8/5/2020 0 Comments COVID-19 : Strange Days #3While the COVID-19 death toll gets seemingly forever higher, it seems to be a bit previous to talk about easing the lockdown and discussing just how the easing will be staged. I worry that too much positive promotion will lead to isolation complacency, which will in turn lead to upturns in deaths. At the same time, as is the case with most people I have spoken to (furloughed workers, those still working, those who are retired and those self-isolating), we are all essentially bored and need this to drift back towards whatever normality is. School children are bored, parents trying to home school are frustrated, those of us in the middle of property moves are worried, staff working in what should really be empty offices are asking why they need to be there, but EVERYONE is wondering when will these weird times end. Any celebration is muted, and even treated with a little lethargy. As I have written previously, birthdays are very subdued and today - 8 May 2020 - is a Bank Holiday to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Allied Victory in Europe in 1945. A little bunting and a few flags have been put out, but I cannot feel any enthusiasm for the day. Anyhow, we shall see what the PM and his advisors suggest over the next few days and weeks.
I hope that any measures are hardline enough to keep us sheltered from this pandemic. #StaySafe Dear Reader, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones.
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This is NOT an analysis of a song, merely personal observations about a song that I love. Enjoy. "One More Arrow" by Elton John A slightly maudling song, but one of my favourites from Elton John, from his "Too Low For Zero" album released in 1983. It sounds like a song about regret and loss and wishing. I seems that things have not been said that perhaps should have been said which may be why some of the words resonate with me. I liked this when I first heard it back in 1983 and still do. "He said, I want to grow up And look like Robert Mitchum And I hope that when I'm gone There'll be some say that I miss him" "He could have been a boxer But the fight game seemed so dirty We argued once he knocked me down And he cried when he thought he'd hurt me" "Strictly from the old school He was quiet about his pain And if one in ten could be that brave I would never hate again" "One More Arrow"
Written by Bernie Taupin, Elton John Copyright © Universal Music Publishing Group He said, I want to grow up And look like Robert Mitchum And I hope that when I'm gone There'll be some say that I miss him He must have been romantic He must have sensed adventure And I feel the steel of his strong will In the frame around his picture And he's one more arrow flying through the air One more arrow landing in a shady spot somewhere Where the days and nights blend into one And he can always feel the sun Through the soft brown earth that holds him Forever always young He could have been a boxer But the fight game seemed so dirty We argued once he knocked me down And he cried when he thought he'd hurt me Strictly from the old school He was quiet about his pain And if one in ten could be that brave I would never hate again And he's one more arrow flying through the air One more arrow landing in a shady spot somewhere Where the days and nights blend into one And he can always feel the sun Through the soft brown earth that holds him Forever always young One more arrow One more arrow One more arrow Forever always young 16/4/2020 0 Comments COVID-19 : Strange Times #2Three weeks and more into the Lockdown and an extension has just been announced. Life is a wave of enjoyable, frustrating, annoying, restful, and dull. I actually have a better time of things as I have somehow become the household's nominated shopper. Additionally I have to leave Jenny's house every two days to go back to mine and feed Blakka the cat, so at least I have some variety. If people have no garden to stroll in, or their local park has been closed due to "Covidiots" congregating and ignoring the social-distancing guidelines , it must be near hell. I have had to make one drive to London to drop a food and grocery package at my Mum's in Covent Garden. It was Saturday and absolutely bizarre. No traffic at all. I recorded the section from Trafalgar Square sown Whitehall to Parliament Square and the only other traffic was 3 buses and one car. At 09:00 Central London was like a ghost town. <view via Google Photos here> All I can say is thank goodness for the social media and Lego or other brick building h pastimes ! I have had an Isolation Birthday, which is different than any other I have experienced. Any "normal" family gathering or trip to a history lesson or site is out of the question. Jenny and Layla did their best to jolly me along, but entertainment and fun had to be at home. After the daily "PE with Joe Wicks" on YouTube, card and present opening took place. I was a very lucky boy to receive the Steamboat Willie Lego set from Jenny (kind gifts from brother Terry and another large Lego kit from Chris, James and families). Very touching renditions of "Happy Birthday" from Jenny, Layla and Wendy, together with two more via social media from nieces Harleigh and Molly & mum Sarah. Chris called via FaceTime (I am not too good at that) as he was on holiday with his family. On 16 April, the COBRA update told us that the isolation lock down would be for at least another 3 weeks. A couple of days later, I saw a throw away posting on Facebook saying that Tesco have some delivery slots opening up. Thinking that they would soon be snapped up, I idly checked their website and found a slot for my Mum in Covent Garden - on 24 April which would coincide with what would have been my next Mercy Mission visit with a food parcel. We have listed the food supplies in the fridge, freezer and cupboards, in preparation for my Saturday morning shopping trip. Personally, my spirits have been lifted by the efforts of 99 year old veteran Captain Tom Moore, who set up to raise £1000 for the benefit of the NHS by walking 100 lengths of his garden by the time he reached his 100th birthday. The word gets out, and sometimes get picked up and promoted by the nation. To date he has raised £15 million - a stunning amount from a humble gentleman. Sir, I salute you. Sadly, the virus is taking more people daily. Each death is of course sad and my thoughts go out to victims and their families. When you see names that you know, it makes you think about the fragility of life and indiscriminate nature of the COVID-19 virus. Today I saw that Norman Hunter, an old school footballer from the great Leeds United team of the 1960s and 1970s had died. He was amongst the hardest players I have ever seen. From an era when players put themselves on the line for their team. This time, I will leave you with this banner that Leeds fans used to proudly wave at games... Until next time...
