banjo48

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Posts posted by banjo48

  1. Hi Carni, and others doing the fitness thing.

    Here's a link to convert from steps to cycling, looks a bit fiddly but not hard to do and would give you an accurate conversion.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/187672-how-to-convert-exercise-bike-miles-to-steps/

    Just remember, any exercise is better than non at all, and even standing up uses far more calories than sitting down, so even in an office situation, standing up for a while and just move around is good.

    My wife can "out walk" me into the ground, hence me doing some cycling, I have bad knees (had one done so far) and walking gives me pain but cycling I find easy.

    Another tip is most car GPS, have a setting for walking or cycling and give an accurate distance measurement after the event. I just set my Garmin and place it in my bag, then cycle and have a look how far I've done after, if cycling a new route.

    Once you know the route/distance that's it till you do a different one.

    Sorry if I'm telling you what you know already.

    • Upvote 2
  2. Been using a Fitbit for last 6 months or so, my wife and I now average just over 10,000 steps a day. I also cycle probably 10klms daily.

    Not really hard work, just a case of keeping active and not using the car for everything.

    Yes, we've both been on a fitness and diet regime, I've lost just under 20kg and wife has lost 18kg so far since last Sept.

    Not really a diet but 5:2 and for us it works ! we both feel so much better for it.

    • Upvote 5
  3. #215 Photo brings back the memories, the building behind Shipsides was the old Brook street GPO sorting office, I did my TOT (technical officer training), on maintenance there.

    The window opposite the exact top back corner of the Shipsides building was our tea room, and I spent literally hours looking out that window wishing I was somewhere else.

    Maintenance was pretty boring till we had a breakdown, then they brought in a new system called pre planned maintenance, to service the machinery on a hours run basis to hopefully stop them breaking down !

  4. No mate, D George were electrical contractors, thanks anyway, this one I'm trying to remember was an electrical parts wholesaler, I used to use when I was a sparky in Nottm many years ago.

    As said they used to be on Wilfrord crescent east, sort of down an ally behind a row of terraces but then moved to Cliff road, just bugging me trying to remember their trading name.

  5. If I may digress slightly, can anyone remember the name of the electrical wholesalers on Cliff road ?

    Tried to do a link from Google Earth but it wont link, it's about half way along and backs onto the cliff, was a white building and looks alike a private residence now maybe.

    The original electrical wholesale company were down the meadows on Wilford Crescent I believe.

  6. We've had a pink and grey Galah, used to come out of his cage and sit on your shoulder and come out to my workshop I had at the time, he'd sit on his favorite perch there awaiting me to move then fly back to me. He could say many words and imitate the phone etc.

    Till one day I was walking outside with him on my shoulder and he heard one of his wild mates and sort of cocked his head and thought bugger this and just flew up to join them, where he soared around screaming and shouting (yes they can make a racket) then followed his mates and was gone !

    I was sort of sad but in another way happy he was free and doing what wild birds should do, I've never liked caged birds since and feel they would all be better in their own environment being free.

    Been house/block sitting for last two months on 5 acres, lots of parrots, roo's, possums, blue tongues and rabbits all around the block.

    My springer spaniel has given up trying to chase them now, there's just too many, some of the big male roo's are quite agressive too, looking after their harems of females and joey's.

    • Upvote 4
  7. Surely though, don't all computer browsers now have a spell checker built in ?

    I'm by no means the perfect punctuation or spelling person, but even on here I get a red underline under a word if I spell it wrongly.

    It's like using capitals to start a sentence, and breaking them into easily readable paragraphs, and ending with a full stop.

    It's not really hard is it.

  8. #61 Compo

    Used to love those rocket cap bombs but as we got older we moved on to "bigger better bangs" my best was two 1/2" bolts inserted into one big 1/2" nut, end to end, but filled beforehand with cut up match heads !

    You had to be very careful how tight you screwed the last bolt in, then throw up in the air so it landed on one end !

    I suppose we were early creators of pipe bombs, scary though but we did it.

    We did some silly things back then.

  9. I've a friend here that loves MG's, he's currently restoring his 3rd MGB to "concours" standard.

    He strips them down to every single nut and bolt, has every fastening cleaned and passivated then re plated, all body panels are repaired to as new or replaced, then re painted.

    The finished vehicles are literally better than showroom finish, and he has won many awards at classic shows in Australia.

    His property is even named after the town in the uk where they were made, Abingdon.

