Posted: Sun 22 November, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic, Driving, eTyres, Getting Organised, M1, Technology, Thoughts, Travel |
Over the last month, the car has had a complete set of new tyres (admittedly, bought two at a time) as it was definitely That Time Of Year when it’s a good plan., with the onset of winter with added rain, snow and ice. It’s been at least a year since the front ones were changed, and longer since I did the rears, and while they’re still well within the legal limits, I know they were nowhere near as good as they could/should be.
The front ones got changed a couple of weeks back – something I was really pleased about while I was driving last weekend. At that point, the road conditions were vile – heavy rain, standing water, and one particular section of motorway surface that could best be described as interesting – and the car stayed solid on the road, which is something that some others certainly weren’t.
I avoided using eTyres this time – partly because I’m not convinced of their services etc., but also because they didn’t stock the tyres I’d decided I wanted to try out.
Having looked around, I opted this time for Michelin Cross-Climate tyres, which seem to be a good option for going across the full range of road/weather conditions I’m likely to hit in the coming months. I’ve also never had a full set of the same tyres on a car, so it seems like it should be interesting.
The rears got changed today, and the change has been significant, even in the short time I’ve driven on them today. I’m pretty sure it’s not just a psychosomatic thing, the whole vehicle felt more rooted to the road, more stable.
We’ll see how things go. This morning was also the first serious frost of the year – I was driving through snow on the M1 yesterday – and I’m pretty sure we’ll have a few more days like it in the coming weeks. I’ve got the best part of a thousand miles to cover over the next couple of weekends (not including the usual weekly travel) so by the end of that, I’ll know a lot more about how the car feels with the new setup.
Posted: Mon 19 October, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Day Trips, Domestic, Driving, London, M1, M25, Parking, Reviews(ish), Travel |
Yesterday was yet another day spent in London. Thankfully, it was also a different area (again) which helps to keep things fresh.
This time, it was Hammersmith, primarily to see an American comedian called Gabriel Iglesias at the Hammersmith Eventim Apollo with a friend (who was the one who knew of Iglesias first) who was doing a one-off, rare (and sold out) London gig
It’s a long time since I’ve been to the Apollo – December 2008, from the look of it – and Hammersmith has changed a bit since last time. The places I’d used to use for parking had – unsurprisingly – changed, and disappeared, so it was time for a bit of a new explore.
Because it was an evening thing, we aimed to have food before. So mid-afternoon we went into London via a circuitous-ish route that allowed us to avoid the vagaries of the peak-time weekend M25, and simply blat straight into Hammersmith. Into the parking area I’d chosen, and job-done.
Had a decent meal, a couple of drinks, and then to the Apollo for what turned out to be a brilliant show – thoroughly enjoyed. (Although lots of people doing American-ised whoops at lots of things, which isn’t really my thing at all) Paid a small fortune for parking – which is taking the piss, as that parking wasn’t being used for anything else – and a pretty simple escape. Certainly nothing like as bad as getting out of Wembley…
And then a straight motorway blat home, dropping off friends at houses along the way (we’d met another couple of people at the gig) so I got home at about 1am, and didn’t get to sleep ’til gone 2.
It’s fair to say I am not fully awake today…
Posted: Mon 21 September, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Day Trips, Domestic, Driving, Food, London, M1, Sociable, Thoughts, Travel |
The weekend just gone was primarily spent in London, as it was the weekend of Meatopia, a festival of barbecue, meat, and music. Now in its third year, and I’ve been to each one.
I like the Grillstock festival (which is similar) but it’s still not a par on Meatopia, which really does bring in some of the star chefs in the barbecue/steak/brisket/burger sector of the industry, and there’s always some spectacular stuff on the list.
Meatopia is also more about smaller dishes – it’s more like a set of courses on a tasting menu, and you get to try a bundle of things. Grillstock’s stuff tends to be more meal-sized, so you don’t have as many, although there are also less/fewer (whichever) stands/cooks, so it kind-of balances out.
But if the two were ever to run on the same weekend, Grillstock would lose. For me, it’s that simple.
Because I knew I’d be eating a fair quantity of meat, I was (vaguely) sensible about it, and parked at the Barbican Centre (my new favourite parking in London) and walked to the venue at Tobacco Dock – about a 5km walk – which I really enjoyed. I know most people don’t see 5km each way as “a stroll” but for me that’s what it was – and improved by fun things along the way, like turning a corner and seeing the Tower of London, with the Shard directly behind it, which was a nice surprise.
