Signing Out...off 'tramping'!

[ChrisB]

7 hours ago, grendel said:

when I came to the spring meet at Salhouse, I was camping at the campsite there, the only other campers were all young things, one tent with 4 girls, and a set of 3 tents of lads (they were separate parties when they arrived) there were some canoeists, but they were all young and fit (its almost a pre-requisite with the campsite nearly a mile from the car park, the older campers seem to prefer easy access to the car, I know it seemed to take forever getting there with a wheelbarrow full (walk 3 minutes - stop- take 5 minutes to get my breath back, and repeat)).

there was some noise at night, what with the lads scouting for firewood, and then the lads and lasses chatting around the fire. when it came time to leave I did have to empty the one wheelbarrow supplied to get your gear to the campsite, the boys group had left it full of their provisions, some bread, bacon and 4 cases of beers, they were all still sleeping off the previous night around the camp fire.

All in all though it seemed quite peaceful there.

It is like everything the vast majority of people are well behaved, don't drink until they fall over or become abusive and are honest.

But it only takes a couple of rotten apples to ruin a lot of other folk's enjoyment.

[Timbo]

Ladies of a Certain Age in Silver Cars

The journey home was an absolute pain in the backside. Everything was going smoothly from Martham to the end of the dual carriageway around Dereham but then I hit a succession of 'ladies' in small silver cars travelling at between ten and twenty miles per hour below the speed limit. The first I came across was down right dangerous. At one point she was overtaken by a tractor towing a trailer of straw bales. I managed to get around her at Kings Lynn, only to have another 'Lady in a small Silver Car' pick up where the other had left off. This lady was determined to make the journey as annoying as possible, frequently slowing to a crawl to allow caravans...CARAVANS...into the stream of traffic!

Over Sutton Bridge, I caught a glimpse of the massive queue of traffic that had built up behind. Just over the bridge, the lady in the silver car gave way to another lady in a silver car, this one had 'L' plates. Through the double roundabouts and I looked to my road positioning as this was about to become dangerous. Sure enough, as we started along the straight a succession of speed merchants on two wheels and four started to try and over take, forcing their way back into the traffic stream when confronted by the continuous traffic coming in the opposite direction. Every time one of these idiots pushed back into the traffic queue the whole line of traffic dabbed their breaks and slowed even more. For a total gain of a car length, these toerags gamble with other peoples lives.

In the past two weeks, there have been three serious accidents shutting the A15 and A17 in both directions. All three accidents were motorcycles hitting oncoming traffic head on riding 'just' the wrong side of the centre line overtaking slow or standing traffic.

To be honest, if you remove the Lillian, Doris, Albert and Henry creeping along at 10-20mph under the limit the route would be much safer.

Sleaford dual carriageway and I managed to get around the ladies in silver cars only to pick up another lady in a silver car at the roundabout. This one stamped on her breaks when she saw a Flying Boat, The Admiral tells me it's probably a Catalina, over the Lincoln Skyline. Through Lincoln, I pick up another Lady in a silver car pottering towards Gainsborough. I get past this one and pick up another lady in a silver car at Burton Waters. This one keeps her left-hand indicator on and continually waves traffic to come around her....on every bend. On the straight, she speeds up. I eventually get level as I overtake and notice her passenger has a fish tank full of water on her lap.

Gainsborough....and you guessed it...another lady in a silver car pootling along at 20mph in a 40mph limit. This one, however, is a CPO in a marked police car. Turning into my road and I discover the road is blocked by a silver car double parked. I'd had enough.

[High6]

I'm sure I've met the same ones, almost invariably in a Micra. Never able to fathom why they brake going UPHILL. Grr.

[grendel]

Tim, if you have such a thing with old ladies in silver cars the solution is simple................

 

 

 

 

 

 

get some red or blue tinted specs, I guarantee that wearing them, you will never be bothered by a silver car again - red cars or blue cars on the other hand - maybe.