    He has 5 acres with 3 large sheds full of parts, and donor vehicles that are past their repairing stage. I will see if I can get some of his photo's to show here.

    His workshop has to be seen to be believed, it is spotless with painted floors and not a spec of dirt or debris to be seen, which in itself is amazing considering the work he does in there, welding spraying and mechanical etc.

  10. MargieH re #98,

    My wife is exactly the same, she hates her photo being taken as she says it shows all her wrinkles ! I tell her she's still beautiful to me, wrinkles or not, but it doesn't make any difference.

    As for being stuck in a time warp, I feel like that over Nottm,

    I've been left just over 26 years so in my main memory I think of Nottm as it was prior and up till then, but when I return I'm hit with this partly alien place, crowded with people I don't know, humming with traffic and one way streets, I get lost on, and the city seems to have lost that special something, but maybe it's just me.

    Don't get me wrong I love Nottm and always will, it is my birthplace and we have considered coming back to finish our days, but just don't think i could fit in anymore, like my memories still feel of it all.

    Bit hard to explain.

    • Upvote 4
  11. Trouble is those houses where you don't want to be offered a cuppa and you wipe your feet on the way out!!!

    Yes been in quite few of those too ! and some that I refused to enter due to filth or dog or cat excrement everywhere.

    Don't know how some can live like that.

  12. In a previous life when I worked for BT, in the UK, I often had a key left for me so I could do the job in the house alone, if the customer had to work or go out.

    Always got offered a cuppa by the elderly as they enjoyed a chat. Sometimes it was hard to get out as the tea and biscuits flowed.

    First thing I noticed when I came to oz, was most Aussies here, very rarely offered a cuppa or a coffee, I have sometimes had to ask for one especially if it was a hot day and I had been there for a few hours.

    Sometimes even a glass of cold water ! The big money people are worst too !

    Most expats though were the same as back home.

    Strange also that most Aussie tradesman very rarely accept a tea or coffee, maybe just the way they were brought up.Mind most are too busy jugging their 2 litres of coke or iced milk !

    • Upvote 2
  13. While at home mum had a old twin tub, but when it died she saved up and bought the latest and greatest front loader, a Philco.

    Always remember as she bought it from Tony Hillary's shop in Sherwood before he became a "Blinds" manufacturer.

    It was expensive but lasted till just before she died in 2005, and only failed then because of a leaky pipe that was no longer available, so I bought her a new front loader from Jessops.

    We've always had front loaders in our home, but in our RV we have a small top loader, wife prefers the front loaders though but size was an issue.

  14. As a very young child it was "Bear" my teddy, but then my most favorite was 2 Meccano sets, a small one and a large one in a wooden case with clockwork motor.

    I also love my Triang scooter.

    When mum died and we cleared her house, she still had my teddy in a bag, my son grabbed it as he used to be allowed to play with it when he stayed at grans as a child too, and swore it was his, probably flogged it now on evilbay.

  15. I appreciate the road chaos etc that this tram work has created but as a visitor to Nottingham now, surely when completed it will be all worth it ?

    Around 15 years ago here in Perth WA they started to build a light rail system (almost the same as the Nottm trams), it has cost the earth, caused no end of similar traffic disruption and chaos, but now completed it is simply the best.

    It is cheap, well for pensioners it is free between 9-00am and 3-00pm and all public holidays.

    Everyone uses it, the only down side now is yes it can become crowded and busy times. but I can drive to a station park my car and be in the city in 25 mins. wit no hassles at all.

    Surely with the density of traffic in the city it will be a good thing for Nottingham, after all the chaos and mismanagement is gone and forgotten.

    I remember vividly my last visit last September queuing in traffic all down Mansfied road from Sherwood to Trinity square, only to find no where to park and queuing all the way back up to Woodborough road junction before i escaped the traffic chaos which is Nottingham on a Saturday afternoon.

    Just my take on it.

    • Upvote 2
  16. Like Trevor #30 we took a gamble 26 years ago, we won too, now we buy one "slick-pick" ticket a week, we neither smoke or drink much, or gamble in any other way, It's my wife's little excitement that she may hit the big one one day.

    We have won lot's of small amounts, the biggest was $1200, but we have friends that have won over a million and our son in laws uncle won $1,750,000.00 two years ago, life changing for his family.

    It's our only vice.

    Got to be in it to win it, as they say, plus here in oz the lotto surplus does a lot of good.

    • Upvote 1