London Classic Car Show 2018 – Icon Post

This is the third and final post of the three from the Classic Car Show Sunday the 18th February 2018 at the London Excel Centre. At the show as per my other posts there was lots of gleaming cars, motor sports was well represented and a VIP was also there for the day collecting his “Icon Award”.

“Should you ever meet your heroes?”

That question has been asked many times and I suspect that there is a lot of various and wide responses, some good and some shattered dreams I expect. Whether it’s a TV star, music star, sportsman, author, radio personality or any celebrity, people will always dream of meeting somebody who inspires them, some of them may be historical figures and some present day. My answer to that question is answered below and a massive tick on my bucket list, which happens to be quite a small list. I’m not actually a lover of the term “Hero” as it sounds like a bit of a obessesion, so the term for me should be “Icon”, but for now we will stick with hero as that is the question.

The 1992 Formula 1 World Champion and Indy Car World Champion 1993, Grand Prix Masters Champion 1995:

Nigel Mansell

I mentioned in the other posts a couple of clues to this post; apart from him sitting in the F1 car in the motor sport post, there was the “5” at the end of the post. Nigel’s Racing number over the years has been 5 where possible and it’s always been a red 5, in fact Nigel now tags his signature with “Red 5“. I started following Formula 1 in the mid eighties during my late teens and early twenties as Mansell arrived on the scene properly. There is so much that has been written about Nigel and his career too much to list here. So take a look on Wikipedia would answer a lot of questions and give you good insight to the man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Mansell

My own top 15 Nigel Mansell Facts:

Nigel is the only man in history to hold both the Formula 1 World title ’92 and the Indy Car Title ’93 with the Newman Haas team, at the SAME time.
Enzo Ferrari personally picked Nigel to drive for the Ferrari team in 1989/90 seasons. Nigel was the last driver to be given that honour before Enzo died.
Mansell and his two sons Leo & Greg took part in the 2010 Le Mans race, the first time a Father and two sons had raced together.
1985 French GP Nigel broke the record for the highest speed crash at 200mph, giving himself concussion at the same time.
Nigel has had a OBE & CBE titles from the Queen.
Nigel’s first F1 race for Lotus was in 1980, he started the race with fuel leak that filled his cockpit. He later retired with 1st & 2nd degree burns to his buttocks.
Last race of the season Melbourne Australia in 1986 Nigel suffered a tyre explosion that ended his chances of being the 1986 World Champion.
Nigel won the 1992 F1 championship with five races to go, such was his dominance of that season.
Nigel won his first ever race for Ferrari. It’s a known fact that the car was not expected to last more than a handful of laps, Nigel even booked a flight home before the end of the race. He managed to keep it going and bring the car home. The Italians nick named him “Il Leone” – The Lion, as a result of his determination.
Nigel is the only man to put a hole in the Phoenix Raceway oval track after a collision at 174mph.
Nigel has broken many bones including his back and his neck in 1977 during a race qualifying session. Doctors told him that he was perilously close to quadriplegia, he still discharged himself from hospital and started racing again a few weeks later. In fact he still races with the same neck brace he used after that crash where he was lucky to be alive.
Nigel was a Special Constable on the Isle of Man for 11 years all through his racing career while he lived there until 1995.
Nigel’s golf handicap was scratch and almost +1, his aim to play in the British Open.
Nigel sold his Woodbury Park Hotel and Golf Club that he built up in Devon for approx £11m.
Nigel’s son Greg was named after his God Father; Greg Norman the golfer and best friends with Nigel.

Enough of the facts on with the photos. On the entrance to the show Mansell’s 1986 car FW11 was on display. Mansell failed to win the Championship by just two points with only 19 laps to go. I remember that I was up at stupid o’clock in the morning to watch the race live from Australia, and was in shock and mortified when I saw that rear tyre explode.

Probably nothing like the pain Nigel felt losing the championship. This is that very car and same chassis from that very race.

The show was to have Nigel drive a car down the roadway. His first drive was a beautiful black open top E-type Jaguar. I was a little late getting to the barriers, but being 6’4″ does have its advantages sometimes.

A little later in the day Nigel was to again drive down the road, but this time in a Formula 1 car which just happened to be Michael Schumacher’s old car during the time he was at the Benetton team, which was also on tmy previous motor sport post.

Nigel was allowed to “burn some rubber” and was the only person that day allowed to do so.

