Myvi Magic

Kent Close, Northampton.

2012-02-23T01:53:00.016-08:00

A few weeks ago I had to collect something from Berrywood Hospital, Northampton. I drove out of Berrywood towards the old psychiatric hospital, St Crispins. I stopped at a temporary traffic light, the whole area is a big building site, and took a picture of St Crispins clock tower.

I turned towards St Crispins and found myself behind a digger belonging to James King, I laughed because I had just been listening to King James Version, some excellent reggae music by Steel Pulse.

I followed the digger for a while and found myself driving into Kent Close. Kent Close used to be staff housing belonging to the Princess Marina Hospital, but they have been empty for a few years awaiting demolition, and the building of another new housing estate. I had tried to drive into Kent Close previously, but had been unsuccessful, because I used to live at 8 Kent Close many years ago and wished to see what had happened to my old house.

8 Kent Close, from where I had parked FTP in the middle of the close.

8 Kent Close, front door and car port.

8 Kent Close, across the rear garden.

8 Kent Close, from the side.

The layout of Kent Close, and its houses is unusual, land did not appear to have been at a premium, and the houses are a strange wedge shape.

FTP parked on Kent Close

Most houses had three beddrooms with one upstairs, but there were a few bungalows.

A very nice couple and their daughter lived at this one.

There was lots of safe space for children to play.

Looking towards number 8, as I left.

The New Nurses Home!

Whilst life was difficult during my time at Kent Close, I have many fond memories, and believe it was a great place to live, especially for children. It seems a shame it will all become another housing estate, like the one built just above it:

Finally, FTP and myself stopped of at Chapel at St Crispins, as we left.

Sometimes...

2012-02-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the boot is full of computers, when you see someone has cut down a tree on your way home...

...theres no alternative but the front footwell!

Ice Crystals

2012-02-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

Went to drive FTP yesterday and he was covered in ice crystals:

First Frost

2011-12-02T02:41:00.000-08:00

This week we have had the first frost of the winter - I nealrly missed the train to work because I was not expecting to have to scrape FTP's windows. Also this week Deece uploaded summer holiday pictures from her camera, and so I thought I would share a picture of FTP in the North Yorks Moors, and a road sign to Fryup. Summer Fun.

OK Diner, Fox Inn, A1

2011-11-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

For several weeks the in-laws health has been our main priority. Fortunately, the father in-law has come out of hospital and we were able to take him out for a meal on Saturday. We went to the OK Diner, Fox Inn, on the A1. We had a very enjoyable meal, and I took this photo as we left.We had actually paid!

Lightning Never Strikes Twice - But Vandals Do!

2011-10-07T05:49:00.000-07:00

When FTP was but a week old someone kicked his drivers side door mirror off.

A week ago we found someone had kicked off the replacement mirror. I photographed the mirror hanging by its electric cable and then made the car OK to drive. I ordered a replacement which took a couple of days to arrive, and then put the new mirror on. I photographed the whole process on my Archos Android based MP3 player.

Then I unplugged the Archos from the PC without un-mounting it and lost all the photos!

Perodua Myvi Extreme 1.5 - Bet It Will Never Get To The UK.

2011-09-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

Just visited my favourite car website, Paul Tan's Automotive News. There are pictures of a new Myvi edition, Extreme 1.5 (have borrowed a couple, with thanks). It looks great. Alas, I bet it will never reach the UK, even though it would raise Perodua's profile significantly.

Not sure that the Myvi needs the extra power of a 1.5 engine though, my 1.3 is more than ample.

Footnote: 21/09/11 - Looks like Paul Tan's did not want to share a couple of pictures from their article, even though I only borrowed a couple, refrenced/linked where they came from, and thanked them. They have been removed!

QPod 350

2011-08-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

Not in work today so went and picked Deece up from work for lunch. I parked to wait for her and noticed a QPod 350 parked opposite. QPod is the English name for Secma a small French manufacturer, whose products are not currently being imported into the UK.

Deece said the QPod was cute, and looked fun. May be true, but, alas, not as good as the Myvi for comfort, taking her mum and dad places, putting in loads of camping equipment, reliability......

PS Just found out that there is indeed one Secma dealer in the UK.

Not The Worlds Greatest Blogger

2011-07-24T05:07:00.000-07:00

My favorite blogger manages to put together a sensible, well written blog every day. Life with a Myvi is intended just that, a tale of living with a Myvi, major events, funny stories, places visited, etc. Alas, I am not a very attentive blogger, life is so busy that bloging items get overlooked. So far this year we have been on three holidays in FTP, but not one has been mentioned. Perhaps I had better show some photos of FTP on his various holidays.

