PhilJ W

He did indeed. Don't hold your breath re. police numbers.

I was going to pepper this thread with a few more vegetable jokes.

Only problem is thats a long way from Essex.

Afternoon from Estuary-Land. Ventured out to Tesco's earlier, cock/henwombledom reigned supreme as expected. As I expected it I was able to avoid it. Best example was a largish white van trying to reverse out of a parking area into the access road and another car waiting for him to do so about two feet away from his back bumper. Luckily I was not caught up in that one. Instead of getting the few small bits as intended I stocked up on enough supplies for the bank holidays, the microwave will be demanding overtime. Stationmaster reminded me of the Mediteranian bread so I have purchased said loaf and some Dolcilator* blue cheese to go on it. *I know I've spelt it wrong.

I know of someone who had been spotted driving erratically but before they breathalysed him he had gone inside his house so it was thrown out by the magistrates. A few days after it was thrown out he arrived home to find police officers waiting on his doorstep with a breathalyser. This was back in the 70's when police had the manpower.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I will have to join the bank holiday bun-fight later as there are a few things that I need as well as the papers. Don't forget the cream cheese to plaster on to it at least half an inch thick.

Several people have tried that one to no avail.

Goodnight all.

I seem to have something in my eye.

The Vantique seems to have the same problems as the donor vehicle, poor electrics. I had a Reliant Kitten van and it suffered from the same problem, exacerbated by there being very little metal above the chassis to use as an earth.

One is definately a Mini Marcus, the one with its rear towards the road. Rear side windows and smaller wheels/arches give it away. Based on the Reliant Kitten.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Nothing much that I can add to what I said last night, RIP Matthew.

I have just read Tony's terrible news. My thoughts are with you Tony and Aditi.

A problem with most modern cars is that the passenger compartment is usually very effectively sealed, which means that the car will float if the water is deep enough.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Spent most of this afternoon asleep in the armchair, at least the sciatica has gone. No noticable cockwombles at my Tesco's today but we're still a day away from the bank holiday. I was speaking to one of the Tesco's ladies and I mentioned the usual closure on Easter Sunday, she told me that every ES there are still queues waiting for them to open. Must be a common problem in South Africa going by the ease with which he dealt with it. I don't know what type of snake it was but the size indicates that it was a constrictor and unlikely to be poisonous.

If you click on the route it will give details not only of the route itself but of the types of bus operated and from what dates.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A bit late this morning having overslept, what with the lack of sleep over the previous couple of nights and the clocks going forward its no surprise. Weather here is the same as GDB reported, pretty awful. The sciatica hasn't cleared completely but a couple of paracetamols are keeping it in check.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Horsetan, has the Citroen been retro-fitted with electronic ignition? If not check the vacuum tube between the inlet manifold and the distributor. This used to be a common problem with vacuum advance/retard, engines cutting out when not under load. This is often due to the vacuum tube becoming perished or collapsing. The ideal would be to fit electronic ignition, some for 'classic' cars is even made to look like the originals. I disposed of my classic vehicle some years ago when I had a sudden outbreak of reality, the new owner in that time has got little further than myself in getting it back on the road.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. The sciatica seems to have abated somewhat, so much in fact that I was able to chance emptying the washing machine. I usually run the washing machine of an evening and empty it in the morning. The spin cycle compresses everything to the sides so tightly it has to be left for a while to 'loosen' so it can be removed from the machine. I will probably need a new washing machine sooner rather than later as the current one is at least 35 years old, but it still works perfectly.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Great to hear from Debs and glad to hear that she's better. Normally about now I should have been on the steam special leaving Upminster for Bath. Regrettably I would have had to drop out anyway, last night and the night before the sciatica came in with a vengance. I hardly had a wink of sleep last night despite a couple of co-codemols before going to bed. It seems to have eased off after a soak in the bath this morning, hopefully it will have cleared by the weekend.

Goodnight all.

It was a Transit van.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Chris mentioning the age of his clock radio made me realise that mine is now 10 years old. It was a retirement gift from my colleagues which means that it is (almost) 10 years since I retired, in fact it is 10 years on Saturday. Where did those 10 years go? they seem to have flown by. I still occasionally hear from or about those colleagues but two thirds of them have also retired and regretably a couple have passed away and one of my female ex colleagues who was heavily pregnant at my retirement do her daughter is nearly 10 years old. Thats it for now as a hot bath awaits, be back later.

Goodnight all.