yen_powell

My paper licence is a bit ragged round the edges, had the same one since 97 when I last moved, so when I got my speeding points in 2017 I thought that when I sent it off for endorsement they would make me have a photocard type which I have been avoiding. But no, they sent it back, they don't write on them any more it goes online now of course, so my paper copy is clean at least. Same happened for the 2019 points as well. When I have to produce it at work or for hiring a bike or car abroad I make sure they don't manhandle it too much, I'm not paying for a new one every 10 years, not when it is valid till 2035.

I had a permitting another rider without insurance (4 points), crossing double white lines (3 points), 58 in a 30 (3 points) back in 1986, 10 points in total, then a 37 in a 30 which would have got me a 6 month ban (taken me to 13 points) but the Police ballsed it up and I got away with it. Then nothing until 2015 when I got a 50 in a 30 and 2017 when I got a 90 in a 70, 6 points in total. I've had continuous motorcycle insurance with no claims for 38 years, but according to my insurance company I only have 9 years no claims because that is the maximum with them.

Oooh, not seen that one, I'll search it out. He's in a wheelchair if you see some of them, some sort of spinal problem. He speaks like many of the contractors I have worked with, he's quite close to the line where I start to miss some words when he speaks. I have a meeting on Thursday with a bloke from a developer called Brendan who I cannot understand at all. I try and take Jim my main contractor with me, his mother comes from the same part of Ireland as Brendan. At the end of the meeting Jim tells me what Brendan said if I am not sure, BUT even he has trouble understanding him. Our most famous contractor, Patsie, was never ever understood, even by other people from his own county in Ireland. He's close to retirement now, but about 10 years ago a posh lady who's house they worked outside said to the supervisor how nice the Bosnian man was who was doing the work. He has been known as Bosnian Patsie ever since.

I wouldn't do that to anyone just trying to earn a living, especially if he was offering a fixed price service.

Perimetral, that's the bit between your bollocks and your chocolate starfish aint it?

Couple of nails were for holding my torque wrenches between. They're still on the same bit of wood.

When I first had a garage I had all my most used sockets on a plastic wall board, really easy to get at and also to see if anything was missing. Think I bought them from Halfords in the mid 90s, they stopped doing them a little while after. I still have one with a few sockets on, then I started moving stuff about to get my ramp in and switched to more stuff in my tool boxes and decided to have a crack at the foam when lockdown started. It's easy to do, just cut round the tools and peel out how many layers you need for the right depth. My spanners were on cup hooks screwed into a long piece of random wood, with say two 8mms on the first hook, a couple of 10mms on the second hook etc up to 27mm. You occasionally need two spanners the same size up to about 17mm I have found. The piece of wood is still on the wall only now it has a few T bars hanging on it and a couple of IKEA LED anglepoise desk lamps, plugged in, which I can slot into the bike ramp on either side if I need extra light on the subject. I do have some of those hanging cabled or battery lights but they always seem to twist and shine the wrong way at a critical moment, usually right into my eyes. My work bench (which is mostly covered in crap) and half the cost of my compressor was bought with my 25 years long service money I got in 2011. If I had it as cash in my wages it was taxed at full rate, if I bought something and showed them the bill I didn't pay any tax and they transferred it into my bank account. Apparently you used to get a clock in the 50s but they changed it to cash later on. My long service certificate arrived unwrapped in a box with 4 others and it had been thrown about so was scratched to buggery, it has pride of place in my toilet!!! It is however signed by our first ever directly elected Mayor who later went on to get himself chucked out of office for electoral fraud. He's standing again this year, his ban is up. The 4 people who took him to court and won have never received any costs from him to this day, some may have lost their homes over a case that the government should have funded by rights.

Got a lot of drawers, they aren't all neat and tidy but at least I can usually find what I want. That's your feed line Pete.

There's all sorts. I have a socket butchered by an angle grinder that means I can use a torque wrench to set my head stock bearings that dates back to 95, A T-handled cross head screw driver stolen off my brother in the early 80s, the infamous cheap impact driver that I've had since I was 18, an odd socket drawer for those times when nothing will fit or reach, each one may only get used once or never at all. I've got some spanners from my Dad's old car tool box which must date back to the 50s. The toolbox itself is an old machine gun ammo box made of wood which he either bought from a surplus shop in the distant past or more likely stole from the RAF Police. I've got about 4 concrete paving blocks (100x200x80mm) that are brilliant for putting a rear wheel back in. By rolling the wheel onto one to get it to the right height, another one follows to keep it there and by tapping gently you can raise or lower the wheel, move it back and forth with no effort and push the axle through in your own time.

