The joy of eccentric elderly parents and their routines.
Discussion
Shes brilliant on the internet,
Facebook, online shopping, she does it all, iplayer, my5,
having an eye buggered has got on her nerves,
she could probably teach me a thing or two, dad couldn't turn the telly on, god bless him
so much so i used to look in the paper recyling bin to see what shes been ordering,
it was usually those big plastic tubs of bird fat balls,
Facebook, online shopping, she does it all, iplayer, my5,
having an eye buggered has got on her nerves,
she could probably teach me a thing or two, dad couldn't turn the telly on, god bless him
so much so i used to look in the paper recyling bin to see what shes been ordering,
it was usually those big plastic tubs of bird fat balls,
My grandfather used to go out and start his car and rev it for a bit if it hadn't been used for a few days in the winter, apparently to warm up the exhaust and remove any condensation so it didn't rust. Must have done a lot more damage to the engine than it prevented on the exhaust.
He refused to buy German cars too, but I suspect that was fairly common among his surviving peers who'd spent a chunk of the 40's flying over there on a regular basis.
He refused to buy German cars too, but I suspect that was fairly common among his surviving peers who'd spent a chunk of the 40's flying over there on a regular basis.
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 27th September 14:36
nitrodave said:
I think it's because of his life in aviation, but my dad has a weird obsession with the weather.
When it's on the telly after the news he demands silence in the room so he can listen.
No matter how hard I've tried to show him, he still doesn't get the concept of being able to look it up online whenever you like.
My dad is exactly the same, probably from decades of being a farmer. The weather ruled his every waking moment for years and even at 82 he still needs to be in for the Week Ahead forecast (which he still refers to as the Farmer's Forecast). If I ever give him an update from my phone app he's always very sceptical, especially if it differs from the Week Ahead Forecast. When it's on the telly after the news he demands silence in the room so he can listen.
No matter how hard I've tried to show him, he still doesn't get the concept of being able to look it up online whenever you like.
Edited by RTB on Thursday 27th September 14:37
Dad put silver foil on the radiator grill to stop the cold air going in the car,
not sure what cold air was going to do to the car
carry every possible spare part he could have, points plugs, air oil filter oil, to be honest the boot was a complete spares box,
he could literally service the car anywhere
Any and every moving part got greased on his car,
often resulting in ruined jumpers,
microwaved bacon,
made a note of how long it took to microwave everything, despite it being on the packaging
not sure what cold air was going to do to the car
carry every possible spare part he could have, points plugs, air oil filter oil, to be honest the boot was a complete spares box,
he could literally service the car anywhere
Any and every moving part got greased on his car,
often resulting in ruined jumpers,
microwaved bacon,
made a note of how long it took to microwave everything, despite it being on the packaging
j4ckos mate said:
Dad put silver foil on the radiator grill to stop the cold air going in the car,
not sure what cold air was going to do to the car
carry every possible spare part he could have, points plugs, air oil filter oil, to be honest the boot was a complete spares box,
he could literally service the car anywhere
Any and every moving part got greased on his car,
often resulting in ruined jumpers,
microwaved bacon,
made a note of how long it took to microwave everything, despite it being on the packaging
Silver foil (or cardboard) was a thing back in the day, helped the car to warm up quicker in cold weather. Similar to rotating the inlet trumpet from the winter to the summer position not sure what cold air was going to do to the car
carry every possible spare part he could have, points plugs, air oil filter oil, to be honest the boot was a complete spares box,
he could literally service the car anywhere
Any and every moving part got greased on his car,
often resulting in ruined jumpers,
microwaved bacon,
made a note of how long it took to microwave everything, despite it being on the packaging
My parents live on a remote Scottish island.... the paper's don't arrive until about midday.... one of them will always go out (in most weather) and drive the 4 miles to the local shop to purchase a copy of The Times.
They have full t'interweb, ipad's and my Dad worked in IT for 30 years... I still cant work out why the go through this palava every day.
They have full t'interweb, ipad's and my Dad worked in IT for 30 years... I still cant work out why the go through this palava every day.
