being power-outed for so long, from Northern Powergrid?? I had but a couple days off earlier this summer [the ongoing re-routing of power cables saga].....and got a very nice 'cheque' for £100, for something I honestly had barely noticed...but resulted in me reading rather a lot more!

Elf maidens? In Newcastle area????

I suspect, trying to put all my village's power cables underground...with barely 50% success. My village is largely built of very old farm cottages, buildings, tec with the odd few more modern types [mine included..or, at least, the one I rent!]. My own street [yup, its a street, not a road, lane, avenue, crescent, or any other such trivia]...has the top end [my end, higher up than the bottom end]....all now underground, except for one house.....and most [not all!] the bottom end still on overhead cables....Seems no-one back in the Northern Powergrid offices looked properly at the surveys....most of the lower end homes are blt on pretty solid chalk bedrock....with about 3 inches of topsoil on top to fool the contractors. So consequently, without blasting or similar, they cannot easily get cables underground. I'm located on the south- eastern portion of Edward's map..the bit with very few red blobs on. Whilst there was a bit of wind damage, etc...personally I thought Arwen was not a lot more than a stiff breeze! Next door to me, their house being built slightly higher up in the sky, everything was pretty much horizontal for much of the time..they noted that fact..with but a ten-foot in between, how calm my garden was compared to theirs.....there's a weather-belt of trees behind my plot....absent behind theirs! The biggest problem I heard about from the Northern Powergrid people on site this summer was, the complete absence of proper communication from their managing offices. Workers were being sent hither & thither across many jobs across Yorkshire...before they were able to complete their existing work! The right hand did not know what the left hand was doing...not at a coal face level, but in the administration. I suspect this situation still prevails? Which will explain why it has taken so long to reinstate power to consumers? The management are [doubtless] governed by performance markers. This is incapable of taking into account problems suddenly discovered out in the field. Plus, there is inadequate plant available to cope with the ground conditions off the beaten track. The biggest complaint amongst the field workers [many actually ex-military] was that the 'management ' was also sourced from ex-military personnel....who actually thought they were right? [Turned out I'd trained one of the workers pulling the pole from outside my house, many years ago...!!] A case of, workers arrive on site, then inform the office they really need this that or tuther here...and the office basically saying, you can't have it, you'll have to 'make do', which doesn't often work well. What does surprise me is that, up north, we really are prone to power cuts [well, we are, hereabouts!]...yet we as a population have become less & less resilient to this sort of event. What on earth did our predecessors do, 50 or so years ago, when we suffered really foul weather? Storm Arwen isn't unusual, when considering weather events since WW2. But it must be the worst we've had in the past 10 years...which is about as far back or forward most planning seems to be conducted these days?

The one where the Rover doors fell off?

All started probably with the VW beetle [aircooled]? Sage advice when failing to shut door properly was to crack open a window first, then shut door. Surprisingly, this wee snippet of trivia came to the fore when I used to work.....shutting the cab doors on the millies MAN trucks had the same issue....student were amazed when I simply advised them to slightly open a window first, then shut the door. Well sealed? Never something Land Rover could ever be accused of. The factory wading depth on Defenders being as much about keeping the drivers' knickers dry, as any issues regarding getting water in via the breathers? Mind, I can vouch for them still being driveable, even when the water level was up to my tummy. [The thing was at a steep angle, to the drivers side...my student not heeding my advice as to position on the [flooded] track....and it was night time, so no lights either.....[except convoy lights]....I told him to keep further left, he went right! That was an Engineer for you! He was tall as well, and after a minute or two of allowing him to try to get the thing out of the hole himself...I suggested swapping seats. I wasn't about to go outside either, as I couldn;t be sure the driver's door would open, so we swapped seats inside...he was quite tall too, and his mates were amazed the two of us managed to change sides. Luckily he was a fit young soldier, and able to twist out of my way. I got the thing out by self recovery....and returned to teh'base' to dry out. The night drive manager wasn't convinced I had merely put the thing into a puddle out there.....seeing as the 'tide mark' was a 45 degree line from bottom left to top right, across the back door. [it was a hard top]. I spent the next day [having briefed the soldier as to what to say if asked..so he wouldn't get any official flak] pressure hosing the entire vehicle out, cab sets, etc removed [I knew how to]....It was returned to our fleet in better [cleaner] condition than ever we had received it! The other outcome was, Land Rovers were barred from using that track until the water levels reduced somewhat. The problem was, Land rovers [and Toyota hiluxes] used the same off road 'tracks' on the training area, as the MAN trucks and bigger DROPS vehicles...as well as the MAstiffs and similar...all of which had much much bigger wheels than a teensy tweeeny LandRover!! So teh [hidden, under the water] ruts could be a heck of a lot deeper, in the mud.]

