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The Canary Dave

Discussion in 'Watford' started by geitungur akureyrar, Feb 1, 2014.

  1. oldfrenchhorn

    oldfrenchhorn Well-Known Member
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    Very sorry about my weather. I have just looked at the forecast and it says that we might have showers on Friday if that helps.
    Engineer just phoned to say that he will be here between 2.00pm and 4.00pm. He sounds quite amusing on the phone as he tries to practice his English on me. I paid €80 to extend my cover on the machine, made in Turkey seemingly, and I intend to get my monies worth. I wonder what happen to the companies that made washing machines in England? Anyone remember John Bloom and his washing machine wars in the early 1960's?
     
    #19681
  2. andytoprankin

    andytoprankin Well-Known Member

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    I’ve mended our dishwasher at least 5 or 6 times. The washing machine twice. I enjoyed the challenge of changing the oven bulb a few weeks ago. Toasters, don’t get me started on toasters. I love mending things. Mended swing bench and one of chairs from table and chairs set yesterday. Trampoline has had a number of net refits (original net, just resewn). Sewed new elastic on my facemask yesterday, as I didn’t like the wide but superthin rubber band straps. 10ft paddling pool cover to have elastic fitted later - bought 10m of elastic for that (I reckon 8m will do it).
    B0££0€K5 to Capitalism. ;)
     
    #19682
  3. oldfrenchhorn

    oldfrenchhorn Well-Known Member
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    A man after my own heart. I think that the problem with our washing machine is electronic, so that would be beyond my ability. About six months before we left England our fan oven stopped fanning and no spares were available. With some fine wire I managed to join the blades to the spindle and it was still working perfectly when we left.
     
    #19683
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  4. Bolton's Boots

    Bolton's Boots Well-Known Member

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    But toasters are easy - there's not a lot that's ever gone wrong with ours...


    toast.jpg
     
    #19684
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  5. yorkshirehornet

    yorkshirehornet Well-Known Member

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    This was the first post on this thread... Years back... Poignant eh.....
     
    #19685
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  6. yorkshirehornet

    yorkshirehornet Well-Known Member

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    Good morning all.. No disrespect to Dave but if anyone is feeling a bit low... Just look again at that Danny Welbeck goal.. Will bring a smile to your face :)
     
    #19686
  7. oldfrenchhorn

    oldfrenchhorn Well-Known Member
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    Morning all. Dare I mention that the weather is very good? Jon Marks was talking about how cold and damp it was in Watford last night. Washing machine man turned up, fully masked and hand spray with him. Everything about the machine was there on his phone after he scanned the barcode. There is also a mini computer in the machine telling you about different parts of the programmes which as a humble user you don't have access to. Ten minutes of testing and delving inside and he emerged to say that it needed a new motor. I am not sure if he said it was the bearings or the brushes as he was rather indistinct from behind his mask. Still he was very helpful, kept asking me if he was using the right English words and said he would have to order the part which would take 10-14 days to arrive. So Mme can continue to do the washing, but needs good weather to hang it out to dry. Which brings me back to the fact that it is very nice outside. Have a good day everyone. <ok>
     
    #19687
  8. J T Bodbo

    J T Bodbo Well-Known Member

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    Please carry on telling us about the weather and all things French - makes up for us not being there. I must ask Andytoprankin to pop out to us in the Charente the next time the broyeur fails !
     
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  9. colognehornet

    colognehornet Well-Known Member

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    The weather in my part of Germany is 100% clouded and raining, which is expected to last until the weekend. The forecasters say that it will be sunny next week - but this is just propaganda designed to keep people optimistic <doh>
     
    #19689
  10. Scullion

    Scullion Well-Known Member

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    Yes I prefer to try and mend things, it often takes ages to work out what to do and then to get at the offending part and put it back. Sometimes I mull it over for a few days and get a light bulb moment, very satisfying. When you see what people charge, it's outrageous, a big incentive to DIY. You also get house points from Mrs S.
    Toasters, buy a Dualit, they are expensive (not sure why) but they are so simple and easy to fix with spares from Dualit who also provide clear instructions on how to fix it. If you think lego is easy then Dualits are easier.
    I have spare garden chairs which I raid for spares.
    Gone are the days you could fix a car, took my Morris Minor to bits many times but now you open the bonnets, sigh, and just close it again, you don't even know where the spark plugs are (if they still have them...).
    If it's an electric problem I am stuck cos you can't see what's wrong, unless you prod it with your finger....:afro:
    Mm bought a plastic thing to hold her face mask on better (her ears are too floppy to hold it on :emoticon-0136-giggl), waste of money. I suggested a bit of elastic instead which worked fine.
    What's puzzling me Andy is why you need a facemask for your paddling pool :emoticon-0102-bigsm
     