HTP99 said:
Gargamel said:
Spumfry said:
Mine are similar - a lovely cup of coffee with the ten o'clock news*, just what you need at that time of night.
*BBC, not ITV, obviously
I do this. What's weird about that ? I like coffee and it doesn't keep me awake at all. *BBC, not ITV, obviously
Gandahar said:
In defence of old people are they the sort of people to
1. watch s
t on youtube and subscribe to it?
2. Tell everyone on facebook when you are turning the oven on.
3. Post a picture of your new sofa on instagram
4. Argue about whether boiling mussels alive is ok but not lobsters with a person you do not know called Byron34
Kids are worse. I joked about the the Morcambe and Wise breakfast sketch the other day and she said
"Who are dem?"
So I replied.,
"You must st least know Eric, he lived in Harpenden"
"Which country is that in? "
Grrrr, I whipped her with a birch like Basil Fawtly did to his car bonnet....
So stop laughing at old folk .... you git who don't know you were born !
Absolutely agree with this. Everyone younger than me is a work-shy snowflake with a social media obsession and an over-active sense of self-importance, whereas everyone older than me is a bit doddery, stuck in their bizarre ways and thinks that anyone "foreign" is either a terrorist, a benefits scrounger or a doctor. They are all as awful as each other.1. watch s
t on youtube and subscribe to it?2. Tell everyone on facebook when you are turning the oven on.
3. Post a picture of your new sofa on instagram
4. Argue about whether boiling mussels alive is ok but not lobsters with a person you do not know called Byron34
Kids are worse. I joked about the the Morcambe and Wise breakfast sketch the other day and she said
"Who are dem?"
So I replied.,
"You must st least know Eric, he lived in Harpenden"
"Which country is that in? "
Grrrr, I whipped her with a birch like Basil Fawtly did to his car bonnet....
So stop laughing at old folk .... you git who don't know you were born !
Fortunately I seem to have fallen into the sweet spot between the two extremes.
boyse7en said:
Absolutely agree with this. Everyone younger than me is a work-shy snowflake with a social media obsession and an over-active sense of self-importance, whereas everyone older than me is a bit doddery, stuck in their bizarre ways and thinks that anyone "foreign" is either a terrorist, a benefits scrounger or a doctor. They are all as awful as each other.
Fortunately I seem to have fallen into the sweet spot between the two extremes.
You were young once, and you'll be older before you know it! Fortunately I seem to have fallen into the sweet spot between the two extremes.
So said some grumpy bloke at work I had the pleasure of dealing with. Can't even remember why he said it.
j4ckos mate said:
Dad put silver foil on the radiator grill to stop the cold air going in the car,
not sure what cold air was going to do to the car
carry every possible spare part he could have, points plugs, air oil filter oil, to be honest the boot was a complete spares box,
he could literally service the car anywhere
As a kid in the 60's I can't remember going on holiday and the car not breaking down.not sure what cold air was going to do to the car
carry every possible spare part he could have, points plugs, air oil filter oil, to be honest the boot was a complete spares box,
he could literally service the car anywhere
As for the foil - you used to be able to get a blind to go in front of the rad, with a cord that you could pull from the dashboard. This one is an official Ford accessory for the Anglia:
Cheeky Jim said:
My parents live on a remote Scottish island.... the paper's don't arrive until about midday.... one of them will always go out (in most weather) and drive the 4 miles to the local shop to purchase a copy of The Times.
They have full t'interweb, ipad's and my Dad worked in IT for 30 years... I still cant work out why the go through this palava every day.
My mother, now 74, worked out some years ago that the price difference between an online subscription to the newspaper and having it delivered, was added up to the cost of an iPad in under 2 years.They have full t'interweb, ipad's and my Dad worked in IT for 30 years... I still cant work out why the go through this palava every day.
