On my trip north yesterday I smiled as I passed the long disused filling station a few mile south of Carter Bar on the A68 . Just legible was the old sign - ‘Diesel 71p’ . Eeek. Mind you , when I were a lad the Cleveland Discol Dad bought for his Herald was 4/10 a gallon - for young people that is about 5 p per litre .
Mind you , the way our grey vote seeking ‘prime minister’ is heading the millennials might have to get used to gallons, God preserve us …
Prior to filling up this morning, I took my son to work at the Abinger Hatch pub up in the Surrey Hills. Had a choice of the frugal VW Up! with it’s 55mpg or the Mk1, with roughly half that if I’m being gentle.
Chose the 5, chose not to be gentle, enjoyed the journey immensely and chose not to think (too much) about the fuel cost but I agree, it’s getting damn pricey.
Yes I thought just for a few seconds when filling up the NC, my daily driver can do around 50-55mpg on a run, it’s no fun though.
In the end I got just short of 45mpg on the drive to Harrogate in the NC on the M1/A1, that dropped once I got into the Dales and Lake District. Overall though an average of around 36mpg when I got back home 5 days later.
As with John Aston’s post, I was at the Jackie Stewart Thirlstane Classic event today. A few pics including the 2012 Red Bull RB8 V8 as driven by Sebastian Vettel/Mark Webber. Sounds incredible when fired up. Pics also show some of Sir Jackie Stewart’s previous cars as well as a nice Auto Union and the winners of the ‘dressed to match the car’ competition and the man himself taking part in the 50th anniversary of the local Borders car club (BVAC), who have organised the classic car show at Thirlestane for the past 15 years. Plenty of interesting cars in the car parks as well, including a few other MX5s.
Went from NEM to join the SWM Jubilee run into Wales. What a lovely bunch of people. 28 cars in total. I made a weekend of it. We even had a friendly Yodel lorry driver wave to us a bunch of times in different places, that was ace! Had a brilliant time
You have the roof up!!! Was it actually raining then!
Yes,but £8.60 per gallon won’t sit easy with his target audience!!
Hailsham to Eastbourne via Jevington and East Dean in the dark at 11pm, nice and slow through Jevington but that lovely road gets better in the dark, Had to take the sis in law home coz she missed the bus, perfect for me! Back the same way.
Out and about in Bournemouth this morning. Had to stop and take a pic. The calm before the grockle-storm 
. I’ve lived in worse places…
Great view.
I’ve not heard the term ‘Grockles’ for a few years!!
Don’t stop too long there, think it is all on parking meters there now 
I always thought the term ‘grockles’ was only used on the Isle of Wight, (which is where I’m from originally).
Every days a learning day…
That’s Boscombe Pier in the pic. Not a person on it at 10:30 in the morning - and no cars. Come the weekend, if it stays sunny, it will be groaning under the weight of several hundred visitors and cars will be everywhere you look. The beach, from Hengistbury Head to Sandbanks, about 8 miles, will be packed with hundreds of thousands of day trippers. I don’t begrudge them it at all. We locals mostly stay away at weekends. We have it all to ourselves from September to May 
My Grandfather used to use the term Grockles in the 70’s. I think he got it from the 50’s, when he used to cycle from Derby to the Isle of Wight, stopping at Youth Hostels along the way, before spending his yearly fortnights holiday there.
He always said his Hillman Minx was never reliable enough to get there!!
Popped into the RAF Museum at RAF Cosford, it brought back many memories of mine and my Wifes time in the RAF.
I was there a few weeks ago, called in on the way to Liverpool for the ferry back to Belfast and needed to kill a few hours. Excellent museum. 
We were late, so no car in the picture, but I can see myself and the back of the Obergruppenfuhrer, seated up the top looking over the lower riffraff .
Chris.
