What makes you grin? Antidote to grumpy thread

[Rover414]

Today I went into work early to help out, anyway, driving up I notice bus is pulling to the right and then hear a grinding noise, have a little look out and this greets me:

 

 

This might seem like a grump but I was sitting there waiting for our on call mechanic to come out, now the usual Transit Connect is not available so I was expecting them to show up in the Land Rover, oh no:

 

 

63 plate bus, 51 plate "breakdown van" ha!

 

[oldcars]

Never had a car with a bluetooth car kit thingy. The 75 has a parrot kit fitted but i have never used it before. Set it up Sunday and phone the good lady on the way home. I felt like a photocopier salesman in the mid 2000s. He must have hit his targets as he has the top spec 75. I then went on to phone countless folk because i can.

[RoadworkUK]

Just down the road from me is a listed monument named the Mistley Towers. Out of nowhere, recent months have brought scores of visiting cars lining the narrow road past it while their occupants play Pokemon Go - the programmers have placed a Pokemon 'Gym' here.

 

The assortment of depressingly barried Astras and Focuses that this usually involves totally grumps me out, as does seeing a whole family sitting in one Mondeo and gawping into their screens, rather than actually getting out and walking around, breathing the river air and enjoying the scenery.

 

However. Last night, on my way back from the pub, the usual hideous morass was joined by a young couple in an Allegro, getting their Pokemon Go on.

 

As The Hitcher in Mighty Boosh once said:

 

"Elements of the past combining with elements of the future, to create something that's not quite as good as either".

[richardmorris]

Just back from a family weekend in the Lake District during which we climbed Catbells. Not the greatest achievement ever, but with a combined age of 274 from 4 to 73 it wasn't too bad.

My parent's have both said today that they won't be up to climbing it again ( first climbed it with my sister and I in the late 1970's) but I had to try and reign in my eldest niece ( as she kept bounding ahead like a mountain goat. She and I were in the first phalanx as my sister and BIL coped with my parents and 4 yr old niece.

 

I think this is also going to seem like one-up-man ship on the school Homework stakes as she has to write about a walk she did at the weekend!

 

 

Only rare spot was a 1978? R reg Saab estate in seemingly pristine blue on someone's driveway.

[RoadworkUK]

We live directly under the eastern approach to Stansted airport. One of my tragic pastimes is watching the overhead action on Flightradar24. Occasionally we have some interesting jet stuff fly over, and I enjoy when old semi-forgotten propeller stuff, like Fairchild Metros pass over. But my favourites are the old ruskies.

 

Typically, even with no windows open I'll hear them clearly and that'll prompt me to get Flightradar working. Just now I heard one. I immediately guessed it was Russian, with its strident high-pitched whine. Turned out to be an Antonov AN26B flying out from Stuttgart.

 

Another one I've trained myself to recognise by ear is the Piaggio P180 Avanti. Need to get the wife trained up next.

[Guest Hooli]

Talking of training the missus, my missus knows a 'baby Vulcan' by sound - Typhoons to the rest of us.

[Guest Hooli]

Today I went into work early to help out, anyway, driving up I notice bus is pulling to the right and then hear a grinding noise, have a little look out and this greets me:

 

 

This might seem like a grump but I was sitting there waiting for our on call mechanic to come out, now the usual Transit Connect is not available so I was expecting them to show up in the Land Rover, oh no:

 

 

63 plate bus, 51 plate "breakdown van" ha!

 

Optare isn't a bus, they aren't much bigger than a focus ffs

[cobblers]

Most Solos have an LED display with the facility for a tyre pressure monitor. We fix loads at work but TBH most of them come in with leccy tape covering up half the warning lights.

[Guest Hooli]

Another thing that makes me grin is our older Staffy is a rock dog, the best way to get him to chill out & relax is loud rock music. He just lays down & sleeps within mins, metallica seems best.

 

Well trained dog eh?

[gm]

[Station]

Has anyone drank MD20/20? It actually has different flavours but it all tastes the same (horrid).

I had a 50cl drink on the weekend, it was ace.

[Guest Hooli]

MD 20/20 was all the rage 'back in the day' the green one glows in UV light - always handy for puking off balconies in night clubs.

[Eddie Honda]

Yeah, but it never had a head on it like that Kanterbräu...

[cort1977]

This week I realized it was 20 years since I started university and also about the same amount of time since I last drank 20/20, it's rank.   Other popular options at the time included Blastaway (Castaway topped up with half pint of cider), 50p pints at the Ritzy in Newcastle, Sherry, Safeway 'Export' lager and Buckfast for future Volvo drivers.

[Ghosty]

Right, let's try again. Applying to be a postman...

