Do you own a car?

[Maz]

2 cars unfortunately - at the insistance of my better half. My rarely-used runaround has developed its own eco-system around it... moss growing round the edges of the windscreens and cobwebs hanging off the wing mirrors. I kid you not.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

No, I don't even have a licence. Never have.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

No.Never.Drove a car in 1981 for about ten minutes.

That's 10 more than me!! (Ok, I have used go - carts before, so probably not in fact).

Seriously I will say I am lucky that I have been able to cope without a car and the tube for many years.

I am no tree hugger or anything, but I take the train everywhere, and I have to seriously scratch my head at people who use a car completely needlessly (i.e. the rest of my family who all live in the same area as I do! - if I can do it, so can they).

Personally I can see that it's just sheer lazyness and you wont get people out of their cars, more, the cars will just have to become cleaner and force feed them to the public like a Chimpanzee in the zoo getting medication hidden in it's food.

Oh yes and long distance car journeys which are needless when there are other alternatives. Why knacker and stress yourself out on the road?? it's a complete mystery to me.

One thing that annoys me though are the likes of directions to places, particularly when all they have are directions for the road and nothing else, when you KNOW FINE WELL that there are other ways of getting there very close by.
The last time I was down south I came across that when looking for a B&B. All Road directions and absolutely nothing else, even when the place was right next to the effing railway station!

Doug - off to lie down in a darkened room.

 

[Night Train]

A Skoda Octavia for towing trailers and lugging tools about and a Toyota MR2 that I am converting to electric an a scratch built electric compact tractor.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I always remember Pete Waterman (of all people) talking about how he commutes to London on the train and has never really used his car. He said something along the lines of:

'People say that I don't live in the real world in the sense that I don't use a car, but if the real world involves getting stressed out over traffic jams, accidents, road rage and rising fuel costs, then I am more than happy not to be there'.

Where I live, the trains aren't too bad really, so yes, I have to agree with him!

 

[hackbike 666]

Funny you say that MDB but walking from the cementry yesterday to the railway station seemed like a bit of a horror story for some people.I walked to Streatham Common but I know some people walked to Mitcham because it's nearer.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Last time I was in London, I was going to an Aviation fair thingimybobber at Kempton Park, but due to engineering works, the trains only went as far as New Malden and there was a bus service laid on for the remainder of the journey.
So yes, I do know just how much of a pain it can be, but on the whole, where I live (near Glasgow), I'm fine.

In the last place where I worked, I was there for a year, and you have no idea the amount of delays people who drove had, due to accidents and roadworks, and BOY did people moan constantly about it!!

I had practically no problems in comparison!
I can't even think of anything in particular either, and what's more, I was there on time every day, whilst a lot of people weren't.

Go figure.

 

[hackbike 666]

No I didn't find it a pain actually.I haven't really been to Streatham much and it was better than I expected.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Ah right! yes, sorry, misunderstood you.
I have been to the Bus depot there on the last day of the Routemasters in 2005. I then went to a station I'd never even heard of near by (not Streatham, but another one ...West Norwood?), and got a '456 back to London.

I've also walked through the park at Balham towards Tooting Bec and got a proposition from a young woman for 'some business'. I said no, but in a strange way I wished I had said yes now!!

 

[hackbike 666]

I have never travelled on a bendy bus though.

The 456 was at the front today and the 455 was at the rear..Got on the 455 but wanted to get on the 456 as I have never been on one.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Never have I, although I have been on quite a few benders in my time!

 

[hackbike 666]

Never have I, although I have been on quite a few benders in my time!

Oooer Missus.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I have never travelled on a bendy bus though.

The 456 was at the front today and the 455 was at the rear..Got on the 455 but wanted to get on the 456 as I have never been on one.

Oohhhh ....you aren't missing much other than two coaches of mediocrity, or basically, half a '455!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Actually, where I live, my 'local' units are the Class 320s, which are from the same design family as the '456, only without all the Jumper Cables hanging off the front, making them look odd.

I'm sure you'll be familiar with the Class 321, which is the 4 coach version as well as the '322s which were the units on the Stanstead Express for many years, but now work up in Scotlandshire here, mainly on the Edinburgh - North Berwick route.

 

[Rewind]

Yes, I'm a complete petrolhead, I hire one while I'm in UK and have two "interesting" cars in Bahrain that don't do much mileage. Also my company car in Bahrain which is my daily driver. Only one driving licence in the family, mine, can't claim to be an eco warrior then......!

Would cycle to work in Bahrain but I'm not ready to die yet, I'll stick to Friday/Saturday morning and mid week evening rides in the quieter places.

Rewind

"No-one is ever old enough to know better"