The Retirement Thread

[ebikeerwidnes]

You think a power cut is extreme???

my ex mother-in-law grew up in Austria in a very remote area - on the farm land bit not the mountains

when she was growing up in the 1950s they still had to walk over a mile to get water from a lake
electricity arrived in the area a long time after she arrived in the UK as an economic migrant around 1957
a pump was finally installed in the mid 60s which ended the walk to get water for the girls every morning

she frequently recalled waiting for spring when she would be allowed to stop wearing boot due to dryer weather - they would not wear shoes of any kind again until the next winter


as an aside - she also recalled being a young girl and having to abandon the house VERY quickly many time during the war - due to 'soldiers' being spotted in the area - whether German or Russian was not relevant - and soldiers were BAD
they had a well rehersed routine of grabbing essentials and heading for a cave in nearby hill which was prepared beforehand - they sometimes stayed there for days - old boys and any other men available would go back to the house during the night to see if it was safe - or even still there

It was weird watching was films with her because the 'bad guys' would include her brother and father


Anyway - less rambling

 

[The Rover]

Evening.

New bike day... again.

 

[classic33]

Nice to know that even they don't know a plug from a socket.

You've to bear in mind that some of those affected will be going round changing fuses, then all of a sudden "they" get things working.

 

[Paulus]

I remember those days. My grandmother lived on a farm and didn't have electricity till the late 50s.
Woodburner for hot water and cooking and oil lamps for lighting.

I had a great Aunt who in 1970 was the last person in Finchley, North London who didn't have electricity. She had one cold tap and a kitchen range from the turn of the 20th century. Her lighting was by oil lamps.
My Dad, her nephew got in touch with the then MP, a certain Mrs Thatcher who arranged for her to be moved.

 

[Dirk]

Watched 'AI - Artificial Intelligence' this afternoon. Interesting film. Basically a futuristic take on Pinocchio.
Worth a watch.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I had a great Aunt who in 1970 was the last person in Finchley, North London who didn't have electricity. She had one cold tap and a kitchen range from the turn of the 20th century. Her lighting was by oil lamps.
My Dad, her nephew got in touch with the then MP, a certain Mrs Thatcher who arranged for her to be moved.

But her milk was stolen on the way out????




(common thing round here is to refer to her as 'Thatcher the Milk Snatcher' - she ain't popular)

 

[12boy]

It has gone from -22C to -20C. Went for my drive in 2nd Covid shot at 10 at my clinic and there was a 2 block line but eventually a parking spot became available and I read Harry Bosch short stories for half an hour. Got the shot, was allowed in the building for micturation and left after the obligatory 15 minute wait, which was to see if a bad reaction might occur. The poor folks administrating the shot program were continually outside in the cold and yet they were very nice. I was impressed. I was a little concerned there wouldn't be enough vaccine available when the time came for my second shot, so it was good to get this off my plate.
As far as Terry Pratchett goes, I love his stories, and 2 of my favorites were Going Postal and Making Money.

 

[PaulSB]

Back in the 21st century now. A good thing.
No central heating. A bad thing.

So 3.5 hours without power. OK stuff happens. Candles lit. Fire burning. Mrs P crocheting wearing a head torch! 😄 Power restored but the gas fired central heating does not fire up. I'm not good with this type of thing. We have a combi boiler. All the right lights are on. Use hot water and the boiler fires up.......ergo the boiler is OK - how's that for a process of elimination? You should be proud of me!!!! Check thermostat. Yes, it's calling for heat. Perhaps the wireless thermostat has become disconnected? Goes through set up process and bingo central heating comes on. BUT the display is flashing a number (43) and error code alternately The error code is not in the list of error codes in the Instruction Manual.

While I'm trying to solve this ENWL (Electricity North West Ltd) phone me because I'm Priority Customer.
"Is everything OK Sir?"
"No"
"Oh how can I help?"
"The CH was good till the power went off and now it isn't very good. I expect you to sort it out." This was their fault for calling up to ask if we were OK.

The nice lady basically explained ENWL is an electricity company and doesn't do gas!
"But I'm a Priority Customer!"
"Sorry sir we still don't do gas!" This went on. I didn't get cross (not sure how) but the lady said she would raise a complaint.

