David Cropper

Bad English? Otto, if you read some of the rubbish written on these pages, you write like a university professor as do most of the Dutch I know!

12 minutes ago, roboted said:

And there's me under the false impression that the Merchant Navy were the most eclectic when it came to "affairs of the heart".

I'm astounded.

Yes, they are, but only where when the male sex is involved. You're now treading in uncharted waters, to put it into context. Leave well alone, women ain't for anyone with maritime connections,  just look at Mr Johnson. Stick to what you know, best bit of advice I can give. 

7 hours ago, roboted said:

I would very much doubt that a man of Mr Croppers standing would know of any fat birds with webbed feet.

Mr Cropper knows most variety of fat birds, web feet and all. Thank you for your misplaced faith, very touching.

5 hours ago, Mark Bolam said:

There’s a lot of needless rowing going on here.

We’re all in the timber game, like it or not, and we pretty much all sing from the same hymn sheet.

 

J has touched a nerve with me about littering.

It’s bad isn’t it?

I remember the ‘Tufty Club’ days of the ‘70’s. Littering was just considered ignorance.

Now, with massive coverage on social media, I just don’t get it?

My own little village in Kent has even recently developed a problem.

Idle little bastards leaving their shite lying around.

It’s disgusting. You can fit a bin bag in your johnny pocket, ffs.

 

People often comment that the inside of my Transit is a mess, but that’s because me and the lads simply won’t drop litter, ever.

I sort it out every Sunday into recyclable, black bag, or food waste.

Other stuff I sometimes find is probably not fit for polite discussion, and @Joe Newton doesn’t even work for me yet.

Recent pictures of the CLA Game Fair campsite after everyone left gave me a bit of hope, immaculate.

 

Hyde Park eco warriors take note!

 

The truth is Britain is truly a great place, but as others have said it’s got too many people in it, and the scummers seem to be breeding at an exponential rate.

 

One of my favourite books is by Jon Evans ‘Trail of the Dead’, rereleased as ‘Dark Places’.

 

It tells of the ‘Lonely Planet’ effect, where guidebooks tell people brilliant places to go, which are then ruined within a couple of years by hordes of people going there.

 

Don’t assume it doesn’t apply here, it’s a backhanded compliment.

 

I’m as guilty as anyone, for you West Country boys I’ve been a Grockle a few times with the best of them, and I remember my Dad coming back from a trip to the Lakes complaining it was ‘full of trippers!’

 

You can’t win, can you?

 

There are two sides to every coin, or two lenses.

 

We wouldn’t all be happy living in the same place, would we?

 

I think J is getting a hard ride here, the oversized whingeing half-German doom-monger that he is!

 

I voted leave, he voted remain.

It doesn’t make us enemies, does it?

Just blokes trying to make a living who have different points of view.

 

He knows him and his family have a bed with us here in Kent for the night if they need a bed before getting the Eurotunnel if he ever needs it.

 

Life’s too short to live where you’re not happy.

You go for it Big J, I’ll not let the few squabbles we’ve had on here down the line dilute my respect for what you want for yourself in life.

 

Or the invaluable practical advice you’ve given so freely over the years to myself and others.

Excellent,  well thought out and delivered piece, Mark. Totally agree on all points. Good luck to Big J.

1 hour ago, Moose McAlpine said:

You lot are no fun.

 

Well i'm off, if you haven't heard from me in a week just assume i died happy, full of pizza and muffled by flesh.

 

I will need photos of any and all big birds you trap, please.

2 hours ago, eggsarascal said:

Don't start him about fat birds he'll be on my case.

Ah, Eggs dear boy, I'd forgotten about you and your unwillingness to try the larger sized ladies. I'm afraid, in my professional opinion as a connoisseur of flesh, that you are a lost cause. Or maybe you have sampled the delights of Mr Johnson's barrel too many times. I think my next wife will be a big un,  had two small ones, time to expand my marital horizons. 

