First_Lexus

Quite right! The money ‘invested’ in HS2 for very little tangible benefit would have been far better spent elsewhere. Personally I’d spend it on improving the wider railway network, but your point stands. We seem to be paying an ever increasing amount of tax for an ever decreasing level of public services. Meanwhile, I see the erstwhile Mayor of London is spending £6m on a ‘branding’ exercise for some of the London overground lines. It’s a great example of something absolutely not needed and not voted for. Just vanity. That money could and should be better used. TBF he isn’t alone. Politicians of every party now seem to be obsessed with getting rich and/or leaving a ‘legacy.’ Whatever happened to genuine public service?

Terribly sad news, he was a fantastic broadcaster and almost the soundtrack to my life. At school in the mid-eighties his afternoon Radio 1 show was always on in our various Upper School/Prefects/Boarders common rooms. Wherever you went you heard his show, it was essential listening for most of us. Then at University I continued to listen to him on Radio 1, later following him to Radio 2 as I got older. Quite a shock to hear this news. RIP.

It is interesting to reflect that the introduction of elected ‘Police and Crime Commissioners’ was intended to be the start of greater local accountability and policing priorities in line with those of the communities they represent. A few years on, and they seem to be largely ineffective. Hardly anybody actually bothers to vote for them, and nice words don’t seem to be backed up by action. Anyway, I’m going to try writing to mine (link to all of them enclosed). ‘Strong local policing’ is one of his five priorities, and I’ll be interested to see; a) if he replies; b) whether the reply addresses my question/concerns or if it is simply a standard response, and; c) if he does address my question directly what the response is (i.e. does he want Officers to attend car thefts, thefts from property etc.) https://www.apccs.police.uk/find-your-pcc/matthew-barber/ I know it’s a bit of a trope, but ‘perception is reality’ and there does seem to be fairly widespread disaffection, with current policing focussing on the ‘wrong’ things. Hunting people down for their opinions expressed on Twitter, or catching car thieves?

I have a test drive booked at the end of the month. The car looks impressive, and the reviews are excellent, but the initial PCP numbers I’ve been given aren’t encouraging…I’d end up paying over £100 more per month than on my current RX deal! I know that’s because the world has changed since 2021 when I bought mine, both in terms of interest rates and trade in values. I also know that I got a huge discount for the RX at purchase, and there don’t seem to be any discounts on the LBX at the moment, nor are there any finance offers. Why would there be to be fair, as it’s a brand new model. What has depressed me is the staggering drop in value for my RX over the past six months, one can only assume because of theft/insurance issues affecting desirability. Anyway, I’ll go and look at the LBX as it may be a future contender. For now I can’t see why I’d downsize and pay more, which offsets increased insurance on the RX. One other thing. I’ve looked at a couple of other brands - one premium, one not - and both dealers offered significantly more for my RX than Lexus have! That’s disappointing, but may be resolved with a bit of a haggle. One option is the new MINI Countryman which I’ll drive in March. Looking in the showroom, it’s more practical than the LBX, helpfully cheaper for a like for like spec (£4k approx), and has an impressive and high quality interior. At the other end of the scale I’ve been impressed by the Skoda Kamiq, which is £10k cheaper than the Lexus for the top model, and as I’m now doing fewer than 5k miles a year may well be a good ‘value’ alternative.

I heard on BBC Radio news earlier that the boss of JLR has been defending the security of Range Rovers following reports of ‘soaring’ insurance costs. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/jaguar-land-rover-stolen-insurance-cost-b2489922.html

Truly the ‘greatest generation.’ I simply can’t imagine what they went through and the sacrifices they made.

I know it’s a bit of a cliche, but he was everybody’s favourite Uncle. A bit mad, just really good fun with the children (as I was). I was fascinated by the war - think comics like ‘Battle’ which I read every week - but he’d NEVER speak about what he’d seen or done, and I really tried (as did various other Nephews and relatives). He’d always deflect attention by saying his injuries (a couple of lost fingers and a few scars) were due to battles with dragons, or lions or tigers and even sabre toothed tigers and dinosaurs. After he died we saw his medals and found out about his service. A quiet and genial man, and very good humoured. God only knows how, given what we found out afterwards. One foolish bully found out to his cost.

