Rampant depreciation raises laissez-faire fears in automotive EV scene
IAIN ROBERTSON Recognising that it used to be ‘fun’ to play ‘inflation-proofing’, Iain Robertson wonders what has happened to consumers fighting for better trade-in valuations and motor traders prepared...
From the 1,000th Hill No.2 Suzy’s Supa Dupa Puppet World Part 1
1987 – some teachers asked if we did Puppets. I asked John “Do we do Puppets ?” He returned the question, and I said “Of course we do !!”...
Harry’s Ramblings; Royal coffins
by Harry Pope After the sad news of the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh, I thought I would share some information with you. Even though the Royal Family...
Loyalty – an hugely under-rated ethos that will soon smack of desperation
IAIN ROBERTSON Receiving a press release from a renowned German carmaker led Iain Robertson to reflect on a sometime important aspect of humanity that may have been forgotten in...
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Beautiful in Snow and Sun
By Ann Mealor Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a charming and little known town situated in the Bavarian Alps region of southern Germany. Close to the Austrian border, it has...
Toyota Supra, the ‘Ru Paul’ of Teutonic sporty cars, now in BMW ‘lite’ form
IAIN ROBERTSON The consumer has every right to feel confused, when confronted by a BMW engineered coupe wearing Toyota badges, states Iain Robertson, but, while he cannot fathom its...
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust launches £3 million appeal
Ambitious plan to bring wildlife back to Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull. Ann Evans has the details. Warwickshire Wildlife Trust launched a new fundraising appeal on 30th March...
New BMW iX, due in late-2021, is an EV that is highly encouraging
IAIN ROBERTSON From weird and wacky, to plainly plugly, Iain Robertson has been seriously concerned about the design direction being adopted by the Munich-based carmaker, although the latest news...
Spring is in the air
The daffs are out! I hear this all the time. It’s spring and a new hope dawns amid fresher, warmer air and with it those bright yellow bulbous blooms...
Lyn Looks at Life 6. Crossroads and Mini-Roundabouts.
You’ve probably never heard of Frank Blackmore, but I bet you’ve cursed his blight on our roads! Blackmore worked for the Ministry of Transport in the 1960s and he’s...
Harry’s Ramblings. Dreaming
by Harry Pope I dream a lot, almost every night. For example, last night I was back in my old house, and the mother-in-law was alive. Yup, it was...
Reasons to be cheerful: SIX brand-new Vanwall F1 racing cars
IAIN ROBERTSON On the 19th October 2020, 62 years to the day when British racing legend, Vanwall, won the first-ever F1 Constructors’ Championship, reports Iain Robertson, a small but...
Lyn Looks at Life 5; Jack the Ripper. Do they really know who he is?
Everyone has heard of Jack the Ripper, the notorious Victorian serial killer who attacked prostitutes in 1888 in the slums of Whitechapel. But who was he? He was suspected...
Not all Minis are destined for the road, as exemplified by this E version
IAIN ROBERTSON Being TV-advertised at present, reports Iain Robertson, the Mini E is the fully-electrified version of BMW’s take on the illustrious model that is also fulfilling, in enhanced...
Welsh Witterings. ‘The Curious case of Spotted Dick’
‘Spotted Dick’ the source of playground sniggers from the past! The classic pudding is a source of continual embarrasment it seems, as many Restaurants and canteens too have...
SHELLY BEACH SNIPPETS NO. 132 MARCH 2021.
Patricia Newell-Dunkley Photographs by Reginald Website: Google: Patricia Newell-Dunkley for all previous Snippets. My Books “The Complete Guide to Painting and Decorating Porcelain, The Woman I...
Lyn Looks at Life 4; We want Woolworths!
One of my claims to fame is that I was the last customer ever in our local Woolworths on the night it closed down. Woolworths had always been a...
Lyn Looks at Life 3; How to Succeed in Life when you don’t have any Talent!
I ought to turn that title into a book! 1 Don’t use one word when five will do. 2 Use a flowery language that no-one can understand. They won’t...
Lyn Looks at Life 2. Double Doors; What a Stupid Invention!
We’ve all done the Double Door Dance. Why do people only open one door when there are two? If two people approach the door at the same time, they...
Lyn Looks at Life 1; April Fool’s Day
April 1st is April Fool’s Day. Why, nobody knows. Chaucer possibly referred to it in the 14th Century, but he didn’t make it clear that it...
