Probably the first long thread on here that I've read through every post. Me? 52, 6'1", 14.49 stone (working on it for beach holiday in January) , hair - salt and pepper, receding but this seems to have slowed down according to my family to our mutual surprise although when it gets to a certain point it's going to be styled by Gillette Fusion! I used to be a mad squash player and keen half and sometimes full marathon runner (Paula Radcliffe yesterday - outstanding) until my heart decided to go "intermittent" on me so now I stomp breathlessly around a tennis court and thoroughly enjoy long, brisk walks - amazing how much more you see walking than running! Lifelong follower of Everton FC so pretty thick skinned! Married, 3 stepsons and one nonstep son (at Uni), 4 grand daughters under three years old. I work from home two or three days a week, currently typing this out with 2 fingers on a Dell Inspiron 17" widescreen laptop in the conservatory.
I do about 35,000 miles a year visiting customers in my small IT business running the sales and commercial side of things while someone else smarter than me handles the technical side. An unplanned run in with the tax man some time ago means that the business is my pension pot so I tend to work pretty long days and drive anywhere in the UK where people threaten us with business! Don't tend to take long planned 2 week holidays anymore as my wife and I like France and visit 5 or 6 times a year for weekend or short'ish breaks usually to Normandy, Pas-de-Calais, Champagne-Ardennes or Paris. When not working or escaping to France the growing family sees that we don't sit around looking for things to do which suits me fine as I hate DIY and gardening.
Currently driving a Subaru Legacy Tourer 3.0R Spec B as a company car; it is the first auto I've had for 20 years, IMO a fine car. SWMBO has a Picanto 1.1 auto which she rates highly but not highly enough it seems as the new Fiat 500 is getting serious attention! Pet hates - Liverpool FC, 4x4s especially when piloted by suicide blondes, lane changers, tailgaters, fence sitters, whingers and petty bureaucracy.
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Widower, living in Wimbledon, 54, 5'7" and a half.........auburn hair still there, just under 11 stone, drive a '51 plate Outback 2.5 with Luxpack and a '56 plate Merc 180K Sports Coupe. 2 teenage children, at uni and boarding school respectively.
Thinking of rationalising the two cars to one, thus frequent boring requests for thoughts on which way to jump. I'm not a techno-head but hugely appreciate the comments of those who have something valuable to add, rather than just saying it grips well!
Love the humour on this site, makes me think the UK is still worth living in! Many postings have me laughing out loud, [Christmas present for SWMBO was a classic].
Sometimes post on Mac desktop at home, occasionally, as now, in the small office in the City of London, where I work for a financial trade association with around 3,000 members.
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23 year old blonde female currently in my final year of uni and getting scared cause i have NO idea what I'm going to do when i graduate.
I'm writing this on a Mesh laptop which for some reason is VERY loud and sounds like it is about to take off!
I come on here to get advice on car issues as i'm not particularly au fait with the world of motoring-no matter how many episodes of Top Gear or Fifth Gear i watch!! By the way does anyone else think that Richard Hammond is looking quite old these days -and not at all well either.
I drive a VW Golf which i love -am debating putting a little Scotland sticker on it but worried that this might induce road rage - or bad Scottish jokes! but my favourite ever car was my dads old Renault espace which he got rid off without telling me - still havent gotten over that! Was a great car (at least it felt like it to me!)
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I just turned forty last month and I'm not very happy about it. I'm sitting in my attic studio in a suburb of Warsaw, I've got a series of brochures to design for Volvo and I can't be bothered so I'll spend half an hour in the Backroom. I've got a thermometer on the window which is showing -10 but the one down in the kitchen is showing -3.
Born in Ancoats in the Salvation Army Hostel (is it still there?) worked in London for 15 years, lost Hampstead home in a divorce in 2000, met hot Polish chick and married her. Had some crazy idea that if I retained my UK clients but lived in Poland I'd be able to have quite a comfortable life and a big house with loads of bedrooms so we moved here. Also work on Polish motoring magazine as well as designing books and encyclopedias for UK market. I'm 6'2", 87kg, short brown hair, wicked sideburns, designer stubble, body full of H. R. Giger's alien tatoos which was my gift to myself for getting divorced.
Not massively into cars if I'm honest, love luxobarges, Lexus, Audi, Chrysler but it's the big cats that float my boat. My dream garage would be full of XJ and XJS all given a serious makeover by Knowles Wilkins Engineering.
