Vauxhall Astra 1.6i Cabriolet – Insurance Issues


My granddaughter (20) is currently having a hard time trying to renew her car insurance. She has nearly 3 years no claims and all she wants to do is insure a Vauxhall Astra ragtop. We all have come to accept that there is an enormous price hike for those under the age of 25 but she is encountering the following issues

  1. A number of companies seem to have put an arbitrary age limit on anyone driving a cabriolet.
    Just yesterday, one company said that they wouldn’t insure anyone under 25 for an Astra Cabriolet !!!  Yet the very same company had previously insured her to drive an Audi TT 1.8 Turbo when she only had 1 years  previous driving experience in a Ford Fiesta and a Renault Clio.

    Go figure

  2. Probably the most disgusting issue is that  several companies are using a no fault claim as a reason to jack up her premium by, in one case, over £400.

    Last year her car had been parked legally in town. While she was away from her car a coach trying to negotiate narrow streets hit her car and caused damage to the front wing, door and front bumper. The driver of the coach accepted liability and the car was repaired. She was told, yesterday, that statistically it has been shown that young people who have a no-fault claim subsequently go on to make a claim against their own insurance. That is given as the reason why her premium should be jacked up.

Insurance companies are the slipperiest of companies to deal with when you are unfortunate enough to have to make a claim but it seems to me that they are just trying to make it difficult for the young to get on the road.

Perhaps this is an area where the government could step in and legislate for an affordable insurance scheme for new  young drivers. Of course there would be restrictions on types of cars that could be driven, the power ratings etc. But make it a scheme without arbitrary restrictions to do with soft tops or no fault claims. I am sure that there are lots of other youngsters out there who are getting the run around with lots of other trivial reasons being given.

The actions of the insurance companies are probably a contributing factor in the number of uninsured drivers that are presently on our roads.

Workers Playtime


So here I am sitting in my lounge, working from home, when some movement outside the window catches my eye.

  • Is it my next door neighbour moving their car on the drive ?
  • Is it the Blackbird attacking its reflection in my car window while it craps down the paintwork ?
  • Is it the postman on his daily trek to deliver my granddaughters mail that she never comes to collect ?

No its none of the above.

It is, in fact, a bunch of contractors playing hide and seek and climbing up an ancient Yew.

Yes at least two have made the climb up into the tree whilst several others have sprinted off into the distance. Presumably to find themselves a tree to climb. Another bod has arrived and stood talking to the guys in the Yew while he scratches and adjusts his nether regions. Doesn’t he know he will give away their hidey hole. I thought maybe he was the seeker but the two “hiders” didn’t come back down after he wandered off so I assume not.

These folks are all busy “working” hard, replacing the local water main.

Well apparently they did that before Christmas. Then they came back after Christmas but got held up by the snow. Having cleared out they have had to come back and do other “stuff” that involves multiple trucks, trailers, diggers and pneumatic drills spread over several roads.

So here we are, it’s nearly June and the task that was only going to take 3-4 weeks is still ongoing.

In the meantime its good to see that they are enjoying themselves. It doesn’t pay to let work get in the way of a great lark.

Project RunningBlade II


Congratulations to Don Wales and his team who on Saturday set a new record of 86.069 mph. However on Sunday they went even faster, reaching 87.833 mph (141.353) km/h.

BBC News Article Here

Project RunningBlade


Good luck to Don Wales and his record breaking attempt at Pendine Sands in Carmarthenshire this weekend.

Don is attempting to take a petrol driven mower into the record books and recorded a speed of 86.069mph yesterday.  He plans to make an attempt to break the 100mph barrier today. Full story can be read here

Cock-a-Doodle-Doo About Nothing


Once again the sights and sounds of the British countryside under attack. By whom you may ask. Why, the townies, the part-time residents who purchase  second homes just so they can use the countryside as their own personal recreation site.

These are the same folks presumably who put up with the ever-present honking of horns in perpetual traffic jams that blight our city centres, the incessant wailing of emergency service sirens and the boom boom boom of  over powered stereo systems that appear to be installed in most hot hatches.

Presumably the typical city cacophony is acceptable while it appears that the perfectly natural sound of a cockerel is too much for them to bear  according to this article

Well go back to the city is what I say. What on earth did you expect when you bought a place in the country. The countryside is full of  many strange noises and smells all of which should be treasured.

