Talking B____X

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:58 pm

5000 posts.

I should get out more

CitroXim · Post by **CitroXim** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:23 pm

Well done Phil.

You're fourth in the all-time top posters behind the Doc, Roverman (when he was known as Tim Leech) and Billy (cavmad).

Marty is running some 795 posts behind in 5th and Ken Newbold is a distant 6th with just under 3.000 posts. As for the rest of us, we're just here to make up the numbers...

Philip Chidlow wrote:I should get out more

You will bit later this year, all the way to France and back

stuart_hedges · Post by **stuart_hedges** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 9:22 pm

I don't think BXagon will cost as much as you think, Phil.

I've discussed at length with my girlfriend - neither of us are well off but we're sure we'll be able to afford it and do some good into the bargain.

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:29 pm

I always wanted to over-state rather than under-state the possible expense - so that those participating aren't caught out.

As I see it a BX and two crew will have to find (not including the journey to the coast prior to departure) money for accommodation, fuel, tolls, food and communications. A big economy will be a couple sharing in a diesel BX so you might be right. For others who will be choosing to have separate rooms every, or every other night, and drive a petrol BX, it will clearly cost more.

It's up to each team to cost out their BXagon - although I will be supplying lots of info in the coming weeks to help out.

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:57 pm

As a follow up to that,

Team costs: (Note I haven't converted the €uro costs to GBP as it's a bit pointless - and depressing - at the moment!)

As Phil and I won't always be sharing a room (for sanity's sake) our accomodation will certainly cost more than your Stuart. I've budgeted €770 including a generous allowance for the stop-over at Alaigne and a reasonable consideration for Mike E in Brittany.

Food and drink.
While the temptation is to go to nice reaturants and enjoy French cuisine whilst quaffing a bucket of Vin, the reality is likely (certainly for our team) to be less gastronomical - more economical. Baguettes and brie, jambon etc. for lunch, washed down with nothing much more exciting than a bottle of Badoit during the day. Maybe the odd cafe stop for a bavette et frites or a croque... and in the evening, not necessarily Hotel food, but maybe a pizza or burger, you know the stuff. I estimate €540.

Crossing:
I'll pay for this via Tesco vouchers (crossing is £110)
European breakdown and recovery cover and communications cost allow another £130. Tolls will add c. €50.

Fuel.
This is another instance where having an economical diesel makes sense. I have chosen to take my GTi auto - a heart not head decision - and will pay for that. I won't even ask my co-pilot to cough up 50%! I estimate that if the car is full up upon touching French soil with 40 litres of finest English 95RON in the boot, we'll need €415 or so (at today's prices) for French fuel.

So for the Philibusters we're looking at approx. £220 and €1775.

Stuart, you might be able to save around €400 pairing up in rooms all the time and using a diesel BX.

That doesn't take into account any discounts that we may have been able to secure for accommodation. I would hope we can shave €80-100 off.

stuart_hedges · Post by **stuart_hedges** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 9:10 pm

Philip Chidlow wrote:I always wanted to over-state rather than under-state the possible expense - so that those participating aren't caught out.

And sensibly so! As long as nobody's put off - if money's tight, it is possible to do it for less.

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 11:01 pm

Rather uncharacteristically I am going to talk about something entirely un-car.

WORK

I have to confess to feeling a little unmotivated. Bored even... I can't see me doing what I'm doing now in six or seven years time - or around when I'm 55. I want to do something else! Or at least something that is different...

OPTIONS?

For now? Shut up and get one with it.
Maybe develop my writing so that I end up being an author.
Maybe not. Who knows...

Am I experiencing mid-life crisis???? Anyone else experienced this particular phenomenon?

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 11:48 am

Well crisis subsided... still have as much work to finish but now much less time to finish it in. Motivation restored

toddao · Post by **toddao** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 6:44 pm

That was a quick mid-life crisis Phil - just over twenty minutes! More like a Midday crisis - perhaps blood sugar levels a bit low before lunch?

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:02 pm

You're missing the subtleties of am & pm Todd

, but nevertheless it's a short crisis and don't we all wish things could be that quickly resolved?

toddao · Post by **toddao** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:41 pm

Ah, yes well pointed out! Even if I had got the am/pm correct I was still twenty minutes awry. I blame the drugs, terrorists, or the economic downturn!

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:22 pm

I didn't think I had any shots of our first BX - a 40k mile red 1987 GTi 8v bought for £2000 in 1993, which was brilliant and served us very well - it took an 11,000 mile Mercedes-Benz estate to persuade us to part with it! It was bought as my wife was expecting our first and the car of the time was a tuned Fiat Uno Turbo i.e. - Not the most family-friendly car ever...

Anyway, here's a still from a video that was shot in the day our newly-born daughter arrived home... July 1993.

Glad to see we got the important stuff recorded too

jonathan_dyane · Post by **jonathan_dyane** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:29 pm

Philip Chidlow wrote:I didn't think I had any shots of our first BX - a 40k mile red 1987 GTi 8v bought for £2000 in 1993, which was brilliant and served us very well - it took an 11,000 mile Mercedes-Benz estate to persuade us to part with it! It was bought as my wife was expecting our first and the car of the time was a tuned Fiat Uno Turbo i.e. - Not the most family-friendly car ever...

Anyway, here's a still from a video that was shot in the day our newly-born daughter arrived home... July 1993.

Very nice too! Ages since I've seen a GTI with steelies and the GTI wheel trims...

Philip Chidlow · Post by **Philip Chidlow** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:34 pm

jonathan_dyane wrote:...GTI wheel trims...

They kept flying off. Lucky they weren't brittle.

I bet they're like hens teeth now - as are 87-89 pre-smoked light GTi's full stop.

stuart_hedges · Post by **stuart_hedges** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:35 pm

Philip Chidlow wrote:
jonathan_dyane wrote:...GTI wheel trims...
They kept flying off. Lucky they weren't brittle.

Didn't they just. We had a set on the 309 for a very short while.