PeteB

To be honest, I can. A scruffy, shaven headed, be stumbled bloke, smelling of pig muck, in riggers, combats and dirty shirt isn't the archetypal buyer of an expensive 4x4. As a salesman, you have to be assured that the buyer can afford your product?

I'd give you the blokes number, then you can ask him the story direct? It may be embellished by him but the Sport was from a dealer in the neighbouring county!

I sometimes feel like shouting at my neighbours for their yapping dog, the autistic son rapping on the lawn and visitors parking in our street and not theirs! But then, I got two noisy cars and an 18ft trailer and truck in the street so live and let live!

Is adrenalin brown?

Some years back, a customer regailed me of the story of the RR Sport being released. He had been out in his existing 3yo RR and decided to bob in and have a look. He had seen to his pigs and birds, rubbed off a few logs then mended a tractor before going to the dealership. He circled the Sport in the show room, in combats, rigger boots, muck, dust and oil. He noticed a gaggle of well dressed sales sorts, they noticed him too. After another few laps of the car and opening doors etc, they hadn't moved so he approached them. "How much is the new Sport?", he asked. "Why? Do you think you can afford one?" was the response. "I paid you cash for the HSE last time and now I'm off to your neighbours who might appreciate the business!" He demurred and turn and strode out! He said that there was a sudden scraping of chair legs and a rush after him but he just put a hand up and told not to waste their time as they had missed their chance through arrogance!

Had to go to a local Landrover dealership for a part that I'm fed up wasting time trying to get used or from a breakers. Went to Inchcape in Derby, parked out front amongst the shiny stuff and went in. I was met with a reception desk which wasn't manned, walking past that was a posh seating area, cafe, desked area for customers to lounge and discuss things. The was a Service office with indoor drop off and collect point - very swish! The handover area was there to further massage the buying experience with your car covered in a black, sheer fabric cover! I couldn't see a sign for a parts counter so grabbed a passing suit, it came with expensive shoes, haircut and aroma. "Scuse me, where is the parts counter?" He looked at me with a level of distate, I was in the GreenMech Ranger, complete with triaxle trailer with Evo205SureTrak and fit for a demo! I got directed to the side door to buzz and wait. I did.....I was let into a stock room with shelves, racks of special tools etc. The part ordered, later collected and it was reasonable too but the total absence of a counter or seating etc was bizarre! I was told that it is the new way with parts delivered by van or post with no-one coming to a counter. LR don't want oily people upsetting the buying experience !

Back some 24 years ago when I had two, my local Ag engineer made a damn good job so he had them all the time! But it does depend on who you have around you, but yes, some folk send them back to us. Full details on how it is done is foc if you want.

A win is a win!

Well done girls, hope the washing basket was empty before you left the house. You can peg it out tomorrow first thing....

The CS80 is the same body/chipper as the CS100 but with a smaller, cheaper engine to get the cost down. I've been told that it works bloody well by a dealer who sold a few and watched them working on demonstrations etc.

Did a jar of red cabbage at the weekend, rinsed an old killer under a tap, 3 spoons of brown sugar cabbage sliced right thin, top up with malt vinegar and left to stand for a day before eating. Great with cheese or ham etc. Even nice in a sandwich!

I questioned this as we use All-star and I was far disgusted that we don't get a discount at all but "benefit" from the convenience only. When I ran Barrowcliff's 20+ years back, I got a discounted accountant the local truck stop which I felt was better than a card used anywhere at that time.

I would think that Ash Stevens at GA Groundcare would take it on, he has done other such stuff and he and his team know onions. He is Wiltshire based though.

I got some Wera spanners lately. Right good! Nice rachet action and a novel open ended set up. I'm told the Wera tory or Allen keys are ace and just feel "right".

By and large, lefty loosey, right tights! Unless L stamped in end of stud like a wheel stud?

I can confirm that it wasn't me anyhow!

