Littleport man finds Sinclair C5 on Facebook and drives it on the road
An unusual mode of transport has been turning heads after it was restored to its "former glory". Mark Robinson from Littleport in Cambridgeshire said he had spent the last few years restoring a tiny, electrically powered tricycle-like vehicle. The Sinclair C5 was invented by British entrepreneur Clive Sinclair in 1985 and has a pedal-assisted electric motor.Mr Robinson, 49, takes his restored vehicle onto the roads and said the invention had been "ahead of its time," and was called "cool by the youth of today".
Mr Robinson bought the vehicle - affectionately named Clive - on Facebook Marketplace in 2021 before he revamped it.He said the tyres were ruined, it was black and he had to 3D print the rear indicators due to price and availability for the model. "In 1985, in my opinion, the world wasn't quite ready for electric vehicles," Mr Robinson said. "They looked like nothing else that was out there, and people weren't quite aware of that sort of genre of vehicle."He added that Clive moved at about 14 mph and could travel about 12 miles on a decent charge. Mr Robinson said he had been impressed with its range and drivability, adding it also received lots of smiles, waves and "looks of bafflement" from younger generations. He remembered the first time he saw the invention at a Cambridge electrical shop in January 1985."It was a demonstrator, you couldn't drive it or anything like that, but you could sit in and have your photo taken, and that was my first time in one. "I was impressed, it was a fun thing to see."
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Then he met the exam guru People say that exams are getting easier — but I bet they never had to sit 27 of them in just a few weeks. It was a more intense experience than I had prepared for. Sometimes I sat three exams in one day, which is quite a lot for a 15-year-old. (I don't turn 16 until mid-July.) Here is the diary I kept of my GCSE journey. My first exam is English literature paper one. It's one hour and 45 minutes, but I get 25% extra time because I was diagnosed with ADHD at the start of the year — so for me it's just over two hours. GCSEs are graded 1 (the lowest) to 9 (the highest), with 5 being a strong pass. Going into the exam at 8.40am, I feel quite stressed and think about how the result of this will determine where I go to sixth form — I need 5s in Maths and English to get into my first choice. But when I get into the exam hall and see the questions on Frankenstein and Macbeth I relax a little. Though I do struggle with the silence: the exam hall is unnervingly quiet which makes my anxiety worse. On Tuesday it's four hours of religious education and the first of my biology papers. It is a relief to begin counting down the number of exams. On Thursday my first maths exam begins at 8.40am. I need a high pass to get into the sixth form of my choice. I was worried this additional pressure would make me panic but I'm happy with how it went. I end the week with my first history paper: 'Medicine Through Time' — another two hours — but again, it goes really well. Mum said I could let my hair down a bit over the weekend so I'm seeing friends. My girlfriend lives in Warwickshire (we're in London) so we can't see each other much during exams, which I am finding tough. But once they're done we'll have the entire summer. A bit of a disaster over the weekend. I asked Mum whether my friend could stay over on Saturday night and we played on the Xbox until 4am. Mum heard us and was furious, so despite my late night I got up at 8.30am on Sunday to revise chemistry. On Sunday afternoon, I went to the library with friends to study. We went to the chicken shop on the high street. Big mistake! By the time I got home I was feeling really sick and Mum thought I must have food poisoning. I'm still feeling ill this morning so Mum calls the school to warn them. I sit my first chemistry exam with a bucket next to my desk. On Tuesday, English literature paper two could not have gone better, but things take another bad turn on Wednesday when I wake up screaming. I often have panic attacks through the night but thankfully, this was just a bad dream. Today I have French reading and listening, then later in the week a second RE exam on Judaism. • How to talk to your children about exams On Thursday, Physics paper one — the hardest so far — and English language paper one. In the afternoon I can chill out a bit. Halfway through now, and time for half-term. 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The extended hell of GCSE exam season I'm happy with how I handled the exams, but I think exams and the curriculum needs to change to reflect what's going on in the world a bit more. I don't feel like some of the stuff I learned is going to really help me in life. I am keeping everything crossed for the results I need to do A-levels in business, history and politics. In the meantime I am going to enjoy my free time, my friends and the longest of summer holidays — ten whole weeks.