Just now, Moose McAlpine said:

 

Oh wow. Well in that case i won't invite you to my Fat Birds And Bo' Selecta! party. Shame, we were going to have pizza as well.

Fat birds, yes, pizza yes, Bo Selecta shite, no. But thank you for the kind thought.

22 minutes ago, Moose McAlpine said:

 

And there was me thinking you were a man of impeccable taste, Mr Cropper. 

Yes, you are correct  Moose, that's why I don't watch shite like that. Normally I'm "Down with the kids", in this instance I ain't.

47 minutes ago, Doug Tait said:

Bo' Selecta! - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

 

Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta) - Wikipedia

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

 

Craig David, bow selector at the Olympics. 

Thanks Doug. Never seen it or heard of it!

9 hours ago, Mark J said:

 

Sorry boys, I must be slow today, not a clue!

51 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

There is in the UK, house prices sky high, people not going on expensive holidays spending money on their property.

 

ps, you got that chipper back yet?

Mick, for the Love of Christ,  don't mention the bleeding chipper to him !

1 hour ago, ABtrees said:

 

I told you numbers were increasing !

 

So after 10 years waiting to get the first picture of an Oriole ............ wife's been out with the camera again this morning !

 

So that'll be a pair of Orioles AND a Middle Spotted Woodpecker thrown in for good measure - I going to get her to pick some lottery numbers for tonight (so we can afford a better camera!).

 

And then the chick (Oriole not the wife) gets in the frame too !!!

 

 

Like London buses I tell you !

 

I actually heard one the same day you posted this! First time since I mentioned hearing one in April, before hearing a cuckoo. Still never seen one which jars me off. My grandson sees them quite frequently on their lake near Limoges. It's very heavily forested,  ideal for them to hide out by the waterside.

My ex Captain was a monster of a man, typical Cavalry Officer. Whilst serving in Germany he was nearly killed when a Dutch APC, armoured personnel carrier, came out of a wood, crushed his car, which luckily was a Mercedes because that saved his life. Titanium plate in his skull and one in his leg. He was hospitalised for nearly 12 months, asked and received the metal pin out of his leg and had it made into a riding whip. When his Regiment was on Cyprus waiting for the Turkish invasion, mid 70s I think, he was commanding a troop of Ferret scout cars, all bombed up and ready. He decided Army rations weren't upto his standards, left the rest of the troop in situ, told his driver to drive to a nearby restaurant where he dined and then ordered enough good grub for the rest of the lads.

He came to stay with me over here in 2003, first time I'd seen him for 30 odd years. Got me gloriously pissed, finished at 0700 the following morning, I collapsed where I was, slept for a few hours in a coma, was ill for three days, not him, after two hours kip in a chair, he drove into town to replenish my completely emptied bar, he was as fresh as a daisy. I didn't realise he was Diabetic,  hence the massive thirst. We went later that year to the French Game fair at Chateau Chambord where he demolished any drink that came into his orbit, we then went into town for a meal, entered a restaurant where he promptly fell through the door onto the floor, shouting in fluent French that he was thirsty and needed a drink. We didn't get served, went to the next restaurant in line, a Moroccan owned one, same scenerio without the grand entrance tumble,  argued the toss with the increasingly irate Morocans, asked to leave this one, ended up at our hotel bar. He visited me again 2 years later after we again went to the Game Fair, by this time his reputation had got round my French neighbours who adored him, we had a steady flow of gawking villagers popping in to meet the aristocratic piss head. He asked to return a couple of years later, I made some excuse , my liver wouldn't have survived. When he visited his second home in Brittany where he hunted with a rather grand pack of pig hounds, he presented a bust of Napoleon to each of the joint masters of the pack at a hunt meal. It coincidently was the the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, that went down well with the French hosts! Napoleon is one who you don't extract the urine from in France. Lovely bloke, mad as a hatter and quite dangerous! He's still alive and living on Dartmoor.

