DIYer down

[geoff]

In message , Grimly Curmudgeon writes

Yes

Not quite sure why yet, but the police have been called in for some reason

He's got an Ariel square four hidden away somewhere too

[ARWadsworth]

Easier than catching a criminal.

Do you inherit it?

[geoff]

I think his brother will get in there and nab it

[Andrew Gabriel]

Don't they have to call in HSE for such things, anyway? It will count as a workplace accident, I would think.

I had to look up what that was on Google.

[Graeme]

In message , Andrew Gabriel writes

Andrew, you must be younger than some of us :-)

[PeterC]

Made me twitch - I've always wanted one of those, especially the later model that ran below fusion temperature.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember geoff saying something like:

Perhaps he was Welshpool's answer to ARW and an enraged husband happened.

[ARWadsworth]

If he was working and not DIYing then I would expect the HSE to be involved.

[Andy Champ]

Philistine. (bet you have to look that up too!)

I heard them described as 16MPG. Oil that is - only 4MPG for the petrol...

Andy

[geoff]

In message , Grimly Curmudgeon writes

At his age, I doubt it

He predates TMH by some 50 years (it would have been his 80th birthday next week

[geoff]

Yes - slightly different story coming out now.

He was working on a carport roof at commercial premises

[The Medway Handyman]

I flattered Geoff, but that would make him 109 :-)

[geoff]

They live long and prosper in our family

He's never sold cleaning products AFAIK

He's aleways been a handyman

I remember going around with him during job a bob week once when I was a kid

slave labour ...

[Andrew Gabriel]

Well, a "bob" is a shilling, i.e. 5p.

Minimum wage (16 year old) is £3.57/hr.

So a bob gets you about a 50 second job, which is about the attention span of your average 16 year old today.

[The Medway Handyman]

Ah, but when Geoff were young (1960?) a bob was worth a bob. Now its worth

77p. Get you nearly 15 minutes.

Shouldn't it have been 'groats' when Geoff were young though?

[Steve Walker]

Mine's that even rarer beast, the dry-brick chimney - I really must get round to sorting it before the autumn weather sets in. At least I don't feel too unsafe up there, as long as I stay to one side of the ridge (I can do most of it from there), any fall would mean rolling down the roof and dropping a whole three inches onto the flat roof of the extension - which is quite wide enough that I would not go rolling off the other edge!

SteveW

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: [e-mail] ---

[Dave Liquorice]

Today seemed more like early winter. Best part of 15mm of rain and a rather cool NNE'ly.

But bricks are small and light. The top of this chimney is blocks of stone, 3" thick 12" or more wide and >6" deep, they'll have a bit of weight to them... and it's always surprising how big chimney pots are when you get up close. B-)

[Steve Walker]

That's alright then, their weight will keep them in place :)

Yes. At least ours are basic ones, not the giant, Victorian type. I last saw mine up close a few weeks ago when I went up to remove the TV aerial

- I decided that the 12' pole was putting a bit too much strain on the brickwork in windy weather. I've left the lashings in place though to help hold everything together. Unfortunately I can't dedicate any time to it this weekend, as we're buying presents and preparing for our eldest son's birthday party tomorrow.

SteveW

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: [e-mail] ---

[geoff]

Which reminds me, and brings the thread full circle

This particular uncle used to help Fred Dibnah with his demolitions when he was a teenager

[Owain]

Which reminds me that "Publishers World" cheap book shop have a Fred Dibnah book in, =A310 down to =A32 with lots of pretty pikchers, and a 3- DVD set, for anyone interested.

Owain