1. Peebles:

In Febuary we traveled to Peebles a small Scotish border town on the River Tweed just below Edinburgh. FTP took four adults the 338 miles there almost non-stop, and we emerged without much discomfort. We stayed in a holiday apartment on the main street. FTPs Peebles holiday snaps ~

FTP in Edinburgh.

FTP on forest road near Peebles

Ping and Lewis in FTP on forest road near Peebles.

Forest road near Peebles.

Driving home from Peebles it starts snowing.

The snow gets worse.

But FTP caries on carefully.

2. Romney Marsh:

Deece and myself went down to Romney Marsh in April and camped at Romney Farm. We were keen to see Dungeness.

FTP at Dungeness Old Lighthouse.

FTP at Dungeness Power Station.

FTP at Romney Farm Campsite.

3. Runswick Bay ~

At the begining of July Deece and myself visited Runswick Bay in North Yorkshire and stayed at Runswick Bay Caravan & Camping Park We had a relaxing time walking, and enjoying being outdoors.

FTP in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park.

FTP at Ravenscar.

New Perodua UK Website - At Last.

2011-07-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

The UK Perodua website was to say the least poor. If the website was my first contact with Perodua, I would more than likely have never got past the first page!

Fortunately, Perodua now has a new UK website, its just so much better than the old one. Hopefully, the inquisitive will get past the website and visit the dealer now.

With the new website comes a useful new page, for people like us who have our car serviced by a non-Perodua dealer. Currently our garage gets photocopies of any information they need from our Perodua dealer; but the new page allows garages to obtain workshop manual details for the Myvi by e-mailing Perodua. Hopefully, this will reassure more people who do not live close to a dealer that a Myvi is a viable car to own.

Found a Fungus!

2011-06-18T04:33:00.000-07:00

Whilst cycling through our local woods a couple of evenings ago I found a large fungus growing on the base of a tree (lime?) near the edge of the woods.

Stopped to show Deece when we drove past yesterday, she was impressed too (1. with its size - Deece uses her foot to give an idea of scale in the second photo, and 2. that it had not been damaged by kids). We belive it to be a Dryads Saddle (Polyporus squamosus).

Superman Kenari Advert

2011-06-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

A Perodua Kenari advert - think I know where Superman is coming from, its just so big inside!

Fell Onto My Left Wrist Last Week

2011-06-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

Force caused damage at the elbow. Nothing broken, and as the picture shows the swelling has gone now. Have not been driving much! Steve.

FTP is a Year (and a bit) Old

2011-05-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

I was driving along last night when I had to pull over to the side to mark FTP reaching 20,000 miles. Alas, it was safer to pull over at 19,999 miles to take the mileage photo than wait till around the corner! That reminded me that I would have to check when FTP had his first birthday; upon checking I found we had missed it - registered 8th of April, collected on the 9th.

I think that a year and 20,000 miles fault free is quite an achievement - well done FTP.

Footnote: for a car FTPs size the avaerage annual milage is only 8,500 miles if included with smaller cars such as the Renaut Clio, or 11,200 if grouped with the Ford Focus/Vauxhall Astra. Unfortunately, work is a long way from home.

Horse Manure for the Allotment

2011-04-24T00:06:00.000-07:00

Last year we took over an allotment that had not been worked for many years, the soil was hard and compacted, and weeds ruled. In August we covered a small area with horse manure, this improved the soil quality and made it easier to pull long roots. Because clearing the ground for planting this year was so difficult we decided to cover a third of the allotment with horse manure, and we will plant in compost plugs dug into it.

A local riding school has a pile of horse manure which they are pleased to have removed. For the last three weeks I have been collecting manure each night on the way home from work. Fortunately, I have four large boxes which fit beautifully into FTP allowing clean transportation. I am just pleased to have the large flat load space, and the low plastic covered boot lip.

Most of the pile is now spread on our allotment!

2nd Service, 18,126 miles.

2011-04-03T00:42:00.000-07:00

Second service completed, 18,126 miles. Nothing to report.

Spring Is Coming - Preparing For Winter.

2011-03-13T05:45:00.001-07:00

As winter passes, and spring arrives, it is necessary to prepare for the next winter. FTP has been busy collecting wood, ready to cut and season for next winters fuel. Deece says it has been hard work for her shoulders too!

Before and After Cleaning......

2011-02-08T09:06:00.000-08:00

With all the salty wintry weather recently FTP has looked very dirty, so the other day I gave him a wash. The change was remarkable (and without waxing):

Where clean water now stands proud again on the paint. Alas, today I noticed that I failed to wash the whole roof....

