What makes you grin? Antidote to grumpy thread

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Went looking for a shop today that I’d never visited with my Dad.  The listing on Google Maps is wrong, so we end up on an industrial estate and see parts of a jet aircraft just next to a fence, so we go to check it out.

We’re there for a couple of minutes and a chap comes out of a nearby unit and we ask him if he knows what it is.  He then invited us in to look at the unit.

No joke, it’s a private collection.  A Harrier, Buccaneer, SEPECAT Jaguar and a Tornado, along with half a Hawk.  Amongst the power boats and a couple of very expensive cars.  There’s a Bloodhound missile on the ground and an old Volvo FL10 lorry too.

Yeah.  I’m typing this and I can’t quite believe it either.

[myglaren]

When my wife died I inherited her Kindl, which was great as holding books is a it painful.

Unfortunately that died too and for the past few years I have been going to get another but procrastinating.  Wanted a 'paperwhite' as that was closest to her one except without the keyboard.

Youngest son has just called in with one for my birthday present.  I try and discourage birthday presents as they are mostly bought to comply with social expectations and end up being white elephants.

This though is much appreciated as I have been using my phone as a kindl reader and while it works I prefer the larger text, find the phone quite fiddly.

[Mally]

Email from Tui. £350 x2 will wing it's way to you shortly. Sorry for your flight delay.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, myglaren said:

When my wife died I inherited her Kindl, which was great as holding books is a it painful.

Unfortunately that died too and for the past few years I have been going to get another but procrastinating.  Wanted a 'paperwhite' as that was closest to her one except without the keyboard.

Youngest son has just called in with one for my birthday present.  I try and discourage birthday presents as they are mostly bought to comply with social expectations and end up being white elephants.

This though is much appreciated as I have been using my phone as a kindl reader and while it works I prefer the larger text, find the phone quite fiddly.

Happy Birthday! I'm OK with books on my phone, lightweight.

[DavieW]

Don't usually have an audience when I'm having my lunch. 

[myglaren]

Spent an hour on a bus, partly to see where it would go, and for once there was no-one using a mobile phone.

One woman embarked with what I first thought was one but was a Kindl that she was reading.

[Chas4545]

N.C.P.   going into administration has made my day. Sorry for those who will lose their jobs though.

[Markeh]

On 14/03/2026 at 10:41, auntiemaryscanary said:

After dealing with the idiocy and incompetence of the local GSF branch I decided to pull up in this car park to cheer myself up 

Prior to being a fine dining establishment it was a car dealership for this brand...

The whole barrier edge remains with most of it covered in shrubbery

 

 

 

Well bugger me, so it was! I knew there was one SOMEWHERE up Daleside Road but hadn't worked out where. Satellite from 1999. Looks a little large to just be a Daewoo site but I could be wrong.

I don't know the exact date it moved but by 2004's satellite shots, the Toby is in it's place. What I do know is where it went, Gordon Lamb took it over and it was sold from the Lortas Road site in Basford, alongside at least MG Rover and Daihatsu. I know this, because my dad worked there at the time and I remember him coming home with the occasional Matiz and Kalos alongside the usual Rover 25s and Daihatsu YRVs. I reckon they had it from at least 2002, possibly earlier, but they definitely had it in 2003 because they were the supplying dealer for our Tacuma. As I remember it (and I was only a kid...), they retained the franchise after the rebrand to Chevrolet, but at some point the site was taken over by Sandicliffe and turned into Ford/Mazda - I believe about 2006-2007 as around that time dad was also working for Sandicliffe and had to go back to that site briefly. I believe Pentagon up at the Vauxhall site in Arnold took over on the Chevrolet front until Chevrolet UK's demise, or at least had signage up in 2011 and 2012 on Street View. The Lortas Road site is now a Lidl. Gordon Lamb was absorbed into the Vertu empire around about 2014.

[auntiemaryscanary]

1 hour ago, Markeh said:

Well bugger me, so it was! I knew there was one SOMEWHERE up Daleside Road but hadn't worked out where. Satellite from 1999. Looks a little large to just be a Daewoo site but I could be wrong.