Where I live we have the sounds of pheasants calling,  jays chattering away as they beat a hasty flight through the trees. Even those cute little squirrels can kick up quite a din when they are agitated, hissing at next doors cat or even other squirrels.   What about the owls screeching in the night, and who hasn’t felt the shivers run down their spine at the eery call of the vixen.  As I write this, there are dozens, if not hundreds of birds singing their hearts out despite having joined the dawn chorus which must have started around 04:30 this morning.

Are these the next sounds to come under the disapproving glare of the townies as their idyllic tranquility is disturbed by nature, what on earth did they expect to see and hear when they opted to step outside the city limits ?

Will nature have to give way to some kind of enforced sonic curfew to satisfy these idiots ?

The countryside is a noisy place. Get used to it.

Radio Paradise


Is Radio Paradise (RP) the best Internet Radio Station on the planet ?

To date I believe it is. The variety of artists, musical styles and the quality of the broadcasts are what has sold them to me. The eclectic mix on RP  has your typical FM station beaten hands down.

And NO ADVERTS…NO COMMERCIALS…NO RAMBLING DJs WHO LOVE THE SOUND OF THEIR OWN VOICES MORE THAN THE MUSIC THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PLAYING.

RP is a listener supported station, that means they rely on donations

Bill & Rebecca Goldsmith have put together probably the best format station. The linkage between the tracks is sometimes really quite sublime. The ability for listeners to rate and comment on the tracks played is quite often the most entertaining place on the web.

Emperor


I want to tell you about a series of books to which I have just been introduced by my friend Eric.

The series is called Emperor and tells the story, via four novels, of the life of Julius Caesar. 

From young boy to Consul of Rome and beyond with Rome, Spain, Gaul, Britain and Greece as a backdrop. The books are filled with adventure, pirates, political intrigue, a little romance and lots of action both on land and at sea. The books are also peppered with other famous characters such as Pompey, Cicero, Mark Antony and so on.

When I was at school I had no interest in history, the curriculum seemed to be obsessed with dates and dry facts. On this date Caesar fought this battle, on that date Caesar became Consul…… bleugh !!! 

If only my tutors could have enlivened the classes with stories such as these.

Since starting to read these books I have been prompted to research the backgrounds of many of the characters. In part to determine the reality but also to understand a bit more about the times. Thank you Mr Iggulden for peeking my curiosity.

Also,  having travelled around in Europe, many of the places mentioned in the books are places  that I have visited. This gives more substance to the books and to a degree fills in gaps that I didn’t know existed in my travels.

The author Conn Iggulden, goes to great lengths in the back of the books, to explain when he has played fast and loose with history for the purposes of maintaining narrative flow. He is the first to point out that it is nigh on impossible to cover everything that Caesar achieved and so there is some telescoping of events. 

I only started the first book (The Gates of Rome) some two weeks ago but I am now racing towards the end of the fourth (The Gods of War). The pace in these books never lets up and I am already mentally applying the brakes because I don’t want the story to end but, at the same time, I want to see what happens. All this despite knowing the historical ending.

Thank you Eric, for introducing me to Emperor.

Stuff


Sometimes I feel the need to have my say.

Usually I want to have a moan about the stupid stuff that goes on around me. I see or hear stuff on the news or read stuff in the papers but there is no clear way to have my say.

Well, here is where I’m gonna do it.

Don’t expect it to be sharp, smooth or witty although it may be all of the above from time to time.

Political Correctness Gone Mad … Again!!


This makes sense….. NOT !!!

  • 2 teenage delinquents damage a cross and write sexual and rascist comments in prayer books at Blackburn Cathedral.
  • They are sentenced for this criminal act and the JP (chair of the bench) in his summation said ‘normal people would think that you were scum’
  • The clerk of the court chastised the JP for use of inappropriate language and encouraged the parent of one of the delinquents to make a formal complaint.

So does common sense prevail …… Nope.

The mother complains, The JP is now unable to chair the bench until this nonsense is resolved.

In my view, the clerk overreacted and certainly overstepped the mark. The JP certainly was reflecting the views of the wider public.

Already a parent of one of the miscreants has supported the views of the JP and I applaud the fact that he has made this view known. So many parents take the view that the own “little johnny” can do no wrong.

We need a few more like this JP. (Full Story)

When Will Common Sense Prevail


Yet another instance of common sense being thrown out the window.

Teacher Lynda May has been pursued through the courts for a matter which should have been dealt with by a local disciplinary review.

What is truly breathtaking is the fact that the CPS felt that such an incident warranted the full weight of the law, the judge also felt there was a case to answer. Only after due process did common sense raise its head and Mrs May was cleared. (Full Story)

It’s no wonder that our judicial system is so bogged down.