The grumpy thread

[Remspoor]

On 5/9/2020 at 8:58 PM, Jerzy Woking said:

It's up in the hills between Albatera and Crevillente. Our family house is near Guardama about 20 to 25 minutes away.

Valencia, one of the locations which is still at the original phase of lifting the server Lock down here in Spain. Most of the country has managed to move on to the next level.

On 5/10/2020 at 1:56 PM, Jerzy Woking said:

@castros_bro If I had a Certificate of Residencia I'd be OK, but I don't have one. I made the application through my solicitor in December just before I returned to the UK. I have to physically be living in Spain for three months before it will be issued.

No one in authority can answer any of my questions with any certainty, and seeing as this situation has never occurred before, everything is a "first"

@DeeJay and @Jazoli. I like Santa Pola, often go down to the marina for tapas at one of the many places along the waterfront. Been to Catral a few times, nice little town, and Delores puts on a good car show (though not this year).

 

What are you calling a Residencia? Have you already got your fiscal Number Número de Identificación de Extranjero (N.I.E. )?

You have to register your arrival in Spain within 3 months, not wait until you have been in the country. However, before the State of Alarm here there was a waiting time to get you application looked at. Heaven knows what is happening now. You have to apply on line for an appointment to present your documentation to register that you are living in Spain. I believe a representative can do this for you. But hey need your passport. So that works I don't know. Me and the wife done our own.

No matter what the deadline due to the UK leaving the EU is the end of Dec 2020. It was planned that everyone should be documented as living in Spain  before that date.  It is not clear if that deadline has been /will be changed.

 

[Jerzy Woking]

43 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

Valencia, one of the locations which is still at the original phase of lifting the server Lock down here in Spain. Most of the country has managed to move on to the next level.

What are you calling a Residencia? Have you already got your fiscal Number Número de Identificación de Extranjero (N.I.E. )?

You have to register your arrival in Spain within 3 months, not wait until you have been in the country. However, before the State of Alarm here there was a waiting time to get you application looked at. Heaven knows what is happening now. You have to apply on line for an appointment to present your documentation to register that you are living in Spain. I believe a representative can do this for you. But hey need your passport. So that works I don't know. Me and the wife done our own.

No matter what the deadline due to the UK leaving the EU is the end of Dec 2020. It was planned that everyone should be documented as living in Spain  before that date.  It is not clear if that deadline has been /will be changed.

Thanks-that makes things a bit clearer. I have read that Alicante and Elche are in the red zone and travel within the area is restricted.

I have had an NIE for a few years now (my parents owned a property in Spain at the time of their deaths). When I signed the contract to buy the house back in December, the solicitor said he would start my application for the residencia process, but I would have to wait as there were many applications submitted. I would like to think mine is in the system at least.

And it seems I have misinterpreted the "within 3 months" for "live here for 3 months". 

As for timescales, maybe the registration before Brexit will be extended to beyond December 2020, but who knows, as there are far more pressing matters at the moment.

[taxi paul]

Been struggling with conjunctivitis this past week. Finally starting to clear so can now see a bit better. Next door to me are having the garden done. My nicely washed and polished celica is full of dust and shite from next doors tipper lorries and skip lorries. Bummer 

[Bren]

Vectra cdti 16v. Whoever decided to put the oil filter where is is wants twatting.

[Zelandeth]

Oh course the rotor arm is totally welded to the distributor shaft...why wouldn't it be?

[Tadhg Tiogar]

26 minutes ago, Bren said:

Vectra cdti 16v. Whoever decided to put the oil filter where is is wants twatting.

Probably still more accessible than a CX oil filter. 

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, Bren said:

Vectra cdti 16v. Whoever decided to put the oil filter where is is wants twatting.

Probably the same person responsible for the one on the 90s Corsa 1.5TD.  Right down the back of the sodding engine, no access from underneath because there's a subframe in the way...removing the coolant expansion tank and having very long arms was what I recall being necessary.

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Oh course the rotor arm is totally welded to the distributor shaft...why wouldn't it be?

Gotcha ya bastard!

[Bren]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Probably the same person responsible for the one on the 90s Corsa 1.5TD.  Right down the back of the sodding engine, no access from underneath because there's a subframe in the way...removing the coolant expansion tank and having very long arms was what I recall being necessary.

