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Haynes4279's latest comments
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30th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Paranormal experience?The strangest event I can recall was whilst visiting Wordsworth's cottage back in the 80s. Was looking at a reproduction of the opening lines of 'The Prelude' on a wooden table. Everything went black and white for a few seconds, the ink was wet on the page and the room looked quite different. Am sure that I tapped into a parallel timeline briefly. Another situation was whilst out on a walk on the Berkshire downs, late one evening. Had started out a bit late and was determined to cover more miles than was sensible. The light was disappearing. On a remote section of the path could sense a presence close by. At first it was unnerving as it felt predatory. Then the mood changed. It felt like a big cat spirit and that of her cubs had been watching me and on realising I was no threat, accompanied me much of the way back to my car. There was a strong sense of looking out for one another and of being kindred spirits.ViewDate:
30th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Women In MusicNovram's list is a good start. To that I would add the like of: Beth Hart, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Jo Harman, Elles Bailey, The Be Good Tanyas, Julia Stone, Larkin Poe (the Lovell sisters), Kasey Chambers, Wendy Matthews, Warpaint, Leah Wellbaum (Slothrust). Erika Wennerstrom (Heartless Bastards), The Breeders, Samantha Fish, Rachel Croft, Pat Benatar, Mary Chapin-Carpenter. Linda Ronstadt's voice really struck a chord with me in my mid/late teens and I admire her for doing what she wanted to do. It's great to see so many women producing music, communicating in their chosen style, being accepted and appreciated on merit. That many of them are doing so without shackling themselves to the 'music machine' and retaining their artistic freedom is showing us just what van be done when people set their minds to it.ViewDate:
30th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Just joined so I'm introducing myself.Hi Sally, I'm John, recent joiner in the UK. Have been to the USA a few times - my late parents knew some US WW2 veterans (long story) who had been billetted in the town I grew up in. They were regulars at their reunions for some years. Acted as chaperone to them both a couple of times, Dad once and went alone one year (2006). Unfortunately not been back since. Have been as north as Niagara Falls, as south as Roanoke VA. The Quadraci pavillion extension to the Milwaukee art museum is prbably my favourite piece of modern architecture. Costs have restricted travel of late. Have visited a nephew and friends in Australia a few times and had a few holidays in France. Enjoy time in the kitchen, although the effort for one and other distractions limits my creativity these days. During lockdown 1 over here we had a virtual bake off at work and have been baking flapjack regularly since. Usually it's a Victoria Sponge for my birthday cake.ViewDate:
30th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Lets get the Photography forum moving!Hit the nail on the head there! Let's get this up and going. Has anyone done any formal study post school/university days? If not, attending day or night classes at a local college is worth a go. Passed both GCE and A level 16 - 18 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Had never used a darkroon before and found it a fascinating experience. Wonder if colleges still have darkrooms? Have been a keen motorsport photograher - safety and the height of fences makes it more difficult these days. Studying, some street/urban photogprahy was good for some of the themes we had to cover. The camera usually comes with me on walks, so much of what I do is rural/landscape orientated. The vast majority of my images these days are taken at car shows. Much is diary/record but do look for the opportunity to be creative, which is easier if not wandering around with non-photographers.ViewDate:
30th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Places we've beenFor those that have never been. the landscape around Avebury in Wiltshire is worth exploring. Good walking and photogrpahic opportunities too.ViewDate:
30th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Motorsport FansAm a keen motorsports fan. My first race meeting attended would have been at Castle Combe as a kid. Don't remember anythihng about it. Laye teens, got to see a 6 hour/1000 mile endurance race at Brands Hatch. Still my preferred category, even managed to see the penultimate outing of the Audi R8 at Mid-Ohio in 2006. MotoGP has been the only racing attended in recent years. Haven't been to the Silbverstone round for a few years now and generally keep up via the results and news online. Too many hands on my time!ViewDate:
30th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
