Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 3]

Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 3]

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MartG

20,666 posts

204 months

Saturday 3rd June 2017
quotequote all
Roofless Toothless said:
Pot holers.

Do people still do this? Many years ago (unfortunately) when I was a young man you used to hear about pot holers all the time, and a fair few of them used to get stuck down holes. Big rescue efforts reported all over the papers.

But now days, well I can't remember hearing about pot holers at all for ages, stuck or not.

Is it still a thing?
Yes, it's still a thing - my son got dragged down a few potholes when he was in the scouts

Roofless Toothless

5,656 posts

132 months

Saturday 3rd June 2017
quotequote all
FiF said:
glazbagun said:
Halmyre said:
FiF said:
Watching an old movie the other day, 1961 and seemed to be set late 50s looking at cars.

Anyway the stars were Ian Carmichael and Janette Scott as a not that well off married couple. Not impoverished but certainly not well off, eg living in rented rooms.

Anyway Carmichael was driving a 30s Bentley. Not sure of model exactly, hands in PH card. But many of these films someone is driving a car that would be worth a fortune today, and imo worth a fair crack even then.

Does the team think that this is simply a feature of film industry fantasy land, or were such cars actually used as daily drivers by some as late as the 60s.

To be fair I think the first car I sat in was a Rolls Phantom 1. That was in the 50s.
I think in the 50s/60s you could pick up ratty old Bentleys and the like fairly cheaply. Classic car magazines would occasionally have a 'from the archives' bit which was small ads from the period.
Yeah the watchmaker George Daniels had Bentleys and was not a rich man at the time he acquired them. Back then they were just crude old cars. Why would you want a Nokia when everyone was driving iPhones? Thinking about it, in the 60's you could buy an E-Type, an MGB or a Rover P6 V8. A pre-WWII Bentley must have looked like a ratty old Lexus LS400 by comparison..
Things must have changed pretty rapidly though. I remember a Scottish holiday, 6th form at the time so late 60s, we saw a chap and, presumably his wife / fiancee / girlfriend / maybe even a loved one touring in an open 4-1/2 litre, don't recall it being a blower. Even then we recognised it as something special and valuable, it looked to be in superb nick. They were wearing the goggles and flying helmet getup, remember someone commenting, "How to look a complete berk, yet totally get away with it. Bravo."



The film you were watching must have been School For Scoundrels (1960) which also starred the incomparable Terry-Thomas (yes, the hyphen was part of his trademark name, just like the gap between his front teeth was part of his trademark face). An iconic British film star, in the truest sense of that overused word.

Wikipedia tells me that the car you describe was a 1928 Open Four Seater 4.5 litre Bentley with a custom Two seater body.

I used to use a flying helmet and goggles sometimes in my Caterhams (check my picture in my ID) as a matter of practicality. Any hat with a brim didn't stay in company with my head very long, and a tight fitting cap with a chin strap was just the job. Even that used to lift if I ever got too enthusiastic. Covering ones ears was a good idea as well, as it keeps out the wind rush. The googles were a nuisance for anyone using spectacles, though, as it was a bit cramped in there, and in the end I found that a woollen beanie and ski goggles with a prescription insert was the best solution.

But the old flying helmet used to generate a smile and a thumbs up sometimes from people, and I only remember once being accused of looking like a t*t, by a nice man in a white Transit.

A few years back I went to a Classic Car event at Brooklands and this chap made a splendid arrival in his Bentley.




A few minutes later another guy showed up in a tiny open Austin 7 and parked it right next to the big Bentley.



The two of them had a lovely chat.



|https://thumbsnap.com/Vx1YG21H[/url]

HappySilver

319 posts

164 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
Cherry pickers and the like, why are they always stored fully extended at plant hire yards etc.? If there is a problem when you come back to them surely being stuck folded is better than having the thing up in the air?

Shakermaker

11,317 posts

100 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
HappySilver said:
Cherry pickers and the like, why are they always stored fully extended at plant hire yards etc.? If there is a problem when you come back to them surely being stuck folded is better than having the thing up in the air?
I always thought that this was to make them harder to steal.

