Dave Hunt

I once had a 2.8i Capri. You could lever the barrel out of the tailgate lock with a knife blade then put a finger in the hole and flick a lever across to unlock. I was shown how to do it by a policeman after leaving the key in the ignition and locking myself out (I did have to prove to him that is really was my car first though. I think the clincher was my wife and two small children glaring daggers at me because they couldn't get in the car either). Dave

Back at Hunt Towers after a very pleasant four days in the Wensleydale area. On the way home we decided to drop in at Carnforth station (well, not exactly on route but never mind) to find that in order to park at the station requires an app or phoning a number answered by a robot. I tried the latter and a cheery voice said, "Hi, I just need to ask three questions. First, what is your car's registration number? Speak in a normal voice." So I did. The robot then said, "Hi, I just need to ask three questions. First, what is your car's registration number. Speak in a normal voice." So, once again I did. The robot then said, "Hi, I just need to ask three questions........" This went on for some time before the robot eventually said that it had sent a text message with a code and I should then ring again and input the code. So I did. A cheery voice then said, "Hi, I just need to ask three questions......." A further text message then arrived telling me to download the app. We left. Sod 'em. Dave

A friend who lives south of Melbourne has one of those converted to run on LPG. It's a brute. Dave

Panniers? One Dave PS - I now see that I have been beaten to that particular punch.

Not quite the same but about the best car I ever had was a BMW525i Auto D200VEG. I bought it when it was just under a year old with 6,000 miles on the clock and was owned by a chap who had an opportunity to expand his business and was trying to raise cash quickly. We were looking at used cars in a BMW dealers when the salesman told us about the car and said that for a quick cash sale the owner was prepared to accept a fairly low price and it was due in that day. In fact it arrived as we were there and after looking at it we decided to have it once it had been inspected and serviced. It was a lovely machine to drive - quiet, smooth, comfortable and quick - and we had it for twenty years and nearly 250,000 miles. The only time it let us down was after about 150,000 miles when the torque converter in the gearbox gave up the ghost and a mate towed me to a BMW main dealer. The chap there said that a new BMW box would cost about £1,100 or a ZF box about £800. I asked what the difference was and he said that one had BMW stamped on the side and the other had ZF, otherwise they were identical. After a millisecond's thought I opted for the ZF. The only real drawback to the car was that fuel consumption rarely exceeded 30 mpg and the engine wasn't OK with the new fuels that were coming in so in the end we sold it, much to my regret. Dave

Presumably the lining in photographic grey livery was achieved by altering the amount of black in the mix? Dave I bet that if it rained while the vehicles were outside awaiting photography that a few choice words would have been heard.

Yes, Ziebart is the one I was thinking of. It was a thick, black goo IIRC and if you drove over loose gravel when it was first applied some would stick to it. Dave

I remember that when buying a new car, the first thing you did was to get the underside and hollow spaces in the body panels treated with some sort of protective goo - can’t remember what it was called though. Dave

Yes indeed; I had a Mk 2 Zephyr 6 with column change, hockey stick handbrake and bench front seat… …… and the upholstery was nice and shiny and easy to slide along…… ……. happy days. Dave

It’s on my bucket list! Dave

Would a gift of two tarantulas and a cobra do instead of a video? You received a text……!!??! Mein Gott!! The only way of finding out if a prescription is ready for collection from our chemist is to go there, queue for half an hour and then usually be told, “We only got it a week ago so it isn’t ready yet.” Dave

I bet street parties round your way were something else….. Dave

Drone programmed to attack lower limbs only. Timer set to activate in the absence of recall code, which will be sent when and if evidence of Polymodelling is received. Dave Note for general readers: The Bear was persuaded last Saturday to undertake some r*****y m*******g instead of trying to turn Bear Towers into a stately home and has promised to do so.

Do you mean that you haven’t started yet Bear? 😡 Vee haff vays off makink Bears obey! 🕷️🐍🦂🦑 Dave

You’re not joking. I caught dengue fever when we lived in Singapore but it was probably due to being bitten when I was up country in Malaya. It was probably the worst experience of my life and for a while it was touch and go but eventually the fever broke and I recovered. The after effects lasted for years though. Dave

Currently in Wensleydale trying to get Yorkshiremen to open their wallets but staying in a very nice pub run by a Venezuelan. Jill decided this afternoon to have a quiet few hours in the lounge with a book so I took myself off to…….. Hawes Junction (well, Garsdale as it is now called) since I’m a good Midland lad. Dave Yes, I know it’s upside down but I can’t do anything about it ☹️

Off to the land of the Yorkshire pud and Freddie Trueman tomorrow for a short break staying in Wensleydale. The fact that there is a preservation railway there is purely coincidental but when Jill finds out about it there may be trouble in't mill. We're leaving the house in the care of Horace the cat, although a friend is staying here as well to keep him company and to make sure that when some essential stores are received (i.e., some modelling stuff) there will be someone in to receive them. TTFN Dave

Just watched the Wales - Fiji game, the result of which should please a certain pachyderm of this parish. I would imagine that Bordeaux will now be ringing to the thunder of an eponymous HH in full celebration but will at least be spared the tail twirling that may have resulted had the game gone the other way. Dave

He wasn't. Only one is a watch, the other is a CC Industrie Gm BH cryptic communication device with enclosed garrotting wire and poison ampule. Dave

My parents lived in Eggington, a little village a couple of miles from Hockliffe, from 1967 to 2015 and liked the Harvester there. I seem to remember that they had a very good salad bar. When visiting them in summer we often went for a picnic on the Downs overlooking the London gliding club via back roads that didn't involve going through Dunstable. Although my Dad wasn't a member of the LGC he was a full cat. instructor and did sometimes fly there. Dave

I've twice had trouble with the driver's seat belt on my car when that side of the car has been in direct strong sunlight and become very hot. The lock on the belt wouldn't release until I'd had the aircon on fully cold for about twenty minutes. Dave

Highlights of the day: 1. Taking Jill's car to the car wash to have the Saharan spots washed away. I know I could do it myself but the sciatica disagrees and for a fiver it's worth every penny. The carwash is operated by people from Polish Andy's Motherland and boy, do they work hard. They do a great job and are cheerful and friendly with it. 2. Three hours work on my breakdown vans, which now have a wheel at each corner. 3. Currently watching NZ v France in the opening game of the world cup whilst enjoying a drop of Jura's finest. Dave

What locomotive? Dave

Second round, second gin. Dave

I remember many years ago when we lived in Lincolnshire taking the dog for a walk early one morning and the 6 acre field we went to was literally covered with spiders webs that were visible because of the condensation on them from the ground mist. I don’t know how many spiders were involved but it must have been in the millions. Dave