#StaySafeAtHome #Save Lives #ProtectTheNHS 4/4/2020 0 Comments COVID-19 : Strange Times #1I have been asked if the events caused by the COVID-19 directives have affected our daily lives... I sent this brief description to my brother Terry who has been settled and living in the USA for many years now. “30 March 2020: Roads and streets are empty - think old school Sunday mornings. Generally people are working from home, if their jobs allow. I was at Canon in Woodhatch last week, and only 2 staff were working at their desks on Tuesday and Wednesday, none at all on Thursday and Friday. Non essential shops are closed - only supermarkets and pharmacy and some food takeaways are open. Schools are closed (except key worker and some vulnerable children). Key workers are NHS, Emergency Services, Distribution, utilities, some catering. In the main, movement from homes is being kept to a minimum. It has been requested (so British 😉) that just one person leaves a household to do shopping, but a family group from the same household can take a short walk / exercise as long as social distancing is observed. Shopping is interesting - queues with 2 metre gaps are long but move quickly 😉 Many shops have a limit on customer in store numbers. Now the panic buying is done, the stocks are getting more normal. Personally, SPS has been asked by Canon to provide a service, so one person is covering. I was in last week, so I am out of the office at least Monday and Tuesday this week. The odd thing is that I am due to start a new job at an SPS site in Guildford on Wednesday, but it is not clear yet if the office is actually open for business at the moment. So, I might still make a Special Guest appearance at Canon later this week. Jenny’s school doesn’t require catering, so she is out now until the end of the mess (talk is 12 weeks, but we shall see). House Purchases and Sales are all but stopped, which is annoying as we have accepted an offer on Dundrey Crescent and surveys etc are just not being done. Of course, with the movement restrictions and Mum being classed as in the vulnerable group, I can’t go up to see her- possibly for 12 weeks 😢 If I am honest, I don’t like the feeling that I can’t do anything as and when I like, but the restrictions make absolute sense with this virus. I saw that with “normal” flu, you generally infect 1.4 people. If they pass it on to 1.4 people and so on for 10 steps, your infection can lead to about 30. COVID-19 is more contagious, so you can pass on to 3 people. If they pass it on to another 3 each and so on for another 10 levels, you are up to 59,000.“ The background is that Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister had announced that schools would close from Friday 21 March. Jenny was suddenly without about 350 children to cook for at the school where she works, it was providing sandwiches for 15 and warm meals for only 25 children and teachers. On Monday 23 March, he told the workforce in the UK that they should work at from home from the following day if their jobs allowed. In truth, at Canon UK the numbers working at the Woodhatch HQ had been dwindling following their decision the previous week to promote home working as a prudent measure during the current situation with the Corona Virus. On Tuesday, the decision was made to reduce the number of “soft service” support staff to a minimum, so cleaning, 2 Postroom, Reception and 1 switchboard operator were sent home. On Tuesday and Wednesday, just 2 staff were working in the two blocks which normally buzzed with 200 plus people. On the last 2 days of my tenure at Canon, no one came in to work at all. Courier deliveries were down to maybe 2 daily. Snail mail came in a very slow trickle. My move to a new job in Guildford has been put on hold as the office is closed during the crisis. For possibly the next three months, I will be classed as a “Furloughed Employee” and will paid 80% of salary by the government, and the remaining 20% by my employer. I shall be staying at Jenny’s for the duration, but popping back to mine to tend to Blakka the cat every couple of days. Slowly, other things in the real world began to bite. The house purchase and sale market was put on hold until further notice. Store shelves which were initially stripped bare following panic buying are recovering and most things are now available if sometimes in short supply. Of more immediate concern is that supermarket food deliveries to my Mum in London (well, anywhere to be honest) are in such high demand that although I had luckily pre-booked one for 3 April, I have not yet found an available delivery slot until at least 24 April. It looks like I will have to break the Golden Rule and take a food package up to her in the car one morning during Easter to top up her fridge and food. Of course, the hard thing will be explaining to her that I will need to not come into the flat even for a quick cup of tea. In actuality, I think that both Jenny and myself are struggling with the feeling that everything is out of our control. I think that even Layla is getting bored - she has school work to do, but it is now officially the Easter holidays. We cannot go anywhere, or visit anywhere, or travel to somewhere, or visit family. Birthday gatherings are out. Weddings are currently off the cards (fingers crossed for Jenny and mine on 1 August). Only funerals can take place with minimal attendees - the great