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Well I think we are ready for it, the 3 pin socket has been fitted, just need a bit of advice on what to connect it to 🤣 @Barnsley John if it is a success, perhaps you could get one for your car, be the first in Barnsley to have electricity!!! 😁 😀😀😀 oh groan, the cleaning has been done and the mucking around starts

The Lotus 72 is now finished after 6 and a half years. What next?

After the Fort, we set off south. Weather was looking reasonable, so the hood stayed off. We stopped off at a park for a walk. It was nothing remarkable, but the views were nice! After that, we carried on in the general direction of the Romanian border with a couple of campsites in mind for the night. And that's where we found it. We found the nice road in Ukraine. I'll need to get some of the footage off my gopro to prove it exists, but in typical gopro fashion, it's not been behaving itself so I'll have to come back to it later! Edited to add in a photo - unfortunately, the gopro somehow didn't start recording until the end of the really twisty bits but at least caught my reaction, and you can see that there's an actual good road surface somehow! It seems skiing has recently become a thing in the Carpathians, and with it, investment has come. Several ski resorts had been built or were in the process of being built, and the twisty mountain roads had been treated to a fresh layer of tarmac. We had been behaving ourselves, but it was comforting to know that they're pretty relaxed about speeding in Ukraine. After a failed trial period where the punishment for speeding was being verbally reprimanded by the officer who caught you (wonder why that didn't stop people?) fines were introduced - but you have to be more than 20km/h over the limit to get one, and it comes to the equivalent of about £7. If you somehow go in excess of 50km/h above the limit, that fine gets doubled to a whopping £14! That being said, this road had a speed limit of 90km/h - which I only managed to get to once. I was in no danger of losing £14! After a good bit of fun, we took a detour to our first suggested campsite. It wasn't any good, so we decided to move on to the next one, but it did provide this illustration of how unevenly split the wealth is in Ukraine still (although significantly improved since the soviet era). Just a guy, casually walking his cow, next to a gold topped building. Another 10 minutes down our new favourite road we found a better prospect for a campsite and parked up for the night. We timed it just about perfectly, with some heavy wind rolling in just when we finished pitching the tents.

Thanks Julie for letting join in today. 260 miles total for me. Big skies today which I didn't notice whilst driving And nice empty roads too !

I have just tried these heated cycle gloves for driving my Westfield today. They have a 2 year warranty. It is easy to toggle between power modes by simply pressing the red button. They came with 2 rechargeable batteries that are 7.2V 200mAh Li-polymer batteries that provide 5-6 hours run time. On max power they heat to 50-55 degreesC for 2-2.5hrs. Primaloft Gold insulation provides the thermal insulation and breathability while being thin enough to maintain the dexterity for driving (or cycling too). The batteries are charged through a USB cable, a full charge taking 6 hours and sit neatly in a pocket on your wrist, weighing 70g each.The gloves are waterproof. It has been 13 degrees ambient temperature today, not the coldest of days, so I have started off on level 3 and turned them off as I got hot. Can't wait to try them when it gets really cold, so far I am impressed. They were purchased from Cotswold Outdoor in Bakewell where the sales manager emailed me a receipt to back up the paper one, saying 'just bring them back within 3 years if you have any problem and we will replace them' (the box says SEALSKINZ 2 year guarantee). They replaced my broken compass last year without delay, so I will give them a top rating for customer service. Showing the battery attachment Charging the batteries They come in a box, when did anyone last buy gloves that come in a box

Decided my engine bay needed a bit of a tidy up. Had a local company dip the cam cover. https://www.hydragraphics.co.uk/ Really pleased with the result. May not be to everyone's taste but I like it. I'll add some more photos at the weekend after I've fitted it back on.

Well if that's the approach you're taking, why not go the whole hog and fit this on the dash : https://www.toolstation.com/mk-13a-usb-switched-socket/p92690?store=T3&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&gclid=Cj0KCQjwoebsBRCHARIsAC3JP0ItPEBluoqDuwTDQ4FxMs_xUCu4LQHBAeeGbOFqVYvxmU0kNRku2BkaArG2EALw_wcB

Thanks Julie, Glenn for another great day blasting around the peaks. Great company and fabulous scenery. Hopefully the weather will be good next weekend too.

Last minute plans I’m afraid. Looks like I missed a good one.