On his return trip back he did a donut or two and parked up where he was besieged by media to receive the 2018 Icon award. At this time I was on the bridge over the road and had to zoom in to try to get a picture, so they are little grainy, sorry.

I borrowed this picture from the Excel Centre’s own web page.

Mansell’s career started with Formula Ford where he won the championship in 1977 in this car, he won 33 of the 42 races that season. To fund his racing and dreams of getting his break into Formula 1, he sold his house and all his personal possessions to fund that dream. Once Nigel was in Formula 1 it eventually took him twelve years to realise that dream.

Mansell was snatched up by the late great Colin Chapman in 1980 as a test driver for his Lotus team to start with. Nigel got his break in 1980 in the Lotus 81B here. See also point six of my facts above.

The other famous car that was there for the Nigel Mansell Tribute was the FW14B. This was the car that won the World Championship in 1992. I was at two races that season; British Grand Prix where he won and the German Grand Prix two weeks later where he won again with Ayrton Senna second and Michael Schumacher third. That was my dream podium right there.

A previous revision of this car was also featured in one of the most famous F1 photo opportunities taken. In 1991 Mansell gave a lift the legendary Ayrton Senna a lift back to the pits after his car broke down during the British Grand Prix. Much to the disgust of the marshalls who tried to pull Ayrton from the car. I was at that at that race.

After I had drooled over these cars again Nigel was scheduled to give a couple of question and answer sessions. I got to the stage area a little later than I anticipated due to the amount of people heading in that direction, as a result I had to stand at the back of the crowds. I had to zoom in to the max so a little grainy, but I think you get the idea.

There was a great atmosphere during the talk and Nigel had the audience in fits of laughter with some of his stories. After the allotted time had over ran he sat at a table in order to do an autograph session. The queue for the table was long, as I was standing at the back my plan of action was the direct route to the line. My wife on the other hand-made a tactical dash around people and got their way before I did and was standing in the middle of the line with a daft grin on her face, what a great result. perhaps we may get there before he has to go. Very well-played that girl for getting the spot. 🙂

During the wait for our turn I watched as Nigel shook hands with everybody in front of him and signed everything they gave to him. He took selfies with the children and his older fans. Never once did he complain or refuse having to keep getting out of his chair walk around the table for a picture and back again. I had taken my 1992 Grand Prix race programme with me and my Special Edition Auto Sport magazine dedicated to Nigel Mansell the F1 World Champion 1992.

Now it was my turn, my throat was getting dry and I was determined not to make a fool of myself. I gave my ever patient wife the phone to take pictures. Instructions were simple, just keep taking the pictures. I walked to the table and handed my 1992 race programme to Nigel and he shook my hand and thanked me for coming!

I proceeded to explain that I was at that race. “That was an amazing day, but I have to apologise to you; I was one of the mad nutters that invaded the track after you had won, I’m sorry.” Nigel replied with a chuckle and “So you was one of those were you!” “Yes, but I’m glad I did!” We laughed. Nigel had refered to the track invasion of the fans in a later press interview after the race, it wasn’t good to be honest and a bit dangerous, but “Mansell Mania” had taken over.

I thanked Nigel for his time and we shook hands again. My wonderful wife then gave Nigel my other magazine and he signed that for her (well me actually) too. I took over the phone camera and took lots of pics of their meeting. We both said our thanks again to Nigel and we left the table for the next fans. Unfortunately my wife has vetoed the photo’s of her at the table with Nigel. That decision I have to respect, but this was one of the only pics without her in it that I could post.

I walked away with some serious stupid grin and some disbelief; I had just met my sporting Icon (hero) at long last and it had not sunk in yet.

These were the items Nigel signed for me, he even thought about where to sign the covers.

1992 British Grap Prix Official Programme.

Autosport Special Edition Souvenir Magazine.

Now I feel that I can answer the question I raised above; “Should you meet your hero?”

If it’s Nigel Mansell, then that is big “Yes“.

He was gracious and polite all the time which was everything and a lot more than I had hoped for. That was a huge tick completed of my bucket list. It was all down to the wife who found out that Nigel would be there and could be signing autographs, so it was worth a shot for me. We had a sit down and a drink to get over what had just happened. I still can’t get used to the fact he no longer has his famous moustache. We wandered around for the rest of the afternoon and took the photos for the other posts. I managed to catch up with Adam from Mustang Maniac who was around by the Mustang Owners Club stand ready to take his car back home again after the show. The last part of the As things were running late there was no autograph session. The queue had already formed in anticipation, unfortunately Nigel was ushered away even when he stopped to try to sign some more items his fans had brought in for him. None of that rushing away was his doing and he looked a little sad he couldn’t be there for his fans.

