thunderbird900

I remember delivering brand new Leyland cars in the 70's to M&S management staff in the 70's. These cars were absolute rubbish. Sometimes overheating, crunchy gearboxes, interiors that would shame a Trabant. Quite often they had bare floors! No carpet, not even a rubber mat. Unbelievable. When Austin introduced the Allegro, nicknamed "The All Aggro" it's main selling point was that it had a square steering wheel. Words fail me. I used to live near the Vanden Plas works in Kingsbury, North London. Vanden Plas were a specialist coach builder that produced upmarket versions of Jags and Daimlers. Usually the larger Daimler that became a common sight in funeral processions. They got hold of the Allegro and tarted it up by sticking a small grill on the front that resembled the Rolls Royce grill. Ugly as sin. Have a look at the bog standard Allegro Estate. The design team must have been on mind bending drugs! http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/index.htm?ado67indexf.htm

Now now children! Stop throwing your toys out of the pram. Sam does not appear to be a Troll. This site will lose all credibility if anyone suggesting an alternative viewpoint or saying things we don't want to hear is abused and shouted down. Hear Hear!

Chocs away!

With an Avatar like that Shaker would definitely have to be Kylie!

I'm sure there are lots of Dorothy's in small villages in India. Wot a load of balls. The only Dorothy I heard about was in The Wizard of Oz! "Follow the yellow brick road." What I find extremely distasteful is the use of a thalidomide victim to somehow promote their message. It's as if "look at this bloke, he is severely handicapped but he adds a powerful message to all you wannabees out there". Pass the sick bag.

Estonia, why darling, that would be wonderful! Just think cheap flights, low cost local produce and of course it's an up and coming area... Derrr.. Lets see. Do we know the local taxes, the seasonal weather, do we speak the language, do we understand local customs, do we have access to a reliable, trustworthy local agent. In fact do we have a bloody clue as to what we on earth we are doing? Of course not, but don't worry! House prices always go up.

I bought my computer from Lidl! Fantastic spec for the price. Their ice cream, meat and fruit juices are also value for money. Makes me laugh people paying twice the price in Waitrose and M&S. A friend of mine said Lidl is where the poor people shop. Idiot!

Dr Bubb, you used to be in the Byrds?

Triumph Motorcycles made in Hinckley are a British success story. Ever since John Bloor restarted production their exports have gone through the roof. Up to the 80's the British Motorcycle industry was a leading example of how to run a successful product into the ground.All the leading makes had disappeared into oblivion. From Triumph, BSA, Norton to Matchless, AJS, Velocette, Vincent etc, one by one they did not adapt or modernise and all curled up their toes and died. The writing was on the wall when those funny little Japanese fellows turned up in the Isle of Man in the late fifties with their multi cylindered high revving machines. How the British laughed at them. Within years they were winning all the races. The death knell was sounded when the Honda CB 750 was unveiled in 1968. Here was a four cylinder, overhead cam, disc brake, electric start bike that even today looks right. Even in the 80's Triumph were still producing a parallel twin, push rod Bonneville that leaked oil and shook itself to bits. Don't be fooled by the name. I owned three Bonnevilles and they were all rubbish. Meriden monsters. Look up the Triumph site on the web. A lot of the names are the same. From Bonneville to Trophy, Daytona to Tiger. Some of them even look the same. However, these are ultra modern reliable bikes that sell all round the World. Triumph even produce the largest capacity bike available anywhere. The Rocket Three (a BSA name) is a three cylinder 2.3 litre monster. John Bloor is a sensible bloke. He stays in the background and lets his product do all the talking.. and selling. He is not like Dyson and will not take production to the Far East. I rest my case!

We can all criticise TTRTR as much as we like. At least he has the front to post his alternative views on this site. As far as I can recall he is never abusive, just good humoured. This site needs a different viewpoint from time to time. Just because we don't agree with him does not mean he should go away. What a boring World this would be if we all thought the same.

Not only is Ruth Kelly not fit to be in charge of education she has the voice of a man. Shut your eyes next time she is on the TV and listen to her voice. Are we sure she is female? Put her next to Margaret Beckitt and Patricia Hewitt. It would put me off women for life!

That you drive a Renault Megane?

Shaker, I think that picture of the yong lady was downright disgusting and not relevant to the topic. Got any more???

So come on Wuluf. You're full of in depth views on immigration, prejudice and quoting any reference source you can lay your hands on to justify your superior comments. What are your views on Mugabe and the way he has laid to waste Zimbabwe. The way he has starved his people, used violence to stifle any political opponents and banned foreign journalists. Are you going to turn it on it's head by blaming the wicked imperialist West or just be like South Africa who seem to accept Mugabe because at least he's black and therefore can do what the hell he wants. I dare you to give your point of view without any moralising or condescending remarks.

Right Fred, Blunkett's women might be good looking but he is the exact opposite. Apparently, the American slapper that he went to bed with, Kimberley Quinn said she wondered what it would be like to go to bed with a blind man. Would'nt it have been simpler just to turn the lights off? Why on earth her husband stayed loyal to her after her public affair with Blunkett is a mystery.

