Kick Those Shoes Off and Relax. It's the Delta 2017 Tea Break

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by midgetman

>>>>>>>>>>>>>That's what they want you to think Max. Shows that smart motorways "work".

I've got a couple of spare rolls of tin foil if you need some head gear, Grant.

Some years back the by-pass around Batheaston was opened - previously a notable blackspot on the way into the fair city of Bath itself. My friend who lived locally said "it's stupid, there's no-one on the bypass what a waste of money!" Yet he was the first to notice there were no queues in the village.

Controlled traffic at a constant speed certainly seems to clear quicker than the usual hectic chaos.

I'll crawl back under my stone now. See you soon :-)

Any of you who have been to Croix-en-Ternois will no doubt be familiar with the nearby town of St Pol. Until recently the main road from Dunkerque etc. to Amiens ran straight through the middle of town & being a busy street that included a long, steep hill, it was permanently clogged up with trucks.

Recently they have built a by-pass, banning through-traffic HGV's from the town, consequently it is much quieter. However, I have now driven the by-pass three or four times & hardly seen a soul - where do they all go?

[grantp]

Originally Posted by midgetman

>>>>>>>>>>>>>That's what they want you to think Max. Shows that smart motorways "work".

I've got a couple of spare rolls of tin foil if you need some head gear, Grant.

Some years back the by-pass around Batheaston was opened - previously a notable blackspot on the way into the fair city of Bath itself. My friend who lived locally said "it's stupid, there's no-one on the bypass what a waste of money!" Yet he was the first to notice there were no queues in the village.

Controlled traffic at a constant speed certainly seems to clear quicker than the usual hectic chaos.

I'll crawl back under my stone now. See you soon :-)

The original "smart" motorway - M42 Birmingham past the NEC - very often has limits applied when there seems to be no volume of traffic to justify them.

At other times by the time you hit the 60 sign you are already down to 40 and expecting to stop by the time you see the first 40 sign.

There are sections of the M1 near me where there seem to be no refuges at all.

At M1 J24 the new development seems to be using the J24 roundabout embankment to remove some earth and create a refuge. After that there seem to be few options for them between J24A and J25.

The thing is that at J24 anyone in the refuge area will have just passed an exit ramp anyway. Presumably there are regulation about how many refuge areas per mile and that one will tick a box somewhere.

They made sure there were plenty on the M42 even before they built the revised version. There are also a LOT of junctions as you know. M1 not so much - which must surely be partly why plod was unimpressed with the lady who recently ran out of fuel between J26 and J25 just past the services. Nowhere to go to get off the active lanes.

For most of the busy times that would not matter much at the moment. It's stationary for miles anyway as they build the next section.

The M6 development that Richard mentioned (currently under development) is something I have travelled a few times this year from Stoke up to where it ends. It was not a great experience - it's all very tight and narrow and traffic is nose to tail. I can't imagine that it will make a significant difference to the utility of that stretch or the efficiency of journey times.

Roll on the road network of entirely autonomous vehicles. None of our opinions will matter then - as they hardly do now.

PS. I have plenty of tin foil thanks but happy to have some more. Only the extra wide and extra strong stuff though please. I'll send you the address of the safe house that we can use as the secure transit point.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by MGDavid

Just back from another superb Spa weekend, shared a C1 in the Citroen 24 hours. Very variable conditions i.e. plenty of dry - damp - rain, 5 drivers who'd never met before and a motley pitcrew of just 4 friends and wives.
Reeled back our expectations after losing an hour and a quarter for a complete engine & box change - but we finished ahead of our friends and rivals who had a BTCC driver in their team. (We beat them in the workshop as their engine change took 2 hours plus)
Some of the best racing ever, great camaraderie, after 297 laps we ended up 29th from 42 in the class.
.

Sounds great, David. Our C1 build stalled due to various work commitments but we have paid the deposit for the Rockingham 24 hours in May next year so better get on with it.

[andy97]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

I was a bit shocked at how even Norfolk is now so overcrowded - no room to park in Blakeney on an October Sunday...
.

Too much London money. You obviously don't understand the rules, you are not allowed to park in Blakeney or Burnham Market these days unless you are in a new Range Rover (or the wife's Evoque) or a Bentley.

Even Docking is an expensive place now, and you couldn't give houses away there when I was growing up in Kings Lynn in the early 80s.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by andy97

Too much London money. You obviously don't understand the rules, you are not allowed to park in Blakeney or Burnham Market these days unless you are in a new Range Rover (or the wife's Evoque) or a Bentley.

Even Docking is an expensive place now, and you couldn't give houses away there when I was growing up in Kings Lynn in the early 80s.

Blakeney and that area is another 'Chelsea by the Sea'....... Bit like Aldeburgh.

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

However, I have now driven the by-pass three or four times & hardly seen a soul - where do they all go?

Alors ça c'est très simple, Jean talking about north of France the answer is: they are in the next bistro! if you can't find them it means they are too much done to walk to the bistro

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Alors ça c'est très simple, Jean talking about north of France the answer is: they are in the next bistro! if you can't find them it means they are too much done to walk to the bistro

We had 30 Lotus's outside my 'local' on Saturday morning, before they headed off to St Valery for lunch. However, they liked our place so much they came back at the end of the day!

[terence]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

Any of you who have been to Croix-en-Ternois will no doubt be familiar with the nearby town of St Pol. Until recently the main road from Dunkerque etc. to Amiens ran straight through the middle of town & being a busy street that included a long, steep hill, it was permanently clogged up with trucks.

