This is just one, recent, example of how dangerous these E-scooters are. Of course they in themselves are not dangerous. It is actually the misuse by individuals that is the danger.
Locally, the only E-Scooters that are legal for use on our roads are those from authorised hire companies. Privately owned E-scooters are illegal.
I don’t understand how the government allows the sale of these scooters in this country. Unlike cars and motorbikes owners are not required to have insurance, wear safety gear i.e. helmets and the vehicles are not even registered.
Frequently they are driven in an unsafe manner. Personally, I once saw one of these scooters veer off the pavement. It moved diagonally across the road directly in front of me. So suddenly that I had to perform an emergency stop. Clearly the rider did not look to see that his way was clear.
I have also seen one of these scooters, three up. i.e. three females hurtling up the centre of the road.
In this case the victim was Raquel Delgado-Calo. She is a veterinary surgeon. She suffered deep lacerations to her forehead which will leave permanent scarring. Raquel also received stitches to her nose and a fractured skull. She spent three days in hospital and three weeks off work followed by a three week phased return. In addition, she has suffered from eight weeks of concussion. She has experienced dizziness, which has caused the cancellation of surgeries at work. And then there is the ongoing anxiety when crossing roads.
In my view, the E-scooter rider, Joseph Pedalty has gotten off way too lightly.
He has been disqualified from roads for eighteen months. He also was handed an eighteen month community order. He was fined £120 plus costs taking his penalty to a total of £319. This includes charges for no insurance, failing to stop after an accident, and failing to stop at a red light.
The law is an ass.
Pedalty has 10 past convictions and had been disqualified from the roads for drink driving in 2021.
How do his fines and convictions possibly balance out the impact that he has had on this woman’s life.
There we were, minding our own business, enjoying a sunny picnic in the grounds of Blenheim Palace. When this fellow came mooching along, hoping for a tasty morsel.
What, do you suppose, had caught his eye ? Was it the pork pie with its jelly and crispy crust? Or was it the egg mayonnaise and watercress sandwiches. Perhaps, when all’s said and done, it was strong cheddar cheese and tangy chutney.
Either way, he was out of luck with me around. I don’t share my food with party crashers.
A few years ago this site was the home of Marconi Underwater Systems. The site was closed, and the Marconi buildings and surrounds became derelict. The site has remained an eyesore for many years.
Around 2012 I, as a member of the Waterlooville Residents Forum, attended a presentation on behalf of a potential developer. At that time, per the presentation, the plans were to build a 60 bed hotel and restaurant. They also planned a car showroom and a drive thru restaurant. The developer went to great pains. He assured us that the drive thru was not going to be another McDonald’s.
Outline Application APP/12/00652 was submitted 4th October 2012. The recommendation was that permission be granted for this application. Since that time, the Marconi (BAE) buildings were demolished but the site remained undeveloped.
Until that is, along came Lidl and, yep, McDonald’s. But the remainder of the site remained untouched.
And now the council appear to have given the go ahead for a new KFC, Aldi, and Costa.
It’s not as if our little town doesn’t lack for coffee shops and cafe’s. As for fast food drive thru’s, we are surrounded. Nor are we short of Aldi stores, we actually have seven within a ten mile radius. Costa Coffee is even more pervasive with ten in a four mile radius.
There is a significant amount of residential construction in and around Waterlooville. With all the new residents I would agree that there is a need for eateries. But I would argue that there is a greater need for entertainment centres. Waterlooville residents frequently call for a cinema complex / bowling alley. Sadly nobody hears the call
And so, the construction of these three businesses leaves me disappointed. I feel that we, the residents of Waterlooville, have been let down again.
They talk about Glorious Goodwood, but when they say that typically it’s the horse racing that they mean.
However, yesterday could equaly be described as Glorious Goodwood. The sun was shining, we were at the Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit as spectators for one of the Revival Weekend Test Days. We were surrounded by the sounds of hundreds, probably thousands, of horsepower. And instead of the smell of horse sweat and manure the smell of tyre smoke and racing fuel permeated the air.
Jon, my son-in-law, and I were here for the day. We really had no idea what to expect as this is not a public event. The Test Days are open, free of charge, to Goodwood Road Racing Club members. Much of the circuit is a construction site as the preparations proceed for the Revival weekend.
There were cars on the track but no schedule of events. No racing per se but tell that to a racing driver who is trying wring every last ounce of performance out of his car.
So, we arrived on circuit at around 09:45 and as there were cars already out on track we headed via the tunnel to the pit lane area where we could get an overview of the track.
We were just in time for the end of a session as we could see the red flag out and cars were being directed into the paddock area.
As we could see that cars were queuing in the pit lane for the next session we went for a closer look.
1961 Jaguar E-Type1963 Ford Galaxie 500BMW 1800Alfa Romeo GiuliaFord GT401961 Jaguar E-TypeJensen 541R1958 Lotus 15Morris Mini Cooper S1964 TVR Griffith 4001960 Aston Martin DB4 GT1963 Shelby Cobra 2891963 Shelby Cobra 2891955 MGA Le Mans Works CarAston Martin DB41962 Jaguar E-Type
The beauty of days like these test days is that you can get up close with the cars, the drivers and their support teams.
Also, behind the pit lane area are the paddocks where the cars are prepared before heading out onto the track. This are will be filled to capacity over the revival weekend but for our visit there were only a few cars in residence.
From the paddock we headed across to the other side of the track to get a different perspective on the action.
