What's made you smile today?

Currently reading:
What's made you smile today?

Alien (punk nickname) is an old mate of mine from Leeds, now lives in your neck of the woods…he has always had allegros and is VERY well known in allegro circles…I think he’s still got a pre-production estate…anyhows, his dual personality is known to those in the know
Ah, all is clear now. No I wouldn't know him, although it was a club member who picked the machine up from me all those years ago so it might have been him for all I know? A much maligned vehicle is the Allegro but I really rather like them. I only ever owned that one, although my older boy had one, a 1300, which he learned to drive in and then went around in until one day a very elderly gentleman reversed his posh large BMW out of his driveway right in front of him when he was doing 30mph. My boy T Boned it quite dramatically. Luckily the elderly gent completely admitted liability so there were no repercussions on my boy, but the damage was extensive so the "Agro" was a write off. Although quite liking the cars, and how cheap they were to buy, I couldn't be described as an "enthusiast" though.

Edit. If I remember correctly the chap who came for the machine had come across from somewhere North West of the City, maybe even Fife?
 
Started my summer skating pass routine this week. I went with Grandson Owen Tuesday night and solo tonight. The nice thing about a solo night is I don't have to feed Owen, which means fewer breaks and I can skate longer.
 
Started my summer skating pass routine this week. I went with Grandson Owen Tuesday night and solo tonight. The nice thing about a solo night is I don't have to feed Owen, which means fewer breaks and I can skate longer.
Hah, I hope you kept the crutches and walking sticks! Dont expect any sympathy from Mrs Cheest when the inevitable happens, . LOL
 
Ah, all is clear now. No I wouldn't know him, although it was a club member who picked the machine up from me all those years ago so it might have been him for all I know? A much maligned vehicle is the Allegro but I really rather like them. I only ever owned that one, although my older boy had one, a 1300, which he learned to drive in and then went around in until one day a very elderly gentleman reversed his posh large BMW out of his driveway right in front of him when he was doing 30mph. My boy T Boned it quite dramatically. Luckily the elderly gent completely admitted liability so there were no repercussions on my boy, but the damage was extensive so the "Agro" was a write off. Although quite liking the cars, and how cheap they were to buy, I couldn't be described as an "enthusiast" though.

Edit. If I remember correctly the chap who came for the machine had come across from somewhere North West of the City, maybe even Fife?
We had one too. It was a run out model so probably as sorted as they got. Apart from rust it was a wholly decent drive and extremely comfortable. Has effort been put into engineering is thoroughly it could have been a success.
 
Hah, I hope you kept the crutches and walking sticks! Dont expect any sympathy from Mrs Cheest when the inevitable happens, . LOL
I’ve had the crutches for 20 years. Knee surgeries in 05, 10, and 12. Car/ bicycle crash in 07, bunionectomy in 16, and the unpleasantness of 24. The sticks and the knee scooter are stored away for future use.
I’m not racing or pushing the envelope anymore, just rolling along.
 
Some people will say anything for sympathy.;););)
At least you can stand up on skates, I tried it once 40 odd years ago and gave up.:(
My Mom was pretty good at roller skating. My Dad, not so much. The story goes is that Mom dragged him out on the rink floor when they were teens and he promptly fell and broke his arm. He never got back on roller skates again, though I did see him on ice skates a couple of times.

Mrs.Cheest went with me once before she was Mrs.Cheest. I tried to drag her out on the rink floor and she didn't want to. I tried to cajole her out there with a tug on her arm. She hauled off and punched me in the nuts. That was the end of skating with her. Or trying to talk her into something she was dead set against doing.
 
Me too, Roller skates, ice skates, even tried skiing. Flat on my bum every time!
AH ha Im one up on you then. I tried skiing and found on the artificial slope that it was controllable, so with more practice I might be able to adapt to....

No thats being silly.....
 
AH ha Im one up on you then. I tried skiing and found on the artificial slope that it was controllable, so with more practice I might be able to adapt to....

No thats being silly.....
If that was the slope at Trowse, then I too went skiing there once...

It snowed, I kid you not, I went for a taster session and ended up skiing on real snow, on a dry ski slope...

My ankles did not like it.
 
If that was the slope at Trowse, then I too went skiing there once...

It snowed, I kid you not, I went for a taster session and ended up skiing on real snow, on a dry ski slope...

My ankles did not like it.
No It was Rawtenstall if I remember right. They claimed to be Uk's tallest artificial run. Moving to snow covered artificial slopes would be a lot nearer the real experience I think.
 
AH ha Im one up on you then. I tried skiing and found on the artificial slope that it was controllable, so with more practice I might be able to adapt to....

No thats being silly.....
In the 1970s we had a local dry ski slope and went for several sessions, enjoyed it and booked two weeks package holiday in Italy with first wife, first week great, second week got to confident on a turn and ended up face down with both legs spread much wider than natural, went back up and tried again but nearly crying with the pain so half way down the ski slope I found they had a bar where the barman kept pouring me Ballentines? whisky until the pain went away. The other thing I learnt is that the locals bought 2 litre bottles of the local wine with their meal and the waiter would cap it then produce it again for their next meal. Sounded like a good idea until we got through two of the bottles in one night and then tried skiing again next morning.:(:(:(
Another thing I learnt was not to trust British Tourist Agents, the price I paid to hire our ski gear was more than I could have bought the top of the range stuff the Ski Instructors were using in Italy!
It was the same holiday that I saw the locals would drive up in their old Fiat 127 fully laden on road tyres up the mountain road, as the car lost traction all the family bar the driver would get out , sit on the bonnet and then the driver would carry on up the mountain, I was most impressed as back home if we got a mm of snow most of the drivers ended up in the ditch.:)
Last thing I recall was admiring the simple form of triple glazing on the windows of the hotel and noticed looking out that the kitchen staff were all throwing their waste in a big heap on the frozen river outside waiting for spring time when those down stream would benefit when it thawed!!!
 
Last edited:
A wee while ago, my granddaughter's school took them on an "experience" day to the Hillend ski slope just south of the city and she took to it like a duck to water. Apparently, by the end of their visit she was scooting down the slope like she'd been doing it for years - the staff were quite surprised. Obviously didn't inherit any of it from me!
 
I did a lot of Nordic skiing in my 20's and 30's. My Mom did it, too. I got my oldest, at 5, a set of Karhu skis and boots for her first pair and we hit the trails. We came to the first downhill. She just got into a crouch with her poles tucked in tight and went. We were dumbstruck. She walked back up the hill and did it again. And again. Myself, I was the bushwhacker breaking trails, but I've always been guaranteed a splat somewhere down the hill.
 
No It was Rawtenstall if I remember right. They claimed to be Uk's tallest artificial run. Moving to snow covered artificial slopes would be a lot nearer the real experience I think.
I’ve done snow boarding sessions at indoor places with real snow, there is one near Leeds which isn’t too far from my wife’s parents. Snow boarding agreed with my ankles a bit more as they weren’t constantly trying to twist in oposite directions to one another.
 
I think my interests might be rubbing off on my boy, I took him into a place today that had V8 coffee tables all over the place and he couldn’t get enough of them.

IMG_5748.jpeg


His favorite activity has become going in the garage and playing with the tools. I might have to get him his own set of tool soon.
 
Back
Top