It’s The Latte Latte Delta Tea Break 2018

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Not a Volvo fan then, John! We will have to beg to differ, then......

A Lotus SUV will be all about profit margins. If building them increases the company’s viability and allows new proper Lotus sports cars to be built, then I’m fine with it.

The Land Rover Heritage people found a very early LR Series 1 (may be pre-production) during their search for vehicles to restore. To their credit, it’s not going to be turned into a shiny concours vehicle, but will be left as original as possible, including paint. Good approach, IMO.....

Volvo's? Ghastly things. I know somebody who owns one & he fits the demographic perfectly - a retired insurance executive & boy scout leader, lives in Carshalton & is very boring.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

I really don't understand why public authorities seem to go out of their way to invite ridicule and poor publicity.

One of the latest examples of this is Derby City Council whose parking enforcement officer gave a £70.00 parking ticket to a resident in a resident only parking area. The reason for the ticket was that the warden couldn't see a parking permit.

And why couldn't the official see the permit? Because the windscreen on to which the permit was attached was covered in snow resulting in the permit being invisible.

One has to question why the council didn't immediately quash the ticket, rather than, eventually, putting out a bland statement that they cannot discuss individual cases but they will be investigating this one. All it would have taken is a minute to look up their records to confirm that the resident had paid for the permit, and then cancel the ticket. But no, they have to drag their feet, and the result is that the resident takes the nonsense story to the media making the council look foolish.

Even more bizarre is that the car had been parked there for some time, apparently, since the owner has been working away (in London for the BBC is seems.)

Thus the things would have been there, permit in view, day after day.

Now I suppose it is entirely possible that the council has a huge contingent of street walkers and they may not have regular routes ... but that seems a little unlikely.

Maybe the walker involved was new? Or perhaps unfamiliar with snow?

Either way they and their (subcontracted?) workers don't come out of this well.

Do you recall the story about the wide cordon around the city centre Christmas tree? There seems to be a pattern of questionable competence emerging for this lot.

[bauble]

I see from the TV news that Luton is one of the worst towns in the country for traffic congestion, yet, the dual carriage way leading from the M1 in the town centre has on lane dedicated to the occasional bus despite having a purpose Busway built at many millions of pounds a few years ago.
Published statistics for use of the Busway would indicate that it serves a useful purpose, however, it does not carry many buses and most carry few passengers, so I suspect that 'passenger numbers' are the number of seats, empty of not, that pass along he route.

Did I mention 'statistics'? Silly me, I meant damn lies!

[Mike Bell]

If I use the park and ride into Norwich centre, at one point the bus joins another road with a bus lane on the left, but it hardly ever uses it, as couple of hundred metres further on it will be turning right at the roundabout. Most buses just stay in the normal lane......

And don’t get me started on cycle lanes!

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

And don’t get me started on cycle lanes!

I think cycle lanes on key routes should be monitored with any rider using the road rather than the lane provided being ticketed.

Unless, of course, they buy a permit to use the road having proved themselves competent to do so.

I have nothing against most cyclists and have been known to go out and about on 2 wheels myself though very little recently.

But it does seem extremely counter productive for humanity to grab road space to make perfectly sound cycleways that no-one uses whilst all sorts of two wheel users delay driver journeys and so, presumably, add to pollution and create financial costs in different ways.

It will be interesting to see how the spread of autonomous vehicles and the expectation of efficiency that will surely follow them might affect the way that cyclists are perceived as "road" users.

[PeterMorley]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

I really don't understand why public authorities seem to go out of their way to invite ridicule and poor publicity.

One of the latest examples of this is Derby City Council whose parking enforcement officer gave a £70.00 parking ticket to a resident in a resident only parking area. The reason for the ticket was that the warden couldn't see a parking permit.

And why couldn't the official see the permit? Because the windscreen on to which the permit was attached was covered in snow resulting in the permit being invisible.

One has to question why the council didn't immediately quash the ticket, rather than, eventually, putting out a bland statement that they cannot discuss individual cases but they will be investigating this one. All it would have taken is a minute to look up their records to confirm that the resident had paid for the permit, and then cancel the ticket. But no, they have to drag their feet, and the result is that the resident takes the nonsense story to the media making the council look foolish.

Given they use ANPR etc. for so much these days you'd have thought that it would be unnecessary to display a permit these days - as with tax discs.

It does remind me of an event in my youth...
Leaving a club early in the morning we discovered that it had snowed heavily.
We then came across a rather tipsy gentleman who was struggling to scrape the snow off the roof of various cars.
When we asked him what he was doing, he said "I'm trying to find my car".
We then suggested it might be better to scrape the snow off the number plates and he said:
"My car's got a light on the roof, I'm a policeman!".

[VIVA GT]

Meanwhile, back to the subject of pot holes: http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/s...20180208143994

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

Meanwhile, back to the subject of pot holes: http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/s...20180208143994

Funny!

[grantp]

Originally Posted by grantp

Even more bizarre is that the car had been parked there for some time, apparently, since the owner has been working away (in London for the BBC is seems.)

Thus the things would have been there, permit in view, day after day.

Now I suppose it is entirely possible that the council has a huge contingent of street walkers and they may not have regular routes ... but that seems a little unlikely.

