KentStu

I read this and thought WTF ... but then realised that it all appears to have been raised by The Sun quoting an unnamed "pilot". Personally this never made sense to me ... which maybe explains the gov'ts response to the epetition which states: "It is not true to suggest that the Government has banned the Red Arrows from celebrations to mark the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The organising committee of London 2012 will decide what to include in the celebrations - but with five years to go, decisions are yet to be made on what the celebrations will look like, although you can be assured that they will be a spectacular showcase of Britain's best." IMHO this is all a load of rollocks dreamt up by a Sun correspondent in a pub :P

Think the fact that before turning the wrong way up the motorway the car was being pursued by Police might be something to do with it. Why were they being pursued by Police? I'veNo idea but maybe something to do with a crime :confused: Anyway, given that it was a Police pursuit, there were multiple deaths, including third party innocents, personally I think its fair enough to allow plenty of time to get all the evidence they need to ensure that nothing slips through the net.

Fair enough that "lines of credit have dried up" as they have for everyone, but "business model is dead in the water" is IMHO a bit strong. Their business model isn't looking great at present given their reliance on inter-bank lending but, given that the BOE is standing in and the fact that markets can't continue without inter-bank lending starting up sometime soon, I wouldn't necessarily say their business model is dead in the water ....... although with all the panic coverage we have got the classic UK lemmings tendency which leaves them massively exposed to a takeover at a very cheap price. All in all its no real issue to anyone other than shareholders who are going to take a real caning here.

Very odd real world you live in Welshy :P Whilst the 123d is a good car, its definitely not a car for 5 adults in any form of regular transport unless, as Chris says the driver and front seat passenger are midgets, and its boot is lousy (also useless for a family!). To me the 123d is a quality alternative to either: a) small hatchback cars; or a "warm" sports car.

Yeah but I don't actually know that many died in the wool VW/Audi buyers that actually switched to a Skoda anyway ... so most of those saying "its really a ...." weren't actually buyers of VWs / Audis - it was just a useful way of deflecting the issue for other buyers trying to deal with the old "stigma" of Skoda. TBH if you are looking for a "value" car you have to be someone that is willing to take grief from others as the prejudices are usually the main reason why a car ends up good value in the first place. I am obviously a really tight git going for a secondhand yellow Octy (which was very cheap at the time) ... and yes I did get plenty of gip but I didn't and still don't care :P (... and yes I would consider a Kia if they look good value etc when I come to change my car)

Hmmmn initials of FA not great :P ... particularly with surname starting with F as well ... initials then FAF

We had two girls (Catriona and Lorna) so our chocices of boys names were never used but we were going to call any boy we had: 1) Alexander (my choice as its a family name) - Would probably have been a Sandy in the family, as we are Scots, but could easily be an Alex in England. 2) Finlay - wife's choice. .. luckily we didn't have to start the "negotiations" over the choices when they were both girls

Still correct i'm afraid (according to the WRC site), 19 stages with most of them seeming to take between 10 and 15 minutes - thats the joy of modern WRC rallies ( I was brought up in Kenya with the slightly "different" and most definitely longer Safaris of the 70s and 80s )

I can't really answer that for you but I guess the reasons I have struggled to support him are that: 1) he wasn't very good at all last year; 2) he doesn't seem to have much in the way of personality off a bike; 3) there is a nagging doubt about machinery / tyres etc being the real reason for his complete supremacy over Rossi; and 3) he is walking the championship in a very "Schumi" like way. .. all of which are pretty lousy reasons I guess we have to accept that he has been pretty much perfect this year and definitely deserves the championship ... and I bet he won't give a damn whether anyone loves / hates him for it

:confused: Appears to me to be the final leaderborad and positions ... unless i'm missing something obvious

As far as I can recall facelift (post 2001) 1.8t Octy Mk 1s basically are the same engine and turbo etc and will map the same. However, the earlier pre 2001 non-drive by wire 150bhp 1.8ts were different and had a different / smaller turbo - and do not map the same.

Good result for Kopecky and Skoda - particulalrly since he came under quite a bit of pressure from Gardemeister and Solberg at different times

We actually have someone that works in Lloyd's called Emma Royds ..... even more worryingly Royds is her married name and yet she still calls herself by it

I'm going on a single seater track morning at Brands (prezzie from the wife ) tomorrow. As i'll be there with the wife & kids, and my brother and his family, we were looking to find somewhere close by for pub lunch etc. Can anyone recommend anything close by - needs to be sort of place that would be ok to take a few rugrats into?