    #19690
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  11. Bolton's Boots

    Bolton's Boots Well-Known Member

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    I know what you mean. Back in the day, I could fix problems with plugs, distributors, points, starter motors, clutch springs, brake pads - I think the only thing that defeated me was a welch plug that needed changing, and that was because there was only about half an inch clearance between it and the firewall. A while ago I had a flat battery and couldn't even fathom out how to attach the jumper leads, nevermind remove it to charge it up. :(
     
    #19691
  12. Scullion

    Scullion Well-Known Member

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    And there was the interesting trip to the breakers yard, take off the bit you want and fit it to your car - I am still surprised I have all my fingers...
     
    #19692
  13. oldfrenchhorn

    oldfrenchhorn Well-Known Member
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    Morning all. Having seen that a friend in the UK has just had the central heating come on again I hesitate to mention that it is expected to be 30°C here. Still that is about right for this time of year, and will please the visitors to the municipal campsite. It is only a small site with 25 pitches, but is very well maintained and set alongside the river Benaize it is quite picturesque. Lots of trees to provide shade and just across the bridge is the small but well stocked supermarket. There was a restaurant just outside the entrance to the site, and despite being well used midday by workmen, and in July and August by the campers, it has been closed for over a year now. I am told that what they served up was not very good. Still the campers are back, with a group of them here for the two months. They clearly meet up annually and it is quite usual to see a long table set out where they join together for a meal. There are lots of sites like this one all over France, offering really good value holidays, €5 a night. Friends who brought their caravan over from England stayed at another one near to us, and spent less for a weeks pitch than they had spent for a single night in Devon. Of course there are the really large campsites with lots of facilities on them which can be very expensive, but they seem to attract the foreigners rather than the natives. So if settling down in the fresh air with a book in one hand and a glass in the other appeals to you, then a small campsite in rural france might be just the place for you. Have a very good day. <ok>
     
    #19693
  14. colognehornet

    colognehornet Well-Known Member

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    #19694
  15. colognehornet

    colognehornet Well-Known Member

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    We've spent a few holidays in France doing cycling tours together with camping Frenchie - they really are very good, and with the possibility of Camping a la ferme as well. We did make a mistake once when looking for a campsite on the slopes of Mont Ventoux and followed the sings for Camping Naturiste not being entirely clear what that meant, until it was too late !
     
    #19695
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2020
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  16. oldfrenchhorn

    oldfrenchhorn Well-Known Member
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    Yes we have strayed onto one or two beaches along the Med. like that. It doesn't take many minutes before you accept it as normal.
     
    #19696
  17. colognehornet

    colognehornet Well-Known Member

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    On a beach it would be easier to accept it as normal Frenchie, but in a supermarket or in a reception on a campsite it can be a bit of a shock at first - however, we did go through with this and it did become normal after the first day.
     
    #19697
  18. Bolton's Boots

    Bolton's Boots Well-Known Member

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    Two hours ago I was gnashing my teeth after establishing that my internet & phone weren't working due to an 'outside' fault. After my ISP logged a fault with Openreach, I was told to expect a five working day wait - just received a text saying they would be here in five minutes.
    There is a God...
     
    #19698
  19. oldfrenchhorn

    oldfrenchhorn Well-Known Member
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    Before I returned to Orange, I lost service for three weeks. The company I was with told me it would provide a thingy to plug into my computer so I could use the mobile phone signal. The trouble was that we have a very weak signal here and it was next to useless. With Orange owning all the equipment at the exchanges and the overhead lines, they just take their time whenever a competitor has a problem. Lots of work going on around the area to install fibre. I doubt that we will be high on the list , but I am not complaining as I have a decent enough speed to stream football.
     
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  20. oldfrenchhorn

    oldfrenchhorn Well-Known Member
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    #19700

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