Nigel has always been an inspiration to me for his never give up attitude and sheer determination to get to his ultimate goal. He has and still remains one of the nicest guys in Formula 1.

What an amazing day, one that I will never forget.

As for that track invasion in 1992 that I apologised for; well I was on my way to join these fellow nutters and lucky guys who got there a little before me, but at least I was there on that famous day.

Thank you Nigel “Red 5” Mansell.

Have meet your hero or Icon? what were they like? I have meet a few other “Celebrities” and the odd one was a real idiot and so up himself, I wished that I never bothered to ask for his autograph at the time.

Share my Content

London Classic Car Show 2018 (Part 2)

This post is the second of three that will feature the cars of various motor sports through the years and different types of racing groups. The centre of the hall had a temporary road which split the hall into two halves. The road was opened to cross via a few gates and a bridge over the middle that was accessed by the VIP area. Various cars were allowed to drive up and down the road to let the spectators see and hear the cars.

The pinnacle of racing is arguably the Formula 1 series, although not quite as popular in the USA as the Indy Car series. This first car is one of Michael Schumacher’s F1 race cars. He won his first world championship with the Benetton team before moving onto Ferrari. Formula 1 has been a sport I have followed since the mid 80’s and that is little clue for the next post also in this picture below as well.

Sorry for the quality of some of the pictures as I was zoomed in on the large one.

Other single seat series

The Brutal Group B rally cars were often classed as “Too fast to Race” and were banned from the Rally series. These cars command huge sums of money now but could be picked up for the cost of a second-hand family car at the time!

“Normal” Rally cars of the yester years.

The “Touring Cars” series

The sleek endurance cars.

Some sports cars ( a couple from the previous post also cross into this category.

My next post is the post I am most excited about.

My last Clue: “5“

Share my Content

What Do I Carry?

A little while ago I was going to make a post about what I carry in my car’s trunk after I was asked at a previous car show. This got me thinking that I should do my own post and help other future classic car owners. I started to prepare for it but didn’t post until now.

It seems as though great minds think alike as I was beaten to the post by a fellow blogger and friend of mine Dennis from https://customsclassics.wordpress.com/ who had already asked the question from his readers, it’s well worth a look at his diverse and interesting Blog.

I was also very interested in what other people carry with them for emergencies or in their “skeleton” tool kit as I tend to refer to mine as. But, I am very much under the impression that if you need heavy-duty tools then it’s not going to be a quick fix by the side of the road anyway, don’t even try, just get it transported back home and do it properly.

So just what do I carry?

Tools:

Spanners; this is a Snap-On set of seven imperial spanners in a tool roll. The tool roll also has a standard pair of pliers and a Stanley Knife. The zip section holds a couple of heavy weave cloth rags and some latex gloves.

Small socket & screwdriver set with 1/4″ drive; this is a metric and imperial set of sockets with a ratchet screw driver style handle. These sockets go up to 13mm and 1/2″ respectively. Obviously these small sockets are not for any real load bearing fasteners. The handle also has a set of bits for the screwdriver all housed in a neat case.

Socket set; this is a larger set of metric with a pretty average ratchet handle for 3/8ths drive. The set also has a set of long-nosed pliers, an adjustable spanner, a pair of mole grips, a pair of wire cutters and a small set of small metric Allen keys. This is not Snap-On quality set like the stuff I have at home, but this is more like the weekend mechanic set that will last some grief, to get you out the tight spot in order to get you home, all held in a nice blow moulded case. Within this case I have added a 14mm spark plug socket, ideally I need a thin-walled version with a universal joint at the top for those awkward 3,4,6 and 7 cylinders. A length of coiled wire could always be useful if you have a break in a wire and some electrical tape.

There is a Snap-On on magnetic torch with multi LEDs or a spot beam, a quick access knife from Craftsman.

As my car has now been upgraded with regards to the wire look I carry a selection of modern blade fuses with a couple of extras for the more loaded fuses.

All these items are held secure in a Mustang tote bag that sits on the left side drop off point in the trunk. Thanks to Adam at Mustang Maniac who gifted that and some other goodies for a rather big birthday milestone! Let’s just leave that one there shall we?

