Photos from the holiday

The bridge across the gorge at Ronda
Trevelez looking towards the Sierra Nevada
The fort in Almeria
The village of El Ferrer, home of Rancho Ferrer
Terrano enjoying a graze after getting me to the top of the hill.

Trees are hard, horses are stupid

Well, I've had my nose to the grindstone recently and have done very little running training and only just about kept up with my Spanish homework.

I've just got back from holiday, Mark and I had a week in Spain at Rancho Ferrer riding horses. Overall I had a great time but with a few comedy moments and misgivings.
Great Stuff

• The horses! Lovely animals the lot of them. I was riding Terrano (known as the gentle giant) and he was completely as advertised. Mark was riding a grey mare called Babieca, who was a little flighty but still very kind and responsive. They had a wide variety of horses, from safe and calm to young and giddy. Anne-Marie and the other staff made great efforts to match you to an appropriate horse.
  
• The accommodation. We had our own little spanish house in the village, with our own kitchen and bathroom. Plenty of space to chill out and read books when we weren't riding and if the weather was good there was a hot tub and swimming pool. The only downside was the village was set up in the mountains, about 1 mile from the nearest bar, 3 miles from the nearest shop, so if you needed anything you'd have to drive to find it.
  
• The food. Everyone's fridges were stocked with goodies to make breakfast and lunches, and the evening meals in the bar were great. Plentiful cheap booze as well.
  
• The staff.Anne-Marie and Mike who owned the place were very friendly and professional. Don who ran the kitchen provided good food. Lindsay, Meg and Maria who guided the rides and looked after the horses provided advice about riding, local places to go and generally made the visit a pleasure. Everyone was helpful and made a great effort to make the stay enjoyable.

Less Good Stuff

• The riding. The terrain around the village was very spectacular, but most of the rides were on narrow mountain dirt roads. If you were a beginner rider you'd find these challenging at walking pace. If you were an advanced rider, there were opportunities to canter. However if you're in the middle (like myself) you felt that it was a little monotonous as you were at walking pace for most of the day. However, I can understand why this was the case as there were a lot of sheer drops, and the last thing Anne-Marie would want is for anyone to be injured.
• The weather. We must have been there on one of the most miserable weeks - when we landed at Malaga it was pouring with rain, and it rained for the next 3 days off and on. Some days we felt lucky to go out for a ride, as the start would be held back waiting for the tracks to dry out. Once the rain finished, we had 2 days of good weather, and then it turned windy, which can make horses quite jittery.
• Trees! Horses are very easily spooked, and when Balou spooked and started cantering down hill pushing past my horse, I ended up cantering through a grove of almond trees. This would have been ok, except that Terrano forgot I was on his back and dragged me through the branches of one of the trees in his panic. I was a bit shook up by that, and more than a little bruised. On the upside, I kept my seat through all of that - I might have been a natural at jousting ;-)
  

We also went to Almería, Ronda and Trevélez as day trips. Almería is not a glamorous town, though it does have a good fort. The drive to there was dominated by going past massive plastic greenhouses which are not very scenic. Trevélez and the surrounding villages in the Alpujarras were very pretty, though the drive was quite hairy and we did a short walk up the Trevélez gorge in the hope of reaching the snowline. Ronda is really worth the effort and the scenic ride up there from the coast near Marbella was breathtaking. I'll post photos when I download them from my camera.

Fun stuff and keep on running...

Yet another internet test to see what kind of man is your 'type'

Exotic Lover You scored 60% masculine, 47% athletic, 81% exotic, and 62% refined!

You want a man who doesn't need the muscles to be a hottie. You love a sexy, exotic face and someone who takes care of himself. You like a clean look, but very masculine and yummy. Someone like.......Enrique Iglesias. (

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 37% on masculine You scored higher than 11% on athletic You scored higher than 99% on exotic You scored higher than 92% on refined

Link: The What type of MAN turns you on Test written by thinkandcome on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

So anyways - back to training. Managed to increase my speed on my running interval to 8km/h and really felt the difference in that I was totally exhausted when I got off the treadmill.

Last week was pretty disastrous on the training front as my left knee kept aching from Tuesday onwards, so I spent a lot of time doing gentle stretches and willing it to get better.


Day 2 - Walk at 6km an hour 2 minute/ Run at 8 km an hour 1 minute. Incline set at 3 on the treadmill. Repeat 10 times
Day 3 - 30 minutes horseriding (cross training innit!)
Day 3 onwards, knee trouble.

