Weather report for the north please

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Snowleopard

Dunno. She's not back yet.

Mrs WUN was wavering earlier about setting off for this bloody funeral
in Coventry.

As we were looking out of the window to assess the state of the road, an
AA lorry came past with the remains of a Peugeot on the back.

That decided her that it would be bloody silly to try.

Oh yes, and we're forecast more overnight here. I may well be working
from home again tomorrow.

 

Some Russian (IIRC) tried that in Germany after he was told that he
wouldn't be allowed to board the plane with a bottle he hadn't bought at
dutyfree.

He did. Whole bottle of Vodka - got him a free trip to the local
hospital IIRC.

 

Hardly. I don't hold any torch for Ryanair but they're pretty clear
about their one piece of hand luggage policy and the charge is for any
piece of hold luggage which was not pre-booked, not specifically for the
duty-free.

If people are too thick to understand what they've signed up to, I'm not
quite sure why that should be Ryanair's fault.

 

Of course they're not.

Their entire business model revolves around getting bums on seats with
rock-bottom headline prices and then stinging them for as many "extras"
as possible.

I've never flown Ryanair. If I have anything to do with it, I never
will. They, and O'Leary, are repugnant.

 

Did you actually read the story? It doesn't appear so.

Ah, that old trick.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Bear

Bless you, they don't have to. It's all part of MO'L's "**** you, the
headline price was low. NOW PAY UP OR WALK, SCUM!" business ethos.

The last[1] time I was conned into flying Ryanair they hit me with
$RANDOM_AMOUNT on the flight out because my bag was over their paltry
allowance. I paid using my Amex card.

They then hit me for $COMPLETELY_DIFFERENT_RANDOM_AMOUNT on the way
back, because my bag now (apparently) weighed more. Odd, that. I handed
over my Amex, they said "We durnt tek thees". "You do in Stansted".
"Zeees is nurt Stansted!".

All done with the charm, tact and customer service skills of a
pissed-off Auschwitz guard who hasn't got laid for a month.

Lovely experience.

[1] And I do mean "last".

 

You can take the boy out of Scotland ...

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3443739.stm

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Bear

Heh. I knew my bag was over their limits. A little consistency is all I
ask.

Hey, what could *possibly* go wrong?

(FWIW, my Easyjet flight was cancelled on Monday, and I've just rebooked
the outbound and return flights online for a couple of weeks, for
free...)

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Bear

<very slight boggle>

Last time I was in Oban I walked (rather rapidly) past a bar called "The
Mantrap".

It's not the best[1] place up there, IMHO.

[1] Depending what you're after, of course...

 

The brazen, surreptitious and borderline-immoral way they go about it.

It just rankles.

 

Because it's a hat?

 

Oh yes, the A82 is lovely but can get a bit choked with Sunday drivers.
If you're not in a hurry, pass through Helensburgh[1] and head to
Arrochar up the banks of Loch Long. That's a lovely little road, if a
bit bumpy. you can either pick up the A82 there or, as an alternative,
the A83 up to Inverary like this (Google Map) www.tinyurl.com/inverary


[1] You could take pictures of Faslane and Coulport while you're at it
and see if you can get arrested.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Bear

<sigh>

OK, the scales here are tested by Trading Standards (yes, I checked, and
they really are).

The scales in Montpellier are (apparently) not, and (surprise surprise!)
read the same bag as being significantly[1] heavier.

So, as far as I'm concerned, they stole some of my money. That (call me
odd) pisses me off a bit.

Look, this all pointless. As far as I'm concerned they are utterly
immoral in their business practices[2]. You're happy enough with them.
Let's leave it there, and I'll try not to do the Pavlovian thing when
they're mentioned. How's that?

[1] In monetary terms.
[2] Some would say that extends to their aviation practices (UKRM
passim.)

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Bear

Umm... ;^)

Seriously, I *love* the road down through Coldstream, or the one through
Jedburgh, but that's from <mumble-mumble> years ago, and it was all
fields round here then.

 

Jesus, how fast are you planning to drive?

Inverness is a bit over 2 hours but the A82 via Fort William is an
absolute hoot especially if you're driving like a complete ****.

Alnwick's meant to be quite picturesque and just within budget.

 

I was pretty underwhelmed by Fort William itself. If I do go there,
it'll be a Friday night departure on the overnight sleeper from Euston
with a return leg on the Sunday night. The early morning ride through
the Highlands is meant to be quite spectacular. The only problem is
finding things to fill Saturday and Sunday.

Takes you into Colin & Pat territory too, if you're picking up a bottle.

I don't think that's far off what I pay for my fleet combined. It's only
money and the alternative is not having the toys you want, so why not?

 

No probs. We have Pat's youngest and family staying, otherwise you
could have had a bed as well. Anyway, I've emailed you my telephone
number - let us know a little before you land to check we're not out
on a walk!

 

Ah well, I did go in the end, to Accrington, Lancs. There I purchased
an Evo VI on behalf of the Austrian guy and then drove it home - 325bhp
and 4wd and M/S tyres. The roads were dead clear all the way home. This
morning the three trains we caught to get there were all running on
time too.

--
Lozzo
SV650S K5 (sold, awaiting collection)
ZX-7R P4 (for sale)
SR250 Special (sold awaiting collection)
CBR600F-W trackbike
SR250 SpazzTrakka,
I see a bright new future, where chickens can cross the road with no
fear of having their motives questioned