Handsome is as handsome does. Our old Volvo estate recently received a sideswipe from a white van and, after 178,000 loyal miles, the insurers decided to write it off. I was outraged. It may not be the most fuel efficient car, but, if we're trying to save the planet, scrapping a vehicle because it's got a couple of flesh wounds to its back bumper and side panel seems to be a hideous waste of resources. The energy involved in digging the iron out of the ground and making a new car will far exceed the benefit of stopping the old warrior bashing on for another 30,000 miles.
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The other side of the story is safety. I want my sons to drive around in a tank after they take their driving tests- the Volvo had their names on it. So the insurers were amazed, when, ignoring the Government's £2,000 scrappage deal to help us buy a new car, we decided to buy the bruised old Volvo back from them and have her patched up. And, £200 worth of repairs later, the old girl is back in the drive, costing me nothing and having saved a tiny bit of the planet.
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Five years of drought means there's only one conclusion for Britain's farmers: 'Climate change is real and affecting us now'The cumulative effects of the past five years of hot weather are causing chaos for farmers — and there's no signs that it will improve. Jane Wheatley reports.
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Who you gonna call to tell them about Country Life's Quiz of the Day, August 27, 2025Wednesday's quiz is out of this world, but also of this world.
