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What have you been doing today?

The MOT is out on my scooter and my usual place has shut up and gone. Motorcycle test centres are not as numerous as cars but I drove past a newly opened garage the other day that was advertising mot's on vans, cars and bikes on a big sign outside so I just took it down there. I went in reception, asked for a mot on my scooter and he said "not for another 6 months at least - we're waiting to open a testing station"! When I said that he had a sign outside advertising that he did mot's he said "yeah, I know". I asked him what the point was if he can’t test them and he just shrugged his shoulders. I just called him a f'cking tosser and left. I mean, the sign advertised only mots and it was a sign that he must drag out onto the pavement each day. Total w'nker! Got it booked into a main dealer tomorrow now.

Any update on the contract?, I'm guessing the old workshop is going?
 
Just got back from my morning walk. I took the drone, flew it nearly a mile away and watched a bit of golf. I’m getting braver by the day!

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The MOT is out on my scooter and my usual place has shut up and gone. Motorcycle test centres are not as numerous as cars but I drove past a newly opened garage the other day that was advertising mot's on vans, cars and bikes on a big sign outside so I just took it down there. I went in reception, asked for a mot on my scooter and he said "not for another 6 months at least - we're waiting to open a testing station"! When I said that he had a sign outside advertising that he did mot's he said "yeah, I know". I asked him what the point was if he can’t test them and he just shrugged his shoulders. I just called him a f'cking tosser and left. I mean, the sign advertised only mots and it was a sign that he must drag out onto the pavement each day. Total w'nker! Got it booked into a main dealer tomorrow now.
Took it up for test this afternoon. Failed! :LOL: Failed on the rear number plate lamp not working. They went to fit a bulb but the wire going into the bulb holder had corroded and broken. I did a quick bodge to get it through and run it back up there for a free retest. I wrapped a piece of wire around the loop of the capless bulb and connected it to the broken cable, bypassing the corroded bulb holder. Didn’t even make a proper connection for the wiring - just twisted the wires together and wrapped it with insulation tape. Ordered a new bulb holder - three quid for two of them from eBay.

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Been up my solicitors today signing a contract. Will say what for next Friday. Don't want to jinx anything…..


Any update on the contract?, I'm guessing the old workshop is going?

Contracts exchanged today. Completion on Friday. After 40 years, the workshop is going! Not done too bad out of the place - worked it for 22 years, rented it out for 18 years, had grants galore chucked at me from Rishi and the local council during covid and getting a very, very good price on it. Mrs Mottie and I will be out on Friday celebrating. Get the champers on ice. :smile:

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Contracts exchanged today. Completion on Friday. After 40 years, the workshop is going! Not done too bad out of the place - worked it for 22 years, rented it out for 18 years, had grants galore chucked at me from Rishi and the local council during covid and getting a very, very good price on it. Mrs Mottie and I will be out on Friday celebrating. Get the champers on ice. :)

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Well done mate, you officially retired now?
 
Well done mate, you officially retired now?
Thanks. Sort of! Still got my consultancy gig with a couple of centres for another training organisation - just advising them and keeping their trainers on track with regards to C&G assessment rules and procedures etc. Only 3 or 4 days a month and it’s a well paid cushy number but it ever becomes aggro or boring, I’ll be outta there too!
 
I had two fraud attempts on my bank card overnight. OMG! I've never had that before. New card on its way and I've been updating my details in all sorts of places.
 
I had two fraud attempts on my bank card overnight. OMG! I've never had that before. New card on its way and I've been updating my details in all sorts of places.

My wife's card was stolen once and multiple purchases made. I didn't bother reporting it because the thieves were spending less than she was.
 
I did my back in, a couple of days ago, fitting the first of two tubes, to the rear tyres of the tractor, not recovered, and I tried doing the second one yesterday and had to abandon it I was in such pain. My little trailer, is stored in the back garden, and I'll need it this weekend - the only way to get it to the front, is by shuffling the caravan back a forth, so I decided to get it out this morning....

The caravan is heavy to push, and on a slight slope, so the remote control powered mover is almost essential. I switched the remote on, it made the usual noises, motors did the jig, and the control panel began flashing a fault code -SLSLLSSL (shorts and longs). Checked out all that I could, without having any way to translate the codes, and remote was lighting up as normal. I then tried to google fault codes, and found no help. Checked the drive motors, checked the main battery, repaired the remote control. Getting urgent to get little trailer out, so we tried pushing, I was not much help due to my back, and couldn't budge it. Got out a hand winch, I keep for such emergencies, and managed to successfully shuffle it back and forth, to get the trailer out, caravan back in place.

Back to the pooter, and try again for fault codes, and found a Danish language site, which happened to mention the exact code, and described them having fixed it, by replacing the remote control batteries, and despite it lighting up as normal, tried it and it worked fine.

Back to the tyres - When blowing the tyres up, the display went blank on my expensive PCL digital gauge, with it's calibration document. It uses a rather unusual button cell, so I had to put one on order. I like to keep my tyre pressures spot on, all of them, so I know there are no leaks.
 