At the back of the engine - side on and above the exhaust. I replaced it but what a PITA.

[matt79]

Bad shit happens in threes, right?

1. Saturday 9th May (mid PM)

I notice there is some water seeping from under the floor joint cover strip between the hallway & downstairs loo. Thats odd thinks I, although the floor had been mopped recently (we have vinyl flooring downstairs). Curiosity gets the better of me & I prise up the joint cover & find that the concrete sub floor in the loo & the felt backing of the vinyl is piss wet! I trace the leak to a 'slightly more than weeping' connection on the pipework for the cistern inlet (the inlet is on the left hand side of the cistern, & the mains water feed pipe is on the opposite (right hand) side, naturally!) the water was dribbling down the flexi pipe and dripping directly onto the floor where the vinyl had been cut to fit around the toilet pan. At this point I find the nut connecting the copper pipe to the plastic pipe of the flush is loose & wont tighten as it appears to be cross threaded. At this point I start raging at the bodging cowboy bastard who fitted the loo some 5 years ago, just after we moved in (the bodging cowboy bastard fitter in question was myself but shhhh! dont tell anyone!)

Cant for the life of me figure out what I was thinking of at the time I installed the loo (I had used various bits of recycled copper pipe, plastic & metal nuts & connectors & a bodged flexi tap connector with too many joints, my grandad always said with plumbing use a few connections as possible to reduce the chance of leaks)

Too late to get anything sorted on Saturday, so on Sunday morning I go to Screwfix & collect a flexi pipe connector and after a bit (lot) of swearing, (& because its a downstairs loo I cant get my fat fucking body between the loo & the wall, without getting stuck or breaking something else) so working blind with both my massive mole hands behind the toilet pan I manage to connect the pipe, turn the isolator valve back on I hear the sound of water rushing through the pipework & all appears OK with no leaks! Result! now I get to relax & enjoy the rest of my Sunday........

2. Sunday 10th May

Around 1430 we decide to head out for our daily state mandated hour's exercise & whilst turning the key to lock the back door the lock resists the key turning, then suddenly there is a slight 'tink' sound from the lock & the resistance is gone, now the key just spins in the lock, resulting in not being able to lock the door! Fan-Fucking-Tastic!! 

I immediately assume its the lock barrel thats broken so quickly look on the internet and lo! Screwfix have a replacement lock cylinder in stock! So I rush off to Screwfix for the 2nd time in one day, arriving minutes before they close (due to living in the Cambrigdeshire fens the nearest Screwfix is a 20 mile round trip).

Get the old lock out & install the new lock.......turn the key.......key just spins! (at this point instead of going full on bat shit crazy, a strange, un-naturally serene calmness decends on me, maybe I'm too angry to be angry?!) Turns out its the lockset / gearbox for the multi locking system thats broken. I manage release  the busted lock  from the door & look online for a replacement. There are many locksets to choose from all priced around £20 - £30, but of course none match the exact dimensions of mine. After some searching, it turns out that the company that made the original lockset are no longer in business, but the ever enterprising Chinese have made an exact* copy which can be mine for £45 delivered! 

New lockset arrived Tuesday 12th May & is fitted without drama & we now have a working, lockable back door which is due to be replaced anyway, once life returns to somewhat normal......whenever that will be.......

3. Tuesday 12th May

Decide to swap the back wheels for the fronts on the modern daily (Ford Focus) Start on the passenger side, get the wheels swapped & whilst doing up the locking wheel nut on the front wheel, the side of the locking nut key shears off (because of course it fucking does), snapping the top off of the locking nut itself! So now have to wait for the new locking nuts & key to arrive.......also noticed that one of the nuts on the drivers side rear wheel has been rounded off, enough to necessitate the deployment of the Irwin bolt / nut extractors, once I find where I put them after I last used them!

 

TL;DR - FMFL! I feel like a modern day Frank fucking Spencer

 

[Springer]

On 5/9/2020 at 1:09 AM, juular said:

My neighbour has a shih tzu that since Christmas has been getting kicked out in the garden 24/7. 

It doesn't bark. It screams, and it never stops.

At first I was grumpy. Then it started waking me up at 3am at which point shit got serious and I went round. They would never answer the door but just twitched their curtains. Obviously they know it's a problem.

