The Covid19 Thread

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Fadcode

Full Member
Feb 13, 2016
2,857
894
Cornwall
It would be nice to think so, but its a bit like being up on a plane, everyone is nice to each other because they are all in the same environment, a bit scared, not knowing who could help if needed etc, down in the baggage hall when the flight is over, its back to war.
 
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C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,355
2,366
Bedfordshire
One particularly prolific poster's membership was revoked. Another fairly regular poster recently asked for their account to be deleted. There have been another one or two regulars fairly recently before that who told us they were taking a break. I suspect that a lot of people (myself included) checked in on the forum at times in the work day from their office computer. Now, with furloughs, redundancies, working from home on more highly stretched and monitored VPNs, the same opportunities and times to check in do not exist. I don't know if others noticed, but I certainly noticed that posting activity dropped at the weekends. Been that way for some years at the least.

In the past, when some well known members have had to go to hospital, or have passed away, someone in their family, or a close friend, has got the word to Tony. Not heard anything like that for any member being seriously ill with Covid19 so far. Fingers crossed indeed. Long may it last!
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
7,983
7,759
Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
At the same time there are a number of long-term members that haven't posted for a long time starting to make the odd post again. I suppose it depends on what areas of this broad subject you're interested in - there have been quite a few interesting threads over the last few weeks started on crafts, flora and fauna, the homestead and food - possibly because people have the time to try things out or maybe they're just bored :)
 

Fadcode

Full Member
Feb 13, 2016
2,857
894
Cornwall
One particularly prolific poster's membership was revoked. Another fairly regular poster recently asked for their account to be deleted. There have been another one or two regulars fairly recently before that who told us they were taking a break. I suspect that a lot of people (myself included) checked in on the forum at times in the work day from their office computer. Now, with furloughs, redundancies, working from home on more highly stretched and monitored VPNs, the same opportunities and times to check in do not exist. I don't know if others noticed, but I certainly noticed that posting activity dropped at the weekends. Been that way for some years at the least.

In the past, when some well known members have had to go to hospital, or have passed away, someone in their family, or a close friend, has got the word to Tony. Not heard anything like that for any member being seriously ill with Covid19 so far. Fingers crossed indeed. Long may it last!
Things change we know that, but in these troubled times just seems odd when threads just stop, and members just disappear.
Was the prolific poster that was revoked a dentist?
 

tiger stacker

Native
Dec 30, 2009
1,178
40
Glasgow
Being in self isolation can be hard, relying on online deliveries to keep the fridge full has been the main goal. Avoiding a flat car battery, the car had been given two runs to keep it ticking it over. If i hadn't it would be a new battery once the rules get relaxed again. Top tip when ordering online print off your order so you can actually see what is out of stock. It will be a while before i enjoy any of Tunnocks range, its better they closed down than their staff feel as if they had to work.
Hope everyone is hail and hearty, it has been sombre seeing the death toll rise daily, never a nice thing to read see or experience.
Regards
TS
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,355
2,366
Bedfordshire
Being in self isolation can be hard, relying on online deliveries to keep the fridge full has been the main goal. Avoiding a flat car battery, the car had been given two runs to keep it ticking it over. If i hadn't it would be a new battery once the rules get relaxed again. ...
Regards
TS
My parents' car battery is flat. They have a Honda from 2000 and I think that a year or so back they did fewer than 1000 miles in the year, most local. Anyway, they have a battery charger, but have mislaid the instructions. At the same time that the flat battery was discovered (maybe the reason it was discovered) my dad, over 85 on heart meds, got frustrated having to give other people his shopping list and was threatening to drive to the supermarket himself. It was decided that maybe it was better that the charging instructions remain mislaid, if only to remove a source of temptation!
 

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,780
1,517
51
Wiltshire
Both me and my Dads using our cars once a week.

(Isnt living expenses cheap when you dont go out much?)
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
7,983
7,759
Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
My parents' car battery is flat. They have a Honda from 2000 and I think that a year or so back they did fewer than 1000 miles in the year, most local. Anyway, they have a battery charger, but have mislaid the instructions. At the same time that the flat battery was discovered (maybe the reason it was discovered) my dad, over 85 on heart meds, got frustrated having to give other people his shopping list and was threatening to drive to the supermarket himself. It was decided that maybe it was better that the charging instructions remain mislaid, if only to remove a source of temptation!