Better than red oxide splodges?

I mentioned earlier the MAN bulb-out system? It seemed to me, the system actually had to 'learn' what ought to be there? For example, when attaching, or detaching, a trailer [ a common military practice..the waggins were never big enough]...the automatic lights check had to be initiated so the system could be told ''Oi, we've now got a trailer on the back'...or, ''Oi, we've taken the trailer off now''.. Otherwise the system could throw a hissy fit. The bulb=absence scenario could, & did, happen frequently because, even though the waggins had a mix of LED and old fashioned bulbs in its light circuits, frequent driving over off-road environments [including deep water wading, etc]...could encourage bulbs to vibrate out of their sockets....never to be mentioned again... Most of my usage of these vehicles involved off road driving...[most upsetting for random dog walkers, who didn't realise we did the same thing, at night...but without any sort of lights at all! Not wise to ignore the MoD signs and venturing onto out training areas...especially after dark. There could be 40 or 50 rather large heavy vehicles pottering around in the dark..There were several 'departments' doing different night time stuff]....our vehicles put more off-road driving into a month than most vehicles in units did, in several years.... Luckily for me, my back didn't suffer too much from all the off-road driver training.....it was much like riding a horse. I often commented to my [military] bosses how unreasonable it was to expect someone aged 65 or more, to see better in the dark [mark 1 eyeball stuff]] than a fit young 20-year old? All good fun..I enjoyed it immensely..not often one got paid to play? Especially as the after dark stuff was paid at Civil Service overtime rates!! [ Lt's see? An after-dark drive to a handy Mcdonalds, to park up, have a break [for the drivers], swap drivers, and drive back. [Maybe a different route, to keep the sweet young military things on their toes?], then a tour round the off road training area, to a route I'd planned out, for each driver..including a deep water wade, with a bend in the middle....Then, maybe, drop the trailer [without benefit of lights....], or not, depending...then it's 'back in' to the training unit area [same establishment, its a big place].....park up, quick checks, paperwork and off home. 4 1/2 hours of overtime..sometimes more, depending on what course one was on? Military shot the treasury in the foot with what we did...by pointing out [who did that?} that all the driver training course criteria specified where, when, under what circumstances, etc...which included the words...''by day, & by night!''...

Does the shade of 'boxcar red' not also alter if applied to wood, rather than steel? I suppose ''boxcar red'' is a US generic term for what we in the UK might call red oxide?

Sadly for the capitalist world......my Indesit [got the make wrong further back...this one replaced the Zanussi I had previously] machine is currently still working...it might leak a bit now & then, and the lights sometimes flash rapidly & continuously, but I find turning the mains power off, then on again, often cures that issue [capacitors again] Purchased in...2008? OK, so it's never had a family wash to deal with..just me & mine....the carcass has one or two huge rust scabs on it, but no worse than my Daihatsu 4Trak! Anyway, it was the cheapest 'basic' front loading wash machine I could buy, at the time. Like my electric kettles? I bought two from Tesco, over a decade ago now...[well over!] One stayed in it's box as i didn't expect the other to last very long..they were only around 6 or 7 quid! I went over to the 2nd one last year, after the first one refused to swtich itself on any more! By the above standards, i would expect a Miele or Bosch washing machine to last me 30 or 40 years before needing replacement? MAybe even longer? Would any of the fancy 30 quid electric kettles available today last 30 or so years? I think not....somehow. For me it's the same with cars....? My 'daily' Suzuki GV with its 2 litre petrol engine, an 02 model, purchased for 500 quid some years ago now....is still going strong. Yup, it really requires some welding done, all hidden behind plastic side shields, as many modern cars have....yet it passes its MoT with not a lot doing aside from brake pads or tyres or stuff. It's had a new radiator, and a battery....in its time...yet it starts, stops, gets me there and back again...could do better in snow if I forked out for some winter tyres...which, on my very limited income, I don't see the point of? [Last tyre I bought, for this years MoT, cost me 40 quid....chinese so-called ditch finders....not ever found a ditch yet!!] My point being, why on earth would I fork out 15 or 30 grand for a 'new' car, to simply do the same job as the 500 quid one? Even my cheapo favourite, the Dacia Sandero, has grown in price from 6 grand to 10 grand in a couple of years!! Interestingly, they offer a dual fuel Sandero...and my nearest, and local, petrol spot sells LPG!! I wonder whether it's 'worth' spending a bit more and getting dual fuel? Especially when petrol engines finally get barred in new cars, I'll be over 80 years old anyway, so may not care???

