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3月16日 What's next for the car?Well, if Liam and I can ever arrange a weekend when we are both available, he's going to come round and help me fit some Rock Sliders. These sit along the side of the car and stop you're doors, sills and bodywork getting wrecked when manoeuvring over rocks and other broken up surfaces. The ones I'm fitting also have tree-bars added to them. These stick out further and give 2 advantages. The first is if you ever have to get around a tree and you are likely to slide against the trunk they prevent damage to the tree (and your car) by providing a smooth surface. The second, and far more important one, is that they act as a step for shorter people to get in :-)
Fitting a Winch Interrupt Kit to a Land Rover Discovery 2I originally wrote this as an article for a magazine, but lately Liam has been far too prolific on his blog about his car exploits, and quite frankly, I'm jealous. So I'm posting this here for anyone who's interested! -------------------------- In a recent conversation on the web forums, Cannonball Bob commented that “You invested in a basic mechanics course when you bought the Disco…or were you not told that?” – and he’s not wrong either. Now we’re quite lucky – we’ve only just bought our Disco, and so far haven’t had anything major go wrong with it. But this hasn’t stopped us taking it apart to see what goes where….and what can be changed so it goes elsewhere instead. For example, the first thing we did was to fit a new battery. The standard one had reached the end of its life, so was quickly replaced with a new Optima Red top from Famous Four. This however set me thinking about the winch mounted at the front. As is relatively normal, it is fed by a pair of very heavy duty cables that run straight through the front grill and up to the battery terminals. The winch is therefore always ready for action and all you need to do is plug in the controller cable and away you go. Although perfectly safe, I did start to worry about always having that much electrical power floating around at the front. What if I hit something? That’s a lot of juice going sailing into some crumpled metal. What if there’s a problem with the winch controller and I need to cut the power off fast? Plus of course the big one – “Ooh, look what I’ve just found in the accessory list…A winch cut-out switch? I wonder if that’s a neat bit of kit.” Ellie of course sighed heavily and handed over my wallet. I did a bit of checking around and a quick look on the forum and on the web brought up 3 options – an original Land Rover Parts kit (available from all good parts departments), build your own out of bits (at the end of the day, it’s just a big relay switch), or a Warn Kit that’s designed to do exactly what I want, but at a fraction of the price of the LR kit. After a chat with Mark at Discoparts.com, he pointed out that the kit from Warn is almost identical to the Land Rover one and is very easy to fit. A quick swipe of the credit card later, it arrived in the post ready for fitting. In fact it is identical to the Land Rover Kit, but a couple of the wires are a different colour.
In total this job took about 2 hours to complete and I would describe it as a very easy task – we’re certainly not mechanics, but we can wield a couple of spanners, a pair of screwdrivers and a sharp Stanley knife – that’s about all you need. Oh, and an electricians crimp tool (about a fiver from Halfords for a cheap one). Although these instructions are for isolating a winch, you can use the same principles for any device that draws a lot of current – such as a fridge or caravan power circuit.
Before we started, I cheated a little and compared the instructions that came with it to those from the official LR version – after all the Warn one is for fitting the kit to any car, but even so it’s very straightforward and the instructions that come with the kit will easily get the job done. This also allowed us to match up the mismatched wiring colours properly. We began in an organised way – laying everything we needed out and then got stuck in, and then promptly lost the instructions. A few minutes of searching later we were actually ready to get on with it. The first step is to make sure you have the radio security code (if your radio needs one) because you will be disconnecting the battery – you really don’t want power around when you are doing any major work on a car – particularly not electrical work. It’s a great way to either end up very hurt, or with a burnt out car and a hefty insurance claim. Lift off the battery cover and put it to one side. ALWAYS disconnect the negative terminal first and move it out of the way of the battery. Then disconnect the positive and if possible remove the battery to keep it out of harms way.
Next step is to remove the front grill so you can access the void behind. Unscrew the 3 plastic fasteners along the top edge and then tease out the plastic “nuts” they go into. Then gently lever the grill forward and lift out. On our Discovery we have a pair of plastic grills over the lights that are fastened to the grill, but we found that if you just remove the front bolts (this needs a hex key) you can gently bend them out of the way and lift the grill out.