Myvi Facelift - spy shots.

2011-01-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

Malaysian site Paul Tan has some spy shots of an updated Myvi, which is due in April in Malaysia.

Update: some nice official pictures now available.

Snow/ice now gone.

2011-01-01T04:52:00.000-08:00

The UK seems to have had varying amounts of snow and ice with sub-zero temperatures for most of the last month. FTP has handled these conditions extremely well. I found the ABS irritating at first, but if you know its going to happen it stops being a surprise.

I am please that the low temperatures are gone; having to wait for the engine to warm every time I use the car in order to to melt the iced windows gets boring. I am also pleased that FTP performed well.

Happy New Year

Steve & Deece

FTPs First Snow

2010-11-27T07:25:00.000-08:00

Will have to get used to the ABS!

Big in the Republic of Ireland.

2010-11-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

Having recently spent an enjoyable week in Northern Ireland (with occasional incursions into the South) I only saw only one Perodua - a red Kelisa with NI plates. However, I did find a website for a Perodua distributor in the Republic - their website has a link to a newspaper article that says that the Myvi is poular in Tipperary (PDF). Tipperary sounds a sensible place.

FTP outside our apartment in central Belfast.

FTP Relaxes on Holiday

2010-11-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

Currently we are in Northern Island, but FTP finds a little time to relax on Downhill Beach....

10,000 miles

2010-10-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

1st Service

2010-10-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

Milage 9725.

1st service completed this morning by my local garage BB Motors, who have looked after my cars for several years. Service completed using Perodua service sheet, oil filter change (genuine Perodua part), service book stamped, and warranty maintained. Problems, nil.

More Purchase options

2010-10-23T05:09:00.001-07:00

Some new variants available, Myvi SE and Myvi Sport (pictured below).

swiftcover.com - not in a Perodua

2010-10-16T02:25:00.000-07:00

My car insurance was due this week, and although my Co-operative Insurance renewal quote was reasonable I still checked some of the alternatives.

Swiftcover seem to be spending a lot of money on their Iggy Pop advertising campaign, so I thought I would see how much they charged. I entered my details and their website replied that they were unable to give me a quote!

I found this odd, I would have thought I was an ideal person to insure, never had an endorsement, standard car, maximum no-claims, never caused a claim, etc. So after three emails Swiftcover replied:

"Dear Mr Barker,

Thank you for your e-mail.

At present, we do not offer cover on any model of Perodua vehicle.
Therefore, we cannot offer you insurance.

Kind Regards

Rachel Colmer

Swift Help Team
Swiftcover.com"

So because there are not many Peroduas about they have not listed them on their system - their loss, I have always been happy with the Co-operative Insurance anyway.

1. Carrying Big Loads: 5 Foot Radiators

2010-09-19T02:29:00.000-07:00

To us a car is a utility item, and therefore it has to be able carry both people and objects well. When FTP was about a week old I was criticised at work for putting cherry tree trunks into a new car! FTP was partly selected because of the useful large flat area with the seats down.

Recently we took all the radiators out of the house, and I was surprised that I was able to get 5 foot radiators into the car - front seat forward / tilted, and was able to get to the recycling centre with radiators + other junk without any problems:

There was one six foot radiator which would not quite fit in. The day after taking the radiators to the recycling centre, travelers came around and knocked onto the door for the big radiator!

20 mph is good in Corby, or any other residential area for that matter.

2010-08-22T12:07:00.001-07:00

Most residential areas in Corby have 20 mph speed limits. I often find drivers impatient, with some coming far too close in the hope that I will drive faster, and some overtaking recklessly, as I try to drive responsibly. People suggest that there is no need to drive at 20, because they have proved 30 (and even 30+) to be safe because they have driven for years without an accident.

The other night I was driving FTP home from Corby station, the sun was shining and the road was dry. I was driving around a Renault Scenic which was parked on the left side of the road, when a 4 year old girl ran from behind the parked car. Having no warning of her presence until she in front of FTP, I managed to stop without hitting her - but only just. I was traveling at 20 mph, if I had have been going at 30 mph I would have hit her.

Incidents are rare, but I am glad I was not reckless, especially with another persons suffering. I have long been sympathetic to the idea of 20 being the standard speed for residential areas; now I have tangible experience that believing 30 mph is safe on residential streets is just wishful thinking.

Ragwort Explosion.

2010-08-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

Ragwort is a weed that is toxic to livestock, it is one of 5 weeds listed in the Weeds Act 1959, and as such landowners should take steps to prevent it spreading to other peoples land. An excellent description of the ragwort problen can be found on the Surrey County Council website.

