shy and retiring

Coming to the end of the trial period and the car is starting to hide away . Perhaps it doesn't want to go back to Nissan

I love to go a wandering

This is early morning at possibly the most isolated charging post in the North East at Alwinton at the foot of the Cheviots. It is clearly not a frequently used point as various creatures emerged as the socket door sprung open rubbing their eyes and groaning. It is, however, a crucially positioned post for us hill walkers. We may well have been left scratching our heads and buying 3a batteries in the local pub had the post not been operating or, heaven forfend, occupied by another set of booted and knapsacked electric ramblers.

This is the end my friend

Well to be more accurate it is Wallsend on a Friday night re charging while I help to erect scaffolding stands for a series of illuminated balloons mounted along Hadrian's Wall in honour of the Paralympics

side by side

its not often i fetch up against another leaf - but here at the Customs House in South Shields I found a charging friend. The journey to and from South Shields is an ideal one for electric miles; you can hardly go above 40mph so the mileage rate is very good and miles used seems almost to match miles travelled.
This is not the case when travelling to Darlington or even Newcastle if you cover a stretch at 60 or 70mph. Miles disappear at an alarming rate - i call it double time. P

cave drawings

worked with young people at The Cave in South Shields this week. The car co-ordinated well with their graffiti logo. p

health check

Called at Pallion Health Centre the other day and was able to use the charge point for the first time. Its not a publicly listed point and on previous visit it was occupied by a non-electric pharmacy van. P

Batty Batty 123 Count

Devotees of the great sesame street will remember "The Count" and his numeracy song. Last night incorporated a visit at dusk to Stanhope to meet a bat survey team resplendent with not quite enough  midgy protection nets to go round, prepared for a bat count. Good job the local police had been tipped off in advance as this sort of dress code in the half light might be misconstrued.

In addition it is a good job that there has recently been a fast charge point installed just to the east of Durham City. Access to the very  top of Weardale and back  is now no problem. Excitingly the entrance to this new charge point is via a magnificently marked "Bus and electric vehicle only lane" which somehow makes me feel extra special .

Abbey Road

No pedestrian crossings- just a trip up to beyond Blanchland against a force 50 wind necessitating an emergency drop down to the evening peace of Hexham  to use the quick charge point outside the leisure centre and waitrose (with a distant view of the Abbey) in order to get enough puff to get back home.

On an unrelated note our attention has been drawn to the Nissan leaf's record breaking reversing speed attempt at Goodwood this year (70 mph apparently) . I am assuming that results in one big flat battery.

This is cruise control to Major Tom

In a very long and informative conversation with a traffic warden ( lets call him David)  at a charging point the other day he tells me that they as a group of peaked caps have access to a pool car Leaf and they have an informal "ladder of achievement" in terms of maximum miles per charge. His discovery is the use of the cruise control button. To date I have ignored this button as a piece of nonsense but there is no doubt that it is better at using fuel than is my foot on the accelerator. Here am I sitting in a tin can with both feet free and only a steering wheel to play with. Time to practice some Irish dancing.

My Way

Over the last two days I have zipped from Sunderland to Blyth and back , then to Newcastle and back , then to Wolsingham and back with small forays to Whitburn and Dawdon in between. I have purposely driven very economically and not exceeded 50mph . These are pretty representative local trips with Wolsingham at a 58 mile round trip being the longest. I, like Mr Sinatra, have travelled each and every highway, and while Mr S is obsessed with his own way of doing things, I have slavishly  followed the recommended driving methodology and can report that top wack distance on these sort of trips from a fully charged battery is 75 miles allowing a residual 5 miles to limp to a charging point.