Recently they have built a by-pass, banning through-traffic HGV's from the town, consequently it is much quieter. However, I have now driven the by-pass three or four times & hardly seen a soul - where do they all go?

Hmmmm,they could have had the road built about twenty years ago,would have saved me a fair bit of time in the past.😂

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by andy97

Too much London money. You obviously don't understand the rules, you are not allowed to park in Blakeney or Burnham Market these days unless you are in a new Range Rover (or the wife's Evoque) or a Bentley.

Even Docking is an expensive place now, and you couldn't give houses away there when I was growing up in Kings Lynn in the early 80s.

I ended up parked next to a 1940's Plymouth purporting to be a US Army staff car, so I may have arrived in a different era!

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by terence

Hmmmm,they could have had the road built about twenty years ago,would have saved me a fair bit of time in the past.��

Terence, thought of you as I passed through your old stamping ground last week (in a queue, naturally...). I even heard Queen Adelaide level-crossing mentioned in the news!

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by bauble

It's nice to ne missed, shows how popular I am. I will endeavour to keep all you splendid chaps entertained throughout the winter months, with a steady stream of abuse, derogatory remarks, and jolly banter.

All together now "For he's a jolly good ....."

Phew, that's better news. It's nowhere near as much fun banging your own head against a brick wall...

[delta]

Last day on the beech . BTW we have missed Mikes birthday . I think it's his last of the 60's. So happy Birthday Mike see you later

[andy97]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Blakeney and that area is another 'Chelsea by the Sea'....... Bit like Aldeburgh.

Indeed. Pity. I blame Stephen Fry.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by andy97

Indeed. Pity. I blame Stephen Fry.

Ah, Stephen Fry - the man who managed to put Swaffham on the coast!!

I think the 'Chelsea on Sea' bit had something to do with the arrival of Amanda Holden & friends, not to mention Camilla's shopping trips.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by delta

Last day on the beech . BTW we have missed Mikes birthday . I think it's his last of the 60's. So happy Birthday Mike see you later

+ 1. Hope you managed to find a kwoissant with icing sugar on, Mike!

[bauble]

Thanks must be due to Lancky, as things appear to have returned things to normallity here.

Long may it continue. On the last occasion we had an impasse it my self who felt duty bound to stir the embers into a flickering flame, so felt it incumbent on some other silly sod to use the poker this time.

Life has returned to normal. Hurrah!

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by delta

Last day on the beech . BTW we have missed Mikes birthday . I think it's his last of the 60's. So happy Birthday Mike see you later

Climbing trees again Iain ? I thought you was too old for that old game

[terence]

Originally Posted by andy97

Too much London money. You obviously don't understand the rules, you are not allowed to park in Blakeney or Burnham Market these days unless you are in a new Range Rover (or the wife's Evoque) or a Bentley.

Even Docking is an expensive place now, and you couldn't give houses away there when I was growing up in Kings Lynn in the early 80s.

Find that hard to believe😂

[terence]

Originally Posted by John Elwin

Terence, thought of you as I passed through your old stamping ground last week (in a queue, naturally...). I even heard Queen Adelaide level-crossing mentioned in the news!

Yes John,it only brcame popular after we moved away😅

[Mike Harte]

Originally Posted by terence

Yes John,it only brcame popular after we moved away��

Any correlation?

[midgetman]

Changing the subject again...I've just watched the first two runs of Bloodhound on YouTube. Not *that* exciting to watch, but an important milestone to our next glory.

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[terence]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

Any correlation?

Yes,people started to yhink that if it was good enough for us😜

[bauble]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Changing the subject again...I've just watched the first two runs of Bloodhound on YouTube. Not *that* exciting to watch, but an important milestone to our next glory.

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

What on earth is the point of spending millions of pounds to make a totally impracticable vehicle simply to travel at 1000 mph?
Hardly 'environmentally friendly' although the 'mental' bit might be appropriate!

Maybe when the local council decide that all roads in Luton will be several hundred miles long, dead straight, very wide and smooth, and I live a thousand miles form the Mall, I could be interested in obtaining one of these rocket powered cars, however, the price of aviation fuel will have to come down considerably before that happens.

Mind you I am without a car for the first time in many years, as the Astra has gone to the great breakers yard in the sky ................. better check the piggy bank.

[John Elwin]

Originally Posted by bauble

What on earth is the point of spending millions of pounds to make a totally impracticable vehicle simply to travel at 1000 mph?
Hardly 'environmentally friendly' although the 'mental' bit might be appropriate!

Maybe when the local council decide that all roads in Luton will be several hundred miles long, dead straight, very wide and smooth, and I live a thousand miles form the Mall, I could be interested in obtaining one of these rocket powered cars, however, the price of aviation fuel will have to come down considerably before that happens.

Mind you I am without a car for the first time in many years, as the Astra has gone to the great breakers yard in the sky ................. better check the piggy bank.

So even Astra's come to the end of the road eventually! Didn't they give you a pile of cash towards a new hybrid thing-a-me-bob?

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by bauble

What on earth is the point of spending millions of pounds to make a totally impracticable vehicle simply to travel at 1000 mph?
Hardly 'environmentally friendly' although the 'mental' bit might be appropriate!

Maybe when the local council decide that all roads in Luton will be several hundred miles long, dead straight, very wide and smooth, and I live a thousand miles form the Mall, I could be interested in obtaining one of these rocket powered cars, however, the price of aviation fuel will have to come down considerably before that happens.

Mind you I am without a car for the first time in many years, as the Astra has gone to the great breakers yard in the sky ................. better check the piggy bank.

Sad news Baub, I remember that Vauxhall-less feeling like yesterday, even though it was years ago.