For the last few years I can not recall seeing ragwort, but recently it is rapidly appearing in small numbers along most roads in Northamptonshire (its probably re-appearing and spreading inother areas too). FTP parked next to some near Chelveston the other day:

In the past controlling has been a major issue to Highways Authorities, which is why it has not been common for some years. In the current economic climate will ragwort control be seen as an important issue again?

5000 Miles

2010-07-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on the way to work FTP reached 5000 miles on his clock. The 5000 miles were event less, exactly what I want from our car.........

Perodua Spotting - Exclusive Or What?

2010-07-04T00:31:00.000-07:00

FTP is now three months old, and has done 4,200 miles. In that time I have only seen 4 other Peroduas: 2 x Kenari, 1 x another red Myvi, and this Nippa (X plate) which we parked near yesterday:

As someone on their second Perodua I find it hard to believe that there are just so few about!

Picture is an experimental use of Pix.ie, an Irish alternative to Flickr.com.

The Sense of Being Stared At

2010-06-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

I recently read the book The Sense of Being Stared At, by biologist Rupert Sheldrake:

"In his latest book, biologist Rupert Sheldrake explores the intricacies of the mind and discovers that our perceptive abilities are stronger than many of us could have imagined. Most of us know it well - the almost physical sensation that we are the object of someone’s attention."

A couple of nights ago driving home from work, I stopped at traffic lights on a roundabout. I noticed that just over one a carriageways width away from me was a kestrel hovering looking for food on the island, at roughly my head hight. I watched it with interest, when whilst staying precisely in its aerial position it turned its head, looked directly, with a great intensity, at myself, then realized I was no threat, and returned to viewing the ground intently. The kestrel did not look at any of the other cars/drivers, just me. Was I the only person staring at the kestrel?

Certainly the kestrel appeared to support the idea of a Sense of Being Stared At.

We've Been Driving In Our Car!

2010-05-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was busy. Julian came to stay, and we had to look after Oscar dog. Fortunately, we considered the fact that Oscar has to travel in the car as a major pre-requisite when selecting our car. On Saturday morning we went for a drive. Photos taken on a Nintendo DSi XL, some of which are the right way around, but those taken with the internal camera are reversed! Oscar is on the passenger side, he has the 40% seat down, which fits flat to the boot so that with a nice duvet he has a comfortable place sit.

Vandals

2010-05-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Because we did not start this blog until shortly after buying FTP, some of the early posts are not going to be in chronological order until we catch up.

When we collected FTP he was immaculate. A car is a functional thing, and I view a car as something to do work, and not a status or fashion item. For the first week I was paranoid, parking FTP away from other cars so that he did not get hit by car doors etc. However, after a week I awoke to find that vandals had kicked the passenger side door mirror of, and it was hanging by its electric cable.

I was very irritated, I hate having to waste time, money, and resources having to replace something that was not broken due to fair wear and tear. We dismantled the mirror unit, and sealed of the terminals.

After a few days of reflection I realised that FTP was no longer perfect, but this means that I can now get on and enjoy FTP for the useful tool that he is without having to try and stop the inevitable. FTP, has a job to do, he will get dirty, he will age - perhaps the vandals have done me a favour?

Our First Day

2010-05-05T15:28:00.001-07:00

The big day came and we once more commenced on the three train journey to Hemel. On the last part of the journey we stopped opposite a ruined Motte and Bailey castle at Berkhamsted. The castle was interesting as it was the place that the English surrendered to William the Conqueror. I found it amusing as William would not accept the surrender until he reached London and was given the keys. I suppose it would not have looked good if he had been locked out of his brand new capital city.

We arrived at the car showroom and FTP was ready to go. We patiently let the nice man tick loads of boxes on a bit of paper. Something to do with making sure we could work the car and had agreed it had the right bits on it. After the ticking was finished we got in to drive FTP home.

Just on the outskirts of Hemel we passed a shop with tents on display. So we turned around and went back to show FTP the sort of thing he might be doing this summer. There were some big tents and lots of lovely things to buy. I am glad we do not have a big tent as it would be tempting to buy lots of stuff to put in it.

Having arrived by train we had actually managed to leave the map book at home, so we were left with a vague idea of where we might be heading. Steve pointed us in the direction of Berkhamsted which is, of course, on the way.

Berkhamsted turned out to be a pretty little town. With a sturdy church and an interesting tree growing on the boundary. As you moved past the exposed roots of the tree the light gave you glimpses of faces and animals.

