What Preps are you doing this week? Part 8.

[ForgeCorvus]

We (well, Herself) recently bought a little Hyundai, its not new by any means but due to a combination of engine size and age its £20 a year tax!

The dealer is a local guy with two yards built up over twenty-odd years...... And he doesn't really advertise.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Thanks jansman, thanks mouse the dark side it is, then

Andy - that's a good point on dotting i and crossing t - I hadn't even got to thinking about that, yikes.

Car dealers are better than they used to be ( social media has seen to that) , but *some* are still a little bit sharp, shall we say? What I will say is this: if ,as a woman ,a salesman ( and they usually ARE men) ,talks down to you,stand up and walk out. We tend to buy new motors for Mrs.J,then at three years old,I will have it and she has a new one.I accompany her ,quietly,and ask pertinent questions when necessary. Apart from that I stay schtum.We make it clear that the customer is my wife from the start. On two occasions,the salesmen started to talk to me. I pointed them in the proper direction.Still they directed the conversation to me. Now my wife is a six foot tall ,striking redhead,with a temper to match! NEVER,EVER,belittle her! She simply stands up and says **** you! Once ,the salesman was dumbstruck,end of. Second time,he chased us out of the showroom with apology and discount. She told him straight- “I am a person,not my husband’s chattel , so learn how you just lost a 15 grand sale”. What a woman! She is a Vauxhall fan, and we found a dealer that is very customer friendly . Just my 15 grands worth!

Remember my mum looking for a car dad had wandered off to make a phone call... Slimey salesman comes over... And belittles mum with some sarcastic comment about the car she is looking round needing 4 wheels .... She replies yes and a engine tells him very politely likes she's bearating a 5 year old (she was a primary school teacher for 25 years ) before telling him she will take her cash somewhere who treats the customer with respect

[mbbaltic]

I only have an automatic licence. I was being fleeced by my driving instructor. I had a test date booked and he said 'ooh I think you'll need at least 15 more lessons' I went out and booked three lessons on an automatic and passed my test first time. I had the vague intention of taking the full test later but never got round to it and have never missed it in practice

I have a Toyota Aygo which I love. It's four door despite being so small and easy to park (especially as it comes with rear parking camera). The boot is small but cleverly designed because it is deep and I can get four big supermarket bags for life in there - a big shop. I get 40 mpg on short local journeys which are normally a killer for fuel economy and there is zero road tax. It came with a five year warranty but Toyota cars have pretty good build quality

[Arzosah]

ForgeCorvus I'll remember those points, thanks.

Andy yep, I really don't know how those guys expect to clinch a sale when they're insulting their potential customers. Very strange.

mbbaltic thats good to know, especially about the build quality. I actually have a full driving licence, but I never drove after I passed my test, which was ... um ... more than 35 years ago now! Fortunately, I learned in London, the roads were busy but not clogged, so I feel like the experiences I had then are relevant, but I really need a lot of practice before I go onto the road again under my own steam.

I think I was reading too much American end-of-the-world fiction about bug out vehicles the real world has caught up with me before money has exchanged hands, fortunately, so the current plan is a modern second-hand hybrid, automatic, I don't know if there are 3 door cars available of that type, but if there are, they'd be my preference. I'll be making lists

[Yorkshire Andy]

[never drove after I passed my test, which was ... um ... more than 35 years ago now! Fortunately, I learned in London, the roads were busy but not clogged, so I feel like the experiences I had then are relevant, but I really need a lot of practice before I go onto the road again under my own steam.

I , I don't know if there are 3 door cars available of that type, but if there are, they'd be my preference. I'll be making lists

Might be worth booking a couple of hours with a DSA driving instructor "just" to brush up on your skills ..

One thing with 3 doors is car parks you need them open wider to get in and out due to them being bigger doors than the 5d to get in and out the back

[Arzosah]

Might be worth booking a couple of hours with a DSA driving instructor "just" to brush up on your skills ..

I guarantee I'll be booking a lot more than a couple! Add a nought to that figure.

One thing with 3 doors is car parks you need them open wider to get in and out due to them being bigger doors than the 5d to get in and out the back

That's interesting, I didn't know that. That requirement goes down the list of priorities, then, thanks Andy.

[Le Mouse]

Just went a bit splash happy in the pantry with the tea tree and lemon oils as there was a MAHOOSIVE load of ants in the corner of the pantry window frame. I managed to open the window so some of the flying b*stards could get out and then I went to town with the oils on the window ledge. I'll be honest, I hate ants, they make me feel sick. We had an ants nest under the bath in the flat I lived in as a child, but all my Mum would do about it would be to complain about it and claim she couldn't use antkiller as she had two small children. Every summer was hideous. Today was actually a massive flashback.

I think I may go full chemical warfare this weekend if the oils don't help.

[Yorkshire Andy]

That's interesting, I didn't know that. That requirement goes down the list of priorities, then, thanks Andy.

Exhibit a

[Yorkshire Andy]

We are back self isolating again


Mrs a has a high temperature, cough , crushing chest..

Took her for a PCR this morning

Tried ringing in the doctor as last time she had these symptoms it was pmumonia (spl)

Drs receptionist. No doctors won't come out ring an ambulance

So 999 got rung.. ambulance within half an hour very nice crew gave her a good going over...

Here's where I'm going with this after they did the usual blood pressure, heart trace , blood sugar.. left the oximeter on and got her to stand and sit repeatedly. ..

Turns out it's how they screen for covid.... If the heart rate goes up but O2 goes down its covid..... Heart rate up O2 saturation up not covid ...

Fortunately they think it's "summer flu" but can't over ride the PCR stay home message until negative result


When we explained that we had called the GP and they said to ring them her eyes said it all

[Arzosah]

Mouse I feel for you, hope you can get it under control soon.

Andy thanks for the pics, it's very clear in that.

I feel for you and your family too (and your ambulance service!). "Normal"

My preps today: purposely done nothing today so far, very tired after recent looong walks. So now I'm off out for a short walk - to work on fitness without tiring myself out, and also so that I can hopefully sleep normally tonight. Imbalance in the amount of exercise I have leads to sleep imbalance, leads to exhaustion, leads to imbalance in the amount of exercise I have. Yoda is very aware of this