What have you done today with your Austin Seven

[Tony Griffiths]

I tried another super market today to find they had loads of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, and a full veg rack and nobody taking any.

Same in Buxton, Dave, no shortage whatsoever of any fruit and veg. Don't believe the hype in the Daily Express - or most other media come to that. "Violent snow storm and -20 temps to hit the UK next week. Government issuing survival rations. Stay indoors. Do not use the roads". The reality? The Met Office website shows " ....a chance of frost and misty patches clearing late morning."

["Slack Alice" Simon]

I have been out and about, just locally.   Only the second time with the new fuel tank.

I have realised how much the old tank had me worried.

Much more relaxed, now I have got rid of all this:

   

Two filters, associated rubber piping, incorrect fuel pump -  and, when all that fails - as it did - a temporary scuttle tank.

Having removed the old tank and looked inside it again, I found the radiator company that had "repaired" it, years ago, had double skinned much of it.

So there were two layers of flaky rusty metal in places.

Not surprisingly, the filters couldn't cope.

I think I might put the hood up next time, it is taking me a while to warm up.

[jpsmit]

I tried another super market today to find they had loads of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, and a full veg rack and nobody taking any.

And just tp show how my mind works, I read this post and immediately my mind went to an incident when my son was three. In Canada we have a restaurant chain called East Side Mario's - for years, each restaurant had a big tomato hanging outside.

   

So, the family is going to the restaurant and my three year old son walks up to the hostess and in a loud vooice says: 'lady you got the biggest tomatos' I ever saw. I have never seen a hostess blush so much until she realized what he was talking about.

Back to the conversation

[Dave Mann]

I finally went for a haircut today and popped into another store to find loads of fruit and veg, I don't know where the media gets it stories maybe it's a London thing. A bit like this coast of living thing, whilst energy prices have sky rocketed our food bill has gone down.

[Ivor Hawkins]

Went out, did the shopping and all that sort of thing, the Austin is going like a bomb, and the noisy thrust bearing isn’t getting any worse, so I’m going to ignore it until I’ve completed a load more house renovation stuff, then sort the bearing and get my old motor cycle up and running again....after way too many years in the shed, it’s a very old friend, we’ve done a lot of miles together, but it’s looking a bit sorry for itself, so that’s the next job...

   

[Duncan Grimmond]

Good to see a Velo, mine is also sitting crying in the dark!

[Reckless Rat]

I like the Velo, Duncan. Stuck away in a corner of my garage, but in perfik working order is this:



It's a 1983 Honda Mini Melody, model NP50. I bought it for £50 to use over the winter. I was working in Sheffield city centre and I used to commute on my Suzuki 550, but didn't want to use it when the weather was inclement or when there was salt on the roads, so I bought this. It didn't do much for my street cred, but it was mechanically bomb-proof (as all Hondas tend to be) and it never ever let me down. I used it for several winters until I was posted elsewhere and used my car instead. I sold the Suzuki to a colleague and kept the Honda, just because I could. It's now pretty rare. According to the DVLA there are only a handful of them left.
During Covid I was bored during the lockdown and gave it a refurb. Still starts first time, even on old fuel that's been in there since time mint-imperial.

And, like any true Frenchman, I've got one of these as well:

[Steve Jones]

Is the bog connected up for when you're caught short, Bruce, is it it just 'in storage'?

Steve

[Reckless Rat]

Fully operational, as is the air-con and winter heating! It's all a bit tidier these days. (emphasis on the phrase "a bit")

[Ruairidh Dunford]

I can report that the bog is indeed functional.