Garrard SP25 Mk II

If you recognise what this is about you are in your mid to late 50's. My Pioneer record deck, purchased in the 1980s went to meet it's maker last week. Doubtless I could have found the spare part somewhere on the net, but it was never loved and I decided to trawl ebay to see what I can find. And there it was - my first record deck! 1971 or 1972 I guess, 15 or 16 at the time. With a small Phillips Amplifier, later exchanged for a Sansui Au101.

It arrived and joy of joys, one channel wasn't working properly, so back to my youth, unscewing plugs, twisting wires, checking soulder and, voila, it works! I nearly cried. The sound, with a Goldring Cartridge, is warm and soft. I love vinyl and despite being the owner of 100s of CDs I'm indifferent to them. That's what I like about ebay; it's not finding a bargain, it's being able to travel back in time.

Stagecoach X5 - the jewel in the crown?

It's a super service and one which my Lib Dem colleagues and I have always given our support too and promoted through Focus. It's pretty obvious that Stagecoach have viewed the service as a 'Jewel in the Crown' too.

However this week has seen reports of as many as 7 of their 17 AC and WiFi equipped coaches in dock, replaced by more elderly units and even by a double decker!

Stagecoach need to look to their laurels. Losing passengers is easy; get them back out of their cars much more difficult.