British Motor Museum is heading your way
If visitors can’t go to the museum, let the museum go to the visitors! Ann Evans has news of the British Motor Museum’s family fun this Easter. ...
Stuff a bit of Gazoo Racing up your Toyota C-HR for motoring enchantment
IAIN ROBERTSON Long-time fan of Toyota’s response to the Nissan Juke, Iain Robertson’s pro-C-HR stance certainly helped the Japanese carmaker to nail its colours to the mast, although he...
Aznom Palladium: either the wittiest, or twittiest, new car to ever break cover
IAIN ROBERTSON Seldom lost for words, Iain Robertson admits to struggling with one of the strangest ever attempts of a notional Italian carmaker to formulate an entirely new strain...
Bentley notoriety has hiked its GT Speed coupe to ‘most desirable’ status
IAIN ROBERTSON It is almost unwarranted that a car linked to gap-toothed caddishness, via gadabout Bentley Boys and more recent Germanic inferences should become an object of automotive pleasure...
Jeni on Drawing 22. Hybrid Contemporary Dance event
A while ago, Francesca Tranter, Assistant Lecturer / Dance Practitioner at the University of Malta School of Performing Arts and also the Artistic Director and Choreographer at Contact Dance...
IQUI 360 Camera
IQUI 360 Camera, by Vecnos priced at £299 The explosion of social media, and the way it has grown and evolved over the last few years, has led to...
Octavia has earned the right for more but the latest plug-in vRS goes partway
IAIN ROBERTSON Life can be terribly unfair, states Iain Robertson, and never more so than in big, bad corporate world, where meritorious effort is often regarded as little more...
Wine and dine amongst the vines at Denbies
By Ann Mealor Located on the North Downs and within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is the 265 acre Denbies Wine Estate. The estate’s...
Taxi Noir: All Jabbed Up but Nowhere to Go
Over the years I’ve built up a programme of regular annual events. When the weather starts to get warmer it’s a joy to start planning. I’m all vaccinated...
Can the new XE become the much-vaunted Mark Two in Jaguar’s line-up?
IAIN ROBERTSON Subtlety is the current buzzword in Jaguar’s styling suite but Iain Robertson, long-time Jaguariste, worries that living in the past may not be the answer to future...
Peugeot’s design language is almost ‘on point’ with new 308
IAIN ROBERTSON As a long-standing advocate for the Peugeot brand, Iain Robertson has always felt that, when left to its own devices, the French carmaker is capable of turning...
Fresh talent devises new Jaguar F-Pace that now looks/feels like a Jaguar
IAIN ROBERTSON Jaguar Cars has endured more than enough problems over recent years, states long-time brand fan Iain Robertson, and there is nothing quite like a vital blood transfusion...
My Marvellous NHS Hospital Treatment.
After a big operation I seemed to have recovered well. But after a couple of months I began to get stomach pains which were getting worse, and I was...
Try to ignore the ‘schnozz’ on the latest BMW 128ti, as it is what lies behind it that matters most!
IAIN ROBERTSON Cyrano de Bergerac was a Gallic novelist, playwright and duellist, highlights Iain Robertson, yet he will forever be remembered for possessing a most sizeable nose, a factor...
Taxi Noir: A Little About Myself
My name is Chris. I’m a careers adviser who doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life. I’m not actually unemployed as I’m a full-time writer. At...
Green Charities Unite
Five leading environmental charities unite to call for nature’s recovery across the West Midlands. Ann Evans has the details. Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, TheAC Wildlife Trust for Birmingham...
Cute Ignis Auto provides practical space at a surprisingly high price
IAIN ROBERTSON Beware of a ‘catchpenny’ trait being exercised by Suzuki GB, warns Iain Robertson, as it entices unwary customers towards a rocky shoreline of its own creation, where...
Cuba. A living museum.
It’s no use just looking at photos of Cuba. You have to see it, smell it, feel it, hear it and taste it. Cuba is alive. It throbs with...
Problematic British bike industry may have a new champion in Langen
IAIN ROBERTSON It does not matter that you cannot recall why sometime world-beating motorbikes were invariably British, highlights Iain Robertson, but they were and, despite several attempts to revive...
Dipping into VW Group’s enormous spare parts bins enables new Audi A3 hybrid development
IAIN ROBERTSON At a moment in time, when the automotive business is looking all shaky and EV charged, highlights Iain Robertson, it is heart-warming for fans of quality cars...