Old folks brought a listed spot in the sticks near Chard. Windows were rotten so he went off to discuss this with DCC. Listed people said he had to replace with a certain type of flush fitting windows with secondary glazing. Building regs said, bullshine! Has to be double glazing! He got fed up of the internecine squabbles and got it de-listed! Still in a CA so did have to get retrospective planning for the car port he had put up on the site of a garage though.....

But he knows 'business'. That's why you employ his services.

Your accountant would wish to know why you aren't going to him for advice!

We didn't often/routinely carried a camera but old stories suffice? I'll put one up copied from a group - if you want more then periodically, I'll add them! Friday Story Doing the overheads around this area meant we got to see the changing landscapes and developments across a swath of the East Midlands. Early 80's we did a lot of work making sure trees were kept out of the overheads for the surrounding coalmines and there were quite a few. Then when they finished, we saw the pits knocked down and overheads removed etc. Some of the pits have been re-purposed but some are still scar on the landscape and in many minds too. Bagworth Pit is still a scar on the landscape but Ibstock Opencast is now a beautiful park and the railhead at nearby Ellistown is an industrial estate and the long conveyor between them is gone and it is now a footpath. After most of Bagworth Pit had gone - just leaving the pithead baths etc, it was going to be used as a temporary yard facilty by Balfour Beatty while they rebuilt a nearby pylon line which was being put in to account for future development of the area into distribution centres and factories. We somehow ended with the job of erecting some chainlink fencing and posts along with some gates in the pithead carpark so that Balfours had a secure place to store stuff. All the plans and site meetings took place and I discovered that I had the job if I sourced all the material from a supplier in Loughborough. Terms were agreed and I shot of to the supplier with the list. I was met by the Contract Managers spitting image - the supplier was his brother and they fixed the prices and he had the supplies waiting for me! Funny how you win these jobs at times. We started the job and told not to bother hand digging anything as all the utilities had been out and nothing was live, the water was disconnected and the sewers block off! So we started and if we found a cable, out came the hacksaw and it was chopped off! If it was a pipe, it got smashed! Good progress was being made and this temp structure was almost permanent spec! The CM called one day, could we dig a big hole for a sceptic tank and do some plumbing to some portacabins that were going to be delivered? The spoil could be dumped by the pithead as that was due for demolition soon. I declined that job as that was pushing my level of plumbing experience! We could have done it as I employed a chap who had been a hod carrier and knew these things but I had enough tree work to get on with..... By the time we had finished, we had a couple of wheelbarrow loads of copper cabling offcuts from the holes (and elsewhere on the site I must admit) which got weighed in nicely! We then found out that the digger driver who came to do the big hole had found a live 11kv cable which no one knew off and that did for his bucket! It made me sweat a little when I think of the lads cutting through anything with a hacksaw!

I'm in the "water only" camp. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate or soup! Coffee jar was pre mixed ratio of two spoons of sugar, two of dried milk and one instant coffee! Stood overnight on Friday with boiling water and a squirt of lemon juice to clear out the effects of hard water. Otherwise, empty without the lid. I preferred the flasks with steel liner rather than glass and it was pre warmed before filling too. Everyday for 17 years!

A couple of years back, my missus was thinking of a buy to let mid terrace. But the survey noted that there was an invasive plant growing in the rear gardens of the row and that killed the sale. The vendor refused to tackle the problem and a mortgage was politely refused. On another property which she then brought, within days, the rear chimney started to collapse. All parties refused to get involved and it cost us dearly to put it right. I lost faith in solicitors, estate agents, sellers, surveyors, developers and builders to the point that I question everything and am suspicious of the whole spineless lot!

Having had County Transits and Iveco 3500kg trucks, I would say that off road, they aren't up to much and on road is a serious compromise too! The likes of Ranger, Defender, Hilux etc might be okay as asingle cab as long as you understand that they don't carry much and crewcabs are seriously compromised as a load carrier!