The next step is to offer the “solenoid” (often called a “relay” – the large cylindrical object) up to its final place and mark the place the bolts will go through the metalwork with a pencil. In our case we chose the top left corner (looking from the front) adjacent to one of the horns. It’s actually easiest if one person holds it still and the other marks it. Then you will need to drill the holes through the body – it’s actually easiest to do this from above because of the bracing struts. Because the bolts are a little large, we drilled a small pilot hole first, double checked they were in the right place and then opened them out using a 7mm drill bit. Seal the metal edges with paint or a bit of instant sealant just to prevent any rust.
Now bolt the solenoid into place – we actually pushed the bolts up through the metal and put the nuts on the top, otherwise the length of the bolts fouled on the terminals and would have caused us problems later. Now disconnect the positive (red) cable that goes from the battery to the winch at the battery end and feed the cable back down to the solenoid. On our Discovery there is a rubber strip that covers the gap between the radiator’s left edge and the bodywork and we had to remove this to gain access, but try to avoid doing this as it’s a pig to put back on later. Slide one of the supplied large black boots over the metal eye on the end of the cable and bolt it onto the large left hand terminal on the solenoid. Then slide the boot back to cover the terminal protecting it from the weather (and mud).
Next step is to fit the short thick red link cable from the solenoid up to the battery terminal that the original cable used to be on. Slide the other large back boot over one end of the cable and then poke the other end up towards the battery. It’s best to slide some plastic sleeving over this cable because it will probably rub on the bodywork over time and this will protect the insulation (you can get 5 metres from B&Q for about £10). Bolt the cable onto the solenoid’s right hand terminal and the other end onto the battery terminal.
Slip the 2 little black boots over the ‘eye’ ends of the green and yellow cables and bolt these to the remaining 2 terminals – yellow on the right and green on the left. You can then slide the boots over the terminals to protect them. Route these cables up the protective sleeving towards the battery, then around the back of the compartment to the top right hand corner. At this point you need to bolt the green wire onto one of the earth bolts on the body and the yellow wire continues back towards the bulkhead on it’s journey to the soon-to-be dashboard mounted switch.
If you look down behind the fuse box in the engine bay you will see a large diameter black rubber tube that goes through the bulkhead. This contains almost all the wires that actually make the car go, so don’t try feeding your wire into this as you may well find that the car won’t start until a very expensive trip to the garage. Instead, very carefully cut a small hole below the main loom in the rubber boot and poke the wire through into the cabin.
The wire will come through underneath the steering wheel, so you need to open the fuse box using a large flat bladed screwdriver (also a 20 pence piece works really well) and then look behind. Gently tug the yellow wire through and rest it there. Again It helps if there are 2 of you so one person can wiggle the cable from inside the engine bay if you can’t quite see or reach it.
Now we’re on to the instrument panel – and to be honest this was the most nerve-wracking as we were dreading scratching it, but this turned out to be completely unfounded. If you look at the bottom right hand side of the instrument cowl (below the 4 switches that control the fog lights etc.) you will see a small rectangular panel - that is where the switch will end up. If you have already used this or don’t have that space, the good news is that the kit comes with a plastic housing that you can mount to the dashboard in an unobtrusive place. If you use this, make sure you don’t put it anywhere near your knees as the edges are quite sharp!
If you are fitting it into the cowl then first you need to remove the cover that surrounds the steering column – there are 2 or 3 screws on the underside that you undo and then you can separate the 2 bits and lift them clear. Be careful of the ignition key coil as this is slightly delicate. You can then undo the 2 screws that hold the main instrument cowl in place – these are revealed when you lift off the upper steering column cover. We decided at this point that we would remove the cowl completely so we could cut the hole for the switch more easily. Carefully note which wires go to which switches – or if you’re lazy like us, just take a photo with a digital camera and refer back to it when you are putting it all back together. Tilt the instrument cowl forward and you will find it much easier to remove the plugs.
You can now remove the cowl completely and take it to a good workbench. The kitchen table is also fine (Ellie disagreed though). Using a sharp blade, carefully cut out the erm…..cut-out and check that the switch fits – don’t push it all the way in though because it’s very hard to get back out again! This took a bit of fettling but its worth being careful – you will be spending many thousands of miles with that staring you in the face if you get it wrong!
