John_D

Hi Peter, The Lakes area is just over the hill to where I live, about 30 - 45 minutes drive away, depending on how much of the A66 they are digging up. I have been there twice this week as weather has been fine. It's a pity the road from Grasmere to Keswick is still closed, having been washed away during the floods. But Grasmere is a lovely little place anyway. Please don't take this wrong as being a "newby" I'm not suggesting anything, but when I was with the (whisper this) ...BMW Z3 drivers club , we used to have annual drives around lakes. Not frenetic driving but at a fairly gentle pace. These generally lasted 2 days as we stayed at some local hotel. Such an outing needs some organising though. Glad you enjoyed the area and that you missed the rain. Its claimed that it rains for one out of every three days!.. Fortunately ATM there are not too many tourists. Finally, congrats on your marriage. It gets better the longer it lasts.

"Old Peter", ...in our young days (far far away), we used to give the birthday boy (never the girl) the "bumps". A tradition no doubt, now banned by the 'Elf an' Safety mob. Make sure your beloved "S" doesn't resurrect the practice.

I know I am a "newbie" to the Forum, but for all (well most of) my previous non-Jaguars I used "ASDATYRES".....http://www.asdatyres.co.uk/. Worth a look.

tommac. I fully understand your predicament. My last 6 cars have all been convertibles of one make or another, the last 3 being series 3 BMWs. I had to move to "Sheltered Accommodation for the Elderly" (a posh euphemism for God's Waiting Room ).... which did not offer covered space for my cars. The hoods of last three cars were always covered in bird droppings and tree sap and despite using copious amounts of "Renovo" .... a superb product by the way, there was only just so much I could do to renew the hoods. I decided enough was enough and am now seeking a coupe. Eventually it just was no longer cost effective to keep the soft tops. I hope your quest is successful, tommac .

Thank you "Old Peter"... (and this from "Older John"! ) At the tender age of 78, I no longer am capable of making a decent solder joint. Hence my quest for a company which could undertake the job. After being on the BMW Forums for many years, it's nice to join another one which is so civilised, PLUS a forum which caters for great cars which, thank God, are a far improvement from my 1974 XJ6 4.2 of yesteryear. At least in those far off days I had an expense account to run the thing. . Family and grandchildren have now no need of lifts, so I am back to the ol' two seater coupe carriage.

Hi all, I am a deserter from BMW (The Dark Side) having been with them for many years but finally gave up on their "Run-Flat" Tyres. In my declining years of third childhood, I now about to purchase a 2001 XK8 but it has no satnav, however I would like one installed. My son had such a device retrofitted into his Mondeo which also lacked this equipment. Could some kind person point me in the direction of a company which could do the job for me? Or is such retrofit impossible? I appreciate it may be a few hundreds of pounds. I don't really wish to drive with a Garmin stuck to the windscreen. Regards John_D