I wouldn't worry about it - stuck clutches do make one hell of a noise when you "release" them. If it appears to be working fine then just keep an eye on it for a while.

What's embarrassing about that - the 1275 was great and is far more fun that most modern day cars Anyway, I was driving a 1958 Morris Minor Covertible when I was 18, which I still own. ... and no I'm not that old but it was cheap reliable motoring :P

Don't worry Ken, I was there to watch the cycling too .... but there is a rather a long wait with a lot of cars beforehand Re: Scout - the link that Steve (lfc) has given shows a few piccies of a Scout (picture 21 probably the clearest)

Were absolutely tons of Skodas mixed up in the various support vehicles - lots of Superbs & Octys as official tour vehicles, Octys for various other duties and teams including RSs plus new Fabias (orangy colour ), Scouts and at least one Roomster as part of the Skoda procession (plus a big float with scantily clad ladies) ... plus some Kent police Octy 1 RSs (including a yellow one ) . My mates were starting to take the mick that I had turned up to look at the Skodas rather than watch the cycling :P I too missed out on those white Skoda hats that seemed to have been handed out all over Canterbury.

You'll love Barcelona - as a country boy I don't generally like cities but Barcelona is my favourite. Restaurants El Bulli - is the best but you probably won't be able to get in and its very expensive after being named "best restaurant in the world". Les Quinze Nits (Placa Reial) - very popular place just off the Ramblas on a nice square. It only opens lateish (10ish from what I remember) but thats when the Catalans go out to eat. The queues look scary but don't be put off as most of them are purely there before opening and they have fantastiscally quick service and you should get seated & served quickly. Its part of a chain but much better than any chain i've ever experienced in the UK ... they even recommended I choose a cheaper wine than I had originally chosen on one of my visists as they said it was better Pretty reasonable as well. Los Caracoles (Escudellers 14 - just off Ramblas) - legendary place which is why its probably so busy - so also worth booking. Weird mix of rooms and styles but excellent Catalan food. If you can get a booking its a don't miss. I would go for this one as a don't miss but its more expensive than Quinze Nits - we go to both Re: Wines - most of the restaurants in Barcelons have very little mark-up on wines compared to the UK so you can drink some great local wines for very little. Things to See Would agree with Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia and several of the other Gaudi bits but we enjoyed the Ramblas and the surrounding Barri Gothic area lots (although we've always been out of season so its less busy). Two other things I would recommend if you ahve the time are to visit (a) Montserrat a fanatastic monastery just outside Barcelons (public transport fine) set into a cliftop with fantastic walks and views; ( visit the Torres (wines) and Freixenet (Cava) vineyards and do the tours - they are in villages (Vilafranca de Penedes and Sant Sadurni D'Anoia) very close to each other just outside Barcelona and you can get the train there easily. Plenty of free booze and interesting as well. As you are there in Summer the beachfront area at the end of the Ramblas and at the Port Olympic would also be quite nice to visit ... although probably quite busy like most of Barcelona at that time. Hotels Sorry never stayed anywhere particularly stunning in Barcelona as we have always stayed as close as possible to the Ramblas so that we can be out the whole time at the great sites, restaurants, tapas bars and bars - never really spent any time in out hotel even with kids Anyway have a great time

Lance Im no major "fan" of Rossi (in the same way that I wasn't a "fan" of Schumacher) but I do respect ability and it doesn't take a genius to work out that both have ability in abundance. I personally think that Rossi is still the best but am prepared to admit that Stoner is surprising me lots this year after his crashing exploits of last year. I do think the Duke's straight line speed is a big factor re: overtaking but the way that Stoner withstood the pressure without folding in a Biaggi / Gibbers way shows he has the potential to mix it at the top ... which is great for the sport

Just back this week from 2 weeks in Bali which was fantastic ..... but also means i'm not going anywhere for quit a while :(

Yep- absolutely amazing seeing the differences in speeds along straights, braking points and corner speeds - seemed that the small matter of 30 metres could be caught up in one decent braking maneuvre ... followed by stuffing the other rider down a slip road :eek:

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It is the advice being given by my wife - who is a GP.