Take the cowl back to the car and plug all the connectors back in. Then feed the yellow cable up behind the metal bar and through the new hole and connect it to pin 1 on the switch. Hopefully you will be luckier than us at this point because just then the heavens opened (with some force) and we had to finish the job in the pouring rain – just what you want when you have half the dashboard in bits on the drive way…. You now need to connect the power supply to the switch – this is a pair of thin red and black wires that run from the fuse box under the steering wheel up to the switch. Connect the red to pin 2 of the switch and the black to pin 3. Route the wires back down alongside the yellow and then bolt the black wire to the metal frame that the fuse box is mounted to. The kit comes with a “vampire” clip to allow you to join the red wire to an existing wire that is only powered when the ignition switch is on – the trick is that you have to find one though. The feed for the cigarette lighter may be an option, but we chose to use the terminal Land Rover thoughtfully provided on the fuse panel instead.
Use the crimp tool to fit a spade connector to the end of the red wire and then plug it into the terminal just underneath the large connector on the upper right hand side of the fuse panel. This terminal is only live when the key is at position 2 so you can’t accidentally power up the winch.
You are now ready to test the interrupt, so snap the switch into place in the cowl. Check that none of the cables have fouled anywhere – particularly the heavy duty cables in the engine bay and reconnect the main car battery – positive first, then the negative. Turn the ignition key to the position 2 and the switch should illuminate when you flick it. With the light on, your winch should now work, flick the switch the other way, the light should go out and the winch should stop working. If none of this happens, check that all the wires are firmly bolted and pushed into place – particularly the earths as these are the usual culprits.
Neatly spool up any spare length of the wire under the steering wheel and fasten it out of sight with zip ties. You can then refit the instrument panel and the steering column cover – again be careful with the Ignition key coil. Close the fuse panel, and then in the engine bay neatly fix the yellow wire out of the way of any moving parts.
To refit the radiator grill, slide it back into place and then push the 3 plastic nuts into place and screw the plastic fasteners into place. Put battery cover back on, close the bonnet, check it all still works, stand back feeling thoroughly proud and then go back inside for a lie down. Then get back up, go back outside in the pouring rain and take the keys out the ignition, lock the car and then collapse back on the sofa whilst ignoring the glares for being soaking wet. Job Done. 12月21日 Turns out I was wrong - more can...and did go wrong...After the trauma last week I hoped it would all be a little easier...but no.
12月12日 Can anything else break this week?Well, I think I must have really upset someone in a previous life.... This week the following things have broken:
Lets see what Thursday brings shall we? 10月14日 Highway code for MotorbikesHi again,
Sorry, another rant. But quicker i promise...
The Highway code (Website) tells all motorists how to drive legally and safely.
Can someone let me know where i can get the MAM (Middle Aged Motorcyclist) Version? This seems to be different than the one the rest of us follow. Presumably, once i hit 35 I can register with the DVLA and they will send me the "Got a mid life crisis so want to buy a huge superbike instead of an MG sports car, take 2 hours of lessons then get straight on the motorway?" Leaflet.
I have no problem with most motorbike owners/users. I really can see the attraction, but you have 3 less driving wheels than i like. For the most part - enjoy the open road, and the feel of the wind in your hair. Or more accurately, the feel of hot sweat inside those stifling helmets.
But for those dumbasses who have no sense of their own idiocy:
Speed limit=70 (ish).
Indicators=fitted for a reason.
Gap between cars on dual carriageway/motorway=there so we don't crash and die.
Headlights=angled down so we don't blind everyone when we stick our fat middle aged arses on the back of the bike.
Oh...and coloured overly stuffed groaning at the seams leather?=Power Rangers and no-one else. Ever.
The experts tell us that the number of motorcyclists dying each year is climbing at an alarming rate. Anyone want to hazard a guess which group of bikers is doing their best to bust the curve? Car Driving Licenses are a priveledge, not a right!Dear BBC,
Why oh Why oh Why...
The other day i left the house for the 15 minute drive to work at about 8:30. Not hugely early, but the sun hadn't fully risen yet - you could se it, just still a way to climb. In other words you could see perfectly well as it was bright, just still a little more light to come.
