Is DIY dying?

[Lurch]

On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 21:04:18 -0000, "Mary Fisher" strung together this:

Perhaps they just didn't want you there? ;-)

[MJ]

No doubt my local B&Q will see this as an ideal excuse to reduce the 2 normally occupied checkouts (max 6) down to one. And the same checkouts have to be used for returns too.

MJ

[Mike Harrison]

How long before they use this to justify bringing all DIY work under building regs, a la Part P.....

[Mary Fisher]

SSSSSSSSSssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh .......... you don't know who's reading this .....

Mary

>

[RichardS]

yes, you never know.,... this morning on R4 Today had a story on... deep frying turkey! spooky....

[Andy Hall]

Talking of shifty looking characters, take a look at the picture at

[RichardS]

nah, he's just nervously making sure that there are no hands emerging from dark corners for him to shake (his excuse, not my sentiments!)

[Owain]

"Mary Fisher" wrote | "mike ring" wrote | > Try it on Wednesday at my branch - 10% off for wrinklies! | I thought they'd stopped that! | Last time we went on a Wednesday they said they had :-(

They were probably being tactful, rather than accusing you of pretending to be older than you obviously look in order to fraudulently obtain discount.

Owain

[Mary Fisher]

Yes, I heard it too. But the chef obviously hadn't gleaned his information from You Know Where because he hadn't injected it.

The Mars bar was mentioned though ...

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

[Mary Fisher]

Sppplooooorttttttttttttt!

Spouse has been called 'a little old man' since he was forty.

I was first given a concessionary rate four years ago - without asking.

I didn't know whether to be pleased or not. I went for pleased, being a Tyke :-)

Mary

[N. Thornton]

typical news media, selecting and interpreting stuff to make it sound like there's news.

lets see what they offer to support this... nothing, it turns out.

people working long hours never did, obviously

Odd... I know few people who spend that much a year on getting in building trades. Most certainly dont. You can get a lot done for that kind of money, if youre not stupid about it.

Its the same as it always was. And as was already pointed out, just what was the question they asked anyway? I can just imagine 'Would you do any diy, such as rebuilding a garden wall, converting your loft, reroofing and so on?' We need to not be too naive about angled surveys and articles.

And who did they ask? A bunch of senior citizens in a pub at lunchtime? Who knows.

again, nothing new, most were never into diy. And his vested interest is a tad obvious!

it is, yes, but nothing to do with the diy aspect, more to do with the scary taste of those programs, their sometimes misleading advice, and their known frequent failure to point out that some people should really not try what theyre doing.

no, we always knew that! no-one's so silly theyre only now realising that.

I find that very hard to believe. Would need to see the figures, and see what it really says, and how they have or havent been massaged into this.

nothing new, we all know a small number of idiots get involved. 70 out of 60 milion would make it one of the safest activities of course, which rather contrasts with the supposed 200,000 injuries quoted above. Maybe 200,000 includes a guess at the number of very trivial things that are to be expected.

no evidence. The thirst for diy tv programs is of course, but thats a different thing.

Blatant propaganda. One of the main problems with tradespeople is they dont do it properly.

stating the obvious, thats always occurred

always been that way. Only now becoming known? I doubt it somehow!

the building boom has little to do with what diy people do.

again, always was the way, no news there

yup, but why? Nothing to do with diy falling out of favour, more to do with a construction boom, and increasing regulation putting a lot of professionals out of work. Hence far more demand for builders.

obvious propaganda

ditto, thats nothing new.

these cases are funny, but really have nothing to do with diy on any remotely serious level. Pointing out the exceptional absurd case, making no mention of the huge number who have successfully overhauled and transformed houses, many with huge value gains, and giving nothing but one sided propaganda... it hardly makes for an unbiased, well reasoned or convincing article.

Whats the real reason for the article? Either the media had nothing to say and got desperate to fill the space and sell copy, or someone in the building business decided to try and have a pop at the pesky diy thats always competing with their work.

Regards, NT

[Mary Fisher]

Of course.

They never do. It's not proper research.

Well, they said men between 30 and 50. They said, according to above, that

67% said they weren't up to the job and (perhaps a more honest?) 27% said they ... were not interested. Snipping mine.

I take exception to the suggestion that senior citizens might answer like that. In my experience they're more likely to diy than younger people. In my experience they're not likely to spend £4,500 a year on tradesmen.

It's interesting that they didn't ask women. Or didn't report it if they did.

Indeed.

I always suspect figures such as 200,000. Why not 200,001?

Perhaps they've run out of ideas for the programme (I've no idea what it is) or perhaps they need a slot for another programme designed for airheads.>

AHEM!

Indeed!

So are they downsizing?

Indeed.

Isn't that always the case???

Mary

[Phil Addison]

Phil The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at

NOSPAM from address to email me

[Andy Hall]