Going in the Panda via the wood head pass, then me and my mother are going back on the train and my dad will go back with my sister on the motorway. Seemed the best compromise all round. Train tickets were £12.50 each, so this compromise is costing £25, a lot less than what it could have been.
As for flying I have been on three planes, and will fly if I really have to, but I would much rather get the train so I see within Europe no reason to get a plane, but outside of Europe I would have no choice but to fly.
I do understand why people don't understand phobias, I just don't understand my sisters phobia of trains but she panics at the thought so it must be real.
Volume 1 of this discussion can be found HERE
{Hope Rattle doesn't mind me changing the title?}
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 24 Nov 11 at 00:56
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Not flying impacts where you can easily get to. We prefer not to fly further than say 4 hours but that's not due to any fears.
An ex-colleague won't fly and would tend to drive to Europe. When he had to visit a Greek island (something to do with his daughter) he would not fly. His wife flew and he took the train and ferries! Took a bit longer and will have cost a lot more. But he had to go and wouldn't/couldn't fly.
Best wishes for Monday. Hope it all goes to plan.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 18 Nov 11 at 16:52
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Flying doesn't concern me , although there's little pleasure in it exept on the odd occasions when someone is kind enough to fund a left turn as you board.
Thoroughly dislike airports though. They suck.
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>> Thoroughly dislike airports though. They suck.
Sure do. When leaving the UK we use Manchester airport and living close means we don't have to aim to get there too early.
Watched the programme on making the wings for the A380 the other day. The punishment they put it through testing it. Wow those things really do bend well. Also was impressed with the engine destruction test of one of the Rolls Royce jet engines (different programme).
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Rattle - if you check the prices for travel to (say) Athens by air and by train you may change your plans or develop a phobia of your bank manager!
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Athens from Manchester with EasyJet is less than £100 return early in the year. I know because I looked it up the other day. I've said before we have plans to buy somewhere on a Greek island.
Taken a small risk and booked next years May holiday. Off to Lesvos again.
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>> I've said before we have plans
>> to buy somewhere on a Greek island.
The way their economy is, you could probably buy a whole island, plus the populace
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>> plus the populace
Oh No, you dont want them, they dont pay taxes and then riot when you try and cut their services.
Buy the Island, kick the greeks off.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 18 Nov 11 at 17:12
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A quick check on the car journey from Manchester to Athens gives 2050 miles, a Channel crossing, a 158 mile car ferry from Bari to Ingoumenitsa and a lot of toll roads. Will be more than £100 return!
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>> A quick check on the car journey from Manchester to Athens...
Funny you should say that. I put in Lesbos as a destination earlier and the car sat nav quickly plotted a journey. Didn't check how long it thought crossing would be on ferries. It claimed I'd get there 9:45am... but didn't say which day!
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One of my favourite islands. The all female local travel agents I used were very pleasant.
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>> One of my favourite islands. The all female local travel agents I used were very
>> pleasant.
Not the kind of place to go to for a holiday shag tho is it,
Speaking purely as a twitcher of course.,
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Well if you were speaking as a twitcher you would know that Lesvos in the winter is in fact just the place for a shag.
"The shallow basin of the Gulf of Kalloni holds significant numbers of wintering wildfowl and seabirds including Great Crested and Black-necked Grebes, Black-throated Diver, Great Cormorant and Shag."
Lesvos is packed with birdwatchers in Spring.
www.lesvos.com/bird-watching/index.htm
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>Great Crested and Black-necked Grebes,
One of the managers at a place I once worked was nicknamed Grebe.
Grebe (noun) - Short, flat-footed, almost tail-less diving bird.
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Day 3, assuming a 0900 kick off from somewhere in UK, I'd guess.
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>> Day 3, assuming a 0900 kick off from somewhere in UK, I'd guess.
I suppose I should have checked the route sections but obviously not going to try it anyway. At least three ferry crossings involved (Channel could be the tunnel). So probably a drive down through Europe to Venice, an overnight crossing to Igoumenitsa. Then drive across the new motorway all the way to Thessaloniki (quiet/quick road) and a ferry to Lesbos.
So in diesel costs alone that is expensive!
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I intended to cross from Brindisi when I was going on my euro-tour on the bike - the option was to ride down through Croatia and the such like, interesting but a slightly riskier route.
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>>
>> As for flying I have been on three planes, and will fly if I really
>> have to, but I would much rather get the train so I see within Europe
>> no reason to get a plane, but outside of Europe I would have no choice
>> but to fly.
>>
Having done Ringwood - Stockholm by train & plane then I'll stick to the plane thanks :-).
Last edited by: spamcan61 on Fri 18 Nov 11 at 17:29
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How anyone can choose Woodhead as oposed to the M62 for safety and fear reasons is beyond me.
Rattle you will be tailgated by lorries the whole of the way.