As for the food, we did well. In no particular order, I had…
Saturday
- Kid Shwarma (Shwarma from Goat Kid)
- Chargrilled Herdwick Lamb with Smoked Cream Potato
- Picanha (cut of beef)
- Smoked Shortrib Sandwich with Pickles and Sriracha Cocktail Sauce (awesome)
- A fistful of pigs (pig cooked different ways)
- One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer (Beef, Bourbon-braised peppercorns, beer cheese) – awesome
- Anatolian Spiced FlatIron Steak with Babaganoush
- Chicky Chicky Bang Bang (Barbecued Chicken in a bun, but with extra burger because the chef decided it wasn’t meaty enough)
- Hawksmoor’s ‘Spitalfields Burger’ with braise short rib (excellent)
- Bourbon-glazed Tomahawk steak surf’n’turf
- Oh, and ice-cream, and a cider
Being a bad, bad person, I think also stopped of at Honest in Liverpool Street (it was kind-of on my route back to Barbican) to have their new Oktoberfest special burger, which was also ace. Although I couldn’t face the chips that came with it…
Sunday
- Dirty Jerk Ribeye on Beef Dripping New Potatoes (Amazing)
- Pit-roast Middlewhite Pigs, Yorkshire Pudding, Onion Gravy
- DuckHearts with Apple and Kohlrabi salad (my least-liked of the weekend)
- Aged Venison Shoulder, Leek and Potato (Excellent – Joint Favourite of the weekend)
- Herdwick Lamb Chop with Lamb Fat Hollandaise (Mega)
- BBQ Chicken Shawarma, Garlic Tahini, Dill Pickle, Chilli Sauce (Joint Favourite of the weekend)
- Spicy Old Cow (48-58 (opinions varied) day aged beef, chillis, beef dripping, sourdough roll)
- Hawksmoor Tomahawk Steak with Bulgogi (I don’t know) Hollandaise.
- And ice-cream and cider again
All told, an excellent weekend, with a total of 30km walked over the two days – which balances out a lot of the food intake!
Posted: Thu 9 July, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Car Repairs, Customer Services, Domestic, Driving, Getting Organised, M1, Milton Keynes, Thoughts, Work-related |
As of this morning, Saab is back in my possession.
While I was at the garage paying for the work (Car, you owe me big time. Any further breakdowns this year and you’re likely to go to the great scrapyard in the sky) they showed me the old turbo.
Wow. When they said it had exploded, they really weren’t far wrong.
Somehow – and I don’t know at all – some of the blades within the turbo itself had shattered. Bits of metal every-sodding-where.
All now seems well. They’ve warned me there may be some smoke from the exhaust due to the amount of oil that went through the entire system, although it’s been fully cleaned out.
So we’ll see how we go. I hope all will be well for a while from now.
(And now I’ve just got to do one more run with the hire car, then return that tomorrow and get in to work. Fun)
Posted: Sat 4 July, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Car Repairs, Commuting, Domestic, Driving, Finances, Getting Organised, M1, Work-related |
Yesterday nearly got very interesting indeed.
I’d had to drive over to Chesham for a day in the proper office, and on the way the car had started making some very dodgy noises, although it was all running OK. From the noises, and when they happened, I was fairly sure it was an issue with the turbo.
As a result, I rang up the Saab garage, and booked it in for a checkup on Tuesday, which was the first day they had available.
On the way home, the noises were worse, so I was driving more carefully (and a bit slower) than usual.
I got to the Leighton Buzzard bypass (having avoided the M1 on a Friday evening – can’t think why I might’ve wanted to that) and whatever had been weakening let go, dumping a shitload of smoke and gunk over the road – which must’ve been interesting for the poor bugger behind me, to say the least.
I’ve managed to nurse it home – taking it slowly, accelerating without hitting the turbo ranges etc. – so it’s parked up outside the house, and I’ll be somehow getting it to the garage over the weekend (when the traffic is quieter, in case things go horribly wrong) in order to get it sorted on Tuesday. In the meantime, I’ve also reserved a hire car for next week, and we’ll see how things go from there.
I don’t yet know whether I’ll get it repaired/replaced, or look for something new – a lot of it will depend on what the costs are for fixing it, really. So I’ll know more later in the week, and work from there.
In honesty, I could’ve done without the hassle – but it’s something I can deal with without crippling me, and that’s no bad thing.
Posted: Thu 28 May, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Driving, Food, M1, Travel |
The end of this week is another busy one.
Thursday, I’m in London seeing Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer at the Hackney Empire.
Then for the weekend, I’m in Manchester, seeing friends and attending the Grillstock Festival in the city centre. I went last year and it was good fun, so a repeat visit should be entertaining.
Posted: Tue 3 February, 2015 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Driving, M1, Weather |
Last night it snowed in the area I live in. I’d been in the cinema for the evening, and came out to find the car covered in snow. Not lots – maybe a maximum of two inches all told. But it meant slower driving (well, except for BMW drivers, who were still their usual dickwhistle selves) and just generally being sensible.
Of course, at this point I know that various friends in different areas of the country/world are pissing themselves laughing (as usual) at Britain’s shitness with snow and inclement conditions. The only excuse is that we don’t have enough dodgy weather to invest in the infrastructure to deal with it. Canada, US and Scandinavia are all used to feet of snow, and have the machinery and infrastructure to deal with it. Here? Not so much.
Anyway, it made driving home a bit more cautious – although still not bad at all – and also made me thankful I was driving at midnight, rather than in peak hours. Even at midnight there were still plenty of idiots driving too fast for the conditions, and making things interesting.
And I’m very glad I was working from home today, rather than travelling on the M1 in either direction…