alastairq

I like the fact the Aussies and Kiwis have told the brits [note, no capital B, brits don't deserve it from me!] where to get off. Good for them! Especially when such ego-driven bullshyte gets spouted!

Hmmm, next door's squadroon of once-feral cats [and hens, and a sheep or two] don't bother doing a dump in my garden any more. Not that i have done anything to dissuade them...far from it...but local villagers have noticed how varieties of pooh have been seen doing airborne acrobatics across the road into the grass verge opposite. They have refrained from dumping as they consider my garden, sheds, old cars, as their own now. The only pooh I have found recently probably belongs to things like hedgehogs, and maybe the odd wandering fox or two? Major problem now is, next door's hens are adept at defeating next door's increased security measures, and rock up at my back door every now & then. Sometimes I scoop them up & return them over their back gate....often I give up, and find that they seek company when I'm outside sitting having a coffee break...them, the cats, and lordy knows who else. Once or twice I have looked up to see one sitting on my hearth rug...which is unnerving if one has no pets oneself. I do try to remember to close the back door when I'm not in the vicinity nowadays. But when the weather is warm [I haven't noticed it being ''hot'' here..but then I don't live anywhere near anything that resembles a town, or housing estate..and there's plenty of greenery to absorb the heat ...] I tend to leave the back door open for that cooling breeze [it being northerly-facing] As far as I'm concerned, we all share this planet, and have as much in the way of 'rights' as any other creature, to come & go as they please. It really is only us humans who seem to get so precious about ''their'' so-called ''property?'' As well as blackbirds, robins, pheasants, , etc etc etc, I suppose? To that end, i have ceases to become uptight about hoovering up spiders & their webs as well....What's the point, they're only back there the next day anyway, so I find I have better things to do with my time these days...and leave them alone. There is a very large one [who doesn't 'do' webs, I find?] that marches out across the living room carpet on patrol, around half ten every night. I frequently spot him [her? Not being able to tell with my eyesight].. as I stretch out o the sofa for a late evening film or somesuch... I don't have pets [now]....but then, I don't have horrendous pets bills either....or the sad demeanour as they pass from this life, one after the other, leaving me behind to grieve a little bit. Can do without that!!

I'd like a SAAB 96, please. Don't care if it's a 2 stroke or a V4....First came to my enthusiastic attention in the 1960's, Glossy adverts in Road & Track magazine...Lovely! Also, don't care that they're FWD either...

In practice, the Ford sidevalve engine compared very well with the rival OHV motors. There are one or two direct comparison articles around, I cannot lay my mouse on them as yet. We have to remember that the Austin & Morris equivalents of the early 1950's were not as well developed as they became in the late 1950's. Same with Standards and others. When compared to the 1200cc VW aircooled motor, the Ford won hands down in the output stakes. But, as with everything Ford, the production costs won over all the others. Plus, the sidevalve wasn't just used in cars, either. The engine itself was quite a light motor, which helped. Even today, whereas I can just about lift by hand a Ford sidevalve motor, I have no chance with my BMC OHV engine. Plus, the sidevalve [both 10HP and 100E] motors were very well respected for being 'strong' engines. hence their popularity with the less-well-heeled end of every form of motorsport. What is ignored today by those who are in love with bhp figures [did they used to scan the back pages of WhatCar when they were small?]...is that the Ford engine wasn't about bhp..it was all about torque. Since in normal use [none of the bruhahhah] bhp really is meaningless, unless it can all be used on a regular basis [the first lorry one comes across see's an end to that?} Whereas torque gets used and felt, all the time. The one thing that let the Ford small car range down was the 3 speed gearbox. I suspect the US part of the company had a lot to say about that? Seeing as 3 speed gearboxes were as common as muck in the US? Again, a production cost thing...a 3 speed box being a lot cheaper [and smaller] to make than a 4 [or 8, or 10, or however many gears modern gearboxes have? How does one drive on normal roads with such a choice? Eeeny Meeny Miney Moe, etc???} Thinking of torque, does anyone remember how good the Mini was at overtaking in 3rd or top gear? Yet useless if trying to emulate Carlos Fandango, and scream the engine's head off? Or the 997{?} cc 105E Ford OHV engines, with steel bottom ends? Screaming steelies? The 1200cc version never quite had the 105E's strength...

No-one fancies the flight-deck Ford then??

