The End of Everything

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I like the Big M! Mysterious and yet powerful! You be a dark horse young Marty!

Indeed, Atlantean front ends on Lynx's FTW!

We do have a Mk1 Lynx in the preserved fleet, which I shall one day get round to making a new frame for, being Leyland built it's ability to rust is only excelled by it's ability to accelerate!

I'm sure most people will have heard about the killer cyclist who got off with a fine. I've read this about 6 times now and it still defies all my senses of justice:

ITN - 49 minutes agoA cyclist who caused the death of a young pedestrian by ploughing into her after shouting 'move because I'm not stopping' has been handed a "laughable fine".

The family of 17-year-old Rhiannon Bennett insisted Jason Howard should have been tried for manslaughter.

Howard, 36, was fined £2,200 after he was found guilty of dangerous cycling, £300 less than the maximum.

Rhiannon was struck by Howard when she walked with friends in Buckingham last year after he shouted: "Move because I'm not stopping." She hit her head on the pavement and died of her injuries.

Speaking outside court, her father, Mick Bennett, said Howard was an "arrogant and vile little man" who should have faced manslaughter charges and been jailed for several years.

He said: "It's laughable - when we first heard about this we thought it would be manslaughter, or perhaps even murder, but this is Britain."

Her mother Maureen said "words cannot express" how upset the family is.

Aylesbury Magistrates Court heard that he could have swerved to avoid the girl but told police he thought a shout would be enough to avoid the collision.

Is it just me that thinks this guy should be fucking locked up?
If he was driving a car he'd be in jail oui?

So, he rides a bike on a pavement, knocks down and kills a girl and gets a fine.
But it's somehow ok because he yelled out to get out of the way first?

This whole country is just so wrong.

[Philip Chidlow]

Chris, I saw this today annd was going to post the story too, such was my disgust. That 'cyclist' should be hunted down and killed in my opinion. Oh, and then change the law.

If that was my daughter I know what I'd do.

[mike st gilles]

I think he would find himself a quadraplegic very shortly if that was my daughter..........so a cyclist gets run down by a car that didn't stop..............witnesses say they heard the car sound its horn but didn't attempt to swerve out the way.........shame!
This whole country is going down the toilet......

[M]

If it was me I would bring a private prosecution against him for manslaughter.
Failing that, give me an hour with him in a locked room with a pair of pliers and a box of matches

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Ok, so this saga with 132 is ongoing.
I know it's only a bloody bus and it actually isn't important in the grand scheme of things but some people like cars, some like dirty great commercials...deal with it.

Turns out the MoT doesn't expire at the end of this month. It actually runs out on the 17th of October.

So why are they junking it now? Given that there are much worse buses in the fleet, why 132?

Would you believe it's just to spite me?
See, the company have a bullshit sliding scale depreciation value for buses.
Currentley 132 is worth £11K as far as the company is concerned because their book price dictates that.
It's worth £2K more than any other 1993 Lance because it's spent two years off the road, so two years of depreciation have been wiped off.

In the real world it's worth £4K tops, since it's fucked and no bus operator would actually touch it.
However, again going by the companies "book price" any single deck bus is designed to last 15 years. So in October (when the MoT actually runs out) it will have a nil value.

Thats why it's going now.

I spent 5 happy hours driving the old girl round tonight, made a little vid of the occasion (since I may never get to drive it again) and yet again filled the defect card out, only this time I went ape shit and filled out 16 cards, all for the one bus.
In which I detailed what tools they needed and how to actually do the job to stop it stalling and black smoking and idling like a piece of shit.
That'll piss the monkeys off in the morning. Not that they will actually do it.
Arseholes.

Anyway, I have a Nokia again, and GOD it's soooooo cute!
I can take piccies again, and video, and er, um, well, ring people and text people and stuff!
It's great!

Ok, I need to get out more.

I'm still enjoying hooning around in the valver even if I'm getting to see more of the dudes at the petrol station than I do of pretty much anyone else.....
The only slight problem thats cropped up with it is a bit of an irritation and I cant quite work out what the hells going on yet.
Every so often it'll idle at about 1700RPM. Even if I shut it down, leave it for 300 years and start it again, it'll still idle at 1700RPM.
The only way I can get it to idle properly again is to floor the throttle and lift off, then the engine stalls, everytime. But restart and it's fine for a few days..

I think the ECU may be a bit dicky as the rev limiter has skipped to 7700RPM.

I keep meaning to change it, but getting , smoking and generally sitting on my arse seems to be taking precidence lately....

Still, it'll do over 60 in 2nd gear now, so it's not all bad!

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hhmm....

Well, the National Rally....

hhmm....