Whilst Pete's side stand is short, shrivelled and stumpy, mine is proud mean and long and needs at least half an inch removed from it. let's just swap stands.

I'm on holiday for the week. So far I have been to Tesco once and had two rides out on a push bike, it's a bit nippy for that though. Living the dream here. My local river has flooded the paths in my nearest park so I spent a lot of time pedalling through glutinous mud whilst trying to stay upright. Still at least I don't have to answer a zillion emails and I've managed to watch series 1 of The Expanse. A robin landed on a branch about 18 inches from me yesterday as I was walking to Tesco and sat there looking at me with something wriggly in its gob. I locked eyes with it and slowly got my phone out to take a picture. By the time I'd faffed about getting the camera on he hopped into a proper tree, but still quite close. Also just fitted the plastic covers to my new to me fog lights. I hadn't done it before because they only stay on with friction and I was worried they'd disappear and they are bloody expensive. I drilled a few holes and zip tied them on. Need to find some small black zip ties, only had white ones, but they'll do for a while.

Twoesme is a term used by people serving time in clink at her Majesty's pleasure, said when someone lights up a cigarette by other people who want to share it.

What are you polishing your bike seats with?

I had to push my mate Charlie through the mud on one of those. He came out with road tyres green laning in the middle of winter. My wheels are exactly like that, but have two vertical webs from the rim for the spokes to join onto rather than one as in the picture. Not changed a tyre on it yet, but I'm sure to be doing that before the warm weather hits.

I've just come back from work and I am happy to report today I saw people driving on both sides of the road....towards me...... and also a man pulled up next to me in his car on a long one way road to ask directions. He was facing the wrong way!

Titian blonde I think you mean.

My new bike has spokes and is tubeless. The wheel looks similar to the one Honda used on its XL600M thing in the 80s, I think they had a hold on the patent at the time but you see other makes with them now.

I forgot I had this to use for about 6 months, it was my late dad's car and it was upsetting my mum on the drive outside her window after he passed away so I took it away. I green laned it a few times before selling it on and it was pretty good in proper gloop and super ruts. I thought about hanging on to it, but two cars take up too much room, you only need one to get spares for your bike.

No photographs of most of my 4 wheeled vehicles. So snips from google instead. Well there are two real pictures below, one is a bit embarrassing. The first 4 wheeled vehicle I ever drove was a forklift truck, sort of like this one, with an embarrassing name. That was when I was 18. I didn't drive my first car officially until I was 22. Then after I passed my car test I got an ex Essex County Council Transit Truck. This sort of shape but rusty as buggery and bright yellow. Sold that for the same money I paid for it including dodgy MOT supplied by my then girlfriend's dad who's first name, even then, would get your head kicked in if you shouted it out loud in a pub. Let's just say it began with N and he shared it with Guy Gibson's dog. Then I bought a 1968 Beetle in grim grey for 200 quid in 1988. Had it sprayed up in Ford Rosso Red after fitting new front wings and running boards and sold it for about £1500 a year later. Then I got on my employers lease car scheme and took over my mates Ford XR2. Looked exactly like the screen grab below. Then I swapped that for an XR2i. Now I do actually have a picture of that one. Taken because some fuckers stole 4 of my wheels. Managed to keep that quiet from the lease company and went carless for a few years until fatherhood made me buy my 2nd favourite car of all time, slow, odd starting habits, but I liked it, a Peugeot 405 estate. Then I got a new Fiesta diesel, that thing flew. 1.8 or 1.9 engine from the Focus in a smaller lighter car. Got a bad back driving to Normandy and back in that. It was there at an unattended fuel station I discovered I didn't know what the French word for diesel was!!!!! Luckily a native hove into view and told me it was gazoil or something similar. Then a few years without a car and got a VW Golf diesel. I had my stroke the day after it was delivered and didn't drive it for 6 weeks as you get a min 4 week ban which in my case got extended by 2 weeks by my doctor. Then I got my current car which I bought in 2009 when it was about 9 months old. This one has been my favourite car so far, very slow, but I really like it. Passed its MOT today, after fitting a new front wiper blade as there was a small split in it. Here it is the day I bought it, not so shiny now as you can imagine with anything I own. As I tell everyone, if you're gonna have one, have a long'n! You have to set your watch and hour forwards if you sit in the back seat as it's in a different time zone.

That issssss Magnificent!!

I'm only supposed to put one up so I will delete the other posts.