Thursday, September 20, 2007

A Most Pleasant Walk




















A pleasant day, and a good opportunity to walk a little of the Thames National Path. It's an easy level hike with ever changing scenery. The weather was kind to us, and we saw lots of local wildlife, mostly birds on the Thames.

It's amazing just how busy the Thames is with folks in boats, from Narrowboats to racing dinghys and rowing boats all trying to use the same bit of water.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Something For The Weekend Sir?


In this case, the "something" turned out to be a loan of a Toyota Prius Hybrid. We were prepared to give one a decent road test, especially as cheap road tax and good tax breaks are on offer for company car users.
We were not convinced.
1. The fuel consumption was only around 45 miles per gallon (Imperial)
2. The engine starts straightway when the aircon is on, so burning the planet like any other car.
3. The passenger footwell is very cramped.
4. The suspension is plain awful, I felt car sick on a road I have been using for many years.
5. When you try to accelerate, the engine revs up...and then you finally gather momentum.
6. The music system is inferior.
7. It's quite hard to get beyond 10 mph without the engine starting.
8. The view through the back window is poor, it has a reversing camera, just as well.
9. The gear shift arrangement is counter intuitive.
10.If you forget to engage the foot parking brake after selecting drive, you go nowhere.
11.It's expensive.
12.The battery materials are definitely not environmentally friendly.
The delivering dealer announced that it was "the future". We will settle for the past for the time being thank you. It was collected without comment or enquiry.