On the run

Call me stupid, call me impetuous, but I've signed up to do Race for Life at Tatton Park in Cheshire on June 25th.

Those of you who've met me in person will know that I'm not built for speed and that I've not run any distance in my life. The run is in aid for Cancer Research, and if you would like to sponsor me you can do it via my website https://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/mam

The run itself is 5K, which is a distance I'd have no trouble walking, but I'm determined to run most of the distance.

So with the help and encouragement of people on Guardian Unlimited Talk I'm going to train sensibly and I will succeed.

Training Diary Week 1

Day 1 - Walk at 6km an hour 2 minute/ Run at 7 km an hour 1 minute. Incline set at 3 on the treadmill. Repeat 10 times
Day 3 - 30 minutes horseriding (cross training innit!)
Day 4 - Walk at 6km an hour 2 minute/ Run at 7 km an hour 1 minute. Incline set at 3 on the treadmill. Repeat 10 times
Day 6 - Walk 9 miles in the real world


Plans for the future - increase my running speed to 9 km/h on the intervals. Borrow a heart rate monitor to see what the damage is.

Almond Topped Biryani

Serves 4
Preparation 30 minutes
Cooking time 40 minutes
Calories per serving 340 approx

For the Biriani

600g mixed vegetables sliced (eg. Cauliflower, courgettes, red peppers, mushrooms)
250g Basmati rice
550ml vegetable stock
1.5 tablespoons of curry powder(medium strength)
1 cinammon stick broken in half
4 cardamom pods crushed slightly
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt and pepper

For the Sauce

2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
5 cm piece of grated root ginger
2 tablespoons of curry powder (medium strength)
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
400g can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of toasted sliced almonds to garnish.


1. Preheat oven to 180 C
2. Mix all the biryani ingredients in a flameproof, oven proof dish. Heat gently on the hob until simmering. Cover with a tight fitting lid and put in the oven. Cook for 40 minutes.
3. Make the sauce by, heating a pan, spray with low fat cooking spray (or oil of your choice). Fry the onions until soft and brown. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients (except the almonds), bring to boil, cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer gently for 30 mins.
4. Blend the sauce mixture for a smoother texture.
5. To serve, fluff the rice with a fork then scatter the toasted almonds over the top. Serve the sauce on the side.

Murder she wrote?

Why is it when you feel under the weather, there is nothing more comforting than a gentle murder? The adventures of Jessica Fletcher et al provide gentle entertainment for the slow of thinking.

However, I do think that they missed the boat by not having the final episode revealing that she was actually a really clever serial killer, bringing death and destruction to all around her.

My life has been busy of late, I've just got back from a training course in Paris and I go into a massive run of customer engagements.

Not been the best of times..

But I'm bouncing back.

I was car jacked just over a week ago, outside my own house. So my Golf is probably on a container ship to Russia and I'm left waiting 6 weeks for the insurance company to declare it 'dead' before I can even get on with sorting out another car. It goes to show that you aren't safe from thieving scumbags even on your own driveway and there are always people who want to take a shortcut to get the better things in life when I've worked hard to get them.

Now I'm left with a dilemma, once I get the go-ahead from the insurance company what kind of car do I get. Do I get a less desirable car and feel like I'm giving in to the thieving scrotes (and even then, it's no guarantee, as a lone female you're still viewed as an easy target) or do I get a nice car and hope they don't come back?

On a lighter note - keep an eye on Luce28s blog over the next couple of weeks. She'll be posting the annual Sparkly awards which give peoples views on the best beauty products that we've encountered.

Food and Memories

This weekend is a cake baking weekend for me, and I'll be making a White Christmas Cake. This type of cake was made every year by my Great Auntie Veron, the best baker in the family. Auntie Veron died this year and even thinking about baking the cake is filling me with tears as it is a symbol that she really has gone.

I might skip some of the salt from the recipe as I think I'll be mixing in some tears..

Honeymoon Part 3 - New York, New York!

Or if things had been different, New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam so good they named it twice!

Accommodation and Logistics

After the relaxed idyll of Hawaii, it was a complete shock to land in New York. We landed at 7:30 am in Newark airport and caught the bus to Grand Central Station. A couple of blocks walk later we were at our hotel, the City Club, next door to the more famous and historic Algonquin. The hotel was a good price on Expedia when we booked, and it's location is good, a very short walk to Times Square and the theatre district in one direction, the shops a short walk in the other. The rooms were small (but what can you expect for a hotel in a city stressed for real estate) but the rooms were very clean, with a really good bathroom tiled in chocolate marble. Even better, they let us check in early, so we could get out of our travelling clothes and into shorts and tshirts as the weather was very hot and humid.

