Yesterday, but.. changed the oil in the Elite - only 4k overdue..

all done now and sounds much quieter! Figured I'd throw an air filter in it as well, just for giggles.
Now I just need to do the thermostat & HBV, flush the coolant and the passenger side cam cover gasket.. chickened out of starting any of those as the car needs to do ~800 miles in the next three days for the Xmas parental tour

Plus I couldn't even see the HBV, let alone imagine getting my fingers on it.. maybe with the inlet off.
Could always have a gathering to have a play sometime, if you like. I'll be at a loose end for the next 2 weeks, although I'd recommend the course at Basingstoke. It does depend what instructor you get, apparently. We had a guy called Frank. Ex-army and really knew his stuff. 
Annoyingly I'm pretty much only really free on New Years Day and the 6th of Jan.. I have a full schedule of, sadly, mostly work

Although the idea of a welding get together sounds good to me

That's not a price for learning mate. My welding helmet cost £400 its digital can alter shade time delay etc
Guessing there's a 'bad' missing between 'a' and 'price' there

But yeah I agree - not quite as frugal as Kevin's £70 but still, easy to get through consumables plus all the equipment is provided. Always wanted to learn sheet metal & bodywork skills.. even though I'm building a fibreglass car