There seems to be a deliberate policy in this country of punishing heavily the law abiding citizen for nothing offences, whilst real crime is dismissed with community sentencing, or non custodial punishment. Last year I overstayed six minutes on a pay and display ticket. £50 fine! Why so much? This is simply privatised legal extortion. Speed cameras are always in the news. We have the safest roads in Europe yet there are cameras everywhere. The phrase "speed kills" is a nonsense. Speed has never killed one single person in the history of mankind. Think about it. Back in the 19th Century the people in the know worried that passengers on the first train would not survive going above 25 mph. When the sound barrier was broken there were similar worries. Yet here we are in 2006 with drivers being penalised heavily for travelling a few miles an hour over the limit. Speeding has been demonised as a crime almost on a par with peadophilia. Yet where are the old bill? A speed camera has never caught a drunk or uninsured driver with no MOT. When was the last time you were tail gated? Yesterday, or a few days ago I bet. Where was the traffic cop? Nowhere to be seen. The whole point of my post is this. Slowly, but surely, this Govt has deliberately focused on financially penalising the normal person. The hardened criminals, the young out of control yobs, the thieving scumbags who terrorise our civilised society have being accepted as part and parcel of living in the modern Britain. How has this come about? Why do we accept and vote for politicians who are a disgrace to their job? I am not a Daily Mail reader. Just a normal bloke who pays his taxes, stays within the law, and is deeply worried as to the direction this country is going.

Beware the one eyed monster! When David Blunkett was Home Secretary the British Govt. was in the unique position of having two of their leading ministers with one eye between them. Now before all you politically correct loonies out here object, why is everyone so scared to say the simple truth. Being blind is a handicap, a very big one at that. Yes, it is a taboo subject, one we dare not comment on for fear of causing offence. Well, here goes. I could never understand why Blunkett became Home Secretary. A man who could not see the increasing degradation of this country. The vandalism, graffiti, victims scarred by crime, all of this very relevant to his position. There are a million and one jobs he would not have able to do because of his lack of sight. Yet here was a man, who could not just pick up a newspaper or watch the television, or see what was going on around him, in one of the most powerful positions in the Government. He turned out to be one of the worst Home Secretaries in recent history. Surprised? I was'nt.

Michael Hunt, that'a funny name is'nt it? How about Richard Head, much more suitable. When posting a view on this forum please write in English. This is a language we all understand. If you want to write in mobile phone text, I suggest you go elsewhere. Know wot I meen like??

I find this idea of buying a property in Eastern Europe very strange. Almost certainly the buyer from the UK cannot speak the language or know the local customs or law. Once they have bought how often can they visit the property? Lets be generous, say six times a year. What happens to the property for the rest of the year. Can they trust a local agent to let the place out and maintain it? If they do not want to let it out who carries out the maintenance. What happens when the pipes burst or the place is vandalised? More importantly what happens when the cheap air carriers pull the plug to that particular destination? On Thursday night on Channel 4 a couple bought two properties in Slovakia. Pretty cheap but why? One needed working on. Where on earth can anyone find a reasonable amount of time to leave their job over here and renovate a property over there? The best bit was when it came to offer time they offered the full price because..."they did not want to be offend the seller" Do these people live in a parallel universe or am I missing something?

The Daily Telegraph has a story about the World's hottest chilli being grown in Dorset on it's front page.

Give that woman a chocolate bar. Reminds me of Marianne Faithful. What is it about Grant Bovey that makes me want to puke. There is something about that smug arrogant grin on a cynical face that I can't fathom out. As for Anthea, stick to Blue Peter darling, that was about your level. They were made for each other.

The reason why the flats at the Stadium are selling at a premium price is because when the old ground at Highbury is turned into a building site the East and West Stands will remain as they have conservation orders on them. The most expensive flats wll be within these two stands. The North Bank and the Clock End will be demolished for complete redevelopment. I think the famous Clock will be saved for the new ground. Arsenal will let me buy my seat for 20 quid. Is it worth it? Should I redevelop my seat and build a flat on it or should I sell it to a property developer?

What will be interesting is whether the flats advertised by Galliard Homes near the new groung will sell. They are being advertised at £235,000 with a guaranteed income of 6.25% up to 2010. In other words the buyer is paying over the odds in the first place only to receive his money back on the drip over the next four years. My friend makes me laugh when we walk past the new stadium to the ground. "We should have clubbed together and bought one of those flats. It would be a good investment." When I ask why he just says "Well, think of the potential" When I press him further and ask him what on earth he is talking about he goes quiet. I am then informed that I am too cautious and should be more of a speculator. Silly me!

Webmaster, over 9,000 views and 187 replies in under 18 hours, reference Foxtons. Is that a record or what?

TTRTR I completely agree with your post. Just like ID cards and new terrorism laws, this idea that new laws and regulations will stop any of these illegal pratices is pie in the sky. What we need is less regulation in this country. New Labour have gone power mad with their ever increasing laws covering all parts of our everyday lives. Just look at the current cash for peerages row. Blair, supposedly whiter than white brings in new regulations identifying all DONORS to the party. He then deliberately, cheating lying scumbag that he is, gets round the rules by asking to borrow the money. It's quite simply supply and demand. Bring in a new law and there will be a whole load of lawyers, accountants etc. doing their best to get around it. It seems we have descended into a new murkier world where Government, politicians, chief of police, openly and routinely lie and absolutely nothing is done about it. I despair.