The Pryordurkins

Posts Tagged ‘credit crunch’

Since moving to York we had never realised just how close Sheffield is, so on Saturday after a bit of a lie in we decided to take a look.  With a journey time of 50 minutes we had parked up and entered Meadowhall on the outskirts of Sheffield.  It was built around twenty years ago, but seems to have had a facelift as Paul remembers it as a dark and dreary place.  This time however we quite liked it.  Shopping for mens stuff, we quickly realised there was more on offer than that sold in York.  Even the chain stores like Next had much more stock to chose from.  I was very happy to get some more brightly coloured socks which I had been trying to find since I saw them in the Manchester store of Next.  Anyway a good few hours later, we were on our way home having done our little bit for the credit crunch.  As it was late we decided to have dinner on our way back at the Cross Keys in Dunnington and as usual the food was very good but the bar was less than friendly.

Sunday had me playing with my new toy and after helping me out for a while, Paul then headed off into the garden.  It wasn’t long before he was shouting though.  It turned out the problems we were having with the downstairs loo were because of  a Jay Cloth blocking the outside drains.  I won’t describe the odorous and colourless sight that Paul was keen to draw my attention to, but after poking it with a stick and much use of the hose pipe, all was then clear.   As I write, the roast is ready to come out of the oven and I can hear Paul finishing up so I best go put the vegetables on.  Anyway, another weekend over and it’s back to work tomorrow ;-(

After a weekend that took an unexpected and unfortunate turn for our friends who had originally planned to spend it with us, we woke this morning to find a very nice covering of Snow over much of the UK.  Listening to the excited BBC News presenters (makes a change from the credit crunch I suppose) you would think this was a completely new phenomenon.  However I can remember having to dig my car out of several feet of snow when I was a lad, not so many years ago.

With Priscilla taking ownership of the garage Paul was not best pleased at having to scrape down his car from the snow and ice that had covered it overnight, before taking her off to the garage for some minor repairs.  However the scenes in and around our home in York more than made up for the mild inconvenience.   The picture to the right was taken ‘out back of house’.

We did momentarily think while enjoying what is turning out to be a fantastic British winter, about Marg in Australia and the recent reports over here that they are enduring their hottest summer for many years.  So we thought we’d share a few winter pictures as a little light relief to all those down under.

As the evening sets in, we hear on the news that tonight we can expect another 20cm of snow, so while Paul prepares the evening meal, having taken a few pictures, I’ll now be busy closing all the curtains, turning up the heating and lighting a few candles for an evening in front of the box.

Of course, tommorow is where all the fun starts because I need to get to Reading by 2pm and Paul has ‘volunteered’ to take me to the train station for just after 8am.

We’ll see….

After a late start to the day we headed into the City Centre for a spot of shopping and a light lunch.  On our way, we stopped off at Deans Garden Centre looking to buy a water butt so we could start to collect rain water for the garden come summer.  Unfortunately they didn’t have the 60mm connection kit so we could link it up with our guttering drain pipes, which (as is now usual with the Pryordurkin luck) are non standard.  Anyway, laughingly we thought B&Q might have it in and promised ourselves we would call on the way home (Aren’t we silly?).

Getting into the City we parked up and walked into the centre.  It was packed full of tourists and shoppers alike.  You would think it was the week before Christmas.  Restaurant, shops, cafes and the streets were buzzing with people who generally looked up beat, happy and pleased to be out.  I still can’t quite square this with the pessimistic downbeat doom and gloom messaging you get every time you switch on the BBC news.  I find myself shouting at the TV the more excited the news presenters get with every bit of bad news.  Perhaps a few of them should lose their jobs and feel the pain many others are suffering.  They then might think twice about making things even worse by creating even more worry and pessimism amongst Joe Public.  While I’m on one, I’m curious how much the BBC Downturn logo cost.  This is the second one I’ve seen so far.

Anyway where was I?   Oh yes, we bought a few items from around town, stopped for lunch at Harlequin (which was packed, even at 2.30pm) and then made our way home.  On our way, as mentioned earlier, we called into B&Q to see if they had the connection kit we needed for the water butt.    Guess what?…….

From the outset, my treatment at Castle BMW of York was exemplorary.  Although the showroom looks a little tired compared to the other ‘newer’ show rooms for other car makes on the same Clifton Moor site, the experience itself was first class.  Not one red balloon was in site and the copious amounts of coffee that I did drink were all served up in china cups rather than the plastic one offered when I bought my last car.

With the current credit crunch all the rage and the world falling down around us, or so you would think if you watch the BBC news, I obviously expected a very good deal.  Thinking the sales people at dealerships like BMW would be so desperate they would do anything to sell a car I entered Castle BMW of York two weeks ago looking for a deal.  I went in with a fixed budget in mind, a base-lined specification and the expectation that all I would be able to afford was a second hand car.  After two visits, I had on offer a car that met my base-lined specification and was within the budget I had set.  The only difference I did compromise on was that this time it would be brand new.