[Richard]

I tried MD once. If I was asked to describe the taste in one word that word would probably be Ronsonol.

[tooSavvy]

Just back from a family weekend in the Lake District during which we climbed Catbells. Not the greatest achievement ever, but with a combined age of 274 from 4 to 73 it wasn't too bad.

My parent's have both said today that they won't be up to climbing it again ( first climbed it with my sister and I in the late 1970's) but I had to try and reign in my eldest niece ( as she kept bounding ahead like a mountain goat. She and I were in the first phalanx as my sister and BIL coped with my parents and 4 yr old niece.

 

I think this is also going to seem like one-up-man ship on the school Homework stakes as she has to write about a walk she did at the weekend!

 

 

Only rare spot was a 1978? R reg Saab estate in seemingly pristine blue on someone's driveway.

 

... I have done that... no claim, I know. However I think (some BBC prog was all over it....) money has been spent properly hewing a path/steps [wheelchair access..??] into the route.

 

When I went up (late 70s) it was a gravelly slippery path + a rock scramble near the top.

 

Is it improved??

 

 

TS

[cms206]

Today I went into work early to help out, anyway, driving up I notice bus is pulling to the right and then hear a grinding noise, have a little look out and this greets me:

 

 

This might seem like a grump but I was sitting there waiting for our on call mechanic to come out, now the usual Transit Connect is not available so I was expecting them to show up in the Land Rover, oh no:

 

 

63 plate bus, 51 plate "breakdown van" ha!

 

Breakdown van you say?

 

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[fordperv]

i was washing my mk1 sierra earlier when i heard a group of teenage lads about 15 years old getting all excited, saying look at that black sierra its well nice, it was parked on the front, when they saw the 3 door one shouted to me "is that a cossy mate, your cars are well sick" it made me grin that they actually knew what the old cars were

[richardmorris]

... I have done that... no claim, I know. However I think (some BBC prog was all over it....) money has been spent properly hewing a path/steps [wheelchair access..??] into the route.

 

When I went up (late 70s) it was a gravelly slippery path + a rock scramble near the top.

 

Is it improved??

 

 

TS

No. The new path is very slippery in the wet. Not a wheelchair route as it's more stone steps then flat. We went up the ridge from hawse end which was actually a bit of a scramble as part of the path has been washed away last winter. The route down then follows that new stone path which I don't like all. I can see that parts of the route needed maintaining but to create a slippery stairway seems odd.

 

Photo of the path ( plus relatives)

[Sloth in a bowl]

https://youtu.be/esM41oWNW6Y

[RoadworkUK]

https://youtu.be/esM41oWNW6Y

Bookmarked for future viewing.

Superb. Plus high 800 content ratio.

[rainagain]

Never had a car with a bluetooth car kit thingy. The 75 has a parrot kit fitted but i have never used it before. Set it up Sunday and phone the good lady on the way home. I felt like a photocopier salesman in the mid 2000s. He must have hit his targets as he has the top spec 75. I then went on to phone countless folk because i can.

The bluetooth unit I fitted to Volvo is the first I've ever had as well. I particularly like it when someone texts you and it reads it out, it then gives you the option to reply, you just say your message and it texts them it, it's like living in a sci-fi film!

[gordonbennet]

Shumarialto, you're doing well with an old Parrot ki,t maybe like everything else these days they used to be better, the ones in our lorries can't manage 6 months without pegging out (bloke who comes to us must have his own clock card), and still not a patch on a £20 McDonalds drive-thru type headset.

[oldcars]

Shumarialto, you're doing well with an old Parrot ki,t maybe like everything else these days they used to be better, the ones in our lorries can't manage 6 months without pegging out (bloke who comes to us must have his own clock card), and still not a patch on a £20 McDonalds drive-thru type headset.

Its class, it has an ipod connection thing i found too in the glovebox. Really good bit of kit, see how long it lasts 

[oldcars]

The bluetooth unit I fitted to Volvo is the first I've ever had as well. I particularly like it when someone texts you and it reads it out, it then gives you the option to reply, you just say your message and it texts them it, it's like living in a sci-fi film!

 cool need to see what happens with mine when i get a text.

[Pillock]

Depends on the phone whether it does it or not. Windows phones are the best at this, surprisingly! 

[oldcars]

Depends on the phone whether it does it or not. Windows phones are the best at this, surprisingly! 

Its an android phone, fingers crossed it does. 

[vulgalour]

If we could all just take a moment to appreciate this fine specimen I shot (with my camera) in the wild earlier this month.

 

 

[fordperv]

rovers of this era just keep getting more handsome as each year passes