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February 14th, 2010


9863823









Hi Dave,
 
I am delighted to let you know that your photo (BMW Alpina)
has been selected for inclusion in the newly released tenth
edition of our Schmap Frankfurt Guide:
 
IAA - Internationale Automobil Ausstellung
http://www.schmap.com/frankfurt/entertainment_bockenheim/p=109894/i=109894_24.jpg

Thanks so much for letting us include your photo - please
enjoy the guide!
 
Best regards,
 
Claire Evans
Editor, Schmap Guides



julia_bradburyJanuary 13th - Kind wishes

Dear Dave

Thanks for your nice email - how lovely of you to write. Kill It Cook It usually causes a few ripples and not everyone admires me for 'participating in the slaughtering of animals' ! Good luck with your writing and I hope you have fulfilling 2010.

Best wishes
Julia Bradbury






November 26th - Network Publications for Ribble Valley


DSCF1003

























September 9th - New Member of Suite 101

"Suite101 is a 12 year old general interest online magazine that boasts over 1,200 writers, 140,000 articles
and 8 million monthly readers."

Suite101

http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/daveswinfen


 September 4th - September Storm

Hi all

My September is now well and truly full.  I have a Nissan 370Z and BMW 330i Coupe on test, the Frankfurt Motor Show to attend, and the pre-release copy of my first novel going out for initial impression.

I would not swap my life for anything.  See you on the other side.

Dave


August 20th - A cover slot with 2 Magazine for August 09

2mga_cover_issue




21st July - Helping hand

Being based in Warwickshire, I know most of us tend to fly out of Brum Airport when we need to go on trips abroad.  I hope you all can check out the following site, which is an absolute gold mine:

Airport Parking

Car Hire

Brilliant!  I'm flying out of Birmingham in September to cover the Frankfurt Motor Show, and this site is a huge help.

Dave



11th July, 2009 - 2 Magazine

Hi guys

Just a quick note to say that I have added a page to showcase my work with the amazing 2-Magazine during 2009.

http://www.catalina.me.uk/2-magazine_40.html

(Oh, and finally a decent Quali result for Lewi at Nurburg!).




dreamstime

6th July, 2009 - Renault WC Silverstone

Thanks to Kate, Matt and Maysam for attending this weekend's Renault World Series at Silverstone.  A good day out for the money (err, nothing), and it was very, very hot.

Commiserations to young Mansell for the slight "off".  The only plus point was that we were sat in the Luffield stand next to it!




2nd July, 2009 - TV adverts

A genuine note I have left on the ITV.com customer website:

"I tried to watch `The Gathering Storm' on your ITV3 channel last night, and could only view 15 minutes of it each hour.  Do you plan on fitting any programming around your advertising in future?"




2nd July, 2009 - Yoghurts

A genuine note I have left on the Activia customer comments website:

"Be honest.  Bifidus Irregularis is not a real protein.  You just made that up to take money from thick yoghurt buyers."




9th June 2009 - Guides Network

If you plan on flying to or from Birmingham this year, check out this brilliant website for a wealth of info on one of the country's least stressful departure points:

Birmingham Airport Guide




28th May 2009

An article I have written for the excellent Banking Guide website:

Banking guide




22nd May 2009

An article I have written for the informative Car Insurance Guide:

Insurance guide




18th May, 2009

Here is a contributory road test from my housemate Pete:

mi(10)

 words can't quite describe how much i hate the 207.
 
i can now see what you mean by steering feel, or lack of. you can feel about as much as a NHS condom..
 
the power is laughable, and the gearstick is looser than a chavvy teenage mother of 4, the clutch/gearbox? is so fuuuucking slow, have to wait a second or so before you're back on the power. its a joke.
 
when in first gear, you can pritty much spin the wheel like its not attached to anything and maybe, just maybe the wheels might move a single degree.
 
arghhh..  got to drive this bright red 4 door girly gutless souless piece of s**t for minimum end of week.
 
unbelievable.




25th April 2009

My Beloved SDi has been featured on the MG Rover forums.  I was asked if they were able to publish my article, and of course I could not say no!

[http://www.75andztclub.com/showthread.php?s=ff563253c3f88304a2c7c8c4a9680877&p=2979618#post2979618]




21st April, 2009 - Thank You

I would just like to thank all those who have sent messages of encouragement to me regarding my redundancy.  It is nice to be missed by those who I count as both former colleagues and friends.  In many ways it has been a blessing in disguise as it has enabled me to explore my free time to write, which I did not have before. 

I will shortly be able to announce some new magazine tie-ups for 2009, and I just wanted to thank everyone, especially my kind family, for their support.

Dave.




10th March, 2009 - Kicking off

Dear all

I am turning the guestbook into a blog page, but still please feel free to contribute.  I thought I would kick off proceedings with a letter I have penned this morning to the Leamington Observer:


"I read with interest Ian Hughes' report on the reduction of speed camera signs in Warwickshire.  Like most readers I am left baffled and annoyed by this proposal.  Regular posting of speed limits and camera warning signs encourage us to reduce speed, and any move towards reducing the number of signs can only be interpreted as a sneaky and underhand way to increase further the amount of revenue being squeezed from already ill-treated motorists.
One must take this view when considering the fact that the move to reduce signs coincides with the timely decison to reduce many speed limits from 60 to 50.   I would suggest that some bright spark has sat there, done the maths and realised just how much revenue there is to be gleaned over the next 12 months from ensnaring unsuspecting motorists with this devious tactic.  This of course offers a far more tangible gains for the council than merely making the roads safer.