Hmmm...I thought....maybe i should turn some lights on on the car. Not because i needed to light my way- no need, as it was already daylight, but so that other road users could see that i was on the move rather than stationary, and just to make sure that i could be seem from a little way back just incase as it was still a little not fully daylight.
Now being fair, my car is quite large, and bright bloody orange, so it's quite hard to miss but i'm considerate like that
 So, decision made i surveyed my lighting options. Side lights, Dipped Headlights, Full Beam Headlights. Then we have Front Fog Lights and Rear Foglights. Finally we have the choice of 2 further "driving" lights on the front bumper, and 2 more sets of 2 on the roof rack for use during recovery and night site work.
Right, no need for fogs. AS THERE WAS NO FOG (the more astute amongst you will see where this going...). No need for roof or driving lights - as i'm not an idiot hell bent on blinding/killing every person unfortunate enough to come the other way. Pretty much same logic for both Full beam, and Dipped Beam.
Long story short - side lights only was the way forward.
So why did about 10% of the cars coming the other way have either dipped main headlights on, or have driving lights on, or even fog lights. Yes, thats right, quite a few were Beemers or other sales rep type cars. Those you would think would know better.
Ok, fogs, perhaps there was some fog down the road. Nope. None. Maybe there was localised heavy cloud needing headlights rather than sidelights. Nope, clear blue fresh winter sky. Ok, maybe they are all idiots. That explains the driving lights (you know, the little ones that aren't fog, but are bright enough to be annoying when the SUN IS NOW UP)
Some countries have now made it law to have sidelights on at all times the vehicle is moving - i believe Italy is the latest. I think this is a great idea - for instance, how many times have you gone to pass a row of parked cars, only to find the last one is actuall just paused for some reason and then pulls out in front of you. If they had the sidelights on (as they were travelling) then you would know that they weren't parked.
Christ alone knows however what this would mean in the Uk. Probably that all the above idiots would drive around all day long with every single light bulb blazing, hazard lights going and perhaps a sodding sign on the roof that says "Look at me - i'm a dickhead who can't work the on/off switch- The good news is the Government has given me a license to drive up to 7 tonnes of soon to be scrap metal at 60 miles an hour down a tiny winding country lane. WOOHOOO MEEEE!!"
And they wonder why there are 10 people a day killed on the roads in the uk...
Still i'm probably as bad, but luckily i've never seen me drive.... 12月11日 Diet Coke and MentosOk, it seems that everyone on earth knows about Diet Coke and mentos, but in case you haven't seen this rather impressive domino version, heres a link to amuse you...
11月21日 New addition to the familyHello all - Ellie and I are really chuffed to be able to welcome our Son and Heir Ethan John Douglas Jarrett. He was born on the 10th November 2006 at 4 o'clock in the morning after a ridiculously long time in hospital.
Mother and Son are both doing really well, and we've now been home from the hospital for over a week and we're slowly getting used to our new lifestyle.
As any programmer will tell you, being up at in the early (and for that matter, late) hours of the morning is not unusual, but doing it every night for 10 days is starting to get a little tiring! We're both now napping in every spare minute, but every day is a little easier.
Its really weird seeing him grow even in the first week - at first he couldn't really co-ordinate any motion, but he's already able to hold his head straight for small periods and grab and push with both hands at the same time - he could grasp from moment one, but seeing the co-ordination kick in is really quite something to see.
Anyway, I'm sure over the coming months and years i'll end up with the odd mention here and there, but I'll try not to become a baby-bore. But i'm sure you can forgive the odd digression. And if not...there's plenty more Blogs out there.
To those friends who we have already told, thank you so much for you kind words and cards - its really great having them arrive each day, and it helps us to forget the total lack of sleep!
To those who we haven't been able to tell in person yet, I hope you'll accept my apologies, and we'll be in touch in person as soon as we can get any time away from nappies/crying/feeding/phone calls 10月24日 80s Beer CommercialsWell, it's been a while since I posted, but I just had to share this one.
I was watching a program on Sky Travel tonight about Australia - "Aussies: Who gives a XXXX" and it reminded me of the old Fosters adverts that used to involve "ockers" going out beer drinking. Unlike the modern ads which are very slick, the ones I'm thinking of were quite a bit more....errr...rustic.
