Nick

I think Orix still do rentals, but would be surprised if you didn't need a Japanese license. Driving in Tokyo isn't fun. I can recommend this place in Izu, we rented a Hakosuka and had a blast. That said you'll need to go with someone that has a Japanese license and swap drivers out of sight http://fun2drive.co.jp/

I also had a 600 K5 as my first bike. I think the fact it was a quick bike made me more mindful about treating it with respect.

This isn't something you decided to do after last orders, is it Chris?

Yep. Not very smart.

The world is not a nice place and many people are ignorant of that. There's poverty, death and torture inflicted against men, women and children alike every day and no amount of Facebook 'likes', online petitions or token gestures of good will is going to make a blind bit of difference in the great scheme of things

Same here, I have two young boys and it's like being punched in the gut seeing those pictures, something I never had before being a parent. I have no sympathy for all those idiots camped out in Calais under the illusion there's a better life in the UK. They should set the water cannons on them, there is no pot of gold. Families fleeing a warn torn country is different. What is incredulous and really angers me is this was utterly needless. They weren't fleeing war torn Syria but where already safe in Turkey and trying to get to Greece after being rejected from Canada. I'm obviously not in their situation but I can't relate to putting your family in such danger, bundling them in an over crowded boat, when your wife can't even swim, when you're already safe. I don't know how he can live with himself, I think I'd have already taken the easy way out and killed myself.

Some classic and entertaining footage. H&S now would have a fit [GRIN][/GRIN] https://vimeo.com/59410466

I've used Secure a Spot before to prebook and that was a lot cheaper than the standard rate. I tried to use JustPark but their site had crashed, but they have a lot more spaces.

My family barge is a 2007 Audi A6 TDI (3.0 quattro) and I have no complaints it's a lot of car for the money. The boot is enormous, good build quality, bags or torque and for a car that weighs as much as a small planet it handles pretty well as well. Mine is worth around £5k now so you could get the newer shape within your budget.

From memory most have a small increase in the rev limit. I'd call the office they seem to have a couple of people working there that speak English now.

They could destroy the camps with water cannons every night and arrest and deport anyone that doesn't have the right to be in the country. I have no sympathy what so ever. They're economic migrants, those that have fled war should have tried to claim asylum in the first country they arrived in.

Bring the border back to the UK and give the border agency machine guns until we can leave the EU and brick up the tunnel.

How long have you had the Copperband Berg? I had one in my old mixed reef but it didn't last long

http://www.amazon.com/Induction-Performance-Practical-Supercharging-Turbocharging/dp/1859606911

Not really comparable to the Nurburgring but it's a cracking road for a hill climb. They've been trying for years to organise an event like this but always met with stiff opposition from the authorities. It already has an almost iconic status amongst petrol heads and I've enjoyed many very early Saturday mornings there hammering up and down the mountain, always making a U-Turn before the toll

Worth it's weight in gold for a fast road setup. Believe Chris has his own settings though.

Agreed. As a parent I obviously have a very strong and biased opinion and wouldn't loose a wink of sleep if they were all doused in petrol and burnt alive.

Why do you need more ride height on the rear?

There's more to come but hopefully not as big. After the Tohoku quake the aftershocks went on for months.

Where are you living? If Fuji Speedway is doable I'd definitely recommend taking the FISCO license for track days. Sodegaura in Chiba is also popular as it's a lot cheaper.

Their homepage is a good place to start. Might need to run it through a translator depending how good your nihongo is: http://www.nikko-circuit.jp/ There's a few http://www.gtr.co.uk members in Japan. Not as active as it used to be but there's where I first met people and got into the scene.

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of budget do you have in mind for the build? I'm been a big fan of the Star Road and Rocky Auto cars and seen them up close at various shows and events in Japan. Big big money though, looking at around £100k for a ground up restoration with all the extra's. Obviously most of that is spent on labour.

Certainly seems that way, and unfortunately it's the result of too many people having taken the p*ss in the past. Before applying for the UK visa I thought it would be a relatively straightforward process as we'd been married for four years and I had a job offer. As we planned to stay with my parents for a month or two before finding a place to live they wanted a copy of the house floor plans signed off by a company to check there was enough space for us. You'd think that's fairly reasonable, except no one actually checked the property I just had to pay £100 for some bloke to reply to my Email with a letter confirming there's space.

They don't make it easy if you go through the official route as a skilled individual with something to offer. It cost me thousands and took two years and a ton of paperwork to get a skilled permanent residency visa for OZ, which we plan to use once I finish my contract here. I accepted a new job in the UK in 2013 and brought my Japanese wife over on a spouse visa which was another ball-ache (and cost close to £3k) as well. They wanted to know the in's and out's of a dog's a*&e including 6 months worth of bank statements and payslips from Japan, let alone my new job. If that didn't pay over £26k PA then her visa would have been refused unless I could show I have at least £60,000 cash in the bank, and held there for the last 6 months. If I'm not working at the time it's due for renewal then I need to show I have £84,000 cash in the bank or we'll have to leave the country. Mean while it's open door to anyone within the EU, regardless of their intentions.

AIM has taken a real battering over the last couple of years especially miners and oil stocks. It's a market driven by sentiment and right now it isn't there. There's some seriously undervalued stocks around though so if you don't mind a long term buy and hold you could make a packet with patience. I've got money tied up in a couple that have taken a hit for no real reason. Unfortunately it's now a waiting game but that's the risk you take.