Callie Update, next instalment

En route for Mulhouse

The short drive from Luxeuil-les-Bains to Mulhouse is spectacular, I may well be looking for an excuse to go back and drive it again, only without having to resort to ear plugs! The French National Motor Museum is well worth a visit for any petrol head, or indeed anyone interested in beautiful things and design in general. The collection of Bugattis is very special, but there are plenty of other interesting cars as well. I certainly had no problem staying interested for the major part of a day.

I parked up as close to the main entrance as possible, and got a gratifying amount of attention, even with Callie in somewhat less than prime condition. Although ear shatteringly loud inside no pedestrians seemed to care. I have noticed that where ever I go in Callie people smile. When I have had other classic cars they have got attention but never so many smiles.

The museum is very largely still based on the Schlumpf collection so is mostly Bugattis, Bugattis, and more Bugattis ~ I'm not complaining!

This is my second visit, the last one must have been about 1990 with my Brother, at that point they were celebrating the Royale and had all the Royales still around on display, I failed to be disappointed by only one this time!

I left the museum, tired but content, and went off to find my hotel, after finding a parking spot and unloading my luggage, I found a lovely bar and enjoyed a few nice cold local brews! 

Although Bugattis are clearly the stars of the day I can't leave without at least one photo of a bright yellow MGB GT, and one that mercifully behaved herself all day

Callie update

 I'm very aware that I've not really mentioned my adventures with Callie, the last post I left you with a list of jobs I had done and the promise of a fairly major journey in the pipeline. Well, the very next day she went into my usual garage for her MOT, all was going fine until the brake test, not only did she fail this, but was totally immobilised in the test bay! Going for the emergency stop test the brake servo split in half, leaving no braking at all! Fortunately I have two cars so I could drive across London to pick up a new servo, which they could then fit, complete the test and free up the testing bay. All could now go ahead for my trip to the French National Motor Museum in Mulhouse.

Waiting for the ferry at Dover

The first day went well, the drive down to Dover was pretty boring, but the crossing was quite nice and I picked up a duty free bottle of Ballantine's! I got away from Calais quite briskly but avoided the "payage" sections of Motorway, and had a quiet night. The next morning I quickly discovered that the overdrive had decided to stop working, I had a quick look under the bonnet for a lose wire or blown fuse but couldn't see anything. As the main purpose of overdrive is to make high speed cruising more relaxed I decided that I would just carry on, but avoid the motorways and major dual carriageways.

This meant I was driving on much more entertaining roads, and I will admit to enjoying the experience of driving an old fashioned GT on some great driving roads ~ until I found myself enjoying the experience a bit too much, and came upon a very unlevel "level crossing", I'm pretty sure I made air but I definitely grounded out, a quick check didn't show any obvious damage, until about fifty mile later when the exhaust broke in half. I still had one box left attached to the car, so I put the other half in the back and carried on!

Route Departmental 66

The lack of exhaust didn't seem to effect the performance, or upset other road users so I just picked up some ear plugs and carried on, I thought I could sort this out when I got home. That night I stayed in Luxeuil-les-Bains in Lorraine after some more fantastic driving roads through the Vosges. By the time I got to my Hotel I was in need of some rest, some food and a glass of wine - not necessarily in that order! ~ and yes I did have quiche for dinner!

Meet Callie

On arrival

So far I have spent most of this year a little obsessed with my "new" car. Callie arrived in my life back in January, like most cars over 40 years old she did not have an MOT, but I was assured that she ran and stopped and went round corners. I knew she had not been on the road for a couple of years but had been driven up and down a drive so all should be OK, or thereabouts.