Scenes that I can remember are :
A bunch of guys are outside an off license loading up the ubiquitious "ute" truck with stacks and stacks of lager cans ready for a trip into the bush. I mean, we're talking hundreds of cans of lager here. One guy turns to the other and says "what about something for the Sheilas?" The other guy then says something along the lines of "you're right...." then shouts "BRING OUT 2 BOTTLES OF SWEET SHERRY FOR THE LADIES".
When the guy comes back outside and puts the two bottles of sherry for the 'ladies' on the back of the truck, weighed down by lager, the back of the truck collapses - at which point one guy turns to the other and says: "Looks like we've overdone it with the sherry..."
Next advert showed the guys out driving along a dusty track. Halfway across a rickety old bridge the timbers give way and the back of the truck (still laden with a LOT of lager) drops down and the whole car teeters precariously ready to fall at any minute. They guys inside the cab look at each non-plussed while a "sheila" sitting in the back looks panicked. She looks round and takes stock and says to the guys in the cab "I reckon we'll be alright if we lose some weight off the back". One guy in teh cab turns to the other and says "mm...good sport your missus".
Classic adverts! And thats not even mentioning the Paul Hogan series either....
Anyway, a quick search on Youtube and I couldn't find any of these but I did find one of the hogan ones - have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj87yXaPyHk
If anyone knows a link where I can see some of the other adverts please let me know as I'd love to see them again.
Anyway, back to my beer.... 7月24日 Land Rover show at BillingEllie and I got back very late last night due to a sudden decision to go to the LRe show. This is the biggest of the year (though I think the big show in the Malvern hills in August can give it a run for it's money!) and as we're new to all this we thought we would give it a go.
The drive down was very easy - 2 hours, straight there. Ellie found it particularly easy becuase she slept most the of the way :-)
We didn't get a long time to look round, but what we did see made my wallet itch which is a good sign (for the vendors anyway)
There was all the usual sort of things at the show - for those not familiar, this means cars with huge winches/suspension etc. as well as every piece of equipment you could possible imagine for going on a round the world expedition. In fact we met up again with Peter and Eileen who have done exactly that.
If you don't believe that you can do the same then consider one guy we met there - Colin Javens - he's just driven himself from Buckinghamshire in the UK to Capetown South Africa. Despite being largely paralysed from the shoulders down in an accident in 2000.
In fact he drove the entire way using a specially adapted Discovery to raise money for research into Spinal injuries. Please consider reading about this incredible cause - http://www.drivinghome.co.uk/index.shtml for more info.
Anyway, we then met up with the usual reprobates from the Discovery Owners Club and then had the inaugural (unofficial) G4 Owners Club meeting. In other words we drove found a field, parked up to take some photos and then congratulated ourselves on being masters of the universe.
On the way home we stopped off for a Dominos Pizza to try and wait out the huge queue of traffic waiting to get onto the M1, and once on our way it took Ellie almost 10 minutes to doze off again - lucky :D Took my own adviceVery quick one I promise.
I took my own advice and went out for a bike ride the other night - theres (another) track out the other side of the village and I've driven it and enjoyed the view, but obviously never taken a lot of time.
Leapt on the bike and headed off. Took a while to get to the top the of the hill as it was quite steep (and very hot) and halfway up found a bench in the middle of nowhere dedicated to the memory of a gent who worked at a local factory. His friends had obviously all clubbed together to buy this and got permission to have it set with fantastic views out over the village.
It's the kind of thing that makes you wonder if anyone would do that for you doesn't it? 7月22日 Cycling epiphanyHaving now got a (working) bike again, I've found a strange thing - I really enjoy going out and exploring on it.
I don't know why this surprises me as thats what I spent a large portion of my youth doing...
The other day, Ellie went to visit her parents and as it was a nice day I thought I'd go and explore a track I'd seen out the back of the village where we live. I drive past it most days and always wondered where it went, so I grabbed a bottle of drink leapt on the bike, winced, adjusted, and then headed off for the great unknown.
I headed out the back of the village and climbed the hill (very slowly I'll admit) and noticed a farm I'd never seen before tucked into a valley I had no idea existed. I then got to the track and turned off the main road.
