LenT

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist who dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Trump, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

And had been involved in de-accounting Nigel Farage! How would that have affected her image? At least we don’t have a Minister for Health who actively promoted anti-vaccine conspiracy theories! Who would be stupid enough to appoint someone like that! 🤔

So on the face of it, Stephen, another instance of Pot v Kettle! Although now we can indulge in the game of assessing which lies are the most egregious! And if that even makes a difference in principle. However,I don’t recall Johnson ever calling the Opposition ‘liars’ or ‘scum’ in or out of the House - and requiring the Speaker to intercede. More importantly I suggest in this case is what - if proven - Reeves claimed as her CV when initially appearing before the Labour Selection Committee? Would she ever have become an MP in the first place?

I recently saw a recording of Reeves addressing a business conference during which she laid great emphasis on her previous experience as an ‘economist’ in the banking sector. If this claim is now show to be in any way false by a previous - and senior - employee of Lloyds Bank, then it’s going to take some explaining by her! I am somewhat surprised that only now are the claims in her CV appear to be being challenged. I would have thought that applications for references to her various employer’s HR departments would have set the record straight. Or just as significantly, a refusal to corroborate them. I believe that some mutterings by previous coworkers may have surfaced earlier on ‘social media’, but rather like the Essex Police visit to Allison Pearson to accuse her of a ‘non crime’, this has the feel of a story that is now going to run and run. With her past history of all the odium that this individual previously directed at Boris Johnson as an ‘inveterate liar’ I suspect that they’re already queuing up for some world class score settling.

Oh, I don’t know… Remember, the Dealer’s aim is to retain you as a customer and make more money out of you over the years ahead. And the worst they can do is find - very sadly - that they are out of the item in question….. For example, I have a very nice Lexus umbrella…. Another extra you might want to consider is mudflaps. I don’t know if they come as standard on your car - and you can get them very easily on the aftermarket - and get the Dealer to fit them, if necessary. They proved very effective on my IS250.

I’d very much endorse the fitting of mudflaps - although I didn’t get mine from Aliexpress.

Welcome Paul…and I’m sure you’ll find the LOC very informative - and even entertaining! While you’re on the Lexus site downloading the Manual(s) you might consider looking at the ‘My Lexus’ section. It’s where the Dealer can log all the activity relating to your car. I’ve found it quite useful in the past.

Now, I’m not one to complain about the odd digression, but to caste aspersions on this particular example of a hand crafted, gastronomic feast - the product of a family business older than Lexus itself - is a libel that is more than I can stomach! 😡 What’s more, I suspect it bears no comparison with the processed sludge that I expect comprises a ‘fridge raider’! The Persians were writing about kebabs in the 9th Century AD, so as a food item it can be said to have ‘earned its chops’! 😊

‘Saving time’ is also the best explanation if ever asked why you’ve taken an instant dislike to someone! 😊

Yes, that’s really at the heart of the dispute. From the Dealer’s pov this damage can only have been caused after the car left their premises! (And maybe it was - we don’t know!) Unless Paul has some photographs taken prior to delivery, I accept it will be a difficult one to argue. No doubt this is why Paul regrets not doing his own PDI - as you so effectively described. But maybe there were mitigating circumstances when he collected it? Or he’s not an experienced car buyer. Whatever, I think the suggestion you make is a good one. And I would still be inclined to let CA have a look at!

I agree, Phil. If the situation is as it appears to be (ie a Lexus Dealer selling a new LBX with a dented cill.) then that is unacceptable. A warning letter establishing Paul’s grounds for complaint - possibly from one’s Solicitor - copied to the Lexus UK CEO, might be sufficient to resolve this. Ideally accompanied by the CA estimate for doing the work that the body shop deemed too major! In fact, that the body shop described it as a ‘Major Issue’ is even more damming! Lexus Dealers shouldn’t be selling new cars with ‘Major Issues’!

The question I’m prompted to ask,Paul, is…why do you have to live with it? If this is, as you say, a brand new car, then it’s the Dealer’s responsibility to deliver it as Lexus intended you to receive it. If it has incurred any damage while in transit, it’s their responsibility to rectify it. If it’s a ‘Major Issue’ that’s their problem which they should take up with Lexus, who were responsible for its shipping. If you find that CA can rectify the damage, then inform the Dealer that they will be doing the work and that you will invoice the Dealer for settlement of the cost you incurred.

Jim has linked to my thread above in which I describe how my local ChipsAway guy sorted out a very annoying stone chip on my driver’s door. As well as paint being removed, there was also slight depression of the surface to rectify. After four hours of work on my drive, I can say that the repair has removed all signs of the damage - as the before/after pictures confirm. Now, ChipsAway is a franchise, so ultimately it’s only as good as the individual operator. But I suggest you have nothing to lose by using their website to contact your local Operator and send them closeup photos of the damage. Although yours is a brand new car, CA don’t use the Lexus paint. Instead they use a spectrophotometer to match the actual current shade of the area, mixed on the spot, which is how they can repair small areas without needing generous overspray. This is the website if you’d like to investigate further. Good luck! https://www.chipsaway.co.uk