My initial assessment was that everything was there but needed refreshing, the only real problem was that the wipers didn't work. The switch was OK but wiring was a bit of a mess and I assumed this was the problem, oh if only it had been that simple. A total swine of a job but in the end I had to fit a new motor and a new wheel box ~ but now I could legally drive her on the road. So far I have

• Full Service with new engine oil and filter, new plugs, points & condenser.
• New fuel filter
• New gearbox oil
• New Horns
• refreshed reversing lights
• Fitted sound deadening (carpet underlay)
• Cleaned out and adjusted carburettors
• Adjusted rear brakes
• Cleaned overspray off windows
• New mirrors (inside and out)
• New heater control valve
• Flush and replace coolant
• New hoses, thermostat and housing
• Tighten up steering wheel mounting
• Replace bonnet catch spring
• New clock and cigar lighter unit (for phone charging)

Visiting friends

I am currently engaged in trying to replace the front engine mounts before she goes in for an MOT tomorrow, and then a trip to France on Sunday ~ only four days from now, when I plan a round trip of around 1,200 miles.

My rational in buying an MGB GT was that there are loads of them around so there's no need to be too precious, I want a useable car not a show pony! Spares are readily available, indeed, you can buy everything needed to build a complete new car, and, I thought it would be reasonably easy to work on. Well two out of three isn't too bad, but just about every job I have done so far is way more difficult than it should have been, too much is virtually inaccessible, things are at stupid angles and often there isn't space to use the correct tool. But all in all I am having fun with it.

New Year, New Car

"Jade" my last Singer at the Centenary Rally

I mentioned here that I was contemplating purchasing a new car, well maybe not a NEW car but at any rate a different car. I have actually never owned a new car, I was very lucky when I was younger to often drive my father's cars, and as he worked for Rootes Group and then Chrysler a major car manufacturer he always had new cars, sometimes as many as three in a year! In consequence I have always had a great affection for the cars of the Rootes Group, Hillman, Humber Sunbeam and Singer, I have owned several Hillmans, three Singers, a couple of Humbers (and quite a few Commer/Dodge vans) but never a Sunbeam. 

When I started thinking about buying a classic, and more specifically a sports car my mind naturally turned to Sunbeams, I could quite fancy an Alpine or a fastback Rapier, but cost and practicality reared it's ugly head, one way or another excluding both of these. So I have made a decision, whether it is a wise one or not remains to be seen, but in the end I decided on an MGB GT. Strangely it almost felt like a betrayal buying a Leyland car, the only one I have had before was quite horrible, a 25 almost without any redeeming features - the best thing I can say about that car was that it was a nice colour!

I am also being a bit reckless and am keeping my boring Honda, while I hope to drive the MG regularly for some things it is simply not practical, and one of those is carrying multiple large instruments!

When I have an interesting car I tend to name them, that does mean that the Honda remains unnamed! but I feel the MG will be acquiring a name as soon as I have fixed the wipers and got her back on the road, my only limitation is that there is no way I am going to call her "The Flying Banana"!

New Year new stuff?

Yesterday I wrote about some of the problems I had last year (2024) with my health that impacted my ability to play music, I should have said that I also played in some great concerts with the Croydon Symphonic Band, and the London Gay Symphony Orchestra, as well as being a regular guest with a few others, I enjoyed conducting the Phoenix Concert Band and Croydon Brass and although I have now stood down as MD of Croydon Brass I am looking forward to new challenges to come!

But, my life isn't just music (although looking at my diary sometimes you wouldn't believe that!) At the end of only my second full season of motor sport I am once again picking up the first in class award for the All Circuit Sprint Championship, and am looking forward to another season. After much thought and discussion we have decided to stay with our existing car, it may not be very competitive, but we do know our way around it, and hopefully can still extract a bit more performance from it. ~ Same car but I think we may need some new tyres!

Since retiring in September I have been slowly disposing of many of my tools, lawn mowers, strimmer's, chain saw, pressure washers etc. and now I no longer have much of these it has dawned on my that I no longer need the car that I specifically bought to carry them around in. My Honda is inoffensive, it is comfortable, reliable, has sufficient performance and surprisingly good performance for an SUV, ~ I just find little to love or get excited about ~ and sub 20 mpg is no fun whatsoever!

I am thinking new year, new car. I have always fancied a sports car but for one reason or another I have never been able to have one, so now I am once again thinking "If not now, then when" so I am looking around for an enjoyable sports car that I can carry a tuba in, there aren't many options, but I'm hoping to find something that I can take on a tour, use as my everyday car, and maybe use for a bit of motorsport as well. Like they say "Watch this space!"

