Olympic Year

"I test drove one of those eco-friendly cars the other day. It was a lot like Knightrider, but instead of solving crimes it just said "How you doing?" to trees."

On Saturday/Sunday I managed to visit two pubs that I had only visited once previously and both in 2004.

The first was The George on Great Portland Street, London. I was last there in October 2004. It's difficult to describe how it's decorated. I suppose you could say it's somewhat Victorian / Edwardian. It's a Greene King pub, so doesn't have any overly interesting beers, but does have quite a nice menu. When I was here previously, there was a mix of celebrities in there. John Snow, the Channel 4 newsreader, was enjoying a drink and chat with 2 members of Placebo - this was a sight that I never expected to see. On the other side of the pub was the comedy writer Arthur Smith - he has one of the finest London accents there is. There were no celebrities there this time, but it doesn't detract from it's majesty.

The second pub was Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem Inn, Nottingham. The last time I frequented this pub was in April 2004. I've been back to Nottingham several times since, but never managed to revisit the pub. It's a very special pub as it's the oldest one in Britain. It was built in 1189 AD which makes it 819 years old! It looks as though part of the pub is carved into the rock base which Nottingham Castle sits upon. It's fantastic to think about the many people who have sat there over the ages. Knights, Monks and perhaps Brian Clough. I had a lovely pint in there called 'Last Trip' by Hansons and Hardys brewery. It was 4.3% and had enticing fruity aromas. They serve food there, but I was unable to view a menu. I sat in the 'Museum Room' part which is basically a stone alcove and very cosy. I could have fallen asleep there quite happily.

I aim to visit both these pubs again! And not leave a 4 year gap this time.

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Whilst driving along the M1 to Nottingham, I spied a Mercedes Van which appeared to be some sort of Mercedes-Benz transport van. The back of the van was partially visible and I could see that there was a sporty Mercedes in there with the registration plate F1. I thought to myself, oh I expect that cost a fair bit.

I mentioned it at work today and found out that there was a quite a story behind it. That number plate had just been sold for around £441,000 at auction to a businessman. He had then had it fitted to his Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren - a car which cost around £317,000 and is £124,000 cheaper than the numberplate which now adorns it. I was staring at a car whose total worth was around 3/4 of a million pounds.

My car is roughly worth £400.