Well it's been a couple of busy weeks in areas other than aluminium cars, so a less than inpiring update.
After some intense Caterham usage, the temperature plummeted and the Land Rover came to the fore again with its traction control and ABS to overcome the sheet ice formerly known as the UK.
After Christmas Day, which this year fell on December 25th, I added the roof tent to the Defender ready for the LRUK Christmas Treasure Hunt, an event which can be traced back maybe ten or maybe even twelve months.
The treasure hunt was a great success, with seventeen surprisingly complete vehicles turning up to scatter to the four corners of Salisbury Plain. No one's car broke down, no one got stuck. Bit of a let down really but by the time we'd all defrosted the event raised a hundred quid, split between the LRUK website and Help For Heroes.
Sub-zero temperatures are actually pretty good for green laning - all the moisture is frozen out of the ground making everything more solid to drive on. It does compromise the socialising somewhat, although Land Rover drivers are, by definition, hardy souls many of whom are used to living life with permafrost in their cars so sitting around at -5 chipping beer out of a tin was child's play.
With the Defender already packed for overnighting the next night out was New Year's Eve - in Scotland. Obviously this involved a little trip North but with brilliant if chilly sunshine the scene was set for a bit of a roadtrip.
Long distance journeys in a Land Rover are more than just a journey from A to B. Rumbling along at a comfortable 60mph gives the chance to take in the view, relax a little and really travel instead of just drive.
Stopping off for a bit of a break at one of the many motorway services, clearly aimed to relieve drivers of stress and Sterling, I got the chance to discover what may be the real cause of car related climate change.
The basins in the "rest rooms" had hands-free taps. Yep, just place your hands under the tap, a sensor detects one's digits and the water flows. Ditto for drying them, with hot water replaced by hot air. And this is the problem. Whilst tree huggers around the world berate the car, they don't stop to think about all the other crap that soft-headed marketing executives firmly believe should go with owning one. The automated basins require one crucial ingredient - electricity. And that doesn't come without leaving a trail of the carbon footprints that we're all told are stamping the icecaps to pieces. So whilst society struggles to find a viable alternative to the car, its already wasting the energy allegedly freed up by banning them, and worse than that, it's wasting it on something that for centuries has been done perfectly adequately without the need for electrical input. But then again, anyone who thinks water and electricity should be mixed is clearly insane from the start.
Land Rovers don't have any fancy electric bits where they don't need them.
Pressing on through the frozen wastes of the North, one place name stuck in my mind - Ecclefechan, simply because this struck me as a suitable expletive to describe the arctic weather.
My target for the night was Wanlockhead, the UK's highest village and thus a suitable memorable location for New Year's Eve.
But this too was a bit of let-down. Although it was good to meet up with long term fellow road adventurer Wes, the inn itself was about as welcoming as a sign saying "Go away". In return, once parked up in the pub car park, I did experiment with various ways of off-setting the nocturnal after effects of several pints of Guinness without leaving the comfort of the rooftent.
New Year's Day was refreshingly clear but still cold. For the journey home I took a detour over Shap Pass, stopping at the top to take in the view of white frosted electricity pylons. Also noted was the memorial at the top of the pass with an inscription remembering the shelter afforded by local people to lost travellers in the days before the pesky M6 opened.
Arriving home well after dark the Defender was in dire need of a good wash. A day on Salisbury Plain had left it smothered in mud, then two days to Scotland and back had coated it all in salt, but in true Land Rover style it looked no less capable or indeed appealing due to its heavy weathering.
Washing had to wait anyway. Frozen hose pipes have limited uses.
