He touched my car

[Nigel-YZ1]

Are we ready for another kitten picture yet?

 

[Boris Bajic]

I conducted a small survey of motorists in Streatham on the subject of how the feel about the consequences of their choosing to drive through the peaceful urban village. The noise, reduction in air quality, the way that the A23 is a serious barrier to people and divides the place in two, that sort of thing The major message I picked up was that they don't really give a f***. I draw the conclusion that, as is usually the way here, the major lack of respect lies with the car users who, and I repeat it yet again, just don't even consider the issues.

There us a simple and practical issue about the unclipping. My aim is to hit every light on green. If it is currently red then my aim is to slow down and time my arrival as the light changes. What I don't want to do is wait with my foot down in front of an impatient driver.

As a Londoner for many years I lived with (and contributed to) that metropolitan choke. I cycled there too (a lot) and quite liked being in amongst it.

Old Street Roundabout (previous layout), St Giles' Circus and Trafalgar Square were among my favourites. Also the car barrier from Russell Square into Senate House car park, which could be taken flat out if you got a leg over the saddle and hung onto the side of the bike like a Navajo behind the neck of his steed.

But I digress.... Yes, cars do make an unholy stink and they do clog it all up rather. But I moved away from that and live among the mud-strewn lanes of Farmershire. Saint Wreatham (A23 in particular) has been a traffic nightmare since my childhood (60s and 70s). i do not recall it being otherwise.

I am not as old as all that, but an urban village in Streatham I do not recall. Strand on the Green, yes. Barnes, yes. Streatham, no. It was always a south London urban mess doing the best it could and (by the time I had money) hanging onto the skirt tails of the outer-urban property speculators with lirttle hope and less ambition. I think your urban village reference may have been tongue-in-cheek. It had a ice rink, but I'm not sure where that fits into my narrative.

Still, best not lean on cars. Even south of the river it's pretty poor form. I think you've got it right by trying to match your approach to the sequencing of the lights. I can't imagine how nobody else ever thought of that!

I'm sorry the motorists you encounter are so horrid, selfish and unaware of their wider impact. I shall try doubly hard to be lovely to everybody in an attempt to even things up. My smile (on a good day) is like ground zero in the nevada desert. It always wows them.

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

[QUOTE 2128124, member: 9609"]or even a movie
[/quote]

Not sure about that. It's not a kitten

 

[screenman]

I used to have a car site in Balham, well a petrol site and car sales to be exact. I think that Balham is smaller than Streatham so I imagine Balham could be called a hamlet. Must admit I hated the place, now I do live in a proper rural village with very poor transport services, but if you ever do need to stop when out for a ride there is not likely to be a car to lean on or a bus for that matter.

 

[screenman]

They only a come out a few weeks of the year. Useless for drafting (not that I would) as they go too slow. Nice thing is I can have 20 mile plus ride any time I want without even seeing a car.

Despite the fact I have spent 40 years making a living from cars, I do not like the things, certainly do not cherish the things nor desire a big expensive one, anymore. Been there done that and got the T shirt, much rather a bike than a car, however needs must.

 

[theclaud]

I'd like to think that I covered that in my post. The bit where I said that I was trying to get to the underlying concepts of property and ownership without the emotion that the car-deprived-but-obsessed seem to feel obliged to bring with them and without their prejudiced blinkers from restricting their views.

Given the obvious lack of respect some, including one who might or might not be cycling around Streatham, show to the property of others, I'm not surprised that the simple question of allowing strangers to picnic in your garden has gone without response.

This thread, after all, comes about because a cyclist who is too lazy to unclip feels they should be free to touch someone else's property, whether a car, bus or street furniture, just because the action of twisting their right heel is beyond them.

No it doesn't. It comes about because the peculiar symbolic meaning of the car in our culture confers a disproportionate significance on what would otherwise be an entirely unremarkable act. It is impossible to imagine anyone getting similarly exercised over someone else laying an insouciant glove on their wheelbarrow.

 

[screenman]

It comes about because somebody was doing something that was maybe not safe.

 

[theclaud]

It comes about because somebody was doing something that was maybe not safe.

Oh it's about safety now, is it? Are you Tony Blair?

 

[screenman]

No I do not think so, nope just checked definitely not him.

Where is the connection? I am confused as usual.

 

[theclaud]

No I do not think so, nope just checked definitely not him.

Where is the connection? I am confused as usual.

When one argument becomes insupportable, simply switch to another. Think Iraq War.

 

[theclaud]

@screenman - it is possible that I am conflating you and @green1 in my head into a single entity called greenman. Sorry. Avatars would help me though. Perhaps you did mention safety initially - but I thought you had said it was about the vulnerability of water-based paints. Or respect. Or manners. Or something.

 

[Dan B]

. Perhaps you did mention safety initially - but I thought you had said it was about the vulnerability of water-based paints. Or respect. Or manners. Or something.

The Devil is, as they say, in the detailing

 

[screenman]

The Claud,Not me! you must have me mixed up with another poster, maybe there is two of us. Hold on I did explain Water-borne paints not water based though. Not sure I talked about respect or manners, I did say you are welcome to lean on my car whenever you wanted to as is anybody. I also said I do not like cars and had no desire to own an expensive one again, my 2006 Passat is a fine and dandy old banger that just works fine.

DanB, clever that one, must say detailing is not a way I would like to make my living, although I do have a detailer in for dent training tomorrow.

 

[screenman]

Yes it certainly does overcome this, first you have to read the dent and find the pressure point that is holding it in and then work to release that point, A smallish dent say a golf ball size can take upwards of 200 very small pushes in exactly the right spots (notice spots with an S) to correct the dent and place the metal back to its original place. we can shrink the metal and also stretch the metal, as long as the paint is not damaged chances are we can do something with it.

Very few cars come off of the production line without some PDR being carried out, for instance Vauxhall who buy lights off of me have over 20 PDR guys working on new cars.

I do a lot of largish dents and some guys prefer to rush around doing lots of small one's, mind you I had one of the car in last week that had been caught in that storm in the midlands last week with over 60 dents in the roof.

A motto of mine, most of my work goes unnoticed.

There is a bit more information on www.dentex-pdr.co.uk. I will fully understand if the mods want to take that down. It is not meant as advertising but just giving a bit more information.

 

[screenman]

Adrian I have far more interests than the two you list.

Is this still in Balham, I had it in the very early eighties. Looked a bit different then with grass out the front and I had it mainly for car sales. I remember the grocers shop opposite getting robbed almost daily. Brilliant little gym around the corner that I used to go to full of top lifters. Memories.