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Category: General

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I am now going back in time – over 50 years ago when my wife and I were “courting” we had to make some very tough decisions. We lived 2 miles apart and as we had very little money there was a choice to be made - Both get the bus and me walk home OR both walk to her house WITH a bag of chips on the way and me walk home!...

We are still coming to terms with the impact of this dreadful virus. Some business sectors are being hit harder than others and sadly some – through no fault of their own – will never come back.

I accept new jobs are being created but with respect, many of these are likely to be low paid and not particularly satisfying. Ok – half a loaf is better than none but is still going to be tough to take particularly for those in the older age groups who have experienced something more rewarding.

Having a “Service” based economy is all well and good for keeping unemployment low BUT delivering parcels – serving deep-fried chicken and flipping burgers is hardly going to create a sound long term and prosperous economy producing products the rest of the world wants to buy from us.

One side effect I did not see coming – holiday entitlements! We are now finding

Black Leather Interior Used but in very good condition Front and rear seats with headrests Matching door cards Gear lever knob and cover £120
A while back I was at a local Carvery – the lady in front of me expressed her disappointment that there were only 4 choices of vegetables on offer! Christ on a bike what did she expect for £7.95 – Gordon Ramsey to serve it!
No such thing as a free lunch
On my way into work the other morning I was, as usual, listening to Radio 4 news- they were interviewing an American farmer by the name of Zippy Duvall (I kid you not!) – the subject was a potential Trade Deal with the UK following Brexit. “Zippy” made two things abundantly clear – Firstly any deal must include Agriculture and secondly – it would require the UK to accept US farming practices – which currently we do not – such as Chlorinated Chicken – Genetically modified crops – Irradiated Food. None of this can come as a great shock to any of us – after all, who in their right mind would expect something for nothing? So when going through your second hand car “Wish List” – Low Miles + One Owner + Full Service History + Mint condition + Low price – just remember you can have all of these things but not all at the same time, if you get all of the rest don't EXPECT the last one! But we knew that anyway didn’t we – because WE all realise there is no such thing as a – FREE LUNCH – Don’t we? Anyone for a Chlorinated Chicken Burger? Dave Woolf

For me, one of the best measures the Government has taken to help protect car buyers is their “Check the MOT history of a vehicle” website…

 

All you need is the Registration number of the vehicle you are thinking of buying – go to the site – press Start Now – enter the number – press Continue – this page will give you basic details of the car – then press MOT history – and there you have it. Virtually a complete history of the results of all the tests carried out. Not only does it include whether it was a Pass or a Fail – it lists the Failure and Advisory items.

This is incredibly useful – here is an example.

Checking out one of the Closed Auction sites I came across a 2005 Chevrolet Matiz SE+ – surprisingly these are very popular as a very cheap run-around. This one had all the

Captain POM Character - Total Peace of Mind

I recently went to collect a car from Burton on  Trent a town famous for its beer making. As the Dealership was only a mile or so from the Station and it was a fine day I decided to walk – I wish I hadn’t. The aptly named Station street is what was once a thriving shopping area – Greengrocers – butchers – shoe shops – newsagents – sweetshops – hairdressers –haberdashers – ironmongers – Alas now all gone. Without exaggeration, I would guess something like 70-80% now unoccupied. It was a depressing sight – yet the truth is I am as responsible as everyone else. Their failure to survive is down to a number of factors – certainly the burden of council rates has not helped – but first and foremost is the fact too few of us supported them. Let me be clear – I understand you cannot stop progress. It is a fact that we are now the third cheapest country in the world for food – few could argue that on balance this is a good thing BUT it comes at a price.

For many reasons – some obvious –some not – as consumers we are now conditioned to expect the best quality at the lowest price.  Yet surprisingly many of us realise we cannot have it!

A coupl [...]

Perhaps it's my investment background but just lately people keep telling me there is a fortune to be made in Classic Cars. Usually these are people who would normally be considered “conservative” with their money - yet, overnight, have become gung-ho high rollers! What is going on and are they right? As always the answer lies in the lessons of history. Just before the Great Stock market Crash of 1929 Joe Kennedy - the father of JFK - said he knew the time had come to get out of the Stock market when shoeshine boys started to give him share tips. Just before the Great Crash of October 1987 shoeshine boys had been replaced by London Taxi Drivers - they too had become “experts” in stock market investing! My point is this - when any “market” - including Classic Cars - reaches near or at its top - it's the time when most people pile in - this is sometimes referred to as “the suckers market”. It’s not hard to find out why this happens - this is the time when those who have benefited from big “paper” profits (remember a profit is only real profit when you take it) tell everyone else how much money they have made. Human nature is such (greed?) that we all want a slice of the action.   So how have I reacte [...]
I suspect I am not alone in feeling this year will be – “interesting”

There is no doubt that for a number of reasons feelings are running high and there is an overwhelming air of uncertainty. Sadly my Mam and Dad are no longer around – if they were I would have asked them what is was like in 1939 on the eve of war – they knew it was coming but had no real idea of what it would mean.

One experience my Mam told me about was this one…

It was the 22 nd of December 1940 – late at night – the sirens were screaming – she sat with my newly born eldest sister in a dark and damp air raid shelter in the yard at the back of the house. As the bombers flew overhead she heard a high pitched whistle which grew louder as a bomb fell – she was

Reviewing Reviews

Reviewing things before you buy is now a way of life for many consumers – now, I am not exactly sure what an “App” is but my wife tells me you can “upload” lots of them some will tell you all about the best products and prices and where to find them.

Good job these things didn’t exist 44 years ago when I asked her to marry me!

If buyers check on the price of an item costing a few pounds – well you would imagine the same research goes into high cost items – like cars.

 

Online Reviews

Fact is, I am not sure this is always as useful as it appears. Here’s a little exercise I carried out…

I took a popular car which would be in plentiful supply – that would provide me with a number of different sellers I could then take

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