BXProject

[Fish_Botherer]

(thought it was a reference to charlie's surfer avatar )

thats a reference to me silver surfin xm

that was going to take me to france last year

it didnt

and now awaits its execution

fuckin shed

That's a shame. Charlie - I sometimes fantasise about floating about in an XM in luxury, knowing the reality could end up as space-age umbrella for some comfy seats that don't go anywhere, but with a sun-roof that leaks. On a good day.... but they're soo tempting. You have my sympathy.

Some tidy XMs around still in France last September , though not the one I followed in grotty St Denis outside Paris. Grimy orange paint, two big gents inside with less hair than you and me put together and looking less friendly than the brothers Grant from Eastenders, spectacular Christmas-tree rear lights, and a pressure regulator ticking like a geiger-counter outside Sellafield. Kept my distance.

My BX nearly didn't get there, when I neglected the alternator, fried a cable fitting one from the parts pile in the rain, bought an unneccessary battery, broke the alternator adjustment bolt by going ape on tightening it, discovered a use for the new battery - driving a car without alternator belt in the dark to Tom who made up a replacement, only to find the next morning that the alternator still wouldn't charge. Meanwhile the Channel Tunnel was burning away merrily, making a trip just as far as Dover even more problematic. I rearranged the crossing.

Tom combined two iffy alternators into one, remade all my crappy connections, and all was well again (though only 100% once I'd replaced the ignition switch too). Grolliffe behaved on the trip, even though I did find myself going through outgoing French customs BEFORE leaving the UK at Dover after missing the turning to SpeedFerries in an M2-post-channel-tunnel-traffic-jam-induced time panic and going past the point of no return at the wrong ferryport.

In France, I was pulled by customs joining an Autoroute, had to explain my BX-full of Rebecca's belongings and confirm I hadn't been to Belgium to load the car up with tobacco. Nearly had the same thing again retuning, coming up an autoroute from the Mayenne, but realised that I had to make it plain I'd only been in France and not come up from Spain. Phew! Paris was fine, apart from spending an hour and a half getting back to the right end of Rebecca's one-way street after passing the wrong end first....

To cap it all, Speedferries went bust a couple of months later, making my 2 more open-ticket return crossings with them totally worthless. Still wish you'd got the XM to France?

[Fish_Botherer]

Charlie, I like the Mk1 Shooting break!

a fishin and a shootin on the back of a bx

me necks getin redder just thinkin about it

Saw TV version of "I've Never Seen Star Wars" (free transfer from Radio 4) last night. They had a man fromthe West Country who collects roadkill (Badger, Otter, Pheasant, etc, etc. ) and cooks it. Badger Casserole anyone? Now that's even more redneck - fill up the back of the BX shooting break with roadkill on the way to the barbie.

Doc - now about that dead cow in the road you barely managed to stop before hitting.....

[Vanny]

Speedferries have gone bust? Recently?

[Fish_Botherer]

Before Christmas.

The other companies had been aching to have them off the plot, but the French helped really put the boot in. LD lines announced mahoosive ferry to start trips into Boulogne for this summer coming, including lorries. Then Boulogne Docks suddenly impounded the Speedferries craft "in lieu of unpaid docking fees". End of Speedferries, amnid "industry comment" that they had an "unsustainable business model".

Ho hum.

Had been wondering how on earth LD lines were able to afford their brand-new ferry that I'd seen going in an out of Portsmouth harbour just before.

Brittany Ferries have also pulled out of Plymouth and now operate to Santander from Portsmouth. LD were supposed to be starting a service to Dieppe too, where from I don't remember.Talk of LD lines buying up Sea France's routes too. Perhaps Mr LD is a good friend of Mr Sarkozy.

[Madcav]

Isn't shipping a bit fucked in general? We export a fair aount at work and one of the drivers told me they've gone from two usually always full ferries from Hull (or possibly Immingham) a day to one which is rarely at 80% of it's capacity. That's goods ships I believe as opposed to passenger ferries.

[Fish_Botherer]

Speedferries were a real loss as they didn't rely on a floating gin-palace or casino and offered a genuine no-frills and very friendly service. 45min crossings don't allow that much time for wallet-stripping, to be fair. Some people even used them to commute across the channel. I felt really sorry for the folk that lost their jobs in Dover as a result. Passenger-only, of course.

The fruit'n'veg-wagon run up from Spain through Portsmouth & elsewhere seems to carry on as usual. I don't know anyone who works in the ferryport though. Just see them from the other side of Portsmouth Harbour as come in and go out. Plenty of those wagons end up headed in your direction, Billy - they seem to travel in convoy sometimes up the M27/M3/A34 and onward. Tom may hear through the grapevine if the Poole/Weymouth cargo-biased ferries are having problems as he works down that way.