Trump has always struck me as a classic, textbook example of a pathological narcissistic personality disorder. As I’m sure the likes of Lammy will discover, he is not a man to relinquish a grudge! As Putin et al know full well, the way to manipulate Trump is to apply generous quantities of Ego Massage. That he was able to get anywhere near the position of POTUS - without even going the more traditional Senatorial route - was surely due to the American tendency to confuse a TV Personality with genuine ability. A disillusioned electorate - feeling let down by an aging Biden and being offered no-one untainted by failure - was prepared to overlook Trump’s questionable business practices, his misogynistic behaviour and his often shaky relationship with the truth, and simply bought into his vision of a glorious future. Trump’s oratory seemed to me to consist merely of a glittering wish list to the electorate without bothering with the niceties of process. I often wondered why he didn’t also promise to transform their s*x lives and cure all known diseases! I’m sure he is the least well-educated President in my lifetime and has already demonstrated that he will embrace almost any passing conspiracy theory. I heard one member of his previous administration describe how Trump would ignore informed, expert advice once he had latched onto a more simplistic answer. Still, America has made its choice and Trump’s often illogical and unpredictable behaviour may make the World’s established dictators rather more cautious about what they threaten. Having now achieved what he undoubtedly regards as ‘one of the greatest achievements in human history’, I think Trump will now start to consider his legacy and that will determine his behaviour for the next four years.

An interesting concept, Stephen, but I suspect that there are too many variables to make kebabs a reliable unit of measurement. 😊 In my case it was just the one - but I think having the radio on had much to do with it! I was surprised, mind you, as I thought it was in ‘Accessory’ mode which should have protected the battery by switching the radio off well before the charge level dropped. i might investigate this further now the car is safely home.

Here’s a business idea, Ron. If you know anyone who’s good at stitching, I can see this making a very impressive - if somewhat lengthy - Sampler, which could usefully cover quite a lot of wall. 😊

I admire your confidence, Ron. 😊 To test your hypothesis in a general sense, I embarked on a long drive down to Costco and can report that on this journey at least, the car was spared any further attacks by flying stones. Providence or luck - you takes your pick! However, during my return I paused at my authorised kebab supplier and passed the munching time by listening to the latest news on the USA elections. Possibly as some form of punishment, this flattened the battery to the extent that the engine wouldn’t start! This could have proved most embarrassing - except I had ensured that my NOCO Power Pack was in the boot so normal service was resumed in an instant. In fact this is the very first time I’ve had to use it on the Lexus. The car is currently being trickled up by my CTEK. We will see what adventures tomorrow brings!

You’re so right, Ron. And it’s the kind of damage that’s always the first thing you see as you approach the car! And you know you can have it fixed today - and pick up another one tomorrow! But owners who don’t care probably wouldn’t be engaging on this website in the first place. I’m just grateful that I’m in a position to have it done - although whether that will be my situation by the end of this Parliament remains to be seen! ☹️

He did Phil, but he does think they’re a bit of a pane….

And don’t take my word for it! I’ve just had a visit from our window cleaner! 🤔 It turns out that he used to work in Saab’s Refinishing dept. His job involved sorting out all the scuffs, scrapes and dents that the Press cars came back with after being loaned out to the Media, ready for the next bunch. it seems that what with journalists whose writing was more accurate than their driving, and film crews bolting cameras to the bodywork, there was always plenty of remedial work to be done. So his professional approval of the work was a welcome confirmation of my own amateur opinion! (Isn’t it surprising what you discover about people!).

Well, to my eye, that’s a result! 👍 I can’t see how a regular body shop could have done any better - and CA claims that the result is guaranteed against deterioration for the life of my ownership. The use of a spectrophotometer to mix and match the existing paint shade - rather than using factory original paint - resulted in a relatively small area being repainted. A previous small chip on a wheel arch - caused by the window cleaner’s van door blowing open! - required the body shop to respray most of the wheel arch and the leading edge of the door. It also required giving them the car for a couple of days. So I appreciated the added convenience of having four hours of work being carried out at my house. Two colour coats were applied; the first required mixing four components and the second five - including the ‘Pearl’ top coat. As a franchise, the result is going to depend on the individual skill of the Operator. And maybe I struck lucky with my local chap - Lee Broderick. After all he also said he was perfectly happy for me to stand and watch him at work! I now have him coming back to deal with two other minor - but irritating - marks, such is my satisfaction. The only condition he applied to his work was that the panel wasn’t washed for a week - and that was no hardship at all!

I bet that was a thaw point! 😊

This is a possibility that has concerned me for sometime. Between MrsT and myself, we consume a fair number of medications that have been so far effective in warding off the Grim Reaper. But if we had to pay for each item at the going NHS rate, it would put a severe dent into our savings. Or at least that part of our savings that remained after any proposed tax raid! When we were “Working People” we faithfully invested in the NHS so that it could fund our care in retirement - often to the extent of not calling on its services when we could have. It was rather like a Health Insurance Charter to cover one’s old age that augmented any pension provision. That a purportedly socialist Government might ever seek to change that arrangement is a disgrace. I am perfectly content that missed GP appointments should be paid for - unless there was a good reason. But the NHS is notorious for its incompetent purchasing and often pays an inflated rate for many pharmaceuticals. Some years ago, in Venice, I had to replace one prescription tablet and simple walked in to the first pharmacy I saw. When I mentioned this to my GP he asked what I’d paid for it. My reply astonished him! It turned out to be almost a third of what the NHS charged the Practice.

I meant to ask, Malcolm, whether this resulted - in recognition of your services - in the award of an OBE?* * One’s Boiler Expert

Fear not, Phil. He may be a pensioner, but as a State Employee I expect he qualifies as a “working man’ and will therefore still receive his WFA. Mind you, I understand that Buck House is a devil to heat at the best of times, so no doubt a few extra quid (as he might say) would not go amiss.