On the first day we got 'all loops' passes for the Grey Line bus tour. This tour is split into 3 lines, downtown, uptown and Brooklyn. You hop and off as you see landmarks you'd like to visit and you get a narrative from the tour guide which depending on the interests of the guide could specialise in architecture, theatre, food. This was a great way to get to see a lot more of the city than you could on foot or from the subway, however, if you make the mistake of going during Fashion Week and the UN in session then the busride past these locations can take forever.

Food

New York was great for food! There was everything from a cafe selling only peanut butter sandwiches near the university, a traditional american style serving meatloaf, steaks etc. vietnamese and the best food that we had was at a french restaurant called Balthazar.

What was cool

Downtown Manhattan was building heaven for me as I love the optimism of Art Deco architecture. The Chrysler building looked fantastic glinting in the sunlight, the Empire State was great and there are so many other bits of art deco detailing on other buildings that I spent most of my time tripping over my toes.

Central Park was an oasis of calm within the bustle, and amazingly large. I would have loved to find the riding stables and take a trot around the park, but I didn't get chance.

Accidentally walking around Little Italy on the start of the festival of San Gennaro - there were street restaurants, amusements and more sausages in a bun than you could believe.

What I'd do different

Arrive later in the year! The weather was so hot and humid it was uncomfortable to be on the subway, and I felt uncomfortable about going into the trendy shops wearing rumpled shorts and tshirts.

Get a different guidebook! The Lonely Planet guide that we bought seemed to have been designed to confuse and annoy.

Honeymoon Part 2

I'd better write this while I remember it!

The next stage on our honeymoon was Maui, 'the garden isle'.

Accomodation and Logistics
We stayed at the Whaler on Ka'anapali Beach, which is an apartment complex, a mixture of privately owned and rentals. The first room we stayed in was 619 - if you're ever there avoid any rooms ending in 19 as they back onto the lift shafts which led to a particularly sleepless night. One room move later and then we were blessed with a view of Black Rock, no elevator noise and a terrace that wasn't in the sun so we could actually sit out on an afternoon.



Maui has a very small public transport system, if you want to go anywhere, get a car! We were driving a Chevy Aveo, which was low on bells and whistles, but more than adequate to get us up to the top of Haleakala crater, despite what the Alamo rental guy said.

Snorkelling

Black Rock was a great snorkelling place. If you get there early (as in 7:30am) there are loads of fish swarming around. We also saw Manta Rays and turtles moving majestically through the water. We booked onto a tour to go to Molokini, and to be honest we were slightly disappointed. If you haven't done any snorkelling on your holiday already then you'll have a good time, however, I felt Molokini was crowded, where you spent half your time avoiding other people instead of seeing fish.

Horseriding

We rode into Haleakala crater with Pony Express this tour is carried out at walking pace as the downhill into the crater is very steep. The horses were well cared for and very sure footed. The main role of the rider was to stop their animal from eating the endangere species on the way down the hill. At the bottom of the hill we had a picnic lunch and a good stretch of the legs before setting off up out of the crater.



When were were there, we saw several downhill cycling tours setting off. Originally Mark had really wanted to book onto one of these, but seeing the way the pace was dictated by the slowest rider he was pleased he hadn't spent the money. This was definitely extreme sports packaged in a lawsuit friendly way.

Road to Hana

The Road to Hana is a famous road trip on the island - a long and windy road (single track in places) leads to the town Hana. If you're going to do this set off REALLY early (as in 8am at the latest), as otherwise you'll end up stuck in huge tailbacks and struggling to find parking bays. To be honest, the scenery is spectacular, but neither of us were sure it measured up to the hype about it on the island.

Food

We ate out less on this island as we had a kitchen and a Safeway supermarket nearby. There were no meals that really stood out, but these restaurants had great sunset views and more than acceptable food , Leilanis and Kimos. One evening we ate at a little 'hole in the wall' bar and burger place "Jonny's Burger Joint" near to our hotel, the burgers were good and freshly cooked and the bar well-stocked. This seemed to be a place for locals to go eat and grab a beer after a long day working in the service industry.

.... to be my warfull wedded wife...

How did the wedding go? It was brilliant! However, it all feels like an almighty blur, so writing this down will hopefully clear it up for me.