As an aside, I think Donald Pleasance was the most brilliant ''epitome of evil'' actor ever. He also had an uncanny ability to produce the blank stare of a blind man.... Superb!

In order to confound the system and our beloved ever-so-perfect society.....[going by contributions on here,at any rate?] I intend to live a lot longer than any medians. Or relatives. The big issue isn't about the over -80's being allowed to 'die off' and all the moralistic arguments for & against. It's about saving taxpayers' money, pure & simple. The biggest financial worry for any UK government is, how do we pay for all the prolonged State pensions [or support anybody else's ability to accrue a private pension?] I'm willing to bet an awful lot of younger voters secretly wish all the over-80 bloodsuckers would s@d off and die.....to ease the tax burden? One Only has to look at the vilification that is created every time an aged driver has a crash with a youngster? [Whether actually to blame or not]... It's like everything our Society is wedded to....money! Pure & simple! [One only has to look at how a person who has declared bankruptcy is treated, compared to someone who is divorced. On the one hand , vilified and discriminated against...on the other hand glorified and supported.] Money is more important to our society than any individual's welfare. Which is wrong, in my view.

Here's hoping the first flight out isn't coming to the UK, then?

I think...[occasionally]......that Australia was the first place the pilot could think of, just to get her off the plane? [Did the airport provide steps? Or was she just ejected? [ Quick, shut the door before she realises]... MAbe they waited until she'd gone to the toilet, then landed in the nearest place before she realised.... A bit of sleight of hand, and she'd have been out of the door toot sweet?

Now, it's Audis...

Not quoting in particular Kevin, so take a fence...:) But, surely these individuals who do not understand, or get confused over instructions...actually hold a Driving Licence? If they do, the State expects a certain level of competence in order to retain that Licence. This 'competence' is not limited to conducting a motorised vehicle safely, on the Public Highway, or being able to interact safely with other road users. Unfortunately this aspect is not really enforced [enough].... Indeed, the Driving Licence is relegated to the status of a mere travel pass. Or, ignored altogether!

Introduce the 'fear' factor and the whole process speeds up considerably? A sign telling a driver, ''We're not going to tell you if a train is coming!!'' might encourage a bit of wariness?? Perhaps one of those talking apps might help? [Seeing as we're expected to download apps on our n0t very smart phone for just about everything these days, that matters?]

2nd helpings, anyone??

5 foot 8 inches tall, and about 60 inches round?

Tut tut! It was a lady of the opposite gender..

Pre-sat nav [pre-everything, really] I once observed a person [gender neutrale] turn left onto the railway tracks at Bridlington Quay Road crossing, to stop right outside the signal box. In those days the sign pointing to the 'station' was quite close to the crossing, as was the station access road. I was a bus driver for EYMS at the time...

The armaments' factory [bigboom factory] at Risley, [ROF} just outside warrington, in Lancashire, was built on Risley Moss for exactly the same reason..permanently shrouded in mist. I livd there for a few years as a teenytinytot back inthe early 50's, my Dad at the time was a civil servant at the nearby Admiralty Stores Depot. Where I lived is now under the M6 I was cared for [after family break up, or down, as the case may be?] by a lady who once worked there during WW2 [the Risley Moss factory]....it was said one could always tell a Warrington lass as she'd only offer you with a high four! Indeed, the lady above also had a finger missing .[ blown off in industrial accidents.] Most of Risley factory was actually underground, or nearly so.

And...my last place-of-work, for 20 years.....15 of those years as a Specialist Instructor in MDTS...retired now nearly 5 years....Don't really miss the bumping and battering I would receive on a daily basis.. Crap pension too, in money terms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_School_of_Transport

Perhaps one of the oldest continuously-serving RAf stations lies on the Yorkshire Wolds as well. Well, maybe not RAF all of the time, but it might have seemed so to anyone serving there? RRH Staxton Wold, reputed to have been serving the same function [early warning station] since the 3rd century AD! It is a RADAR station part of the UK's early warning [of seagulls] system. In the late 1930's it became part of the RAF's Chain Home setup, promotion from being a glorified elevated bonfire, i suppose?