What was interesting throughout the discussions and deal making was how confident Castle BMW were with their prices and (like I do) listening in to the conversations of other sales people and customers who were sat around me, there was something re-assuring about knowing they weren’t actually that desperate for business as the BBC news people might have you think.  It reminded me of the Stella Artois adverts – reassuringly expensive.  That all being said though, I was very happy with the deal struck and picked up my new car yesterday.

The handover process was (now to be expected) professional.  Everything was explained; from the vehicle registration and warranty papers I was been asked to sign, to the button on the right hand side of the drivers foot-well, that pops open the boot.  They even made handing over a ‘wodge’ of cash seem relatively painless.  All in all the handover process took two nearly two hours, but a lot of that was down to us chatting about everything other than cars.

Anyway, I am pleased with my experience of Castle BMW, feel sure they will look after me post sale and if they do manage to update their showroom, would get five stars all round.

Pryordurkin rating. 4 stars.

(If you do visit them ask for Simon H’ who looked after me)  Tel:0845 128 6429

I had thought the crowds that have greeted us the last few weekends in York were just that; weekend crowds.  However venturing out into York a couple of times this week, I note the crowds are still there and all shopping frantically.  The traditional Christmas fayre is doing a roaring trade and it is hard to square the downturn (named by the BBC with an exciting brand new logo!) with what is happening on the streets.  It could of course be down to Yorkshire folk having more common sense and avoiding being led by the peddlers of doom with characteristic pragmatism by just simply getting on with life.

Watching the BBC news today, the local outlet centres and shopping centres have all increased their visitor numbers by between 3% and 5% over last year.  The White Rose shopping centre reported 300,000 visitors last week alone! so clearly some people are just getting out there and snapping up the fantastic bargains to hand.  My advice though having returned from York today is to sharpen those elbows if you’re out shopping in York City Centre. The old dears mulling around don’t take any prisoners when it comes to bargain hunting and they are very good at casually pushing their way in front of me when I am in a queue! Merry Christmas.

Parking our car at the University we walked into the City on Saturday morning primarily to get some fresh air, but also to take in the sights and sounds of Yorks famous Christmas Market Fairs which start early December with the famous St Nicholas Fayre which runs for four days.  We first came across this annual delight when we were looking for a house in York.  At the time we needed a hotel room and because of  St Nicholas fayre, everywhere we tried was fully booked.  It was only at the very last minute with a bit of string pulling that we managed to blag a room at the local Holiday Inn.  St Nicholas fayre is a traditional Christmas market affair and runs from early December to then be followed by the International Christmas fayre.  This year St Nicholas Fayre started on Thursday and by the time we walked along the river we could see with the coach park full, that it was going to be very busy again.

It was manic. Crowds of tourists flocking through the streets of York.  The queues to get even the most basic of coffees were huge.  Even the normally quiet hot dog stands (most Yorkshire folk know not to buy from these) had queues stretching between 15 to 20 people.

The usual Christmas gifts stalls were much in evidence but to be honest, we’d made for a favourite local eatery of ours (1331 Gastrobar – read latest review) to get out of the way of the crowds.

St Nicholas fayre is clearly popular though and as we headed back the University later that day, we passed quite a few shops in the City of all which seemed to be doing a roaring trade.  Who said there was a credit crunch.  There isn’t if York Christmas Market Fairs are anything to go by.  Ignore our grumpiness though and give them a go, you won’t be disapointed by what is on offer.

Pryordurkin rating 4 stars.

I needed to pop into the City today to catch up on all those little jobs I’ve not managed to do having been working in London pretty much everyday now for some weeks. The old faithful car started up immediately and so I set off.  I noticed as I approached the first roundabout it felt a little funny, but I just thought it was because it had been stood without use for some weeks and was in need of warming through.  As I approached the City centre I then noticed a strange smell; a sort of shoe-polish smell.  I pulled over when I noticed smoke coming from under the bonnet.  I did a quick roadside check (once I’d found how to open the bonnet) and could see the engine looking a little moist.  I decided to head immediately to my local garage.

I never quite made it.  The engine with a shudder gave up the ghost and suddenly stopped.  It was (of course) by this point pouring down with rain.  I phoned the nice people at AA.  Within twenty minutes (excellent service) a man in a big yellow coat had come behind me.  Within minutes of opening my bonnet, he asked if I lived near a field.  I answered; we are surrounded by them.  He said I had been attacked by mice.  I don’t remember the little creatures hitting me at any point before he then went onto say they had been nesting inside my engine compartment and eaten their way through lots of my rubber piping.  He pointed to a big black tube with diesel pouring out onto the engine.  He sucked his lips and said this is going to be expensive.

Apparently, he said, having mice eat their way through your car is not that common but occasionally happens to the unlucky few and I immediately thought the old Pryordurkin effect was clearly having a laugh today.  Of course I am now going to have serious words with our two cats who have clearly been slacking of late.

Credit Crunch is one of the most popular phrases used in the news these days. ’Staycation’ is the latest addition and describes stay at home vacations.  Well I am pleased to be able to play my part in softening the current credit crunch crisis by providing my reviews of popular (and not so popular) businesses around the country.   Check out the categories to the right and start planning your ‘Staycation’ in good old ‘Blighty’.  Don’t forget to say hello from Mavis and my young friend Dusty on your ‘Staycation’.