WALKING!!!You appear to have got walking on the list! Judging by the number of mature walkers I see in the local area, there must be more of us on here. Maybe the lack of a walking heading was putting them putting their best foot forward so to speak. Am North Wilts and enjoy the walking on the chalk downs. My all time favourite is the neolithic landscape around Avebury, which is my go to activity on either Christmas or Boxing day. It was the latter this year and my camera gear came along for the trip. Used to be out and about a lot more than now, including some quite adventurous ecening walks on school nights when there's more light about. For a few years did a 'first walkers of the New Year' around midnight and went out with just the starlight (if any) for guidance. Good views of multiple fireworks from some vantage points. Walked up and down Snowdon with my then partner probably about 10 yearsd ago now. Went up Rhydd Ddu (?) which is a bit more scenic than the 'motorway' and a lot quieter. Have a nephew and friends in Australia. On one visit, a relative of the friends took me out into the Dandenongs, not too far from Meblourne. It was very humid and the most demanding conditions I've ever walked in. The locals, somewhat more used to it, didn't slacken the pace for the newcomer. My face was fire engine red! Do enjoy the coast and have walked from Sandbanks to Swanage and back on one occasion, to Swanage and back by bus on another occasion.ViewDate:
30th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Have you seen Bands or artists before they became household namesAm a big fan of Jo Harman, who has yet to achieve the household name status that she deserves. First saw Elles Bailey supporting Jo a few years back and Elles is now becoming well kinown, what with her slot on Planet Rock and all. Saw Diamond Head around the time of their first album release. Can't remember if they were supporting a big name or on a triple header bill at a local rock/metal night.ViewDate:
30th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Blues/JazzHello voxsteven, am a keen blues fan. When a whole lot younger, used to wonder why some of the early blues was given radio airtime - youth can be wasted on the young! Have learned through the influences of the blues revivers just what the original blues artists were about and want to explore them some more. Money has its foot near the brake pedal - like to own music, not just the right to listen to it. Am keen to learn guitar but my attenpts so far have shown I may have two left feet! Have rather become reliant on blues/rock, the Joe B/Beth Hart collaborations got the restarted. Have seen Beth a number of times and here performances are electrifying. Joanne Shaw Taylor is another favourite and like to get to see her as often as possible. Eric Gales came over to the UK for the first time around 5 years ago and got to see him on the night of my 55th birthday, which was quite something. I know that he offends some of the 'blues Police' but like Jack White and his various side projects - to my ears he's moving the blues forward, kicking and screaming, into the current century and making it poignant. After various postponements, finally got to see Larkin Poe live and have tickets for their return in 2023. Great to see women achieving success, especially as women were at the forefront or early blues. First saw Samantha Fish play in a small, intimate venue back in the summer of 2015. It was the hottest night of the year here and the atmosphere in the pub was so charged. The band fed off the energy, the crowd fed off the band and the spiral continued. Mentioned the gig to her last year when she was signing merch and her eyes lit up - she remembered the gig and talked excitedly about what the band did that night.ViewDate:
30th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Looking for a cheap or free motorhome-camper vanDon't know about mainland Europe, but since our new friend COVID came along prices in the UK have shot up and even quite ropey stuff is attracting good money. If you are half handy at repairs you might get a fixer upper at a reasonable price. Have just been browsing Autotrader, as you do, and found a SEAT Terra (all of 40 bhp new) and that was advertised for £5995. With people able to work from home/not required to visit an office regularly and the growth in travelling bloggers. demand has led to prices rising in response.ViewDate:
28th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Life in a UK villageHave lived in a largish village for nearly 4 years now and hardly know a soul. Grew up in, what was then, a smaller town and if you didn't know someone, you knew who they were. Times have changed, fewer people work for the same, large employers that they used to, there are all sorts of shifts people work too. Add in a growth in different leisure activities and the expansion of televisions channels and people have fewer reasons to even know their neighbours.ViewDate:
28th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Worst car(s) you have drivenA friend of mine was warned off 1100 Mk1 Escorts - by a guy trying to sell one. Can imagine the Allegro being similarly under powered but quite a comfortable way to journey between petrol filling stations.ViewDate:
28th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Worst car(s) you have drivenYes, Marina wasn't really any more awful than its main competitors. BL's quality control perhaps wasn't as good though. There is a revisionist history (pushed by 3 well known chaps in particular) which claims it was worse than it was.ViewDate:
28th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Worst car(s) you have drivenThe Marina wasn't great, was it? Not as abysmal as we remember it though and as an overall package not as uncompetitve against what else was on sale. My Dad had a 1300 S Metro which was a hoot drive. Sadly as an early one, they built the engine with the big end bearings of the 998 and it spent a fair chunk of its life happily doing some distances with a rattly bottom end. The early Mk4 Escort that replaced it was, my Dad only once admitted, the worst car he had ever bought and that he shuld have listened to me and bought something else.ViewDate:
28th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Worst car(s) you have drivenOh strewth! Hit the wrong thing in trying to find a way to reply. Sorry! Yes, the early Imps had quite a few engive related issues from what I've read. Although they were cured, the workforce and further quality issues resulted in the car not being the sales success it deserved to be.ViewDate:
28th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Worst car(s) you have drivenLearned to drive in my Dad's Marina 1300 Super saloon and my first car was a Marina 1300 Deluxe coupe. You had to be able to drive to make decent progress and keep them shiny side up. A relatively simple package to learn the craft of car maintenance. Moved on to an Opel Kadett 1200N saloon, which was a seismic upgrade. Then followed a variety of VW lease and VW/Audi company cars. My favourite of the VW Polos on lease was a Rallye Yellow Coupe S. Only 55bhp but woefully underbraked especially with no servo! Have a very naughty elapsed time over what was quite a distance (with little of the dual carriageway/motorway now available on the route) back in the 80s in that one. Never got to drive an ur-quattro more than a few yards, but driving a B2 coupe with the 18oo injection engine saw a used 80 Sport purchased with a chunk of my reduncancy money. Have a real soft spot for that one, wish I still had it. That was replace by a B4 80 TDI SE Sport Avant, which got ugraded front discs (the standard solid rotors were good for one stop every 5 minutes) and gas shocks. Had some fun in that too. Then came a 2 litre TDI S-Line A3, which was a nice balance between performance and economy. S-Line suspension was a bit harsh though. Then, finally got a TT! A Mk1 quattro Sport, complete with the Recaro Pole Position bucket seats. Very comfortable to drive, but getting in and out removed all dignity. Put an oversized TIP on that, which improved response but also made long distance cruising noticeably more economical. Improved efficiency = improved economy. Sadly had to sell that to release some of the value she held, the selling price meant 3 years of fun hadn't been too expensive. Now have a B5.5 Passat PD130 TDI Highline estate for munching miles and getting groceries. It's a bit like driving my lounge around but she lift her skirt and kick up her heels. Another Mk1 TT sits in the garage as the hobby car, a 225 coupe in Imola Yellow. This is a great conversation starter at car shows and draws more attention than the qS ever did, largely becuse people don't really know what a qS is. Not yet done any note worthy trips in her yet, but she has a big place in my heart and I'd like to keep her in good order for many more years to come.ViewDate:
28th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Just joined so I'm introducing myself.Hello, have just joined up. Turned 60 this year and feel as though that has got a lot of weight off my shoulders. Have never felt so optimisitic and raring to go, don't want and can't afford to retire so looking to find ways of keeping the grey matter tuned up and open to possibilities. Not much family to call upon and none close by, a few good friends but all with family/partners. Am happy with my own company and getting more so, but sometimes it's nice to be having a coffee and a catch up. Have an eclectic taste in music, enjoy going to gigs (especially on a school night!), listening to recorded music, finding new artists/bands to enjoy. Enjoy wandering in the countryside, usually with my camera for company - which makes me poor comapny for anyone with me not with a camera. Avebury walks on Christmas or Boxing day are becoming a tradition. Have been interested in cars, planes, bikes from an early age and am on the committee for a car club of which I was a founder member back in 1990. Have some long term friends from this, but mostly see them at car related events. Want to be able to play the guitar but attempts so far have sounded like I have two left feet.ViewDate:
28th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Would you buy an eco car?The most ecologically friendly car is one that already exists. Well maintained ICE cars will have to play a part in the transport mix for some time to come. Toyota have said that long range and low price are not possible, with Audi suggesting that the competition for raw materials will see vehicles fitted with smaller batteries (at least that will address the hideous weight of BEVs). That means more recharging, possibly shortening the life of the battery if fast charging, which others will want you to do to free up public charging points. At present, the cost of BEVs and the use of various pricing structures to force people out of ICE cars looks like making personal transport an elite privilege. Public transport isn't up to filling the gap and the idea of using electric bikes/scooters to do the weekly shop is laughable. If you're looking to buy a Tesla, Elon has said you only buy the right to use it and it's easy to fall foul of Tesla's controlling policies. BEVs have no soul and I want to enjoy my ICE cars for as long as possible.ViewDate:
28th Dec 2022Haynes4279 commented on:
Do you still use an analogue landline?Live in area with virtually no mobile signal, so have no choice. Not wise having sensitive conversations whilst hanging out the back bedroom window with one leg up behind the curtain pole. Not sure of the wisdom of relying on just the mobile. Broadband is copper or a monopoly supplier as well, so not a great area for the online future.