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<p>It's been a busy couple of weeks. The middle of last week found me driving down to Stamford to meet up with an ex work colleague. We talked about current innovations in local government but I didn't hear anything of significance to make me think there were any great changes likely. The use of AI in areas like social care could make a huge difference to the admin of the service but, sadly, this isn't being considered in Northamptonshire.</p>
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<p> I took the Porsche to give it a run out. The weather wasn't brilliant but the drive back along the back roads of Lincolnshire was fun.</p>
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<p>I met with my college friends at Wentworth Woodhouse. It was cold but not raining. We had coffee in the café followed by a light lunch. Afterwards we walked down from the house through the estate. As always it was fun to catch up with old friends.</p>
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<p>I used the Kia because on an 80% charge it was enough to get me there and back easily.</p>
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<p>This week I travelled down to Wellingborough to have lunch with Helene and her daughters which is a round trip of 200+ miles. I decided to stop at a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://forecourttrader.co.uk/latest-news/bp-pulse-opens-its-fastest-most-powerful-and-largest-ev-charging-hub/676929.article" target="_blank">BP Pulse Hub</a> just off the A14.</p>
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<p>Despite the sleet I managed to get the process started however I did have a problem stopping the charge when I had topped up enough. I had to ask the one other person who was using the system. Thankfully together we managed to cancel the charge and remove the plug from the car socket. I'm not sure what, if anything, I did wrong so I couldn't learn from the experience.</p>
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<p>I've come to the conclusion that I need to do more charging away from home to get used to the different charging systems. This is the early days of EV "pumps" so there is no conformity. Let's hope things will become similar in time. How long did it take for petrol pumps to be the same?</p>
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<p>Lunch at the <a href="https://www.thecherrytreeolney.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cherry Tree in Olney</a> was delightful - good company and good food.</p>
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<p>My journey home from Wellingborough in the dark when it was sleeting was interesting. I wasn't sure I had enough charge. In theory I had 35 miles spare but that surplus was slowly eaten away and I arrived home with 29 miles left in the batteries. I understand range anxiety.</p>
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