The grumpy thread

[JohnDeere]

The world's worst Sunday drivers have taken to the roads today, I've never seen so many grey hairs in one place. One old giffer in an S-Max decided he wanted to be in my lane of the M25, with me still in it. Clearly the idea of looking hadn't occurred to him. That's now two close shaves in three days...

[Pillock]

That'd be quite a glitch given that there's no bodywork between headlamps and bumper on a normal Metro.

Also, the stuff to the right of the picture isn't glitched at all. Very weird.

 

Can't pretend I'm not going to fire up Photoshop and make some oddball vehicles though.

[purplebargeken]

Feel sort of restless, mildly irritable and a bit 'I don't quite know what to do with myself' today. No idea why.

 

Even getting rid of 99% of the flat as a witches tit paintwork on the Sierra bonnet didn't lift my mood.

 

Wooooooo, meh.

[vulgalour]

Best theory I've heard about that Metro is that it's disabled adapted so a wheel chair user can drive it while still in their wheel chair and positioned centrally in the car.  Instead of fitting a high top they theoretically sliced the whole Metro in half like a Victoria sponge cake and added a band of metal all the way around.  Presumably also fitted hand controls.  Hellishly expensive if true and probably handled like a pig wearing stilletoes on ice in even the slightest sidewind.

[Pillock]

Also, presumably if true to do the points or change spark plugs etc you'd need a stepladder to get up to the bonnet, and them abseil down the other side.

[Cheggers]

That'd be quite a glitch given that there's no bodywork between headlamps and bumper on a normal Metro.

A good point well made. That means the only remaining options are either a bizarre Photoshop or even more bizarre hi-rise Metro.

 

What a funny old world we live in.

[Mr Lobster]

Usual post xmas ebay sales falling off a cliff has been turned up to eleventy. Not fun to find you've earned a fiver all day.

I share your pain.

 

Some days I do feel like giving up and having a real job. *shudder*

[Richard]

I have a real job. It's shit.

[Timewaster]

It's that curious tall one they were all arguing about on retro rides the other day

If you Google the reg. The image is weird but not as extreme:

 

 

https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://i.imgur.com/dFeOUVf.jpg&imgrefurl=http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/183830/curious-tall-metro?page%3D2&h=649&w=954&tbnid=KgH80DBaAK_nJM:&docid=VvDl0ZHH_j7d2M&ei=J6SBVqaaGMvyUr_HitgF&tbm=isch&client=ms-android-orange-gb&ved=0ahUKEwjmyajYuv_JAhVLuRQKHb-jAlsQMwgcKAAwAA

[Pillock]

If you Google the reg. The image is weird but not as extreme:

 

 

https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://i.imgur.com/dFeOUVf.jpg&imgrefurl=http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/183830/curious-tall-metro?page%3D2&h=649&w=954&tbnid=KgH80DBaAK_nJM:&docid=VvDl0ZHH_j7d2M&ei=J6SBVqaaGMvyUr_HitgF&tbm=isch&client=ms-android-orange-gb&ved=0ahUKEwjmyajYuv_JAhVLuRQKHb-jAlsQMwgcKAAwAA

 

That image seems to be one that rmad created on retro-rides by taking the mega-stretched one and chopping some out of the middle.

Not sure why, I think he was trying to show what the original could have looked like before an elaborate photoshop or processing error - but he's forgetting that Metros didn't have any body colour between the headlamps and bumper.

[bub2006]

Think the pas pump packed up on Picasso. Oh joy

[meshking]

Went for a walk at box hill this morning, lovely sunny day, far too warm for winter though! Why the grump? As we walked back along the a24, heard a sickening plastic on tarmac noise. Turned around to see a biker had dropped it, seemingly with no one else around, on the opposite side of the carriageway. Plenty of people helping with blankets and clearing the bike off the road, I called it in to 999. Hopefully they'll be OK, was a straight section and there wasn't any other cars involved. I don't know enough about bikes to know of that's a common occurrence.

