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Minor Strangeness (IHTM)

Trevp666 said:
Our resident ex-copper would be most likely to know the facts on that but AFAIK there isn't a time limit on notification. The issuing of a fine though, that's a different matter.
My son was issued with a speeding fine but he had moved house several times over the course of a couple of years and the DVLA had not kept up with his address changes.
He got a knock on his door about 3 or 4 months after the issuing of the fine - it was a bailiffs that handed him a summons for a court appearance in Oxford the following month.
This ended up in a 28 day ban, a hefty fine, and points on his licence and also incurred much heavier car insurance ongoing.
But he had been doing 96 in a 70 zone so he was lucky to not lose his licence altogether.
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Thanks for cheering me up:chuckle:
 
Floyd1 said:
Oh no! The trouble is that it's so easy in a modern vehicle. You're so insulated from everything.
They didn't do the speed awareness thing back when I was fined- it was 3 points and I think, £60.

Another time I got a fine through for doing '49 in a 40', but the camera had mistaken me for a hgv. (Must have gone on height or width). The actual road signs said 50. So for cars and me it was a 50 zone, but for hgvs it was therefore 40mph. I had to send of the vehicle details and it was cancelled.

It's suprising how many people don't know the speed for their vehicle (other than a car I mean). A lot used to be caught out on a two-lane road near Manchester because they wrongly thought it was a dual carriageway but it wasn't. It had no central barrier, so the fact there were two lanes in each direction is irrelevant. (A proper 'dual carriageway' can actualy have 1,2,3 or 4 lanes on each side as long as they are divided by a central barrier).
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Pre covid a mate had to attend a speed awareness course in a group of 30 people. He was the only one who knew the speed limit difference and could recognize the difference between a dual carriageway and a two lane road. To be fair, like most things in life, motoring to comply with the gigantic plethora of signs (or lack thereof) has become a pain in the old proverbial.
 
PeteS said:
Pre covid a mate had to attend a speed awareness course in a group of 30 people. He was the only one who knew the speed limit difference and could recognize the difference between a dual carriageway and a two lane road. To be fair, like most things in life, motoring to comply with the gigantic plethora of signs (or lack thereof) has become a pain in the old proverbial.
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Yup, my car is old with no modern features like a built-in satnav. I have several satnavs and sometimes consider plugging one in just for the road speed change notifications. You'd have to keep it up to date though.
 
PeteS said:
Pre covid a mate had to attend a speed awareness course in a group of 30 people. He was the only one who knew the speed limit difference and could recognize the difference between a dual carriageway and a two lane road. To be fair, like most things in life, motoring to comply with the gigantic plethora of signs (or lack thereof) has become a pain in the old proverbial.
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Years ago (thankfully before there were cameras everywhere) I was in London town, and due to gridlock there was no way that you could avoid straddling the box junction. If you waited outside it, you'd never have got anywhere due to the lights changing and then traffic coming from the other way. I wonder how many have been unfairly fined due to this as nowadays a lot of junctions like that have cameras.
 
Floyd1 said:
Years ago (thankfully before there were cameras everywhere) I was in London town, and due to gridlock there was no way that you could avoid straddling the box junction. If you waited outside it, you'd never have got anywhere due to the lights changing and then traffic coming from the other way. I wonder how many have been unfairly fined due to this as nowadays a lot of junctions like that have cameras.
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There's a horrible roundabout/junction like that in my home town. As you leave the roundabout two lanes converge and if you don't nip forward quite aggressively you can find yourself stuck on the box when the pelican lights 10 yards further on change.

It's one of the busiest junctions for miles. The area is apparently up for a big revamp but I have no idea how it could be made safe or convenient.
 