On the above function thing, when I worked for my income, my employer acquired many hundreds of brand spanking new, up-to-the-minute, MAN waggins. These all came with a system that informed the driver when a light had failed. This brought into question, the necessity for drivers to, by mandate, check their lights before,during & after use? I mean, why bother if the waggin will tell the driver if a light is out? I personally became involved in the issue [as an employer-acknowledged SME at the time...their idea, not mine!] when i discovered that, whilst the system could easily detect a bulb failure....it could not detect if a bulb was actually missing completely..ie, had fallen out of the bulb holder into the bottom of the lens. Turned out that MAN's system did a self-test light check on starting up first thing......so if a bulb was actually absent, the system presumed that was normal, so ignored it. Experience has told me often Manufacturers don't really know quite as much as folk would presume them to know? After all, it isn't the 'manufacturer' one is dealing with, but one or two individuals within the manufacturer's system. I recall the letter my department received from Land Rover concerning reports we had made regarding reliability of certain Defender components......with the response from Land Rover [in LR's name, somebody was writing it]....that in lR's opinion, we were using the Defenders off road 'too much'...and they weren't intended for such intense off-road usage..On the LR-headed response, LR Defenders were, in their opinion, only meant for 'occasional' off road usage!!

One presumes the system that tells one there's a bulb out, is actually functioning properly in the first instance?

Not too long ago I had a 'repair' issue with my 14 year old Indesit washing machine. It's control board needed some new capacitors....[supplied and soldered in for a mere 15 pension-quids by a local radio repair person.] Discussion with said expert [ I presume, there?]...elicited the information that washing machine control panels were mostly manufactured by one factory in Italy. They supplied all the major brands. The boards were all rather similar in design...obviously with features to suit the individual brand manufacturer....but the main difference between, say, a Miele or a Boshh, and a Beko or a Zanussi [for example] was in the quality of the individual electronics components the board maker specified. Which fact left me to wonder what the actual differences were between a vehicle ECU for a Peugeot [of today] and the same component in a new BMW, for example? Is there a factory somewhere churning out ECUs for new vehicles for all sorts of vehicle brands? If so, I wonder what the differences are in component specs between a board made for BMW ]for example] and a similar board made for , say, Peugeot?

The trouble with cars that 'never go wrong' is the natural, human tendency towards complacency, over the 'reliable' modern. Folk take their moderns for granted. Some may think, ''and rightly so?'' Which leads us to the constant stream of 'breakdowns', and the need for having breakdown service membership [for 'peace of mind?'], noticeable on the motorways and major routes throughout the country? Witness the numbers of ''new[er]'' vehicles out there with lights missing/out? As an obvious visual example? At least, when an old vehicle needs regular attention on the part of the driver, such so-called ''trivia'' as a brake light out, [for example] get's spotted quickly enough. Whether anything is done about it is up to the driver, but I suspect, for the vast majority of modern vehicle drivers, such trivia will go unnoticed? As an aside, from the last stats from my local constabulary, whose roads policing units help conduct many roadside vehicle checks, something like 85% of vehicles deemed 'unroadworthy were, in fact, less than 10 years old. Bear in mind, 'roadworthiness' can stretch from having a lawfully required bulb out, to worn tyres, to other more serious matters. As much as having serious rot in one's sills!

Really? Do tell....

But, this is all about getting to, and staying at, 30...not whizzing on through to warp speed. So at some point in that 1st gear squirt, the rider will need to drastically back off......assuming, that is, they're still on the bike, and not squirelling on their backside down the tarmac?

