[Gripping Pneus]

If there is a well that just fits the spacesaver, what are you supposed to do with the wheel and tyre you have just removed?

One motoring magazine reported that they had a Porsche of some ilk on test and the journo decided to take his wife in full finery to the theatre in it. It was a wet evening. They had a rear puncture - and a spacesaver. She had to make the rest of the trip with the dead wheel and tyre on her lap as there was nowhere else in the car to put it.

 

[Gripping Pneus]

I have not followed all 58 pages of this topic, but dip in and out when I feel I need some mental stimulation, so please forgive me if this grump has been covered already.

When buying a coffee there is almost always a size described as "regular". In my book, this is what we Brits call "standard". "Regular" has quite a different meaning! I refuse to order regular as there is nothing wrong with my bowel movements which requires the regulating effect of coffee.

It is hard to resist making facetious comments to the staff in these circumstances, but I expect that the wrong use of the word is so in-grained now that I would be regarded as a nutcase.

Keith

PS StuBeeDoo - you have my full support and sympathies. I am in exactly the same position but my step-daughter is 21, going on 8. Your posts could have been written by me, so similar are the circumstances. Mine had over £1000 spent on her for driving lessons, plus a substantial cash present from her Granny to buy a car with. When it came to taking the test, she withdrew from the challenge and has not yet (three years on) even sat the written test. She has spent the car money on living it up, and relies on anyone who is fool enough, to taxi her around f.o.c. She, of course, can never be the "designated driver". Good game eh?

 

[Gripping Pneus]

"Newspaper" is a misnomer. The only things printed in these daily comics are what will sell them. They do not exist to inform you as they would purport, they only exist to make money. And another thing . . . . I don't like being told, or manipulated, on what to think. Every comic has its own axe to grind and line of propaganda to push. What is the purpose of an "editorial" ? Who cares what the editor thinks? We already know anyway from the material that is published - and not published.

I prefer my brain unwashed so I stick to only reading motor sports and slot car related publications!

Keith

 

[Gripping Pneus]

I would stop going out with any bird who shat on my car!!

You could drive slower . .

K

 

[Gripping Pneus]

Its odd how these cock-ups are never in your favour. If they were genuine cock-ups, then 50% of the time you would come out on top.

It's a fix!

Keith

 

[Gripping Pneus]

I recently had a mobile phone go "black screen". It was fairly ancient by today's standards, so I replaced it. To authorise the new phone for the transferred SIM, a six figure identification code was sent - guess where!

Does anyone think these things through when they design the system? Unbelievable.

Keith

 

[Gripping Pneus]

Ah - but so is an igloo "if insulated properly".

K

 

[Gripping Pneus]

I totally agree! I have been whinging about this for years and from observation find that about 50% of females find it a total surprise when they are asked to pay at the check-outs. I suppose men notice it because they (we) hate shopping, and can't wait to get out of there so do everything possible to speed up the process. Having said that, it also drives my wife up the wall. Suffering fools is not one of her strong points.

Keith

PS Is this topic the most replied to on the Forum? Gordon certainly hit a rich vein when he started this!

 

[Gripping Pneus]

Agreed. The DVLA is mostly a bureaucratic waste of money.

The money raised by "Road Tax" could be easily raised with no additional bureaucratic input, by putting a penny or two on fuel tax. Bingo - he who uses the roads most pays the most, and all the road tax collection empire can be removed. A simple records office is all that is needed.

 

[Gripping Pneus]

I've been done as well. I think the fee is for "handling" the fee payment to the customs - basically an admin charge for the aggro you(we) have caused.

I purchased two cars from the US. Both were just over the customs import limit. One was declared by the seller as a "toy" and the other was IIRC a "model". One was charged duty and the other was not. I can't remember which was which as I have resolved not to buy from the US any more. I suppose after Brexit we will get this sort of nonsense all the time.

 

[Gripping Pneus]

I told her 2056 and she hung up

Did you get a call back at 4 minutes to 9 pm?

