http://www.car4play.com/forum Car4play forum en-gb Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:33:04 +0100 Copyright: Car4play webmaster@car4play.com (Technical) 5 car4play690521 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:33:04 +0100 >> if his health does deteriorate any further, I could always tempt him to a special >> holiday in Switzerland where he'll only need one change of clothes... He will insist on driving, you will never get there. http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690521&v=e car4play690520 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:23:29 +0100 >>Oh Dog, I don't need to, I've seen the signs and the circle of life is repeating I know how much you love your dad, Dave, and how painful and frustrating it can be see a loved one's health deteriorating. I'm the youngest of six, and I'm the only one left. Most of my friends (they were older than me) are brown bread. My wife can't use the satnav either and says she only drives the car once a week for shopping. I said you might have to use it one day, when you forget how to get there :) Keep smiling. http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690520&v=e car4play690518 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:18:06 +0100 Twice recently there have been roads closed near me with roadworks that the signs were up well in advance. Both times google maps tried to take me through the closed roads which surprised me (not least the fact that my BMW sat nav had the road closed on it). But the BMW sat nav in my experience is notoriously poor and as previously mentioned , next weekend I am driving down to Cardiff and back over 2 days and I will be relying pretty much solely on google maps so I am hoping it pulls up its socks and performs better! http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690518&v=e car4play690515 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:21:34 +0100 'Send this to yourself ... in 40 years time' Oh Dog, I don't need to, I've seen the signs and the circle of life is repeating. I was the son in the 80s who was in charge of setting the timer on the video player because they couldn't do it. And now, when the telly loses contact with the WiFi and Netflix won't play, what do I do? Call the boy, that's what I do, sorted in seconds. But on Saturday, he's moving into a flat with his lady, as will my little girl soon after. :( Funerals are a common occurrence these days (mother in April and why I'm still with him) and he has acquired quite a collection of service of orders, many displayed in the living room like birthday cards. I'll leave my suit when I leave on Sunday, in case I'll need it in the near future. And three times now, he's left the car with the engine running. I have to be the last person to exit the car and a sign of a bumpy road ahead. http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690515&v=e car4play690508 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:13:51 +0100 I was a passenger in a car last week and the driver wouldn't (doesn't know how to?) use the a/c. Their excuse was because the windows were open and the windows were open to keep the car cool. They parked and as the rear passengers were exiting, allowed the car to jerk forward into a lamppost. They hadn't stopped the motor, used the foot operated parking brake, the electric parking brake or put it into park. http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690508&v=e car4play690505 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 07:29:23 +0100 >> Meet my old man... >> I guarantee that I am older than your father. I went to a funeral on Monday. A friend drove us. He doesn't believe in/doesn't know how to work the air con, or he thinks it's too expensive. Monday afternoon was hot. I am not going to let him drive me again. I am a grumpy old git. (chorus of hear, hears and nods of acquiescence), but I think I am sensible about everyday matters, including setting the controls in a car and routes to take. http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690505&v=e car4play690504 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 06:46:10 +0100 Send this to yourself ... in 40 years time. http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690504&v=e car4play690503 Thu, 16 Jul 2026 02:53:53 +0100 'I would only use a paper map as a last resort' Meet my old man. He has SatNav in his car but doesn't seem to know that it's there. Any journey longer than 5 miles and he spends half an hour studying the A-Z. He's been after a new one but he can't find one at WHSmith. There'll be one on Amazon, said I, large format and easy to read. Amazon will rip me off, said he, it's an evil company. So I bought him one myself covering Greater Manchester but 'it doesn't go as far as Wilmslow anymore'. He's very annoyed and is sticking with his 2005 edition. Any unfamiliar journey that involves parking at the other end means a 'dummy run' the day before. Any journey that involves an appointment means a dummy run a couple of hours before, to test the traffic. If he drives to Stockport where he uses a particular carpark (his comfort carpark) but is completely full, he just drives back home (past endless empty ones). A journey that involves an Uber means he'll sit in the front, showing the driver where to go then trying to pay cash at the end. Longer journeys (John Lennon Airport, for example) causes mega panic attacks (for me too). A simple 45 min westbound route on the M56. Oh no, he said, I'll take the M6 north to the M62, and head west to Huyton then head south to the airport. I know where I'm going, I worked there, he said. Yeah, 60 years ago, mate, there wasn't a Mersey Gateway Bridge in '64 and doesn't believe it exists. A monumentally nightmare journey and all in the dark, completely lost until he finally admitted I could sort this out with my phone. We returned back using the satnav, stress-free and in half the time, but he simply will not try to use it. His car has aircon but it's never been used (unless I drive it, alone). It's unbearably hot and stuffy inside but he drives in his tweed jacket, shirt and