LenT

Lucky indeed, Giuseppe! It may also be that because it was against Company Policy, the mechanic did it FOC. So it didn’t go through the Company records. Did you get a receipt for the work? It might still be worth finding out what caused the air loss and what the mechanic did about it. But possibly you’re less of a cynic than I am!

An interesting article, Ken. However, I note that Bridgestone’s reply is heavily qualified and puts the onus on the mechanic to certify the internal condition of the tyre. Other brands are either a definite NO - such as Pirelli - or apply specific conditions for excluding a repair, such as if the tyre has been driven on with an air pressure below 15 psi - ie flat! More to the point, Giuseppe had taken the tyre to Kwik-Fit which - according to their website - has a Company Policy NOT to repair RFs! I think that’s the point that needs clarification.

Unfortunately, it’s not so much the rate of the puncture - or even what caused it - it’s the fact that the tyre was driven on while flat! If it wasn’t actually caused by penetration, the air loss could be due to a fault with the valve (eg grit in the dust cap) or kerbing the wheel and distorting the rim. Whether you have to replace all four tyres surely depends on the tread wear. Personally I never allow treads to wear lower than 3mm as tests have shown that performance drops off sharply below that. But if the other three are in good condition, then it’s OK to just replace the problem one. Just remember that new tyres always go on the rear axle.

Well according to their website, Guiseppe, they can’t - and don’t! https://www.kwik-fit.com/blog/can-a-run-flat-tyre-be-repaired The reasons they give are widely accepted and boil down to the fact that they cannot know what damage has been done to the sidewalls by driving on the deflated tyre. I presume you did drive on it? Or indeed you may have been driving on it for some time before you realised it was flat! I’d advise giving them a call and sorting it out. Run-flats are really only designed as an emergency solution allowing the car to be driven slowly to a safer location before replacing the tyre. The safest option, unfortunately, is to replace the tyre. 😢

No. But make sure you’re using modern wheels with suitable rims.

I think Malcolm’s correct. It’s certainly the right shape. This is the Nextbase website which might give you more information. https://nextbase.co.uk/dash-cams/ You don’t mention a rear camera. If it’s not present and there's no sign of any wiring to the rear screen I would urge you to get one to connect to the front camera. Incidentally, make sure any camera you install is wired so that it will switch to stand-by mode when the ignition is off. I think that Halfords sells the Nextbase range so that may well be an easy way to check the model range and fitting.

You paint a grim picture, Malcolm. Anyone know of any proposals by the new Government regarding assisted suicide?

You’ve been in our lounge? 🤔

In 1986 Olof Palme, Sweden’s PM, was shot and killed while walking back from the cinema accompanied only by his wife, who was also shot. In the intervening 36 years, I see no sign that political leaders have become any safer. Or indeed, ordinary train passengers. So I for one don’t begrudge the UK’s PM opting for a more secure form of transport than a commuter express. The other thought that occurs is the idea that using a military helicopter is a misuse of tax payers’ money. Tax payers are funding that helicopter whether it’s in flight or grounded. They are paying for the flight and ground crew irrespective of what the aircraft is doing. Indeed, keeping the aircraft and crew operational is arguably beneficial to both and secondary to the actual task. Accepting free gifts of personal items, which they are sufficiently well paid to buy for themselves, offers no such security or operational advantages - especially when such gifts solicit benefits for the giver! And especially when the recipients have conspired to remove payments which, by their own earlier estimate, could result in 4000 deaths! I only hope that Starmer’s gifted clothing includes fresh underwear. I suspect he’s going to need it.

Well, they’d better be Phil, because I’ve just ordered a couple of the Yorkshire Taster boxes. I anticipate that payment will be covered by my WFP*. *Will Fund Privately

I gather that the gist is that the Government failed to conduct an impact assessment before enacting this loss of benefit. Considering that when the opposition Labour Party last conducted such an assessment in 2017 - when the then Tory Government was considering just such a proposal - their Report predicted up to 4000 deaths, their reticence to do one again is quite understandable!

I can recommend the kosher viennas, Gray. 👍 https://menachems.co.uk/product-category/sausages/

Well I don’t know if this will help or hinder, Phil, but I came across this aggregate of direct comparative tests by Tyre Reviews. https://www.tyrereviews.com/Compare/Vector-4Seasons-Gen-3-VS-CrossClimate-2.htm

Costco is currently running an Offer on Michelin tyres, which ends 29 September.

Er…dyscalculia? Apart from typo, completely agree. Interesting that the Union motion to reinstate WFA was overwhelmingly - and embarrassingly - carried at the end of the Conference. And immediately dismissed by the Ministers who had remained behind. Considering that some Unions are still talking of strike action despite being awarded pay increases by their new friends in Government, I can see this relationship becoming increasingly fractious. On the other hand, I think there was broad approval for Starmer’s commitment to return all the sausages from Gaza..