They all have a manual release on them so that they can be lowered down from on high, but I think there is some part you can take out that stops it being driven away.

Also, it makes them really visible so that you can advertise your plant hire business premises easily...

RammyMP

6,764 posts

153 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
Shakermaker said:
HappySilver said:
Cherry pickers and the like, why are they always stored fully extended at plant hire yards etc.? If there is a problem when you come back to them surely being stuck folded is better than having the thing up in the air?
I always thought that this was to make them harder to steal.

They all have a manual release on them so that they can be lowered down from on high, but I think there is some part you can take out that stops it being driven away.

Also, it makes them really visible so that you can advertise your plant hire business premises easily...
Prevent kids pissing about in the basket. Yes you can manually lower them if you know what you're doing. Most (large) plant have trackers on them anyway.

FiF

44,050 posts

251 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
Roofless Toothless said:
FiF said:
glazbagun said:
Halmyre said:
FiF said:
Watching an old movie the other day, 1961 and seemed to be set late 50s looking at cars.

Anyway the stars were Ian Carmichael and Janette Scott as a not that well off married couple. Not impoverished but certainly not well off, eg living in rented rooms.

Anyway Carmichael was driving a 30s Bentley. Not sure of model exactly, hands in PH card. But many of these films someone is driving a car that would be worth a fortune today, and imo worth a fair crack even then.

Does the team think that this is simply a feature of film industry fantasy land, or were such cars actually used as daily drivers by some as late as the 60s.

To be fair I think the first car I sat in was a Rolls Phantom 1. That was in the 50s.
I think in the 50s/60s you could pick up ratty old Bentleys and the like fairly cheaply. Classic car magazines would occasionally have a 'from the archives' bit which was small ads from the period.
Yeah the watchmaker George Daniels had Bentleys and was not a rich man at the time he acquired them. Back then they were just crude old cars. Why would you want a Nokia when everyone was driving iPhones? Thinking about it, in the 60's you could buy an E-Type, an MGB or a Rover P6 V8. A pre-WWII Bentley must have looked like a ratty old Lexus LS400 by comparison..
Things must have changed pretty rapidly though. I remember a Scottish holiday, 6th form at the time so late 60s, we saw a chap and, presumably his wife / fiancee / girlfriend / maybe even a loved one touring in an open 4-1/2 litre, don't recall it being a blower. Even then we recognised it as something special and valuable, it looked to be in superb nick. They were wearing the goggles and flying helmet getup, remember someone commenting, "How to look a complete berk, yet totally get away with it. Bravo."



The film you were watching must have been School For Scoundrels (1960) which also starred the incomparable Terry-Thomas (yes, the hyphen was part of his trademark name, just like the gap between his front teeth was part of his trademark face). An iconic British film star, in the truest sense of that overused word.

Wikipedia tells me that the car you describe was a 1928 Open Four Seater 4.5 litre Bentley with a custom Two seater body.

I used to use a flying helmet and goggles sometimes in my Caterhams (check my picture in my ID) as a matter of practicality. Any hat with a brim didn't stay in company with my head very long, and a tight fitting cap with a chin strap was just the job. Even that used to lift if I ever got too enthusiastic. Covering ones ears was a good idea as well, as it keeps out the wind rush. The googles were a nuisance for anyone using spectacles, though, as it was a bit cramped in there, and in the end I found that a woollen beanie and ski goggles with a prescription insert was the best solution.

But the old flying helmet used to generate a smile and a thumbs up sometimes from people, and I only remember once being accused of looking like a t*t, by a nice man in a white Transit.

A few years back I went to a Classic Car event at Brooklands and this chap made a splendid arrival in his Bentley.




A few minutes later another guy showed up in a tiny open Austin 7 and parked it right next to the big Bentley.



The two of them had a lovely chat.



|https://thumbsnap.com/Vx1YG21H[/url]
Cheers, nice story, but unfortunately no cigar.