As the car is an automatic you can’t bump start the car, so you need power to start it. So I carry this portable charger that not only starts the car but also charges other devices such as mobiles etc. I reviewed the kit previously, click here for the link. It has to be one of my favorite gadgets to be honest.

I carry a kneeling pad just in case the ground is stony and/or to protect any decent clothing I could be wearing. Can anybody guess what year I purchased this pad?

To give you a clue, I was at that amazing F1 circuit before it all changed, where Nigel Mansell won the race, the legendary Ayrton Senna was second, and the future seven time world champion Michael Schumacher was third. What an amazing race and a perfect podium line up for me. All my heroes on one awesome podium.

I also carry a car seat cover in case I get dirty, that will protect the seats until I get home or changed into something clean again. The cover which rolls up quite small, is a rather nice Limited Edition in blue with white stripes, that was given to me by my friendly Snap-On rep. I had a little bit of spending spree with him after a great haul of Snap-On credit vouchers I had been given for gifts over the year. I also sold a kidney, left arm and left leg for the other stuff I wanted, after all I still need the right leg for the gas, and the right arm for the gear shift so I couldn’t sell those! Only joking – it was both kidneys and my liver! But hey, it was worth it.

The spare wheel has modern scissor jack underneath it and a wheel brace with an extendable handle.

Fluids:

The fluids are very important in old cars and need to be checked regularly, so I carry a litre of Kendal 20 – 50W oil, some lead replacement additive for the fuel and a two litres of plain water for the radiator or the water washers. I make sure that I always check my levels before every single trip I make.

Fuel. If I am going on a long(ish) journey I will take a spare one gallon can of fuel. I didn’t post a pic of it as everybody knows what a plastic fuel can looks like. Mine is a nice new silver one. Although it has fuel in it I won’t leave it in there for a long time, I use it up after a few months then replace it just to make sure the fuel doesn’t go off!

Cleaning:

When travelling to car shows I always take a small selection of essential cleaning products. That is a case with the top up cleaners.

If I turn up and the car is dirty I can waterless wash the car very carefully with the Meguiar’s Wash & Wax Anywhere, (review to come). But before I do that I will dust the car down with a genuine California Duster to get all the dust and debris of the car. If the car is clean I will just do a quick mop over with the Meguiar’s Ultimate Detailer, review to come.

Under the hood is the Meguiar’s Engine Dressing (review to come), and the tyres are also catered for with the Meguiar’s Endurance Tire Gel (review to come).

Glass is looked after by the pretty awesome DoDo Juice Clearly Menthal (review here), and I carry a little pot of DoDo Juice Future Armour (review to come) for that extra sealer if required.

The essential part I will never travel without is the Gibbs Brand Lubricant. (Review here). The only thing to remain is the handful of latex gloves to keep clean, not that i use them for detailing the car.

In case it rains I carry a Chemical Guys Wooly Mammoth drying towel (review to come), and a selection of micro fibre cloths for those wipe on and buff off products. At a push they can also be used for cleaning. Last but not least is a roll of blue paper towel.

I’m not sure what could happen, but I try to cater for most eventualities. The micro fibre cloths are for cleaning but could be used for cleaning if I had to of course.

The last non essential thing is my show board. I am in the process of making my own stand for it.

What do you carry, or recommend for me to have in my little skeleton kit, did I miss anything?

Share my Content

Royalty – Your Choice….

Two lots of royal horse power to choose from

The weekend was very busy, and as a treat the wife we went to Harrods in London for a meal. After parking the car we walked towards the store and group of people were looking in the window as they normally do. this was little different as it was men looking, I of course need to see what the fuss was all about. This could be a pretty woman in various states of attire, latest gadgets or cars. The fuss was justified because they had James Hunt’s McLaren F1 1976 World Championship car on display. The main reason for the commotion was down to the fact that the women trying to pry the men’s faces of the window while looking at this glorious car. In fact I did see one poor bloke being pulled by the sleeve away from the window, just like you would pull a dog away from your favourite plant when it’s about to cock its leg all over it! This was the original Championship winning car that has been left pretty much untouched since that wonderful era. Some of the photos were taken through the window, sorry for any reflection, and then a few more taken inside. I did have to lay it on a bit thick to the security guard who was keeping an eye on things as I wanted to get closer. To be fair he did let me get onto the stand as I said I was going to put this on my blog. This is a rare chance to see the car up close and in its full glory. The car is still a classic by todays standards with the very distinctive Marlboro livery in place before the advertising route for tobacco all got banned. What I am particularly pleased about is the stone chips on it – the side pods show that this car was indeed the real deal and not a mock up.