As I'm actually writing this on the 31st, the last day of last year I have only to wish you all a very Happy New Year, may it bring you all you wish for.

Advent Calendar IX

 

After last night's concert I was musing about the passage of time, and how it only feels like a few weeks ago that it was 2023 and now we are almost at the end of 2024, some sympathetic souls pointed out that I have had a busy and eventful year so it should be no surprise that time has passed quickly, other less sympathetic but more realist pointed out that it is a factor of age! We all experience aging differently, many of my contemporaries have varying health problems, many are grand parents, some are embracing retirement while others again are resisting any pressure to retire. Some will have a comfortable old age as their accumulated wealth (for many based on the outrageous increases in property value) while others will struggle to keep the wolf from the door. I'm not sure that I fall into any of these categories but I do know that I plan to grow old disgracefully! 

Punishing the tyres at the Lotus test track
in August this year 

A couple of years ago I bought myself a new tuba, my rational was that I have probably got up to another twenty playing years left, I wanted a decent instrument to spend that on, not an old one that I had to work around ~ and I had lusted after this particular instrument since it was first introduced. There comes an element of "If not Now, the When?". I am finally solvent and am in a position to buy myself these sorts of thing every now and then, what else am I going to use the money for? I have to accept that there are activities that I can do now that I won't be able to for much longer. This is very much the same rational that got me started in motor sport. Next Month after only my second season of sprint racing I will be collecting my second first in class trophy! This isn't as impressive as it sounds as there are only three of us in the class, and the chap who actually won the class, came third overall in the championship and is only allowed one trophy! 

I am looking forward to another season next year, we still have to decide if we will carry on with the same car in the same class, or buy a new (bigger engined, more powerful, faster) car and step up to a more populous class. We don't need to decide for a while yet. However I am thinking of replacing my current road car, I have an inoffensive SUV, it does everything I need a car to do, it is comfortable, has acceptable performance, and an enormous boot (trunk for my transatlantic readers), yet it has failed to endear itself to me, and it drinks petrol at an alarming rate, often slipping down to around 20 mpg. Now I no longer need something like this for work I think it is time for a change, yet I am struggling to make a decision ~ I have always wanted a sports car and have never had one, maybe this is another case of "If not Now, then When"

What I do know is that I still have plenty to look forward to, regardless of age we all have plenty to look forward to, and for me that is a large part of Advent as we look forward to Christmas, whether you are just looking forward to some time off, seeing family, sharing gifts and celebratory meals, or whether you are also looking forward to celebrating the birth of Christ and the message of hope that goes with it whatever our age we all have something to look forward to.

I'm losing it!

My favourite jacket ~ Missing! 

Or maybe that should be I'm losing them. I'm not sure of the time scale or the series of events, but over the last couple of weeks I have discovered that several items are missing. Perhaps a better way of saying it would be that I can't discover the whereabouts of 2 scarves, my favourite jacket, and at least a couple of earrings ~ of course not a pair but two separate earrings ruining two pairs.

Also in the last week I have failed twice, TWICE! to check pockets for tissues before loading the washing machine.

All in all I seem to be a bit of a mess, but for the life of me I can't think why? I'm less stressed than often, I've cut my work load right down, but somehow I seem to be just as scatty as ever.

At the same time I also seem to be losing, or more accurately spending, a lot of money, after an unfortunate MOT I have just changed my car for something not nearly as much fun, but hopefully more sensible. It's only a couple of months since I bought a new tuba, and now I have just bought a second hand euphonium on eBay.

I'm expecting the euphonium to need a bit of work before I can use it in anger, so am awaiting the delivery man eagerly to see exactly what I have let myself in for!

So if you find my earrings, my scarves, my lovely black brocade jacket, or indeed my marbles, please let me know.

Those who went before

 In all sorts of situations and environments we revere people who went before us, maybe we think of them as trailblazers, or role models, either way their existence shows us that we are not alone and, that it is possible to follow the path before us. Whether we are thinking about politics, sport, faith, or indeed being LGBT+ As this is LGBT History Month I think that's the area I'm going yo concentrate on.

