The Night Mail

[Happy Hippo]

6 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

The Boss had that with his Merc:

"Stick a new battery on it"

"Oh no, Sir - we'll have to put it on the diagnostic first.....at £150....plus VAT....."

This is where you need a PH  such as mine.

 

Vehicle maintenance only costs me the parts (which he gets considerable discount upon) and a rather large amount of tea/coffee and cake.

[Happy Hippo]

Skip to 25:42 to see a one on one briefing.

 

Is it Dave?

 

Dashing, red(dish) hair, snazzy cravat.

[Northmoor]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear angle:  Does the leaky injector affect the running/screw the mpg/could cause damage/risk a breakdown?  If not then it doesn't matter.  As for pads and discs, if this is a main dealer then you'd save a packet going to an independent/good tyre place.  "Good" doesn't include Kwikfit, by the way....

I've used Kwikfit a few times without complaint and I'm usually wary of big chains for many things.

As all customers' names, addresses and car details are on their system, they've moved on a lot from the stories of people being routinely told their "rear shocks needed doing".  Except when (perhaps apocryphally) one guy was told this, let them change both shocks then produced the receipt from when they'd changed them six months previously.

[J. S. Bach]

"Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe. All mimsy were the borogove"

 

My spellcheck gives this: "Twas brill and the slithery toes did gore and gamble in the wale. All whimsy were the grooves" Note that there were several choices for some of the words.

[laurenceb]

Makes a change, most spell checkers change sensible sentences into garbage

[SM42]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

 

As all customers' names, addresses and car details are on their system, they've moved on a lot from the stories of people being routinely told their "rear shocks needed doing".  Except when (perhaps apocryphally) one guy was told this, let them change both shocks then produced the receipt from when they'd changed them six months previously.

 

I've told this story before,  but I had a similar experience with an advisory for changing the brakes for 3 consecutive services. 48000 miles later at service number 4 they were declared to be fine

 

Andy

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

I've used Kwikfit a few times without complaint and I'm usually wary of big chains for many things.

As all customers' names, addresses and car details are on their system, they've moved on a lot from the stories of people being routinely told their "rear shocks needed doing".  Except when (perhaps apocryphally) one guy was told this, let them change both shocks then produced the receipt from when they'd changed them six months previously.

On Belgium's cobbled streets, that's about right for a set of rear shock absorbers on a Ford Fiasco.

[SM42]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

Skip to 25:42 to see a one on one briefing.

 

Is it Dave?

 

Dashing, red(dish) hair, snazzy cravat.

 

The ejector seat at around 24.00 is a bit old fashioned 

Pull the handle to open the roof and climb over the side.  

 

A phantom apparently has "overdrive" but no supercharger mentioned

Still have to roll it over to dive so you don't starve the carburettor then 

 

Stick it in 5th old boy and off you go. 

 

I'm sure one of our number could clarify 

 

Andy

 

[PhilJ W]

I found this clip that might be the one that Dave mentioned.

 

[simontaylor484]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Skip to 25:42 to see a one on one briefing.

 

Is it Dave?

 

Dashing, red(dish) hair, snazzy cravat.

The Chipmunk part brings back.memories of flying in them from 9Aef from Finningley when I was in the Air Cadets. The film was very much in the style of the briefing video  we had to watch every time we went. The parachutes were the same too except they seemed to pull.on the shoulder straps so you couldn't stand upright.

Loved the Mess cocktail.party so kitsch and captured the zeitgeist with the frocks and the cocktail sausages.

[simontaylor484]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

I found this clip that might be the one that Dave mentioned.

 

Great footage of the Shackleton and the Soviet Bomber Tu16?  I know it's not a Tu 95 Bear. I wasn't sure if they said it was a flanker which is an Su27 fighter of I remember correctly

[pH]

6 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

I acquired a set of sporks as an unsolicited wedding present in 1974, from my least-favourite aunt and uncle. They are still in daily use. 

I have an image of elderly relatives employed as servants!

[PhilJ W]

Found this on Farcebook, enjoy.

 

[Northmoor]

21 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Found this on Farcebook, enjoy.

 

A few iffy track joints (jolt!) but otherwise absolutely phenomenal.  What is so impressive is how the builder has concentrated on making the layout look right from track level, not just from a normal viewing angle.  Many superb layouts don't quite work once viewed as if you were a 1:76 scale observer either in still or video images.

[Dave Hunt]

Despite everyone's best efforts, none of the Phantom videos posted features yours truly and as far as Douglas's suggestion goes, I don't use iCloud  so that's a non-starter. If I find some way of getting part of the video I have down to below 10mb I'll post it. 