tie. It's so hot, I just can't sleep, no surprise that the central heating is on right now, and it will be on until noon. He has a smart tv but will only watch broadcast channels. He gets angry when something clashes with Mastermind or University Challenge so I tried to show him he can watch both. He nervously paced around me as my 5-minute presentation showed that anything and everything on Beeb, ITV, CH4 and CH5 is all there to watch whenever he wants to. He snatched the remote - all the channels will disappear if you mess with it, said he. He's a man, trapped in the 60s and 70s, in his clothing, his decor, his conversation and his mindset. And possibly, quite soon, I'll be trapped with him because nobody else in the family will want to share the burden of caring for him. But if his health does deteriorate any further, I could always tempt him to a special holiday in Switzerland where he'll only need one change of clothes... http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690503&v=e car4play690501 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 22:47:05 +0100 >> Why not just say to your iPhone (everybody has an iPhone - right?) No, 75% do not, globally http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690501&v=e car4play690496 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:58:26 +0100 Why not just say to your iPhone (everybody has an iPhone - right?) Hey Siri, direct me to SW1A 1AA on speaker phone. Another job jobbed painlessly. http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690496&v=e car4play690492 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:46:52 +0100 Haha very good :-) http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690492&v=e car4play690490 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 12:31:18 +0100 My Satnav I have a little Satnav It sits there in my car A Satnav is a driver's friend It tells you where you are It gives me full instructions On exactly how to drive "It's thirty miles an hour" it says "And you're doing thirty five" It tells me when to stop and start And when to use the brake And tells me that it's never ever Safe to overtake It tells me when a light is red And when it goes to green It seems to know instinctively Just when to intervene It lists the vehicles just in front It lists those to the rear And taking this into account It specifies my gear I'm sure no other driver Has so helpful a device For when we leave and lock the car It still gives its advice It fills me up with counselling Each journey's pretty fraught So why don't I exchange it And get a quieter sort? Ah well, you see, it cleans the house Makes sure I'm properly fed It washes all my shirts and things And - keeps me warm in bed! Author unknown 8o) http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690490&v=e car4play690489 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:58:50 +0100 I started carrying a road atlas a while ago when satnav let me down badly once in an unfamiliar area. SWMBO quite likes having it on her lap when we are on an unknown journey to see where we are and what we're sailing past. http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690489&v=e car4play690487 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:45:31 +0100 Mostly I find Google picks up current traffic and routes me accordingly. It can give alternative routing at a touch of the screen allowing a rational choice to be made. It wll allow the map to zoom out to see precisely where the congestion is. It is usually very good at taking any long term roadworks into account. I would only use a paper map as a last resort in the hope that it is up to date and in the absence of any other traffic data. http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690487&v=e car4play690486 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:11:46 +0100 >> A3 closed and lots of traffic..... We had no maps.......>> I guess that won't happen again! Anyone who has been in a similar situation on a long journey in unfamiliar surroundings knows how unhelpful sat nav can be, continually telling you to 'make a U turn', etc as it tries to take you back to the road you've had to leave. There has always been an old 3 mile to the inch atlas permanently in all our cars. http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690486&v=e car4play690482 Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:14:28 +0100 We travelled south on the A3 last evening at about 7:30 pm. A forest of cones but no problems and no hold ups. Returned North on the A3 at 22:00 A3 closed and lots of traffic. What a mess!!! Signs were useless. e.g. We did not see a sign to A3 North or to London ( that little place that the A3 goes to ) We had no maps or Waze so A3 SOUTH to get out of the mess. We we took the Cathedral turn off and headed to central Guildford. We both remembered enough of the roads to aim for the old A3 and eventually on a slip rod on to the A3 North. It can only improve ????? http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690482&v=e car4play690344 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:19:04 +0100 I must say that round here (Wokingham) we seem to have constant closures and diversions, many long term and seemingly mainly due to new housing and "relief" roads being built, though there is a fair share of road and utility maintenance going on as well. Our road was resurfaced the other week, quick and dirty job but as a residential road I expect it'll be OK. There are plenty of more deserving roads, with many potholes etc, but I guess we were the low hanging fruit... http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690344&v=e car4play690343 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:25:21 +0100 Not a pretty sight. https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/roadworks-and-maintenance/roadworks/map http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690343&v=e car4play690342 Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:17:04 +0100 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpd30z5xxd4o http://www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?m=690342&v=e