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Post by Netsuke on Nov 24, 2019 3:24:23 GMT 2
On Monday I set off on the Southern Migration... it will take about 2 weeks! What's the Southern Migration? Can't find anything on Google. Can only think of following the birds who fly south or going to warmer climes! Whatever it is, I hope you have a lovely time. |
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Post by Baz Faz on Nov 24, 2019 11:23:42 GMT 2
On Monday I set off on the Southern Migration... it will take about 2 weeks! What's the Southern Migration? Can't find anything on Google. Can only think of following the birds who fly south or going to warmer climes! I'm sure Voy is delighted to be called a bird. |
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Post by Voy on Nov 24, 2019 14:55:40 GMT 2
well... my name says that too - Peregrine !
and yes, Netsuke - I go to Florida for the winters , and then come back home to Maine in late April. They call us " Snow Birds".
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Post by Netsuke on Nov 25, 2019 0:04:25 GMT 2
well... my name says that too - Peregrine ! and yes, Netsuke - I go to Florida for the winters , and then come back home to Maine in late April. They call us " Snow Birds". I didn't know that! So you're a "Snowbird" - I remember listening to a song by Anne Murray called "Snowbird", she had a very deep voice and I still remember the tune plus a few words here and there. |
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Post by Baz Faz on Nov 25, 2019 11:14:41 GMT 2
We are going to the Cotswolds (not far from us) to stay with a daughter. We'll be on gardening duty - but not if the rain persists.
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Post by Baz Faz on Dec 5, 2019 0:05:59 GMT 2
And now we are going to Cambridge (actually a village outside) to stay with another daughter. Her daughter (i.e. our granddaughter) will be coming back from her first term at Oxford (it's not all posh people at Oxford - she was educated at a state school). Good to hear how she got on.
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Post by Netsuke on Dec 5, 2019 3:57:27 GMT 2
Ah...Oxford. The home of Lewis and Hathaway. Love the architecture and all those bicycles.
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Post by OnlyMark on Dec 16, 2019 20:31:39 GMT 2
Flew yesterday from Lusaka with Ethiopian Air, via Addis Ababa to Madrid arriving about 5.30am this morning.
My flying destination was Malaga, but due to Christmas, timings, connections and all sorts of variables, I caught a Vueling flight from Madrid to Barcelona, completely the wrong direction, and then from there another one to Malaga.
Arrived around lunchtime.
Picked up the car we park near the airport and drove to the house to check it over, fill up the batteries, pick up some warm clothes etc and carried on north for another hour until depositing myself, quite tiredly, in a hotel I know. I can't sleep very well at all on planes, more like snoozing. The room has a bath, so I'm going for a long soak soon.
Tomorrow I was going to set off early on the drive back to Germany, taking a few days, but as sunrise is not until 8.30am, I'll stay in bed.
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Post by auntieannie on Dec 16, 2019 21:38:27 GMT 2
Good. rest well, Mark!
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Post by slowcoach on Dec 17, 2019 13:52:29 GMT 2
... but as sunrise is not until 8.30am, ...
Blame Franco,
I hear that they have exhumed his corpse; not much of an insult but it's a start.
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Post by OnlyMark on Dec 17, 2019 22:03:00 GMT 2
Set off (8.45am) after a breakfast of cafe con leche y tostada con pate, drove 50km, thought about some paperwork I should have, stopped and searched the car, twice, couldn't find it, drove back to the house, 100km, back past the hotel I'd just left, searched the house where the paperwork should have been couldn't find it, stood having a pee and remembered there is a tray under the driver's seat for odds and ends.
Looked there and the folder was exactly where I put it last September.
I don't think the tray and me peeing is connected in any way, it's just that there was a pause for thought and reflection.
Drove back past the hotel again and carried on north(ish) to near Barcelona to my next hotel.
A 700km journey turned into a 900km one just because I forgot the tray thing was there.
Got to the hotel a lot later than expected, at 7.30pm, but, too early for dinner (starts at 8.30pm, in the way the Spanish in certain areas do) but was so hungry as I'd been driving nearly none stop that I could eat a horse between two bread vans.
Decided I'd stretch my legs and see if there was anything to eat locally that was open now.
Dropped my bag off, went down two back streets and found open a Turkish donor kebab shop called Bollywood, owned by an Indian from Chennai and I had an Arabic falafel wrap and a Spanish tuna salad with an American Coke Zero.
I like being international.
