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OK, thread title is “tell me something …….anything”
Pigmy’s post above regarding “…desperate for a dump” reminded me about a story my grandad told me:
WW2, blackout, living in terraced housing with shared “privy” - gets home in dark, desperate for a dump he shot straight in to the privy, dropped his trousers and sat on the lap of the wife of a neighbour.
Never did tell me whether he did the business :)
Well that did make me laugh! One hopes he was able to contain himself, apologise and wait.Quote:
Originally Posted by guy
I'd like to think he did :D We have it so easy with modern indoor plumbing.Quote:
Originally Posted by guy
Grandads were the best for toilet humour. Two of my grandad's favourites:
One night he woke up with a desperate urge for a poo (turned out to be diarrhoea), and as he was climbing over my grandma he did a fart. And my grandma's face looked like it was covered in freckles :spew:
Then there was a moment of reflection: "After my cack (his words) this morning, I looked in the toilet and saw it was the shape of a question mark. And it got me thinking..."
He also used to say that his and my grandma's false teeth had to be kept in separate glasses at night, as they used to fight and the noise kept them awake. Not sure I believed that one.
Many homes had to be rebuilt after the war and the country was almost bankrupt, so new builds had to be designed to save costs. When it came to semi-detached houses, they were designed to have the two dwellings be mirror imaged with the entrances adjacent to one another, rather than at opposite ends of the building.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
This was done so the two dwellings could share the electricity cable feeding them from the street. Copper was expensive, so this arrangement would halve the cost. Similarly the ring main was devised to save cable cost over the radial system that had been used before.
God, I loved my grandad - wish that I had been old enough/he had lived longer so that he could have told me more.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
I remember him taking me to see “return of the magnificent 7” (he loved cowboy films), on the way he took out his false teeth and snapped them at a couple of girls who were walking towards us.
Ah I didn't know that, makes complete sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Something else to consider, regarding the semi in pic 1 (1930s pre-war), also Victorian and Edwardian semis in general: The chimneys could be put next to each other, and the living rooms would also be better insulated from the cold outside. This isn't something I've been told, it's just a theory.
Again, it all makes sense, and that the idea was continued for new-builds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
former council estate near where I used to work had some houses with doors together and some with doors apart, even though it was all built at the same time (1950s).
Is the power to these houses supplied by overhead cables?Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
No, I'm pretty sure it isn't.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Oh well, it must be "the exception that proves the rule".
Had some interesting customers over the years, but how about this one?
https://i0.wp.com/philharmonicwinds....24%2C640&ssl=1
He and his wife have provided me with work for many years now. Really nice people. I was there this morning, drinking their coffee and eating all of their bourbon biscuits.
Timothy is now 86, but still keeping busy. Munich next month, and Singapore in June I believe. Long may it continue :)
In my new flat now, at 925 pm its cheap for Brighton. I got lucky here, bang In the centre of town , well the Hove part of Brighton, a classic regency building, basement flat, loving it so far. Can't believe I spent 2 yrs out in the sticks. Beach is a few minutes walk, or 30 minutes with my poor arthritic pooch. No more buses for me, god I fucking hate buses. Neighbours are quiet, only one adjoining property, the flat above, next door is a business. Roads a bit noisy but might try my hand at some cheap double glazing. Put up 2 kitchen shelves yesterday, only took me 5 hrs, my mate says they look OK, but I'm not so sure, he assures me they're fine, and the issue is my low shelf esteem.
Good news there Mike.
Around here you would have to pay ~ £1,600 a month for a flat like yours.
Listen to your mate Mike and give yourself a break. There will always be times when we can be a bit hard on ourselves, be sure to balance it by giving yourself some credit when something works out right :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikeandvan
Depending upon how old your window(s) might be, another option could be to change the existing double glazed units to lami/tuff mix, ie toughened glass inner pane and laminated glass outer pane. Very good at reducing sound transmission, and gives more security too. Or even go for triple-glaze. Whichever, avoid 'Cloudy to Clear' glass replacement firm, their prices take the piss. Find a local one-man-band tradesman.
It's a rented flat so that's putting better windows into someone else's house at your own expense. Okay so you get the benefit while you live there but it still jars with me a bit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
I have decorated some of the rentals I lived in but that wasn't expensive. And they really needed it!
My thoughts exactly - though when I rented bedsits as a student I would bill the landlord with the decoration costs (usually just a couple of tins of paint or emulsion), and more often than not they would pay. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Macca
Our landlord is not too much of a tightwad, so through cooperation we all do ok - We pay for decorating and carpeting the house and for lawn treatments, because we need it doing when it needs doing, and not just some cheapshit 'good enough' solutions.
When it came to building the fences and roofline, I did the work and the landlord paid for the materials. I don't mind that, it means we end up getting what we want to live with and the landlord gets a bargain. The Rock Door at the back of the house was a thousand quid door, but I got it for free and just gave up half a day of my time, so I let him have that. And when it came to re-roofing the garage, I gave him a price that undercut the other two quotes, and still made a decent wage out of it :)
Bottom line is me and Anita know that we will not have things the way we like if the landlord had to pay for it all.