If you have bought - or are buying - a modern smart trickle charger, it should come with detailed instructions and should be appropriate for your battery type. You can connect the charger leads directly to the battery but there is a procedure to follow. 1. Ensure the charger is switched off and disconnected from the mains. 2. Connect red lead to the + positive battery terminal. 3. Connect the black lead to the - negative terminal. 4. Switch on the charger. 5. When the battery is fully charged, switch off the charger and disconnect it from the mains. 6. Remove the leads from the battery in the reverse order ie negative first and then the positive. You don’t mention what make of charger you have - or are buying - but most will have an accessory charging lead available. This consists of a short lead made of both red and black leads, with spade terminals at one end. These connect directly to the appropriate battery terminal. The other end of the lead will have a plug connector. This connects to a matching connector coming from the charger. The method of use is that you position the lead from the battery as far away from it as possible, with cable ties for example. You can then plug the other end into the charger cable before switching it on - and without ever having to go back to the battery. I hope that has made it clear. PS. If you haven’t yet bought your trickle charger, I can recommend the NOCO.

Fortunately, Lee, professional car thieves don’t generally work in the dark. Most new - and newish - cars are stolen to order, for parts or for export. So rather than driving around aimlessly hoping to chance across the exact vehicle they’re looking for, they reconnoiter their patch and identify a target. They then check out the location for security systems and log the pattern of occupancy to determine the best time for the hit. This is why owners sometimes report more than one attempt over the course of a few days. If such thieves are initially disturbed, they hate to waste all that effort and so return for another attempt. Having liberated the vehicle from its owners, they more often than not drive it a few miles away to an isolated location and wait a few days in case it has a tracker. A Warning Sticker will have been noted at the start of this process. What they think of that depends on how much the car’s worth to them and whether they’re prepared to take the risk that it’s a fake warning. If they believe the existence of, say, a Scorpion and it’s as good as Lauren suggests, then it depends on how much they want the car. They may decide that it’s no longer worth the risk and effort. At worst, they’ll consider turning up with a trailer and transporting the car to a safer location - and then on to a garage. The kind of thief who wouldn’t notice a Warning Sticker would undoubtedly notice a bright yellow Milenco steering wheel lock - and would probably lose interest at that point. Mind you, cars have been recovered and thieves identified because an internet enabled dashcam wasn’t spotted! At the other extreme, there is a school of thought that maintains that if your car is sufficiently valuable, organised gangs may well break in and threaten the owners until they get the keys. Or even lie in wait for the car - such as when the driver returns home and gets out - and then highjack it. In which case, many security systems are simply bypassed!

My Lexus already has a red flashing light that comes on when the alarm system is set. I’d be delighted if there was any chance that it might be regarded as an aftermarket immobiliser - but I was really thinking of something simpler and less ambiguous, such as Warning Stickers!

Yes, when listening to her reciting a list of notable female politicians, I did wonder if anyone might interrupt by shouting out THATCHER! But that might have introduced an unwelcome note of reality into what was the usual wish list - heavy on ambition; light on process. In effect, par for the course for every incoming new Government. Unfortunately, no Labour administration since WWll has managed to leave office with the Nation in a better state in which it found it. And few have got off to a worst start!

This seems to be an argument for clearly announcing that an effective immobiliser is also fitted - provided, of course, the manufacturer is confident about its ability to resist further attack. Perhaps some manufacturer will back up their confidence with an insurance scheme offering compensation should their product be defeated?

Apparently trouble at Conference this morning as the Management tries to postpone this vote until Wednesday - the last day - when fewer delegates will be present!

Full marks, Lauren, for presenting a very good sales pitch for the Scorpion system. I’ve always liked the concept of this form of immobiliser. No thief is going to enjoy sitting in a car which maybe is just turning over but refuses to start! An opportunist might persevere but a professional would probably recognise the presence of an immobiliser - and might then walk away. The problem is that the latter may well have already preempted the possibility and damaged the wing to attack the CANbus. Personally, I don’t think my nine-year old Lexus is under threat. But I wonder if it might be better to advertise the fact the the Lexus in question is protected by the Scorpion system - allegedly impervious to a CANbus attack - or let the thief discover this after inflicting the damage? In other words, are you sufficiently confident in the System’s invulnerability to announce the fact that the car has one installed? Apart from which, why is this system better than a considerably cheaper, concealed dead switch that isolates the fuel pump?

Certainly the Unions response later today on the WFA decision could even determine the future course of this new Government. It may well reveal which is the dog and which is the tail! I suspect that the Unions are very conscious that their Members ultimately aspire to becoming Pensioners and accepting a LOSS of benefits on their behalf is not a good look for a Trade Union. However, engineering a Palace Coup to shoehorn Corbyn back into the leadership is not something I can imagine the Party going for - although the new crop of MPs may offer a few surprises!

As another insight on Denis Healey, MrsT was PA to a leading merchant banker who would invite a select group on various ‘freebies’. One she organised was a salmon fishing event on Iceland which Healey - also a keen photographer- accepted with alacrity. Apparently the verdict of the other guests was that Healey was boorish, offhand with the hotel staff and he turned out to be the only invitee who never bothered to send a note of thanks to his Host.

I’ve mentioned this before - so skip it if sounds familiar - but when I was doing ads for the Central Office of Information, I had long chats with a Civil Servant who had served both Barbara Castle and then Margaret Thatcher as Ministers. He said the comparison was fascinating. Castle was a pleasure to meet, interested in him and his family, praised his Presentations and he would leave meetings confident that he had sold his Proposal and action would soon follow. But it rarely did! Thatcher was very sparing with small talk and straight down to business, primed with questions having already mastered the briefing documents. She’d examine every statement in detail, wouldn’t tolerate vagaries or assumptions and established firm time scales for amendments. He dreaded their meetings. However, what resulted was a much improved version of the original Proposal that more often than not was actually enacted.