I'm afraid this might turn our to be a bit of a rant so bear with me.
Andrew will soon be taking a five day course in order to gain his C1 licence. This is the licence he needs in order to be able to drive ambulances. Now as regular readers know he is a motorbike man and although he has his driving licence he's only driven a car a handful of times in the last couple of years.
In order to help him get some practice in I've decided to let him use my Alfa 156. It's a large car and will be ideal to bring his skills up to scratch. We've discovered that by keeping ownership in my name he can insure it in his name, with me as a named driver, for half the price he'd be charged if I transferred ownership to him. So far so good and the insurance came through this morning so all we had to do was tax the beast. And this is where we've hit a brick wall.
Because the V5 has the word 'disabled' on it the only tax it will let me have online is the free tax given to disabled people. Now as I already have one vehicle with this free tax I'm not entitled to have a second car taxed free but can I find a way to PAY for my tax? No! So I'm off tomorrow to pop into a post office and see whether by explaining the situation to a human being I might get the six months tax required. Worryingly reading up on it, it seems than in order to pay for tax I have to get my car re-registered to have the word 'disabled' removed so I can pay tax, and to do that I have to send my documents away or visit my nearest tax office, which for me is Boreham Wood.
What a palaver! No wonder so many people are running around with no tax these days. How difficult can it be just to say, look I want to pay for my tax because someone else is going to be driving it. Why can't they have an online option? Why is it so damned difficult to do the right thing? Does this mean that when I sell the car the new owner will have to wait until the new documents come back before he can tax the vehicle, or are they allowed to drive around on disabled tax until it runs out? If anyone knows the answer to this please, please, please contact me. Your advice will be very gratefully received.
So as you've probably gathered I did not get my call last night. A bit gutted to be honest but I didn't really expect it. It was just another wild hope that came to nothing.
Although I was grateful for the sudden drop in temperature yesterday, I wasn't quite as enamored by the heavy rain that came with it. The water bounced off the sun hardened ground and for a brief half hour the patio looked like a swimming pool. Smirnoff was less than pleased and gave me a proper telling off when he came in soaking after being caught out.
I spent the afternoon, well some of it, watching the diving. This is one of my favourites to watch and I always wince when they hit the water. I was never a very good diver, I specialised in the belly flop, but I do admire those with the skill and the courage to get out and do it.
Today sees the end of the games. I haven't watch as much as I did the Olympics but in a way I will be a little sorry to see them go. Things like diving and weightlifting and field events don't get much airtime and I find them vastly more interesting than golf and football, which continually disrupt the viewing schedules. I will watch the motor racing until that ends in November and then there will be a void until the Rugby starts up in February. Hopefully by then I'll be partaking in a bit of gentle sport myself. Last night during a wakeful period I lay there planning my 'get fit' routine. I kept reminding myself to ask how soon after transplant will I be able to swim or do some light weight training. How stupid is that! Maybe it's a good thing the games are ending today or I'd drive myself mental.
Oh well time to kick back and enjoy a lazy afternoon watching old films on TV. I wonder if I'll find myself longing for an excuse for a lazy day once I'm fit again. I bet I will. Don't they say that you always miss something when it's gone. Maybe I will but I suspect not that much. Next blog Friday.
Andrew will soon be taking a five day course in order to gain his C1 licence. This is the licence he needs in order to be able to drive ambulances. Now as regular readers know he is a motorbike man and although he has his driving licence he's only driven a car a handful of times in the last couple of years.
Because the V5 has the word 'disabled' on it the only tax it will let me have online is the free tax given to disabled people. Now as I already have one vehicle with this free tax I'm not entitled to have a second car taxed free but can I find a way to PAY for my tax? No! So I'm off tomorrow to pop into a post office and see whether by explaining the situation to a human being I might get the six months tax required. Worryingly reading up on it, it seems than in order to pay for tax I have to get my car re-registered to have the word 'disabled' removed so I can pay tax, and to do that I have to send my documents away or visit my nearest tax office, which for me is Boreham Wood.
What a palaver! No wonder so many people are running around with no tax these days. How difficult can it be just to say, look I want to pay for my tax because someone else is going to be driving it. Why can't they have an online option? Why is it so damned difficult to do the right thing? Does this mean that when I sell the car the new owner will have to wait until the new documents come back before he can tax the vehicle, or are they allowed to drive around on disabled tax until it runs out? If anyone knows the answer to this please, please, please contact me. Your advice will be very gratefully received.
So as you've probably gathered I did not get my call last night. A bit gutted to be honest but I didn't really expect it. It was just another wild hope that came to nothing.
I spent the afternoon, well some of it, watching the diving. This is one of my favourites to watch and I always wince when they hit the water. I was never a very good diver, I specialised in the belly flop, but I do admire those with the skill and the courage to get out and do it.
Today sees the end of the games. I haven't watch as much as I did the Olympics but in a way I will be a little sorry to see them go. Things like diving and weightlifting and field events don't get much airtime and I find them vastly more interesting than golf and football, which continually disrupt the viewing schedules. I will watch the motor racing until that ends in November and then there will be a void until the Rugby starts up in February. Hopefully by then I'll be partaking in a bit of gentle sport myself. Last night during a wakeful period I lay there planning my 'get fit' routine. I kept reminding myself to ask how soon after transplant will I be able to swim or do some light weight training. How stupid is that! Maybe it's a good thing the games are ending today or I'd drive myself mental.
Oh well time to kick back and enjoy a lazy afternoon watching old films on TV. I wonder if I'll find myself longing for an excuse for a lazy day once I'm fit again. I bet I will. Don't they say that you always miss something when it's gone. Maybe I will but I suspect not that much. Next blog Friday.
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