Xantiaman's Blog

Tell us your ongoing tales and experiences with your French car here. Post pictures of your car here as well.
XantiaMan
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Unread post by XantiaMan »

A small update, i know not many are interested in my warblings!

Firstly, the cars. Activa has not moved much, as up until this week, work had been going at a steady rate.

The TD got moved back to my dads. He did think about having as their spare, but they are struggling at the moment, so much so i had to give them some money to buy a new central heating programmer or they would go cold :x

Afer zero response on here, i put it on ebay, which is where i originally found it. Within hours i had 10 watchers. On Monday, a chap from North London wanted to have a look, so, we drove an hour to my Dads and let him have a look and a drive.

Basically it was 4 hours of my life wasted, i wont go into huge detail but i've not seen someone so anal about looking at a car of that age, ever!

Bidding got up to £310 in the end, but i had a call from my father in law, who said his mate wanted to buy it. So, its now off ebay and i await its pick up in the next couple of weeks.

This week has basically been a waste of time since it started. Monday night i started to get some pains in my chest. Jack was also poorly, so we trundled to the doctors on Tuesday.

Jacks diagnosis was/is croup, not very nice for him as his first real illness. He has struggled all week and only just showing signs of improvement.

Mine was less clear cut, just an 'upper respiratory infection'. To make matters worse, my blood pressure was cause for concern, at 150/86.

It felt like crushed glass was in my lower windpipe and every time i went outside and took a breath of cold air, it killed :evil: It hurt so much, i had to cancel my jobs for the day.

I had planned to go down south a day early, to stop me from rushing around as we now have a lack of daylight and poor weather.

I struggled to Kent Tuesday night, dosing myself up with painkillers.

Arriving late around 10pm, i went to bed. Then it got worse. Throughout the night, cold and hot sweats, severe fever, heart pounding and the worst headache imaginable. I finally opened my eyes about 6am but every time i moved, it felt like i was going to throw up. I got up for a wee, as you do, and almost fell over as my legs felt like jelly and couldnt balance.

Back to bed, and after muchos snoozing around 12pm i could finally move as the headache had near enough gone. I had some beans on toast and got back to the land of the living, but my chest was still bad.

So far, two days loss of earnings. Being self employed has its benefits but being ill is worse case scenario!

I had a retail job cancel on me, handy as that saved me doing it, and promised my regular customer i would be in today.

I managed some half decent sleep last night, but my chest was even worse. Even air at room temperature was starting to hurt. More painkillers and food to give me a boost, i drove the 50 miles to the garage. It was bad. With a scarf over my mouth to stop the cold air gushing down my throat, the pain was intense. I looked at a few cars but then had to go in an apologise, i couldnt manage it.

Now home, its easing a little, but the only cure is rest. I've lost out on a weeks earnings just when we need it for Christmas :cry: Been coughing up brownish phlegm with odd specks of blood, but i've had it worse in the past.

Typical really, and not a nice end to the year. Lets hope next week i can manage and play catch up :roll:
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KP
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Unread post by KP »

Gareth thats quite bad news for your chest! You really need to keep in warmth now until it goes and if you go to docs ask for antibiotics if you haven't already got them. Rachel has something similar nearly 2 years ago and ended up in hosp with pnuemonia(spelling?) as it got bad quite quick and she feels bad every time it gets very cold outside and is on antibiotics again this xmas with another chest infection :(

Good luck and get well soon :)
XantiaMan
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Unread post by XantiaMan »

KP wrote:Gareth thats quite bad news for your chest! You really need to keep in warmth now until it goes and if you go to docs ask for antibiotics if you haven't already got them. Rachel has something similar nearly 2 years ago and ended up in hosp with pnuemonia(spelling?) as it got bad quite quick and she feels bad every time it gets very cold outside and is on antibiotics again this xmas with another chest infection :(

Good luck and get well soon :)
AFAIK, its viral, not bacterial so anti-bots will do zilch :roll: If there is not much improvement i'm going back tomorrow.

