Top Gear Returns

Loved the new episode of Top Gear last night (27/6/2010), but the thing with the Reliant Robin made me laugh my socks off and scared the hell out of me at the same time. As former a motorcyclist a lot of my mates had the damned things and I had lifts in them from time to time. I always felt quite scared going around a corner in a Robin, but if I realised then how easy they were to roll I would never have got in one. The problem is that they sort wallow in to a corner like a boat and as Jeremy Clarkson proved if you did not have a passenger to use as a counter weight a right hand turn could prove disastrous. Of course he was deliberately turning it over but even the Reliant enthusiasts admitted you could turn them over without trying.

The most scary thing I ever saw with a Reliant Robin was on the M6 Weaver Viaduct near Runcorn. I was coming back from a caravan rally on a very windy Sunday afternoon, it had been a long and difficult tow due to extremely high winds. I had experienced more than a few moments on the journey and had seen two caravans that had lost it on the route. I was travelling south west in the inside lane and the wind was coming from the north. The Robin was travelling up the hill in the inside lane going in the opposite direction. As the Robin reached the apex of the bridge a strong gust lifted it completely off the ground, spun it 360 degrees and deposited it in the outside lane almost alongside me. By the time the driver had regained control he was facing the on coming traffic. He was luck not to have been in the path of anything else at the time. As he disappeared in my mirrors he was turning around the right way. I often wondered if that guy ever drove that thing again after he got it home.

Read a review of the first show of the new series in the Telegraph

The Edge plays with Muse at Glastonbury - Wow!

The Edge plays with Muse at Glastonbury - Wow! http://bit.ly/bGVKov

Last night after an extremely busy couple of weeks and a manic weekend we slumped on the sofa and settled down to watch Angels and Demons which is Dan Brown's follow up to The Da Vinci Code starring Forest Gump himself Tom Hanks. Once you suspend the belief that Tom is no where near how Dan Browns hero is described (or you imagine) in the books this film is much closer to the book than The Da Vinci Code ever was. Unfortunately this results in a film that is so much like the previous one it is like Deja Vu all over again, which is a pity as I think this one would be better if you haven't seen the first one or indeed read the book. It also lacked a bit of breathless dashing around that would have been necessary if the storey had taken place in the time frame it did. All that said it was an enjoyable hour and three quarters.

By the time the film was over I was ready for bed but just needed one last drink, which took the form of a large ice cold Sangria. While I drank my cool beverage I flicked over channels on the TV and found the Muse at Glastonbury. This was Muse at their live best and wild horses would not have dragged me away from the idiot box while they played. Saying they were awesome was not only a cliché but a serious understatement. Muse are the Mega Group of their generation and on a par with the best bands of all time; Led Zeppelin, The Who, Queen, Pink Floyd and audio subthe rest. They are definitely in a league above the bands of their generation.

If I have one criticism of Muse it is that Matthew Bellamy's wonderful lyrics are almost indecipherable most of the time when they are televised live. This did not effect my enjoyment as, like the crowd at Glastonbury, I knew every word off by heart, but Helen was straining to understand. This partially because of Matthew's unusual singing style and the affects added to his vocals, but also due to the limits of television recording systems and the bandwidth of the audio sub-carrier. However Helen made a comment I agreed with that Muse are almost an instrumental band and the lyrics are effectively just another instrument in the mix.

I was blown away and then they brought the Edge on stage and did U2's 'Streets with no name' which would have been the icing on the cake, had they not finished with my favourite Muse track 'Knights of Cydonia'. 'Knights of Cydonia' was the third single to be released from the album 'Black Holes and Revelations'. It was well worth staying up for and although I was yearning to be there I was probably better where I was sat in front of the TV with a perfect view and not surrounded by sweaty bodies miles from the stage. However for those who were there it was probably worth the price of the ticket just for Muse alone. Such a pity U2 could not make it after they were forced to pull out when Bono suffered a back injury. I wonder if the Gorillaz, who took U2's spot have ever played to such a disappointed and unreceptive audience, most of which got bored and drifted away halfway through their set?

Word on the street is this has been the best Glastonbury in its forty years. Something to do with the weather? Unfortunately two people died of heart attacks, which suggests either the festival was too exciting for them or the heat was too much or the drugs were too cheap or all three. Still if you have to go it might as well be while you are having a great time.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jun/27/muse-glastonbury-2010-review

BBC iPlayer - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00sz067/Glastonbury_2010_Muse/
Available until: 1:59am Sunday 4th July 2010

2011 Range Rover Revealed

I cannot allow myself to get too excited because I will not be buying one but the new Range Rover which is due out in September has been revealed and it is quite tasty. More Diana Rigg than Angela Jolie, more down to earth style than Tomb Raider flash. It has that cool superiority that is Land Rover and a new underlying sophistication that just adds to that go anywhere confidence.



Read more at AutoExpress , Car Magazine , Car Keys and Land Rover Owner International

Land Rover Discovery Towcar of the Year 2010

The Land Rover Discovery has been named as 'Towcar of the Year 2010' and was described by a panel of judges from The Camping and Caravanning Club, Practical Caravan and What Car? magazines as "the best car in this year's tests by some margin", The Discovery also won the category for vehicles weighing more than 1900kg.

As a life time Land Rover Fan and a Discovery owner I am pleased to hear it, but it comes as no surprise. It is a bit like those best Dad in the World mugs that some of us might get this week-end, nice to receive but there was not much competition was there.

Caravans are an emotive subject but as an ex-caravan owner I have some sympathy with those that enjoy the rally scene, less with those who bring them out once or twice a year and none what so ever with those that clutter up good sites by leaving their vans there 365 days a year. However I am as frustrated as anybody by the damned things on the road. Like snails towing their homes behind them they leave a trail of frayed nerves in their wake. The problem is usually a poor choice of towcar, a vehicle that is not heavy enough to provide a stable towing platform and not powerful enough to keep a steady speed. When you do get someone who has the right vehicle and can properly anticipate conditions they are generally in some sort of convoy led at the front by a seventy five year old chap in a green trilby called George in a 1964 Morris Oxford towing a 1956 Argosy Twelve that he bought when he left the army. Everyone calls him the Colonel even though he probably never rose past the rank of private, but he digs a "damn fine latrine" even if he does say so himself.

Far from driving 4x4s off the road, as the government seem to have been trying to do recently, they should be making sure that if you tow a caravan you do it with a Land Rover or something similarly suitable. It just such a pity that the ineptitude of the British car industry as seen all our great marks either disappear or fall in to foreign hands. It is shocking to think that the best Land Rovers ever are being produced now that the company is in the hands of Indian owners, why could the British Owners have done this?

Patrick Stewart Knighted

Congratulations to one of my personal favorite British actors Patrick Stewart who was knighted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace recently. Most well known for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek the next Generation he endeared himself to me by doing a magically job of playing Professor X in the X-Men films. As a long time Star Trek and X-Men fan it could so easily have been different, another actor could have ruined both roles but Sir Patrick did a marvelous job. Patrick Stewart is a fully trained Shakespearean actor which has set him up well for his TV and film rolls. As a lover of Shakespeare I have also watched him in various plays and even when he is hamming it up he can pull it off with a certain panache where others would seem unconvincing and fake. I think it is this ability that made him so good as Captain of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701D). One of the best things I think he has done is to bring 'Trekkies' in to the audience for his Shakespearean performances who would never have normally gone to watch such a thing. An appriciation of fine art, poetry and theatre is sadly lacking in this TV soap generation. Well done Sir Patrick!