 

Sent from my SGP621 using Tapatalk

[greengartside]

I think there was a thread for this but can't find it.

 

Just sitting here thinking of the cars I shouldn't have sold and there's one that really sticks in my throat.

 

In 2011 I bought a 1988 Peugeot 205 GTi in 1.6 flavour, from a guy on the Suffolk coast who had a garage that specialised in them, paid way over the odds for it but I really really wanted it and I believe that if you want something bad enough you can indeed get it.

 

 

Bought it, it came home and I began cleaning it up. Sadly didn't have the time to finish it as I got involved with moving in with now ex-SWMBO who was a complete c*nt but that's another story.

 

Sold it to some guy in Leicestershire who then sold it to a lad in the next village to him who then stripped the car ready to restore her. Sadly I think the project has stalled due to lack of space.

 

Me being a sentimental sod kept in contact with him and despite me firing off an email to him occasionally, we haven't spoke in a couple of years. There are a few photos on flickr but that's about it.

 

Really wished I had kept hold of it and not been an idiot and sold it. Hindsight's a wonderful thing, eh.

 

Needless to say if I could get back in touch with him and if monetaries were available along with a heated garage then it would be coming home with me.

 

Sorry for the rant, too many beers / 90's tunes / sentimentality mode.

[fred]

Had 6 hours wheeling my old dear around ''The Sales'' Ye gods this must be the 7th level of hell - Traffic was rather like ''Carmeggedon'' around the Bescot retail park

What did they come back with ....................FUCK ALL gah ......I'm mentally and physically broken into many parts.

 

And only Port and Brandy will correct my ails

[strangeangel]

RIP Lemmy

[michael1703]

Shit start to the day, I'd better hear plenty of Motörhead on the radio today

 

(Dear radio stations, they had more than one song,ace of spades is only part of the story)

[meshking]

Shit start to the day, I'd better hear plenty of Motörhead on the radio today

 

(Dear radio stations, they had more than one song,ace of spades is only part of the story)

It is a crap way to start the day. IMHO ace of spades was not their best work, this past month I've rediscovered the Bastards album, well recorded and some really top notch songs.

 

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[Des]

Sorry to hear about Lemmy, one of the good ones. If he can die then none of us are safe.

[chaseracer]

The world's worst Sunday drivers have taken to the roads today, I've never seen so many grey hairs in one place. One old giffer in an S-Max decided he wanted to be in my lane of the M25, with me still in it. Clearly the idea of looking hadn't occurred to him. That's now two close shaves in three days...

 

I'm one of those strange people who likes to leave a reasonable braking distance between my car and the one in front.  On one short stretch of the M42 yesterday, THREE cockwombles in various iterations of modern blobbish 'personal transport solutions' decided to claim that "safe space" - without checking their clearly redundant mirrors - then SLAM ON THE ANCHORS.

 

Had the family not been in the car, I might have given in to the brief impulse not to use the middle pedal.  The camera never lies...

[Lankytim]

Couple of glow plugs die on the XM. Change glow plugs. Now there's no working plugs at all. No relay click, nothing. No good deed goes unpunished..

[Cavcraft]

I know, I'll move the 306. Fail: flat tyre. 

 

I know, I'll move the Berlingo. Fail: Flat battery.

 

I know, I'll move the Punto. Partial fail: still making flippity flappity noise from o/s/r. Handbrake cable insecure.

 

I know, I'll fire up spares 306 in garage and try and move it. Fail: Flat battery. 

[Pillock]

You need one of them booster packs!

With an air compressor. And a special handbrake cable fixing gizmo.

[scaryoldcortina]

TNT. Pack of useless cockwombles.

