I saw that for sale on Ebay not too long ago. The van body seems to be sitting a little high in relation to the wheels, presumably to accommodate all the running gear. Once upon a time customizers used to take a classic car and put a later, more powerful engine in it. Hence the Rover V8 in the...

Maybe it's easier to get on with some people if you don't see them very often! I had relatives like that. The less I saw them the better they were.

I've just been idly browsing base layer garments on the internet as a way of relaxing before bed. My goodness me it's an expensive business to keep yourself slathered in famous name outdoor wear brand logos. I've always taken the view that if Rab, Helly Hansen et al want me to do their...

I've not tried it with hosiery but I have found that wearing some of Xylia's old stirrup leggings under my trousers is good for outdoor work in cold weather. She's grown out of them so I've borrowed them. Of course, you can get expensive branded outdoor base layer gear, but £9.99 leggings from...

Just back in from visiting Xylia in the hospital. She's being plied with intravenous antibiotics and they keep taking blood samples. She seems to be a lot more comfortable now I've taken in more of her own clothes and some consumer electronics. She likes plenty of iPhones and iPads in her life...

And that's before the lathe is running too! Yes, families use a lot of energy. People having baths and showers several times a day, washing clothes at 90 C after they've been worn for only a couple of hours and then putting them in a tumble drier, turning the heating up, and then up even...

You'll never believe this, but I had a freak experience putting my wellies on the other day. I put one on and realised it was on the wrong foot. Then I put the other one on and to my astonishment that was on the wrong foot too. What are the odds . . .

Just back from the hospital again. Xylia's settled into a really nice ward where she had a separate room and is being looked after by some very personable nurses, some of whom I've taught in the past. Yes it is cellulitis, seems to be the consensus. Indeed, it's an especially interesting case...

Well, I didn't ask where they were from - Lady Susan Hussey got into lot of trouble for that. But I'm guessing they were local talent as from what I could overhear they had broad Leicester accents. The slightly sad thing was that they didn't look like 'hard men'. No sign of the steroid physique...

Seems from the messages I'm getting from her that opinion seems to be zeroing in on cellulitis. But the most recent doctor she saw wants to discuss it with his colleagues before coming to a conclusion. In some ways I'm quite happy with a degree of informed agnosticism. If you give something a...

Thanks for all your good wishes everybody. I've just had a message from Xylia that they're intending to keep her in for a while. Once I know where she's been put, I'll go back in with some stuff for her. She's in the Infirmary at Leicester which is a huge complex of buildings, so I'll need some...

Just back from the hospital where I've been with Xylia all night. They keep looking at her, putting tubes in her arms, taking samples of blood and taking her temperature. But we're not quite sure what's wrong. Painful joints and muscles, swelling and inflammation, especially her face. She thinks...

Yes, generally in the TD5 rev counter kit you get a female pin to go in the relevant hole in the ECU plug, plus a diagram of which bit of the ECU plug it needs to go in. Aside from that, if I remember correctly, you need an ignition switched live feed, and a live feed that comes on with the...

There's an unused pin on the black ECU plug that'll give you a feed for a rev counter. But it has to be a rev counter that's designed for the TD5 as it's not a generic electronic rev counter signal. This means they tend to be quite expensive...

Looks like a nice, workmanlike bit of kit. Good to see you've got it under cover too and they didn't just leave it in the garden under a tarp. You've done quite well for accessories too - I can see extra chuck jaws and a few other items knocking about. Is that the index plate I can see behind...

Looks like some progress then. I can't quite work it out from the pictures - has enough been done that you can re-mount the radiator?

Sounds like a favourable result. Now I'm getting on a bit I'll have to start playing the little old man role more often too. I've held off because I'm a bit too vain to present myself as an invalid, but maybe it's time to swallow my pride.

That's remarkably quick. Sounded like it would be a number of weeks from what you said earlier.

Yes, I've had students who've worked for major retailers in part time jobs and they tell me that's what they're told by their employers. Plus 'There's no point calling the police because they don't come'. This isn't for people with the odd bag of crisps or packet of sausage rolls, it's...

Well, kind of. They look as if they should be but they're not fully OBD compliant as they were being made just as it was coming in and getting standardised. If you're going to go in for TD5s in a big way it's worth getting a device that'll read and diagnose them fully, such as the Nanocom or the...