The pneumonia risk is worrying, as i spend all my working life outside. This is part of the reason why i took the decision to come home and keep in the warm for the next 3-4 days, take my vitamins and eat decently (no junk).

Vicky mentioned a good idea for the future, that is have a 'sick' account where i put away some money every month for times like these. Bit late now, but i will do as i cannot claim for anything. I dont like to either, or the scroungers might have to work for a living.
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davetherave
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Unread post by davetherave »

Hope you get better soon, sounds rubbish. Bad time of year, the hospital is manic with similar conditions.
The sick account sounds sensble, hopefully the new year will be better for you, at least you've got a home for the TD, better than ebaying it.
Well when you do feel better and have a lull, there is always a wheel arch/wing waiting for you in norwich :lol:
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CitroJim
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Unread post by CitroJim »

Gosh, poor old you Gareth, sounds really nasty. Get well soon...

What a parlarver with selling the TD on the 'bay. Some people are unbelievable :twisted:

Don't worry about Jack and his croup. Robyn suffered with it as a baby and gave us a few (more) sleepless nights and once, a short stay in hospital. It's a jolly distressing condition for the parents, more so that it is for the sufferer. When he gest a bout of it, boil some open pans of water and have Jack inhale the steam. It does work!

Robyn grew out of it completely (as all do) and she has no hangovers from it at all. Despite what the merchants of doom may say, it is not generally a precursor to asthma even though the symptoms appear superficially similar.
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myglaren
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Unread post by myglaren »

Hope it clears up soon Gareth. Very bad timing too.

My daughter Annika had croup quite badly when she was just new.

She did develop Asthma when in her teens though. Plus it´s sidekick thingumybob*





*damned if I can think of the name of it now. I can remember Alzheimers so there may be a connection :(
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CitroJim
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Unread post by CitroJim »

myglaren wrote:Hope it clears up soon Gareth. Very bad timing too.

Plus it´s sidekick thingumybob*
The thing I suffer from to a small degree. Eczema. Seems odd that eczema and asthma are very closely related. Some poor people have both...

Mine is always a lot worse when I'm stressed. Just now I must be very calm as it's been almost totally absent for the last few months :D
myglaren wrote: *damned if I can think of the name of it now. I can remember Alzheimers so there may be a connection :(
Ahh well, if you can remember Alzheimers Steve, it's clear proof you're not suffering from it!
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DickieG
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Unread post by DickieG »

CitroJim wrote:Mine is always a lot worse when I'm stressed. Just now I must be very calm as it's been almost totally absent for the last few months :D
Best get your spanners out asap in case it comes back then :lol:

Gareth, best wishes for a speedy recovery.
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XantiaMan
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Unread post by XantiaMan »

Thanks for all the comments guys.

First time in days my chest doesnt hurt on the same level. Its still sore but lost most of that sharp feeling. By the end of the weekend i should be back out there doing what i like best.

Jack went back to the doctors today just to make sure as he was pretty rough this morning. His temperature is ok now but still has a poor appetite and wont drink very much. Pretty whingy as well but that is Jack normally!
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CitroJim
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Unread post by CitroJim »

DickieG wrote:
CitroJim wrote:Mine is always a lot worse when I'm stressed. Just now I must be very calm as it's been almost totally absent for the last few months :D
Best get your spanners out asap in case it comes back then :lol:
All joking aside Richard, I'm convinced spending lots of time with spanners really does help :D That and life generally being pretty good to me at the moment...

Glad to hear you and Jack are on the mend Gareth. Jack will be feeling a bit rough due largely to poor sleep...
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XantiaMan
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Unread post by XantiaMan »

Had a chat with a good friend of mine this evening who works for the Nhs. I mentioned what i had and he said he also had it exactly the same, and it was swine flu :? Likewise it appears i got it from Jack, so the poor man has been through it too. It certainly knocked me out on Wednesday thats for sure.

