The grumpy thread

[Minimad5]

  On 06/10/2021 at 22:29, High Jetter said:

Your dogs can decide such things?

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When he decides to start limping and flinches when you touch his paw, yes.

[eddyramrod]

  On 07/10/2021 at 14:31, Zelandeth said:

My ability to deal with crowded places and such has always been minimal but it's just absolutely non existent now.

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Me too.  My sister is proposing a meetup (we live 130 miles apart) and our normal routine would be to both get trains to where we're going, usually Preston.  I don't feel that using the train under current conditions is a safe thing to do, and my claustrophobia is doing nothing other than getting stronger by the day.  We could probably go by car if the petrol situation was anything like normal, except that would cost me an arm and a leg because I don't have a daily any more, just Huggy and the Motability car.  Huggy is thirsty; I don't feel I can use the Motability car for my own leisure purposes, because it's in MrsR's name.  Sister had (last time I saw her) a then-new Pug 108, so thirst is less of an issue for her, she just doesn't much like driving.  I'm coming round to the same opinion after spending most of my working life behind the wheel!

[Jazoli]

You can use the Motab car all you like in reality Eddy, no-one checks on you, the petrol thing is back to normal too, all the stations in the area now have fuel

[Fumbler]

  On 07/10/2021 at 14:31, Zelandeth said:

Actually had to go out today on a journey which involved both public transport and walking around a busy city.

This was an interesting experiment for me as it basically was a way of questioning whether it was vaguely comfortable going beyond my immediate local vicinity for essential journeys only.

Answer is an absolute immediate and resounding no.

If someone else had not been relying on me I'd have turned right back around the moment I stepped onto the platform at the train station and saw how many folks were waiting.  Wasn't quite standing room only but not far off.

Just absolutely did not feel even remotely safe.  The antivax propaganda sticker on the train window next to the seat I was in was a nice touch.  I couldn't see a single person wearing a mask from where I was sat on either the outward or return trips.

 

My ability to deal with crowded places and such has always been minimal but it's just absolutely non existent now.

 

Feel utterly inescapably trapped here and cannot forsee any course of events which is going to change that.

 

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Anything to do with TfL requires you to wear a face covering. Everything to do with National Rail (soon GBR) doesn't, at least that's what the TfL signs at London Paddington say. Even though the Tube requires it, it can't be enforced due to the sheer weight of people travelling through the system. Personally, I'm happy to see crowds again. It actually feels like we're returning to what was very nearly a distant memory. The last 18 months have, for me, been absolutely horrible.

[Mally]

  On 07/10/2021 at 16:45, Jazoli said:

You can use the Motab car all you like in reality Eddy, no-one checks on you, the petrol thing is back to normal too, all the stations in the area now have fuel

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Only if for the disabled persons benefit. 

If you have an accident whilst alone in the car, questions may be asked.

However if Eddie was collecting  something that his wife needed, or wanted from Eddies sister...

Anytime you are alone in the car Eddie, always have a reason that can be confirmed by someone else, (your wife will do) before you set off.

Edit,

My late wife had an insatiable urge to buy Ghia wheels on ebay to give to my son for his birthday at one time.

Can you pick these up from...............please?

[Spiny Norman]

When I buy your doo-dad off eBay and you state in the ad that it will be sent Royal Mail, don't send it by fucking Herpes.

 

[jakebullet]

Getting tired of finding unexpected holes in the disco freshening* Thought I'd done all the holes, packing up today and had to prod a slightly off colour bit of underseal. Yup that'll be another hole then. 

[wuvvum]

  On 07/10/2021 at 19:32, Fumbler said:

Anything to do with TfL requires you to wear a face covering. Everything to do with National Rail (soon GBR) doesn't, at least that's what the TfL signs at London Paddington say. Even though the Tube requires it, it can't be enforced due to the sheer weight of people travelling through the system. 

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I was on the Choob on Saturday.  Almost nobody was wearing a mask.

[Fumbler]

  On 07/10/2021 at 21:52, wuvvum said:

I was on the Choob on Saturday.  Almost nobody was wearing a mask.

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Same when I was there. It seems only at quieter hours is the rule actually enforced, because that's the only time they can. Not a single Underground staffperson challenged anyone, either.

