Land Rover Legend Roger Crathorne ‘Heads For The Hills’ After 50 Years Service

Whitley, UK, 27 March 2014 - Roger Crathorne, one of the best known and most highly respected Land Rover employees for more than five decades, is retiring from the company.


From Royalty, VIP customers and senior military figures to journalists from all over the world, global explorers and countless generations of company management, Roger is known simply as 'Mr Land Rover'.


As an instructor, he has passed on his vast knowledge and experience of off-road driving in the world's most inhospitable regions to thousands of people; all with passion and patience. 
Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, commented: "Roger has been instrumental in the development and promotion of Land Rover's breadth of capabilities for over half a century. His enthusiasm, vehicle knowledge and his deep understanding of the philosophy of the company, right back to the beginning, is unsurpassed. Roger has been an outstanding advocate for Land Rover, and his contribution has undoubtedly played a part in the global success we are enjoying today. He will be missed and I wish him all the best for the future."


Roger joined Land Rover in 1963 as an apprentice, but the story of his association with the company starts even earlier than that. Roger was born in 1947 in Lode Lane, Solihull at the local hospital - less than a mile from the factory where, at the exact same time, the idea for the first Land Rover was being conceived. Appropriately, 'Born in Lode Lane' became the title of his memoir, published in 2008.


After serving 15 years in engineering, and being closely involved in the development of the first Range Rover, Roger's reputation as an off-road expert came to the fore in 1978 when he became head of the company's vehicle demonstration team. The team went on to become Land Rover Experience which itself celebrates its 25^th anniversary this year. The brief was simple - to showcase the outstanding off-road capabilities of Land Rover vehicles to people of influence.

Courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover Media: http://bit.ly/1hjdEYm

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The Best 5 Road Trips in the USA

We wanted to present to you some ideas for a great road trip!

1. The Pacific Coast Highway:
 

1,700 miles along the Pacific Coast from southern California to Washington's Olympic Peninsula. The scenery is breathtaking with stops that include Hearst Castle, Big Sur, San Francisco, Point Reyes National Seashore, Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and Olympic National Park. Open the windows and enjoy the fresh air as you drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and watch giant container ships glide underneath. 

 2. Florida State Highway A1A and the Overseas Highway:

 

This 600-mile trip traces Florida's Atlantic coastline from northeast of Jacksonville to Key West. Interesting stops along the way include St. Augustine, the oldest town in the U.S. (sort of); Daytona Beach, where you can drive on the beach; Canaveral National Seashore; and the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Highway A1A meets U.S. Highway 1 in Miami. Thus begins the scenic 127-mile drive on the Overseas Highway that boasts 42 bridges, including famed Seven Mile Bridge.

3. Newfound Gap Road/Blue Ridge Parkway/Skyline Drive:
 

This seamless, leisurely drive through three national parks offers some of the East Coast's most scenic landscapes. Newfound Gap Road (32 miles long) cuts across Great Smoky Mountain National Park and connects with the Blue Ridge Parkway (469 miles), which connects with Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive (105 miles). This wonderful drive is void of billboards, traffic lights, roadside trash, and speeding 18-wheelers.

4. U.S. Highway 2: 

The northernmost U.S. highway zigzags through mountain ranges, traverses the northern Great Plains, and swings around lakes as it connects Everett, Wash., with Houlton, Maine. The entire route, including a 700-mile stretch in Canada, covers 3,300 miles. In the West it crosses the North Cascades and the Rocky Mountains. In the East it meets the Green and White mountain ranges. In between it passes through small towns with local museums and inviting coffee shops. 

5. U.S. Highway 395: 

Connecting southern California with the Canadian border, this 1,300-mile drive traverses high deserts and mountain valleys through a large portion of the scenic West. The highway runs in a north-south direction through some of the most beautiful, but uncrowded sections of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The best portion is arguably California's Owens Valley, which bisects two major mountain ranges.  

Courtesy of USA Today: http://usat.ly/1l5LsuP

How to Organize Spring Cleaning

Springtime is the traditional time to remove the winter blues from your home and make it ready for the long days of summer fun. It's also a good exercise in taking stock of your home and its contents. Just make sure that you share the work--and the credit for a job well done.

Instructions

1. Make a list of each room in the house that needs to be cleaned.
2. In each room, breakdown the individual items that need to be cleaned with a bulleted list. For instance, a kitchen might include refrigerator/freezer cleanup, silver tarnish, cabinet organizing, etc. This way, you can tackle each room piecemeal.
3. Do a double-check for items that exist independently of a specific room's list. For instance, filters in your air conditioning unit might be due for a change, or you gutters may be clogged with late winter's heavy rains.
4. Farm out responsibilities to the members of your family. If you have young children, you might give them something small to do.
5. Schedule a weekend for the spring cleaning. Make sure your family knows that this weekend is dedicated to cleaning.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the weakest cleaner first, then graduate to stronger solutions when needed. This way you're least likely to harm surfaces with harsh, inappropriate cleaners.
• Pop moist sponges in the microwave oven for 20 seconds to kill germs.
• Spring cleaning is also a great time to change out your wardrobe. Wash and pack away winter clothes, and break out the short sleeves and beach towels.
• Stock up on trash bags, boxes, cleaning supplies and rags.

(courtesy of eHow)