It is obviously not enough that we pay purchase tax on aquiring a vehicle, pay tax again to register it for road use, pay tax again annually to use it on a public road, pay tax again per mile of usage by way of the most expensive fuel in the world, pay taxes on top of our servicing costs and insurance fees and pay tax to park in our town centres.  The recession has only been in full swing for six months, so there is obviously more to eak from our diminishing wallets.

Driving at a moderate pace on the Fosse Way without fear of being locked away and fed on a meal of porridge oats and tap water is currently one of our remaining joyful sins, in this otherwise repressed and overburdened epoch.  Once more I fear that this move represents a further ratching-down of civil liberties upon reasonable and considerate folk, in favour of covering a shortfall in next years fiscal budget. "

Dave Swinfen, Leamington Spa


 
Name: Steve Leadbetter
   
Country: UK 
 		 Date: 4 Oct 2008 11:42:11 GMT

Comment: Just more pictures of cars on there, maybe get the lamborghini gallardo LP640 as it is a rare car, maybe the TVR Tuscan, ferrari 360 spider, Lotus 11, Ford GT, Mustang GT 500 and maybe even the classic 67' Mustang and even some articles on them cars, would you be able to do that? thanx dave!

Steve



Name: Pete Rowan
   
Country: UK 
 		 Date: 5 Oct 2008 15:48:22 GMT

Comment: What do you think of the ALFA ROMEO GT 1.9 JTD? Thinking of buying an 04 one. cheers

Hi Pete. 

The GT is a peachy and svelte looking thing, in an  "outside the Italian Espresso Bistro" sort of way.  Alfa claims it can seat five, but predictably the rear seating is quite cramped.  Engine choices are limited to the ancient 2-litre twin spark petrol, or the more modern 1.9 Diesel, which is definitely the one to have - it's soulful, smooth and offers excellent economy.  I would not like to make any peace of mind guarantees regarding the build quality however, but if you bide your time and choose a dealer who is offering 6-12 months warranty, you should be consequentially bereft of having to deal with the incredibly bad UK Alfa dealer network.  Good luck with this! 

Dave

Name: Jenny Williams

 
Country: UK 
 		 Date: 17 Oct 2008 17:06:47 GMT

Comment: Dave The site is well layed out and has everything it needs on there. Looks good! :) JEnx


Name: Dod McKnight

 
Country: SCOTLAND, UK 
 		 Date: 20 Oct 2008 08:42:57 GMT

Comment: Good work Dave, some nice pics there, even one of Dave Turley with a very happy grin inside the Porsche! I'm working on a wee site at the moment for a local rally driver, so will send you a link once it's up and running. A' the best dude and keep up the good work. Dod McKnight


Name: Beata Berzediova
   
Country: SLOVAKIA   
 Date: 23 Oct 2008 15:20:51 GMT

Comment: Hi Dave, your page is really good, like it so much..will definitely show to people who love cars.. GOOD LUCK!!! B x


Name: Tony H
   
Country: UK 
 		 Date: 8 Nov 2008 19:49:05 GMT

Comment: good to see good rhetoric, i think its because you have a real passion, cant wait to see this column in say 12 months, well done


Name: Barry Statham
   
Country: ENGLAND 
 		 Date: 12 Nov 2008 11:14:51 GMT

Comment: Hi Dave You mention about your £230K Kompressor, but no write up on it. I am the proud owner of this beast of a machine and also a premiership footballer and your site is wicked. I look forward to your write up geezer. Nice one Baz


Name: Dave T.
   
Country: UK   
 Date: 28 Dec 2008 11:12:07 GMT

Comment: Hey Dave, Thanks for the advice and yes you are right the Land Rover is a much better buy than the Cayenne and more practical. As for the 911 I took your advice on that one also and bought the manual not the PDK.

Name: Baret
   
Country:  
Date: 10 Jan 2009 15:26:04 GMT

Comment: Hi Dave What is most exotic car you buy in your life and what did you like about it most? like site much, Baret


Dear Baret

 

Thank you for your kind words about my site, and thanks also for the question.  Good one.....

 

I’m on my eighth car currently, and it’s my first ever diesel, so I’ve probably strayed as far from exotic right now as it’s possible to go.  However, if we take exotic to mean “Royal Ballache” or “Parts are expensive,” it would definitely be the Alfa Romeo GTV 2-litre. 


My car was unusual as it had a carbon airbox and a Momo interior.  The seats were blood red, and the carpets were a Devil red too.  It was a gorgeous object;  not particularly fast, but everywhere it went, it seemed to sing to anyone who would listen.  As you drove through a town centre, it would howl at passers-bay, as if to say, “look at me, I’ve got red carpets.”

Unfortunately, the more exotic a machine tends to be, the more catastrophic and financially ruinous the results.  It definitely had an exotic temperament.  In the winter the door barrels, which were seated deep into the door skins, would freeze solid, and seal me inside the car.  The only way to physically get out was to drive to a friend’s house and phone them and ask them to bring some boiling water outside to unfreeze the locks.  The ECU would regularly forget what it was supposed to do and just open the throttle fully.  This was quite alarming when you’re on Kensington High Street in second gear in heavy traffic.  It finally died one morning on the M1, when it shot an arm through the crank and exploded in a 125mph fireball.  I think you could actually see the smoke trail from space using a modestly-equipped satellite.

 

It was a terrible car, but God I miss it....

Name: Alex Hall
   
Country: GREAT BRITAIN (WELL USED TO BE) 

 		 Date: 30 Jan 2009 19:33:52 GMT

Comment: yo dude only just managed to upload your new site it's awesome! i have the petrol version of your car at the moment, it's nearly due for it's 3rd head gasket. keep in touch bro Alex.



 
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