[eddyramrod]

  On 07/10/2021 at 19:47, Mally said:

If you have an accident whilst alone in the car, questions may be asked.

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See, that's what bothers me.  I have always been risk-averse.  I won't do stuff I can't justify to myself somehow, especially if a different path is already laid down in black and white in paperwork that lives in the car.  Also, my "luck" being what it is, you can bet money that at some point in such a trip, I would indeed have an accident.  Regardless of degree or fault, it would be seen as my fault because I simply shouldn't have been there.  Not alone anyway.

The other day I had a Writers' meeting, in the middle of town as usual.  I parked as close as I could, which was still several streets away, and walked the rest with my tripod.  I had taken the Suzuki because the chances of finding a Huggy-sized space are supermodel-thin.  MrsR derived no benefit from that excursion; she wasn't with me and wouldn't have wanted to be.  I suppose one could argue that she gained a couple of hours of peace away from me... but if someone had popped out of a side road and taken the front off the Suzuki, where would I stand?  The scenario isn't as unlikely as it may sound, it's what killed my lovely Scarlet Skateboard MR2 a few years ago (an incident about which I am still burning with rage).

All the above is why I've tried so hard all this time to keep a cheap daily for my own use.

[AnthonyG]

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but could you hire a car?

I guess it’s not the £40 or whatever the daily cost is, but all the deposits etc they would require of you that might an issue. 

I should add I haven’t hired a (non-classic) car in the U.K. for about 15 years now….

I suspect you need a credit card now for a start. 

 

[Barry Cade]

3 weeks after losing my bike keys, nearly getting a divorce, turning the house upside down, drinking heavily and admitting I must have early onset Alzheimers I replaced all the locks on the bmw bike, a week after replacing all the locks on my bmw bike.  Susan Boyles slightly more eccentric sister stops me on the street outside my house to ask if I've lost some keys... that she found 3 weeks ago outside my house..

[eddyramrod]

  On 07/10/2021 at 22:50, AnthonyG said:

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but could you hire a car?

I guess it’s not the £40 or whatever the daily cost is, but all the deposits etc they would require of you that might an issue. 

I should add I haven’t hired a (non-classic) car in the U.K. for about 15 years now….

I suspect you need a credit card now for a start. 

 

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You're right, I could; although the cost is an issue, even without whatever deposit would be involved.  You're also right about the credit card.  I don't want to load mine any more than they are.  I'm already struggling to make even minimum payments.

It's absurd.  Neither of us is keen to drive (even assuming I used a rental) and one of us wants to avoid the train.  There are times I feel like I'm my own worst enemy, and he's winning.

[Jazoli]

  On 07/10/2021 at 22:11, eddyramrod said:

See, that's what bothers me.  I have always been risk-averse.  I won't do stuff I can't justify to myself somehow, especially if a different path is already laid down in black and white in paperwork that lives in the car.  Also, my "luck" being what it is, you can bet money that at some point in such a trip, I would indeed have an accident.  Regardless of degree or fault, it would be seen as my fault because I simply shouldn't have been there.  Not alone anyway.

The other day I had a Writers' meeting, in the middle of town as usual.  I parked as close as I could, which was still several streets away, and walked the rest with my tripod.  I had taken the Suzuki because the chances of finding a Huggy-sized space are supermodel-thin.  MrsR derived no benefit from that excursion; she wasn't with me and wouldn't have wanted to be.  I suppose one could argue that she gained a couple of hours of peace away from me... but if someone had popped out of a side road and taken the front off the Suzuki, where would I stand?  The scenario isn't as unlikely as it may sound, it's what killed my lovely Scarlet Skateboard MR2 a few years ago (an incident about which I am still burning with rage).

All the above is why I've tried so hard all this time to keep a cheap daily for my own use.

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Surely you'd just say you were shopping or picking something for the wife and that would be the end of it, MB fraud is rife I know of a couple of people who have MB cars and the people who should be benefiting from their use have never actually been in the car and one of them lives in a different county,  I hardly think that what you want to do ranks up there with that.

