It’s been a long time coming but next month I become an OAP. Who’d have thought it would come around so quickly?
So my carer’s allowance stops but it’s replaced by the State Pension. I’m not ungrateful for this payment that I’ve contributed to for 47 years but after Rachel From Accounts has taken her slice back in tax I’m hardly going to be living the life of Riley.
But the good news is I’ll get my bus pass so I’ll be off galavanting round the county…. Shame my wife who I’m carer for can’t have hers for another 6 years. So much for being a Sugar Daddy.
This is all tongue in cheek, I know the score. I’ve grumble to my mp, our illustrious leader Sir Keir and the response is much the same. Pension is a benefit….. think yourself lucky.
Next job, learn how to do a bus. Apparently it’s the No 5. Where from and where to goodness knows…. The Adventure Begins.
I have a friend in London who is 87 and he tours the whole of London with his “Freedom Pass” and then, as he loves buses, goes on trips around the country by bus. How he works out his routes I have no idea, but he gets to see his sister in Grimsby by circuitous routes as he says ‘I haven’t been to (so and so) for years, so that would be different!’ He’s such a “bus-spotter” he knows all the makes and models of buses - which are made in China or Europe and a load of useless - erm useful - information. I would say it keeps him off the streets, but quite the opposite.
I have two years before I become an OAP and just lost my CA as Graham died. Hmm - now what do I do - oh yes, spend the savings we have built up!
@Mark_D, It’s not just Rachel Reeves who is causing problems. When you look back at 14yrs of Tory misrule, from David Cameron to Boris Johnson to Rishi Sunak, there have been mess-up on an almost epic scale. I had to deal with the DWP just recently on my mum’s behalf. My God, it was like the Spanish inquisition (well, almost ). Do your best to look after your wife. Fingers crossed, things will come right in the end. PS, I’m nowhere near pension age, I’m 44yrs.
Chrtis, “Bus Nuts” are the absolute ultimate “anoraks” ever.
I remember we went to Wroughton Museum Open Day, and there were grown men with tape recorders running behind the bus with a microphone near the exhaust! Then there was another bus trip where we were practically lectured on the bus about the age, engine etc. of the bus.
Of course people who own steam engines, lorries, Land Rovers, tractors etc. are entirely sane?!?!
When I ran a lorry club and took a stall to a show, I was often expected to umpire between two different owners, one said his was absolutely right so someone else’s really wasn’t right at all. In fact they were both right but their vehicles were built to different specifications.
How a woman who never learned to lift the bonnet of her Sierra ended up running a national lorry club still puzzles me. I blame it all on my OH.
Patrick used to be a guide at the London Transport Museum so I suppose he found his niche.
Of course Lorry and Steam enthusiasts are perfectly sane… Who else would stand on a metal platform behind a huge boiler, shovelling coal in all weathers and call it “fun”? For some years I used to go to shows with the MVT - erm YEAH there were anoraks there too… The mates I went with had se0evral Landies of different models and we used to camp out for the long weekends. One of them had a fascination for London Buses and when we were on a bus up there one weekend he scared the life out of a driver by peering to check what gear lever it had so he could identify the model to the n-th degree! S-A_D
I am sure Ken was proud of your achievements - otherwise he wouldn’t have stayed with you so long!
Speaking a petrol head, I’m quite fond of Land Rovers. What irks me is I’ve seen people in these modern versions of such cars but, they don’t drive them offroad. Don’t know about you but, it drives me up the wall.
Oh it’s the Chelsea Tractors which wind me up - at least I live in the country so there are loads of people with “Country Vehicles” - the Landies DEFINTELY get used off-road, but there are still many people with 4x4’s who only use them for transporting kids and - dare I say this - the wives tend to drive them and don’t know how to drive them properly…
Not with me ‘cos I totally agree with your sentiments re 4x4s - I live in a built up area and the number of these vehicles on the road where they are not needed and not suitable on our roads drives me mad. Try parking between 2 of them in a shopping precinct car park that was built in the 1980/90s, where the spaces were designed for nothing bigger than a standard saloon car, when you’ve got a small hatchback and you’ll understand why I want to resort to screaming at times !