Not looking entirely comfortable
perched on that back tyre

Even though we see and hear all sorts of attacks on trans people here in the UK. From journalists, from activists, and now from main stream politicians seeking to deflect attention from their own failures, we still celebrate those who went before. Even on the BBC website on their list of nine historical LGBT people they include 4 trans women, including Croydon's own Robert Cowell. I have written about Roberta Cowell before here so I'll not repeat myself.

Of course I am grateful to those pioneers who went first, who showed us the way, what is possible, and possibly now more than ever I'm grateful to Roberta Cowell as I'm about to follow her example. At the weekend I signed up to do a small motor sport championship, so this year I will be competing in the All Circuit Sprint Championship. I know it's not exactly Formula 1 but it is something I've had a long term urge to do and now the opportunity has presented itself it seems silly not to grab it with both hands.

Despite the lack of female drivers at the very top of the sport motor sport is one of the few sports where men and women compete with each other on equal terms. I'm not sure how competitive I will be, but at least I will be competing on exactly the same basis as everybody else.

Updates

Still Going

I've been surprised to find that I have now owned my current car for over 6 years! For me that must be close to a record. I usually manage to get bored with a car after a year or two, sometimes less than that. To be honest I have tried to replace it a couple of times, but I simply couldn't find anything better for the small amount I'm prepared to pay. Over the last couple of years the cost of second hand cars has gone up much more than other inflation, indeed my car is now worth more than I paid for it 6 years ago, even with substantially more miles on the "clock" It has now developed a few minor faults that are beginning to annoy me so maybe later this year I will actually make the change. I even feel quite tempted to go back and have another "Classic Car", but now that I don't have a garage anymore I'm not sure that's sensible.

The other day I wrote that I had a "new" instrument and would be trying to sell one of my others, well I did put "Big Shinny" up for sale on a well known auction site, despite quite a few watchers I had no bids so I am now trying to work out how I can manage to keep all my instruments. The "new" B & S has been serviced and is even better than I first thought, somehow the extreme bottom register is not quite as good as y Conn, but everything else is substantially better. I spent quite a bit of the weekend playing it, on Saturday I attended a "Play Day" organised by the Central Band of the British Legion, a very good band based quite close to me, but unfortunately rehearsing the same evening as my beloved Croydon Symphonic Band. Sunday ended up frantic as I was conducting teh Allegra Concert Band in the morning, then back for an afternoon with the Central Band, before dashing up to central London for the final rehearsal before next Sunday's concert with the LGSO  

After all that I felt the need to take today off, I had planned to relax and catch up on the weekend's rugby, instead I somehow seemed to spend most of the day preparing the scores of some of my arrangements and an original work that I am submitting for publication. I don't have any expectations, but I will be highly "chuffed" if they are accepted.

Life goes on

For a while now I have been feeling rather run down, certainly my get up and go has got up and gone, I find it rather hard to get started in the morning, but once I do get started I'm fine ~ I suspect it may have been something to do with my medication.   My car does not have that excuse!   For a while now it has been playing up a bit mostly the electrics, it now seems that I need a new alternator, it will cost me quite a bit of money, but should solve the problem ~ if only my could be solved as easily.

Yesterday I had my second rehearsal with the Croydon Brass Band since getting back from holiday, the first, last Monday was the best we've had since I took over a couple of months ago.   We had a good turn out and managed to get some real, useful work done on the music.   This week we had a lot less people, and no cornets so the rehearsal was not nearly as productive we have a performance on Sunday as long as everybody turns up it should be good. We're only playing for half an hour but we will be playing some music specially arranged for the band as well as some old favorites ~ It should be fun.

Before that I will be playing at our local hospice with my Jazz band, I haven't even got the bass out of it's case for about four weeks, so I hope I'm up to it.

Like I said yesterday I don't so Halloween, but I do do fireworks so on Saturday I will be joining an old friend for some bangs and sparkles ~ and maybe the odd glass of wine as well.

For some strange reason there is a certain, rather large, section of the media that has declared open season on trans people.   This does not give me undue concern for my own safety since most of the people I come into contact with are rational, yet it does concern me that there are still a lot of people who believe what they read in the papers.