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escargot said:
I have several satnavs and sometimes consider plugging one in just for the road speed change notifications. You'd have to keep it up to date though.
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What I do is I take notice of the road signs that I drive past - the last one that I went past that indicated the speed limit is the one I take to be the limit for that stretch of road.
That system is subject to failure, though, in instances in which the speed limit sign is missing, damaged or obscured, and particularly dodgy when (say) moving from a stretch of 'national limit' dual carriageway (70mph usually, in a car) into a built up area in which the limit is 30mph and if the sign is not visible you'd be unaware of the change, however an experienced motorist would know by other indications, such as the distance separating the street lights, the road markings, and the general surroundings, especially if a residential area.
Ignorance is no exemption from the law though, so even if a road sign was missing you would still be liable for a fine, however a court appearance might be more lenient due to the mitigating factors.
I find it good practice to 'drive according to the prevailing conditions'. EG on a road with a 50mph limit it would be sensible to reduce your speed in extreme weather conditions, poor light, degraded road surface, etc etc
 
Trevp666 said:
What I do is I take notice of the road signs that I drive past - the last one that I went past that indicated the speed limit is the one I take to be the limit for that stretch of road.
That system is subject to failure, though, in instances in which the speed limit sign is missing, damaged or obscured, and particularly dodgy when (say) moving from a stretch of 'national limit' dual carriageway (70mph usually, in a car) into a built up area in which the limit is 30mph and if the sign is not visible you'd be unaware of the change, however an experienced motorist would know by other indications, such as the distance separating the street lights, the road markings, and the general surroundings, especially if a residential area.
Ignorance is no exemption from the law though, so even if a road sign was missing you would still be liable for a fine, however a court appearance might be more lenient due to the mitigating factors.
I find it good practice to 'drive according to the prevailing conditions'. EG on a road with a 50mph limit it would be sensible to reduce your speed in extreme weather conditions, poor light, degraded road surface, etc etc
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Yup, you can keep an eye on road speed signs (worked well for me so far) but as you say, it's not always that easy.

Near here there are accident black spots with stretches of reduced limits where a stranger might expect to be able to go quite fast. They nearly catch me out sometimes. Techy drives through a city to work and the speed limits vary a lot. I'm surprised he hasn't been ticketed to buggery.

What I end up doing where I'm not sure is to drive to what I think the limit is and hope I'm right. Not ideal, but where I live there are cameras and I'm not risking a ticket.
I like those signs that light up with the current speed, especially when I set them off when cycling. :cool:
 
escargot said:
There's a horrible roundabout/junction like that in my home town. As you leave the roundabout two lanes converge and if you don't nip forward quite aggressively you can find yourself stuck on the box when the pelican lights 10 yards further on change.

It's one of the busiest junctions for miles. The area is apparently up for a big revamp but I have no idea how it could be made safe or convenient.
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That one heading off the roundabout up to the station on Nantwich r.d? Yes, all those 'two into one' set-ups do is cause road-rage (not from me-I'm mellow). I know they've altered that roundabout at least once. I'm thinking it may have even been a straightforward crossroads at one point (not sure about that though).
 
Floyd1 said:
That one heading off the roundabout up to the station on Nantwich r.d? Yes, all those 'two into one' set-ups do is cause road-rage (not from me-I'm mellow). I know they've altered that roundabout at least once. I'm thinking it may have even been a straightforward crossroads at one point (not sure about that though).
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It was a crossroads right up to the mid-60s when the roundabout and fire station were built.
 
Floyd1 said:
Ah, then no, I couldn't have known that.
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It's been tinkered with now and then but the lethal two-lanes-into-one feature remains. The new station entrance round the corner should have become the main one really.

Did you know, the buses were supposed to go there instead of the Horse Landing but underground storage tanks were found so big vehicles can't park there! :chuckle:
 
Floyd1 said:
Was just thinking as I nipped out in the old banger; when younger I noticed that whenever there was a film on from the good old US of A, that the green traffic lights always seemed blue to me. Many years later I asked an American guy if any states used blue and he said no.
I have since read that even our lights do have a slight blue hue added (to do with colour blindness I believe). I wondered if theirs just had more of a blue added than ours, but I don't seem to notice it nowadays.
I then recalled that in the 80s, whenever there was a report from the States, (not in films, but news reports etc) people had very orange faces (a bit like a woman I know who overdoes the make-up). I'm not sure how long this went on for, but a good few years. I don't think it happened into the 90s.
I'm therefore wondering, if both cases were something to do with different tv signals used back then perhaps?
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I've noticed the blue UK traffic lights. Some are nowhere near green!
 
