118. Fuel prices

9th February 2011. As we're away for a few days next week, we went to Dancharia, probably the closest part of Spain from here, to fill up the car with diesel. Haven't mentioned diesel prices for a while but today we paid 1.20€/litre - which, in UK £ sterling, equates to £1.02/litre, or for US readers $6.20 per US gallon. This was the highest it's been for a while so I thought I'd look at what motorists in other countries are paying at the moment..

According to this web site, US consumers are getting a terrific deal on gas prices - with US prices averaging out at only 56% of the price in Spain.

In France, I saw diesel at 1.27€/litre this morning. The price for unleaded according to this appears to be ~1.47€ (£1.25) which is very close to the UK mean..

Meanwhile, motorists in the UK must be getting used to the taste of willow in the back of their throats by now (the result of a cricket bat being forcibly inserted somewhere!) - I've just checked out the current UK petrol & diesel prices from here and they made my eyes water.. unleaded £1.27.9/litre & diesel £1.31.9/litre. Take a deep breath because this works out at $7.76/US gallon for unleaded and a whopping $8.01/US gallon for diesel.

Returning home, the car was telling us that it was 21°C.

10th February 2011. Dropped Madame off at the hairdressers in Biarritz this morning. There was a light mist rolling in off the sea which gave everything a soft focus look in the sunshine. It was a warm 22°C.

Went for a ride along the Nive this evening - as far as Villefranque.. (20km)

Another Sinatra classic - this time from 1957 - that's 62 years ago if you're counting..

  

If YouTube block it here, listen to it on YouTube.

Made in '83, "Local Hero" was a low budget film set in Scotland (and yes, that is Burt Lancaster!) that has since turned into a minor cult classic. Mark Knopfler wrote some memorable music for the soundtrack.. In case you missed it when it was first screened, take a look at the trailer. It's worth tracking down a copy.