I don't know the exact date it moved but by 2004's satellite shots, the Toby is in it's place. What I do know is where it went, Gordon Lamb took it over and it was sold from the Lortas Road site in Basford, alongside at least MG Rover and Daihatsu. I know this, because my dad worked there at the time and I remember him coming home with the occasional Matiz and Kalos alongside the usual Rover 25s and Daihatsu YRVs. I reckon they had it from at least 2002, possibly earlier, but they definitely had it in 2003 because they were the supplying dealer for our Tacuma. As I remember it (and I was only a kid...), they retained the franchise after the rebrand to Chevrolet, but at some point the site was taken over by Sandicliffe and turned into Ford/Mazda - I believe about 2006-2007 as around that time dad was also working for Sandicliffe and had to go back to that site briefly. I believe Pentagon up at the Vauxhall site in Arnold took over on the Chevrolet front until Chevrolet UK's demise, or at least had signage up in 2011 and 2012 on Street View. The Lortas Road site is now a Lidl. Gordon Lamb was absorbed into the Vertu empire around about 2014.

Pretty sure it was just Daewoo. I think it moved to there after their association with Halfords (nearest at Colwick retail park) ended. The remaining compound signs show at least the left hand side was just that. 

Next to the site was a petrol station. Around 10+ years ago several 10's - 100s of thousands of litres of petrol leaked out into the ground.The station was temporarily* closed whilst investigations took place. The lost fuel was never found. The former petrol station site (a long thin triangle of land) is now crammed full of houses with the long boundaries being Colwick Rd and the railway line The final boundary adjoins the Daewoo edge signs (a big dog barked at me when I was taking my pics!)

[Lord Sterling]

Being in Belgium with this old thing makes me grin:

It just drives bloody nice. Although it doesn't receive much in the way of attention like the XJ does.

And exploring underground carparks:

This one was the old Cora carpark. It was VAST, I reckon I could store my Rovers here and no one would bat an eyelid, except for the Polo a few pics down didn't inspire confidence.

There was a concentration of cars in one area of the carpark, all different ones, plated up, look to be in everyday use etc.... I need to go back and get more pics. I love stuff like this.

Tomorrow, I shall hopefully get to the carpark in DeBroukere by Pêle-Mêle where I took the other Jag.

Also, on non-motoring news; I finally managed to get my teeth fillings done here in Belgium via a friend of the family who is a dentist. I got sent to his surgery and was fitted in for a quick appointment. Very professional, very fast and finally, not having to worry about eating on one side of my mouth. My local dentist in the UK said wait 6 months. No thanks.

[DavieW]

A bit unfortunate where the riders sword is hanging 😂

[goosey]

Was talking on the phone to a paint supplier, 

lady I spoke to as she was putting the phone down she said to a colleague “fuck me that was hard work” 

and to be fair it was 😂

[motorpunk]

On 17/03/2026 at 00:09, auntiemaryscanary said:

Pretty sure it was just Daewoo. I think it moved to there after their association with Halfords (nearest at Colwick retail park) ended. The remaining compound signs show at least the left hand side was just that. 

Next to the site was a petrol station. Around 10+ years ago several 10's - 100s of thousands of litres of petrol leaked out into the ground.The station was temporarily* closed whilst investigations took place. The lost fuel was never found. The former petrol station site (a long thin triangle of land) is now crammed full of houses with the long boundaries being Colwick Rd and the railway line The final boundary adjoins the Daewoo edge signs (a big dog barked at me when I was taking my pics!)

This isn’t a million miles from me and I have to get a pic of those Daewoo stumps for my own curiosity! 

[Spottedlaurel]

Great weather meant first work commute of the year in this thing:

Took the cross-country route and it was as pleasant as ever after a winter lay-up (and being buried under coats etc due to work being done on the house and the bonnet being suitably flat to chuck stuff) then local show/autojumble attendance last Saturday. Funny thing about it is the indicators being on the proper side of the wheel for a RHD car i.e. on the right, and it never confuses me. Yet Miss SL's 2012 Hyundai has the same thing but I repeatedly put the wipers on when trying to operate the indicators, must be something in my head that doesn't associate them being that way round on a relatively modern car.

