Tread carefully

Those people kind enough to visit this page regularly will remember that I was extolling the virtues of train travel vis a vis road hell only two days ago.

They might have surmised that I did not own a car. However, that is not the case. There are times when I have to have four wheels to do what I need to do - ironically, this includes having to reach the station, 11 miles away, every weekday morning.

And having a car means having to have an easily accessible credit card. It was back in business today! I'm using it so much at the moment, it's rather like playing a giant game with most of Gloucestershire's traders.

I was warned a few weeks ago that there was not a huge amount of life left in my front tyres and, in the past couple of days, when the heavens opened, I realised that the time had come.

Navigating a wet roundabout on low tread is disconcerting - the sudden realisation your tyres are not going to hold is rather like the feeling you get when you step on the soap in the shower.

Anyway, here is one of my new tyres in all its glory, with lots of colourful stripes and sexy deep tread. Gripping stuff!