I am absolutely not condoning violence of any sort, but people need to be careful these days as the person they are abusing may well have a shorter fuse than they. It just isn’t worth it, the world has gone mad. Back in the 1980s, an elderly relative of mine - now sadly long passed - was being abused by a Porsche driving ‘Yuppie’ following a ‘road rage’ incident. At traffic lights the (young) Porsche driver decided to get out of his car and abuse my relative. Unfortunately for him, the elderly gent in a Volvo he was shouting out was a former WW2 Commando. He’d been there, seen horrible things and done horrible things (we assume). Never spoke about it though. With seatbelt unfastened, the Volvo door was opened - hard - into young abusers face. That was swiftly followed by a couple of punches. He learned a lesson that day, via a broken jaw and several lost teeth. Don’t assume the ‘old guy’ is just going to take it. The story goes that a taxi driver (this was London) and a couple of other bystanders had to pull him away forcefully before the police arrived. The red mist had descended, not a side of him I ever saw as a youngster. Charges were never pressed. Different times, but the police on arrival (I’m told) essentially took the position that ‘Yuppie boy’ started it and got what he deserved… Like I said, be careful. You just never know who the other party is…

Just for interest…no Lexus models in this Top Ten at least! BTW love the Evoque shown being a Nissan Juke and the Range Rover Sport showing the burning car park at Luton Airport…😆

The trouble is that the Lexus CANBUS vulnerability is worse than other manufacturers (apart from JLR). I won’t commit to another Lexus without knowing it isn’t as vulnerable as my current RX - and I think the LBX ought to be ok as the new RX and NX are fixed, but want the assurance…

I’m there, looks great and would suit me very nicely…as long as it doesn’t have CANBUS theft vulnerability. One assumes like the new NX and RX it doesn’t, but does anybody know for certain?

^^ Or good broadband if signal is patchy using wi-fi calling… ^^ I tell youngsters that when I was growing up, lots of areas were yet to have ‘direct dial.’ Family in London we could call direct, but those in more rural areas we still had to pick up the receiver, tap the buttons to connect to an operator, and ask for a line to the location before dialling the three or four digit number. Good times…and yes, I do miss them regardless of how much simpler technology makes things. Somehow speaking to the operator was more civilised…

I moved into a new build property in 2021, and they don’t fit landline sockets or wire for the landline network any more. I thought I’d miss it, but with fibre broadband and unlimited mobile calls (connected via wi-fi calling when at home) I don’t miss the landline at all!

Kier Starmer wins the General Election, but with a large proportion of seats won with a majority of 5,000 votes or less, he’ll struggle to hold the party together as the left try to re-assert control. Jeremy Corbyn supporters wait excitedly for their moment. There will continue to be political scandals, regardless of which party is in power. With a Labour Government the smart money is on Emily Thornberry doing something dodgy, but it could be any of the rascals in Parliament. The Conservatives will have their ‘Michael Foot’ moment and turn to Liz Truss, ensuring that almost regardless of what Labour do in office, they’ll remain a more credible option. In the US, the Republican Party will finally realise that almost anybody other than Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden. Kermit the Frog wins the nomination, and a landslide victory, becoming only the third muppet to become President. Donald Trump sentenced to prison time. The BBC will continue to make ‘progressive’ programmes to appeal to ‘Gen Z’ failing to realise that Gen Z don’t actually watch television. The people who actually still watch the BBC, and who the BBC despises, continue to give up paying the licence fee, and BBC output and funding becomes a political crisis. Boris Johnson launches a surprise TV career in the remake of the Pink Panther, playing a brilliant Clouseau. He ends the year with an Oscar nomination. People continue to argue online about the EU referendum result in 2016, but to everybody’s surprise everybody on every side decides to ‘agree to disagree’ and move on. A new Bank Holiday is declared in celebration, but arguments restart over whether to call it ‘Farage Day’ or ‘Delors Day.’ The nation sighs wearily… There will be an uneasy peace brokered for Gaza, but no long term solution (after all, why would we expect an easy solution after a couple of thousand years?). The war in Ukraine will rumble on, largely ignored by the Western Powers who have now lost interest. However, Vladimir Putin also loses interest, and in a shock move starts a TV career in the remake of Kojak. He ends the year as a beloved entertainer with a Golden Globe nomination. There will continue to be an absence of genuine good news, mainly because any actual good news is dismissed in the toxic echo chamber that political and economic discourse has now become. Electric car sales will continue to stall, leading to increasing price reductions and finance offers to encourage motorists to switch. Labour’s ‘green industrial revolution’ becomes a mid-term crisis for Kier Starmer, leading to his resignation following details of funding provided to the party by ‘interested parties.’ Angela Rayner takes over as leader. Voters decide perhaps Liz Truss wasn’t all bad… Sadiq Khan loses the London Mayoral election, and tries to mimic Donald Trump by declaring the election void and London a new republic under his leadership. Nobody outside of the M25 notices, and satisfaction levels in the rest of the country increase with London gone… Happy New Year!