[Lazurus]

Snigger..... Mrs W. has a silver KA convertible, I think I will ask her to keep to a walking pace around Hickling when Timbo is "on site".........

[Bound2Please]

A warm to the forum Lazurus from me and the wench ( some call her Inge)

Charlie

[Timbo]

7 hours ago, High6 said:

Never able to fathom why they brake going UPHILL. Grr.

Or after they have got around the bend.

4 hours ago, grendel said:

get some red or blue tinted specs, I guarantee that wearing them, you will never be bothered by a silver car again - red cars or blue cars on the other hand - maybe.

 

I'm thinking about fitting out the QQ kind of Mad Max style Peter...or is it Rochdale Cowboy with Rhubarb on the front?

2 hours ago, Lazurus said:

Snigger..... Mrs W. has a silver KA convertible, I think I will ask her to keep to a walking pace around Hickling when Timbo is "on site".........

Now you do know I have met Mrs W, Stuart and no way is she 'of a certain age'. Her old man...on the other hand 

I don't know what it is but as soon as I pull off the main road to the Broads either to go through Costessey or through Acle I no longer mind the numpties or don't notice them? Having walked to the Greyhound a couple of times now I always drive steady down there. You never know I might meet myself walking back one day!

[addicted]

Tony rants and raves  about the "cautious" drivers that habitually travel at  considerably less than the speed limit. His particular bête noir are those that brake as soon as they see an oncoming car. I'm infuriated when they turn out to be women as they give the rest of us  girls a bad name and something to live down. These days my pet dislike are young females who tailgate. So many of them do it.  On one occasion I got so tired  of the stupid girl behind who was inches off my bumper, when I got to a road junction I stopped. got out of my car, opened the boot and invited her to get in.,  to the immense amusement of the young man sitting beside her whom no doubt she wished to impress with her aggressive driving style. The stupid thing was that out on the open road, rather than in suburbia  where we were, her Corsa wouldn't have got near my XJS V12  Jaguar.

 

 

CarolE

[grendel]

a b it like the car I met coming the other way down a narrow country lane driving down the middle of the road, then hit the brakes and stopped, there was room for two cars to pass, but half of my lane was down each side of their car, they soon moved over once they spotted I wasnt slowing down though (one does when faced with a volvo.)

[YnysMon]

The drivers that get my goat are the ones that pootle along way below the speed limit when outside built up areas, then completely ignore the 40 or 30 limits through villages. Even worse, the idiots who potter along way below speed limits, then after you've finally managed to overtake them decide to get one back and overtake you at a ridiculous speed. What?!

[SwanR]

I'm sure that we all see examples of poor driving on the roads most days ... from all kinds of drivers, young, old, male and female, in cars, on motorbikes and in lorries. Can we please therefore stop generalising about women drivers!

[HEM]

33 minutes ago, SwanR said:

Can we please therefore stop generalising about women drivers!

 

I'll get my Sou' Wester....

[YnysMon]

Yep, I dislike the generalising about women drivers too, although I must admit that our next doors' daughter does seem to have a spacial awareness issue.  She's had a few cars over the years and I've never seen any car acquire quite so many dents and scrapes. She's never had any really serious accidents fortunately, nor has she bumped our car, thank goodness!

Believe me there are some crazy men drivers out there though!

Helen

[High6]

No doubt all the scrapes and dents were made by men after she parked at the hairdresser's.

[Guest]

The drivers that annoy me are those who drive at 30-35 mph on open country roads,  eventually you manage to pass, get ahead and drive at 50ish, only to find them stuck to your back bumper for the next 10 miles.

[MauriceMynah]

I don't think that driving, good or bad, is gender orientated. Having seen both genders at both ends of the line. I do however think that women make better helmsmen (that sounds weird) except when the flappy things are about in great numbers, then the men seem to have the better tactics and attitudes.

Anyway, I'll always bear in mind what my father used to say about generalisations 

"Generally speaking, people are. "

[High6]

My wife Jenny was taught to drive by her Dad, who drove buses around Hammersmith and Kensington all his life. A few dozen years on, her driving is impeccable - until she sees a bus stop.

