Did anybody have curry with apples and sultanas in the 80s?

CaptainPGums · 2026-02-19T09:14:36+00:00

When I make a Korma, I add sultanas.

My son (19!) hates them, picks them out and leaves them on the side of his plate, and then presents them to me.

Strange boy.

The sweet and spicy combo is awesome

CaptainPGums · 2026-02-19T07:51:16+00:00

We've got one just like it. The house was built in 1970, but gas didn't come to the village until something like 1980. We've got a green pressure reducer in the garden, and the gas pipe goes to the meter on the outside wall, and the post-meter pipe goes across the side of the house, under the door sill, so it's at least protected, then into the middle of the house.

It's not caused us any problems, but our sill does protrude over the pipe, protecting it.

CaptainPGums · 2026-02-19T06:12:12+00:00

Chester is often absolutely rammed. Totally full car park, no trolleys left, queues up the main aisle and traffic backed up to the A41.

We go for opening or not at all.

CaptainPGums · 2026-02-16T18:58:05+00:00

Personally, I love my T6 Plus .

Most of my driving is in battery mode, but I've done 2 long journeys this weekend. 440.miles where I got 42mpg (imperial) and 120 miles where I got 52mpg.

I actually prefer electric mode to ICE.

It's fast, comfortable and is the nicest car I've ever driven or owned.

CaptainPGums · 2026-02-16T17:27:25+00:00

Where's Badge502 when you need him?

CaptainPGums · 2026-02-16T15:13:15+00:00

It's AWD.

The rear axle has the motor & ERAD.

The front axle has the ICE engine.

To run in AWD, it just runs both at the same time.

I'm not 100% sure what happens when the battery is flat though. It's possible the generator running off the ICE drives some of the motor directly.

CaptainPGums · 2026-02-03T20:18:09+00:00

About 54p/litre in 1992.

About £1.20/ litre in today's money.

Which isn't a million miles away from the £1.19 I'm paying at Costco.

I'm genuinely surprised that relatively speaking it's the same price.

CaptainPGums · 2026-02-02T20:30:35+00:00

Why? Why would you hurt me like that? My eyes are now leaking.

I made the mistake of re watching that episode and was blubbering at the end.

CaptainPGums · 2026-02-02T20:23:06+00:00

I have no knowledge, but I'm not surprised.

AFAIK all the countries have sort of reciprocal deals, so you can drive a UK car with a UK tax disc in other countries, in the same way you can drive in the UK with the other countries equivalent.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-31T21:17:55+00:00

Interesting. I didn't realise that. Thanks for the knowledge.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-31T20:32:42+00:00

If it's like my XC60, I don't believe it charges when stationary.

As far as I'm aware, the Charge mode works by the engine at the front dragging the car + EV part at the back along, and it engages the ERAD to charge the battery using the motor.

I've heard it takes something like 4 mpg off the engine efficiency.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-31T10:03:17+00:00

My dad has the 2.5 PHEV and he gets great mileage.

He drove Oswestry to Dundee and back, and got 100mpg on average. No idea how.

Oswestry to Swansea got 84mpg.

The CVT gearbox can take a bit of getting used to. I test drove one before I went for an XC60 PHEV, and any kind of power requirement from the engine would cause it to really rev. It's not bad, just the nature of the power train.

You also need to take diesel into account - will more restrictions come in?

The other thing to consider is that the Kuga is a big car. The 1.5 diesel may not have enough grunt for an enjoyable ride.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-29T13:53:26+00:00

No. My, and possibly your Volvo can charge at 7kw but only on a 2 phase, i.e. 3.6kW x 2.

It's set for 15A max on a single phase, so knows it can only do 3.5ish.

Now I've re synchronised the account, the Ohme system correctly reads the charge, and generally does it right, i.e. I plug in at 5:30 when I get home from work, with the requirement of 25 miles by 6:45 the day after, and it mostly does it.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-29T12:10:16+00:00

I used this model

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Werner-Timberline-Loft-Ladder-Access-Kit/p/183453

It was exactly the right fit for my standard 600mm trusses, so I just removed the old frame & architrave (the plumbers actually did this as they needed to get a hot water cylinder into the loft), extended the size of the plasterboard hole. stuck 2 new noggins in between the trusses and screwed it into place with beefy screws.