 

Tomorrow we're off for the weekend to stay with a very dear friend to celebrate her birthday, on the way calling in to see a modelling friend who has a layout that would appeal greatly to Douglas - Little Bytham. To help with the birthday celebrations I have in greatest secrecy made a lemon drizzle cake undetected by any bears or hippos and the armoured escort is standing by on the driveway so with luck it will be delivered intact. We are leaving Hunt Towers, Horace the cat and my Dad in the charge of another friend whose brownie point account will therefore be swelled to enormous proportions. To show my appreciation I have said that she can use the workshop and even play trains for a while but she is planning on watching some game with balls and rackets that is apparently taking place instead. Aren't some people odd?

 

Tatty-bye each.

 

Dave

[BR60103]

19 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

And as Lear also stated, "'Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe. All mimsy were the borogoves.........

 

(you can imagine what the auto correct made of that little lot)

 

Dave

Wasn't that line made famous by that math professor Dodgson?

 

[polybear]

5 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Despite everyone's best efforts, none of the Phantom videos posted features yours truly and as far as Douglas's suggestion goes, I don't use iCloud  so that's a non-starter. If I find some way of getting part of the video I have down to below 10mb I'll post it.

 

 

Bear is definitely no expert, but Irfanview may well be your friend (it's free) - I've used it many times for making still images (photos) smaller so they can be attached to web posts.

https://www.irfanview.com/

I believe it has video capability too, so resizing or selecting a particular section is probably available, though I've never tried it....

[Happy Hippo]

I thought Irfan View was a Bed and Breakfast in Builth Wells

[Dave Hunt]

5 hours ago, BR60103 said:

Wasn't that line made famous by that math professor Dodgson?

 

 

Sorry, yes Jabberwocky was written by Lewis Carroll, AKA Charles Dodgson, not Edward Lear. Old age and the forgettory strike again!

 

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Bear is definitely no expert, but Irfanview may well be your friend (it's free) - I've used it many times for making still images (photos) smaller so they can be attached to web posts.

https://www.irfanview.com/

I believe it has video capability too, so resizing or selecting a particular section is probably available, though I've never tried it....

 

Thanks Bear. I'll see if I can get that to work next week - if I remember, that is, and if my minimal computerising abilities cope with it. Don't hold you breath. If it does work I'll owe you a LDC.

 

Cheers All

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

Today is Friday, so we should all be gruntled.

[bbishop]

12 hours ago, Northmoor said:

I've used Kwikfit a few times without complaint and I'm usually wary of big chains for many things.

As all customers' names, addresses and car details are on their system, they've moved on a lot from the stories of people being routinely told their "rear shocks needed doing".  Except when (perhaps apocryphally) one guy was told this, let them change both shocks then produced the receipt from when they'd changed them six months previously.

I went to Kwik Fit to change a tyre and was told my brake pads were illegal.   Extracted the car and specifically asked the mechanic at the following week's MOT.  He answered there was at least two years life in them but the way I drove probably meant three.  They lasted four and after changing them he said there was probably another year left in them.  I haven't been back to Kwik Fit.  Bill

[Stubby47]

I feel I've missed something fundamental in this thread.

 

Was polybear also Poirot in a previous life, or is there another reason (or any reason) he always refers to himself in the 3rd person ?

[Dave Hunt]

I was told in February that the battery in Jill's VW was in need of replacement and that the two front tyres were wearing thin when it was serviced by the main agent and asked if I'd like them to change them there and then at some eye watering cost. This was despite the fact that the car had just passed its MOT. Since there had been no other evidence of any problem with the battery and the tyres looked suspiciously alright I declined and took the car into our local tyre and battery specialist.  He tested the battery thoroughly and said that it was perfectly OK as well as measuring the tyre treads and examining them, reaching the conclusion that because of the way the car was used and driven there was probably getting on for 5,000 miles left before they needed replacement. His advice was to get him to check the tyres after a couple of thousand miles and regularly after that so he could change them when necessary. When I told him what the dealership had said he smiled and told me that they often did that simply based on the age of the car (5 years in this case) and mileage. I shan't be going to that dealership again in a hurry.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

8 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 When I told him what the dealership had said he smiled and told me that they often did that simply based on the age of the car (5 years in this case) and mileage. I shan't be going to that dealership again in a hurry.

 

Dave

Same with cars fitted with cam belts.  After 5 years, regardless of mileage (supposedly a belt should last for 70K miles) the belt(s) should be replaced.  Fortunately neither the BMW or the SEAT have that design feature.

 

The SEAT is now due it's annual service and VOSA test.  It's will have done less than 2250 miles since the last  service and test.

 

Since it's last visit to the garage at the beginning of the year, the BMW has racked up all of 532 miles.

 

If I didn't live in a rural location with no public transport nor within a reasonable walking distance, I think we could drop down to one car.

[PhilJ W]

I brought my car brand new thirteen years ago. It came with a five year warranty. During the warranty period I was told that the cambelt had to be changed and it was. Not because it needed changing the service manager apologised but they had to replace it under to the warranty. Once the warranty period was over there was a lot less that needed to be done over and above the basic servicing and MoT and that only the battery and tyres.