I will not link to these articles or indeed quote them, I don't want to give such rubbish any boost or publicity, but I will link to a blog brought to my attention by a friend.   A very sensible, compassionate and simple explanation of why young people with problems should receive appropriate treatment from specialists.   It's not complicated, most things aren't, but just because they are outside our experience we don't need to be frightened.

Karen Pollock takes issue with the latest gutter press article about trans young people can be found here.

It's all in the Name II

Gloria Monday on tour in France, 2011

I had always promised myself if I ever bought a Ford Transit I would call it Gloria, so when I did, I did! My second Transit was also called Gloria, but by way of differentiation she was Gloria Tuesday.

Gloria Tuesday was not such a good van as Gloria Monday, and never really managed to gain a place in my heart. So when she gave up the ghost and I had to buy a new van I was not too sorry.   That was when Dannie came into my life.    Dannie is a much better vehicle, more powerful, better suspension, better steering, more comfortable, just a slightly smaller box on the back.

Dannie the Vito

Rocinante

As far as cars go I have had several and very few have warranted names, Jade the Singer Vogue, Minnie the Hillman Minx ( my first car) are the prime examples, but when the little Seat came into my life last year she was crying out to be named, listening to BBC Radio Four's adaptation of Graham Green's Monsignor Quixote last year it became obvious that she had to be named Rocinante!

Sometimes it can be really difficult

Some of you may just remember me writing about a small car accident I had back in January last year, the damage to the car was no more than superficial, (however it was written off as it was such an old banger!) and nobody was hurt, at all! The whole thing was settled very quickly and amicably, indeed what impressed me most was quick, efficient and friendly way it was all dealt with.   I replaced the car and considered the incident closed.

Now, over a year later I am getting hordes of unsolicited phone calls from "Ambulance chasers" trying to encourage me to make a further claim for personal injury.   I am refusing as there was no personal injury and just about all have left is my personal integrity.   I have had it suggested that since the car was written off it must have been a considerable impact, I have been told that I must have experienced some discomfort following the accident, I have been told that I may be unwise to not claim the "thousands of pounds owed" me.

It is never easy to resist the temptation to try and get money for nothing, and when, like me, money is in short supply it is even more tempting.   However I am holding out, I keep asking for the phone calls to stop and I will not claim for injuries I did not sustain.   Ultimately every one of us who insures a vehicle pays for this profiteering, I suspect that these sorts of fraudulent claims now represent a major proportion of the insurance premiums that we all are obliged to pay.

I'm holding out but it's not easy.

The Gig ecconomy is not new

I have recently written a couple of posts about my career.  This seems to be turning into another one of my occasional series of posts, so here goes with the next installment of my rather odd career.

Chronologically I had got as far as being made redundant from my second job.   This wasn't as bad as it might sound, for quit a bit of my time with Michelin I had not been happy, I really liked my first job there, and my last, but the least said about the one in between the better.

So now I was in possession of my first flat, living on my own for the first time, I had a little capital in the bank, and no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up.   I needed to find something I wanted to do, yet the only thing I knew was that I didn't want to do what I had been doing.   I good friend of mine had a little business buying and selling cars, since I have always been a bit of petrol head I decided that this looked like easy money playing with toys, I rented a corner of the showroom from my friend and started dealing in second hand cars.

I had great fun, but learnt a few valuable life lessons, in commerce it is not the selling that is difficult it is the buying, contrary to what you might think from watching the apprentice where all too emphasis much is put on selling, anyone will buy desirable stuff as long as the price is right. The trick is buying the stuff at a price that allows for a profit.   My problem was that I kept buying the cars that I wanted rather than ones that would sell quickly with a profit.  

