IKEA to charge £1 parking fee at its new Edmonton store

[MM]

IKEA commandeered it.

MM

[Mary Fisher]

Nor beehives.

My first car was a Riley 9. Our first car was a Triumph Mayflower. Our second a Standard 8, the baby in the carry cot had to go behind the back seat in what would now be the boot.

The car I most enjoyed driving was a Humber Imperial. The worst was a VW Beetle.

Oh happy days ...

... in some ways.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Still won't apply to you and me - we don't go, do we!

Mary

[T i m]

Yes and no. Before I learnt to drive I had a year on the road on my moped and several years cycling before that. I had road sense, learnt how to keep out of the way on my moped, what it was like to be vunerable on my cycle. I had rebuilt my first car when I was 15 and used to drive it about on our private alleyway. I could drive as fast backwards as forwards.

I was met outside College for my first driving lesson and ended up at my house at the end (the instructor though I was on the bus or something, not on my moped parked at the College). So he told me to drive back to the College 'and get on with it' as he had another lesson booked directly after mine. I passed 1st time (it *was* easier in those days) .. the same with my Motorcycle.

I'm not suggesting I'm a 'good' driver in the sence of doing everything by the book but I believe I am an efficient driver and try to think about what I'm doing and how my vehicle it's speed and positioning may affect others. I also believe I have good observation (judging by the number pf people I spot who don't see me). I even tried to flag down my own wife one day (I was walking home from the train and ended up at another station) and she drove straight past .. she 'said' she didn't see me ... ? ;-)

Maybe it's the motorcycling that means you have to have your wits about you . ?

Training, electric shock treatment

Indeed ;-)

Because I have know some of the folk I have seen driving badly and know they are generally 'nice' folk?

It could be different though couldn't it. After all, I believe it's the minority we are talking about here?

He might be just saying that to you .. ?

Moi, say anything like that .. non?

Yes, you pull up beside them at the lights or flash your headlights and when you get their attention gesticulate the international 'yer offside rear light is out' code (don't ask, bloke thing).

Or they may represent the few that did?

Exactly Mary. I have helped the elderly parents of a few of my friends and some live in a world of routine, TV quiz shows and fish on Fridays. Nothing wrong with that but it lessens their exposure to the real world and they end up loosing touch. The odd time they fire the car up and drive to get a new plant for that empty patch in the garden it all seems to be very fast out there! That's when the rep that's just done 300 miles on the motorway and is trying to get home at a reasonable time comes up behind them on the 60 mph B road and is suddenly doing 38 with nowhere (safe) to get past.

You on the other hand are active and 'into'' loads of different things .. imagine 'them' being on here even ... ? My 70+ year old Mum has a mobile phone and I don't think has ever used it. She had a car (passed her test first time at age 50) but rarely drove it and when she did she drove it like a mimzer. Yet my Mum is very active and still walks as fast as I do! I bought my 78 year old Mother in Law a mobile phone the other day now can't stop her texting me! The 70 year old couple who live across the road (who I built a PC for and support now and again) are on MSN most evenings chatting to their friends / family. She drives a new Ford Focus and drives very efficiently. Some folk are good at driving or things technical, some just arent ..?

;-)

When I have the misfortune to try to drive past such places and there they are .. waiting in the shadows ... ready to pull out in front of me ..

Maybe because you already are?

Yes, but in addition to good speed / positioning. I can follow someone round London and would not have an issue by the lack of signals because they 'sign' where they are going by how they do it. There are places where signals *are* important of course, but often are only a reinforcement to the other (and just as well considering how may folk don't use signals or don't use them well.

Classic example as a motorcyclist. You are waiting to pull out at a 'T' junction and there is a car approaching from your right. They are showing no indication but eventually turn tight. You mutter something to yourself and pull away. Or, csome mimzer is coming along and indicates left and slow down, so you (not me) pull out and they run you over .. because they were turning left into a garden centre some

600 yards further down the road but failed to observe the motorcycle and that their indication *may* be misinterpreted? Yes, it's the biker that's dead, and in the court of law was in the wrong but if *I* was the car driver I wouldn't have created the scenario in the first place. I would have observed the biker and timed my indication *after* I passed him .. just-in-case (I would also do the same with another car by the way). I'm not suggesting I'm the only one that does this btw, just highlighting something that I believe the 'less involved' driver would not even consider?

