ME AND MY MOTOR-WILLIAM BOYCE

(Click on the title for a link to the Donegal Vintage and Classic car club)

Name:William Boyce
Address:Creeslough
Car: 1969 Ford Cortina estate 1.6

William loves his Ford Cortina and I am not surprised as he has known the car since it was new. The car has only clocked up 38,000 miles. The reason for the ultra low mileage is that the family that originally owned it only used the car for trips to the airport and fishing trips. The car still has the tax holder showing the original garage where the car was purchased. Friels have long gone and the telephone numbers in the area are now more than one digit!

How long have you had the car?
I bought it from the first owners, the Franklins from Rathmullan more than ten years ago.

What got you interested in old cars?
I have always been interested in old cars.

Did you restore the car yourself?
Yes. The whole project has taken more than four and a half years. The car is as clean underneath as the bodywork. The interior is still original and it only needed a top-notch valet to bring it back to its original condition. The engine is all original too

Any plans to change?
Absolutely not! (I tried to offer William some money and he is telling the truth!) I have a long history with this car and I am not prepared to lose that.

Is it reliable?
Yes, the car is like new.

Best thing about the car?
I like the fact that the car has been local to this area all of its life. Originally the car was built in the Ford plant in Cork so it is all Irish. Being an estate makes it very rare indeed!

How often do you wash it?
Every time it comes out of the garage.

If you were the Minister for Finance what would you do to help motorists?
The favourites such as VRT and fuel tax to be reduced.

What would you really like to be driving around in?
I don’t know if you have noticed but I am driving it already!

Motoring.

ROSSPORT FIVE

(This article is time sensitive. Click on the title for a link to the Shell to Sea website where you can read an update about this and the Corrib pipeline)

Oil and gas is a finite resource and is quickly becoming more expensive to get out of the ground. Our usage is growing at a phenomenal rate and this supply and demand imbalance is causing prices to shoot up (Note the price of petrol next time you fill your car up!) The people in Rossport, Erris, Co Mayo know more than most just what length oil and natural gas producers will go to get the product onto our shores at the lowest possible cost. Five farmers known as the Rossport five, are spending their third week in Cloverhill prison accused of obstructing work on a pipeline that is cutting through their land. Shell oil, the major shareholders in this project, has, the men claimed already started the preliminary work to lay the pipes. Shell were given consent to bring pipes to the area but not to start welding them together which is what they have apparently started doing. The Rossport five are now being taken very seriously and claim that they are not against the production of oil itself, just the fact that the pipeline will run directly through their land. There are some that say that oil and gas companies have been doing this for years and no-one bat an eyelid, but public awareness is changing and the last thing you need to see are pipes carrying high pressure gas running past the bottom of your garden. The Corrib oil field was a huge asset to Ireland but was allegedly given away in the 1980’s to three major oil companies. One issue that is really getting up peoples noses is the fact that these multinationals can exploit the natural resources and not pay a cent in royalties to the State. It will be interesting to see if any compromises are made between the farmers, oil companies and the government

Environmental.

DUMPED VEGETABLES

(Click on the title for a link to the Soil Association)

Supermarket stocks of fruit and vegetables look as though they never came from the great outdoors, according to a report from the Soil Association that was released recently. Farmers are being forced to throw away up to a third of their stock because it doesn’t meet up to exacting standards of the big food retailers. The supermarkets claim that they are only following consumer trends and people do not want to see dirt or blemishes on their fruit and veg. Growers must now undergo quality checks such as a skin brightness test for spuds, apples undergo a crispness test and then cauliflowers undergo a three page document checking they come in a size between 12cm-16cm and have no more than two spots or blemishes on each leaf. A study commissioned by Biffa, England’s leading waste and recycling company found that of the 5 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables imported or grown for supermarkets ends up in the landfill. Take into account that there was a survey out recently that said households throw away at least 40% of their food. That taken into consideration nearly 75% of fruit and vegetables that are grown for the consumer ends up in the bin!

Environmental.

RECYCLING IN CARNDONAGH

The opening times for the centre in Carn are:
Monday 8:30 to 4:30
Weds 8:30-4:30
Sat 8:30-4:30

UPDATE ON CARNDONAGH RECYCLING FACILITY

I had some feedback to my plight about not being able to find the recycling facility in Carndonagh last week. Some people sympathised, saying that it wasn’t very well signposted. I am pleased to report that this problem will soon be rectified as new signs are on order. These should be in place by the New Year. Apparently the old signs were removed when the relief road was built.

RECYCLING IN CARNDONAGH
This week David Friel, the Recycling Officer, based in Lifford, offered me a tour of the facility. Of course, being nosy, I was happy to go and see what is happening in the world of recycling, locally. Before you ask, yes I did manage to find my way!

The first thing that struck me about the recycling centre was just how clean and well laid out it is. As you enter there is an office where you can go for assistance should you need to be pointed in the right direction. There are skips and containers for everything that can be recycled and the first visit could be a bit daunting. One comment I had from an e-mail, was that you had to be a certain height to be able to reach the openings for the plastic and paper skips. This is true, but just ask the staff for help and they will be more than happy to throw it in for you (they will be discreet and not mention how many empty bottles of wine you are recycling)!

After you go past the paper and plastic skips there are brand new, purpose built skips for old electrical items such as old televisions, stereos and fires. Then there is another skip for larger electrical appliances such as cookers.

Fridges, on the other hand have to be treated differently. These contain C.F.C. gas, which depletes the ozone layer. The gas is in the foam as well as the pipes in the back so the whole appliance has to be treated with care. Until recently it would have cost the government €50 per fridge to dispose of it safely. That cost is down to about €14 per fridge, which is better, but think how much the overall cost will be to safely dispose of all the old fridges in Ireland. It will be worth it though as it will be better than seeing fridges dumped in the hills!

There are also containers for fluorescent bulbs, old car and lorry batteries, old oil, bottles and cans and clothing all of which can be recycled. It brings home the fact that if you were to divide up your weekly rubbish into these different categories, then you would have so little waste that it would take weeks to fill a carrier bag. There are a couple of things missing though. Firstly there isn’t an area for recycling organic waste such as vegetable peelings and things from the garden such as hedge clippings or cut grass. The good news is that the centre does supply compost bins for €13 though so you can take one home in the back of the car and set it up in your own garden.

There isn’t a facility to cater for old tyres yet. These are the favourite item to put on the bonfires and are very toxic when burned. Some can be made into garden swings and containers to put your spuds and strawberries in but they do pose a problem when it comes to disposing of them safely. I have heard that they can make great houses when stacked properly and filled with rubble. Another use for them is to build sea defences. The council have been looking into this but at present the coast of Donegal appears to be a bit too rugged. Recycling tyres probably won’t be cheap and the cost of this will eventually have to be included in the price of the new tyre.

The centre is open three days a week: - Monday, Wednesday and Saturday the opening times on these days are from 8:30am until 4:30pm. Next time you are in Carndonagh, why not make use of these facilities!


PLASTIC CONTAINERS AND PACKAGING
The skip at the centre can take ALL types of plastic. All that is asked of you is that the plastic is flattened and washed out first before it is pushed into the skips. Containers such as those that hold liquids are all air as you can imagine, so far more can be fitted into the skips when they are flat. The reason for washing them is to deter vermin.

UPDATE

See more about the charging issues

New charges from May 2009....you will not be happy...

20th March 2010 The latest FREE day on offer highlights the need for the centre to be FREE every day

Horticultural.