A Kylie Minogue song springs to mind!
First time, the kitties hadn’t noticed. We came down one morning to find a bemused pidgie behind the fireguard. The fire is a gas bowl. Pretty in winter, but not used much (full fat CH plus two A/C units), hence the “Chimney Sheep” stuffed up the flue to stop draughts.
1 Like
Yeah, look what happened the last two times! (one is now in London, the other in Plymouth).
1 Like
Just about the opening, there is a ledge. The Siamese (twins), Sasha & Sukie, used to climb up onto the ledge (fire not on obviously), and leave their tails dangling down.
1 Like
On a different note the travelling raised a few oddities.
Daughter noted several ‘bugs’ splattered on the windscreen which prompted me to mention this:
We saw far more birds of prey circling above than we do at home.
Saw at least 1 mature dear roadkill on the opposite side of the road near Cheltenham and a dead fawn a few mile later.
More dead rabbits than I’d like to see.
No dead hedgehogs 
- commonly observed in my childhood but a marker of their numbers.
Researching new power supplier after my current provider emailed a notification of a 35% rate increase. It’s a darn rort with no accountability, the plebes just have to suck it up.
2 Likes
Windscreens are more heavily raked these days which may contribute to fewer insects being splattered. I certainly have hed plenty on my helmet visor over the years which is obviously a much smaller target area.
I do agree though that human activity and pesticides is a problem. Both should be reduced!
3 Likes
These big companies just haven’t stopped gauging since COVID. They whinge about costs but they fail to mention their profits keep growing.
Can’t wait for the revolution. 
3 Likes
The Park and Ride is the right choice. Peartree for the A40. Another for A34 up from M4.
We enjoy our Oxford trips because it has lots of special memories for us. Prefer the sunny days.
Phil
2 Likes
Thanks. The schedule was a bit tight for those - I’d looked at the park and ride services but couldn’t quite get the feel for transfer times from the council websites I’d viewed, but would definitely consider them in the future. I find public transport options great when you’re familiar with them, but less so if they’re new to you as certain logistical factors are only apparent when you use them. Maybe it’s just me and a dislike of travelling generally - great when you get there but don’t enjoy the travel much of the time.
1 Like
Good thought.
I’m not convinced. We get far more insects on the screen when in France than in the U.K. Insect numbers are particularly low this year, with knock on effects on bats and insectivorous birds. Massive monoculture fields sprayed with chemicals don’t help.
4 Likes
I use the Westgate centre 2 hrs £5.20.
1 Like
Our car went into the garage for a service yesterday. We got a call later in the day to say that one of the tyres had a tear in it, right down to the cords, and that if the car had been in for MOT it would have failed. As a consequence the garage refused to drive our car back to us as it’s effectively not legal to drive. They gave ordered a new tyre which hopefully will arrive in time to get the car back later today. We need the car as we are helping the boy move this evening. It’s slightly vexing as the tyres are only a few months old, and we had nice Pirellis at a not inconsiderable price. The roads are full of potholes so perhaps it’s not surprising. These things seem to happen at the most inconvenient time.
1 Like
That was my initial plan but for some reason Apple Maps (as it often does) seemed to have planned a fiendish trip around the mulberry bush to get there so I decided to just used whichever car park of pay and display turned up close to the centre as time was tight.
The Zero Emission Zone I assume is till in the initial phase but the council’s maps to me are not very good or detailed as virtually none of the streets outside the zone are named on the graphics. I was ending up having to compare Google maps with the council graphics matching streets visually due to lack of council map detail.
As i’m sure you know, Westgate is good if you’re only going to be a couple of hours (works out about the same as park & ride) but for longer stays p&r is the better option.
1 Like
Hope you get it sorted in time.
Thanks. I called the garage earlier and they said they’d bump the car up the queue.
1 Like
At least you didn’t get stopped by the police and given a ticket!
1 Like
I’m just pleased that the garage found it, as we are off to Provence next week. Imagine a blow out at 130kmph.