She then had to start printing out the sudoku and crossword because she couldn't do them on screen
She's generally pretty computer savvy, having been a programmer in the 60's, and is the only person I know who has to carefully read any warning message or popup that appears on the screen
Her conversion to fruit based computing (she now has iPhone and Mac laptop as well) is great though as she has to ask my uncle or my sisters other half whenever she has issues with them rather than asking me boyse7en said:
Absolutely agree with this. Everyone younger than me is a work-shy snowflake with a social media obsession and an over-active sense of self-importance, whereas everyone older than me is a bit doddery, stuck in their bizarre ways and thinks that anyone "foreign" is either a terrorist, a benefits scrounger or a doctor. They are all as awful as each other.
Fortunately I seem to have fallen into the sweet spot between the two extremes.
Reminds me of the Douglas Adams quote on technology (which I've shamelessly copied from somewhere): Fortunately I seem to have fallen into the sweet spot between the two extremes.
"I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:
1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.
3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things."
Mums worked her way through 7 or 8 gardeners,
i had to tell her in the end they all cut the grass and do the bushes, they all do the same thing,
with ropey eyesight why does it matter?
i went to school with one of them and i said youd be better sticking with him, as i known him rather getting randomers off facebook, and the yellow pages,
she stuck with him for a month then got rid because she reckoned his petrol mower was spreading someone elses dandelions on her grass,
Then she got another one that lived local, he was a right scruff, she had him for a while
binnned him and got another local bloke to do it.
now i do it,
but i dont bother trying to make it look pretty, if its green it gets mowed
i had to tell her in the end they all cut the grass and do the bushes, they all do the same thing,
with ropey eyesight why does it matter?
i went to school with one of them and i said youd be better sticking with him, as i known him rather getting randomers off facebook, and the yellow pages,
she stuck with him for a month then got rid because she reckoned his petrol mower was spreading someone elses dandelions on her grass,
Then she got another one that lived local, he was a right scruff, she had him for a while
binnned him and got another local bloke to do it.
now i do it,
but i dont bother trying to make it look pretty, if its green it gets mowed
Sheepshanks said:
j4ckos mate said:
Dad put silver foil on the radiator grill to stop the cold air going in the car,
not sure what cold air was going to do to the car
carry every possible spare part he could have, points plugs, air oil filter oil, to be honest the boot was a complete spares box,
he could literally service the car anywhere
As a kid in the 60's I can't remember going on holiday and the car not breaking down.not sure what cold air was going to do to the car
carry every possible spare part he could have, points plugs, air oil filter oil, to be honest the boot was a complete spares box,
he could literally service the car anywhere
As for the foil - you used to be able to get a blind to go in front of the rad, with a cord that you could pull from the dashboard. This one is an official Ford accessory for the Anglia:
Getragdogleg said:
Father in Law, lives with us so we can keep an eye on him...
...Its like he has so much time he has to waste it.
Sadly my Dad was like this; spending time doing all sorts of little things that didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, like sorting through his old belongings and putting them in piles on the floor or filling cupboards in the spare rooms. Then putting off other things that he always said he wanted to do, but was 'too busy'. We had to dispose of most of those old belongings when he went into the home as there just wasn't enough room for it all....Its like he has so much time he has to waste it.
He had a hobby of writing and even did an Open University course to help him write his 'novel'. This was about 15 years ago and he would write up chapters every now and then, maybe edit them a bit on his old computer. Of course it packed up one day, but I managed to get the files off the hard drive for him, plus he had some hand written chapters. I managed to get most of it typed up, bar a couple of missing chapters, but he has left it too late and can't really concentrate enough to sit down and try to write them up, despite having very little to do these days, now he is in a home.
I've done the best I could and put it in a binder, but I'd have loved to get it printed out and bound properly to present to him, so he could say it was finished. He never had any ambitions that it would be a best seller, just that he wanted to finish it, so I find it a bit sad that he hasn't been able to do this, partly due to years of doing other stuff that didn't really matter.
That reminds me: I must get round to recording some songs I wrote years ago and put them together on a CD...
