Motorway armchair :-)

9 hours in the 7 yesterday as we needed to go to London at short notice.Β  Dealt with the 4 large guys and 400+ miles very well – in fact very comfortably – not sure I would have wanted to be the poor guy sat behind Charlie mind – he was set up in relax mode – like a damned bed πŸ™‚ Oh well, Pete’s a smaller guy than Martin so I guess he fared OK πŸ™‚

We are house sitting at the moment in Greenlea so a nice swim was in order this morning before Simon went to work – could get used to that !!!!

Oh damn… sensational 7

In the words of Steph Niango – “Oh DAMN !!!!”

What a motor – fab drive, awesome electronics and typical BMW build quality.Β  Looks awesome in the garage next to the 5 πŸ™‚

Only just fits in the garage mind you – won’t be letting Vicky remove it – will possibly be a mirror or two down …..:-(

There is lots of fiddling to do to figure out how it all works – Vicky has already hidden the manual – apparently Simon needs to spend time with her and Elliot and not with his nose (as big as it is) in a car manual……..

Oh well, I’m sure there is a shopping trip coming…..

Elliot’s 1st steps

Elliot took his first solo steps today – 4 of the bad boys – he did it in front of Vicky while they were out visiting Julie and Abbie.

The insurance is all sorted, the cash in place, all we need now is a car without the marks on the rear doors and bumper – the fingers are crossed, the salesman doing what they do best – assuring us that there is nothing to worry about – let’s just hope he is a salesman unlike any other πŸ™‚

More good news – Simon has a days of important meetings in the USA on the day BEFORE Elliot’s 1st birthday – Vicky was really pleased when Simon dropped the news last night. Simon is trying to change the date of the meeting to be either a week earlier or a week later but it is really not looking good πŸ™

Collecting the 7 next Saturday

Nandos was interesting – great food and a handy waiter called Francesco πŸ™‚

The 7 series is all on for next Saturday, so a family trip is about to be planned….

Simon called the dealer today to ensure that the bodywork that required attention is being tended to- to find that (apparently) the car is in the bodyshop today being sorted, tomorrow it will be cleaned properly inside and then Friday it is being treat to a full on wax and internal polish and shine πŸ™‚ Currently we have no reasons to disbelieve the dealership – isn’t it a bad show that we are even considering that they will not come up with the goods πŸ™

Simon is now checking out iPod integration, phone integration (since that damned UK Orange SIM will not work in it … grr) and all of the vital techy stuff that is obviously highly desirable.

Thanks to Jon for his suggestions ref the XBOX 360 – it may have helped in the persuasion area – even better if we can get it going in the 7 !!!!

The weather has totally taken an upward step today – awesome sunshine – just a shame that it at the back end of the summer time …..

BMW 730i Sport – on the way :-)

One of Simon’s colleagues, Sascha stayed over at the house for a couple of nights this week.Β  During this time to subject of cars came up and Sascha has persuaded Simon to re-investigate the subject of the new motor.

Consequently, a search took place followed by a couple of phone calls, a trip to a dealership near St James Park in Newcastle, and a deal struck.Β  The car – a rather nice BMW 730i Sport in black (same colour as the 5 series that we already have) with cream leather. This bad boy has a TV in it πŸ™‚ The downside? oh, yes, Vicky’s little 120d M Sport has to go …. πŸ™ Great little car that it is, struggles to support Vicky, Elliot, Clare, Tyler and Grandma – consequently it is really not that useful – as pretty as it is, it is just not cutting it.

So, there it is, decision made, pity we spent Β£600 two weeks ago popping 4 new tyres on the little car

Vicky now has to come to terms with the fact that her steed will either be a 5 series touring OR a 7 series…. tough call πŸ™‚

Today we are heading to the Trafford Centre to meet up with Francesco, Sophie and Fabrizio for lunch – apparently we are aiming at Nandos – Simon has never been before and is really looking forward to it…… πŸ™‚