Wow! What a welcoime back! Crikey, you are a nice bunch.
Colin I am thinking of is Risso. He had bowel cancer and was in a very bad way when I was last here.
Those who actually know me will know a little about my health. Those that mety me may not realise so much as I was quite good at hiding pain most of the time.
I have osteoarthritis of my spine which I am sure you can imagine is painful to put it mildly. I have had several procedures to try to improve my mobility without any success. I became quite ill after taking fairly powerful medicines for 9 years and my medication was changed about 2 years ago. this did help a little with pain, but reduced my mobile function. I have used a wheelchair before so using one when I have to isn''t so bad.
Since I was last here I have had many cars as those who know me will believe. I have had a couple of Mitsubishi Shoguns, A Landrover Discovery, A Ford Galaxy (wonderful car) and a multitude of others. My current one is a Bentley Turbo R very cleverly disguised as a Renault Laguna Executive 3.0v6.
Actually the Renault has been a funny purchase. Last year I had to take my son down to exeter University for an interview. The day before, my Galaxy blew the gearbox up and I was looking for absolutely anything automatic. I looked in the loacl rag and found the Laguna at a garage for £695. I intended to do one run there and back and then flog it. Laguna? Automatic? Not two words you would normally use in the same sentence without wincing and waiting for the RAC to collect you.
Anyway, went to have a look. It looked like brand new. Top of the range, leather, cruise, Climate etc. All the Omega trimmings but they worked! (Sorry). One elderly woman owner from new, 54k and full Renault history. Tesgt drive was like driving a brand new car. £600 and I bought it.
Next day filled it with nectar, £70 nearly and off we went. Everything was loveley and it returned a pretty impressive 34mpg on the whole run.
We decided to keep it for a couple of weeks whilst I looked around. A year later almost and we still have it. I have been to Scotland 3 times in it, never done anything except put petrol in and enjoy it.
Not everones favourite car, but hell I have been lucky with this one.
Ohm actually very lucky. Someone crashed into it 3 weeks into our ownership. I say crashed, they scuffed the front bumper. Their insurers paid me £500 to go away, so I gladly accepted. It still has the scuff but it is literally a quick blow over with some paint and job's a goodun. Something i would certainly have sorted a couple of years back.
Anyway, there you go.
Yes, a coupole of years back me, Mark, Pete and Dave were regulalrly whipping engines in and out, chganging gearboxes etc on the Omegas. I did get the V6 timing belt change down to about an hour in the end. A gearbox change, about 4.
Not now I am afraid. I will gladly tell anyone what is involved, but those days are now his-tor-eeeee.
Anyway. Thanks again for teh welcome so far. I am sure someone will be along to call me a tosser any minute, but thats ok. I am one!