Saturday night was the quietest I've ever seen it.
Of course the hardcore BX drinkers were in place to party, including Todd (the guys a fucking legend!) but even that got rather pissed on by a dude that had a Maglight bored into his forehead.
Being told to shut up or leave was rather uncalled for I reckon. No-one around us complained and said torch headed dude was clearly advocating drink driving.
The following morning I spoke to the guys in the caravan immediatley next to us and they hadn't heard us or disturbed them so quite what the problem was I have no idea.

Sunday saw a fair collection of cars turn up but there was an overwhelming sense of disturbance. From the CCC themselves.
I've never seen such political infighting before and it left a rather bitter taste.

It really brought to mind that I dont actually go to these things to look at fucking cars, or to tow the CCC party line.
I go to meet old friends and make some new ones, get and have a bit of a party.
All of which the BX boys managed again whilst the CCC frowned on.

So, as far as I'm concerned we dont need the CCC. We have the BXC.
As such I shant be attending the national again, but will gate crash the 2CVGB event, since they actually know how to have a good time.

Mat Fenwick took on the mantle previousley held by our very own Tel!
I've never seen a man go from sober to totally "laminated" THAT fast EVAH.
Fair play to him though, he kept going, and going and going!
Was good to meet Aerodynamica (albeit VERY briefly) and catch up with the guys.
But the CCC can go fuck themselves.
I shant be renewing membership as the cost is not insignificant given what they offer.
Not that I'm a tight arse, but really, what do we get for the money?
A magazine that may or may not have a BX colomn.
A club insurance scheme which is more expensive than the broker I use.
Discount for camping at the national (except I learned on the sunday I had been charged non member rate)..

Er....

hhmm....

Struggling now....

It's good that some younger faces are appearing in the mag, Craig Turner, Aerodynamica etc but the old boy brigade still have a tight grip and dont like change.
The CCC does not like the BX, or anything newer, despite what they say it's fucking obvious they dont.
It was aptly pointed out that Nigel gave long spiels about D's, SM's and 2CV's, then pretty much skipped straight past the Saxo, even though it was bloody tidy and was in it's day a bloody good unit shifter that trounced the competition.

I really think more people like Adrian Chapman are required at the top level.

I cant have been the only one that noticed, and indeed have noticed over a longish period now, the number of members that are questioning if it's worth being a member at all...

Not just BX owners either.

Still, it was good to get and have a laugh (even muted laughs) and ta to all who carried on regardless of Torch guy.

Thanks also to JonKW for the pipe (and for pointing out how smooth his car idles, and stays up all night), MNDE for the tail light, Smiffy for the food, Stu for the drink, David for being David!, Tony and Dom Weston for recovering Mat's Xantia seats after he left without them! (we have them in stock for you Mat), Todd for driving eleventy billion K's to be there and the veggie burgers, and for bringing Pelopes (what a lovely doggy!), Kitch for the drive in the Alfa (much to the disgust of the CCC), and everyone else that made the best of the worst national for years.

Oh, and Tim's GT won the people's concours award, and for that he got.......wait for it........ a piece of paper and a handshake form Nigel Wild... where's the yawn emoticon?
Surely they could have done better than that? a proper plaque or something?

The tent as ever was a hive of er, deathly silence so all thats left to say is big up the BXC, for without us, it would have been utter shite.

Did anyone actually bother to take part in the "strip a 2CV comp"?
Is it just me that thinks thats getting a bit stale?

[M]

Oh, and Tim's GT won the people's concours award, and for that he got.......wait for it........ a piece of paper and a handshake form Nigel Wild... ?

Better than I got from Uncle Nige when I turned up one meeting with my very very mint very very shiny Mk 1 ZX Reflux 1.9D - OK, its not a GSA, but it was a bloody nice car (till I fucked the engine by running it on sone old Hydralush) and totally did not deserve the dissing it got.

I sacked the CCC off after that and dont do the club thing any more (well this "club" excepted of course, but then we are all much of a muchness in here and would all give each other the shirts off our backs etc etc).

[stuart_hedges]

^What Doc said. Excellent post all round, my friend!

I was thinking about re-joining the CCC but frankly all those reasons have put me right off.

As for the politics... I dropped out when all the shit with the Club Shop and the South Eastern section was going on, and every time I look again there's something else in the same vein going on.

After chatting with Adrian Chapman, I really think we should have some joint social events with 2CVGB!

Otherwise, there were some nice cars, and I got a couple of parts I needed. Interestingly, the guy I bought parts from is the guy who looked after my car for about 15 years of its life! He remembered it and the owner well.