Also on the subject of using old things:

My work landline appears to have died and I needed a known phone to check it, so I dug this out of the garage. Early-mid '90s BT Tribune which was surplus to requirements when my employer of 30 years ago upgraded their phone system. Still has its pre-01 number written under the handset.

[Lord Sterling]

It did cross my mind...

Not sure the S-Type is a great getaway car like it was on the 60s.

[Lord Sterling]

No ⛔️

Yes ✅️

[myglaren]

 

[grizz]

[Muniphobia]

On 17/03/2026 at 18:10, DavieW said:

A bit unfortunate where the riders sword is hanging 😂

The penis mightier than the sword 

[jim89]

4 hours ago, myglaren said:

 

Jerk off 🤔

Hard on 🤔

What else did I miss?

[Matty]

Big Skoda laithe in this French workshop im in at the moment. Made me smile anyway 😄

[Rustyrotavator]

On 16/03/2026 at 22:45, Markeh said:

Lortas Road site in Basford

The Road also had Henricks on it who produced Morris Minor & 1000 panels of a good standard.. i think he'd bought up original tooling, used them a lot in the late 80s during my morris phase lol.

To complete the Nottingham experience take a drive up Mansfield Rd in the 60s for the last couple of mininutes ( 15 mins onwrd) of this and admire the cars and scenery. https://www.macearchive.org/films/scenes-nottingham

made me grin!!

[auntiemaryscanary]

38 minutes ago, Rustyrotavator said:

The Road also had Henricks on it who produced Morris Minor & 1000 panels of a good standard.. i think he'd bought up original tooling, used them a lot in the late 80s during my morris phase lol.

To complete the Nottingham experience take a drive up Mansfield Rd in the 60s for the last couple of mininutes ( 15 mins onwrd) of this and admire the cars and scenery. https://www.macearchive.org/films/scenes-nottingham

made me grin!!

Thanks, that's a great little film of 60's Nottingham.

I especially liked the County Hall footage and it's car park. Until a few months ago I worked there and parked my car. The car park layout is v v familiar. I can't believe how many people went to the Embankment and River Trent for pleasure on a sunny day.

A lot of it is very familiar especially the parks, Hall and historical buildings and is virtually unchanged. It's a shame during the same period they ripped the heart of the city out building Maid Marion Way and Broadmarsh Shopping Centre and  although I wasn't born I understand a lot buildings (timber framed etc) were lost.

[Yoss]

On 18/03/2026 at 14:06, Spottedlaurel said:

 Funny thing about it is the indicators being on the proper side of the wheel for a RHD car i.e. on the right, and it never confuses me. Yet Miss SL's 2012 Hyundai has the same thing but I repeatedly put the wipers on when trying to operate the indicators, must be something in my head that doesn't associate them being that way round on a relatively modern car.

 

I said almost exactly the same thing on my own thread a few weeks ago. I can go for months without using the Triumph and it just feels totally natural having the indicators on the right. Doesn't confuse me at all. But going back from that to the Škoda I keep having to look down at icons on the stalks to remind me despite that being the car I drive 99% of the time. 

[Rustyrotavator]

6 minutes ago, auntiemaryscanary said:

that's a great little film of 60's Nottingham

Glad you enjoyed , hopefuly @Markehwill too.

For those with a love of nostalgia I seriously recomend looking at the Mace Archive, good search parameters and loads of vehicles, 

https://www.macearchive.org/

The Media Archive for Central England is the specialist public film archive serving England's East and West Midlands. We are an independent company and registered charity with a mission to collect, preserve and provide access to significant historic moving image material representative of the history and culture of the region.   

We preserve the fragile screen heritage of England's Midlands, creating a regional moving image collection that is accessible to everyone, where preservation needs and copyright restrictions allow. In so doing, the regional collection reflects the diversity of the communities across the Midlands, so that people from everywhere can better understand, appreciate and enjoy the history and culture of our region.

And yes, the Midlands does have both history and culture, thank you.

[myglaren]

 

[beko1987]

These people exist 😢

[DavieW]

On holiday for a week and a half 🛫🏖🍺

[hairnet]

lol at the canaries getting some scottish weather

[hairnet]

into ulverston and was being stalked by this (remember the top gear joke about the berlin tv tower)

it looks like a lighthouse but isnt but if you read the history it was inspired by one