It's the road we choose when we have time to enjoy a fantastic drive and remember, our speed limters are useless on long downhill stretches;)
Humour apart, I find it unbelievable that our driving test system in the UK allows a driver to pass a test with this level of LACK of confidence.
It is wrong, wrong, wrong.
Pat
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Back in the 90's I drove a little LH drive Citroen AX diesel from sowf lunden to the Islas Canarias (via Cadiz)
Quite scary in parts, especially Madrid!!
But the worst part was once I crossed the Pyrenees into Northern Spain and decided to avoid the toll roads and go with the heavy lorries :(
I'm still here AND in one piece = life is for living/fortune favours the brave :)
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Like me in the Beetles drove every where extra spare tyre and off I went.Belgian is always a challenge I think their Pattats Frites are drugged.>) Rattle needs some help he is a clever lad just confidence and foot down.!
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>> Humour apart, I find it unbelievable that our driving test system in the UK
>> allows a driver to pass a test with this level of LACK of confidence.
Well said, Pat. It's because some moron (or a committee of morons) many years ago decided that learner drivers should never be allowed on motorways until passing their test, so in Manchester the chances are the closest Rattle got to driving on one was a 40mph limit dual carriageway.
But it's not impossible to learn with a willing parent - for example, 25 minutes from South Manchester gets you to the M66, and as it approaches Rawtenstall it becomes an A-road for about 3 miles. So swap over in Rawtenstall, blast back up the A-road for a couple of miles, off, over the bridge, and back on until you get to the roundabout. Rinse and repeat.
Rattle - did you do Pass Plus?
Last edited by: Fursty Ferret on Sat 19 Nov 11 at 10:22
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Rats
Where are you going near Scunny. I have family round there.
Oh and I might be doing some training on the M180 on Monday I'll keep an eye out :-)
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Mention of Scunny brings back some memories, an office there was my first posting on appointment to the Civil Sevice at age 18 in 1978.
Former neighbour of my parents who'd moved there identified some lodgings for me on Normanby Rd. Seemed nice enough, clean and a good crowd of fellow inmates. My colleagues however introduced me to a variety of local rumours about the Landlord - a member of the County Council. Never quite sure whether to beleive them or not, he might have been a bit eccentric but we were well looked after and the house rules were liberal - visitng girlfriends tolerated etc. Anyway, after 3 months my employer sorted any issues by re-posting me to London.
Recent googling suggests he was much more recently jailed for offences that included pleasuring himself in front of a youthful audience.. .....
Funny old world.
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I met a guy from Scunthorpe in France as a lad. He was on a cycling holiday. He worked for British Steel in a clerical role. The prime attraction of the job, for him was the three month (unofficial) paid summer holiday - he just disappeared, nobody missed him or if they did they never said anything. So he took months off without penalty.
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It is a dump, only Stoke on Trent, Hanley and Pendtleton (Salford) are worse.
Its a long story how they ended up there, they moved up there to retire as my uncle lived near by. I suppose compared to London its not too far from Manchester either.
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Finally got back, an accident on the road just before you get to Gainsborough meant we had to do a U turn and head to Scunthorpe then to the village, this added another 25 miles onto the journey, and then the railway crossing closed on us. We ended up getting there with 5 minutes to spare as the diversion cost us a good 45 minutes.
Other than no issues and the funeral went well.
Shattered now though and now got 7 missed calls to deal with, will go through them in the morning.
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>> Glad it went OK.
>>
+1, or at least as well as such a day can go.
My best regards to all your family, Rattle.
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Looks like the perfect compromise for Rattles recent transport prob!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDaTAURMCXQ
then we may get a "lost mi car " thread!
Last edited by: devonite on Wed 23 Nov 11 at 00:54
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My car would have been on that train at some point.
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What a lot of yellow Pandas....
In another thread there's a discussion of the resurgence of white cars, looks like yellow is popular too ? Spread a little sunshine wherever you go - nice.
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>> What a lot of yellow Pandas....
There was one... that kept overtaking and then being overtaken. You would have thought one of the drivers would overtake and then pull away.
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The yellow Panda is the equivalent of buying it in primer! £300 cheaper. Not that many round here, easy to find it in the the Waitrose carpark :)
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Yeah white and yellow were the free colour choices. My mate had a white one so I wanted to be a little different.
Nearly every car I have owned as has been a shade of blue, so I decided to keep the theme running and buy another blue one. Although I may have gone for silver if I realised it was an option at the time.
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>> Yeah white and yellow were the free colour choices. My mate had a white one
>> so I wanted to be a little different.
What, no red one!! Surely a small Fiat should be available in red at no extra charge!
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Think red was £200. I don't like red cars for some reason though.
I don't think I will buy metallic again though as it makes bodywork repairs more expense and as I found out, bodyshops is something I will have to get used to :(
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How difficult is to get four people to a flipping. - rtj70