[Mally]

  On 08/10/2021 at 05:43, Jazoli said:

Surely you'd just say you were shopping or picking something for the wife and that would be the end of it, MB fraud is rife I know of a couple of people who have MB cars and the people who should be benefiting from their use have never actually been in the car and one of them lives in a different county,  I hardly think that what you want to do ranks up there with that.

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There have been problems in the past with people using them outside of the agreement rules.

But as you say If Eddy was collecting a newspaper/knitting wool/ packet of crisps for his wife he is perfectly within the law.

[New POD]

  On 07/10/2021 at 21:57, Fumbler said:

Same when I was there. It seems only at quieter hours is the rule actually enforced, because that's the only time they can. Not a single Underground staffperson challenged anyone, either.

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Went into Tesco yesterday.  All the younger staff without masks. All the over 60 staff with masks, same with the customers. 

It's like the older staff are trying to protect the younger staff, and the younger staff don't give a shit about the older staff.  That'll be team work then? 

[New POD]

  On 08/10/2021 at 05:43, Jazoli said:

Surely you'd just say you were shopping or picking something for the wife and that would be the end of it, MB fraud is rife I know of a couple of people who have MB cars and the people who should be benefiting from their use have never actually been in the car and one of them lives in a different county,  I hardly think that what you want to do ranks up there with that.

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Isn't it whether you have disability VED? 

Sister in law is blind.  Has a mobility car which her husband uses to drive her about. He also uses it for work, visits to go bird watching, taking the grandkids to hospital.  I had no idea what taxation class it's in. 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

  On 08/10/2021 at 06:35, New POD said:

It's like the older staff are trying to protect the younger staff, and the younger staff don't give a shit about the older staff. 

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Standard procedure. 'The fat man with yellow hair said we don't have to if we don't want to..' etc. Obviously Boris has incorrectly assumed that the younger generation would be considerate towards their elders, which was naive on his part. 

[Mally]

  On 08/10/2021 at 06:39, New POD said:

Isn't it whether you have disability VED? 

Sister in law is blind.  Has a mobility car which her husband uses to drive her about. He also uses it for work, visits to go bird watching, taking the grandkids to hospital.  I had no idea what taxation class it's in. 

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VED may come into it if they decided to prosecute, but the contract is between the disabled person and Motability.

It's a while since I read a contract, but basically the vehicle is for the use of the disabled person, and can be driven by a person named on the Motability insurance, but only for a purpose which  benefit's the disabled person.

It could possibly be argued that going to work and taking grand kids benefits your SiL  Bird watching I'm not so sure. 

https://www.motability.co.uk/about/how-the-scheme-works/how-your-vehicle-can-be-used/

[Fumbler]

  On 08/10/2021 at 06:35, New POD said:

Went into Tesco yesterday.  All the younger staff without masks. All the over 60 staff with masks, same with the customers. 

It's like the older staff are trying to protect the younger staff, and the younger staff don't give a shit about the older staff.  That'll be team work then? 

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It's none of my business, really. I don't care whether people wear a mask or don't- we are free to assess the risks to ourselves as an individual and act upon the risk accordingly.

[New POD]

  On 08/10/2021 at 08:11, Fumbler said:

It's none of my business, really. I don't care whether people wear a mask or don't- we are free to assess the risks to ourselves as an individual and act upon the risk accordingly.

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So, if you worked with people who might be more vulnerable than you, you'd  happily not assess the risk you are to them.  That will be the ME society.  

[Fumbler]

  On 08/10/2021 at 08:42, New POD said:

So, if you worked with people who might be more vulnerable than you, you'd  happily not assess the risk you are to them.  That will be the ME society.  

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I am allowed to assess the risk to myself. If I am fit and healthy and am not ill, am I a risk to anybody else? I don't think so.

Edit: I'll add that I originally wrote "we assess the risk to ourselves" implying every individual assesses the risk to themselves and acts accordingly, hopefully meaning everyone feels that they're doing the right thing for themselves and others. In the eyes of the law, those that choose to wear a mask and those that don't are both right- That's why I say people's decisions to wear or not to wear one is none of my business.

[eddyramrod]

  On 08/10/2021 at 06:49, Mally said:

VED may come into it if they decided to prosecute, but the contract is between the disabled person and Motability.