Three ways for me. Most of the time I listen to the DAB radio built into the car. Alternatively I use Apple CarPlay to access my Spotify account and playlists. Lastly I still load CDs and listen to those if I just want to hear one album (find it easier than Spotify in that situation if I already have the CD, and I’ve got over 1000 so I do have most that I want to hear!)

I too have never heard of Zen, but according to their website checker they don’t cover this part of Berkshire near Reading. Very odd! I’ve been with Sky for a few years and have always found them exceptional, really impressive. When my internet router broke earlier in the year they did a rapid assessment and then sent a replacement by courier. Issue reported about 19.00 on a Saturday evening, replacement router delivered on Sunday. Tbh I never had an issue with BT or TalkTalk (I was with both over the years). The only issue I had was with PlusNet who really were the worst organisation I’ve ever dealt with. Broken promises and non-existent customer services (despite the ‘cheery Northerner’ adverts). I had a battle with them lasting a year for compensation based on their breach of their terms and conditions. Often they simply didn’t reply to letters, claiming they could only deal with issues by telephone (an outright lie). In the end a friend who happens to work as a journalist for a national newspaper (ahem) started investigating the story and hey presto - one telephone call from her to their PR team and I had compensation in full with an apology and further ‘goodwill’ payment as ‘their service hadn’t met their usual standard.’ Yeah, right. Just a bunch of cowboys in my experience.

Indeed, Shaw’s point was (we assume) that we don’t take advantage of the benefits of youth until it’s too late and by then we know better not to waste such opportunities…

“Youth is wasted on the young. They’re brainless, and don't know what they have; they squander every opportunity of being young, on being young.” George Bernard-Shaw Seemed somehow appropriate… 😆

This is how I feel too. Every debate, whether about politics or gender or anything else has to be binary, i.e. there has to be a ‘correct’ answer, and anybody not in tune with ‘the message’ is somehow evil just for holding a different opinion. Conflating opinion and fact has, as you say, become endemic. I’ve said before on these pages, many years ago a very senior Civil Servant gave me advice that has stuck with me; “Never present an opinion as a fact, as others will think you a fool.” For the avoidance of doubt, and in order to maintain some balance, I should also say that those who trumpet ‘free speech’ as a way of promulgating hideous views also have no place in society - or at least don’t deserve a platform to spread hate. My issue is that I’m not sure where the dividing lines are now, or what the rules are (assuming there are rules!) As a liberal, the thought of causing offence to somebody makes me uneasy, but also as a liberal I feel I have the right to my opinions. In the US, student activists have thrown red paint over the Lincoln Memorial, and other memorials and statues to him, ostensibly because he once owned slaves and prosecuted war and land theft from the Native Americans. This is problematic. By all means teach the whole person, stress that not everything he did or believed was right (by our modern standards, there’s that context again) but please don’t seek to CANCEL him entirely, that’s madness. Churchill is similar in a UK context. Yes, he held problematic views by our standards, and those should be understood and taught appropriately. However, the obsession with a message of ‘Churchill bad’ ignoring undeniable examples of ‘Churchill good’ is academically poor practice. That is where we’re headed though I’m sorry to say… I said earlier that I don’t know what the rules are any more. The best example I can think of comes from early years (primary) education. The Roman Empire is still taught - generally - as a force for good and civilisation in a style I recognise from my own childhood in the 1970s. Roman slavery is taught as a bad thing - often using the “how would you have felt as a slave” perspective - but it very much takes a back seat in the learning. Compare and contrast with teaching about the British Empire at the same ages and older. Fascinating…

