Steve_M

Err, yes. We had a slight odour in our dining room not long after we bought the house. We employed someone to sort it out. It seems bodgit and scarper builders incorporated had done some dodgy plumbing to take the stack out of the house and it had broken as it passed through the wall underground. The guy doing the work, familiar as he was with this sort of situation, was working on it in five minute shifts pausing to get breath at regular intervals. I stayed out of the house other than to offer him cups of tea.

You leave my bollox out of this, they’re out of sight and doing no one any harm...

More Peter Sellers...

Welcome to my world. Tyre pressure gauge, mobile phone and good quality European breakdown cover has worked for me so far.

Some years ago I joined the Old Gits on one of their tours. I have since based my own touring checklist on theirs, modified slightly to our particular needs. This Checklist link is indicative of what we carry.

In your position I would join the Trail Riders Federation.

Adnams Broadside. Always good. The programme is excellent. Highly recommended and, if you have Amazon Prime (I get it as part of my Vodafone mobile phone package) it’s free.

Good point. Well made. I blame the beer.

Watching “The Road” London to Beijing on Amazon Prime. Well worth the time and my (free) subscription.

Some of you might have noticed that among my interests is Judo. Too old to be actively competing (actually, I have a mate who’s 73 and still competing, but he’s a rarity and a legend in judo circles) I still enjoy watching. I’ve just watched a British lass, Chelsie Giles win a gold medal at the Tel Aviv grand slam event, beating a multiple world champion and Olympic medalist on route. She was ranked number 7 in the world before this... I think I’ll have a drink to celebrate.

A “Jaaag”?

Good evening.

My good lady reckons I could run a vehicle on self produced methane.

Do it. There is one safety consideration to bear in mind. Don’t blip the throttle at standstill at a junction. We were advised to hit the kill button every time we came to a stop just to be safe. I’m not a throttle blipper but still took the advice.

I’ve ridden a couple of electric motorbikes. Does that count? I rather enjoyed the experience and, if they solve the cost, range and charging issues, I’d buy one.

I was referring to his chisel tool bit. Should I just sit quietly in a corner having lowered the whole tone of this thread?

My chisel fitted to the sds isn’t that big, but still wizzed the plaster off the walls in double quick time. I’m thinking I could do with one of those beasts for the rest of the house. After all, it seems that size does count.

I had a puncture just outside Auxerre many moons ago. I spotted the nail in the tyre while checking my chain. The Hote Chambre owner pointed me at a place in the city. They plugged my tyre, and I rode home to Norwich with it in. I completely forgot about it (I’ll use pressure of work as an excuse) so it stayed in there until I replaced the tyre. That included a day of pottering around Cadwell Park on a track day. Ooops.

This morning has been spent laying woodchip paths through the garden in glorious sunshine.

What is hidden behind a lot of this is the intelligence gathering by the police. Sure, they may not drop everything to go look for a single bike that’s stolen, but each report helps build a picture until a pattern emerges, if I may mix my metaphors.

I bought a stop and go kit after seeing a recommendation by a motorcycle police officer. It followed two punctures on two tours the a space of three years. I carry it in the hope that I won’t have to use it.

That sounds a lot like the one I used in Norfolk. Our local place in Cumbria is much more relaxed, though the procedures due to the pandemic have slowed things down somewhat.

Currently dry here, and glad that yesterday’s howling gale has subsided. The burn is no longer frozen over, and the snowdrops are emerging. Happy days.

I once deposited a load of green waste at my local recycling dump in Norfolk. My trailer had a few leaves and a bit of soil left in it. Rather than sweep it clean I left the tailgate off and drove away, thinking the wind would clear out a few leaves and grass cuttings. The guys at the recycling place told me that by that I’d be fly tipping. Given that this was in a rural location (Ketteringham) it felt a little extreme.

I was going to buy my good lady Roses. She can have the ones in the green foil. I’m not keen on them.