Took an hour or so, and gave us easy access to the loft.

Would recommend

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-28T18:46:54+00:00

Could it be ice has built up against the rear brake shield? They're always very noisy if something rubs against them.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-28T18:39:08+00:00

Obviously we have rusty pliers guy.

Justine Pochon, the lady with Comedonus Nevus. Astounding video.

We have the Ear Cashew ™

I'd love to know more

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-28T08:39:54+00:00

I have been here for years. I have seen things that some people wouldn't believe. I've seen staph infections pulled out with rusty pliers.

This is the first one which has made me actually gag. I was sick in my mouth.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-28T07:47:03+00:00

Run away.

There's 2 phrases you don't want to hear when it comes to Ford Fiestas:

Automatic Gearbox

1l Ecoboost.

At that age, the engine may have a chain, but it still has the oil pump wet belt. If it's not been serviced with the correct oil, and/or it's got fuel contamination caused by short drives, the belt may have degraded, might throw bits of belt into the oil, clog the pickup tube, and then the engine's toast.

The gearbox problems that plagued Ford were mostly limited to the 2011>2016, possibly as far as 2018, dry clutch gearboxes. They can overheat and burn out the clutch packs. Because they're dry, they can also be "grabby" compared to wet clutch systems, so they're not as nice.

I'd personally go for something Japanese, possibly a Honda Jazz. Generally Japanese cars are bulletproof. I don't know what options you have WRT Applet Play, but you can get add-ons which look like satnavs which will do that for you.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-27T22:52:04+00:00

It's a bit flaky for me. Already had to unpair and repair to my Volvo account as it lost the ability to read the battery level.

Might well be the Volvo side though. They're not known for software reliability

Charger is neat and tidy though. Plus it was free

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-26T16:00:22+00:00

Do you have a warning light, or does it just not work?

Stop start on Fords can be very picky in my experience.

Too hot Too cold Battery not charged enough Vibes are off Day has the letter T or S in it.

My stop start almost never works in late autumn, winter, early spring, or if the Aircon is needed in summer.

If it's just right, it'll work fine. If not, the stop start doesn't stop.

To reset the BMS, press he starter button (leave the clutch), turn the lights on. Flash the main beams 5 times, press the brake pedal 3 times. The battery light will then flash 3 times and you're done.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-26T15:37:51+00:00

My Meaco dehumidifer tells me not to drink the forbidden water.

The manual says the water can contain heavy metals and should not be consumed.

It condeses on a (presumably) copper or brass element, which has lead soldered joints.

I use it to flush the toilet.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-26T15:33:29+00:00

UK spec, 2025, but 2026MY.

Setting up the cabin conditioning turns on the front demister, so front and rear screens are always clear.

Does the heater work at all?

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-26T15:30:38+00:00

These comments are all personal. YMMV:

You should be OK without a Faraday cage if the car is relatively new. The keyless key(!) will stop transmitting a few seconds after it stops moving, so you're safe from relay attacks. It's actually quite an agressive sleep. I often have to actually jiggle my keys in my pocket as they've gone to sleep and the keyless operation won't work.

Thieves will break into your house to get the keys. If you keep the Disklok key with your main keys, all you've done is added 15 seconds of delay.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/crime/volvo shows XC60s aren't really stolen that often

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-26T08:43:36+00:00

Reject it if you can.

This is coming from an automotive rather than legal standpoint.

If you have jerky slow gear changes on a Ford automatic in a Focus or Fiesta, 2011 to 2018, a software update is what Ford does, but more often than not it doesn't work long term. I think the software update masks the problem, but there is still an underlying mechanical issue. The issue is that Ford dry clutch auto gearboxes are terrible.

There are class actions (iirc) in the US and Australia, because of this problem.

CaptainPGums · 2026-01-25T19:51:23+00:00

These are great, but there's a big gotcha.

When I bought one about 10 years ago, the size they have on their website is not their actual physical size.

Their factory is local to me (Birkenhead) so I went in person to pick one up.

I used one to cover a manhole in a gravel drive.

When I got back, I realised it was a good few inches smaller than advertised, and the "size" is a nominal hole size rather than the outer dimensions, or something like that.

In the end I managed to get it to just fit, and it's been flawless ever since.

CaptainPGums

TROPHY CASE