 

I was waiting for an engine to arrive on a pallet, it was sent friday before last. Specific instructions and a phone number included with the order. Monday they didn't come. Tuesday they did, but while I was out for 5 minutes so returned it to the depot instead of dropping it with the scrapyard as requested. I phoned and arranged redelivery, told them AGAIN they could leave it with the scrapyard. Wednesday morning at 5 to nine, drove past and went back to the depot again because nowhere was open yet. Another phonecall... expect delivery today after the christmas break.

 

I stayed in the yard all day waiting, at 10 to 4 I rang them again....

 

They tried to deliver it at lunchtime on Christmas Eve. Because I wasn't there (and neither was anyone else) it went back to the depot again.

 

So I drove to the depot, persuaded them to let me in and claimed it myself.

 

 

I think the best bit was when one of the girls on the phone told me their drivers don't carry phones and therefore couldn't ring me.

[UltraWomble]

Text received on my own phone this morning.

 

 

As it happens I'm not having a good break because I know this sort of thing is likely to happen. 2016 will be job hunting year I think.

I deliberately dont reply to these sort of things from work - if they really want me they can phone me up - other than that "Oh sorry, the phone was on silent / dead/ dropped in a river"

[Richard]

He had tried to phone me but my work phone was on silent, face down and flat and my own phone was on silent.

 

A conversation about out of hours arrangements will be had when I go back next week.

[EssDeeWon]

Some silly old bitch nearly took the 75 out today on a 3 lane flow roundabout / junction near Chelmsford. She started off on the left lane then decided without any checking or indication she would move into my (middle) lane forcing me into the right hand lane to avoid her, thank goodness no one was in the right hand lane. Then daft old cow drifts back into left lane and plods off like nothing has happened.

 

She got some 75 hornage and a 'Get off the fckin road you silly old cow' but looked back as if to say 'What did I do'?    (thanks to friendly Volvo massive driver who witnessed it and let me back in lane quickly before I was diverted off towards London on the A12)

 

Shortly before this another old biddy tried pulling away in a Pisscasso with her handbrake on... So I drove home ranting about how old people should have to re-take the driving test despite my GF trying to change the subject several times.

 

I am investing in a dash cam. Any recommendations? Prices vary massively.

[EssDeeWon]

Just to add I am not normally a shouty / angry driver but this really got my goat. We all make the odd mistake but this silly old cow appears to have no idea what she's doing.

[Cavcraft]

I love it when work phone my mobile, most of the time though someone's forewarned me so I can just either ignore it or pretend to be surprised/out/pissed and still jib them.

[Pillock]

Work once asked for my home and mobile numbers, but they never said I needed to keep them current - so both are way out of date.

 

 

They do provide a work phone so I answer that if it's a reasonable working hour. I found something in the "company handbook" that says if I phone in sick, I must call (not text or email) and make sure I speak to my line manager or someone of equal or higher grade - so that means I can happily sack off any texts as not seen because the company line is they're not an official form of communication. Email is different because I only get that on my company provided computer so it sits and waits until I'm working, if I connect my personal phone to the server it wants to set a password, and there's something that lets them wipe my phone if they believe it to be lost which I refused to let them have.

 

It's crazy, I work for an HR function and they're always bleating on about "work life balance", and then they'll schedule a conference call team meeting for 5pm and complain that I'm not participating much - no, because I'm halfway up the M40, the signal is shocking and I've probably got a Volvo XC90 trying to merge into my offside wing. "Can't you take the call on a landline?" they moan - well yeah, I can bunk off work at 3pm to get home if you want? But I suspect you want me to be still sat in an office 100 miles from home into the evening. FRO.

[Pillock]

 

I am investing in a dash cam. Any recommendations? Prices vary massively.

 

This guy does good reviews with footage

http://www.techmoan.com/guide-to-dashcams/

 

I like my Transcend Drivepro, I got the 200 model but in all fairness the 100 would have been fine, I've hardly used the WiFi feature and it's easier to unclip the cam and use a second cable to download stuff, leaving the first cable in the car.