The Retirement Thread

[oldwheels]

A spot of bike fettling today. The hub on my Brompton was very sticky, so I decided to take it apart. Probably the first time since it was made in about 2000. No grease in the bearings and the 3 speed hub very grungy.
View attachment 567385

I started getting strange noises and on investigation discovered no grease in the front wheel bearings after about 18 months use. The 3 speed hub gets gear oil injected regularly and I have not the courage to take it apart as long as it works and sounds ok.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Nice that we still have a bit of light at this time of day now.

 

[ColinJ]

PS @dave r - when I had my second PE, I went to Northampton General (I was visiting my sister at the time). There was a queue of people ahead of me in A&E, including 2 lads who'd had drunken falls and had probably broken bones. The receptionist spoke to me before I joined the queue and when I told her why I was there she bumped me up the queue ahead of the drunks. I got seen by a doctor an hour later and my test results back about an hour after that.

When you (eventually) go back to the hospital, make sure that they know why you are there when you arrive. Emphasise that your GP was so concerned about the lump that (s)he told your wife to get to the hospital ASAP. Maybe others in any given queue have less (potentially) serious conditions?

 

[12boy]

Mrs 12 had some tight boots and we have no shoe trees. She read on the web that a freezer ziplock baggie filled with water, put in the shoe, and left outside in sub freezing weather will stretch the shoe as the resultant ice expands. In her case the area to stretch was to expand the heel area sideways as well as back. The shoetrees I've seen only push the heel back but not so much out at the sides. This worked very well, although the temps were -17C so the water froze completely.
In a half hour we are supposed to have the wind drop and 4-5 inches of snow begin even though the high today will be 5.5C. We will see.
I am with those who like loose shoes in terms of warm toes. Enough wooly socks to make the toe area tight make my toes colder. I also believe that oil lubrication works very well on Sturmey Archer hubs although they can ooze a bit. That's the only maintenance I've done on mine in thousands of miles.
Sorry to hear of your wife's possible thrombosis, Dave. Waiting around for possible bad news is excruciating. I hope she is going to be ok.
Sorry to reply to things so far back in the thread, but when morning comes for me you are 10 pages down the thread. Apparently some folks can precognitively reply to future posts but that is beyond my colonial abilities.
Be well and safe.......

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Strange day today - thought this thread would under stand best

Had to go to the bank to put a CHEQUE in - NPower sent my wife one as a refund for overpayment - and yes they do have a direct debit they could have used
and a bloke arrived to read the meters - been here for 6 years and that is the first time it has ever been read - inspite of changing supplier about 4 times

feels like the 1980s again

and we were all worried about a virus then as well!!!

although when I pointed this out to my wife she commented that AIDS would be easier for 2 60 years old married people to avoid
(or so she claims!)

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Had to go to the bank to put a CHEQUE in

If you want to avoid this I think most banks now provide the facility of paying in cheques with your phone. Apologies if you know this already !

 

[classic33]

It was said in the past that Dundee was where the Mafia sent people on training courses. Backstabbing was normal.

There's a marmalade factory in Dundee. Been there a while.

 

[Paulus]

There's a marmalade factory in Dundee. Been there a while.

Didn't the first marmalade originate in Dundee?

 

[classic33]

Didn't the first marmalade originate in Dundee?

So the story goes, washed up remains of the Spanish Armada

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Oh no...

IIRC, the (30-50%?) risk of pulmonary embolism (PE) from DVT is greatest in the first few days/weeks (because clots are still loose and can break up and fragments get swept 'upstream') so speed of diagnosis and treatment is of the essence. A PE is extremely serious. Any delay in treatment could have dire consequences.

I can understand why your wife didn't want to spend any more time waiting at the hospital, but I would go back there ASAP and if necessary camp out until they test her for clotting. A simple D-Dimer blood test detects 19/20 of clots and (certainly in normal non-Covid times) results can be back in an hour or two. If there were a positive result (or maybe even with a negative result if the doctor is concerned about the lump) she would probably then have an ultrasound scan of the vein, and maybe even a CT scan. Ordinary X-rays won't really pick up any clot.

Good luck!

They did blood tests whilst we were there and they all came back OK, GP phoned about dinnertime and told her to keep the leg elevated and take painkillers, exactly what we'd already been doing. And just to make the week more crap our boiler has handed its notice in with immediate effect, plumber was already booked for tomorrow, I phoned them this morning but they couldn't bring it forward so we've only got the gas fire and the kettle for hot water till its sorted. We've been looking at The Energy Saving Trust for a possible grant for a new boiler, the old one is 12 years old.

 

[ColinJ]

They did blood tests whilst we were there and they all came back OK

Thank goodness for that!

Maybe it is just a varicose vein then? My mum got those and ended up having to have them operated on a few years later. I developed a couple after my DVT but they aren't currently much of a problem.

Good luck with the boiler. Hopefully, you will get the grant.

 

[gavroche]

Well, I did go back home and arrived at about 3.15 and must say it is nice to be home. I will be going back to Devon in a few days time and according to my wife, probably will stay till end of February or when the lockdown finishes, who knows?

 

[oldwheels]

There's a marmalade factory in Dundee. Been there a while.

Marmalade was invented in Dundee.
Used to be known for Jam, Jute and Journalism.
The political infighting at one time was legendary hence the Mafia going there to learn.

 

[BoldonLad]

Marmalade was invented in Dundee.
Used to be known for Jam, Jute and Journalism.
The political infighting at one time was legendary hence the Mafia going there to learn.

According to Wikipedia, Marmalade is of Portuguese origin, although, the Scots are credited with inventing the spreadable version.

Not disputing your claim, to it, not my favourite spread (Rhubarb and Ginger Jam, Strawberry Jam, Honey, Lemoncurd, in that order for me).

 

[oldwheels]

So the story goes, washed up remains of the Spanish Armada

A Spanish ship yes but later than the armada.
One famous wreck from the armada is in Tobermory Bay. Much time and money has been spent trying to get the treasure reputed to have sunk with it. Any fool would know that the local clan would never let it sink without getting the treasure off first. I have a couple of bits of wood I picked up from the wreck. They look more like bits of my old prawn creels but why spoil a good story?