Yes, I bought my first house in Bridlington around that time. My neighbour was a trained [car] mechanic, but could earn better wages at Satra Motors, fitting the centre consoles into Ladas. Since he was an employee, he got a staff discount on a new Lada, so got one. {I could not afford a new Lada back then] He also got a good deal [freebies?] on the original Russian tyres Ladas came into Hull riding on...these were swapped out for more UK-friendly tyres at Satra. However, they were brilliant tyres in the snow [as one would expect?], so were in great demand come wintertime. Driffield RAF aerodrome was also a missile site in the 1960's [Thor missiles, and Bloodhounds]. There were certain areas we [when I worked!!] were advised not to drive our heavy trucks when conducting off road training at Driffield, owning to the uncertainty of the current strength of the silo caps, which were not 'marked '.. RAF Driffield, during WW2, was bombed now & again..and was the site of the first female service person casualty of the war, when a WAAF got machine gunned by a passing German bomber. This apparently was hushed up at the time, as reporting a female serviceperson getting shot wasn't deemed good for public morale. I used to live also near to Lisset , which had a bomber aerodrome, reckoned to be haunted as well.. All situated within a few miles of each other. Hutton Cranswick had an aerodrome too, as did Cottam.... Leconfield aerodrome was chosen originally [so the story goes] when the RAF sent people round the countryside looking for suitable sites for airfields...Leconfield was chosen due to aquirk in the prevailing weather patterns around the site. It appeared that Leconfield had more 'clear skies' above it throughout the year, than surrounding areas. Local farmers were mainly consulted in this matter. Clouds seemed to 'go round' rather than 'over' teh Leconfield site. I cannot say I noticed very much of that phenomenon, in the 20 years I worked from there. In later years, Leconfield hosted Lightnings. Take off, and straight up! If a pilot suffered a failure or fault, they were ordered to fly out to sea and ditch the thing. I even recall RAF rescue tenders still being berthed at Bridlington too...They were kept in a large shed at the end of the harbour, near the SPa... My last late next door neighbour served out his time there too...on the boats.

My [young-ish] next door neighbour has returned home from work [as a carer of a profoundly disabled person...pays more than joinery!]....to self-isolate. One of his co-workers has tested positive for covid [amongst other things] As a result, his wife and two small kids have banished him to the garden shed for a fortnight..... Wife last seen fending him off with two broomsticks tied together...

Heckova job keeping one's mask in place as well? Isn't it about time they put grab handles on the ends between carriages. too?

I cannot imagine the pilot of a stricken aircraft would willingly ignore two blazing parallel lines though? Yes, they were intended to burn away the fog that used to prevail on that part of the coast, at certain times of the year. I have no idea of who landed there or when, however.

The Reliant took a silver medal...

It isn't meant to function as a rollbar, in the generally accepted sense...this being a non-speed form of motorsport. It is there to support the vehicle and give room for the occupants' heads should the vehicle actually topple over. Which it will do quite adequately, thank you. There are no scantlings [dimensions, specific structural rules] governing the fitment of a ''roll-over bar'' for a vehicle not engaging in speed events. It is not intended to act as protection in the event of a [high] speed rollover. I have a similar rollover bar [with better support, but not much better] on my Cannon trials car. Put there at the request of one of my passengers' wives. Top protect her hubby's head should the car topple.Whilst welded strongly to the upper chassis cross member, it is merely supported on the angle steel I used to create mounts for the rear lights, in the correct position to meet C&U regs of the time. Not to be confused with vehicles belonging to the zoomie brigade, of course...the objective of a trial is to completed the observed section non-stop. Speed is relative, sometimes observers could walk up the hill quicker than some of the vehicles climb... Which is ok, as long as forward motion does not cease. As ana side, the Marlin kit car was originally designed to compete in Classic Reliability Trials.....[and they still do so]...[originally made in Plymouth]...one feature of the Marlin's design was, the windscreen frame/surround was made of a box section of structural steel, to act as a roll over bar... A vehicle on a trial is most likely to be in a roll over position when being reversed back down off a section. Although the odd Austin Seven has been known to topple going forwards...usually resulting in a couple of Marshalls helping the crew pick it back up again... Sometimes the sideways angles can get a bit extreme.....and in a Ford Escort it might well be up to the passenger positioning themselves properly on the rear seat which keeps the wheels in contact with the ground in such cases. Knowing which side to sit & when is a passenger skill when bouncing. As an aside, the creator of the Reliant has built many such vehicles over the years...to comply with one particular class...and is a retired{?} engineer of some repute, so hs welding isn't of the chewing gum variety...unlike mine.