So I got the council involved, who were as much use as a chocolate fireguard. Apparently barking dogs are impossible to prove as being a statutory nuisance. Despite them standing in my bedroom at 10pm listening to endless screaming. Looking at recent FOI requests our council has not issued a single noise notice for barking dogs in several years. I assume someone in the department is an equally selfish dog owner and doesn't see the problem.

Im a really calm and zen person. I tend to shrug at most things. However my nerves are shattered and I'm now on beta blockers to stop this riling me up. Today I stood holding a brick aimed at their window and I'm not entirely sure why I put it down.

People with barking dogs need to be tortured, shot, and their children sterilized with rusty razors.

Just before you think I'm defending the owners...I'm not! 

 

It's classic behaviour of many dog owners who don't research the breed traits prior to purchase, then act all surprised when their dog actually  displays those traits. Shih Tzu''s, Lhassa's etc are all Temple Dog breeds, therefore it;s in their DNA to bark and scream. They were deigned as an 'early warning  system'.  Yet we still have owners (and their long suffering neighbours), surprised by this outcome.

Fuckwittery exists everywhere!!

 

Just stick to the routine of waking your neighbours up every time their dog wakes you.  I guess it won't take them long to get the message.

[mitsisigma01]

18 minutes ago, Springer said:

Just stick to the routine of waking your neighbours up every time their dog wakes you.  I guess it won't take them long to get the message

Get one of those multi frequency doorbells and set it to match the annoying bastards one and to play fair just ring it everytime the Shitzu screams then at 4a.m every morning just for the fun of it???

[somewhatfoolish]

8 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Probably the same person responsible for the one on the 90s Corsa 1.5TD.  Right down the back of the sodding engine, no access from underneath because there's a subframe in the way...removing the coolant expansion tank and having very long arms was what I recall being necessary.

Oooh, the oil filter access on the isuzu dizzler is a utter ballache, as is the starter motor; alternator isn't much better despite being visible to the naked eye. Super little rattler though, they go on for moon miles.

[Zelandeth]

4 minutes ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Oooh, the oil filter access on the isuzu dizzler is a utter ballache, as is the starter motor; alternator isn't much better despite being visible to the naked eye. Super little rattler though, they go for moon miles.

She was a cracking little car.  Once I increased the idle speed by 50rpm so it wasn't at the *precise* resonant frequency of the bar the entire dash was attached to.  Oh, and wedged the carefully measured bit of cardboard under the bonnet to stop it rattling.

Slow as dirt for the first ten minutes until she warmed up - but went like a bloody rocket after that - even though it was very much from the 80s school of turbo lag.  It really hacked off the Saxo/Corsa crowd at college as it left their big exhaust and lowered suspension equipped ones for dead!

She had 140K on the clock when I picked her up for £200 and drove like a brand new car once I'd given her a service and greased the gear linkage.  Max speed was dictated by the point you hit the rev limiter in 5th rather than available power.

Yes, that is the original battery!

(This was when I first got the car before any cleaning had happened...the interior looked very different a week later, sadly I don't have a photo of it because of a computer crash corrupting a lot of files from around this date in 2007).

The external temperature display was the one thing that I never managed to get working despite no small amount of effort.

She was a cracking little car and one I'd definitely consider buying again if I needed a local runabout.

Sold to a friend when my second Saab came along who got another year and a half out of it before front end rust finally killed it. 

I actually rate this over the petrol models...the extra weight up front makes them feel far more solid I reckon...obviously only my personal opinion though!

[OwdChina]

Bloody Honda engine, usually as reliable as daytime turns to night time.............except this one. Last 3 months or so it's been a pain in the arse. Use the thing every day and it's fine, leave it for a couple or three weeks and there's no spark. Strip it out, test everything and can't find owt wrong. Put it back together and it works fine. Then it doesn't get used for a couple of weeks or so.......... aaaand there's no spark !..............What the FUCK.

Intermittent faults drive me round the friggin bend..........work you bastard...........or else.

  

 

[wuvvum]

Had an exchange of texts with my mum last night which was basically "Oh, did I tell you so and so has died?".  Seems a number of old family friends have passed on in the last few months, people I've known for 30 years or more - none of them Covid-related, but some unexpected nonetheless.  One lady, a few years younger than my mum so mid-60s but still very active (as in running half marathons etc) fell down the stairs in the middle of the night, hit her head and never woke up.  It's depressing to think how fragile life is.