@susieq , With you on that. I live opposite a school. Many cars that park up are 4x4s or the other being the “crossover” type of car. They are basically, pumped up hatchbacks with part time 4WD and higher suspension. Or as I call them, “hatchbacks on steroids”. These not only end up blocking the street on a school day but, most of them end up parking on the pavement. Some even block my front gate. Before my mum fell ill with the stroke, she had mobility problems. Getting in and out of the house was tricky. Even more worse, some parents who use these cars don’t even live too far from the school. They could simply walk there. It drive me crazy. As I said, 4x4s should be used for off-roading, for school runs, use an ordinary hatchbak, saloon car or estate car.
There are SIX Land Rovers in my garden. A Series 1, a 1960 Series 2 Long Wheelbase, a tipper, a Range Rover, and a 90”.
Soor after I was widowed, my late husband’s Range Rover was written off but saved my life. The Police told me if I’d been in my Escort, I’d have been killed. I bought a Discovery, and for years never felt safe in anything other than a Land Rover. I gave M my Escort. For years the Disco was my every day car, it took a lot of courage to drive anything. I only needed one car, not two. As I needed to tow a caravan for work and play, I needed the Disco. It would take up to 7 grown adults. Everyone is so anti “gas guzzling 4x4’s” but as soon as anyone gets stuck, it snows, or rains, you become everyone’s friend. My eldest really loves taking one of his out if it’s snowing, complete with chains and tow ropes, just to help others, and even had a commendation on the radio after rescuing a damsel in distress. When eldest declared he was going to buy a tipper, I really didn’t think he needed one. Then we had to empty mum’s house and it did so much work for me. If we are offered free wood for the fire, out comes the tipper. I have 6 years worth of wood trying in a shed!
Nice one . At least you are not short for spare parts. I’m not anti-gas guzzlers. I like all sorts of cars, from classics to hot hatchbacks to 4x4s and supercars/hyper cars. For most of us, it’s some of the people who drive them. Why have a large 4x4 for the school run or for a short trip to the shops? For me, 4x4s are for proper off-roading. For going places where an ordinary family car would give up.
Totally agree with you ! Especially when they try to park them in a space too small for the size of the vehicle - my muttered, under my breath, comment is usually along the lines of “if you can’t park the bloody thing don’t drive it”, They just aren’t necessary in town.
Part of the problem is that car manufacturers stopped making MPVs. We need an MPV to take four adults, a wheelchair and other equipment, etc. The only alternative is the larger “hatchback on steroids” - in this case an all-wheel drive Taracco SF Sport. It was the only one with an automatic gearbox, and a (barely) large enough boot. Previously we’ve had Zafiras or a Sharan, which fully met Gill’s needs. Looking at the current options, as the three years is up in January next year, it’s not looking good for finding a suitable replacement.
And why are SUVs all the rage? Because a certain Mr Biden made all-electric SUVs eligible for a tax rebate in 2021. Now, that meant that manufacturers were able to concentrate their efforts on building SUV’s - both petrol/diesel and electric - because sharing the one body made sense, business wise. So virtually all manufacturers increased SUV production and stopped making MPVs. There are also far fewer estate cars around, although most don’t have a high enough load space for our needs.
It’s tricky to get such vehicles for disabled people. Sadly, as you said, SUVs and MPVs are the way to go. If you decide to down the EV route you are better of with a hybrid. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend all electric. The claimed overall range for lots of these cars aren’t what they say.
). Do your best to look after your wife. Fingers crossed, things will come right in the end. PS, I’m nowhere near pension age, I’m 44yrs.
. At least you are not short for spare parts. I’m not anti-gas guzzlers. I like all sorts of cars, from classics to hot hatchbacks to 4x4s and supercars/hyper cars. For most of us, it’s some of the people who drive them. Why have a large 4x4 for the school run or for a short trip to the shops? For me, 4x4s are for proper off-roading. For going places where an ordinary family car would give up.