Why was the car here? It was a promotion for the new movie about to be released in September call “Rush” by Ron Howard. The film focuses on the rivalry between Lauda and Hunt. I dare say this will be a blue ray added to the collection when it’s released.

A little background:

James Hunt was born James Simon Wallis Hunt on August 29, 1947, Belmont, Sutton, Surrey, England, UK. Died June 15, 993, Wimbledon, London, England, UK. After a fatal heart attack. He was a British race-car driver who won the 1976 Formula One Grand Prix World Championship by one point over his Austrian arch-rival, Niki Lauda. Hunt began racing his own car in Formula Ford events in 1969. He quickly graduated to Formula Three races, his aggressive driving style and several accidents earned him the nickname “Hunt the Shunt.” In 1972 he joined Hesketh Racing, and in 1974 the team moved up to F1 competition. Hunt scored the team’s only F1 victory, in 1975, before Hesketh was shuttered later that year. He signed with the McLaren team in 1976, and in his first season with that team, he edged out Lauda for the F1 title when the Austrian refused to finish the Japan Grand Prix on a rain-soaked track that he considered unsafe.

Although many people considered Hunt’s title to be tarnished as Lauda had missed part of the season after being seriously injured in a fiery crash, his blond good looks, irreverent charm, and playboy personal life made him a popular favourite and brought a glamorous image to the sport. In his seven years on the F1 circuit, Hunt totalled 10 victories and 14 pole positions in 92 Grand Prix races. After a partial season with Wolf Racing, he retired from the sport in 1979, and he thereafter worked as a sportswriter and BBC commentator.

I have an article on James Hunt that I have cobbled together from various sources or click here.

Royal Mews:

Later that day we had tickets to the Queens Coronation exhibition at Buckingham Palace. I have been there so many times recently it feels like I live there. Anyway, we also had ticket to see the Royal Mews. Now the only horses I like are the virtual sort under the hood, the more the better. But, the mews was more interesting than I was expecting it to be. There were the Royal Ceremonial Coaches there as well as the Queens limo. I have seen these coaches and limo so many times on the telly I have lost count, but it’s not until you see these things close up you realise just how big they are and the amount of craftsmanship involved. I took a few pictures there as they really were interesting.

The Queens own ride has its own unique colour that “only the monarch has and is allowed to use.” I thought the car was black, but it’s a deepest of deep burgundy reds. As for the state coach all in gold it must be about fifteen foot tall and twenty-four foot long. The hand painted works of art on the coach is some serious paint job along with the huge wheels, they are some serious rims!

The Queens own ride

Share my Content

Unexpected Bouquet Award

There are not many things that cause me to be speechless because I like to think I have an answer (or a point) for most things. Today was one of those moments. I was nominated for the Bouquet of Three Award! I write my blog about my passion for the restoration of my Mustang and I enjoy doing it. I never expect to receive any award for that reason as it is quite a niche subject, but if anybody takes time out to read my blog then I am grateful that they have kindly given up their time to share my passion. There are some really great blogs out there and I was lucky enough to find a great blog by Alicia Benton http://aliciabenton.wordpress.com/ Her blog has made me laugh, reflect on and look at things from a slightly different perspective too; it really is worth stopping by to have read. I am humbled to be nominated for this award. I would honestly nominated the award to Alicia if she hadn’t already got it.

Thank you Alicia so very much.

Here are the rules:

1. Proudly display the Award Certificate on your blog page!

2. Announce your win with a post. Be sure to link your post back to me as a “thank you” for the nomination.

3. Present up to 15 awards to fellow deserving bloggers.

4. Let them know you’ve nominated them for this awesome award.

5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

There are nearly 50 plus blogs that I follow and I wish I could give them all an award. But I am restricted of course, so it is a difficult decision I must choose, but here goes –

My nominations in no particular order are as follows:

http://hoodscoop03.com/ – I love this blog and we have become good friends through our mutual love of cars.

http://ronscubadiver.wordpress.com/ – This guy has a true talent for photography and wouldn’t mind parting with money for some of his photos. My favourite photography blog.

http://karengadient.com/ – This is a refreshing bright and colourful blog that keeps me coming back for more.

http://cruisin2.wordpress.com/ – This blog makes me think, I don’t always agree with everything he says, but is that not the point to make us think? A great blog

http://dr1ven.wordpress.com/ – A great petrol heads blog. A wide variety of subjects keeps me informed and educated.

http://julieriso.wordpress.com/ – A great blog to travel around the world with some great posts.