An English German band with an Australian Accordion player,

working for Canadians in Spain,

Somehow I eventually extricated myself before I became totally impoverished, while doing the car dealing I had slowly started to get a few gigs with some German Bands, and amateur orchestras. As I managed to get more and more music work I concentrated on that, abandoned the cars and enjoyed a strange lifestyle, driving from gig to gig all over the country.    This in no way represented steady work, so during this period of my life I would do anything I had to to pay my way.   Being self employed I had the flexibility and status to take on anything that came along. I did removals, piano removals, parcel deliveries, for a while I worked for Currys selling fridges and washing machines.   I emptied dust bins and drove trucks. I had a few temp jobs in offices, I laboured for a landscape gardener and cut grass for a maintenance gardener, I worked as a dispatch rider, in short what ever came along.

It was fun! It was also precarious. Work was irregular and unpredictable I would have periods of employment, but I would get bored and go back to the precarious life of a gigging musician, and the periods of poverty and depression which seem to go with that role ~ at least they do for me.

In 1992 my life changed beyond anything I had ever expected. I fell in love and proposed to the wonderful, beautiful woman who later that same year was to become my wife, I landed a good Gig, playing at Expo '92 in Seville, which saved my financial bacon, and my father died.

Now I felt it was time to grow up and get what my Mother called "A proper job" and so ended my second career.

All Change

This morning the Knackers came along to take away my old car, and this afternoon I took a little trip to pick up my new one.   For some of my wealthier readers perhaps I should define what new and old mean to me since at my end of the automotive food chain these are rather loose terms.  My old car was a Rover 25 from the first half of 2002, with a recorded mileage of 111,115; my new car is a Seat Leon from the second half of 2002 with a recorded mileage of 135,000.

Having said that, although similar ages and shapes they are very different prospects, the Rover felt like an old car, bits of imitation polished wood and acres of boring black plastic. cloth roof lining that was falling off and and a serious lack of design input. It was a reliable car, but difficult to love.   I have to say that there was nothing wrong with the Rover, it just lacked sparkle, or indeed anything to love, I suspect with very little extra effort it could well have been a great little car, maybe they saved it all up for the MG version.

On the other hand the Seat feels like it was conceived and built in the 21st Century. It has lots of nice touches, those bits of design input that make life more interesting, I am particularly struck by the variable speed intermittent wipers, a great idea for anyone living in the UK! So far I have only driven it home from Basingstoke, but am already liking it, a lot.

As I was collecting the car I used public transport to get to Basingstoke, these days I am using public transport a lot more, but not often for journeys that far, the train is great and the journey was painless and uneventful, just how I like it! It always amazes me that it seems to take longer to get to Clapham Junction than from there to Basingstoke, from my local station it seems that every train going anywhere stops everywhere.

After the train I had a short walk to a bus stop and then a short walk from the bus. It was the bus that became the challenge. Every town seems to have a different system, from the bus stops in Basingstoke I couldn't even work out which side of the road to get on! When the bus I needed came along the driver was very helpful and told me what I needed to know, so I got on and tried to pay, using my contactless bank card. Can't do that there, had to use cash. Now in London I have got used to the idea that I have to use a card as they won't take cash, so I ended up having to give the poor driver £10.10 for a £2.10 fare.  He was very helpful and very long suffering, but at least he'll have something to talk to his mates about tonight!

Life would be so much easier, and maybe more people would use public transport a bit more, if we at least had the same system for bus stops and fares across the whole country.

Now I just have to decide whether I'm going to drive to the pub and show off my new toy, or walk and have a drink.

Update

I think it must be time for an update, I seem to have been away from Paula's Place for some time, I keep thinking of great ideas for a post, but by the time I get home, or have a chance to sit down and write something it's gone.   It has to be said that I may have been lacking a bit in motivation.

I have had a couple of trips to Cardiff over the last few weeks, loads of rehearsal meetings and a couple of Gigs.    I have made some progress with the flat, and even managed to get some work done. Do I dwell on these positives, no, I just keep thinking what a nuisance!

I have just realised that this is one of my friend Sue's buzz words, and it perfectly sums up those things, or situations that although no major problem we can well do without.

On Friday morning on my way to an appointment I was involved in a car accident, no one was hurt but my car was no longer quite the shape it was when it left Cowley.   I had to drive it to Cardiff the following morning, and so wanted to get things underway as quickly as possible.   When I got home I started to write up a report of the incident, explaining everything as fully as possible including the photos I took at the scene. I feared that responsibility would be contested and I would end up losing both my car and my no claims bonus.   But before I had finished I got a call from an Insurance Company telling me that their client had reported the incident and accepted responsibility.