I think I may have solved the 'old lady trouser smell' that I was noticing out on the village green. There's been nothing for the last few weeks, but it was back the other day, and I did notice water discharging into a drain at the same time. I think what is happening is that the owner of the house nearest to the green is using a fabric softener in her wash, which has a smell remarkably similar (in the rinse water, at least) to incontinence wear/scented sanitary products. We've had a few problems getting fabric softener in the shop the last fortnight, so I conclude that she had to change her brand temporarily, hence the smell vanishing. She's got a new supply now, so it's back.

I just wish someone would tell her that it's making the air smell horrible.
 
catseye said:
I think I may have solved the 'old lady trouser smell' that I was noticing out on the village green. There's been nothing for the last few weeks, but it was back the other day, and I did notice water discharging into a drain at the same time. I think what is happening is that the owner of the house nearest to the green is using a fabric softener in her wash, which has a smell remarkably similar (in the rinse water, at least) to incontinence wear/scented sanitary products. We've had a few problems getting fabric softener in the shop the last fortnight, so I conclude that she had to change her brand temporarily, hence the smell vanishing. She's got a new supply now, so it's back.

I just wish someone would tell her that it's making the air smell horrible.
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Find yourself a newspaper, some glue and a pair of scissors, and embark upon the time-honoured anonymous letter...
 
catseye said:
I think I may have solved the 'old lady trouser smell' that I was noticing out on the village green. There's been nothing for the last few weeks, but it was back the other day, and I did notice water discharging into a drain at the same time. I think what is happening is that the owner of the house nearest to the green is using a fabric softener in her wash, which has a smell remarkably similar (in the rinse water, at least) to incontinence wear/scented sanitary products. We've had a few problems getting fabric softener in the shop the last fortnight, so I conclude that she had to change her brand temporarily, hence the smell vanishing. She's got a new supply now, so it's back.

I just wish someone would tell her that it's making the air smell horrible.
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You are Jane Marple and I claim my £5
 
I drive a van and when I park in the car park where I live I usually have some stuff to take out the back. The van has two sliding doors. The one on the drivers side never seems to shut properly and I have to give it a real heavy shove with my shoulder to shut it. The odd thing is when I do the same anywhere else, it shuts easily first time.

It's been bugging me for the last 2 odd years ever since I bough the van. Tonight I parked the other way round as I thought it may be the slight slope on the ground twisting the chassis just a little bit or something like that. It still didn't shut easily and needed the heavy shove. Then I parked at 90 degrees to the parking bay and it shut perfectly first time with no effort. Weird. It must be something to do with the slight slope in the car park.
 
About two weeks ago I had a dream that my friend posted a picture of her feet in a Facebook chat group we're both a part of. She was asking a question about them, they were covered in sand and she was asking why. The next day she posted a picture of her feet in the same chat group asking if anyone else's feet varied slightly in size. In the ten or so years we've been a member of the same group I can't remember her posting feet pics, and in my 40 or so years I don't ever remember dreaming about her feet. I seem to have the most boring premonitions!
 
Swifty said:
I used to open up a hotel at about 6:30 every morning and there was swarms of the twats around the beer taps. I used to use some sort of flammable aerosol can and a cigarette lighter which was very effective although the can could have exploded and splattered my hand .. I was like Bill Paxton in ALIENS .. :) ... I used to do the same thing when I was a kid in my bedroom.
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I have been advised by the local WI - who know everything- that a dish of cider vinegar attracts and eliminates the little buggers.
 
catseye said:
These windows are all of the 'stiff' variety. No rattles or bangs or spontaneous movement from any of them. The kitchen window has been open over the whole of the summer (just one of the little windows at the top, the big window doesn't open, which I reckon is daft, but there you go...) and hasn't moved.