I had a busy few days running up to the day getting various female maintenance jobs done (leg wax, acrylic nails etc.) so by the day before I was t-i-r-e-d. I had a 'hot rock' massage and felt 100 times more revitalised, though I did find the stones a bit of a shock when they were first applied.

Then I was off to the venue, I was allocated the bridal suite for the night before and it was lovely room with a four poster bed. When we checked in however, we discovered they'd manage to mess up the booking, with 2 reservations made for my parents. The hotel was full of a 'cat fancying' group, so the tables around us at dinner were full of people discussing neutering, breeding and scratching. 10pm found us putting bows on the rows of seats in the room and assembling the table centres with the help of some cousins. Tucked up in bed after a medicinal G&T I slept like a log, in fact sleeping in until 8am when I'd been meant to get down for breakfast by then!

The bridesmaids arrived early so I didn't get too stressed, armed with bottles of fizz and orange juice. The room was organized chaos, 3 girls in huge dresses trying to fight over mirror space and plug sockets for straightening irons. It was a lovely morning though, when the photographer arrived to take pictures of the groomsmen in comedy poses (jumping, running etc.) we got to peek through the curtains and giggle.

Then it was our turn for the embarassment and comedy of the photographer, Kenn and his put-upon assistant Grace. I personally didn't have any issues with Kenn, other than I felt he took ages doing the photos, so despite staying at the venue I was late downstairs. He was very brusque with his assistant and I was told that he'd been very impatient with some of the elderly relatives. However, some of his poses felt contrived, and having us jump up and down just before the ceremony probably left me with really crap makeup (Or that's my excuse when the photos arrive anyways)

The ceremony went almost without a hitch - I got a fit of the giggles when Mark's tummy rumbled really loudly and then in the vows he referred to me as his 'warfull wedded wife' which made me almost completely unable to say my own vows. The civil ceremony was very simple and well delivered Lesley from Bishop Auckland registry office. Then the photo agony began! 1 hour later I tell the photographer that I was tired and could we wrap it up please!

The dinner was lovely, well served and well cooked. The cakes looked fabulous on the cake stand (Many thanks to the Fanny and Johnny of the fairy cake world - Steve and Dorothy) The speeches were good, not toe curlingly sweet, not too edgy. It was great to look round the room and see so many friends and family that were happy to give up a bank holiday weekend to help me celebrate.

After trying to speak to as many people as possible, it was a relief when it thinned out for the half-time nap. Plonked on comfy settees in the bar, Sam (a friend and chief organizer of the hen night) and I sat there having afternoon tea and champagne. We had a good natter, and a good giggle at the events of the day. All too soon the night had crept upon us, so it was time to stress about the first dance.

We had the buffet and then it was the trauma of the first dance. We'd selected 'Let there be love' by Nat King Cole, as it was a short song, that would get people up dancing. I danced with Mark (obviously), my granda and Charlotte the bridesmaid. It was a happy moment after all the stress.

The remainder of the night was a blur, spending my time dancing when the DJ played something good sitting in the bar when my feet hurt too much. All too soon the DJ was winding down, obviously preparing to play the slow smoochy stuff. Not at my wedding sonny!!! A quick word in his ear and the remainder of the night was dance music, finishing off on the happy hardcore classic 'Children of the Night' by Nakatomi.

Photos will be posted once I receive them..

The day wouldn't have been possible without Mark (obviously) and the help of numerous friends and family who helped out financially and emotionally.


Lists
Makeup worn:-

• L'Occitane Eau des 4 Reines
• MAC Select SPF 15 Foundation NW20
• MAC Studio Fix NC20
• MAC Powder blush Satin
• MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil Lilacky
• Natural Collection eyeshadow Thistle
• MAC Eyeshadow Creme de Violet
• MAC Eyeshadow Beautiful Iris
• Maybelline XXL Brownish Black
  
• MAC Lip pencil Dervish
• MAC Lustreglass Morning Glory
  

Music played:-
Ceremony

• Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings
• Wagner - Wedding March
• Mendelssohn - Wedding March

Night

• Nat King Cole - Let their be love
• Mortorcycle - As the rush comes
• Moloko - Sing it back
• Lustral - Everytime

Dinner served:-

• Melon
• Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
• Trifle
  

Honeymoon Part 1

Or what I did on my holidays by Kitty aged 32 and 99 hundredths..

Our honeymoon was split into roughly 3 sections - Big Island, Maui and New York, the hope being that a few days in New York would dent the jet lag enough that we wouldn't be zombies by the time we got back to autumnal blighty.