I will be there see you then

Probably a wise decision as the overnight rain was (and still is) very heavy. Kilmarnock in the heavy rain would not be a holiday... Hats off to you for doing the mileage you did - but try and come back to Dand G sometime. Enjoy the lie in! Dave

Lots of bright colours and stuff...... not a single CAKE..... just saying.....

Was a fair trek in one day and mostly dry - the new £20 hood helped though

Good to see Tango Man is on the passenger side of Rita, where he belongs 😁🧡

Your welcome @Paul Hurdsfield, great photo's and thanks for filming the run, look forward to seeing that too, even though we were at the front and are not on it. Briefly meeting at Sainsburys were 8 Westfields and a Crossfire driven by Michael. The only Duratec we see in the Peak District was driven by Martin, Dave in the only Sigma we see, Andrew in the V8, Ian in the Honda, leaving Paul, Chris, Andy and Sue and us in the Zetecs, making an interesting selection of cars. I didn't even get out of my car so these are the only photos that I have. Breakfast commenced with 2 takers for the 'Sir Joseph' or the 'Prince Albert' if you are called Ian 😁 Dave Andrew The black pudding was kindly donated to me by Andrew to accompany my first Eggy Bread experience Breakfast at The Whitworth Centre Soon we/I started playing 'hide the steering wheel' or 'lock it in a display cabinet' as it was today, only I did a rubbish job and Ian caught me red handed. Made a fun photo though, Dave was my lookout man and he had a very mischievous grin on his face as he saw Ian return early and didn't tell me. Parked at The Whitworth Centre, all smooth tarmac with no kerbs, just sayin'. Next up, we drove along my carefully planned route (via Chatsworth House - saw the deer, bonus) until we met a Running Race and a lady advised us not to drive that way. It is a steep and twisty road with blind bends on, so I took her welcomed advice and took a slight detour, missing the Curbar Gap and Owler Bar. The roads were still good and the views were in abundance (Paul's brakes worked too, bonus) and we soon arrived at The Smithy in Monyash for lots of gooey cake, yum, yum. The Smithy The best bit, lemon cake with creammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm It wasn't just me though was it? Phew, we were about full after all that and just needed to work up a thirst. The high roads over towards Leek are just brill, quiet, twisty and scenic, they lead straight to the pub too. Puddles? there were puddles and Ian tried one on for size, it just fit his face perfectly. Sat outside The Lazy Trout, with views over The Roaches rock formations, which do photograph better when highlighted by the sunshine, but never mind. Ian had a glass of water, deciding to drink the water rather than wear it this time. The last few of us headed home by driving up The Bank, making for excellent driving and Ian is just sooohhh fast, it makes me squeal when this pink thing comes flying towards my rear view mirror and my foot is flat to the floor. It's been a ball, thank you to everyone for driving all those miles to join us. Planning my next route is an easy one, we will do the Curbar Gap and Owler Bar.

Making the most of a soggy Friday:

TangoMan is getting nesh in his old age:

A for your “Q plate” question - it kind of works on a points system. So to get a new plate you have to show that all parts are brand new (with receipts) except for ONE major component (like the engine or gearbox - not both) that can be “refurbished to as new standard”. You can get an “age related” plate if you have “major” components from a single donor vehicle (along with the donor vehicle id) - so engine and gearbox, or transmission and engine for example. That’s how many Single Donor Vehicle builds end up with a “P” or “S” reg (again - for example) If you can’t do either of the above, you get a Q. But - in the world of kit cars, a Q is not only acceptable, but often desirable due to the advantages that a Q can give a car come MOT time. Plus - those of us that have kit cars and buy them really do not give a flying fart what letter you have on your reg plate! We buy on condition, build quality and component specification above all other considerations. Hope this helps!

Great pictures @Andrzej and nice to see a different style of development on the car. I just wondered what the white square was on the side just above the exhaust, forward of the roll cage?

Doing a little bit of shopping today:

Looks like Tango Man has been abroad, hope he brings some of those choccies back with him.

Correction - looks like I missed me. Sure I expressed my interest. 😊

Dodging showers, in between visits to banks

Long time since I did any modelling, but spent a couple of hours in the loft today. Carried on with a Lotus 72 I started over 6 years ago. Got quite a lot of the decals on.