entertainer Roy Hudd’s was recently attended by just 3 immediately family. Just one person can go to the supermarket or pharmacy, keeping the designated 2 metre social distance. Most goods are limited to 2 or 3 only per person to prevent over-buying. I understand completely why the advice is to #StayAtHome to #SaveLives and #ProtectThe NHS. Currently the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK is a Very British Affair - “Come along Chaps, would you stay at home please.” Most people seem to gather around the TV for the daily COVID-19 update from 10 Downing Street. I hope that it works and that the idiotic actions of a few individuals ignoring the social distancing advice do not screw everything up and mean that more draconian measures have to be brought in. Time will tell. I’ll keep you posted ... This is NOT an analysis of a song, merely personal observations about a song that I love. Enjoy. Ian "Youth Of Today" by Amy MacDonald From Amy MacDonald's 2007 debut album, This is The Life This song reflects the generational differences which will go on forever. Written when Amy was just 15. "And we are the youth of today Change our hair in every way And we are the youth of today We'll say what we wanna say And we are the youth of today Don't care what you have to say at all" "And we are the youth of today We'll say what we wanna say And we are the youth of today Don't care what you have to say at all" "And you say, "My children weren't the same" "My children's children they're the ones to blame" And you say, "In my day we were better behaved" But it's not your day no more" "Youth Of Today"
Written by Amy Elizabeth Macdonald • Copyright © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc Maybe if you were some spearheaded guy I would listen to what you have to say But you're just some incapable figure Thinking you're bigger than me, but you're not Yet you don't know a thing about the youth of today Stating your opinion making it ring in my head all day And you say, "My children weren't the same" "My children's children they're the ones to blame" And you say, "In my day we were better behaved" But it's not your day no more And we are the youth of today Change our hair in every way And we are the youth of today We'll say what we wanna say And we are the youth of today Don't care what you have to say at all And maybe if you had a true point of view I would listen to you But it's just your one sided feelings They keep getting in my way And you don't know a single thing about the youth of today Stating your opinion making it ring in my head all day And you say, "My children weren't the same" "My children's children they're the ones to blame" And you say, "In my day we were better behaved" But it's not your day no more And we are the youth of today Change our hair in every way And we are the youth of today We'll say what we wanna say And we are the youth of today Don't care what you have to say at all And you say, "My children weren't the same" "My children's children they're the ones to blame" And you say, "In my day we were better behaved" But it's not your day no more And we are the youth of today Change our hair in every way And we are the youth of today We'll say what we wanna say And we are the youth of today Don't care what you have to say at all Hi there Dearest Reader, it is that time again so pull a chair and enjoy a cuppa... "Jobs" and wet weather courtesy of Ciara and Dennis have got in the way a little of too many visits, but we went to Wisley on 2 February. The annual Butterfly exhibit in Wisley's glasshouse has been semi-permanently retired due to plant damage issues, so this year's early show was billed as "The Great Houseplant Takeover". It sounded a little dull, but as it turned out the various set pieces in the Glasshouse were very good and well worth it < more here >. Half term week came and Jenny and Layla did their thing. We did plan to go up to Whipsnade Zoo, but events and weather took over. Instead we took advantage of the dry morning and took a stroll on Reigate Hill. Very enjoyable. < more here > On the Home Front Our search for a new home is fitful and full of terrors. Packing continues. Offers are made and accepted, but in truth the "English Way" sucks. The offer means nothing and can be retracted on the slightest whim or delay caused by a hiccup or misplaced "x" on a form. It sucks, but it is the way. We are starting our search again for both a buyer and new property, maybe this time avoiding agents for builders who don't seem to have any empathy with people and are just after getting rid of the client's asset - NOW or be damned! Slowly slowly catchy monkey as the saying goes. From left field and out of the blue, there is a possibility of a job within the same company based in Guildford. I am due to take a look and be looked at next week, so fingers crossed. The travelling is longer than the job I am in, but will not be as onerous as the drag from Redhill to Uxbridge. Watch this space... Coughing continues... It may be the dreaded "100 day cough" and I am bored with it (as are my nearest and dearest). I have had chest x-rays which apparently have shown nothing. But I have been coughing since Christmas and enough is enough... And finally... Arsenal, sadly still having a soft underbelly. Defence still needs overhauling. That is all. All of which just about sums up the goings on in Planet Eggybread.