We flew American Airlines to get to Hawaii, and the service was adequate, but you should note that now they don't feed you on any internal American flights so you might want to pick something up in the airport to eat.

Accomodation and Logistics

We stayed at the Sheraton Keahou Bay, about 15 miles from the airport. The hotel was very clean, very well maintained and were offering great upgrade deals as it was their first year opening so we had a partial ocean view (this meant that you were set back about 200 yards from the ocean, viewing it accross the lawns of an adjacent resort, but I was more than happy with that). When you check in, they offer you something called an 'Amenity Card' for $28 a day, which entitles you to breakfast (and lots of kiddie club type things), if you are going to eat breakfast in the hotel most days, it's worthwhile as the breakfast is $19 per person.

You have to hire a car to get anywhere on Big Island, there is no public transport, hotel shuttles are very rare and taxi firms are so small that they don't have dispatchers, you ring the driver direct on his mobile and he'll see if he can come collect you in a resonable time frame.

Snorkelling

I didn't think I'd like snorkelling, as I'm not the strongest swimmer and I panic easily. But, nothing ventured nothing gained, on our first day we went to the local WAL*MART and bought mask and snorkel sets (there are plenty of rental places around if you don't want to buy and they can rent you masks with lenses for short sightedness) $25 dollars poorer we went to Kealakekua Bay and I had my first ever snorkelling session. It was great. There were loads of pretty fishes ranging from bright yellows to iridescent blues. I did have a bit a scare though, as my mask lost seal and I ended up in my panic drifting towards the rocks.

The best snorkelling spot we went to was Kahuluu Beach. This is a sheltered cove where you can walk into the sea and see fish galore (even when crowded this place was full of almost tame fish - I can only dream what it must be like if you go there early morning). Green turtles (Honu) are around there to eat their lunch and bask on the rocks, though awkward on land when basking, they are beautiful as they swim around.

Horse Riding

My birthday treat! We booked with a company called Paniolo Adventures. The horses were fit and well cared for, they loaned you safety hats, boots and sunscreen and the rolling landscape of the ranch was fabulous. You got to canter the horses and were actively encouraged to ride the horses off the marked trails.





Other Cool Stuff

No visit to Hawaii is complete without visiting Volcanoes National Park. The Park is a good 2 hours drive from the Kona district, so be prepared for a late night drive home if you decide to drive down the chain of craters road to look at the lava at sunset. The lava gently glows at nighttime but remember to bring a torch (for the walk back) and something to sit on (blanket/towel) as the solidified lava is of the scratchy a-a type which cuts and tears your clothes.

Mauna Kea! Though you can't drive to the summit without a 4 WD, you can get as far as the Onizuka Centre for International Astronomy. From there you have fantastic views of the sunset from above the cloud level and once the sky darkens they hold star viewing programs. You will be stunned by the amount of stars you can see, making familiar constellations difficult to discern as there are so many other points of light. When we visited, the moon wasn't visible and you could clearly see the planets of Venus and Jupiter. The visitor centre sells hot chocolate and cup noodles to keep you warm as the temperature drops (bring a fleece or a coat). There are a lot of tours that offer you a visit to the summit and stargazing programs, but really, just pack a picnic and drive up to the visitor centre yourself, you won't be disappointed.





Food

After a week in Hawaii I was getting ready to scream if I had to eat in another 'Bar and Grill'. However, for location alone, Huggos is fantastic. Pricey, but the restaurant is set on stilts facing over the ocean and has wonderful views of the coastline.

Things I would do differently

Stay 1 night near Volcano National Park. The drive back was very dodgy as Mark was very tired and it had been a long day. If we'd stayed on there we would have spread the day out better and done at least one of the longer crater hikes. The payment to get into the National Park is valid for a week, so it's only the cost of a room.

How soon is now?

Less than a week to go to the wedding now. It's strange, as it's got closer my mind has stopped looking forward to it, I've started almost dreading it.

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse...

I've been thinking about horses, and why someone like me is a complete obsessional. There was an interesting opinion piece in the Times today discussing late starting riders of which I was one.

It wasn't my choice I started riding late in life, ever since I was 6 I'd coveted ponies, devoured the Pullein-Thomson pony books and generally just loved looking at horses. However, we couldn't afford a horse, or even lessons when I was younger, so it had to wait until I had money of my own. So at age 31 I got on my first horse, and loved it. In real life I'm a very controlling person, who has to try and map thing out and has great difficulty in letting myself go. But perversely, horse riding is not based on my skill to control things, as you are trying to work in co-operation with an animal, who may just decide that today is the day where you're going over the fence. I had one terrible lesson where I fell off twice, nothing injured seriously except for pride and whiplash in my neck - but I still went back the next week.