Since then my car has been taken away assessed, and, condemned as beyond economic repair, and now after a couple of phone calls returned to me, while I await an offer from the Insurance.

Given that I don't actually like this car much and was planning on replacing it later this year anyway, I should be glad that it looks like I may well be saved the effort of selling it, instead I just can't help thinking "What a nuisance"

A classic design

Matchbox model of the original BMC 1800

I have always had something of a passion for cars, back in the 1960s when I was growing up this was manifested by collecting toy cars.  One I still have and have always admired the styling of was the BMC 1800 Pininfarina.  So different and exciting compared to the dowdy but worthy standard "Landcrab" I was only to experience this design in the form of the "Matchbox" model.

Many years later in the 1970s the newly reformed British Leyland were to resurrect the design in the stunning Rover SD1.   With their all aluminum V8 this would prove to be a quite awesome car, whether as a mile eating luxury saloon, fast pursuit Police car or even as a Touring car racer.

As I became more and more aware I found this same design cropping up again and again.

Citroen GS

Citroen CX Prestige

Renault Megane

Seat Leon

Now I have bought a car again after a break of several years, looking at it I find it hard to get much pleasure from the image, but at the same time I wish the same amount of design effort had been put into the interior that has been put into the exterior.   Or maybe it just needed longer to mature.

Finding it hard to love the new baby

I have a mental list of cars I want to own, not an unattainable list of Aston Martins and Bentleys, but cars that when they came I thought "that would be nice". At one time or another I have owned most of the cars on that list, Mercedes estates, the Renault 20, Humber Scepter, Mark I Ford Granada Coupe, Opel Senator, Peugeot 405 Estate, The Rover SD1 V8 is one of the few on the list that I have still to own. ~ Maybe one day.....................

Bits and Pieces

On a slightly lighter note than we have been enjoying here recently, I have been enjoying the seasonal sunshine rather a lot.   I have been able to work in shorts and vext quite a lot over the last few days, ~ and while I draw the line at a bikini, (after all I don't want to frighten the natives) I have been wearing very little apart from shorts and a vest.

In the bad old days when I skrivened in an office  I would have blanched at the very thought of exposing myself to the sun, Now I find I enjoy few things as much as the sun on my skin indeed the only problem I now find is that I have a tan line on my feet!

Not only have I been enjoying the sun, I have also been enjoying the work, amongst the other seasonal jobs now is the time when I am planting up containers and putting out bedding jobs I always enjoy ~ and people pay me to do this!

I have been having some fun as well as working, and I have been following up on one of my resolutions for the year and on Friday evening I went to concert I wasn't playing in!   As a member of the WOW Orchestra I got offered a free ticket to see the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Festival Hall.  

On the whole I would agree with the Telegraph's review but I enjoyed Nico Muhly's Mixed Messages a lot more than them.   Although it felt a little inconclusive it is a piece I expect to be hearing again I am usually a little sceptical about contemporary orchestral music and tend to be predisposed not to enjoy it, but here was an exception.

It has to be said that as well as some spectacular playing the enthusiasm and dynamic effort put in by Yannick Nezet-Seguin was impressive, if all conductors put in as much effort then none of them would be overweight.  

I was also extremely disappointed by how many people got up and started to leave during the applause, their rudeness was rewarded by missing an encore!

Another special treat for me this week was my first every manicure ~ this is a self indulgence I would not normally allow myself but since it was effectively free I thought this time I would enjoy a new experience and have my nails done properly.   I am very happy with the result although I now find that four days later there is a chip on one of my thumbnails, given that I was assured that they would last two to three weeks even with my lifestyle I am a little disappointed with that one small aspect.

No fun with the new toy

I mentioned yesterday that I have bought a new car.   The term "new" may be a bit inaccurate perhaps "different" would have been better a better term.   What I have bought is an old banger that I hope to use to build up my no claims bonus again, it is a 13 year old Rover 25, as I observed to a friend yesterday it is a bit of an old ladies car, I was a little worried how readily she agreed!