I’ve moaned about the state of education in this country previously, and you’ve hit one particular nail fairly and squarely on the head there! Speaking with my extended family, and interacting with youngsters through volunteering at my former University, I see one aspect missing these days - context. There seems to be a move towards a single ‘correct’ or ‘valid’ message, from which nobody should deviate. Teaching Elizabeth I simply with lots of references to the evils of colonisation and empire, or Henry VIII as a misogynist tyrant, the Great War trivialised as ‘lions led by donkeys’ and ‘unnecessary slaughter’ - I could go on. Nowhere does there seem to be any appreciation of the context of the times, the simple truth that thought and belief was alien to how we think now. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t teach the evils of the past, far from it. But, and it’s a big but, we need to give our children the appreciation that things have changed and will continue to change, and that reflecting our values onto history is at best problematic and at worst just lazy and ineffective teaching. I appreciate I’m going back some years, but our school made us - MADE US - debate and argue points of view with which we didn’t agree, simply so we could try and appreciate other viewpoints, and that there WERE other views than those we considered to be the consensus of the time.

I’m with you! Have never owned a sports car, but… Vanden Plas 1500 (posh Allegro); Lada Riva 1200L, Rover Metro 1.1C, Mini Clubman 998cc automatic, Mini Mayfair 998cc automatic, Hyundai Accent (it was the 1500 GSi though. Does that count as sporty?) I’ll stop there…😇😅

My NX had a new screen because of a similar big crack after a stone hit - first one I’d needed in years too!

Perhaps. But the equipment isn’t my biggest issue. The drive really is good (ride quality excepted), but the general decline in interior quality combined with the big screen mean it’s a no from me. Hard plastics on the front door tops? Really? For £70k?! Just my opinion, obviously.

My two year old RX 450h is having its second service today, and as a courtesy car I have the new model RX 350h Premium. Interesting to drive them back to back and compare. What do I like about the new RX? - it feels far more nimble to drive, and noticeably sharper than the previous model RX - performance is strong. I’d worried about the drop in engine capacity and the added turbocharger, but I couldn’t notice much difference in performance, if any. Unfortunately that’s about all I am positive about! - styling - which I know is subjective - doesn’t do it for me. The colour I’ve been given doesn’t help, being Sonic Copper which I don’t think suits the car at all. The rear quarter view is dumpy and, to me, has more than a hint of Maxi/Allegro about it! Yes, really…and the front view is just ugly. - ride quality. The drive is sharper, but the trade-off is ride comfort. On the exact same roads it was noticeably jittery in comparison, and I much prefer a softer ride - quality. To me, it feels as though interior quality has declined. Some of the plastics don’t do a car of this price justice imho, and certainly feels like a step backwards. Also, why remove things like proper door handles (seems like the answer to a question nobody asked) and kickplates on the rear door sills etc. The column stalks feel cheaper too. I guess weight saving is at the heart of this, but again given the price I’m underwhelmed! - tech. I just don’t like the big central screen being something of a Luddite. Yes, I’d get used to that, but I don’t want to! - equipment. Given the price increase over my current RX, I’m surprised to see no glass roof, no HUD etc. It is well equipped but the comparison given the price difference doesn’t sit well with me. Don't get me wrong, it’s a good car. I do like it. Problem is, I don’t like it as much as the previous model…

I think the local bank manager had to tread a fine line though. I remember my Father telling me about the manager of the Midland Bank in the town where I grew up, who had quite the reputation aka Cpt. Mainwairing in Dad’s Army. At some point, I assume in the 1950s or early 1960s he upset one of the local business owners once too often. It turned out that said businessman knew somebody high up at Midland ‘Head Office’ - probably Freemasons, Rotarians or similar as was the fashion back then. The Bank Manager pretty much vanished overnight and was replaced by a much younger and more modern chap…ironically my Father (who had his account there) never got on with the new guy, and shortly afterwards left Midland never to return. There was an episode of Dad’s Army when Sgt. Wilson got his own branch - briefly before it was bombed - mainly through his public school education and connections which were from the ‘Upper Classes’ rather than Mainwairing with his Grammar School and aspirational ‘middle class’ background. Every time we watched that episode (my Father lived with me in later life when he wasn’t in good health) the story about the manager of the Midland bank would be told…😂