I find it strange that despite Coventry being the birthplace of the British Motor Industry, it is not a very car friendly city. There are a lot of strangely designed junctions with strange restrictions on them. Near where we live, there are:

• The junction with Melbourne Road and Spon end - no right turn from either direction.
• Hearsall Lane, no left turn onto Allesley Old Road
• Queensland Avenue, no left turn onto Hearsall Lane
• Broomfield Road, no right turn onto Albany Road
• Broad Lane, no right turn onto the A45, which brings us to...
• The strange 'island' full of fast food eateries next to Sainsburys which you need to go all the way around to get onto the A45 if you want to go towards Birmingham
• Junction 4 of the Ring Road where you turn onto the slip road to stay on the Ring Road
• Added 3/11/06: A roundabout on the A444 where you can never leave if you try to obey the 'no left turn' signs on all the exits

One of the worst junctions though has to be Toll Bar End, near the airport where the A45 and A46 meet. This is one of the busiest roundabouts in the midlands, and is quite horrible to drive around. There are far too many lanes and it is nearly always busy so if you're not in the right lane early enough it can be difficult to navigate around.

The image below is from Google Maps and shows the junction as it is at the moment. Thankfully, there are plans to replace it with a 'grade separated' junction where the main carriageway goes straight through so the roundabout would only be needed to switch roads.

Based on a recipe in the Mail on Sunday 'You' magazine.
To make the base:

• 170g/6oz butter
• 75g/2½oz sugar
• 100g/3½oz ground almonds
• 150g/5oz plain flour

Use a food processor to mix everything together until it all sticks together into one lump. Put into a well buttered baking tray (approx 6x6 inches) and press flat. Put into the fridge to chill for around 1 hour. Prick the base all over with a fork and bake for ¾ hour on gas mark 3 (around 150°C). Leave to cool while you prepare the topping.

To make the topping:

• 200g bar of plain chocolate
• 200ml double cream
• 100g macadamia nuts

Break the chocolate into chunks and slowly melt over a pan of boiling water. Beat in the cream until well mixed. Pour the topping over the base and generously scatter the macadamia nuts, pressing them gently into the chocolate (you don't want them to fall off when you eat it). Cover and put in the fridge for a couple of hours before cutting into very small fingers (at least 12-15 servings). Warning: this is loaded with calories. Depending on the cream and chocolate, up to 300 calories per serving!

I think our back garden somehow attracts the wind. A couple of weeks ago the plastic table was found upside down in the bushes at the far end of the lawn. I hung some laundry out this afternoon and it must have got windy after I went back indoors because about half an hour later I looked out of the window and the clothes horse had blown over. I moved it to near the back door where it shouldn't be too windy and went back inside. Shortly afterwards I looked outside again and the clothes horse had blown over for a 2nd time and my shirts had blown off the clothes line and were lying in the bushes. Thankfully they didn't need washing again.