I'm sitting at my wife's Acer laptop at the moment because my little boy is playing a game on my Mac. I'm now going to draw some pictures with my little girl before working into the early hours and checking in here from time to time.
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41, overweight (couple of stone) and bald - oh my giddy aunt, what a sad image. And it gets worse.....sat in a hotel room in Dinkelsbuhl, Germany as I write on my works Stinkpad.
Usually read (occasionally post) from the dining room at home while SWMBO gets her fill of prime time telly.....or late at night after too many glasses of vino.
I work for major international company as part of a project team implementing ERP system. Spent first half of year in Turin which was wonderful, now in Germany til Spring next year.
Drive a Pug 307 - my weekly commute to airport. SWMBO has old dog-eared Galaxy for ferrying the three kids and dog. I also have an 83 Alfa GTV6, which was lovingly restored (at a fair cost) and has since sat rotting on my drive for three years:-(
Edited by Webmaster on 06/11/2007 at 19:22
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Lifelong follower of Everton FC so pretty thick skinned!
See you at Nuernberg on Thursday then, Neil!
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60 (just), balding.. 5 foot 9inches, 11 stone .. still running and doing yoga so pretty slim. 32 inch waist size now (used to be 29):-(
Retired FD / plus variety of other jobs.
Writing in study of old 1820s stone built house in front of 2 screens with stocks and shares. Cheshire/Staffs border. Edge of Peak district. Quiet. Gardening and keeping quails and turkeys:-)
Yaris diesel now after series of execs BMW/Mercs/Jags etc... much nicer to drive round town.
Maintain sons' and wife's 106s... Like looks of new RR Continental but not size or price:-(
Wife has just said I must shoot her before she gets older.. so gotta dash........:-)
madf
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I am amazed at the number of people in the Backroom who drive Legacys or Outbacks. I reckon that percentagewise there are far more Subaru drivers in the Backroom than in the real world.
Of course, its because we are highly knowledgable about such matters because we frequent the Backroom!
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Me, I'm nearly 36. 6ft and 15 st. Originally from Staffs but now happy in SE London (yes , it is possible).
Engineer for a heating company.
I would have to say that I have cars running through my veins. That's why I drive a Ford Focus Estate.
Not been that taken by many new cars lately, but there isn't much I wouldn't do for a BMW Z4 Coupe. Go on, ask me.
Thought I would be bald by now, but am not. Great.
Currently sitting on the rug by the fire, typing some rubbish into my laptop.
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66 yo, 1.87m tall and 78 kg.
Retired and do lots of things with the U3A (University of the Third Age).
Live with my wife in Suffolk.
Two daughters (one is a driving instructor), the other recently had twins called Thomas and Amelia.
Still got some hair and most of it is still brown.
5 yo Avant and 7 yo Yaris.
Long ago decided that houses are not built for living in, they are built for maintaining. Proved by having 3 totally independant water leaks in the last 18 months.
The web is a fantastic resourse and HJ site is magnificent.
Sport has always been sitting down - rowing and motorsport
Edited by Aretas on 05/11/2007 at 23:22
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Got my bus pass but very rarely travel by bus or train even though they are only 200-400 yds away and 25mins from Smoke. I reside in HJ's borough of Elmbridge.
Took early retirement after 35 years in IT. Using an eight year old NEC desk top.
With some TLC I have run older Fords till they rot away.
Currently run a 98 Mondeo GhiaX 2.0L Auto SALOON with 115K.
All but given up DIY on it as it is a big jump from a pino engined Sierra GL.
I also use offsprings' Yaris 1.3 and Focus mk1 2.0L Ghia -both manuals.
Have travelled to many countries and driven many miles in quite a few of them.
I get to use hire cars abroad ( because I fly longhaul to holiday locations) but nothing exotic.
(nothing handles as well as a hire car) :-))
And the photo
tinyurl.com/3k6mt
I am the one on the left ( with the real HJ) and the others are?
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Sadly one of them is no longer with us, but apparently they are:
L to R Henry K, JohnM, J. Bonington Jagworth, HJ, GRowler, SJB, John55, Spikyhead and Ben.
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R.I.P Graham, you're sorely missed.
