captain

Well it looks bad with no word from Abbey. Guess I'll have to go as it is.

FANTAstic

Live with it and do nothing. I have exactly the same situation - various cars keyed etc. and I've been run over in the street and I performed a "citizen's arrest" on someone else damaging my car The choices are: 1 - Do nothing. 2 - Rent a garage for £60 a month, £720 pa. None available at present. 3 - Move house - £40,000 cost at least to get a similar house near me in a good road with a garage. This isn't a Ferrari forum. We own pretty cheap Jap cars with easily available cheap parts and repairs. The money you save on not doing anything you can spend IF something happens to your car.

youd save that after 2 services Nissan GB have just sent me a deal for a GT-R with 3 years free servicing...............

Very nice. But having had recent tussles with 3 Caymans in my £8k auto where they were only marginally speedier, I can't see the point. Having tested a GT-R for 3 hours, however, I can see the point. Absolutely no comparison.

Thanks Bud. Day 8 ahoy.................Lazy Sunday in the Park After last night's shenanigans, time for a little bit of class. Breakfast at The Driskill on 6th. OMG - talk about posh for brekkie. We had a bloody maitre d' and then 2 waiters. Complimentary mini-doughnuts was just what we needed after last night. The lobby: The loos: I had a triple-decker breakfast burrito with EVERYTHING Mexican you can imagine (chillis, ground beef, guacamole, re-fried beans - with a fried egg on top) Yum yum!! Mel had the usual veggie nonsense, spinach omelette. . Austin has some great parks right in the middle just South of the Colorado river. I think we were the only people "Strolling". Everybody else seemed to have a purpose be it running, dog-walking, swimming, canoeing etc...........must get a hobby. These Americans do make our approach to exercise ("Let's walk to that restaurant over there") seem a little lax....... As usual, you'll notice the filth and mess these Yankees have to put up with on a daily basis in their public places................. Stevie Ray Vaughan All round Austin there are pianos (there's one on the steps of City Hall) which musos just turn up and play on. Nice. Pedestrian bridge North across the river: Oooh. Nice M6, an old'un and one for the drug dealers amongst you: Up to the Capitol building. It's Texas so they built it a couple of feet higher than the one in Washington: Started the day with a Mexican so ended it at Manuel's restaurant on Congress Avenue. REALLY good meal and the best Margaritas we'd had so despite it being about 9:30, beddy time. "would you like some nachos and the cocktail menu, ma'am?" "er........yes please"

The only optimisim I can bring to this terrible story is that if it smells bad,it must have been dead some time before "going overboard".

The kids on the street reckon next week is going to be interesting............. 17p looks like the floor and it's Yazz time from now on.

Hope so. Was booked in for 9th at Abbey but they've postponed..............

Just found this on my lappy drive along with the 3,000 photos I took. Apologies for quality of sound (vid is HD) but hopefully you can feel the spirit. They really were good. Love the crazy stick girl, the hen night with the torch rings, the girl dancing with cowboy boots in the background and the lead singer's wife. Orange top, long legs sitting at the table in centre of shot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHtLI69a17Y

Yep - stock suspension except for Eibach Pro anti-roll bar. Think it helps a little. Can't really drop it as with an ET12 rim, it would need arch work and I can't be arsed with it.

Yep. It also sealed the deal on my (permanent for life it seems) tinnitus. Be careful my friend. Fuji Blueflame much more forgiving. Less Motorhead, more Aerosmith. hahaha i sold it within a month. Couldnt stand the vibration in the car and was far too loud for track Got a scorpion now with decats etc. Scorpion is discolouring at the tips due to the heat though. Time to send it back underwarranty i think Well done. Blueflame with high-flow cats similar to Scorpion sound. Bit raspy but heh, nothing's perfect. Found a piccie of me "coasting" at CC you cheeky monkey.........

Yep. It also sealed the deal on my (permanent for life it seems) tinnitus. Be careful my friend. Fuji Blueflame much more forgiving. Less Motorhead, more Aerosmith.

What does that mean? New one on me. No. Just too quick on cold tyres with traction off and throttle controller on SP3. Heady mix TBH. Must be all that yankee saturated fat dulling your reactions Too true. Surprisingly still 15 stone, same weight as when I left 3 weeks ago. Maybe it's "slow-burn" fat and it'll appear all at once one terrible morning............ TBH I've never said I was any good on the track. Just havin' fun. I'm sure proper track boys would do it a whole lot quicker. It is only an £8k 260bhp ish auto Jap import, driven by a 47 year-old estate agent after all. Faster than Johnny Herbert anyway..............

What does that mean? New one on me. No. Just too quick on cold tyres with traction off and throttle controller on SP3. Heady mix TBH.