We drove to the castle and parked FTP. We climbed the Motte, admired the well, and enjoyed the view (which included a cute red Myvi in the distance). The castle ruin was busy with tourists and young people enjoying the bright sunny day. As we left we passed the reinforcements for the PC who was confiscating alcohol from young people who had probably not bothered to bring their ID out with them. Obviously a problem in Berkhamsted but I must say playing football, having a picnic, and a can of lager does not seem that awful.

Back in FTP we followed a road away from the castle that appeared to go in the right direction. What luck! The road took us through Ashridge Forest and past the lovely house built on the site of a Priory by the Bridgewater family.

The undergrowth was dormant and the trees were not in leaf. This gave an impression of distance and space which made me optimistic about taking a photograph of deer from the car. I have a nice photo that has a blur in the distance which I am sure was the deer. The house itself was an interesting building that is now used as a business school.

We had a leisurely drive home with our final stop at Yeldon in Bedfordshire where there is a Motte and Bailey ruin next to the road in a lovely green field. The lambs were having a skip around as we climbed our second Motte of the day. Yeilden Castle had two Baileys but little is recorded concerning its usage and habitation. A gnarled tree winked and smiled at us as we passed him on our way back to FTP.

A good first day.

Picking Our Myvi

2010-05-05T09:48:00.000-07:00

To me there were two main candidates for our next car, the Fiat Panda, and the Perodua Myvi. The basic Fiat Panda (Eco Active) was on special offer at £5995. Alas, Fiat would not let you buy a split rear seat, a third rear seat belt, and bright yellow paint on the basic car. Thus, we would have to pay £7,127.62 (via the Civil Service Motoring Association) for the next model up + another £500 for the extras. All these things, bar being bright yellow, came as standard on the Myvi for about the same price + I kind of like the idea of buying another Perodua because I liked the Kenari so much.

A New Car

2010-05-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

When the old one will not work anymore its the sort of thing you have to make an effort and do. As the perpetual passenger who can not tell one car from another this could lead to stress.

After a few weeks of Steve clicking on car websites and explaining their benefits I was no further on with my understanding of fuel consumption and other technical issues. So I bravely left the decision of which cars do greener things to Steve. Yes a cop out.

Steve came up with several cars for me to look at: Fiat Panda, Chevrolet Spark, Suzuki Alto, Perodua Myvi.

I then had to think of what I expected from our car. We needed enough room for my parents who are not as mobile as we are. We needed to transport Oscar (a rough collie) easily. We should be able to fit a ladder and both of us in. It would be nice if it was distinctive in some way so that I could find it when it was parked with a lot of other cars. We should both like the car for some reason.

In the first car show room we visited I saw the most lovely orange spark. It was most pleasing to look at except it had a lot of crosses on it. We opened the boot and discovered that Oscar would have to leap over the high lip to enter. Not ideal. I did the get into it slowly test and it seemed OK. It had split rear seats to accommodate the ladder and us.

The next car showroom contained the Panda. We have had the original Panda before and loved its versatility. Frankly I was disappointed as it was not cute like the last one. It passed the get into car slowly test but there was not enough room for Oscar with the seat up and when it was down it was uneven with a solid back that would have been slippery for paws. The basic model did not have split rear seats or the option to purchase them so it failed the ladder test. Neither could you buy the basic in bright yellow so it failed the see a car in the car perk test.

What can I say about the Suzuki Alto. Yes it came in pink but the car showroom salesman got on my nerves and I can not really remember much. I think it failed the get Oscar in test. It probably did alright on the get in car slowly test, but I can not remember if you could get a ladder in it. Anyway, I didn't like that man so was not inclined to spend Steve's money and give him commission.

Then we caught the train to Hemel Hempstead to look at the Myvi. It easily passed the get into car slowly test as the rear seats have a curved edge. It has split rear seats and can get three people and a ladder in. Then we folded down the back seat and it did not go flat. We were just saying that that would be no good for Oscar when the salesman showed us that you fiddle with the seat cushion and it all fits nice and flat. It passed. We had a look round at the cars waiting to be sold and it comes in bright red. Steve liked it too.

So we bought the Myvi. A superb bonus was when we were asked which registration we would like from the list. LK10 FTP was the first on the list and we both said file transfer protocol. Imagine a registration we can both remember. So now all I have to do in the car park is look for a cute red car with the right registration. I have never in my life been able to remember a car registration. I am so pleased.

MPG after 1,500 miles

2010-05-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

After three weeks, and 1,500 miles I am getting 50 mpg (range 49 to 52). Measured by recording the mileage between fills, and using the amount required to refill the tank as the fuel consumed.

Marginally worse than the 55 mpg the Kenari obtained, but I would say this was reasonable because it is a much larger car.