After a few minutes cycling I had to stop as I was surrounded by a phenomenal vista of a patchwork of yellow, gold and purple fields. I'd never noticed just how amazing the area where we live is. I mean, I'd looked at it through the car window and said "Look- pretty..." but it's something else to then stop in the midde of a track in a field and realise that you could be a hundred miles from anywhere, and a thousand years ago.
I carried on and came to a section which dipped down through a small wooded area - it's at this point that I had a slight realisation that perhaps I hadn't prepared correctly. I was wearing shorts, and the chest high stinging nettles and brambles had other plans. I tracked back along the path and dipped down through the side of the forest instead. Out the other side and I found myself in yet another amazing valley. And this one just went on and on...(much like this post)
My epiphany moment was speeding down the side of another valley, in the middle of a bright sunny day without a cloud in the sky, surrounded by stunning scenery. It was this point that I remembered how much - and 'why' - I loved cycling so much when I was younger.
Since then I've been out several times and I'll post some more pics another time.
My advice to everyone is this:- Fix your old bike up or borrow one and just go for a ride this weekend. Take some water and probably sunscreen, but do it. You don't have to be a confident cyclist, and if you don't like cycling on roads, then just find a local park or trail and set off like I did. You won't regret it. I promise. It's like riding a bike....When I was (much) younger I used to go everywhere by bicycle. The first bike I can remember was one I got for my birthday when I was probably about 4 or 5. All I can remember about it was that it was red and had stabilisers.
I can also remember the day my dad took the stabilsers off. And I can remeber the day I tried to jump it off the concrete down a foot into the grass. Well, I say remember....Only the Jump bit as the rest is a strangely a bit fuzzy.
Later on I got a racing bike when I was 7 or 8. It came with straight handle bars, but I changed them for drop handle bars. This bike lasted quite a while - I even used it on my paper round when I was 12. I totally destroyed the wheels bouncing up and down kerbstones while carrying a doxen kilos of Sunday Telegraphs and Times etc. so I changed them for bigger "mountain bike" style wheels and tyres, but eventually I just outgrew it.
Mid-teens I was riding to school everyday on a bike, but when I started my A-Levels I changed to Herschel Grammer School in Slough which was 10 miles away or so. I can't remember when I got it, but I suddenly had a proper mountain bike - big, chunky wheels and a huge heavy frame. Most days I would get the train with my friend Andrew and we'd get on in Maidenhead, and then get off at either Burnham or Slough and cycle to the school on the edge of the infamous Slough Trading Estate.
Whenever term was over, Andrew and I would inevitably get bored and go biking around Maidenhead and out towards Marlow. There's a great hill in between called Winter Hill with a fantastic view across the valley and more importantly a very steep winding single lane track down. We would cycle up to the top, watch the world go by and then hurtle down the hill seeing how fast we could go. How we never died wrapped around the front of a car I don't know. On a few occasions we did come across something then either it or us would end up in the hedge. I guess when you're young you're pretty invincible!
(Just realised this is taking ages to get the point -sorry!)
Cut to a few years later....Myself and the bike went to University. With a car. Guess which one got used most? The bike slowly started to rust up and sat in various sheds and spare rooms until one day I decided to "fix it up". Or more accurately, as I can now afford not to do everything myself, "take it to the shop so THEY can fix it up".
I dropped it off at Halfords and asked them to get the chainset etc. going again. A couple of days later I went to the store and asked if my bike was ready yet. The youth asked me what it looked like, and all I could remember was "errrr....It's green....and it might have Universal written on it?". He went away and what seemed like 2 hours later came back and said "Wot? The old one?".
As you can imagine I suddenly felt a little old. Dropping my head I quietly stumped up the cash, went home and carefully put put the bike back in the shed and decided to write the whole thing off as a bad idea.
A few months later we moved house and I took the decision to "dispose" of the bike as I was clearly never going to use it again. I took it to the local refuse plant and bid it a fond farewell.
By the time I reached the end of the road, I had already decided it was a really dumb idea - of course I would ride again! What I needed was a nice shiny new bike. That would make all the difference. Ok I'll do it. Off to the bike shop. Ah. Turns out what I really needed was a lot of money as bikes aren't as cheap as I remember them.