Of course, the big secret of simply setting off, and getting up to intended speed as quickly as possible, is all down to not having to play the mighty Wurlitzer organ with pedals and gearlevers. In the sorts of traffic situations that abounded when Lambrettas were commonplace tools fo transport, meant the scooters [which don't appear to , mechanically, be much like similar sold today....?]...were certainly quicker than other stuff getting away from the lights in the 80's and 90's of the last century.

Except, Teslas weren't around before the turn of this century? Plus, who would thrash a Lambretta now they're somewhat 'classic?'

Of course, it isn't 4 wheel drive that is at work in these instances...otherwise the 4x4 would almost cease to move under wind-up, every time the steering wheel is turned! Tyre types are the biggest contributor.

Erm, not the experience of the motorcycle press back in the 1990's! Quite the opposite, in fact. Lambretta [or was it Vespa, I cannot besure?] was proven to be the quickest, to 30 mph, than any bike or car! It was urban performances that were being looked at, as I recall. Not 1/4 mile dragstrips or open road performances..

Whist on the topic of bank balances....... Lidl have finally seen the light! I discovered yesterday that after years of selling parsley, ????, rosemary and thyme in the herbs department, they have finally realised their mistake, and are now stocking sage! Lidl now seem to have disposed of the old copy of Simon & Funkles' record... For my part, I now no longer need to briefly haunt the spicey section of my local Tesco...In fact, I find I no longer need to go into Tesco, at all! Sainsbury, Waitrose, and M&S Fudd being completely out of my socio-econermic group!

To be fair, personally, I don't find left hand drive to be any sort of handicap, on UK roads. I also suspect, getting hold of an Aussie-built Falcon of 60's vintage might prove to be quite costly? The Aussies of Ford-land did improve on the US-designed inline six engine, however...although I'm not certain what the production costs differences would have been at the time? To explain, the US Ford lot designed & cast the inlet manifold in unison with the cylinder head. This leads to issues regarding inlet manifold integrity, etc....although it eliminates one major source of manifold leaks. How much this saved in production costs over the whole production span of the US Ford inline six I know not. {The US six was used from the 1950's right up until recently, in one form or another...To be found in Falcons, Mustangs, Broncos, Vans, pickups, and all sorts of industrial uses...and could be had in cubic capacities varying from 140 cu ins right up to 300 or 400 cu ins...although most made were of 200 cu ins, followed by 250 cu ins...The 200 cu in motor equates to 3.3 litres....although bhp at around 4000 rpm or so was [in mine] around 125 bhp. Lower bhp figures could be had as well.... But bhp isn't the name of the game when driving....its torque that matters. When attached to a 3 speed or 4 speed [Ford] auto box, the ability to waffle off the line almost instantly is marvelous. In my old Mustang, I've ''gone'' when most folks' left feet are still twitching on the clutch pedal. Great at roundabouts.....I'm 'on', round, and off up the next road before others can even toot their horns at my temerity. Or realise I've pulled out ahead of them? Old sixes are great for that......torque matters, not bhp....After all, where can I legally hit 95 mph or more on this country.....[and hope to get away with it?]? I reckon the only thing quicker to 30 mph would be a Lambretta scooter?