 

[Gripping Pneus]

Brilliant Peter! I just read this to SWMBO and she walked off half way through - too close to home I think. I may frame it.

Re some of the previous posts, Winston Churchill said "you get the government you deserve". Which reminds me that 20% of UK teenagers think that Winston Churchill was a fictitious character, and somewhere between 20 and 30% (depending on the survey) of all Europeans and US citizens think that the Sun orbits the earth. And they all have the vote.

Most British children have to make a decision whether to study history or geography at school (!) which is why my step daughter can't name in which century the second world war took place and one of her peers thinks that you can drive from Australia to New Zealand. The race to the bottom is gathering pace.

 

[Gripping Pneus]

but then I know about mass, inertia etc - sort of, as well as a layman can.

As we are in the same age group, I'm sure this is natural for any of us that had a love of motor sport and grew up with rear wheel drive and cross ply tyres. It didn't take much to find the limit of adhesion and there was a fairly large grey area and more space on the road then. You could learn car control without drawing too much attention to yourself.To find the limit in today's cars you have to drive like a maniac.

Another quote - I think by Jay Leno - "I'd rather have a car that feels as if its doing 90 when its doing 40 than the other way 'round". Hear hear. The same goes for handling with me.

 

[Gripping Pneus]

Agreed in full! In the old communist bloc, you only got one item. Now you have a choice of 20, but they are all the same. The final confluence of ideologies?

 

[Gripping Pneus]

The only form of payment a seller has to accept is cash, anything else is merely a convenience for the customer.

Curious. I've been to places in the past that say they don't accept cash. The reason is supposed to be to deter robberies as there is no cash on the premises.

Also, I wonder if anyone has tried to pay HMRC in cash? Everything appears to be on-line now.

 

[Gripping Pneus]

A German businessman of my acquaintance told me he used Ryanair a lot. I asked him how he could tolerate the mad scramble when the gates open and he said "I enjoy it - I am German".

 

[Gripping Pneus]

everybody should be given a much bigger car space

In the UK, the standard design space size has been unchanged at 2.4 x 4.8 metres for at least 35 years to my knowledge and this size had been in use for some time prior to that, so I would guess at 50 years. It is clearly inappropriate for today's cars where a "Mini" has the footprint of a traditional Land Rover.

The last edition of the Architect's Handbook which is the definitive work on this subject was 2005, and there was no revision of the space size then, so Architects - and their clients - are to blame. Yes, I know that its really a matter for Engineers, but Architects claim it, as they do the kudos for such pure engineering structures as the Millau Bridge, so they might as well take the flak when its wrong!

 

[Gripping Pneus]

Don't ask me how, but I managed to delete the entire footage of the test, but save everything I didn't want.

I sympathise Stu. We are assumed to be familiar with the terminology. I never know whether to "upload" or "download" when backing up. Which device is "up" and does the subject data reside on the "up" or "down" device? So - I managed to replace 6 months worth of business phone numbers on my "smart" phone with a back up from the previous 6 months, thus losing the new numbers whilst trying to do the exact opposite. As there are 4 permutations of this conundrum I shall probably do the same again next time.

 

[Gripping Pneus]

You have my full sympathy Stuart. I have one of 22 yrs (going on 8) that is very similar. Her Granny gave her £3k to bank for a car and her Dad spent £1k on driving lessons, plus insured his own car for her to practice in. She did one session in his car. She couldn't be bothered to take the theory test for 3 years, and has finally now just done it - with zero revision - and failed. We now find that she blew the £3k on partying and clothes in her failed first year at University (couldn't be bothered with the effort again).

There are huge arguments between her and her Mum which I am called upon to adjudicate on. Her and wife are good friends again within half an hour, but my words are remembered and held against me for years - by both!

Slot cars keep me sane though. There is always a new problem to solve which diverts my thoughts from the soap opera in which women live.

 

[Gripping Pneus]

I have heard rumours of such godesses, but have never met one. Blessed indeed.