Again, cut to a year later (almost there I promise). Ellie and I went to the bike shop and picked out a pair of great new bikes - Ellie's is a proper Ladies Shopper style bike with a rear bag carrier and nice shiny white bits to keep ladies skirts clean.
Mine of course is a cross country veyr manly bike - small (useless) mudguards, double suspension, chunky on and off road tyres - the works. Even a small (useless) bike pump should I get a flat. Now I can truly conquer mountains
 Edit: I've just re-read this post and the really dumb thing is that I've just noticed that I never actually wrote about the thing I wanted to. I'll have to do another.
5月18日 Crumbs DM Its South African(Another incredibly dull post I'm afraid!)
Those who know me know that I like 4x4s. Not for school run - but for actually using them for what they are designed to do...navigate across difficult terrain as this is sometimes the only way to get to a job.
A little while ago I traded in my Freelander for a Land Rover Discovery. But not any old Disco - one that was used in the Land Rover G4 Challenge in 2003 (see www.landroverg4challenge.com)
For those who don't know, this is a pretty extreme challenge that takes part every couple of years in some of the most beautifull (yet underrated) countries in the world - like Vietnam, Laos, Bolivia as well as more popular places like Australia , New York, Rio De Janiro. Just had a very interesting call from a friend who has gotten hold of a list that shows where every car that was built for the event was used and doing what.
When I bought the car from the dealer he was convinced that it was from Australia (which I thought was pretty cool) but it turn out that mine was officially used on the South African stage as a press vehicle - so it trailed around the competition allowing press to get to places and photograph the competitors in action. Pretty cool!!!
It's even cooler because as some people know I spent a fair bit of time in my misspent youth in both east and west africa but never south, so now I have a real reason to go!
I wonder how easily I can get off work and go for a drive - to below the equator..... 5月14日 Land Rover Spring Adventure ShowWe've just finished cleaing off the car after a fantastic trip to the Spring Adventure show in Driffield (www.springadventure.co.uk) which was absolutely brilliant.
We went last year when we had the Freelander and had a really good time wandering about the stalls and watching the events in the main arena area. This year though we knew the Discovery Owners Club www.discoveryownersclub.org - AKA DOC - would have a big stand there and since we got the new car (Matilda) and joined up, we've gotten to know some of the guys and gals there really well.
This year we even bit the bullet and gave the off-road course a go - several people warned us that it would be very sticky and muddy and they weren't wrong! Have a look at some of the Photos in the photo section if you want to see what I mean!
The course is really well laid out on an old disused military airbase and had Green and Red routes depending on how well equipped (or confident!) you are. We stuck mainly to the green route, but we did give a couple of the red runs a go and apart from needing a second attempt at one incline the car did us proud. Ellie loved every minute - even the in-laws in the back seat had a good time :-)
After we finished the course (which was a really long one so very good value) we went back to the show and managed to sneak onto the DOC stand and sneak a couple of quick photos parked up next to James G4 Discovery (very similar to mine, but kitted out with a little more extras) and Peter and Eileens Disco which has done a fair bit of travelling in it's time.
Ellie offered to drive us back later, so I headed straight to the bottom of a few cans of beer and made a whole new bunch of friends in the process. We had a really long chat with Peter and Eileen about their globe treking adventures as it's something we really want to do someday (hopefully soon). After a quick burger or two from the barbeque we packed up and headed off home - a great day.
The flip side of course is that we then had to spend most of today pressure washing the muck of the car - and being very carefull not to damage the radiator in the process as it was full of the stickiest mud we've seen.
Now I've finished writing this up, we'll be watching last nights Doctor Who episode (recorded) so no-one tell me the ending. I think we might also get in a quick watch of Rocky Horror before we call it a night.
See you all in the morning :-)
Ooops I've stepped in a blog.Well, as everyone else seems to be doing it, I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and try out this here internetweb thing. Lo and Behold, a Blog was born.
How often I'll update this: I can't tell you. Whether it will be interesting: I doubt it. Will it be award winning: only if they have awards for most half-arsed attempts at joining the 21st century.
Still, here goes....
Oh and for computer types:
10 Print "Hello World";
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