The Retirement Thread

[BoldonLad]

I'm interested to know what was the temperature there as you're in full finger gloves and a coat!

My wife is always cold, so, the coat and full finger gloves is "normal" for her 😊

We set off at about 10:00, and the temperature was about 15c, with a cold Easterly wind. I discarded the jacket once we had reached the North side of the River and were heading West, so, wind at our back. The gloves are unintentional. I could not find my fingerless gloves. I suspect my wife has "put them away" (wife has Alzheimers, she frequently "puts things away" she puts them in the most unlikely places, and, of course, forgets where she has put them! 😂

 

[BoldonLad]

@BoldonLad would you mind posting an image of your tandem. It seems to be the type of machine I'm vaguely thinking of for my son with Downs.

A "catalogue image for you:

And, a couple with myself and my wife actually riding it:

We bought it from a place called JD Tandems, Gargrave. They have a website. The owner(?), Jamie, was incredibly helpful. Despite the fact we turned up "unannounced" he organised a test ride, first for my wife with him as "Steerer", then, for me as "Steerer" , with him at the front. Then, he loaned us the bike for a couple of hours to be sure. They are not cheap, as you will see from the website (approx £10k), we bought the demo model. There is a none electric model too.

You can get a safety harness, if required. We didn't feel it necessary, and, so far, it has worked fine (we have had a couple of "offs", both when attempting, perhaps over ambitious, slow speed manoeuvres in tight spaces. No harm done, except to our dignity. My fault, of course 😂

The only "problems" we have had are:

1. When I switch back to my solo bike, it takes me about 5-10 minutes to get accustomed to the lighter steering again
2. Some access points on tracks, are difficult to negotiate, depending on their width.

Hope that helps.

 

[Tenkaykev]

Another walk into Wimborne the Stour. Got a couple of things from Waitrose and some bread and cakes from the Burly Baker. As I walked up the lane between the bakery and Wimborne square I could hear the sounds of a piano playing the Blue Danube waltz. Got into the square and there's a busker with a white painted miniature grand piano with a cargo bike parked beside it. Quite an accomplished pianist too. I know that some people say that Wimborne is a bit " posh " but that's not something that I expected 🤔

 

[numbnuts]

Had lunch then went for a walk, a lot easier in 24c than 35c as it has been

 

[welsh dragon]

Bloody hell. I've just received 3 different letters from HMRC telling me I owe bigger and bigger amounts of tax to cover 3 different years. Robbing barstewards.

 

[BoldonLad]

Bloody hell. I've just received 3 different letters from HMRC telling me I owe bigger and bigger amounts of tax to cover 3 different years. Robbing barstewards.

A similar thing happened to Mrs @BoldonLad, when she first retired. The bad news is, it dragged on for a couple of years, the good news is, They had their numbers wrong, and, they actually owed her money!

 

[PaulSB]

Wasps are decidedly nasty to Bees!

We had an embryonic (cricket ball sized) nest appear last week in our eaves.

Nippon spray (Amazon) which fires a thin foam jet 3m (about 3 seconds needed) clobbered the nest easily. The amount of wasps and larvae that crawled out and died was amazing. Wasps returning after foraging just fell out of the sky on contact with the, by now, foamy nest.

Please don't think I'm lecturing as I've read this through and realise it may sound like that. Yes, it's true wasps predate on bees, mainly solitary bees such as the bumble bee, the wasp itself is an important pollinator. Their role as a pollinator is important as the wasp isn't a specialised feeder and visits a huge range of flowers for nectar. Wasps also predate on caterpillars, aphid and consume vast numbers making them a valuable source of natural pest control.

I appreciate they can be a real nuisance in the wrong place but wasps aren't the bad guys they get painted as. I estimate the flying insect population in my garden and on the allotment is down by 90% on ten years ago. We should only destroy valuable pollinators if it's absolute necessary.

 

[PaulSB]

@BoldonLad, this is brilliant. Gargrave is about an hour by car for me and 2½ by bike. I had no idea these people existed. I will be visiting. I'm after something very similar but a "reverse trike" if you get my meaning. Tom's balance isn't great and I no longer feel confident with him on the back of our tandem. A "reverse trike" would solve this issue and I could probably encourage his carers to take him out on something more stable. His house is within 30 yards of a cyclepath that leads to Preston Guildwheel, a 22 mile circular route round Preston. Tom loves cycling but needs the right kit.

Cheers. I'm very grateful for the info.

 

[numbnuts]

Bloody hell. I've just received 3 different letters from HMRC telling me I owe bigger and bigger amounts of tax to cover 3 different years. Robbing barstewards.

Don't pay it your get free board and lodging for a year or two

 

[Binky]

Have some very green bananas so I've put outside to ripen (will it work?).
Anyway, it occurred to me if this was in an art gallery I'd probably get £5million for my "installation". It brought to mind that banana taped to a wall.

 

[welsh dragon]

Blimey. I planted a so called self fertilising Kiwi plant about 29 years ago. Its never produced anything up until now, but suddenly there are 3 tiny Kiwi fruit growing

 

[Mike Ayling]

Have some very green bananas so I've put outside to ripen (will it work?).
Anyway, it occurred to me if this was in an art gallery I'd probably get £5million for my "installation". It brought to mind that banana taped to a wall.

View attachment 809684

Try putting inside a paper bag for a day or two

 

[PaulSB]

Have some very green bananas so I've put outside to ripen (will it work?).
Anyway, it occurred to me if this was in an art gallery I'd probably get £5million for my "installation". It brought to mind that banana taped to a wall.

View attachment 809684

Put them in a bag, preferably a brown paper bag, with, if available, a ripe banana. Ethylene is a gas which aids fruit ripening, and bananas produce a lot of Ethylene. Putting the fruit in the bag traps and concentrates the gas, speeding up ripening. Leaving it outside allows the gas to disperse and the sunshine does bugger all.

I buy two bunches of bananas a week, one ripe, one green and store them together. By the time I've finished the ripe ones the green are ready to eat........without the paper bag treatment.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Please don't think I'm lecturing as I've read this through and realise it may sound like that. Yes, it's true wasps predate on bees, mainly solitary bees such as the bumble bee, the wasp itself is an important pollinator. Their role as a pollinator is important as the wasp isn't a specialised feeder and visits a huge range of flowers for nectar. Wasps also predate on caterpillars, aphid and consume vast numbers making them a valuable source of natural pest control.

I appreciate they can be a real nuisance in the wrong place but wasps aren't the bad guys they get painted as. I estimate the flying insect population in my garden and on the allotment is down by 90% on ten years ago. We should only destroy valuable pollinators if it's absolute necessary.

No offence taken! 🙂

I just dislike what they do to bees. I know nature is cruel but they are horrible. Our bees are very precious and there are a lot less of them than wasps.

I don't usially get bothered by wasps and generally don't kill them but I don't want them in/on the house as they can cause a fair amount of damage.

🐝🔫

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Blimey. I planted a so called self fertilising Kiwi plant about 29 years ago. Its never produced anything up until now, but suddenly there are 3 tiny Kiwi fruit growing

Takes a while for the roots to reach New Zealand

hope this helps