[Timbo]

Ellie is helming Prince of Light seven years ago.

"Come to port duck." I suggest as we head towards the port bank. "Turn to port, turn left, no left."
"I am."
"No, turn left."
"I'm turning left!"
"Turn left!!!! Your OTHER LEFT!!!!!!!!!"
"I think I might start taking driving lessons when we get home. Timbo? What do you think? Timbo? Tim? TIM?"
"I'm trying not to!"
"What?"
"Think!"

The driving lesson a week later.

"Turn left, left, turn left, turn left, YOUR OTHER LEFT!"

This Evening

"I think I would be able to drive your new car quite easily Timbo! Will you take me driving this week?"

You have been warned! 

 

[MauriceMynah]

If Ellie decides that she wants to learn to drive, don't stand in her way.

[grendel]

3 hours ago, MauriceMynah said:

If Ellie decides that she wants to learn to drive, don't stand in her way.

or behind her.

[TheQ]

or to the left.... or is that the right....

[grendel]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

or to the left.... or is that the right....

no its 'the other left'

[Malanka]

Silly driving is not unique to a particular gender I believe or even nationality. During our last trip to Norfolk in the lady from Coventry we drove 2000 km over the return journey through four countries and I can honestly say that there must be something really attractive to both men and women, young and old about the back end of the new car. OK its got four coke can sized exhausts that produce a most melodios cacophany of greek god patying when we open her up a bit. But really I have never been tailgated so much by all sorts of wonks as to defy belief. The worst part was on the way home this was in the wet by wet I mean WET.....

I don't know what it is about quicker cars but folks in France can't seem to drive their Renault Clio Sports without wanting to "try me out"  by reading the book fiona is reading in the passneger seat from the back bumper location. Zooming past me then slowing down in front or just rocketing past me a good 80kph over the limit (This was in switzerland and it was the ubiquitous Golf sport with 300bhp). Get caught doing that here and they will take your car and never give it back and fine you a multiple of your monthly salary to boot.

I just sit there and smile and keep driving, blasting out "go down rocking" by Brian Adams on the 750W Meridian Surround sound. Life is too short not to have got the car in the first place, so I am determined not to shorten it any further by reacting to facile prococations from life's population of losers.

So its funny to read everyone elses experiences are the same as mine, its not the car as we don't all drive the same vehicle, its not the same country as we live in different ones. It seems to be a malais that is afflicting everyone else except us. I'm just so pleased to know that it's really just everyone else who isn't us, young or old, male female or LGBT or whatever.   Maybe going places at 4 or 5 or 6 mph gives one a different perspective on life...I'm sure there's a PhD in that for someone somewhere.

 

M

 

[grendel]

I find that I just get up to 65 - 70 and stick the cruise control on, then they can try and intimidate a dumb system by driving too close, and it really worries them when they get in front and try braking - 1 1/2 tons of Volvo approaching at high speed tends to leave brown stains, and I have a dashboard camera to prove them in the wrong. (I also have a rear facing one - and a taxi driver who nearly got caught out while trying to undertake in the bus lane as I turned left, and then proceeded to tailgate me at about 3 foot off the bumper (at least until he spotted the camera, upon which he vanished pretty smartly))

when I reviewed the footage it was obvious why I hadnt seen him in my preparations to turn left - he was 3 cars behind at the point I looked, in about 3 seconds he had got to a point almost level with my rear bumper- in a 30 limit- I was doing about 25 as I slowed for the corner.

[ExSurveyor]

1 hour ago, grendel said:

when I reviewed the footage it was obvious why I hadnt seen him in my preparations to turn left - he was 3 cars behind at the point I looked, in about 3 seconds he had got to a point almost level with my rear bumper- in a 30 limit- I was doing about 25 as I slowed for the corner.

Was it a Ferrari or a Red Bull driven by a young Dutchman.