On the topic of the reliability, ease of repair/maintenance, coupled with comfort etc...[except, perhaps, fuel consumption?] I have to vote for the likes of my 1967 Ford Mustang coupe. Glamorous the idea of using one may be, but Ford {USA] certainly knew how to build a cheap yet reliable car. Spares, service items, ease of maintenance or repair, it is by far the cheapest of old cars I've ever owned. But not if you make full & proper use fo UK-based suppliers, it aint. [Although for some items I use UK based suppliers, for ease if nothing else...and the one main one is finally coming to realise some service items are better priced nearer those from the USA..mainly involving shipping costs.] But obtaining items from the likes of RockAuto, in the USA, is a doddle....and they have very reasonable shipping contracts. Even delivery times are often a mere 3 or 4 days, all charges paid [up front]..Something even Car Parts Online can barely equal. So I'd recommend a 50's or 60's more mundane family car from the big two or three US makers....[Mustangs have a cache which makes them a bit costly up front, for a daily user]. Maybe a Falcon, or similar? Going for 'standard' size US car isn't really practical...but the Falcon/Musang sizes are thoroughly useable in the UK! Being as they are barely as long or wide as a Mondeo....with more space inside? For engines I'd recommend the bare bones 6 cylinder motors, rather than opting for the more glamorous V8.s....fewer spark plugs to buy, for starters. The sixes of both Ford & GM were pure torque motors....so can keep one ahead of all modern traffic with ease. Plus the fuel consumption can be in the mid-20's to the gallon, instead of the teens of a V8. Do the work yourself...there are plenty of Youtube videos of US stuff to follow....and plenty of info and suppliers. So that's my two pennorth.....reliability being built-in to US market maker's ideas....Build them like tanks, and they'll go coast to coast without issue. However, muzzie will have to go soon....it was merely a place to put some savings out of sight....but I will be sad to get rid of it. But I also lurve my Dellow..which is equally unable to conk out... One US motor I would like to have as a 'user' is the IH Scout.....an early one would be nice, but I'd make do with whatever is cheap....They're ugly and unloved by most.....There used to be one living not many villages away from me here, some time ago... If ever anyone has watched the crime series ''Jesse Stone'', starring Tom Selleck....as series I watch time & again, very dark in places, not at all glitzy....well, the main character initially arrives on scene in a Scout.... Built like a brick, probably drives like a brick, has no frills to speak of....just how I like them!!

For reliability, anecdotal [personal or otherwise] is all well & good, but shouldn't we really be looking at the bigger picture? Taking time out to go through the likes of Honest John, or Autowotzit, or JDPowersurveys, to see exactly how many, and for what reason, manufacturers have had to deal with guarantee work, or the responses from owners who participate in the surveys? Taking the broader view , however, does not mean individual instances which have resulted in the exact opposite finding cannot be discounted. High mileages are one thing [and don't really present an accurate view, in y opinion]....since a car that has spent its life being thrashed up & down the motorway system might well be in better nick than the same car spending it's life on more mundane urban work. [In the same view, as a retired minion of the professional world, I spare little thought for those drivers who claim a 'clean record' having driven half a million miles each year...when compared to someone like a bus driver, who hasn't covered a fraction of that mileage, yet has spent the same amount of time threading through inner urban traffic conditions, only to turn around when they get to the other side, and dive back in again.. It's all about how much exposure to risk of collision both have undergone] If I were to be guided by what I have read in the relibaility surveys,i wouldnt entertain anything coming out of the Land Rover factory. Neither would I consider Renault [or anything French]..... { I have poor experiences with the Peugeots I have had, better experiences with the Renaults....and mixed experiences with anything coming from VW! I have found the Japanese always seemed to make a reliable, if uninspiring [driving-wise] car. Possibly same with other SE Asian makers? Equally, Lada seemed to prove reliable as well. When it comes to reliability, any maker is often in the hands of the makers of the ancillaries. A duff alternator isn't down to the badge on the front...it's down to whoever made the alternator... [My Daihatsu 4Trak has an engine which is known to be reliable and strong, with mileages before overhaul that rival those of Bristol cars.....Cannot say the same for everything else the engine is bolted to, however.] I know of quite a few old hands who swear by Reliant Robin 3 wheelers, for reliability, usefulness, etc. But I suppose it will all come down to exactly what one exects from one's car? Transport? Utility? Work? Looking cool in front of the neighbours? Or, what?

I've always found that to be the biggest hurdle....getting folk to realise things need to be done 'properly'

I'm not so sure that was always the case? Certainly in amongst the towns and cities. As a London bus driver in the early 1970's ['72-'74, to be precise] the traffic was just as manic then as it is now [having driven a waggin into London this century, a few times] Perhaps fewer pushbikes...but certainly as many self-opinionated car & taxi drivers around! Just as many small delivery vehicles [BR Scammells and things like that as well] too....Fewer road signs I suspect? The main difference between then & now in my view is, the speed even the most basic of small hatchbacks can get up to, quite quickly. I think modern vehicles have too much power on tap for the driver to often cope with. Whereas in times past, a driver had to 'work' harder to get a Ford Anglia or Escort up to the sort of speeds even the smallest of SE Asian cars can achieve. Back then, drivers had a little more time to think...Nowadays, they don't even have to think....