nightrider Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 20 years ago I mated up with a guy who moved into a bungalow round the corner, he is now 60 yrs of age, never married but has a girlfriend from next door but one. On moving in he had a sports car, sold it for a boat and trailer plus a tow car, then stowed the boat away and bought a single axle caravan, sold the van for a twin axle job, sold the van for a Renault van and did a home conversion to a campervan, sold the Renault and bought a 20' Talbot motorhome, sold his original tow car and bought a smaller toyota car to use as a run about, he then bought the bungalow next door because it had a double garage and a wide driveway. Sold the toyota for a bigger diesel car, part exed the 20' Talbot for a 24' motorhome, sold the diesel motor for a Rover, sold the Rover for a Cherokee jeep and then bought a Kawasaki motorbike but still kept the jeep, had a tow bar fitted to the jeep and bought a bike trailer, two months later he told me he was buying a Honda bike, on asking was he part exing one for another he said no, keeping the two, he then bought a Ford Focus car, on asking him why he said it had a sliding roof, so at the moment he has.... A 24' motorhome, a Cherokee jeep two motorbikes, a motorbike trailer and a Ford focus car (with a sliding roof), each of these vehicles he has to take out each day to keep them in working order, it must cost a fortune in fuel, tax and insurence, all these vehicles were bought brand new he has never taken a vehicle in for an MOT in the 20 years that I have known him, this is absolutely true, he never goes out in his motorhome for more than a week, there is more to this story in my next post, I have had to condence the story a little in order to get it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share Posted November 2, 2008 To say that my mate is eccentric or unusual is an understatement, he will spend thousands on something, yet he will argue the toss over a shilling. He is now 60 and says that he retired at the age of 36, his last job was as a gangerman for the gas board, he has two gammy legs and general consencus of opinion is that he had an industrial accident and was awarded a big compo payout. Some of the things he does and the way he goes about them are unbelievable. He developed an interest in carved African animals and bought a 5' long 2' high rhino which he placed in the living room and one day while hoovering up he stumbled over the hoover cable fell backwards right onto the the rhino's horn, right up the jaxy, he was not best pleased. He wont go on a campsite because he says they are too dear and you get your feet wet in the grass!!!! He parks up overnight on those tree shrouded lay bys and thats where he spends his weeks holidays, he bought a pair of electric gloves when on his bike then he bought an electric suit that plugs in somewhere, I have never seen him do more than 25mph, he is known locally as "Driving Miss Daisy" for the sedate way in which he rides his bikes, but the best is yet to come? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twooks Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 que ???? :-S :-S *-) *-) B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share Posted November 2, 2008 Although I had seen my mates 20' long coachbuilt hundreds of times I had never taken much notice of it up until I got my first VW hightop, it was then that I noticed the differences. I complimented him on the bathroom facilities and it was then that I noticed the toilet was covered in cling film on asking him why? he said that he and his woman dont use it and that they used public toilets which I thought was rather strange, my mate has, as I have said got two gammy legs and should in my opinion use walking sticks but he wont, so here is a funny story that he told me. Parked up one night on a lay by he got took "short" so to speak, the lay by was on a steep embankment that went down to a farmers field and it was covered in brambles, bushes and small tree's, so armed with a toilet roll he decided to go "commando" finding a suitable spot he shucked down, squatted and did the business, with having two gammy legs he was using a tree branch for support, unfortunately for him he had not pulled his pants down far enough and his jettisoned load ended up in his pants and it was at this precise moment the tree branch snapped and with no means of support he went head over heals down the embankment and got tangled up in a hawthorn hedge on climbing back up the embankment ripped tattered and torn and covered in you know what, he shouted for help off his girlfriend when she got a look at him she said you are not coming in here like that, she threw him a wet towel and a change of clothes, in between fits of laughter, whats the point of having a big coachbuilt with a proper toilet if you dont use it?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 The only bit that surprises me is that he's got a girlfriend. ;-) ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share Posted November 3, 2008 malc d - 2008-11-02 11:20 PM The only bit that surprises me is that he's got a girlfriend. ;-) ;-) My mates girlfriend is as daft as him, so they make an ideal couple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 That's good stuff you're smokin'.