[mat_fenwick]

Thanks to Tony and Dom Weston for recovering Mat's Xantia seats after he left without them! (we have them in stock for you Mat)

Ooops. Can I claim temporary loss of memory? So where are they now? Many thanks for rescuing them - I plan to put them in the van one day.

where's the yawn emoticon?

This do?

[mat_fenwick]

Just noticed my new rank, cheers* for that...
*Now where is the sarcastic emotiocon

Meeting round my house...did I really say that? Yeah, I do remember - sounds like a cracking idea. The social life round here does tend to get a bit 'none existent' at times so I'm all for it! Just make sure your tents are waterproof before venturing west!

[docchevron]

Fucking "Drank for Britain"! Jesus H christ didn't he just!
Fair play to you though dude, you went form sober to fucked in 1 second, but you kept going, thats hardcore!

The Levellers is something that will take me some time to recover from....

Barry anal failed to apolagise to anyone else though, especially Todd and I think given the mileage the dude did that would have been nice since Barry was frankley a fucking cock and todd was being nice to torchy....

Meet in North Wales FTUberW!
Stack of Marshall amps....check.
Beer....check.
Car that goes....check.
Lets get this shit on and get very and make alot of noise and stick pins in effigies of CCC dudes!

As for needing waterproof tents Mat? If you're sober enough to notice it's wet, you're too sober..

BTW Mat, at the moment your seats are in Cambridge, as in Cambridge Gloucestershire about 2 miles down the road from the farm (my farm) but on Saturday they will be on the farm (which is in Gloucestershire).
We will find a way of reuniting them with you soon mate, have no fear, they will be fed and watered and excericsed and generally looked after until repatriation occurs!

Christ, the bird doing the weather on BBC news 24 this very second is fit as hell! Bejesus, I could do her some damage! Infact I could put her in a wheel chair!
Duno who she is though.... oh, and we're back to World News Today, how bland...

Right where was I?
Ah...
More beer...

Jon, you are quite right about the CX titan battle thing, but I'm on Stan's side over this.
Stan's a fricking nice bloke, and the whole way this has been dealt with by the CCC is appaling.
I've mentioned it a bit on their website, so no doubt that thread will get wiped like the last one I created beef in was...

For a mag editor to help construct a letter of that nature then publish it is just out and out wrong.

Anyway, balls to the CCC, I have this place, you guys are actually all good guys, we are a better club, and as Marty (I think) said we'd give eachother the shirts off our backs. Thats special and I doubt that would happen in the CCC. Unless you'd paid £30 for the shirt first, unless you are a non member in which case the shirt would be £37 plus £10 fitting charge....


Anyway, moving on..

The local radio station GWR Bristol has gone to shit.
Since the demise of the last 3230 phone I haven't listened to the radio of an evening for a while.
But tonight I plugged the earphone in and turned the visual radio thing on expecting to hear Late Night Love with Graham Torrington.
Imagine my disgust when I heard Pat or Cat James with "The Wind Down"... WTF is this I say to myself?

Quick text to the bro and the reply tells me that not only has Graham been dropped by GWR but Bush and Troy (the breakfast show) has gone too.
BASTARDS.

Bush and Troy were funny, and nice blokes, I know them both...
And I liked Graham Torrington mainly because I've listened to him since the advent of his show (before that it was Late night Live with Dave Barrat that had a 7 minute intro theme that was the bollocks) and I quite like hearing that some people are more pathetic than I am! Oh, and that actually it gives me some hope that maybe you can actually meet a female type and have a normal (ish) relationship thing... but mainly because most of them were pathetic losers!

So anyway, the point is...er, the station structure has been changed, and for why?
It's the most popular station in Bristol so why arse about with it?
Because they could.
It's change for the sake of change. I hate that.
Just because you CAN change something doesn't mean you should.

I sincerely hope the guys that are in charge now realise the error of their ways and return things to how they were, although I doubt that will ever actually happen.

I guess I'll have to move to an area where Late Night Love is still broadcast now.

It draws many similarities with First Terrorising Travel.
When it was Badgerline it was great. Small, local, run by people that knew how to run a bus company.
Then it got involved with GRT, became First and the rest is painful history.

Gwr was a tiny local station, and it got bigger, and bigger, to the extent the "one network" or whatever the hell it's called this week is all over the country (just like First).
But is it any better for it?
NO.
It's all about profit, and not "for the people" anymore.

Maybe I should be a communist.

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Ooh, the weather girl is back on!
Laura Tobin.
Anyone know her?
She's bloody lovely!

EDIT: Cant see a wedding ring.......

[M]

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hhmm, she looked better when I was pissed and she was on wide screen!

Either way, she has pulse and moves, it'll do!
Anyone got a number for her??!!