cameron_leask

Those of you that know me will know that I live on a country road (national speed limit B road) near Linlithgow. My house is at the end of a reasonably straight half-mile stretch which has a number of houses on it and accordingly the road is marked as 40mph limit for the half-mile around the houses. Fair enough. Since I moved here I've come to realise that a lot of local car-fans don't pay too much attention to the speed limit. There are plenty that do it in all sorts of cars but I can tell from the exhaust notes that this includes one or two Subaru drivers. While I would prefer that they didn't pretend that my street was the knockhill home straight (I reckon that speeds of 80 or 90mph past my front door are not uncommon from these drivers), my attitude to the matter has been pretty much to ignore it and get on with my own life. That all changed tonight. I left home earlier and headed up towards the other end of the 40mph limit. The guy that lives at the other end of the 40mph stretch (fortunately, I do not know him) was standing in front of his house and as I passed (at 40mph) he was waving his fist and making v-signs at me. Initially I drove on but TBH I was too curious and wanted to know what he thought was wrong, so I turned and went back to see what the trouble was. Pulling up, I wound down my window and politely asked him whether there was a problem. He ran over to the car and thrust his fist through the open window, screaming and shouting (drunk) about how I did 90mph past his house, didn't I know it was a 40mph limit, effing and blinding... etc you get the picture. I dodged the fist (fortunately) and by this point a couple of his friends had appeared from the house and started to pull him away from my car. As you can imagine I was "rather keen" to point out that I lived locally and experience the same problems as him with speeding motorists, but (of course) he was in no mood for listening to me, and after a couple of minutes of remonstrations I was persuaded to leave by one of his pals. As I turned the car I could see the chap being spoken to by his pals and as I left I heard him shout an apology of sorts at me so I stopped again while he told me that my car was very similar to the cars that do 90mph past his house.... etc etc etc. Now, while I don't like people trying to attack me, I can sort-of understand where he's coming from on this. So here's my plea. PLEASE adhere to signposted speed limits, particularly in areas which have houses or other hazards nearby. Even though you can see the road is clear, even though you know the cops never put speedtraps there, even though it's only half a mile's worth and barely worth the effort, even though it's late at night and there won't be any wee kids chasing footballs across the road or dogs running about, please remember how distinctive and memorable your cars are. Loud exhaust systems have positive and negative qualities, but late at night at twice the speed limit it's the negative ones that people remember. And so, because of a minority of drivers (at least one Subaru driver amongst them) my neighbour now seems to think that all Subarus are driven by ignorant neanderthals and I -so very nearly- was physically assaulted. The threat of physical violence to anyone, as a direct consequence of the irresponsible behaviour of speeding, passing, unnamed motorists, is unnacceptable, and complaining about my neighbour's behaviour won't do anything when clearly the real cause of the problem is the behaviour of those local motorists who see fit to flaunt the speed limits in a built-up area. And I wouldn't want to think that this sort of thing would ever happen again to me, any of my family or friends, ever again. Just because we were driving a Subaru?! Dear God, no. Please slow down and drive with consideration. Thanks.

(edited to include sizes) I've changed Billyboy's author icon so that he has one that's the right size Billyboy - you'll need to resize your image so that it's the right size before you upload it... Maximum image size is 120 pixels by 120 pixels and no larger than 100KB, as per instructions on the profile page. Thanks

LOL @ Jools. Afternoon from a also-blustery location somewhere near Linlithgow...

Greetings

yes I might pop along for a bit too I'll be the one in the scoob that looks and sounds like a dirty black diesel focus. The P1 is in dire need of new front discs, and Alcons don't come cheap! :S

sadly I can't make it either

Got a few more confirmations in today Keep 'em coming please For those who've never been to Scotkart Cambuslang before - it's got a tunnel and a flyover Price of £41 includes food too... email Me or Dougster if you want more info...

I'm hoping to come up for an hour or so tomorrow, late morning if work permits

SOrry Blueboy, Don't know of any secure parking facilities. I doubt if any even exist in Perth!

