Cars, Beer & A Bus...

Just back from a couple of days shopping in Calais.

Check out this MINI lookalike microcar spotted in a microcar showroom 

And a Dacia Dokker…

Cheap beer…

And a cute bus…

More French Stuff

So day three or was it four?


Up and breakfasted in the Ibis and then hit the road to Coquelles to hit Cité Europe to stock up on wine etc. As I'm trying very hard to be good I didn't buy a lot of cheese, it is after all my big weakness.

Saw this in the car park, in fact saw a lot of them on the road, Peugeot 206+ 

It's only when you see the front that you notice the 207 front lights and bumper, very confusing in the rear view mirror.

Then it was off to the plage and an ice cream from a funky glace van.

Shaft drive 'Boris bikes', are the real Boris bikes shaft drive? 

Cheap Beer 2

Got this in France recently.
€0.54 for a plastic 66cl bottle.
Not too bad, given that it works out at about 47p a bottle.

See my earlier post Cheap Beer for another from the same source.

Panoramic Camera Tweaking

I picked up a cheapo 'Panoramic' point and shoot from a charity shop over a year ago.
Boxed, looks unused.

Now seeing as I sold my Vivitar UWS on ebay to fund my addiction for buying more useless crap, I had a look at this thinking it might be a substitute. Cheap, all plastic blah blah blah.

Now the way the 'panoramic' bit works is a just a plastic bit which masks the film, this means there is a black strip along the top and the bottom of the negative and then you need to ask the developer to print them 3.5" x 10". 

I figured I might be able to trim the masking bit away leaving a wider angle full frame. In the end it just pulled out, so I tried it without it in.

One problem is that the viewfinder is also masked so you can't see the top and bottom of the subject when looking through it.

Results with Kodak 400 not too bad, got that UWS lens-flare when pointed into the sun, no vignetting though.

Some results.

Royal Wedding Escape

Didn't quite go as planned as it was all over the radio and tv so I still didn't manage to avoid it totally.

Saw this sweet Peugeot 604 GTi, 2.8 litre V6, about 84 or 85 vintage parked in the carpark of Cité Europe

Stayed in the Ibis hotel at Coquelles opposite Cité Europe as usual.
Snapped this sunrise on my phone just before breakfast on Saturday morning.

Popped down the coast to Wissant on Saturday for a spot of lunch, had a stroll along the seafront first then a sarnie and a beer in a local restaurant.

I treated myself to the coolest pair of sunglasses on this planet (imho), Oakley Fuel Cell, polished/matte clear frames and violet iridium® lenses.

Not Grey Mullet

Dug out some ballooning photos tonight.

Makes me feel old, less than 15 years ago, August 97, Metz, France, my first hands-on unaided landing, look at me looking proud for keeping the basket upright. No,I'm sure stripey shirts and check trousers weren't fashionable even back then but hey ho.

Good News!

Spotted a Dacia Sandero Stepway in a hypermarket carpark.

Actually like the look of this.

Midsomer Video Paprika Tuc's

Well I had hoped to have some footage from Midsomer up on here but seem that I'm being a twat when it comes to technology.
That'll teach me for using a different video editing package.
Suppose I'll have to go back to Windows Movie Maker and get it sorted.

Meanwhile here's a pic of some nice biscuits I discovered on my last trip to France.

RS

Loving the micro cars in France.
This is a Ligier X-TOO RS.

Diesel 4 stroke twin cylinder 440 cm3
Aluminum block, camshaft head
Bore 68 mm - stroke 60.6 mm
Maximum power: 4 kW at 3700 rpm
Direct fuel injection with electronic control
Maximum torque 20.0 Nm at 1,800 rpm

Yep a whole 4kW @ 3700 rpm.

That's 5.6 horsepower.

Cheesymania