Scheme For Thought - Elan Mehler Quartet

The M100 Lotus Elan: a classic roadster

Advantages: Classic good looks and affordable rag-top fun
Disadvantages: Leak-prone hood

Having just sold my 1990 "Lotus Racing Green" Lotus Elan S1, I thought I'd share my experience of owing this ground-breaking car. The Lotus brief was a two-seater roadster that would appeal to the American market. With this in mind, it's easy to see why the cabin appears so spacious - American's don't like to be cramped! The windscreen is shallow-angled and you get the feeling of being in a much larger car as the dashboard stetches away in front of you. The driving position is "proper sportscar", low slung but extremely comfortable - the drivers seat on some examples can benefit from minor TLC having been subjected to ten years or more of use. The comforting smell of fibreglass as you enter the cabin is one common to all Lotus', but on particularly damp days, can be overridden by the gentle waft of damp carpet! I've never met ...

fallon005 16.08.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Lotus Elan

Its' OK, I suppose - PURE Elan DX40 DAB/FM Radio

Advantages: Not many - it looks good anyway
Disadvantages: handle too heavy, controls t and display too small

Bought this because my old FM radio was going home, thinking that it would be great BUT................ it's a bit like digital TV - not as good as you thought it was going to be. The radio itself looks good; very modern steel grey coloured but controls are very small and information on the TINY screen is very small too. The steel (?) carrying handle is too heavy for the radio, actually and drops down with a 'clonk' if you forget about it. Sound quality is OK most of the time, but, really it is not that good. Suppose I could buy a Bose and spend a few hundred pounds but why should you have to anyway? The following is not the fault of the radio, but digital in general in my opinion is rubbish -give me the old Light Programme (pre FM) we didn't have any signal interruptions on that (I know the airwaves are busier now ...

judylugg 22.06.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Pure Digital ELAN

Earthsea Quartet

Advantages: Fantastically realised world, focused plot
Disadvantages: Minimalist detail, not a cohesive collection

The Earthsea Quartet compiles Ursula Le Guin's first four novels set in the Iron Age styled world of Earthsea. The first three books of the original trilogy were published over four years, from 1968 to 1972. A fourth book was released in 1990, erroneously subtitled the last tale of Earthsea but it ended up being the springboard for further tales. The four books are set in the known lands of Earthsea; made up of a central archipelago encircled by four polar reaches and the Kargad Lands. Areas outside the provided map are unknown; however a land of the dragons is speculated to exist in the far west. Earthsea is mostly populated by a dark-browned skinned people. The white Kargs are given a slightly more barbaric presentation than other races, shown to be less literate and superstitious of the practise of magic. Different characters from ...

pigeon_of_doom 08.05.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Earthsea Quartet - Ursula K.Le Guin