It's a while since I read a contract, but basically the vehicle is for the use of the disabled person, and can be driven by a person named on the Motability insurance, but only for a purpose which  benefit's the disabled person.

It could possibly be argued that going to work and taking grand kids benefits your SiL  Bird watching I'm not so sure. 

https://www.motability.co.uk/about/how-the-scheme-works/how-your-vehicle-can-be-used/

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Thank you sir; that information is very clear and basically describes what we normally do with the car.  Although I have done it, and will occasionally continue to do until my next Roffle win, I still have misgivings about using the Suzuki for my garage clearance; it could be argued that MrsR will see a benefit down the line when I no longer have to pay rent on the lockup, but that's bordering on nebulous, to me.  So a random day out, just me and my sister, 50-100 miles from home... that's really stretching it thin.  I did it last year when I had my Batmobile drive at Wigan.  The drive to and from Seven Sisters was more stressful than it needed to be, for the reasons described above.

The rental option looks good on paper but actually would cost more than just filling Huggy's tank, and I do like to give Huggy a good run.  Both he and I benefit.  But, his wipers are rubbish (always have been, it's common on older American cars) and he leaks a bit, so his use is weather-dependant.  Saying that... I've got a meeting in town this morning, it's not raining and there may well be parking space nearby.  Less than two miles each way, but it'll be the first time I've started the engine in nearly three weeks...  (If I don't take Huggy I don't plan on taking the Suzuki either; I'll ride my bike.  It's close enough to be achievable.)

Just had a thought about this, by the way... you might be wondering why MrsR doesn't just come with me.  The answer is, for the same reason my brother-in-law Kevin doesn't: it's brother-sister time.  We're all each other has left and we barely spoke for nearly 20 years, so we want to make some good memories for ourselves.  Neither of us has any blood-children (both mine are step, from MrsR's first marriage); both our parents are long gone, as are almost all our dad's siblings (we think there's one auntie left; he had three unmarried sisters, one married without kids and two brothers, one of whom married late and had no kids; the other had three who are all in our age bracket).  Our mum was an only child.  So we are quite keen to spend quality time together.

TMI?  Sorry!

[Mally]

It's fine Eddy, we get it.

If your sister has a book that your wife wants to read, you are perfectly entitled to collect it for her, and you wiil need a rest and refreshments at her end  after your trip.

It's all doable with thought and preparation.

[High Jetter]

I get why it bothers you, Eddy, even if others wouldn't be so worried. Stick with your principles and delay the meet-up until you have a solution that suits you all, would be my vote.

[eddyramrod]

If we leave it a few more weeks I could call it a Christmas Shopping Day...

@Mally: a book?  LOL!  MrsR wasn't brought up to enjoy reading for pleasure and therefore doesn't now, she never has.  Which actually upsets me because Sis and I were, and have always done so.  I know what my beloved is missing and can't imagine how bare her life is because of that.  But yes, I get what you meant, thank you.

[eddyramrod]

Oh and... I took Huggy to my meeting.  It felt so good to drive him again, even if it wasn't far.  And I got a damp bum because some of the rain we've had got in...

[Dick Cheeseburger]

  On 08/10/2021 at 08:11, Fumbler said:

It's none of my business, really. I don't care whether people wear a mask or don't- we are free to assess the risks to ourselves as an individual and act upon the risk accordingly.

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That's the spirit. As long as you're ok, eh? 

This is the very reason we're in this bloody mess.

[Stanky]

  On 08/10/2021 at 16:03, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

Micras running rich, refusing to idle when cold or warm RPM all over place even with a known good TPS.  

I've flat out given up, I will sort out the fucking thing being fragged and give up on cars for a bit.

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You have the patience of a saint, it clearly wants to die. Just let the fucker go and get something (anything) else. 

[Fumbler]

  On 08/10/2021 at 15:58, Dick Longbridge said:

That's the spirit. As long as you're ok, eh? 

This is the very reason we're in this bloody mess.

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Who am I to judge others? They might not be wearing a mask for a myriad of reasons, whether it be a disability, mental health or otherwise. It doesn't matter to me and it's none of my business: the law says I am as justified in not wearing one as someone who is. I'm living in a free country that gives me the right to make my decisions and get on with life. That's the bottom line.