Finished phone call. Back to kitchen. Boiler working perfectly. Display has stopped flashing and now shows a steady 67 and no error code, when previously it showed flashing 43. I suspect +/- 67 is the working temperature and down at 43 the boiler shows an error.

Mrs P thinks I fixed it. Beaucoup kudos. Not a word guys, not a word.

 

[PaulSB]

Evening.

New bike day... again.
View attachment 573441

I think you should take it back. Have you spotted the problem? The valves aren't lined up with the same letters in Continental. Poor from Ian that!! 😄

Personally when I'm running Contis I like the valve lined up with the C.

Great looking bike Stu. Have loads of fun.

 

[GM]

Very similar to Boldonlad. We used to go to our Grandparents cottage, travel up from the East end to Broxbourne every Sunday afternoon up until I was about 10 years old. They never had electricity, but had gas lamps. One thing I do remember quite vividly is they had a painting on the wall of The Boyhood of Raleigh, I was fascinated by this painting I just stared at it for ages. Another thing I remember is the lead-acid battery radio, great big old thing probably worth a lot now. Ironically Broxbourne is one of my cycling routes now.

 

[classic33]

Back in the 21st century now. A good thing.
No central heating. A bad thing.

So 3.5 hours without power. OK stuff happens. Candles lit. Fire burning. Mrs P crocheting wearing a head torch! 😄 Power restored but the gas fired central heating does not fire up. I'm not good with this type of thing. We have a combi boiler. All the right lights are on. Use hot water and the boiler fires up.......ergo the boiler is OK - how's that for a process of elimination? You should be proud of me!!!! Check thermostat. Yes, it's calling for heat. Perhaps the wireless thermostat has become disconnected? Goes through set up process and bingo central heating comes on. BUT the display is flashing a number (43) and error code alternately The error code is not in the list of error codes in the Instruction Manual.

While I'm trying to solve this ENWL (Electricity North West Ltd) phone me because I'm Priority Customer.
"Is everything OK Sir?"
"No"
"Oh how can I help?"
"The CH was good till the power went off and now it isn't very good. I expect you to sort it out." This was their fault for calling up to ask if we were OK.

The nice lady basically explained ENWL is an electricity company and doesn't do gas!
"But I'm a Priority Customer!"
"Sorry sir we still don't do gas!" This went on. I didn't get cross (not sure how) but the lady said she would raise a complaint.

Finished phone call. Back to kitchen. Boiler working perfectly. Display has stopped flashing and now shows a steady 67 and no error code, when previously it showed flashing 43. I suspect +/- 67 is the working temperature and down at 43 the boiler shows an error.

Mrs P thinks I fixed it. Beaucoup kudos. Not a word guys, not a word.

Valient boiler?

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Very similar to Boldonlad. We used to go to our Grandparents cottage, travel up from the East end to Broxbourne every Sunday afternoon up until I was about 10 years old. They never had electricity, but had gas lamps. One thing I do remember quite vividly is they had a painting on the wall of The Boyhood of Raleigh, I was fascinated by this painting I just stared at it for ages. Another thing I remember is the lead-acid battery radio, great big old thing probably worth a lot now. Ironically Broxbourne is one of my cycling routes now.

What bike did he have with him???

don't worry - I'll get my own coat

 

[PaulSB]

Valient boiler?

Worcester Bosch.

 

[The Rover]

I think you should take it back. Have you spotted the problem? The valves aren't lined up with the same letters in Continental. Poor from Ian that!! 😄

Personally when I'm running Contis I like the valve lined up with the C.

Great looking bike Stu. Have loads of fun.

Thanks Paul, they’d left off a dust cap as well to see if I noticed!

I seem to have become the bike marketers dream, a winter bike, summer bike, gravel bike and a mountain bike.... and Carole’s got an adventure bike!

 

[Drago]

But her milk was stolen on the way out????




(common thing round here is to refer to her as 'Thatcher the Milk Snatcher' - she ain't popular)

She's oft referred to as such here in middle England as well.

Its a little unfair. She did away with it for older kids (8 and above if memory serves), but it was a labour government later in the 70's that happily did away with it for the 7's and below, but some people develop selective amnesia over that. I guess "Shirley Williams" is difficult to rhyme with "snatcher".

As for me, I never really cared - im lactose intolerant, so couldn't drink it anyway!