Maybe the walker involved was new? Or perhaps unfamiliar with snow?

Either way they and their (subcontracted?) workers don't come out of this well.

Do you recall the story about the wide cordon around the city centre Christmas tree? There seems to be a pattern of questionable competence emerging for this lot.

I saw a different photo of the parked car in question this morning and I now consider that the ticket was entirely deserved but maybe not for the reasons it was apparently issued.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...dden-SNOW.html

[E.B]

Originally Posted by grantp

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...dden-SNOW.html

Interesting to read in the comments of that link 'Kev', of Milton Keynes said:

The vast majority of my local wardens look like they came from Calais.

John Elwin might like to comment.

[bauble]

Originally Posted by grantp

I saw a different photo of the parked car in question this morning and I now consider that the ticket was entirely deserved but maybe not for the reasons it was apparently issued.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...dden-SNOW.html

Aqreed.

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by grantp

I saw a different photo of the parked car in question this morning and I now consider that the ticket was entirely deserved but maybe not for the reasons it was apparently issued.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...dden-SNOW.html

I agree, parked on the wrong side of the road, away from the kerb and on a corner! Typical tabloid press, don't let the facts spoil a good story!

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by E.B

Interesting to read in the comments of that link 'Kev', of Milton Keynes said:

John Elwin might like to comment.

Why? Are they armed & dangerous?

[bauble]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

I agree, parked on the wrong side of the road, away from the kerb and on a corner! Typical tabloid press, don't let the facts spoil a good story!

Come now Viv, here we have a Tale of Two Idiots, can't blame the Tabs they thrive on a moronic readership.

Now where did you see the story?

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by grantp

I saw a different photo of the parked car in question this morning and I now consider that the ticket was entirely deserved but maybe not for the reasons it was apparently issued.

What- because it was a Vauxhall?

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

What- because it was a Vauxhall?

Mike, you may think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

[Gerard C]

A fine for dangerous parking? Phew! You should come and see around Paris, hundreds of cars parked on the highways under snow. As someone suggested, our french speaking Canadian cousins are laughing at us. They're right for that!
Snow falls announced for tomorrow, same places…

[John Elwin]

I think all this talk of snow is fake news - it's been beautiful here! (for a change...).

[gary396]

In other news, 'Whizzo' has announced his retirement:

https://www.autosport.com/historics/...racing-aged-79

[Gerard C]

Môssieu Jean des Hauts de France you're a snobbish teaser!

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by gary396

In other news, 'Whizzo' has announced his retirement:

https://www.autosport.com/historics/...racing-aged-79

End of an era, one of my favourite drivers...

[Peter Mallett]

Yes and the last of the triumvirate, Marshall, Lanfranchi and Williams. Well known solicitors.

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Yes and the last of the triumvirate, Marshall, Lanfranchi and Williams. Well known solicitors.

Solicitors of what, though?

Have a memory etched in my mind of Gerry, Tony and I indulging in a competition to see who could drink the others under the table. This was after the end of a Redex Special Final at Brands, where the top runners in two heats went on to compete in a final race at the end of the day.

I finished high enough up in the first heat to qualify for the final, but in the process, the head gasket blew (my only mechanical "break down" in an actual race during my five years of competing - obviously wasn't trying hard enough!) and there was not enough time between the races to replace the gasket because it used to take ages to remove and re-fit the carbs and manifolds.

So, I was in the Paddock bar drowning my sorrows, and Gerry was, from memory, celebrating another win. In the event, Tony disappeared and Gerry and I attempted to drink the place dry. To this day, I have no clue how either of us got home - both of us had driven to the circuit in the morning, towing our respective cars, and a few days later I found my car on it's trailer in it's usual place in my warehouse. I only know that I woke up in the early hours next morning, and was so ill that I had to call out the family doctor whose verdict was that I was suffering from alcohol poisoning. His advice was to take more water with my drinks, and it is why I am now teetotal.

I cannot recall a friendship with Whizzo, but Gerry and Tony were cracking fellows.

[Mike Bell]

Looking ahead rather than back , as well as Formula E, by 2020 there will be at least 3 other race categories powered by electricity......

World Rally Cross has announced the in 2020 the World Championship will be fought out in electric WRX cars. And although they are already competitive in the Andros Trophy Ice Racing championship, again in 2020 the cars will be racing for overall honours. Thirdly, the much mooted ‘Electric GT’ series using stripped out Tesla Model S cars, has now received the necessary FIA rubber stamp, and been renamed the Electric Production Car Series.

Perhaps still a question mark over the last mentioned......

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Looking ahead rather than back , as well as Formula E, by 2020 there will be at least 3 other race categories powered by electricity......

World Rally Cross has announced the in 2020 the World Championship will be fought out in electric WRX cars. And although they are already competitive in the Andros Trophy Ice Racing championship, again in 2020 the cars will be racing for overall honours. Thirdly, the much mooted ‘Electric GT’ series using stripped out Tesla Model S cars, has now received the necessary FIA rubber stamp, and been renamed the Electric Production Car Series.

Perhaps still a question mark over the last mentioned......

On the subject of Tesla's, have you seen Matt's cartoon on today's Telegraph?