Car (or bike) Chat!

[struth]

The way it is with modern cars I think. Older tech might be a bit more fussy.

Bought a new (to us) car on Monday. Volvo S60. Has all the toys, including wintertime sweaty arse seats. And it's a D4 diesel, the pick of the bunch. Not a hairy chested 3L Audi like I was considering, but more than quick enough for us

hope you got a service and repair deal. nice cars those but not cheap to service etc i believe. sure wife will be pleased

[Pigmy Pony]

Great idea!

Post Offices, in general, are a pain in the arse a) because they're never conveniently located for car drivers, and b) unlike the petrol stations I use, are almost always busy/have queues (you KNOW how I feel about queues!) and full of old grans getting their pensions and stuff, holding back folks like me who simply want to send a parcel in the quickest possible time!


Marco.

Oh dear. What happened to the personal touch, and interacting with others? You could at least put up with the queue and chat with the old grans, or are you in a hurry to be somewhere?

I'll bet many post offices are inconveniently located for car drivers because they were there before cars were a thing.

[Pigmy Pony]

hope you got a service and repair deal. nice cars those but not cheap to service etc i believe. sure wife will be pleased

Yes they're giving it a service and MOT (though it only runs out in November). We don't pick it up till next Monday, because their standards dictate it has to be detailed and alloys refurbed (even though it already looks like a new car). Got a good feeling about this motor Grant.

For Anita comfort is everything. The seat has to be right, and because of her Fibromyalgia and Morton's neuroma, automatic gearbox is a good thing too At the end of the day it's her car, I just pay for it. And probably drive it 5% of the time, though I'm good with that, I like being the passenger, and anyway she's a better driver!

[Marco]

Although this place is only 3 miles away, and is really good.
https://www.mccaskiebutcher.co.uk/?u...eid=cd75d8c51e

Marco, if you time have a look at their wine list, and let me know if there is something I should be giving a go.

Will do, mate - I'll check it out later!

Marco.

[struth]

Oh dear. What happened to the personal touch, and interacting with others? You could at least put up with the queue and chat with the old grans, or are you in a hurry to be somewhere?

I'll bet many post offices are inconveniently located for car drivers because they were there before cars were a thing.

post offices around here are few and far between now. even the ones put into shops are getting closed. pensions etc soon wont get paid into post office accounts so i guess thats part of it

[Marco]

You left the house just to top up and take some pics, showing how badly your local petrol station is doing, then drive back home? You're a strange one you... The place looks an opening scene from "Vanilla Sky"...

Lol... Firstly, I hadn't heard of Vanilla Sky until now, let alone watched it, so I don't know what the relevance of the opening scene is. However, having Googled the film, it looks good (I like Tom Cruise), so I've bookmarked it to watch later, nice one

Of course I went out at my usual time (mid morning during the week when all the daftees are at work) to fill up the car, hence why it was dead. I like it that way! It isn't always like that at peak times (far from it), so I guess it pays, as there's been a filling station on that site since we moved to the area in 2000.

Then just as I was getting in the car to go home I thought, given what we'd been discussing recently, I'd take a few pics for a laugh to show how tranquil it is, compared with the hustle and bustle of the 'real world' in Preston!

After which, I swung by Sainsbury's to collect a lovely fresh crunchy baguette, and went home to have breakfast. It's a hard life!

Marco.

[Marco]

if you work and have children you basically have no free time to yourself except maybe a couple of hours in the evening after you've got them off to bed.

Not like in our day when we entertained ourselves and sorted out our own problems, the little darlings now demand and get full attention all of the time.

Well, I guess that depends on how they're brought up.

We've got numerous friends with kids, and they still have a life, simply because they've brought them up in a disciplined way and trained them not to be continual attention seekers, basically by involving them in all sorts of hobbies, such as dancing and playing musical instruments, sports, etc, and other than driving them there and collecting them later, leave them to get on with it!

Plus they also spend lots of 'quality time' together as a family, going on day trips out, etc. Quite simply, they're too well occupied to get bored and seek attention.

Internet/phone usage is also closely monitored and controlled, with strict bed times adhered to, and so phones are confiscated at that time (9pm) and not returned to them until the morning, and also banned from the table during meals - and you couldn't meet nicer, less 'needy', more well-mannered, intelligent and HAPPY kids!

Therefore, there no need for it to be how you describe. Yes, bringing up kids properly is a full time job, but if you bring them up the right way from DAY ONE, you can lead a perfectly fulfilled existence, with 'me time', as well as family time, if you're organised and determined enough.

Anything that saves people time they are going to jump on it. People like you and me are the exception, no surprise that the world is not changing to service us.

Indeed, but that doesn't mean we have to live in the same world as them!!

'Create your own world', simply by shunning the mainstream version. That's what we do, and gain from enormously

Marco.

[Marco]

Does he come out and fill it for you? If not then he isn't serving you, he's just giving you a friendly smile while he takes yer money. OF course if he invites you to his barbeque that's different...

Lol, or for a date, then run a mile! That's defo more of a problem if Del goes in to pay...

However, he's still serving me by processing my payment, rather than doing it myself at a pump, which I much prefer. That's also the case if I choose to buy anything in the shop. I take it to the counter and he processes the payment; I'm not scanning it in myself.

There used to be a little garage on the shore of Ullswater, with a big sign saying WE SERVE YOU. And they did. Shame it's gone now.

Indeed... So you agree that it was a much nicer/more human experience? If so, how does paying at the pump qualify as being BETTER, other than it simply being quicker and more convenient?

Is that ultimately what matters most to you? If so, we have rather different priorities in life, which is fair enough

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Lol... Firstly, I hadn't heard of Vanilla Sky until now, let alone watched it, so I don't know what the relevance of the opening scene is. However, having Googled the film, it looks good (I like Tom Cruise), so I've bookmarked it to watch later, nice one


Marco.

Definitely worth a watch - a bit weird, but I like weird. I'm chatting with you aren't I?

[Marco]

Oh dear. What happened to the personal touch, and interacting with others? You could at least put up with the queue and chat with the old grans, or are you in a hurry to be somewhere?

Lol, I know where you're coming from, but the difference is at the filling station I'm not waiting in any queues to be served. After having filled up, I'm walking straight through the door, right up to the counter and getting served!

No hurry, as such, but you know me and queues; I simply don't entertain them, old grans or not, lol. I'm only interested in the personal touch when I don't have to wait for it.

I'll bet many post offices are inconveniently located for car drivers because they were there before cars were a thing.

Indeed, but that doesn't alter the fact that they're inconvenient for me, and almost always busy. No shortages of them around here though, there must be at least six in Wrexham I can think of!

Granty, what the hell has happened to Bathgate? Nothing decent seems to exist there anymore, mate....

Marco.