This is NOT an analysis of a song, merely personal observations about a song that I love. Enjoy. Ian "Homeward Bound" by Simon and Garfunkel A lovely song about missing home and loved ones. Famously, Paul Simon scribbled the basis of the lyrics on a scrap of paper while on a train platform at Widnes while touring in the UK. ("If you have ever seen Widnes, you will know why I was desperate to leave"). In the UK, it appeared on the Sounds of Silence album in 1965 "I'm sitting in the railway station. Got a ticket to my destination." "And each town looks the same to me, the movies and the factories And every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be, Homeward bound," "Homeward Bound"
Songwriter Paul Simon Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group I'm sitting in the railway station. Got a ticket to my destination. On a tour of one-night stands my suitcase and guitar in hand. And every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band. Homeward bound, I wish I was, Homeward bound, Home where my thought's escaping, Home where my music's playing, Home where my love lies waiting Silently for me. Every day's an endless stream Of cigarettes and magazines. And each town looks the same to me, the movies and the factories And every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be, Homeward bound, I wish I was, Homeward bound, Home where my thought's escaping, Home where my music's playing, Home where my love lies waiting Silently for me. Tonight I'll sing my songs again, I'll play the game and pretend. But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me. Homeward bound, I wish I was, Homeward bound, Home where my thought's escaping, Home where my music's playing, Home where my love lies waiting Silently for me. Silently for me. 23/1/2020 0 Comments Ch.. Ch... Ch... Changes ??Coinciding with the anniversary of the great David Bowie's death, "Ch... Ch... Ch... Changes" are unfolding in Planet Ratcliffe. First up, Jenny and I have set a date for our wedding. We have been engaged for over a year and been together for over 3 years. Save The Date - 1st August 2020. #WatchThisSpace1 - Ratters Towers in Merstham is on the market with a view to our setting up a new home together with Layla. Currently there is some interest in the house, and we are waiting for things to firm up before proceeding in earnest. #WatchThisSpace2 - Dates are now finalising for the full closure of the Canon HQ at Woodhatch and the move of staff to the Stockley Park site in Uxbridge. <Blog June 2019>.The Postroom will be gone on 31 May 2020. The commute to Stockley Park on the M25 has no place in the plans for our future, so fresh employment opportunities will need to be sought. ... and in other news ... On January 1, Jenny and I spent a leisurely day and paid another visit to Wisley to see the Glow. Lovely as always. <more here> For the weekend of 11 - 12 January, we popped down to Eastbourne for a post-Christmas madness break. It was a very cold one, but we managed to walk by Beachy Head, potter around Alfriston and have a beach stroll in Eastbourne itself. <more here> On Sunday 19 January, we had a nice stroll around Wisley. <more here> More mother care visits to check on the Duchess took place through January. My Dad, Len's (would have been 91st birthday - 5th January) and anniversary of his death (1st January) came and went. My beloved Gunners may have stopped their imminent free-fall by appointing Mikel Arteta as coach. Time will tell, I guess ! I do wonder when the job stopped being "Manager" and became "Coach" ? On which note, I had best take my leave Dear Reader.