19 minutes ago, gary112 said:

Had little Betty a year today,she’s had a bit of a rough ride for her first 12mths but hopefully thats all behind her now 

She looks good, Gary!

5 hours ago, Mark J said:

Unlawful detention without trial and hit/snatch squads.
My ex lasses brother was over there I've seen the scars both physical and mental on him. There's a very real chance you might know the guy.

The point was that we should go for the current people in charge of this shitshow and deal with history later.
I then got out my depth.

 

Mark, your ex girlfriend's brother may have been there, but you weren't. You, at first hand,  know nothing about what went on. Hit squads? I assume the IRA didn't use such methods? They,  of course,  played like gentleman. 

Sorry, this is a 200mm wheel, mine is 150, lot cheaper but it gives you an idea. 

3 minutes ago, Dilz said:

Is that just a standard diamond wheel? not the one with fancy groove in that's meant for yellow jacket teeth?  I guess it is easy enough to just work the tooth to get the edge back. 

Yes, standard, no groove. Go onto their website and have a look by typing in the product code.

This is the invoice. I think I paid around £85 for the wheel. I also bought the bench grinder to go with it. You have to make sure that you ask for the middle inserts of the correct measurement to fit your grinder. On the order form there are options for coarse,.fine or medium but there only ever seems to be the medium in stock. As you can see, I've had the wheel 3 years next month

 Excellent piece of kit. Rather than order on lines I rang and spoke to Michelle who sorted me out. Nice people to deal with.

41 minutes ago, Dilz said:

it's only a small machine so shouldn't really be tackling the bigger stumps with it. Sharpening the teeth seems a faff. apparently need a special diamond stone but might find some place local that sharpens them. Will look at buying in bulk to save costs. 

I bought a diamond wheel for my bench grinder, saved me thousands, literally. I buy a bucket of  x60 Yellow jacket from  Vermeer UK,  20% discount when you buy x60, that's your VAT paid if your not registered. I get between 3 to 5 sharpens from my teeth, depending on the amount of stones in or around the stumps. I change the teeth either every outing or every couple depending on how hammered they get. Each tooth takes a couple of minutes,  I set them in an old tooth pocket and find it is more precise on the wheel, plus it stops your fingers getting hot. Be aware you will need a mask with the dust. I wear a mask then a face visor to be on the safe side. If you have good, sharp teethyou should be able to tackle biggish stumps.

1 hour ago, breffni said:

Decent shape on her there!

Excellent! Someone else who likes Big Birds. Good man, I'm not alone.

12 minutes ago, Moose McAlpine said:

 

Maybe it's just the motorways then? Or maybe i'm just lucky.

 

Or more likely, they do it badly just for you, maybe to remind you of home.

 

 

Miles of warnings for "debris" and yet.. nothing. All the time for me on the M1 and M25.

No, motorways are as bad. Not for nothing are you referred to as "Lucky Moose McAlpine" throughout the Continental road systems.

10 hours ago, PeteB said:

Lovely truck, and I am a fan of the marque - this is the 8th LR since the early 80's and I learnt to double de-clutch in the first one registered in  Hereford and Worcester. They can be hard work at times and unreliable, but then, I've spent a few days in the hands of the AA with Ford Ranger too!

 

I've had a few of the plugs apart and found no corrosion in them, the earth in the osf wheel was knackered and replaced but still got a few issues which bug me! Perhaps I enjoy pain, suffering and expense! 

I learnt to drive on Landrovers, still double declutched and gave a burst of revs when changing down 30 years after. I did a Police driving mini course when I worked at BP, the police instructor asked why I drove like that as no need to in modern cars. Old habits die hard! 

3 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

In France Road Closed means ‘road might be closed, do you feel lucky?’

It's like deviation signs around small villages etc. Just the one, then sod all, it's like the clowns who put them up expect everyone to know the way around as though you live in the village.