I have just invested in a set of Winter tyres for my car, some people think that it is a expensive exercise to put winter tyres on their vehicle however due to decreased wear on your summer tyres, and the rotation between your 2 sets, over the ownership of your vehicle the tyre purchasing averages out, making winter tyres a option for the colder conditions if you plan it all well.

I am also interested in the performance of the tyres over a typical UK Winter it's not law here in the UK to fit winter tyres, unlike many of our European counterparts, with the mixed warmer and colder winters. We can experience any conditions from sub zero freezing, snow, heavy snow, frosts, ice, hail, rain, lots of it and warm days mixed in so we can reliabley say UK winters are all seasons mixed into a few short months. I potentially travel all over the UK through work over the winter so there is lots of potential to hit lots of mixed conditions in all regions of the UK.

I have opted for a set of Bridgestone Blizzak winter tyres to fit to my Mini Countryman Cooper SD ALL4, this is a hybrid SUV small to medium car but with the advantage of 4 wheel drive.

Which tyres to select ? Well I went with the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 winter tyres, non runflat, in a 195/60 R16 89 H M+S marked tyres, mainly because these matched the vehicle manufactures tyre advice plate fitted in the doorframe of the vehicle.

The advantage of a winter tyre is that they will provide better grip than their summer counterparts in temperatures below 8deg C. This is due to the compound of the rubber being developed specially for cooler temps, also they have better handling on snowy and icy roads as well as wet conditions, the blizzak tyre has a special design to help in these conditions with the specially computer designed tread pattern with high silica content lens shape blocks with honeycomb sipes on the shoulder blocks for premium performance.

Well we have had the 1st few cold days as this is typed and the tyres have just been fitted, so lets see how the winter goes and I will review then once they have ungone some miles on the road.

Well after a serious lack of climbing facilities in the East Midlands suddenly they arrive like Buses, all at once or nothing at all.

After a lengthy abcence from Climbing now that two top class bouldering facilities have arrived, I felt it was time to dust off the shoes and see if it is possible to re-kindle the power and climbing strength that I had back in my youth over 18 years ago.

So 2 weeks back and I hurt everywhere lots but I feel I may be able to limber my way back to some sort of decent form ?

The two walls are The Climbing Depot (Nottingham) & The Climbing Station (Loughborough) both have their plus and minus points but both unique in their own way, offering quite varied climbing styles and options for two bouldering walls.

I took a quick bit of Mobile film of the Depot Nottingham built in a old Tram station, it is a spectacular building and shows some interesting history.