I decided not to 'repair' my dad's car when he was in his late eighties - it wasn't starting because he had forgotten he had to put his foot on the clutch :)
 

Woody girl

Full Member
Mar 31, 2018
4,520
3,460
65
Exmoor
Both bike batteries are flat. Both are sorned as I usualy use them to go to bike meets or the beachfront. Won't be doing either for a while so no point in paying to keep them on the road.
Will sort them out when things calm down.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
Can you SORN cars if you haven't got an off road place to park it? It seems to me that the SORN requirements are prejudicial for people without off road parking for whatever reason. In our case we live in a Victorian terraced Street with only roadside parking. We have a car that we'd like to SORN later on this year if we can't sell it before tax is due but can't. Annoyingly.
 

Fadcode

Full Member
Feb 13, 2016
2,857
894
Cornwall
A sorned vehicle must be off the road, you are not allowed to park it on the road, incidentally if you have a vehicle in a garage or on a driveway that is not sorned you must have it insured, you can be charged with no insurance even if it's in bits, as obviously if you haven't sorned it, the DVLA think you are going to drive it, even though it may not be drive able.
It is unfair that people who have no driveway or garage are put in an unfair situation, but just think what are you going to do if you buy an electric vehicle, and how will the lack of a driveway or a place where you could charge an electric vehicle have on the value of your house in years to come.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
I know you're not allowed to pass a charging cable over a road or pavement to charge cars. That means we'll be paying commercial charging companies in carparks or roadside points instead of domestic rates which I suspect will be cheaper.

In our area most houses have no off street parking. There's about 10 charging points in the town. Electric vehicles are not viable here!

I think car owning legislation has a very middle class feel to it. Sorry if that's political. It's just that it's likely to be middle class families with driveways. Without driveways there's no SORN, no home charging of cars and usually more expensive insurance because n your car is not off the road. I wonder what they'll do about the EVs when ICE gets banned.
 

Chainsaw

Native
Jul 23, 2007
1,377
144
56
Central Scotland
Lol, car ownership was very very middle class up until about the 60s, that's why houses built before then don't have cars in mind, in fact they weren't even considered. The working class were supposed to walk to the mine and back again. We have rows of cottages up here that don't even have viable on street parking, let alone off street parking. You can get pop up charge points for on street parking.

Even houses built in the 60s and 70s and some in the 80s barely have provision for more than one or possibly 2 cars, now everyone in a household, maw, paw, the two grown up kids who can't move out all have cars in a house with provision for 1 car in the drive and possibly one in the garage (like that ever happens...)

We will never have the infrastructure for everyone to have electric cars, the demand is too great. Every house has 2+ charging points with the resultant possible current draw... nah!

Roll on autonomous vehicles where you simply dial up a ride on your phone, it stops outside your house, takes you to your destination, drops you and then picks up Mrs McGlumpher and takes her to her sisters before returning to a central hub for recharge....

That should then take car ownership back down to 1 per household or possibly none per household... hopefully
 
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Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,154
1,546
Cumbria
True I suppose and I guess a lot of the laws are made by people stuck in those days before current car ownership levels. Whether that's stuck because of age, class, financial status or social n status. For example I actually knew someone who always had money, lived in the nicer parts of the South and honestly believed Northern England consisted of cobbled streets with terraced houses and clothes drying on line between houses!!! Well she never needed to visit Northern England. London, expensive foreign holidays and at most a shopping trip to Edinburgh so no wonder she got her information from the really TV show called coordination Street!!!!
 

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,780
1,517
51
Wiltshire
I had that idea too, until I got to visit Sheffield.

What an eye opener.

And the idea the Welsh valleys were all grimy mining districts with slagheaps and pitheads everywhere....

...I am just old enough to remember that...

Dads street (a cul de sac off of a street that covers a small estate) was built in the 70s, most of the houses have no original off street parking, -though many have been added.

Everyone now has at least three cars and its a regular game of musical chairs.
 

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