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/ – Another great around the world blog, photos and posts are top quality.

http://quattroporte3.wordpress.com/ – I have only been following this blog for a little while and it does inspire me, when I think I am grinding to a halt I can see the hard work that has gone into this guys hard work. I can really relate to it.

http://www.rodalena.com/ – A bright refreshing and informative blog, I’m not sure why I like this blog but I do, but it’s a Well written blog.

http://f1superswede.wordpress.com/ – I love the Formula 1 racing and this guy gives me everything I need, if I miss a race and I need to catch up – this is where I will be.

http://thejigglybits.com/ – This is a great blog and cheers me up no end. Well written and I look forward to the posts.

http://theverybesttop10.com/ – This guy has awards all over the place and it’s easy to see why. A few more won’t hurt.

http://superkonr.wordpress.com/ – A blog dedicated to restoring a classic Mustang.

http://oversteergarage.com/ – A varied video blog of all great American cars.

http://atlastracer.wordpress.com/ – Another great travel blog with some great photos.

Seven Interesting Facts about me:

1) I polish my tools before I put them all away in my polished tool chest

2) I have a sleep disorder where I wake up at least once every night

3) I love gadgets

4) I read the manuals for all the stuff I buy except when I make a flat pack of something. It’s a man thing!

5) I made myself sick once by go-karting for to long without a break

6) I have fallen asleep in shop doorway in London after a heavy night on the town. I woke up with some small change in my lap!

7) I honestly like the Nick Cage movie – Gone In 60 Seconds

Share my Content

Making up for lost time

The weekend took forever to get here and once it arrived it only paid me a fleeting visit.

The last two weekends have been busy with Mother’s Day and birthdays. On both occasions I was delighted to go shopping and not spend that special man & machine time that only petrol heads understand. Saturday started with the left hand front brake drum, it was de-rusted and had two coats of Rustcure applied. Next weekend it will get the VHT caliper spray applied. I also managed to do a few jobs in the garage. The main one was to cable clip the solar power charger cable to the wall. This was going fine until I got to the front of the car. Now the car just fits in the garage and I have to squeeze around the front to get the other side. This is a carefully controlled operation as the front of the car is on axle stands and there is no protection around the hood catch. I mention this as the hood catch is around the same height as my man equivalent of, two sockets and a ratchet. On squeezing past the open hood in the middle part, there is a sharp corner that caught the standard issue jogging bottoms and ripped a little hole. I was waiting for the pain and the feeling of blood. Carefully I checked all was in place and making sure there was no damaged areas that the cold was masking. Now from a distance it may have looked strange a man rubbing his socket set in front of an open hooded car. I know that 289ci engine is pretty good, but I don’t think I would go that far! After the near miss I decided that the hood catch would also be coming off too. I got the proper tools and it was off.

Sunday was strip down of the hood catch and treat it. The photo set can be found under the Photo menu, Bodywork, hood catch or click here. All was ok apart from a few rusted bolts that needed a little persuasion to come out. There was no horrendous rust on there and it just looked worse than it was, in fact it was quite solid. I had set the alarm to come inside and watch the first race of the season Formula 1 in Australia. I put my headphones on so I didn’t disturb the wife. It was a good race and pretty even with an unexpected winner which makes a nice change. After the race had finished I picked up the blog on my Tablet PC, I edited some photos and created a page(s) for them. I have also uploaded my review of my Halfords Advanced Pro 120 Socket Set under Tool Reviews or click here.

Why was I able to do all of this? Saturday the wife went shopping and came home to do some work and online banking. Today she has been at my PC all day doing various things, and marking books. As she has been busy all day and I have kept out of her way. Let it be said that although teachers have long holidays, they spend most of their time planning, organising and marking. I have hardly seen her this weekend. For me that’s a sad thing, as we haven’t even managed to curl up and watch a film like we love to do at the weekends. For me it’s been a strange bitter-sweet day, lots done on the car, but I really haven’t seen my wife. Throughout the weekend she will usually pop out to see what I am up to at least a couple of times a day. I feel sad for her as she hasn’t seemed to of had a break.