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share Posted November 3, 2008 BGD - 2008-11-03 12:50 AM That's good stuff you're smokin'.............. What? golden virginia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohgrandma Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 What a laugh, many thanks for starting my day off welll after reading the above, So, I take it from your posting, that opposites dont always attract. Ria. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 I suppose it is whatever interests you. We have three Land Rovers which are not everyone’s choice but I am not sure I care and certainly never worry about what other people think about our vehicle choice. I used to have a wonderful Suzuki GT550 two stroke triple that I re built for fun. It was a rusting wreck with chickens nesting in the frame and the engine in bits all around it when i swapped it for an old climbing frame my kids didn't want anymore. Took two years to get it going again but when it was up and running - wow!!! Shame riding a bike on todays roads are not as enjoyable as it used to be. So I sold it to a fellow enthusiast and still see it from time to time howling its way up the road and reminding me of watching Barry Sheene on his water cooled 750 version. I do think some of us connect with vehicles more than others. That makes me eccentric I know - and I am proud of it! - Who wants to be "average" ? Maybe your neighbour is mildly eccentric Knight of the Road - but then some would say you are as well for taking the trouble to tell us all about him. (lol) (lol) (lol) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 I have a feeling we haven't reached the punch-line yet, Clive *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 No J9 - sorry that is about it. I suppose as someone who is a bit car mad and has two sons equally so the fact that we have - caravan Trailer V8 Discovery (my nice one) 200tdi Discovery (for all the crappy jobs and a bit of fun) Freelander Peugeout 306 D Audi A4 diesel Toyota MR2 and a garage full of Land Rover bits that could probably make up a "bitsa" of some sort and still have a fair bit left over. - that I do feel a tad eccentric. So no hard feelings to knight of the road - but I felt more in tune with his neighbour!!! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightrider Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share Posted November 3, 2008 CliveH - 2008-11-03 5:59 PM No J9 - sorry that is about it. I suppose as someone who is a bit car mad and has two sons equally so the fact that we have - caravan Trailer V8 Discovery (my nice one) 200tdi Discovery (for all the crappy jobs and a bit of fun) Freelander Peugeout 306 D Audi A4 diesel Toyota MR2 and a garage full of Land Rover bits that could probably make up a "bitsa" of some sort and still have a fair bit left over. - that I do feel a tad eccentric. So no hard feelings to knight of the road - but I felt more in tune with his neighbour!!! (lol) Stalwart, If my mate had the kind of stuff in his yard like you have I would be interested, but the vehicles that he has are all brand new and as such are devoid of character, they would not attract your attention when he drives down the street. For my money my mate does not have a taste for quality, the kind of stuff he buys is rather bland and plain. I personally would put my money into an older quality motor well worth restoring. The reason why he has these vehicles is so that his relatives dont get his money when he kicks the bucket, his reasoning is that they might get his assets, house, effects and motors, but he says he will have had the pleasure of buying and using them from new. My mate said that I am eccentric for the amount of woodworking machinery I have in my workshop, so one mans meat is another mans poison? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveH Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Ah yes we are all a bit odd I suppose Malc. For example I renovated that old Suzuki GT550 and took it to a show held at Bovington Tank Museum (just up the road to Monkey World as seen on the telly) and to be fair I had had to use some bits from other GT 550's of dif years. Imagine my delight when a true anorak complete with squeaky voice like that guy on Constipation Street started telling me that the colour was wrong, it had a 1985 from mudguard when it should have a single strut 1987 one and that the three into four exhausts were a mixture of European and US spec. (Which they were of course and I knew that!) and so on and on and on and on. In the end we just burst out laughing. Sad really - to me a vehicle is more than just a vehicle but that means that to keep it running and to keep it looking as I want - if a superior later part can be fitted then that is what will be fitted when the old bit wears out. Land Rovers are excellent for this. Which of course is part of the attraction for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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