*Sigh

 So my starter motor not kicking in is definitely an electrical problem and it seems to be the wiring from my ignition switch, which I thought I has sorted out weeks ago. I know this because when I try to start and the starter motor just clicks, if I wiggle the wires from the ignition, the starter motor fires up fine.

So there is that and my hot-starting is still a problem - starter just churns away but nothing from the engine. Starts up first time when cold and also OK if I leave it 5 mins after a run but any longer and no joy until its been sat for at least 30 mins. 

Very annoying - research needed to find out what to do about it. 

Sadly, my Alps trip is off - looks like France won't be accepting tourists for a while. I've got a plan to have a little UK trip of my own in May/June instead - see how it goes. 

In other news, my 17 year old son passed his test just before Xmas and I had bought him a cheap, old Toyota Yaris which he loved - for 3 months. Then, he was given 2 extra days at work so he's been earning a vaguely decent amount of money and, obviously, he can't just save that money, oh no! So he started looking at better cars - long story short, he's bought himself (well, I bought it but he is paying me back) a 10 year old MX5. 

Yes, I'm a bad parent but it is SUCH an awesome car. For £3.2k, it feels like new, is beautiful to drive and my son is almost sleeping in it, he loves it so much. Weirdly, the insurance was £300 LESS than the 998cc Yaris? I just don't get it...

Today, with my help, my son changed the oil and filter - a surprisingly difficult job because we had to get the car up on my ramps to get to the sump and that was no mean feat. But he really enjoyed it - a future kit-car builder? Who knows...