The film was Double Bunk, with Sid James though he referred to himself as Sidney James in those days, Dennis Price, Liz Fraser as the bit of 'council' totty, Terry Scott and a host of familiar faces. Certainly wasn't that car in the picture above. Can find out details of the boat, an old Admiralty launch but not the car. My guess is a 3 litre open tourer, but it's a guess.

Ayahuasca

27,427 posts

279 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
The car in School for Scoundrels?

a '1924 Swiftmobile'


Ayahuasca

27,427 posts

279 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
Why are there no cheese based drinks?


glazbagun

14,276 posts

197 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
Ayahuasca said:
Why are there no cheese based drinks?
You might just be the next Bill Gates/Newton. hehe


vonuber

17,868 posts

165 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
LarJammer said:
I spend many hours on the motorway network and have been wondering when was the last time there were NO roadworks on any motorway? I'm thinking it was a very long time ago.
A lot of HGV traffic (and heavy vehicles in general) will wear the pavement out, which will need replacing. It's primarily a function of vehicle trips, and you can throw in the weather as well. Obviously if they don't do it then you'd get loads of accidents.
For example, if you ever ride a bicycle or motorbike, you will notice the tramlines worn in the road from heavy vehicles which can be hilarious to cross.

gazzarose

1,162 posts

133 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
On the news today they were talking about the lovely dust dampening showers we've been having in South Wales all day. They said we were going to have a months worth of rain in one day. Now when they say a months worth do they mean an average of the year months rainfall or the amount we should have in the current month, in this case June? We've had a fair bit of rain today bit nothing to compare to a months worth in Jan or Feb, so is it just a media exaggeration to make it sound more impressive?

randlemarcus

13,518 posts

231 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2827610/Mo...

And of course, the Japanese have cheese drinks, but you guessed that, right?

DJFish

5,921 posts

263 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
Ayahuasca said:
Why are there no cheese based drinks?
Possibly the best question ever posed...

Roofless Toothless

5,656 posts

132 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
Double Bunk - never heard of that film. I must look out for it. Syd James for Terry-Thomas seems a fair swap.

Google tells me that the fictional 'Swiftmobile' is still on the road, but has been rebodied, which is a blessing looking at that picture I posted.

I appreciate the correction.

StevieBee

12,862 posts

255 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
Ayahuasca said:
Why are there no cheese based drinks?
Technically, I guess, Protein Shakes are,,,being as they are about 99.5% whey which is cheese by product.




"No whey"! I hear you say!

Jimmy Recard

17,540 posts

179 months

Monday 5th June 2017
quotequote all
DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.
My great uncle has a 1928 Bentley as well as a load of other special stuff, that was old but nice kit when he bought it, nothing special.

As he said to me, "In 1961 a Brough was just an old motorbike - I bought loads of them. Why would you expect it to be worth anything fifty years on? We didn't see classics quite the same because it was more of a novelty and rarity and so newer was usually better."


It made sense to me

mickk

28,841 posts

242 months

Tuesday 6th June 2017
quotequote all
Ayahuasca said:
Why are there no cheese based drinks?
Or fish.

Jon321

2,803 posts

188 months

Tuesday 6th June 2017
quotequote all
mickk said:
Ayahuasca said:
Why are there no cheese based drinks?
Or fish.
I'll have a pint of your Haddock and Cheddar Best bitter please landlord. Yum.

Captain Benzo

442 posts

138 months

Tuesday 6th June 2017
quotequote all
Roofless Toothless said:
Pot holers.

Do people still do this? Many years ago (unfortunately) when I was a young man you used to hear about pot holers all the time, and a fair few of them used to get stuck down holes. Big rescue efforts reported all over the papers.

But now days, well I can't remember hearing about pot holers at all for ages, stuck or not.

Is it still a thing?
not quite potholing, but i suggest you watch 'Diving into the unknown' about cave diving, it's a documentary about a dive going terribly wrong and the survivors going back for their mate's bodies in Norway.

sobering viewing but the visuals are spectacular.

berlintaxi

8,535 posts

173 months

Tuesday 6th June 2017
quotequote all
Ayahuasca said:
Why are there no cheese based drinks?
http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink10449.html

Rather you taste it than me.
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