If folk - as you suggest -

Correct .. (even if they are indicating)

Do don't drive regularly in a city do you Mary? Never heard about 'White van man' either I suppose

Hurrah .. Mary agrees with something! ;-)

I was in the Scouts for about 6 weeks. We tried to get our daughter to join the Brownies .. she came back quite disgusted with us .. "They sit on the floor and sing to a mushroom .." ;-)

I believe anything and everything you say Mary .. except the bit about bees being able to fly ... ;-)

T i m

[Roger]

The message from "Mary Fisher" contains these words:

The most common signal seen at roundabouts is turn right, often from the numpties who are intent on turning left or going straight on. A roundabout is essentially a one way street on which all entrants have to turn left initially so how the particular practice of always indicating right caught on is not obvious. The Highway Code in effect says treat a roundabout as a crossroads with appropriate lane positioning. That doesn't stop numpties in the left hand lane (some of whom may not be indicating right) from proceeding all the way round to at least the 3rd exit. I have even seen police officer do that and from a slip lane intended for left turn only.

[T i m]

You could have had my Sierra Estate Mary .. never let us down in 22 years and 97,000 miles, would take anything on the long roof (real gutters for the Thurle roof bars) and the 2L Pinto would tow pretty well anything. Nothing more complicated than an ingition amp .. and in spite of spending most of it's time towing something, I never touced any of the transmission components in all that time. (I snapped two half shafts in my MM Vans in less miles) ;-(

All the best ..

T i m (stuck in the past (but not quite so far back) with Mary) ;-)

[T i m]

No, many models are only available ready to run. You *can* still buy kits although the choices are getting less or you can build from scratch but that's less realistic if you want to compete with them.

No but it would often be considered. When I started building stuff it was because you couldn't get it any other way or I couldn't afford it any other way. Now it can be difficult to get the components and often the finished item is less sophisticated than the cheaper shop bought item?

Not *just* a control freak Mary . ;-) But, believe it or not (IMHO) you don't represent the majority or even a significan minority in Britian today? I didn't say no one does such, just less than before ?

A mate who has been running his own garage for the last 35 years has just spet 6,000 on one of those diagnostic units. Now at 55 years old I'm not sure how long it's going to take to earn that back but it's something he had to do .. that or contend with a shrinking 'basic' car market?

Oh they are are they? You are probably refering to your twin tub washer, wood fired boiler and 'the Spouse' as dishwasher. Most of your list are now microprocessor controlled and littered with sensors and probes that are difficult to test without the right gear. Yes you can get lucky but I wouldn't say they were 'simple' any more? ;-(

Oh yes .. ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

Well, there's quite a few parts in a Kodak Reliant 700 cheque filmer but I'm not sure about working with humans....

Memories of when we built the Kit car ;-)

Thats a good technique and something I try to do, especially if I may not be getting back to that project for a while. That and taking digital pictures at suitable intervals .. "a picture speaks " etc ..

All the best ..

T i m

[T i m]

Ah, but you are a Viking or summat .. ?

My Hoyt (from memory) was 54 lb and I have a 36" draw .. so maybe ;-)

T i m

[T i m]

No, they could have Tourettes syndrome I suppose?

Hmm, not my understanding of the word 'fortunate' then? ;-)

T i m

[T i m]

Exactly .. I had started pinching myself to make sure I was awake when Mary was questioning my logic / observations .. maybe folk don't cut you up when you are in a cart pull by an oxen? (I'm gonna pay fot that one!) ;-)

Cheers Roger ..

T i m

(p.s. I live near that roundabout!)

[T i m]

Sounds familiar ..

[Lurch]

On Tue, 18 Jan 2005 11:36:08 +0000, [e-mail] (Steve Firth) strung together this:

Apparantly it will be one day.

[James Hart]

[James Hart]

We took our Pug Partner van to a dealer to use their special computer on it when a warning light kept coming on intermittantly. After 3 attempts at diagnosing the fault and failing I happened to follow it back down the road after picking it up from the garage and spotted a brake light that was working intermittantly. One new buld later and the warning light was gone. The dashboard light knew something was wrong but wouldn't tell us, their fantastic diagnostic machine couldn't tell us but the old fashioned eyeball mk1 worked it out.

[Peter Twydell]

But never the ones you want! We bough a light oak Kavaljer bookcase/cupboard/drawer unit for our home office several years ago because we liked the design/price/colour. It's been discontinued for some time. Now we're moving and want to put a bigger bookcase in...

[Peter Twydell]

What's the food like in the restaurant at IKEA?

[T i m]

[Mary Fisher]

You'll pay for confusing singular with plural - how can you have 'an oxen'? !

I must have mentioned my desire for an ox cart before or you wouldn't have mentioned it. Fact is, I can't afford one nor have we the facilities.

But I have seen an ox cart being cut up by impatient drivers, as I've seen horses being cut up. I've been brought off my push bike by a car turning left with me on the inside - the driver hadn't seen me. Crikey - I'm beig enough and I don't wear dark colours.

As for roundabouts, I don't think that positions of vehicles are as important as clear indications of intent.

Mary

Tim, if you spend time watching a roundabout you need to get a life!

>

[Mary Fisher]

A Tyke.

Since the butchery in my axilla during breast cancer surgery I can hardly pull 20 lb :-(

Mary