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Post by Baz Faz on Dec 18, 2019 0:07:19 GMT 2
Sadly, Mark, I think this is the sign of creeping age:
Set off (8.45am) after a breakfast of cafe con leche y tostada con pate, drove 50km, thought about some paperwork I should have, stopped and searched the car, twice, couldn't find it, drove back to the house, 100km, back past the hotel I'd just left, searched the house where the paperwork should have been couldn't find it, stood having a pee and remembered there is a tray under the driver's seat for odds and ends.
Looked there and the folder was exactly where I put it last September.
It is why, when we go travelling, we have all documents/tickets/bookings in both paper form and online. We can't screw up twice. At least, not yet.
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Post by OnlyMark on Dec 18, 2019 7:46:46 GMT 2
Normally I do follow that but it is a little more complicated. It is a folder with the car documents, such as registration and MOT/Insurance/Tax.
I had a choice in September as to if I should carry them all the way to Zambia and then back again. I decided to leave them in the car ready for coming back. Unfortunately these things can't be online.
Our plan is to sell the car in Germany in the New Year and the physical original paperwork is needed, as expected.
I do also have a folder which I carry round that does have print outs of plane and train tickets plus accommodation bookings. These are also on line if I need them.
It came down to an element of trust - could I trust my instincts that I had already been organised enough to put them in the car, or not. I felt better safe than sorry.
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Post by shrjeff on Dec 18, 2019 12:01:26 GMT 2
less than two weeks left before our trip to new york, then a 20 day cruise to san francisco via the panama canal... taking mark's planning ahead to heart i wrote to reconfirm the 3 private excursions along the way (bonaire; cartagena, columbia; corinto, nicaragua) and one of the guides said that he needed a list of the passenger names to arrange port passes... good thing i wrote!
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Post by Baz Faz on Dec 18, 2019 12:18:35 GMT 2
I have only just noticed that Jeff, Slow and I have little symbols denoting our sex on the side panel; Annie has a sign showing she is a woman. But Mark has nothing. I am speculating what this might mean.
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Post by shrjeff on Dec 18, 2019 12:21:52 GMT 2
I have only just noticed that Jeff, Slow and I have little symbols denoting our sex on the side panel; Annie has a sign showing she is a woman. But Mark has nothing. I am speculating what this might mean. mark is being coy about his gender... either that or he is confused so can't make a choice...  |
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Post by OnlyMark on Dec 18, 2019 17:36:18 GMT 2
On the contrary. Proboards recognises my pure and unadulterated masculinity and thus feels there is no need whatsoever to state it.
Moving on - there is no wonder the French go on strike so much. I bloody would as well to protest about fuel prices if nothing else.
The cost of petrol/diesel has always been somewhat above what I pay in Spain, but it is now ridiculous.
When I drive from Germany to Spain or vice versa I have to pass through France and the shortest distance is always just a little more than I can comfortably do on one tank full, never mind I don't want the anxiety of maybe running out, so I tend to put some in about halfway between the borders.
In Spain a litre of diesel a couple of days ago was Euro 1.22 and 1.28 on the motorway.
I am currently a little south of Lyon and when I started looking at the fuel price I thought I'd misread it.
But no, after checking several places as I drove along a litre of diesel is about Euro 1.72. Yes, this is on the motorway, so I thought I'd wait until I came off to my hotel and try again.
It is still Euro 1.62 - and that was at a supermarket, so about the cheapest.
I am now calculating if I have enough to slip out of the country into Germany. I don't think so, but bugger me, I rebel against paying those prices.
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Post by OnlyMark on Dec 19, 2019 18:11:35 GMT 2
Had to put some fuel in. I'm back on "Heimat" turf in Germany.
Had to call at a service station on the motorway and put 20 euros worth in. I can never understand why in France - mind you, I've not called at every fuel pump in the country - but when I want to put some in, never can I fill up and then pay. I have to traipse into the shop, give them my money and they will release the pump for me to fill up. Otherwise I can pay with a credit card - but sometimes I want to pay cash and I don't know how much I need to fill the tank - but I have to give them money first.
Yes, I understand it stops "drive off's" but is it such a big problem? Certainly not in the UK, Germany and Spain.
There have been times when I've been to a garage to get some fuel and find there is only one way to pay - credit card. What if I don't want to, or have enough cash and no money on my card left?
Life is difficult enough as it is without sticking extra hassle in the way.