Right, I'm 37, 5'6", toooo heavy and tapping away on my laptop in front of "The Thin Red Line". Could be a long night. Freelance consultant specialising in regulated financial services compliance and complaint management systems. Thrill a minute, that is.
Driving this:
www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/11083/nor...G
tinyurl.com/2kjdg3
and still wondering why this is just about the only forum on the planet where you can't post images or edit your typos. Could it be that someone out there hasn't a chuffing clue about technology and continues to insist that the rest of the profit-making world is marching out of step with him?
:oD
ND
They may not have a chuffing clue, but they have got a chuffing link to the chuffing tinyrl site to make the chuffing posts fit the chuffing screen !! Altered for you anyway :-)
PS you can edit your chuffing typos by the way
(Nice to have you back by the way !)
(I guess that chuffing will find its way into the swear filter now !)
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 06/11/2007 at 18:22
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and still wondering why this is just about the only forum on the planet where you can't post images
Funny that, cos I can.
or edit your typos.
Ah, you've been away too long grasshopper. You've obviously not spotted your new edit key.
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"You've got your edit button.
Only works if:
- you are the logged in poster
- date post created is less than 15 mins ago
- post has no replies"
Later amended to 5 minutes.
Well excuse me while I get on my knees and pray to.... no, hang on, nobody to pray to so that would be a bit of a waste of time.
Ah, the stink of hypocrisy and stale urine still prevails around here. It's like someone gave the nursing home a subscription to Autocar and Weimar Republic monthly and tossed a couple of laptops into the pool in an attempt at recreating Bob Newhart's fabled infinite number of monkeys typing Shakespeare.
I believe in Karma. It means I can do bad things to people safe in the knowledge they deserve it.
{Still drinking apple by-products I see ;o) - DD}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 06/11/2007 at 09:58
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you were obviously tired and emotional last night money bags.
------------------------------
< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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Retired mechanical engineer after 22 years in Naval Engineering, followed by even more in civvy street. Medium build with own fangs and some hair. Born before the first electronic computer and have never really mastered them. Using NEC desktop supplied as replacement by Insurance Co. for my older H.P. which did itself some sort of internal mischief.
Learnt to drive in a Jowett Bradford station wagon [ Eh !! Wot ??] with a 3-speed crash box, and even now I automatically double-declutch when driving a manual car. Father allowed me to do the maintenance, so by 16 I was doing top overhauls and line-reaming king-pin bushes. First car that I bought for myself [ in 1960 ] was a 1933 Singer Le-Mans 2-seater when I was training in UK. Splendid machine. All down hill since then as far as motoring goes, and I now have a Prius because I wanted to find out how they work and run [ as distinct from what the polarised opinionates say]. { My Green credentials are that I am a disaster sceptic }. 18 months and 32,000 miles later, quite happy with it.
Married to a wife who has learnt to drive but hates it. Actually, I haven't met anyone else as non-technical as her, which may be a good thing as we never argue over anything at all technical, especially whether the car is running correctly, and I can repair the household appliances without her supervision.
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From the BUPA website; may help some on here!
If you are having, or expecting, a heated discussion, keep the following in mind:
slow down ? think carefully about what you want to say
try to think about what is underlying the anger
be clear about what you are asking and how it can be achieved. Try using phrases like "I feel angry with you because..."
listen carefully to the other person, remembering that everyone is entitled to their own opinion
keep your cool in the face of your own and the other person's anger
you may feel offended if you are being criticised. Try not to be put off by this and keep going
be patient and ask questions to get to the heart of problem
try to be carefully assertive, rather than sarcastic or aggressive
Understand your anger
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Aged 57 and just gone to four days per week as a certification engineer. 6'1" or 6'2" ,depending on which nurse measures me, and pushing 15 stone.
Got type 1 diabetes which means injecting 4 times a day and having a 3 year driving licence.
Married for the first time 6 years ago to SWMBO and no kids of my own.
One step son who has just passed his test and is doing pass plus . I hope to buy him his first car soon when he has figured how to pay for the insurance.....