Up at the workshop today collecting the last of my tools. Took the keys round to the estate agents. Completing on the sale tomorrow. I should be happy, especially as I got a pretty decent price on it, much more than I thought it was worth but I must admit I was a little bit sad. Been a big part of my working life. I even, ahem, got a little bit of dust in my eyes as I locked up and drove away for the final time. My very last picture of the place was my 18 month old sons handprint in the yard wall, made in around 1987 that my mate had just rendered for me. I feel like I’ve left a big part of my life behind. :sad: Still, onward and upward!

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Up at the workshop today collecting the last of my tools. Took the keys round to the estate agents. Completing on the sale tomorrow. I should be happy, especially as I got a pretty decent price on it, much more than I thought it was worth but I must admit I was a little bit sad. Been a big part of my working life. I even, ahem, got a little bit of dust in my eyes as I locked up and drove away for the final time. My very last picture of the place was my 18 month old sons handprint in the yard wall, made in around 1987 that my mate had just rendered for me. I feel like I’ve left a big part of my life behind. :( Still, onward and upward!

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Onwards and upwards matey. (y)
 
Tyre fitting, on tractor, shuffling caravan about, to get the little trailer out for tomorrow's collection of my mobility scooter, I managed to do my back in yesterday. I gave up, and went for a soak in an hot bath, then a sit down in a comfy chair - bad idea....

I was stuck in that chair, unable to move for more than four hours, due to the total agony when I tried to move. I ended up having to call 111, and they sent an ambulance crew out, after a further two hour wait. A whiff of gas and air, and they managed between the three of them, to get me out of the chair, and moving, though very light-headed. That at least got me to bed. The crew said, I would be in the same situation this morning, so ring the docs for an urgent prescription, to relieve the pain.

This morning, it was worse, took me hours to get out of bed. So rang docs, to request an urgent prescription, they wouldn't provide one without speaking to doc, and just offered a F2F for the morning - impossible to get there, or a phone call late afternoon. I explained I was in agony, and needed the prescription urgently, not tomorrow, now. Sorry, no can do..

The ambulance crew had hinted about the 111 service being able to prescribe quickly, so I rang them. Their docs able to prescribe, only work out-of-hours, but they could send another ambulance, plus crew, plus gas out, at great public expense, to give me another dose of gas, then take me to hospital, where I could spend hours longer in pain, waiting to be seen, before being prescribed. Desperate, I agreed to that, and a 2 hour wait - then later they rang back, and offered to ring my own surgery to try to gee them up. I agreed, and then got a phone call back from my own surgery minutes later, and a prescription sent through(y). Avril has just gone to collect it, a few minutes ago.

Why is the NHS so very difficult to deal with? Why does common sense just not apply? All I needed was a prescription for some strong painkillers, strong enough to allow me to move.
 
Tyre fitting, on tractor, shuffling caravan about, to get the little trailer out for tomorrow's collection of my mobility scooter, I managed to do my back in yesterday. I gave up, and went for a soak in an hot bath, then a sit down in a comfy chair - bad idea....

I was stuck in that chair, unable to move for more than four hours, due to the total agony when I tried to move. I ended up having to call 111, and they sent an ambulance crew out, after a further two hour wait. A whiff of gas and air, and they managed between the three of them, to get me out of the chair, and moving, though very light-headed. That at least got me to bed. The crew said, I would be in the same situation this morning, so ring the docs for an urgent prescription, to relieve the pain.

This morning, it was worse, took me hours to get out of bed. So rang docs, to request an urgent prescription, they wouldn't provide one without speaking to doc, and just offered a F2F for the morning - impossible to get there, or a phone call late afternoon. I explained I was in agony, and needed the prescription urgently, not tomorrow, now. Sorry, no can do..

The ambulance crew had hinted about the 111 service being able to prescribe quickly, so I rang them. Their docs able to prescribe, only work out-of-hours, but they could send another ambulance, plus crew, plus gas out, at great public expense, to give me another dose of gas, then take me to hospital, where I could spend hours longer in pain, waiting to be seen, before being prescribed. Desperate, I agreed to that, and a 2 hour wait - then later they rang back, and offered to ring my own surgery to try to gee them up. I agreed, and then got a phone call back from my own surgery minutes later, and a prescription sent through(y). Avril has just gone to collect it, a few minutes ago.

Why is the NHS so very difficult to deal with? Why does common sense just not apply? All I needed was a prescription for some strong painkillers, strong enough to allow me to move.
Get well soon!
 
Tyre fitting, on tractor, shuffling caravan about, to get the little trailer out for tomorrow's collection of my mobility scooter, I managed to do my back in yesterday. I gave up, and went for a soak in an hot bath, then a sit down in a comfy chair - bad idea....

I was stuck in that chair, unable to move for more than four hours, due to the total agony when I tried to move. I ended up having to call 111, and they sent an ambulance crew out, after a further two hour wait. A whiff of gas and air, and they managed between the three of them, to get me out of the chair, and moving, though very light-headed. That at least got me to bed. The crew said, I would be in the same situation this morning, so ring the docs for an urgent prescription, to relieve the pain.

Do they know what sort of back problem it is?
 
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