Mat's BX Blog

[mds141]

How are the world domination plans coming along. I presume you managed to install the 'deep earth seismic trigger device' into the back of the LT?!!

[mat_fenwick]

There's a joke in there *somewhere* but I'm not going to go there...

Had THE best ice cream I've ever tasted this evening (and I've eaten 'quite a few' ice creams!) Some kind of caramel with (apparently) salt in it! Fleur de sel to be precise. Either way it tasted great.

Spent a day in Rocamadour which is well worth a visit on the 2014 Classic Challenge.

[mds141]

Salted caramel is just sooo this season. Apparently!! Glad you're having a fab time.

[mat_fenwick]

Sadly now back, although it's good to be back in the BX again after ~1200 or so miles in the last few days. 55 mph is a comfortable cruising speed for the van (plus it keeps the fuel consumption out of the teens) but can feel frustratingly slow! Still, no problems which is always a bonus

[Dollywobbler]

Ah, so it's your fault that the weather has turned crap again then?

[mat_fenwick]

Feels like it - we left with rainy and stormy winds, and returned last night to identical weather although it apparently hasn't rained for the entire two weeks up here. Most of the outside plants we have in pots have died by the looks of it That shows how dry it must have been, as we haven't actually had to water them ourselves for a few years!

[Defender110]

Spent a day in Rocamadour which is well worth a visit on the 2014 Classic Challenge.

Looks lovely.

[Des Smith]

Spent a day in Rocamadour which is well worth a visit on the 2014 Classic Challenge.

Been there (twice), seen it and done it (in the rain, in summer, heavily, twice). I've even got a picture from the same vantage point, but the sky wasn't blue, it was 'english-coloured'. We tend to skirt round Rocamadour and cheer when the sun keeps shining. You is lucky Mat, quit while you're ahead!

[mat_fenwick]

It had the feel of somewhere that would be absolute hell in high season, but was pleasantly quiet when we went. Under 10 Euros a night for a campsite too, which was pretty good I thought.

[Des Smith]

10 euros a night for a campervan is pretty damn good. We used Le Relais de Campeur campsite up at L'Hospitalet. Nice site, but it wasn't particularly cheap even back in 2007. I've noticed that people with small tents don't get a very good deal anymore, compared to camper vans and caravans. I suppose the sites want to max out their high season takings to see them through the winter, but it's hard to find a pitch anywhere for less than 20 euros a night in high season, which isn't that far south of a room at a Premiere Classe or Formule 1 hotel.

Actually, for anyone that's never been, Rocamadour is well worth visiting, but it is always rammed in the summer. Just make sure it's sunny so you can take some decent photos!

[mat_fenwick]

Think it was 8 euros (we didn't need a hook up) so great value especially as there was wifi! Ours was a small site about a km or so up the road from L'Hospitalet and exactly the sort of place we liked - fairly rustic with pitches scattered around rather than regimented.

A few photos here if anyone is interested.

Back to reality though now. In preparation (hopefully - I've requested holiday but not been granted it yet) for the Scottish Challenge I wanted to use my MP3 player in the BX. I've become used to having my entire music collection with me when in the Focus and the van but the head unit in the BX doesn't have an aux. input. It does however have a CD changer socket on the rear, which got me thinking...

A spot of Googling showed I wasn't the first to have that idea, and I found the pin out here.

I managed to open up a plug on a spare lead I had (it was in a car I bought where the audio had been removed) and soldered in a lead with a 3.5 mm headphone plug on the other end:



Then plugged it in to the socket...



...and nothing

It just cycled from CD to Tuner and back again, same as before. Fortunately by going into one of the configuration menus I could enable the input, and it worked a treat!

[Vanny]

CD what's one of them? Is that some sort of thing from oldern times?

[citsncycles]

Cd's are practically high tech - most of my motors have radio cassettes, apart from the 8 track in the Nomad!

[Tim Leech]

Cd's are practically high tech - most of my motors have radio cassettes, apart from the 8 track in the Nomad!

Ive just bought a cassette Ipod adaptor for the GT so I Paul can enjoy my select choice in music on the trip to Scotland...

[mat_fenwick]

Have you tried it yet? I've got (a cheap) one for the Discovery and the sound quality isn't that great. I don't know whether it's just the limitations of playing it through the cassette system but I don't remember tapes sounding so bad!