[Chas4545]

 

Barking dogs, or neighbours stereos, or any other selfish behaviour that gets to the driving you mad stage :-

Perhaps explain the deep effect the behaviour is having on your mental state  very very calmly, weirdly calmly, so calmly that the offender starts to wonder where your head is at, look them briefly straight in the eyes.  When it carries on, call police  non urgent line and very very calmly explain what you are going to do in 10 minutes. The rozzers are used to people screaming, they are more concerned when people are very matter of fact and calm.

Blues and twos arrive and advice is given. Remain very very calm. Bad behaviour goes away.

Or buy silicone ear plugs , the only ones that really work to silence your world.

On a completely un related subject, many years ago, someone I know (ahem)  had a neighbour that finished his shift and then started diy removing walls and chimneys at midnight. neighbour ignored requests to quieten  down, council not interested, rozzers not interested. So a call was made about the calm murderous intent that had been wrought on said innocent victim, and minutes later blues and twos, advice given,  and noise never happened again, at least at night.

I feel for your suffering.

[Sir Chocolate Teapot]

This is the pic i put in my local online free adds type thing for set of old Suzuki sj leaf springs.

1st message recieved.  " have you got the interior carpet? ".

I have yet to reply, maybe ask him if he wants to come round and clean it for me.

[Zelandeth]

5 hours ago, Sir Chocolate Teapot said:

This is the pic i put in my local online free adds type thing for set of old Suzuki sj leaf springs.

1st message recieved.  " have you got the interior carpet? ".

I have yet to reply, maybe ask him if he wants to come round and clean it for me.

That's more relevant than any responses I've had to *anything* I've tried to get rid of through Freecycle!

[SiC]

Balls

Full write up tomorrow

[Stinkwheel]

Arsehats, that is all. Actually no it isn’t.
What makes me grumpy today is ordering from amazon with a guaranteed/specified delivery date only to find that they have used a third party courier (hermes) and on the supposed delivery day Hermes say they haven’t even received it yet.

Fine, except amazon customer service are still telling me it will definitely be delivered today. If it is, I’ll eat my hat (and anyone else’s for that matter)

And it’s workshop equipment, so AS relevant.

[chaseracer]

1 hour ago, Stinkwheel said:

And it’s workshop equipment, so AS relevant.

And it's Herpes, so definitely grump-relevant too.

[beko1987]

20 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

That's more relevant than any responses I've had to *anything* I've tried to get rid of through Freecycle!

I'm sure one of the reasons I've scored some banging freebies is I make the effort to be as coherent and grammatically correct as I can be with asking for stuff! 

 

[Minivan]

On 5/11/2020 at 8:54 PM, Kiltox said:

If you have a house with a wanky name instead of a number PUT A FUCKING SIGN UP so people can find it 

And as I get older bigger numbers would be useful, or numbers at the boundary not on the house.

[leanycan]

This happened earlier on. Shat myself when this happened on the motorway at 70 mph. Successfully removed and will be added to the list of jobs to fix during the week. More miffed at the fact I’m going to have to replace what was a perfectly good tire. Probably up there as one of the most frightening things I’ve ever experienced 

[DeeJay]

16 hours ago, leanycan said:

This happened earlier on. Shat myself when this happened on the motorway at 70 mph. Successfully removed and will be added to the list of jobs to fix during the week. More miffed at the fact I’m going to have to replace what was a perfectly good tire. 

And drivers seat cover.

[leanycan]

20 minutes ago, DeeJay said:

And drivers seat cover.

A lot of poo happened... ?

[DeeJay]

Add an air freshener to the list.

[Dippy]

Got a sore wrist after spending an hour each side removing the old front discs on the Volovo 940, annoyed at what should have been an easy job turned into a shite afternoon and a sore wrist.

At least its done now so brakes will be good to get me to 250,000 miles if everything else lasts.

[w00dy]

One of the glow plugs has snapped off flush with the block on my Golf, no idea how I'm going to get it out. And even if I could the replacement plugs appear to be lost in the post.  Really in a bad mood now.