I'll never be a great rider, if I'm lucky I'll be able to take basic riding skills and apply them on well behaved horses out of the schooling environment.

The final paragraph of the article could sum me up:-

"If you are accustomed to directing your daily life by pure force of will, the discovery, in the person of some commonplace old riding-school hack, of something entirely beyond that force feels very like enchantment: baffling, frustrating and sometimes painful, but enchanting nevertheless. What is more, horses are like measles. If you catch them as an adult, the infection often turns out to have lifelong consequences."

Tuesday is my last riding lesson before the wedding - let's hope who-ever I'm assigned at the school doesn't decide that today is the day for a Melly/Ground interface.

First Dance Trauma

How do you choose your first dance at the wedding?

Is it a song that holds resonance for you? If so then the DJ better be ready to play some trance and expect to see us picking it up some.

Is it a conventional song that the grannies will love?

We'll look ridiculous anyway, we tried slow dancing at a friend's wedding and our height difference really was highlighted, where Mark is a clear 15 inches taller than me.

Hmmm. I'm off to iTunes to listen to lots of songs.

Madonna takes a fall..

The dangers of horseriding.

Horses are by turns beautiful, friendly, intelligent, aggressive, awkward and plain dumb as rocks. There does seem to be a perception that horseriding is for girls, but really you've got to remember that riding a horse consists of dominating something that weighs approximately 500kg and persuading it that you know what you're doing.

Stress!

10 days and counting!

I've found it very strange the way time has accelerated towards the wedding day.
I've been variously calm, hyper stressed with nightmares and teethgrinding, and just plain dizzy. Now I'm watching the weather forecast with terror (currently showers!).

It's now all at the stage where basically if it isn't organized by now it aint gonna happen.

Summer's here...

... and I've got the Pimms horn!

All I want to do on an evening after work is pour a big glass of Pimms and listen to summery house music CDs.

Car Chosen

My review of the cars is as follows

Seat Leon Cupra R
Exterior - looked chavvy yet was still endearing
Interior - very poor. Looked like some leftovers from a 1998 audi A3.
Driver Position - The seats were uncomfortable, in the sense that they were very long, and pressed into the back of my calves. Handbrake situated a bit far back for my stumpy arms. Pedals seemed very close together.
Drive - Very quick to pick up, you could have great fun racing away from the lights in this. The gearbox was nothing to write home about, didn't seem precise enough compared to other 'sports hatch' cars.

Golf Gti
Exterior - Looks like a golf with extra body kit. As I've never owned a Golf before I didn't get the historical references that were contained in the honeycomb grill etc.
Interior - Smart. Brushed aluminium where appropriate, not too intrusive dials.
Driver Position - Fine, could reach the pedals without risking my ribs being smushed when the airbag goes off.
Drive - Great drive. Slightly more mannered than the cupra, and the ride was less teeth jarringly hard. The power steering was nicely weighted without feeling heavy.

So the winner (for me) is the Golf Gti. I'm now looking at getting the lazy mans version with the DSG automatic gearbox as my left knee is creaking after years of abuse.

Lines and lines and lines

I'm not a great driver, but I do like my cars. It's got to that time where I have to select a new car on the company scheme or opt out and take the money. Having done the math it still doesn't make financial sense to opt out (damn you whoever drove into my car in a car park - I lost any chance of no claims discount there!). I'm going to miss my Celica though, it may be looking a bit battered due to my habit of not taking my riding boots off when I drive but it was a lovely car to own. The only real fault I've had on it is a broken interior light!

After much humming and hawing I've narrowed my choice down to 2 cars, a Seat Leon Cupra R or a Golf Gti. I really would have preferred a Honda Civic Type R but my company no longer has a lease deal with Honda.

Trying to test drive these 2 cars really has highlighted the difference in the customer service of what is effectively 2 branches of the same company. Seat were very responsive, and have loaned me a car for the whole weekend. VW have generally avoided returning calls, failed to make appointments and have been really not customer oriented. After a lot of phone calls, I admitted defeat and went to the local dealer and unleashed my WARTH (like wrath, but more sparkly). Within an hour they have grudgingly given me a test drive tomorrow for a whole 30 minutes. I suppose VW believe their product is so superior that they don't have to be nice to people.