Southampton docks must be fairly fucked as plenty of cars or Transits went through
there in 'normal' times, along with the Japanese grey imports. I somehow don't think that containerloads of flat-packs for the IKEA just opened there within a few hundred yards of the docks would make up for it (if it does work that way - suspect not). The s***h-West hauliers & suppliers exporting fish/shellfish (sorry!) to Spain must be miffed at having to send them longer distances to the ferry. Strange that a French company should suddenly take interest in a cargo-capable run into/out of Boulogne - home of Europe's biggest fish market. Or maybe not. More export to France from the UK there than in the other direction, methinks.

Everything else must be hit to some extent by the export credits famine of late - not to mention other stuff. The Greek shipping lines must have a problem as they were lately making gazillions out of owning a very considerable chunk of the world's cargo fleet under flags of convenience and shuttling stuff to/from China.

[tomsheppard]

Now tha't what I call a topic. Who'd have thought that we'd be talking of fish shipping when I dropped in. A culturally enriching experience for all, I say!

[docchevron132]

Thats the beauty of this place!
Every topic goes wildly off course, and some very odd things indeed can be discussed!

[Philhod]

Havn't been down to the S***h coast for yonks. No cheap ferry crossings then?

I've been using Harwich, of late, but they seem to have dropped the twice daily fast ferry crossing. Used to go at 1-30 pm and again at 7-30 pm. The later one got you to Hoek at just before midnight, giving you 8 hours of traffic free motoring, whichever direction you wanted to go. Let you get used to driving on the wrong side of the rd as well

[charlie]

these are the cheapest channel ferries i know of

http://www.norfolkline-ferries.co.uk/ferry/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

if you click the old speedferries site it takes you to norrrrrrrfolk lines as well

they go dover / dunkirk and i used them last year, two hour crossing mind, but there ok

in fact going to use them this year as well cause me and me lad have decided to go across to euorpe for 10 days to do a bit of cycling/camping

sounds like fun, and cheap fun at that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tomsheppard]

Speedferries was a good little outfit whose liquidators said they wouldn't sell the customer list. They did.
The company that (allegedly ) sank them LD lines is French and not cheap enough to make you want to drive to Dover From Southampton and then across France to La Mayenne. I now have to pay much more to travel to Le Havre and don't get me onto the way that Flybe's prices have tripled. We're back to the old days of the channel pirates so only the obscenely rich can afford to flee the country. (He says from the baronial splendour of his chateau on the loire.)

[David]

I've not used a ferry for absolutely ages, and I've never been on the chunnel.

How much does it cost these days? I've not the faintest idea how much it might cost me to get to the continent. Which is a shame, as I really like travelling by car/ferry.

[charlie]

norfolk lines return about £50

chunnel £200

and thats the reason ^ ive not been on the chunnel either

mind you wouldnt mind a ride on euorstar!!

[Philhod]

I've been flying over to Sweden for the last couple of years now, but it's a nice drive. Going from Wigan at 12-00 via Harwich / Hoek, I can reach Putgarden )north cape of Germany) by 7am following morning. 3 hours kip,shower and a good breakfast, 11-00 ferry to Denmark and I can be in Kalmar (east coast, 1/2 way between Malmo and Stockholm) by 7-00pm. (via Oresund link)31 hours all in.
It's about 2000 miles round trip and times are with just me driving.
Not only do you get 2 ferries, but quite an assortment of bridges, culminating in the Oresund link between Copenhagen and Malmo. 15 kilometers, starting with a tunnel of 7k, an island of 1k and a bridge of 7k that starts 1/2 way across.

Last time I managed 49 mpg in the BX. Before that, back in 93. I managed an average of 53 mpg in a ZX with only 6000 miles on it. Both with a 19n/a XUD.

[docchevron132]

You can get some good deals from Dover to Calais, but I dont half find the drive to and from Dover an utter bore.
The general landscape is shite, and whilst it aint all that far to the civilities of the M4, it feels like it takes forever.

[Philhod]

You can't even spell forevah mate, until you've travelled to Dover from up here.

M6, M1, M25, A or M2, Dover. A mere 280 boring miles.

I find the best way is to set off from here at about 8pm after a day's kip and a last fish and chips before I go. Taking some butties and drinks to have on the way, I can be down there by 3 ish, Get one of the earlier (and cheaper) ferries.
After a good breakfast I can make (in an arc from Calais, Munster, Strasbourg, Dijon, Tours,
by 3 -5 pm. By that time I'm usually fucked these days

[tomsheppard]

Fucked by 5PM? You're a fast worker. Blimey, I don't even knock off until 4.

[Philhod]

It's an age thing Tom. Energy wanes as I approach the magic 65

[docchevron132]

I'm 29, and I'm fucking knackered ALL the time!
That said, I do have the body of an eleventy billion year old...

[Philhod]

Got the big KB when I got home today. A letter from work telling me they will not be keeping me on a 3 day contract after I turn 65.

Says they are going to advertise my job though (not sure if they can do that) but say if they can't fill the post, they will reconsider.

Well they can fuck right off with that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A number of contacts have been in touch with offers of work on a consultancy basis, so I think I'll check them out.

will contact the union too, see if they slipped up anywhere....I said that bitch from HR who interviewed me had about as much charisma as an anaconda.

Fuck em....what's next...................I'm cool