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I am like a Klingon Battle cruiser ? totally invisible so I don?t know what I look like ? girls never saw me when I was a teenager ? shop staff ask person behind me ?can I help you? ? empty bus?s used to flash past bus stop ? I could stand in car showroom with a wad in my hand and salesmen never got up ? I was so good at my job no one knew I was there because unlike all the others I never kept running to boss saying I gotta problem ? finally found a blind bird who bumped into me (kidding) and now live in wilds of Shropshire ? drive a Jap barge and SWMBO drives a Yaris 1.3SR- also retired ? my only claim to fame - I became Shropshire Skeet champ at clayshooting in 98
Dave
Ps Kiwi Gary ? bet my wife is ten times less mechanical than yours
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I find myself a TOG (see Terry Wogan). I can't pinpoint when this happened, I'm just certain that it has. I'm certainly grumpier and more curmudgeonly that I used to be, and find myself berating the younger generation in a way that sounds probably more like my grandfather than my father!! I do enjoy loud Heavy Metal music (recently saw Metallica at Wembley), but also the organ and prog rock... what's that about??
I'm 37.15, about 5'5" and stocky (front row rugby used to be my game, although I still have ears that don't look like cabbages). I have little hair to speak of, but keep it short so it looks like I have a choice. I sport a goatee beard, largely out of habit now. Could do with losing a few pounds (common BR theme..)
I am seated in front of a none too reliable HP PC, in my office in C. London. I'm busy (you can tell!) working out a methodology for risk-rating health organisations against a set of criteria on a certain subject, whilst simultaneously writing a journal article for the BMJ.
I usually post from work during lunch times or when my brain needs a break. I'd not thought of it like that before, but the BR is a bit like a nice local, or the smoking room, a place for banter and merriment! At home, I'm likely to be posting from the study on an ACER laptop or my imac, probably while Mrs APM watches that dancing rubbish in the loung (another common BR theme!) I am a beer connoisseur, British ale, German & Belgian. Garage contains some aged (read neglected...) bottles of very rare trappist beer. Must get around to drinking those!
Carwise, I've had a few- most of my friends are astonished that I have owned 20 cars & motorbikes in 19 years. Not unusual around here, I suspect... Lowest point was a Kawasaki Z250 that hardly ever started, and wheezed & spluttered when it did. Highpoint probably a toss up between my SEAT Leon Cupra and my first MG midget.. for very different reasons.
Currently house renovation dictates that I'm in an ageing Volvo 940S estate. Fun, in an odd sort of way. Do get to play in SWMBO's Mk1 MX5 sometimes, and have an RD350 in the garage awaiting sorting out & fun!
I'd be quite interested to run a content analysis on these responses, pick out the themes- overwhelmingly male, a bit overweight, a sofa, laptop, cats seem to feature alot. But I'm not quite that sad...
Good thread!
--
Dr Alex Mears
Volvo 940S estate 1993
Maxda MX5 1.8iS 1997
Yamaha RD350 YPVS 1992
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 06/11/2007 at 18:55
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Everyone else seems to be posting here so I suppose I might as well. I?m 51, retired from the grind after 19 years in various government departments. Started off playing with physics at a certain Berkshire establishment, then a few years as firearms officer with the MOD Plod followed by a period in an agricultural agency. In 2000 SWMBO and I were fed up both commuting and not enjoying life, so as her career was taking off we downshifted from Berkshire and ended up in rural Lincolnshire. She?s away four days a week with a major consultancy company so I?m nursemaid and butler to five dogs and a dozen chickens. My only paid employment now is on the local coastguard search and rescue team plus I?m a volunteer first responder one day a week with LIVES (www.lives-responders.co.uk ).
Daily drive is a Subaru Legacy 3.0R Spec B saloon, plus a garage and a barn containing a Daimler SP250, Daimler Conquest, modified Rover SD1 4.6, Morris Minor van, Opel Kadett B and an International 574 tractor. I have a real weakness for classics of all sorts and I?m always perusing ebay. I tend to change the classics fairly frequently.
I look at this forum and a couple of others every day, perhaps I need to get out more. I love heavy metal and most types of rock except thrash metal (but love the band names ? Lawnmower Death, brilliant!), drink too much red wine and a little real ale and try to keep the reaper from the door by going to the gym. Guess he?ll get me in the end, but I don?t fear him!
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 06/11/2007 at 18:54
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This is a brilliant thread, has anyone else noticed that at least 50% of the posters are round the bend...........i don't feel so lonely anymore Thanks oilrag.
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Just like to say that I am not at least 50% of the posters.
In fact I've yet to contribute my pennyworth.
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