I bought the car on E-Bay sight unseen so when I picked it up on Thursday I was a bit worried about what state it would actually be in.   At that point I was reasonably pleased, almost everything seems to work and most of the panels are more or less that right shape, but I am going to struggle to like this car.   It handles OK has reasonable performance, and is fairly comfortable but somehow it is just bland and boring.

Yesterday I took it on  a bit of a run and noticed a couple of little problems, at one point the ignition light came on, at another the radio would momentarily switch off when the headlights were switched on, but it seemed to recover and got me home without any real drama, I made a mental note to check the fuse boxes and wiring as much as I can when I have a chance.   Then using the car this morning it cut and refused to start again showing all the symptoms of a flat battery.   Eventually I managed to bump start the #@$%ing thing and got it home.

There are no obvious faults with loose wires or drive belts so I am now charging up the battery and will have to investigate further before taking her to Cardiff next month ~ I don't want to be stuck on the hard shoulder of the M4 at 6 O'Clock in the morning.

So much for making life easier!

It's not unusual ~ oh actually yes it is

It's not unusual for me to be busy, and this year it is looking dangerously as though I may have bitten off a little bit more than I can chew work wise, I seem to have committed myself to slightly more work than I can actually manage.   Add to that my active music life, selling the house and all the extra stress and occupation of transition, and it's not unusual to find me stressed out, flaked out, and sometimes even passed out!

I thought I was more or less copping, but on Friday evening I found myself playing at a May Masked Ball, this should be a fun filled, fabulous event, one where I can be as flamboyant as I like, and still not be the weird one.   Yet I found myself rather going through the motions, I was not a lot of fun and even playing music felt a bit of an effort.   Then on Saturday I was gardening and that just felt like work ~ I think I need a holiday, I just can't see when I am going to find the time, never mind the money.

All this (and one or two other things that have happened) put me in mind of how our ordinary is other peoples weird.   I used to drive what I still think of as my car  a 1966 Singer Vogue Estate, at the time I bought it is was the only one on the road (in a Clarkson voice) in the world.   This was my day to day car and most of the time it was not a show car but simply our family car, so sometimes I would find myself driving down the road and becoming aware of people looking, often my first thought was "what are you looking at" and then I would realise!

Being trans can be a bit like that, when I first started going out I felt as though everybody was staring at me, if I heard any laughter I assumed that I was the object of amusement.   Now that this is my new normal I am used to presented as the woman I am it is just me going about my everyday life.   So when somebody reacts to me as anything other than just another woman, I need to remind myself that my normal is not necessarily theirs.

Those of us who do not conform to society's expectations need acceptance and understanding, but we also need to exercise that self same acceptance and understanding.   I am not suggesting that we put up with transphobia, verbal, or physical abuse, simply that we are going to surprise a few people, and we need to give them time and space to understand.

Qoute of the day

About three years ago I gave up driving a car, I have a van for business so the car was a little bit of a luxury at a time of great financial strain.   At the time I had a Volvo and a nine year no claims bonus.   I have, of course continued to drive my van and have a little no claims bonus on that insurance, but that bonus can only be used on one policy at a time.

It looks as though I may soon be hitting solvency again and am hoping to once again buy and run a car.   I have always fancied a Saab, a 3 door coupe, I love the line I like the engineering and it is a hatchback that should give me all the space I want.   I have seen one I quite fancy at a price I can afford, but before doing anything rash I thought I would check the insurance.   I did the usual trick of checking on line, but to see if I could get a better deal I called the AA, the insurance brokers I had used before.

The nice young man I spoke with confirmed that yes, I did indeed have nine years no claims bonus, but was worried that since it was more than two years since I held any car insurance the various insurance companies they deal with may not accept it.   He checked and no they wouldn't, the best quote he could come up with was over £4,000! for a £400 car with a driver well over 50 years old who has been driving for nearly 40 years.   Sure I had a little accident three years ago, but they might as well have just told me to F*%k off!

By the way, on line quotes ranged from £650 to £800 ~ I don't think I will be going back to the AA