Tuesday 6 September 2011

Euro NCAP -how safe is your car ?



How safe is your car ? Click on the title to find out . . .



It was 6.00 am. I was going back home after giving Annette a lift to work across London. Dark and raining. Stopped at the traffic lights, a London bus to the left (in the turning-only lane) and another big red bus to the right. As we all moved off something odd happened : the bus on my left moved into my lane. No signal. No warning. I'm in a tiny Skoda Felica. I become anxious in a milli-second. This is because the bus to my right is moving ahead at the same speed as me, and the two buses are moving towards each other. There's no space for my car. What would you do, because there's a big truck right behind you ?

Crunch . . . the bus on my right squished into the car. It makes a REALLY loud noise, when you've not got the radio on. The bus on the left carried on into my lane and sped off. The bus which hit me pulled over clear of the junction and we did what you always should do, exchange names and addresses and insurance details. His bus had no marks on the paint-work. Pristine and shiny. My car wasn't all bashed up. All we could find was a cracked side-light and a scrape on the wheel arch. The rear-view wing mirror folded flat and survived, so that's another fifty quid I don't have to spend replacing it.
It took me a half-hour to get over the shock. I cannot believe that my first accident ever, trapped between two big buses and I walked away, and the car is drive-able.
Strangely, no-one else stopped to help. There were, even at six in the morning, about fifteen other vehicles at that junction when they saw my car being squished. The police did ask whether I needed an ambulance, but I declined in favour of a cup of tea when I returned home. It's only ten am. what else could happen today ?
Oh yes, my car is about four out of five stars. Reassuring to know.

Best lunch in Bloomsbury




Click on the title to go to the link for this restaurant inside the British Museum in Bloomsbury.
It was January. Don and I went to a camera shop nearby [ http://www.yorkcameras.co.uk/ ] looking at long telephoto lenses (we've both since acquired one or two) and decided to check out somewhere to eat.
We weren't ready for the superbly presented dishes. He had a Thai curry and I had something simple like a Caesar salad. Our palates were very pleasantly assaulted by the range of delicate flavours chasing each other around. We both agreed that it was a very good lunch indeed, and would recommend it to anyone. It's not the least expensive place around, but the glamour of being up at roof level in the new Great Court and the very good food will make it a memorable day for you too.