1959 Aston Martin DB31962 Jaguar E-Type1963 Jaguar M II
By way of a change we were treated to a few open wheeled racers.
As this was only a test day we had been prewarned that there could be interruptions to proceedings, that certain areas of the circuit may be out of bounds due to construction activities.
And so it was that the track was shut down while a crane was brought out to lift some framework for one of the stands. Though this didn’t stop all activity as the next two pictures show. The lead car, with the hatch open, had a video film camerman sitting in the back, filming the following cars.
Once the cranework was completed the track was reopened and we were back to the action.
These remaining photos were taken from either opposite to the pit exit or from above the pit lane buildings.
Memorial To Mike Hawthorn and Lofty England1963 Bill Thomas Cheetah1955 Jaguar D-Type
Well I hope I didn’t bore you to death with this post and all my snaps. If you got this far, thanks for sticking with me.
The thing that always amazes me is that the owners of these cars, worth millions of pounds, allow them to be raced. And believe me the drivers don’t hold back.
Last Sunday, 4th August, I visited the Goodwood Motor Racing Circuit for the last Breakfast Club of 2024. I was there with my son-in-law Jon.
Triton
The Breakfast Club meetings are held on a Sunday morning and are free to attend.
All the vehicles on display are privately owned and driven or ridden to the event.
1966 Mercedes
They are their owners’ pride and joy, the results of many hours of restoration and care.
1968 Plymouth
And, in many cases, the expenditure of many thousands of pounds well beyond the resale value of the vehicle.
1958 Ford
Each Breakfast Club has a theme, and this time was no different. Classic Sunday was for cars and bikes that were registered before 1st January 1984.
1914 Stanley – Steam powered
According to the news letter I received a few days ago, this breakfast club attracted over a thousand vehicles.
1990 Burton (Citroen 2CV)
Suffice to say, Jon and I only managed to view maybe two-thirds of the vehicles on display in the time available to us. The gates opened to the public at 08:00 and we had arrived about thirty minutes after. The event closed at noon. We would have needed another couple of hours to view the remaining exhibits.
Chichester City Band
This time, breakfast club visitors were treated musical entertainment in the form of the Chichester City Band
1967 Jaguar Kougar
Jaguar Kougar ? Seems like a bit of cross breeding going on here. And there certainly is with the Kougar being a “kit” car of sorts.
1969 Citroen DS
The Citroen DS was possibly the most beautiful car of its era and certainly its aerodynamic design and innovative suspension came the closest to the 50’s imagined transport of the future.
1953 Chevrolet
This is a classic example of a Rat Rod of which there were several on display. Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder.
1969 Chevrolet Corvette
There were a number of Corvettes on display. Most of the more usual Stingray style, unlike this example.
1982 Citroen 2CV6
The 2CV was introduced to help motorise the large number of farmers still using horses and carts in 1930s France. In addition, it had been designed to cross a freshly ploughed field with a basket full of eggs on the passenger’s seat without breaking them, because of the great lack of paved roads in France at the time.
Somehow I don’t think this bright orange example would meet that criteria.
1951 Chevrolet
This pretty rod is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Rat Rod above.
1961 Chrysler
Beautiful, with so much chrome to catch the eye. So, so stylish.
1961 Chrysler
I suspect that the front of this car would fail so many of the modern day safety rules and regulations. Style has been sacrificed for safety.
1971 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (Porsche)
Yet another beautiful car. Pretty sure I had some pressed steel clockwork cars that looked like this VW.
1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark 1
Precursor to the James Bond classic DB5
1967 Ford Mustang
Classic american muscle car. Who can forget that ultimate movie car chase with Steve McQueen in Bullitt. Apparently the real “Bullitt” Mustang sold for $3.74 million.
1968 Ford Mustang
More muscle …
1971 NSU
I remember the NSU from teens. To me they looked similar from the front and back.
1968 Volkswagen Beetle
Another “rat” or is it a work in progress ?
1968 Volkswagen Beetle1967 Triumph TR4
Triumphs are one of my favourite sports car marques. Love the shape and style of the TR4 although the predecessor TR3 has, in my opinion, the better shape.
1969 Ford Mustang with a 1976 Lotus Espirit in the background.
My preference would be for the Lotus with its superior handling. However my height and bulk would probably prevent me from getting into the Lotus or, more likely, make my exit look like a comedy routine. So it looks like I’m stuck with the yank tank.
1956 Austin Healey 100M
Austin Healey 100, so named due to its ability to reach a speed of 100 mph.
1962 Landrover Series 2A
Nicknamed Mavis.
1962 Landrover Series 2A
Mavis claims to be a wolf in sheeps clothing due to the higher power unit fitted which has been “breathed on”. She claims to look like a tortoise, run like a hare and roar like a lion.
1967 MGB (heavily modified)
This MGB is another wolf in sheeps clothing. When I asked how he managed to get that lump into the car his reply was that he used some very big shoe-horns and a few cans of WD-40.
1962 Reliant Sabre 4
Who knew that the manufacturers of the ubiquitous 3-wheeler manufactured such great looking cars.
The Sabre 4 had a 1,703 cc engine
1962 Reliant Sabre 6
The Sabre 6 had a 2,553 cc engine.
Well I hope you enjoyed browsing my photos from Classi Sunday. As I said previously there were over a thousand cars on display and I have only scratched the surface with these pictures.
Jon and I played a little game between ourselves when we arrived. Jon said, “I wonder how may E-Types we will see” So we started counting.
We stopped at 27.
Till next time. The next breakfast club will be in May of 2025.
WrAnTz 