u/Westward5

Recently my boss was selling his mother's old Puma, 2001, 49,000 miles, no rust or rot which is what put these motors in the scrapyard. It was not a bad price considering the ford tax is bringing these rare cars up and up.

I never really took much thought into the old pumas, built in Germany for the European market with their funny "new edge" design reassembling the original "KA".

It was based off the MK4 fiesta underneath so it had good bones.

for the price it was a good deal, if I didn't like it I could sell it for a little bit more and call it a day.

But to say I underestimated this car was an understatement.

I haven't had as much fun in a car since I bought my MGB over 13 years ago. the steering is responsive and positive without feeling too light in your hands. Suspension is stiff and taught. the gearbox is smooth and slick but a little on the short side but got used to it.

The party piece is the 1.7 VCT engine. developed by Yamaha it's a incredible little engine, pokey at around 0-60 in 9 seconds and it just wants you to thrash it, the limiter is 6750RPM and boy does it love being at the top of that limit.

to top it off, the original puma has one of the most interesting and unique alloy wheels designs I've ever seen, the Fan blades. (mine didn't come with them so I bought a full set for £100!)

overall I was blown away by this cheap little ford that I never really took notice of. I don't think I'll be selling it any time soon. Has anyone had this feeling with a car not expecting much and then being very surprised?

Recently my boss was selling his mother's old Puma, 2001, 49,000 miles, no rust or rot which is what put these motors in the scrapyard. Absolutely solid motor. 2k hmmm. not a bad price considering the ford tax is bringing these rare cars up and up. I never really took much thought into the old pumas, with their funny "new edge" design reassembling the original KA. but it was based off the MK4 fiesta underneath so it had good bones.

for the price it was a good deal, if I didn't like it I could sell it for a little bit more and call it a day.

But to say I underestimated this car was a understatement.

I haven't had as much fun in a car since I bought my MGB over 13 years ago. the steering is responsive and positive without feeling too light in your hands. Suspension is stiff and taught. the gearbox is smooth and slick but a little on the short side but got used to it.

The party peice is the 1.7 VCT engine. devolped by Yamaha it's a incredible little engine, pokey at around 0-60 in 9 seconds and it just wants you to thrash it, the limiter is 6750RPM and boy does it love being at the top of that limit.

to top it off, the original puma has one of the most interesting and unique alloy wheels designs I've ever seen, the Fan blades. (mine didn't come with them so I bought a full set for £100!)

overall I was blown away by this cheap little ford that I never really took notice of. I don't think I'll be selling it any time soon. Has anyone had this feeling with a car not expecting much and then being very wrong?

The Norfolk broads (you probably only know from that David Bowie song life on mars) is a large group of inland waterways and broads created when medieval peat excavations were flooded to create waterways.

during the late 1800s they started using these waterways for recreational sailing and racing. Some of these yachts designed solely for the broads are in my opinion some of the prettiest sailing vessels I've ever sailed on, originally wooden but modern versions made with fibreglass.

I have sailed on the broads all my life and wanted to show you some photos of these beautiful boats as unfortunately people are less and less interested in sailing these beautiful boats and as costs go up so does maintenance especially for the wooden yachts. the people/company's that originally built these boats do not exist unfortunately.

the racing can be incredibly intense especially at the starts lines, 10+ boats along small rivers can lead to some incredible racing. I have been racing for 15+ years and it's been some of the most intense and sometimes most stressful sailing I've ever done.

I hope you enjoy