And as to smells - our village green still has that 'old lady' smell. I was out 'refreshing' the dog last night and it stank of that dusty, musty fragrance that I always associate with incontinence pads. There are two gardens there which back on to one another, both houses contain 'ladies of a certain age', but why the village green should smell of it I have no idea. Am conducting research to see if the smell is worse in certain weather conditions/times of day/days of week (just before dustbin collection, for example).
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Could it be Himalayan Balsam? Invasive plant which has a distinct musty, cloying scent particularly noticeable in early morning and evening.
 
catseye said:
Nope. No activity at all. Nobody, clearly, is daft enough to look at the price they are asking. Everyone will wait until it comes down a good £30k. It's honestly ridiculously overpriced for the area, and the fact that it's a two bedroomed terrace, downstairs bathroom, night storage heating and in need of the kitchen and bathroom being ripped out. The electrics probably want doing too. No parking either, small garden and miles from the nearest shop, for £220k.

I would LOVE to have you lot living next door! Except Swifty of course. But there's a very nice shed at the bottom of the garden for him.
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You'd be lucky to get a decent shed here for that!. Seriously, I think you mentioned a terrier? My little hero will open doors if sufficiently unmotivated or bored, those tiny , flex paws can really loosen the tightest door or draw.
 
Trevp666 said:
I was once prescribed Sodium Diclofenac when I pulled a muscle in my upper back.
That certainly did the trick.
A bit too well actually, lol.
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I loved that stuff- i dislocated my shoulder and after a lot of twisting and tweaking they gave me a high dosage of this and a week off .I was so relaxed, No 2 son ask for £2 for bus fare and I would give him a tenner., no 1 was after some lunch money no worries, here £20... smiling in a slightly scary way apparently.
 
Eyespy said:
I loved that stuff- i dislocated my shoulder and after a lot of twisting and tweaking they gave me a high dosage of this and a week off .I was so relaxed, No 2 son ask for £2 for bus fare and I would give him a tenner., no 1 was after some lunch money no worries, here £20... smiling in a slightly scary way apparently.
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If you think Diclofenac is strong you should try Tramadol, I was prescribed that for back pain and it totally spaced me out, didn't feel and pain from my back, but couldn't feel my feet of face either :hahazebs:
 
Eyespy said:
I loved that stuff- i dislocated my shoulder and after a lot of twisting and tweaking they gave me a high dosage of this and a week off .I was so relaxed, No 2 son ask for £2 for bus fare and I would give him a tenner., no 1 was after some lunch money no worries, here £20... smiling in a slightly scary way apparently.
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Watch out, certain people might be very interested in someone chucking tenners around. :wink2:
 
Nosmo King said:
If you think Diclofenac is strong you should try Tramadol, I was prescribed that for back pain and it totally spaced me out, didn't feel and pain from my back, but couldn't feel my feet of face either :hahazebs:
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We had a really big problem with Tramadol addiction in mr y previous workplace. This is why I declined the offer of tramedol from GP. i d id not realises how " mellow " I was until my kids told me I had handed over so much cash to them and agreed to various new phones/ nights out/ sleep overs/ getting a dog etc. They are good kids and did not take too much advantage of my pain ridden, drug addled state. I still have a couple of defacs stashshed away just in case. Dare not t try tramedol
 
Eyespy said:
You'd be lucky to get a decent shed here for that!. Seriously, I think you mentioned a terrier? My little hero will open doors if sufficiently unmotivated or bored, those tiny , flex paws can really loosen the tightest door or draw.
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The door is four feet off the ground and she can't reach it. It's also a pull-to-open. I know that pets are usually to blame in cases like this, but there's really no way she could be blamed for this one! I could almost have put the window down to her, except that she's shut out of the bedroom at night and the window opens outwards, so she would have fallen out.

And good thinking, but not himalyan balsam. That smells like apple pie to me. That one, I think, has been solved and is down to fabric softener!
 
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