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Post by Baz Faz on Dec 19, 2019 18:38:52 GMT 2
less than two weeks left before our trip to new york, then a 20 day cruise to san francisco via the panama canal... taking mark's planning ahead to heart i wrote to reconfirm the 3 private excursions along the way (bonaire; cartagena, columbia; corinto, nicaragua) and one of the guides said that he needed a list of the passenger names to arrange port passes... good thing i wrote! Look what you are going to: www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-50850609/timelapse-shows-new-york-city-hit-by-a-snow-squall |
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Post by slowcoach on Dec 19, 2019 19:26:26 GMT 2
I cannot see how driving off without paying is a bright idea unless one has had the foresight to nick the vehicle in the first place.
I would have thought that CC Declined would be a bigger issue.
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Post by shrjeff on Dec 19, 2019 20:01:58 GMT 2
we are hoping for beautiful weather the week we'll be around there  |
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Post by OnlyMark on Dec 19, 2019 21:47:37 GMT 2
Slow, it used to be very easy not to let DVLA know in the UK who the new owner of a car was. So when a drive off occurred and the number plate was taken, DVLA either had no details or false details.
When you bought a car privately you just told the seller your name and address, he wrote that down on the bottom of the log book and sent it off. I'm sure you remember that.
No checks on the veracity of the details.
The new owner was supposed to send of the top part with his details, but if he doesn't, there is no owner known. Easy then to just fill up in different places and not pay.
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Post by Netsuke on Dec 19, 2019 23:50:38 GMT 2
Nine days from today, I will be at the airport.
Ten days from today, I will be in another country. Actually, two other countries!
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Post by kuskiwi on Dec 20, 2019 1:41:09 GMT 2
I head off in 12 hours.
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Post by sophie on Dec 20, 2019 5:42:53 GMT 2
Safe travels and have fun, kushkiwi!
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Post by slowcoach on Dec 20, 2019 6:08:08 GMT 2
It is the sort of thing that I would forget to do until I realized that it was going to cause me problems. I can't remember which occasions require you to have an up to date registration document, but obtaining a test certificate, insurance, satisfying a police check, seem likely candidates for being a hassle.
Many a moon ago, the company I worked for got the contract to computerise HPI's database. When it came to sizing we assumed that they would want to record the details of dodgy cars and their owners. What they asked for was to have sufficient capacity to allow for an entry for every vehicle, every person, and every address in the UK. They had bigger ideas than we reckoned on.
ETA:
On the other hand, there was a time when the DVLA was so dysfunctional that when asked you could just say that any document you were missing had been sent off to the DVLA, and nobody could gainsay you. |
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Post by shrjeff on Dec 20, 2019 8:41:36 GMT 2
mark, when i'm in the situation of wanting to pay cash for a fill-up in the states I deposit more than I expect to need with the cashier and am refunded the excess at the end... rather simple and effective...
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Post by OnlyMark on Dec 20, 2019 10:07:49 GMT 2
Slow, there is an offence, however minor, of "Failing to notify change of ownership". Also, unless you sell the car eventually to a mate, I'd be reticent to buy from someone who's name wasn't the same as on the log book. As for using the document in other matters, no, I can't think of when you would, apart from maybe as a proof of address to some body needing it.
jeff, you would think that would be the logical thing, wouldn't you. Twice though, once in the UK and once in Germany some years ago, I handed over a sum of money, they rang that in the till, I filled up and needed less and they said I'd need to apply to the company with the receipts to get a refund. They said they couldn't refund me out of the till, the dreaded 'company policy'.
I also once used my credit card to advance pay for some and when I was about 5 euros short of the total I was told to apply back through my bank for the refund.
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Post by slowcoach on Dec 20, 2019 10:51:14 GMT 2
I once drove all the way out to Milford Haven to have a look at a classic car, a Daimler Majestic Major (the one with the 4.5Litre V8), that was advertised in Exchange and Mart. Once there I found that the "owner" didn't have the registration document with him at that moment. I was truly peed off and told him so. He said he could be trusted and that he was a police officer. Perhaps I should have asked to see his warrant card.
I drove back as I came.
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Post by OnlyMark on Dec 20, 2019 19:44:56 GMT 2
After a very wet and cold morning I've ended up at my first destination of Frankfurt.
It was a shock this morning, after 18 - 21 degrees in France, to go to my car and the temperature gauge was flashing 3 degrees at me and saying there was a danger of ice.
It then rained and rained of biblical proportions all the way up the motorway for the next three hours.
Still raining now.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind rain, especially the tropical rain when it is above 25 degrees. I do mind the freezing and pointless European winter rain.
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