Just reread your post. I'm fairly certain the nearest dealer to Aberfeldy would be Town & County at Perth... Cameron

BlueBoy Kings is now called Girvans of Aberfeldy. Girvans no longer have a Subaru sales franchise, but the mechanics, parts and paintshop teams are still the same (well, they were the last time I was up in late November!). I would imagine that they can still offer subaru genuine parts (therefore appropriate for Warranty work iirc?) and they still know their way around a Scoob and I know that Stevie in the bodyshop still does excellent work nearest dealer depends on where you are really but you've got the option of T&C in Perth, the guy at Forfar (whose name escapes me at the moment) or of course Drive in Falkirk and Nobles in Penicuik. Does that help? Cameron

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Derek, have you got a phone number for them? With the demise of Kings in Aberfeldy (OK the sales part at least) I might nip round and try them out... Cameron

I can't quite believe this.... I now have a list of EIGHTY (80) people and 40 cars who are expecting to attend the Cameron House Barbeque next Sunday! You lot better turn up or I'm going to have a big food bill to pay on my own!! ;> For those of you who have missed the details of this - We're having our annual Scottish barbeque at Cameron House Hotel on Loch Lomond (http://www.cameronhouse.co.uk). Aim to arrive from 11am, food should be ready at 12.30. We'll then head off for a drive on various routes; the final destination being Croft-na-Caber watersports centre at Kenmore (just like last year). If you are intending to come along but haven't heard from me, then please get in touch at cameron@leask.org, and I can add your details to the list. For those who have heard from me, I'll be in touch (offlist) very soon with the details. regards Cameron

Just thought I'd point out that I'm currently expecting something like 31 cars and 60 people - the biggest Cameron House BBQ ever Any more takers for a bit of Scottish hospitality?! Cameron

Hi all Good to see on all the various threads that there is strong interest in this once again... I've been moving house recently which is why there hasn't been much news about it, but I'm back now, and on the case once again Those of you that I have on my "official" list so far (32 of you!!!) should have been emailed today, but I know that my list is incomplete, looking at the threads. If you haven't received an email from me confirming the numbers then please send me an email (offlist) to cameron@leask.org to let me know - how many adults - how many kids - your registration number The deal: We will meet at 11am at "Breakers Bar" in the marina at The Cameron House Hotel on Loch Lomond, and the food will be available from around 12.30ish. Directions to the hotel can be found at www.cameronhouse.co.uk. (For those who have never been there, enter the main hotel driveway and follow the road (over ALL the speedbumps ) until you get to the marina. There is a big carpark there and you should see the rest of us milling about ) The food will cost around £10-£15 per head (to be confirmed) and based on previous years, there is always plenty Pay me on the day. I haven't yet confirmed the afternoon activity but will advise nearer the time. If anyone wants help finding accomodation then the best bet is probably Loch Lomond Tourist Board, at Balloch, 01389 753533 or http://www.scottish.heartlands.org any questions, email me direct cheers Cameron

Hi all I haven't had a lot of time to think about this recently, what with work and being on the point of moving house, BUT... The first time I organised this event I did dig around a little and got the following phone numbers which might be useful for those of you contemplating coming up and staying over... [*]Loch Lomond Tourist Board, Balloch, http://www.scottish.heartlands.org, 01389 753533 [*]Our starting point will be http://www.cameronhouse.co.uk [*]Very close to here is the Duck Bay Hotel, 01389 751234 [*]Lodge on Loch Lomond, Luss (the location where "Take The High Road" is filmed), 01436 860201, (all rooms have Saunas, apparently! ;> ). AA 3-stars, Scottish Tourist Board 3-stars. [*]Lomond Castle Lodges, Duck Bay, 01389 850215 or 07000 LOCHLOMOND, self-catering lodges from around £200 for 3 nights in a two-bedroom lodge, http://www.lomond-castle.co.uk. Has leisure and fitness facilities. Hope this is use to someone... As I say, it's a couple of years since I got these numbers but I fairly certain the tourist board number won't have changed, even if all the others have... regards Cameron

The Central Scotland meet is the official title for the Cameron House BBQ In the past there hasn't been much demand for rooms at CHH since (a) they are bloomin' expensive and ( most (but not all) of the attendees are local. When I start organising things properly nearer the time I'll look into whether they might give us a discount (I asked a couple of years ago; the answer was a firm but polite "no" ) Watch this space for further details. Cameron

>>> This leaves us free to enjoy some social activities in Aberdeen on the Saturday evening. <<< !!! I've sampled this, scary stuff (but fun )

tempting.... if only for the free valet!

I'll be organising this year's Central Scotland meeting - I'll publicise details here and also in all the usual places as and when I get the details organised... For now though, mark the date in your diaries Cameron