Sleepy and disappointed

I was woken up at 4 am this morning by a text message from my friend, Leah. She worked for the Lib Dem MP for Newbury, David Rendal. He just lost to the conservatives so she's out of a job.

It's a real shame. I liked David Rendal. He was a decent MP. He was local, his kids all went to the same school as me, his wife is a local GP and he really knew the area. He really cared about the area.

Damn Tories.

The rest of the election...I suppose tis a tad predictable. But still a shame.

Sleepy and disappointed

I was woken up at 4 am this morning by a text message from my friend, Leah. She worked for the Lib Dem MP for Newbury, David Rendal. He just lost to the conservatives so she's out of a job.

It's a real shame. I liked David Rendal. He was a decent MP. He was local, his kids all went to the same school as me, his wife is a local GP and he really knew the area. He really cared about the area.

Damn Tories.

The rest of the election...I suppose tis a tad predictable. But still a shame.

New cars...

As of today the chances of my clio being recovered drop from 50/50 to (in the words of a nice policeman) 'unlikely'.

I'm going to give it another couple of weeks before I write it off and put in a claim, but I probably need to start poking around for a new car. As always, the temptation to get a mini is rearing its head. I look at minis on the internet. They smile at me provocatively. They want me. They do. Little minxes.

Ahem.

Yes.

Anyway, after a cold shower and a bit of a calm down, I find myself pondering what criteria I should use in buying a car. I want a fairly small car (having spent a week in the company of vilenspotens's jag - she's gorgeous, but a bit hard to park and always worries me in terms of how much space I need to leave myself) which will do a fairly good number of miles to the gallon and not fall apart too soon. What other things should I take into consideration?

Should I just take the insurance money (around £1000) and see what I can get with that?

Would I be better off putting some Inheritance Money (tm) into getting a better car which will probably be in better condition and might cost me less in the long term?

What brands of cars are sensible buys? Is the mini idea so very outlandish?

How old a car should I be looking at? What kind of rare do cars depreciate at?

Car owners out there - let me know your opinions.

New cars...

As of today the chances of my clio being recovered drop from 50/50 to (in the words of a nice policeman) 'unlikely'.

I'm going to give it another couple of weeks before I write it off and put in a claim, but I probably need to start poking around for a new car. As always, the temptation to get a mini is rearing its head. I look at minis on the internet. They smile at me provocatively. They want me. They do. Little minxes.

Ahem.

Yes.

Anyway, after a cold shower and a bit of a calm down, I find myself pondering what criteria I should use in buying a car. I want a fairly small car (having spent a week in the company of vilenspotens's jag - she's gorgeous, but a bit hard to park and always worries me in terms of how much space I need to leave myself) which will do a fairly good number of miles to the gallon and not fall apart too soon. What other things should I take into consideration?

Should I just take the insurance money (around £1000) and see what I can get with that?

Would I be better off putting some Inheritance Money (tm) into getting a better car which will probably be in better condition and might cost me less in the long term?

What brands of cars are sensible buys? Is the mini idea so very outlandish?

How old a car should I be looking at? What kind of rare do cars depreciate at?

Car owners out there - let me know your opinions.