Ekona

Thank you all for your kind words, I know it’s a cliche but it’s really helped. Managed to get to work today despite just a couple of hours sleep, oddly I’m not remotely tired so I guess this is shock? I don’t know. Coroner and family liaison officer are round now apparently, so I guess we’ll know more soon. Just so, so weird this morning. I just don’t get it.

I've no real idea where to start here tbh. I'm exhausted, mentally and physically, and I still have to get up for work in the morning. But I need to vent, and you guys on here are like friends to me (some of you are actual friends to me!) so sharing is caring and all that. Just puts everything in perspective Had a call from the wife this afternoon whilst I was at work, in tears. She told me that she had to go and see Roberta, her best friend, who lives about 2.5hrs from us. Now Roberta has a history of miscarriages, and at this point I immediately knew what was coming as I know she's quite far along in her current pregnancy. I was wrong. "Andrew's dead." Andrew is the name of Roberta's husband. F***. Just f***. To save a long story, he died in a single car accident this morning on his way to work. 3 miles from the office, his car left the road and hit a tree. We literally have no more details than that right now, as the police and coroner are still investigating. They didn't tell Rob(erta) until half past five this evening when she got in from work. She went the entire day without knowing her husband was dead. She's due to give birth to their first child next month. Andrew was only 29, and they were only married two years ago. Jo was matron of honour at their wedding, whilst I did photographer duties. We were there the day that Rob and Andrew met, at another friend's wedding. Andrew stood about 7ft tall, and must've weighed about 18 stone. The guy was an American footballer, and you would absolutely believe it from the size of him. Yet he was an absolute gentle giant, and went out of his way to help me find work last year by putting words in and getting my CV in the right place. All he ever wanted from life was to have a kid, and know he's dead. 24 hours ago, he wasn't. My mind just cannot comprehend that right now, at all. A lovlier, nicer guy I've yet to meet. You watch a film where the hero dies leaving his pregnant wife behind. Hell, you even read about it on the cover of trashy women's dailys. But it doesn't happen in the real world. Ever. Except it did today. We drove to see Rob this evening, and I've left Jo there with her for the weekend. Sitting there with Rob, who cannot cry any more tears today, and watching her delete all Andrew's stuff off the Sky planner because she can't deal with the series popping up randomly on her, and listening to her call people and tell them matter of factly that her husband is dead, absolutely filled my soul with a horror I never thought possible. Discussing what happens with Andrew's car (does the insurance pay out? Will it cover the loan? How much does she have to pay if not?), and what will she do with all his RC cars in the garage, and then will she go and see his body when it's released to the family. These are things that I don't even know where to start. I mean I do, but how does someone grieving deal with that? Now I've massive issues happening in my life too right now (some of you know), but they pale into nothing compared with this. Literally nothing matters right now. I can't stop thinking about the accident. Was he on his phone? Did he just lose grip? Did someone carve him up? Did he die instantly, or did he sit there bleeding out knowing he'd never see his unborn child? And thinking about that poor kid growing up never knowing his father just brings me to tears, and I don't even have kids. We know that he fitted new wheels the other week, so was he not used to the new tyres? Or was he just going too fast? I'm not sure we'll ever know; I've no idea how in-depth an inquest will be. I'm not even his wife and I want so many answers. All I know is that this always happens to other people. Not this time. RIP Andrew mate, we'll look after Rob and the little one for you now fella.

No, I don't see that at all. Then again, I don't necessarily see privatisation as a bad thing. I've said it before, but we should be charging people for missed GP appointments, and we definitely shouldn't be providing things like paracetemol, ibuprofen, cosmetic surgery, gender reassignment and PReP on the NHS. Now I don't disagree that perhaps in the long term it may well be cheaper to do some of those latter things, nor do I disagree that in a perfect world with unlimited money they should all be provided. But right now, it's not workable. And yeah, I appreciate it's a drop in the ocean, but it's about changing perception that the NHS should cover everything for everyone all the time. Means test it if you want, I'm okay with that.

Exactly what I use too, utterly superb bits of kit that you know you can rely on. I just plugged mine into the cigar lighter though as I’m lazy

True, but then so is the 6 series but I’ve proved that can be made to handle very well so I reckon the same is doable to the Monaro

So basically euthanasia solves the problems? Excellent!