Not a good end to the week now, i spoke to my Dad earlier who confirmed that my grandad has been diagnosed with prostate cancer :evil: Always gets the good one :cry: He will be on treatment as its not massively advanced, but being 81 he may not be able to have operations to remove the tumour unless they feel he has to.
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Unread post by DickieG »

XantiaMan583 wrote:Not a good end to the week now, i spoke to my Dad earlier who confirmed that my grandad has been diagnosed with prostate cancer :evil: Always gets the good one :cry: He will be on treatment as its not massively advanced, but being 81 he may not be able to have operations to remove the tumour unless they feel he has to.
Whilst that's obviously not good news, if you do get the big C then as a bloke apparently the most easily treated is the prostrate version. My Dad had this a couple of years ago and is now all clear, he had to have weekly sessions of radio-therapy for some time but eventually it worked and killed the cancer, so hopefully your Grandad has caught it in time before it spreads.

This is a timely reminder for every bloke to check themselves for testicular cancer, John Hartson was in the news today having just had the all clear :D
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XantiaMan
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Unread post by XantiaMan »

Almost back to normal here in Norfolk, its been a very interesting week, for me at least!

Firstly on Monday, the TD went for good to a new home, no far from where we used to live in Kent. Chap has a ZX TD on its last legs, and was over the moon with his new car.

Back to work on Tuesday, seemed like ages ago that i actually done any work! Been missing it a lot, and it was good to get back into a routine.

Wednesday i treated Vicky to a hair cut /colour/all that bollocks before i migrated down south for me weekly work routine.

It was a nice crisp, calm and clear morning that greeted me at my regular dealer. I spotted a Focus RS (the new one, with 305bhp and 325lbft of torque) sitting at the front all dirty. When i asked my 'boss' who's demo it was, he said it was his, and threw the key at me :lol:

Now there is nothing like a bit of turbocharged fun to wake you up in the morning and this car is no exception. Without a doubt, it THE ultimate hot hatch. Well built, masses of power from the Volvo 5-pot, amazing noise, firm but compliant ride and super sharp handling, it may look lairy but its definatly not a car for the faint hearted.

Its performance for a FWD car is blistering. Apart from my Maestro, its the quickest FWD i've driven, for a production car straight out the box there is nothing better. Its left a bit of an impression on me, maybe one day i will get one as it ticks all the boxes yet remains a decent family car too.

I had a good week in the end money wise but still had work left over, and on Friday night i managed to get Mon-Wed fully booked up with work, with my usual Thus-Fri a permanent commitment its safe to say i will be very busy next week and should make the sick week off a distant memory :)

I'm feeling about 85%, i have a strange dull feeling in my chest but not bringing anything up, so it could just be part of the healing process.

After such a hectic week, i had to do a drop of shopping this morning and took the Activa. I was expecting it to feel dull and flat compared to the RS, but putting the boost on high i was actually quite happy with the way it performed today and whilst its a completely different car, it still brings a smile to your face, a sign of a talented car IMO.

Next year, and once the bulk of the cold has gone i hope to make a real start on the Maestro, the pressure is on as we need a bigger house but we are unlikely to find one with a garage like we have now, so i must get the maestro repainted and driveable before we move.
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Unread post by CitroJim »

Great news on the new owner of the TD :D

And great that the old Activa (albeit a bit breathed upon) is still good against a Focus RS :D :D Mind you, I have a bit of a soft spot for them but they just look too chunky for me to really fall head over heels for one. They look all out of proportion somehow.

That's a lovely garage you have there and they are rare and hard to come by. Choose wisely when you move. Only problem is that Vicky and you will have different priorities when looking at potential houses :lol:
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XantiaMan
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Unread post by XantiaMan »

Quicky update.

Had about 3 inches of snow here, roads have been interesting :? but the Xantia coped very well, big downside though, you cannot do handbrake turns in it :lol: Transit does though :wink:

Its going very well now -



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