Adieu. Take care. Pip..pip!! Until next time xxx 27/12/2019 0 Comments Ligaments, Halloween, Practically Perfect, Doctor’s Certificates and a Good ChristmasWelcome back Dear Reader - for reasons that I’ll expand upon later, I have had a pretty quiet time since my last diary update. I have been able to make up one of my Lego sets - the magnificent Flintstones house and car. “The Kids” gave it to me for my birthday. As always there are some lovely details, but the construction itself was very straight forward. Now I just have one more in stock - the much more tricky VW Camper Van that Jenny gave me last Christmas. On 28 October Jenny and I went to Bognor on the annual stay at Butlins with Layla and Jen’s Mum. This one was a little different as it was Halloween themed (rather than Winter Wonderland). Accommodation was in one of the three Lodges facing the sea. I was forced to take things easy due to mobility problems, but I did venture to the newly opened pool even though the slides and rapids were out-of-bounds for me. It was very enjoyable but I did find that sitting still is very frustrating. Due to the favourable pricing structure we booked up a few days for next year in April before we left. A day after we got back, November 2, Jenny’s niece Molly had a 6th birthday party making Pizzas at the Pizza Express in Weybridge. The guests seemed to have a good time, but this old man was forced to sit and smile. On Friday November 8 - (yes, Dear Reader - a school night) - Jenny, Layla and I went up to London’s West End to see the stage version of Mary Poppins It seemed to be based on the classic Disney film of the mid 1960s, with some extra elements which may or not have been from the other books. Sets and staging were brilliant - particularly the fantasy sequences where costume changes were blink your eyes quick. The cast was great - Zizi Strallen was Mary Poppins, Charlie Stemp was Bert and 86 year old Petula Clark as the Bird Woman. A really brilliant show with just enough magic on show - “Practically perfect in every way !” Monday 18 November became Christmas Cake baking day. We are having one gathering for Jen’s family in December, and another for the Ratcliffe clan, so I split the mixture to make two half sized cakes. I called in the Estate Agent on Tuesday 19 November to start the marketing for the sale of the house. We discussed values and what needs to be done to ease the sale. She suggested a few things and strategy. Doors needed painting, grouting cleaning and sorting and general cleaning up. It was a fair list, but not as extensive as I thought it might be 😉. Friday 22 November, and off to Dorking Halls we went to see Frozen II. Enjoyable enough, but not I am told as good as the original (and I have never seen in it's entirety). Saturday 23 November, and off to see my Mum for the first time in a few weeks. Jenny and I had a flying visit to Staffordshire for the weekend of 30 November, visiting Jean and David, doing a little shopping and visiting family graves in Alton. On Monday 2 December, I went to the East Surrey Hospital for a physiotherapy session to see if I might be (or when I would be) fit to return to work. It had been a fraught few (the best part of 7) weeks of inactivity , pain and instability since early October. I had self certified for two weeks, had a short holiday for another and been given a doctor's certificate for 4 more weeks ! Not being able to freely move because of pain in my left thigh was bad, but what was most frustrating was having to tackle stairs only one at a time. Happily, progress had been made and I returned to work (on "short time" 6 hour shifts) on 4 December. Things have been improving steadily since then. Since then, we have had family gatherings for Christmas for both sides, a lovely relaxing Christmas and the traditional cough / cold has kicked in.