Not for me this year, not with the state that LMP1 is in. I know there’s more to it than that, and the atmosphere & extensive drinking habits are equally (if not more) important, but I’m not encouraging the ACO by going myself. Porsche Curves is a great place to watch from though, just a shame it’s such a trek back to the main area! I love watching the night racing from there, some great views.

Blimey, not heard Paul’s name for years! Didn’t realise he was still going.

Nope, the light nimble one where the roof drops right down and actually handles properly Gearboxes on them ain't that bad!

Bumpety-bump for the new year! Also because I've had the MOT done now so she's all good until Jan next year, plus I couldn't resist taking her out for Xmas so she ticked over the 123K mile mark Well, it would've been rude to leave her sat at home on the quietest day on the roads all year. Still absolutely gorgeous to drive, still making wonderful noises, still up for sale. Does it hurt to say that I'm open to offers, or is that just really obvious anyway? I *may* be interested in a trade too, but it would need to be either a mk1 or mk2 MX5 or a mk3 MR2.

*slips Col the fiver as promised*

I’d use it to close the NHS down and start again from scratch. No one will ever be able to fix what is so fundamentally broken, regardless of money thrown at it. We’re way past fixing now.

My 6er is still for sale, will out-handle any Monaro and doesn’t have an interior made from cardboard Plus I’ve had all the major work done so no scary bills... Could always buy a Merc for £10k and have a slush fund? All auto though sadly. Good friend of mine drove a Monaro VXR for a while, rated the engine but said it was just too bloated to be really fun. I’m sure you could always change the suspension though to help.

Only buy from J17 if you are very comfortable using the court system to get money back when they screw you over. Sorry, I meant if they screw you over. Obvs. #justincasethelawyersarewatching

It's just an MOT dude, take it to the closest/cheapest place you can

Might want to update your first post then dude

That’s not a sensible idea at all. Surely you meant a turbocharged Dodge Viper?

Tbh you have more than enough evidence for a small claims court action, posting on all his threads isn’t going to get your money back any quicker. But yes, you should never use PayPal gifting to friends unless you’re 100% confident in what you’re getting. That’s just common sense.

Early ones weren't great, waaaay too soft (but excellent for going sideways with!), but the current gen is a massive step up in the suspension department. Much more direct steering, and significantly more road grip albeit worse for off-roading. Only downside is a bit of a crappy gearbox when shifting from 1st to 2nd, but I'm picking really. As long as you stay with the T6 gen, you'll be fine.

Depends on what kind of track car you want to tow, and the size of the trailer. If it's a big car and/or a big trailer, you're going to need something with decent toming capacity which possibly rules out a fair bit of stuff. On the other hand if it's light then anything will do. Personally I'd want something wafty and expendable, so something I don't mind chucking tools and tyres into the back of when it's cold and wet and I just want to get home. Pretty much that's going to be a pickup or a leggy estate. I've enjoyed all the Ford Rangers I've had, and the current one is pretty comfy and better specced than the rivals (when new anyway, no idea on the second hand market). Plus the Yanks are desperate for Ford to release it over there purely because of the Ranger's massive towing ability, and they don't tend to mucj around with towing small things E61 535d would be a great car for towing stuff, I've seen a fair few people at the circuit with them. The equivalent E-class might be even better, certainly for wafting.

Nah, you're thinking of Liverpool.

*grabs popcorn*

No idea why I'm laughing since I'm the one getting raped by this deal

Because most people refer to any aftermarket suspension as coilovers. As stock, the 350/370 run separate dampers and springs at the rear which 99% of aftermarket solutions copy, hence they're not true coilovers. This is why I'm picky over stuff like this: It's not (just!) being pedantic, it's ultimately misleading and leads to confusion. It's like saying that when you have a puncture by the side of the road you get the jack out and change the tyre, when actually what you do is change the wheel. I don't care if most people know what you mean, it's still wrong!

Early ones (i.e. not the LCI ones) handle like garbage as the suspension is dreadful. Unless you enjoy trying not to kill yourself on every single trip, I wouldn't bother. I consider myself a reasonably capable driver, but the two I drove were just spiteful. That said, the newer ones are supposed to be significantly better. And even then, I'd still buy a 235i/240i over any M4 as they're just so much more fun to drive.