dublet

Did you see this sign?

Malcom, it's merely an example of overly stretched supply lines. It's easy to dismiss the concern of cat food, which you are doing, and thereby not engaging in the actual goal of discussing why the UK is doing so poorly in this transition. I'd also like to remind you that 40 years ago was the 80s, with Thatcherism, and rampant consumerism. The Troubles were also going on, so you know. A choice quote from the Dutch truck drivers union: "European truck drivers are not going to come and help you get out of the 💩 you created for yourselves". Many Britons forget how much other Europeans have had goodwill towards the UK. This is running out.

If it was me, go in full disclosure with the garage you booked it in for. Tell them what happened and your predicament. It would probably take a garage a few minutes to whip the bumper off and assess the situation.

Awww, Len. I love you too.

That's the thing. Nothing will be purely due to leaving the EU alone, yet it will be a contributing factor. Other countries are struggling with HGV drivers too, yet none are in the same predicament as the UK. I agree with most of your other points, yet the fact that the UK put itself into a position where it has stretched its supply chains so thinly, that it cannot cope with the many crises seems apparent. As to expecting rational behaviour of people, to quote the famous philosopher Gino D'Acampo, "if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a bicycle".

You might find this website a useful reference: https://www.motester.co.uk/mot-test-of-lights/

At least 75% of my previous cars have been some kind of Toyota Celica, so I have a type.

Pro EU liberal reporting. I've got about 80 miles of range left, and local petrol stations are all either out or have huge queues. Managed to get entangled in a traffic dead lock due to everyone forgetting the rules of the road. Hopefully it'll pass, I've got about 7 weeks worth of petrol to get to Waitrose and back. There are two ways of looking at the union of Europe. One is a purely economic thing, the other is a more philosophical union to prevent future wars. It started out post WW2 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) - "make war not only unthinkable but materially impossible". This combined the two trains of thought. Since that time it's grown into something more political, and included economies far more disparate in their GDP per capita. But the pillars under the EU of free movement of goods, money and people are meant as a leveller. In the USA, you never hear people talk about cheap labour from the poorer states, phrasing this as exploitation. Now, we can talk all day and night and the pros and cons of being inside a single market and a political union, both ideological and practical but that's not really what's at play here. Exiting a union such as the EU has a lot of implications, moreover as it's not just political but also comes with a lot of other unions such as EURATOM, the Internal Energy Market, etc, etc. Current leadership has decided to sever all such ties, and seemingly without much of a plan as to how to manage such a transition, aside from somehow believing hard enough. This very much unmanaged transition is causing a lot of spikes in a lot of systems that are "Just In Time", and we are finding there is not enough stretch in these systems to absorb that. Hence there are gaps in some super markets, for instance my local super market hasn't had a full range of cat food since the beginning of the year. Irrespective of whether there was too much choice, or whether it's particularly crucial, it's simply an indicator that things are not running as smoothly as they were. You will be seeing a lot more of these spikes of demand/supply as things are currently already being prioritised, and some very practical people are having to make hard choices about who gets what goods, and how. It's somewhat amusing to think people are blaming the media for pushing a narrative here, as if various media haven't pushed past narratives about the EU being at fault for everything. I think it's more that a lot of people simply don't have faith in the government to ensure stability any more. The modern world is very complicated, it's not going to stop being complicated. In the mean while, we'll go from crisis to crisis, probably for at least another 10 years or so.

Have you gotten to grips with it yet?

We moved in the last 2 weeks, albeit within the same county using https://www.mckellarremovals.com/overseas-removals/ They came it at a "middle of the road" type of cost, as in not the cheapest but also not the most expensive. Showed up on time, friendly and took reasonable care. Their website suggest they also do overseas stuff.

I'm in the middle of moving house, but happened to notice the helicopter view of the car, as the new driveway is right in front of the house: Some really good lines that perhaps you don't normally notice. Also, fun trivia, helicopter is an amalgamation of two words, not "heli" and "copter" but instead "helico" and "pter". "Helico" means spiral, and "pter" means wing in latin. As in helix and pterodactyl.

The joy of Hue is that you can change the colours, dim, etc. I don't think it makes huge sense to have just one light which is merely on/off. I've got a couple for the living room, all hooked up to a Raspberry Pi with a Zigbee Hat.

It's pretty solid and mature technology. Just look at how many old Priuses you still see on the road as private hire cars. Any repair bills - if they come - might be less than you expect too. https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/electric-cars/94872/buying-a-used-hybrid-car-the-complete-guide