OldSkoolRS said:
Sadly my Dad was like this; spending time doing all sorts of little things that didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, like sorting through his old belongings and putting them in piles on the floor or filling cupboards in the spare rooms. Then putting off other things that he always said he wanted to do, but was 'too busy'. We had to dispose of most of those old belongings when he went into the home as there just wasn't enough room for it all.
He had a hobby of writing and even did an Open University course to help him write his 'novel'. This was about 15 years ago and he would write up chapters every now and then, maybe edit them a bit on his old computer. Of course it packed up one day, but I managed to get the files off the hard drive for him, plus he had some hand written chapters. I managed to get most of it typed up, bar a couple of missing chapters, but he has left it too late and can't really concentrate enough to sit down and try to write them up, despite having very little to do these days, now he is in a home.
I've done the best I could and put it in a binder, but I'd have loved to get it printed out and bound properly to present to him, so he could say it was finished. He never had any ambitions that it would be a best seller, just that he wanted to finish it, so I find it a bit sad that he hasn't been able to do this, partly due to years of doing other stuff that didn't really matter.
That reminds me: I must get round to recording some songs I wrote years ago and put them together on a CD...
Why don’t you finish it and then have it published by a v low volume publisher online?He had a hobby of writing and even did an Open University course to help him write his 'novel'. This was about 15 years ago and he would write up chapters every now and then, maybe edit them a bit on his old computer. Of course it packed up one day, but I managed to get the files off the hard drive for him, plus he had some hand written chapters. I managed to get most of it typed up, bar a couple of missing chapters, but he has left it too late and can't really concentrate enough to sit down and try to write them up, despite having very little to do these days, now he is in a home.
I've done the best I could and put it in a binder, but I'd have loved to get it printed out and bound properly to present to him, so he could say it was finished. He never had any ambitions that it would be a best seller, just that he wanted to finish it, so I find it a bit sad that he hasn't been able to do this, partly due to years of doing other stuff that didn't really matter.
That reminds me: I must get round to recording some songs I wrote years ago and put them together on a CD...
That was my plan, but I couldn't finish it myself; I just don't know about the subject and the people (it was based on his early years after college when he moved to London and on the people he knew). I'm not a writer either. In his more lucid moments he would also remember that he still hasn't written those extra chapters.
When we cleared his house we found copies of multiple page letters (all neatly stored with 'copy' written at the top) writing to shops complaining about trivial things like a tin of baked beans that was dented. As I said...he wasted time, thinking he had plenty left to get round to it; maybe a lesson to us all.
When we cleared his house we found copies of multiple page letters (all neatly stored with 'copy' written at the top) writing to shops complaining about trivial things like a tin of baked beans that was dented. As I said...he wasted time, thinking he had plenty left to get round to it; maybe a lesson to us all.
Mums always requested copies of letters between doctors/spcialists/hopsitals,
the box has about four inches worth of letters in it.
Scribbled on them is the date she received it, even though it is written on it, along with notes about her version of events of the appt,
or her view of his incorrect medical diagnosis,
it bit her on the arse the other day because i had to fetch a letter shed done this to and made comments on regarding the doctor,
i had to email it to her social worker,
she has always questioned every medical decision that she has had in the last 60 years,
so much so her eye surgeon, has another doctor with him,
we thing its to cover his back, hes dead nervous around her,
Then while looking for stuff at the house, you find, mine and and my sisters medical bracelet from when we were born, wrapped up and put in a box with do not throw away, very precious written on it, quite gut wrenching really
the box has about four inches worth of letters in it.
Scribbled on them is the date she received it, even though it is written on it, along with notes about her version of events of the appt,
or her view of his incorrect medical diagnosis,
it bit her on the arse the other day because i had to fetch a letter shed done this to and made comments on regarding the doctor,
i had to email it to her social worker,
she has always questioned every medical decision that she has had in the last 60 years,
so much so her eye surgeon, has another doctor with him,
we thing its to cover his back, hes dead nervous around her,
Then while looking for stuff at the house, you find, mine and and my sisters medical bracelet from when we were born, wrapped up and put in a box with do not throw away, very precious written on it, quite gut wrenching really
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