It's only a £10 camera strapped to the tow-hook so engine noise is sometimes lost. I don't think I was coasting. Hopefully PIMM will be along to confirm my "hammer down" approach to the track. He was a bit speechless after the first session out. Gears?? Only use 2nd for about 2 seconds a lap (out of both chicanes) and then it's 3rd or 4th. At the end of the straight the limiter comes in at an indicated 120mph 50 yards before the braking cone. Reckon it costs me 0.5 seconds a lap TBH. Will be interesting to see what the Up-Rev with Abbey (booked) will do to the time. Hoping for 1:24 ish.

Breakfast. Ok then, let's rephrase that. Who would you like to serve you breakfast ? A hairy bear would have been good...........

Just me and a Nikon D7000. Lenses are Nikon 35mm 1.8, 10 -20mm Sigma, Tamron 18-70 2.8 and Nikon 55-200mm. Nikon SB400 speedlight. Lots to carry each day but worth it.

What does that mean? New one on me.

Great day yesterday. Weather fine and some new mods to try out. 4 sessions in the morning and open-pit in the afternoon so rinsed £100 of fuel at 8 m.p.g. Nice and quiet and some Boxsters, Ferraris, turbo Volvos and the usual go-karts (Westfields, Caterhams. I never know) New mods are Goodyear Eagles to replace Falken 452 and resonated de-cats. The tyres are MUCH better and the de-cats passed the db test so no probs. My previous best was an approx 1:28 and I did two laps of 1:26:3 this time so very pleased. The second 1:26:3 later in the day was with 13 stone of PIMM and a full tank so I'm claiming a 1:25 in reality. Video below shows a 1:27:2 (starting at 7:47:41) and a 1:26:3 (starting at 7:50:37) It also shows why you shouldn't chase a race Mini through the corners with a 1.5 tonne GT car. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLeotYbXBxI

Breakfast.

Thanks. Here you go then................... Day 7 - Leave San Antonio for Austin. Took the back roads instead of Interstate 35 so it was the TX281 to Canyon Lake and then on to Padernales Falls and Dripping Springs. Canyon Lake was rubbish. Not really accessible for the public and mainly used for boating. Padernales Falls was much better. As usual, almost completely empty with about 30 people milling around a 10,000 acre State Park. Not much in the way of "Falls" but this allows you to walk across the river as opposed to being, well, drowned. Don't try taking these in the Winter. You'll get wet........ And don't do this either. Mummy and Daddy will not be happy. This was the hottest day so far, high '90s, with the sun reflecting off the rocks it really was scorching. Few more piccies of the surroundings and a stroll thru some woods and then off for a dip, Texan style. Now that I'm GAY and FAT and HAIRY I thought I would try some mating poses to attract some "hairy bears" out of the woods. Nobody came to play with me but several people shouted "faggot" or "go home you fat poof" and, most worryingly, "hey mom, look at that man with tits!!" so I think I might go back to being HETERO where I belong......... All this Olympian swimming and river-fording was hungry work so a quick blast to Dripping Springs (make your own jokes up) for a Taco Bell and then on to Austin. Austin was a revelation. Hotel on 4th Street was v. posh and right in the middle of the action. Easy to get to the city centre as opposed to the horrors of San Antonio. Out on the town straight away. When you turn the first corner and see this, you know you're in for a good night: 6th Street (yes, it's "world famous") really is worth the billing. About 20 bands were playing so we walked up and down and had a "starter" of some blues. Probably the best blues band I've seen and REALLY loud (feedback galore ) for 6 in the evening. All the bars have open windows so you can poke your head through and pick where you want to go: Had "a few" in there so needed a pit-stop. Chose the healthy option after the calories consumed in the Taco Bell: And the boys were back in town............. Band 2. Don't want to sound gushy but we REALLY lucked-out here. I watched them tune up thru the window and they were all amazing or "ossum" as they say in Texas. Sat at the bar and watched them play NON-STOP for 3 hours. And I mean NON-STOP. One long medley of cover versions. Johnny T from Nashville. And yes, they were the best cover band I'd ever seen. Might get married just so they can play at the wedding....... 7 hours of drinking and 1 slice of Pizza can only lead to one place at 2 in the morning. Duelling piano bar where we were invited to stuff some money "in her box" to "stop her pussy getting wet". Evidently it was about a cat but by that time.................... Strange, after watching this for 10 minutes, all I could think about was bed. I'm definitely ditching the GAY.......

Oh yes. They were out I'm afraid. I left my number and a picture in each locker. Surprisingly no calls as yet. Maybe they can't read your handwriting? Maybe they can but they don't like the product..............

Oh yes. They were out I'm afraid. I left my number and a picture in each locker. Surprisingly no calls as yet.

Thanks big boy! Mel made me shave it off when we went to Dallas. You'd have liked it there. Lowering? Spacers??