Jenny and I visited the Duchess last weekend and she seemed pretty good. We have big news to be announced in the next few months, so here is to a great 2020 after what has been all-in-all a pretty good 2019. Have a good time, Dear Reader ... See you soon Love to all Ian Hi there Dear Reader, We have been pretty damned busy since my last one, so I apologise for the lag between my diary posts. We had a warm day at Polesden Lacey on 30 June <more here>. From 16 to 24 July, I was enjoying reliving and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo XI moon landing. Heroes all. <Apollo Page>. On 14 and 21 July, we popped over to Wisley <more here>. The more observant (or patient) among you will know that the main events of the Summer Holidays have been fun in the Ratcliffe Universe. We have enjoyed brilliant stays on the Isle of Wight and also Disneyland Paris. <Isle of Wight> <Disneyland Paris> The Sunday after we got back from France, we had another enjoyable stroll around Wisley. <more here> Going back to work after the summer breaks and Bank Holiday was hard as the vacation baton was passed on to my supervisor. We were busy, so I struggled in truth to get back up to speed. We started sorting and clearing out some of the "stuff" at mine trying to get my place on the market by the year end. I have had problems with local kids hanging around the drive and using my front wall as a perch or kicking post for a couple of years. I don't react well to it, and it has unsettled me. After visiting my Mum one Saturday in July, I noticed a mark on the window pane. Closer inspection showed the hole and crack in the above photos. This has been the straw that has broken this camel's back, and is the catalyst towards moving and ultimately setting up home with Jenny and Layla. Police reports and insurance claims have sorted out the glass relatively quickly, the rest will take more time... Bookmark this page for that continuing saga... Train routing amendments on Saturday 24 September meant that I rode to Blackfriars instead of London Bridge and Charing Cross when I visited the Duchess. I saw some interesting sights on the way <more here> Later that evening, I discovered that Highway Robbery is still alive and well and being practiced in Brighton. We parked in an NCP car park and when we realised the mistake paid up £6 for 15 minutes and parked across the road from 18:45 to 11:15 for only £4-50, so we were still ahead of the deal. and then... My Christmas present from James and Tara came to maturity on Saturday September 14 at the the Brighton Centre. Professor Brian Cox's World Tour arrived - on the face of it, a bizarre thing - 3,500 people chose to come out on a Saturday evening for a lecture about Space Time, Black Holes, and the Cosmos and Complex Life. ("The Cox" said that could not actually be a lecture because of the price of the tickets). A great night, "Are there any amateur astronomer's in the audience tonight?". "No ? - Good, I can make any rubbish up, then". I found the first half just a little bamboozling in parts - as with some "swottish" TV documentaries for the first 20 minutes I was understanding the content fine, then at somewhere in the region of 35 minutes all I realise is that the speaker is saying words but I am lost ! You have to accept and just move on - it normally works for me ! The second half seemed to be better for me. Oddly, James told me that the reverse was true for him, and he preferred the first half. The show was full of stats and facts -
The Cosmos and what science can tell us about it is just amazing. A Tale of Two Sensors... In the middle of August, dashboard lights came on to tell me that the Electronic Stabilising Program on my 2002 VX Golf had stopped working - awful grinding noises from the brakes and intermittent power also gave a clue that there was a problem, worse of all a dreaded yellow light on the dashboard. My usual mechanic shyed (sic ?) away from the issue as "it is to do with the electrics", so I took his advice and booked the car into a Car Diagnostics Wiz in Merstham. On September 3, he told me that it was the ESP sensor and gave me a part that I would need to source "that would cost about £699 RRP" although you can get them a bit cheaper online. I found some on EBay for about EUR300, but asked James to see if he could find any. He did from Lithuania for £15. As he said, it might not work (as it was used), but you have got to in it to win it. It arrived, James fitted it for me and the light and system is currently OK. Fast forward to Thursday and this shows on Jenny’s dashboard : Initial thoughts were that this was the same problem as on mine. Advice was to get the car to the garage, so this was arranged for a check up the day after. I was off on Friday, due to pick up Jen’s Mum from Bognor in the morning, but Jenny needed to borrow my car to get her to work. We jigged the time table around, and sorted things out. Nothing showed on the short drive to the garage in Reigate. They came up with two recorded unidentified errors after plugging in the diagnostics gizmo which in turn led to leaving it to see when or if it recurred. Hoping that would be it, I drove off, looking forward to a supermarket breakfast as it was only 09:05. I should have been more worried, as sure enough as I entered the one-way system in Reigate, up came the message again. Around the block I drove, back to the garage and spoke to the nice but harassed guy that I had dealt with earlier. Once again he plugged in the machinery and found nothing except a communications error. What he did notice however was a misfire, which he was genuinely concerned about - it had not been happening earlier in the day. Checking under the bonnet as the engine ran, and gestured me to step out and take a look. A quick look at the engine block showed that the right hand side was sparking across the engine block while the misfire was occurring - sparks were literally flying. Figuring that random high voltage discharges from the misfiring plug through the wiring loom and engine block would very likely cause irregular sensor readings, it was quickly decided that the coil block and plugs should be replaced. It was scheduled for that day. Off I walked to Morrison’s for breakfast, after which I picked up the 430 Metrobus to Merstham. Later we collected the car and for £190, the misfire problem has been sorted and no messages are showing. Finally...
Weebly have recently updated their website maintenance pages which has led to some issues which I hope are resolved very soon. Essentially, I have been unable to edit this blog and other pages on that site using a PC. The last few items have been edited on the Weebly App on my iPad, so I hope that it is up to scratch. Until any next time, Dear Reader. Let’s be careful out there. Adieu. Ian |
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