Strange deal.

Feb 06, 2014 12 Replies

I was looking for a multi tool, battery powered to match the other tools I've bought recently from B&Q. (Mostly for a few jobs while I get the boat up to scratch, so quality wasn't too important)



On its own, no battery or charger, £39.98. With two batteries, a drill and a charger, yours for £35 quid. So I now have a spare drill, an extra charger and plenty of batteries *and* I've saved a fiver.


Not as odd as the Severn Bridge charging:-)

They charge you to go in to Wales, and let you out free. Makes sense to me. Think of it as a tourist tax, as nobody goes there to work.

They do the same thing in New York. It costs a fortune to get into Manhattan, but there's no charge to leave.

When I was commuting at weekends between South Wales and London, it was marginally cheaper to go in via the A40 past Oxford and Gloucester and back along the M4.

According to my kids, the charging is window-dressing. The booths are basically scanning for illegally imported vowels...

What about consonants? They're the hard buggers: J, K, Q, R, V, X, Z - then there are the extra 9(?) letters that must be kept in or else Welsh will be difficult to pronounce.

Many years ago, FIATs introduce hall-effect electronic ignition systems on their cars. Inside the distributor was a pickup. With time the wires would harden and break.

First time I diagnosed one, and identified the required part, I went to the motor factors to order one. The pickup was about £35, and the whole distributor was £40. Given that the distributor came with cap (£10 separate) and amplifier unit (£40 separate) and vacuum advance-retard mechanism (£15 separate). It was a no brainer. We made quite a bit from buying distributors and breaking them down and fitting the bits separate. Eventually they twigged, and a new distributor became about £120 :(

At the risk of being flamed by a horde of angry welsh, I would have thought that people would be happy to pay to get out of wales

Malcolm

Think of it in the same way as you have to buy a Visa to visit other countries on the way in.

The annoying thing is all on money form both Severn Bridges goes to a French company !

when in doubt 2 l's or 2 f's is the way forward.

We didn't get conquered by the Romans, so we don't feel an affinity to Roman alphabet.

Quite - it doesn't make commercial sense at all. Surely people would be prepared to pay more to get out than to get in, so they could up the charges?

On a lighter note, I did notice years ago on the far side of the old bridge, and albeit technically still in Gloucestershire, some Welsh Nationalist Nurk had spray painted in huge letters the words "Free Wales!" In slightly smaller letters and in a different colour underneath was sprayed "with every four gallons."

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