'Shelf esteem'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
I didn't want to replace the windows only put some cheap and easy form of double glazing up as the noise from cars is a but much up to about 8pm. Saw some cheap ones on the Internet, plastic I think, but I have blinds anyway so will hardly see them.
I've already spent 200 notes on putting up shelving, as there's absolutely no bloody storage.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
In Essex? I guess you're near the London end, I lived in South Woodford around 2005.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
No in London, Camden to be exact.
Oh the epicentre of youth culture! Spent many a Sunday there as a young man.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Arthur Scargill is in town here today to make a speech. Have to say I thought he died years ago.
I thought so too, but apparently still kicking at 86. 40th anniversary of the miners strikes I see.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
You might be confusing him with Brian Clough. Wouldn't make any difference anyway - If Arthur had something to say he wouldn't let a little thing like death stop him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
Or that bloke off of 'Wheeltappers And Shunters.'Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
"Order at the back..."
https://scontent-lhr6-2.xx.fbcdn.net...Nw&oe=666FFED1
Nuclear apocalypse getting closer people, next few weeks gonna be interesting. Russian state TV really is fucking barmy, they casually talk about how many nukes it would take to destroy certain cities!!
All said for our benefit, they know the world is watching. They're almost as good at sabre-rattling as they are at lying. As a rule of thumb always believe the opposite of what they say and you'll be pretty close to the truth.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikeandvan
Em, I'm not sure what to believe, they come across as completely unhinged. One thing though, the US would have given Ukraine long range missiles a long time ago if it wasn't aware of the dangers of escalation, and now I believe they are saying that they still cannot use them on targets inside Russia, but they can use the shorter range weapons. Other Nato states though are saying they can use the long range missiles inside Russia, so it'll be Europe that gets some return fire before the US does.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
https://www.blogpreston.co.uk/2024/0...op-man-attack/
Time to come down hard on these scumbags, by any means necessary. And if they get hurt in the process, tough titty.
First offence - birching, cheap and quick. Second offence they get dropped on a island like in 'Lord Of The Flies' and fend for themselves.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
Drop them army rations by helicopter. Monitor the whole thing from geostationary satellite, sell the TV rights worldwide, pays for itself.
Perfect :) I knew I could count on you for a reasonable, appropriate and commercially viable solution.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
I'm hoping to have Netflix attached to the project by the end of the month.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
This is just the best thread on a hi-fi forum ever:
'Chirp In Speak':
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussio...ame=tubebuffer
Fantastic! [emoji23]Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
Was all of that genuine? :eek: The guy's writings are worse than that of a typical 8 year old! :doh:
The thing is that it doesn't matter whether he's taking the piss or not, it's still genius either way.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
''I try put on gangster rap and pop to try shake it death but cricket tough little bugger. Any idea no shop vac and rather not take apart. Any music cricket no like? Even try Adele and still stay''
A friend of mine was convinced death watch beetles had got into one of his Cambridge R50 transmission line speakers - he even phoned up Rentakil to ask them how he could get rid of them.
He probably had been smoking too much "whacky baccy" and was hallucinating, as the 'problem' disappeared the next :rolleyes:
https://youtu.be/S9E5uWQraSw?t=7Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
:eek: Well that was an education! And sounds like something makers of uber-expensive speakers might use in demonstrations.
Yeah it does a bit.
Add some breathy female vocal and a shit-ton of artificial reverb and you're off to the races.
Another ten minutes and that's me out the door - a couple of pick ups then we're off to the NW Audio Show at Cranage. Yay! Free admission, pricey food and drink, plenty of unaffordable kit, and this year will include a record fair I'm told :) so pasting the wallet may be unavoidable.
Serves me right for not growing old gracefully and being aware of my limitations - yesterday we moved and raised a 9 metre long girder with the help of 5 warm bodies and two genies. I just couldn't resist seeing if I could lift one end of this 480kg lump (about 1060lb in old money). I couldn't. And now my left shoulder has been waking me all night and is still giving me grief. I wonder if I'll ever learn?
That's the equivalent of a 37 stone weight: or three well built human beings. :eek: No wonder your shoulder hurts - think yourself lucky you didn’t cause more damage to yourself.
NOW will you learn? :doh:
:D Of course I will - the trouble is that even though I learn something every day, I have to re-learn it again the next day :doh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Every time you learn something new it pushes old stuff out of your head.
Yeah it's a case of one out, one in. Just a bit annoying when becoming aware of reality show cack like "Love Island" pushes out memories I'd rather keep :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Macca
Why do they plant trees so close together? Do they not realise that they grow?
They planted loads of them round here in the late 1980s and early 90s to try and soften the crumbling post-industrial Victorian look of the place.
When they were saplings you didn't notice but 40 years on they're massive and jammed in like sardines.
What kind of trees are they? Usually councils will choose trees that can cope with exhaust pollution and will position them so the roots do not mutually interfere with each other, or interfere with neighbouring walls and pavements.