OT SHOCKED! Just got an email from John Lewis card services

[Vicky]

Just got an email from John Lewis card services I've had a
partnership card since I gotpregnant in 1972 qith #1 daughter. Best
friend came with me to do some baby shopping, she already had 2 kids,
and we went to JL, or course, and new baby = John Lewis card.

They are closing it and not offering or suggesting another.
I'm checking out alternatives. I have one Nationwide one I never use.
I like getting the vouchers for money to spend in JL every now and
then but the daughter born in 1973 said they are no use to her as she
odesn't get Waitrose food or like JL clothes. I don't much either
although the clothes are ok but charging for delivery annoys me.

So has anyone else got this problem now and which card is good to
have? Many don't give points and cash back. Tesco does and I think M&S
does.

[Jane Vernon]

On 08/08/2022 13:42, Vicky wrote:
> Just got an email from John Lewis card services I've had a
> partnership card since I gotpregnant in 1972 qith #1 daughter. Best
> friend came with me to do some baby shopping, she already had 2 kids,
> and we went to JL, or course, and new baby = John Lewis card.
>
> They are closing it and not offering or suggesting another.

Yet. They will let us know nearer the time who their new credit
provider is going to be.

Purple Jane

[Joe Kerr]

On 08/08/2022 13:42, Vicky wrote:

I am not a JLP card holder. I did get a survey from them a few weeks ago
regarding financial services, cards and preferred benefits. It gave the
impression that they were going to merge some Waitrose and JL
cards/benefits and push their financial services offerings with a
redesigned bit of plastic so I'm surprised to hear they have simply
abandoned the card without some kind of replacement.

--
Ric

[Kate B]

I'm not sure anyone knows exactly what is supposed to happen. On receipt
of that same email I messaged then and asked if there would be a
replacement and when would we know, and got a prevaricating answer
failing to mention any new provider, even a hint of one. The card
website just says 'coming soon the new partnership card'. Which is
frankly a bit much if you're trying to plan any expenditures over the
next few months - I would have been scuppered if they'd done this last
year when I was refurbishing this house.

I'm also wondering what will happen to the loyalty vouchers - due to
said expenditure last year I amassed a nice little pile of them ready
for a treat or possibly a new fridge. The loyalty voucher scheme was
actually quite generous as these things now go. I bet they're going to
ditch it...

Ooh, update. On actually looking at the FAQs, it says:
> Can I keep any residual points (less than 500) if I move to NewDay?
> Yes we will ensure any residual points (less than 500) are credited to your new card.

So here is a mention of the new finance company, and googling the name
reveals we probably should have known about this a couple of months ago...
https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/john-lewis-to-relaunch-partnership-reward-credit-card-with-new-day-aQbat7m63fPV

Mind you, that Which article led to others recommending other credit
cards as better, top of which came First Direct, so perhaps I might
consider changing my loyalties...

--
Kate B

[Vicky]

On Mon, 8 Aug 2022 15:54:28 +0100, Kate B <elv...@nospam.demon.co.uk>
wrote:

First Direct don't give cahs back or points then cash? The faff wil be
changing all the places I use the card. Almost everywhere.

[Vicky]

On Mon, 8 Aug 2022 15:54:28 +0100, Kate B <elv...@nospam.demon.co.uk>
wrote:

That is a useful article, thanks.. As I do my weekly shop fortnightly
in Tesco alternating with Morrisons I suppose the Tesco card is a good
one. Not changing would be good too.

[Sid Nuncius]

On 08/08/2022 15:54, Kate B wrote:

> Mind you, that Which article led to others recommending other credit
> cards as better, top of which came First Direct, so perhaps I might
> consider changing my loyalties...

I've been with First Direct for 30 years or so and have never once had
any cause to consider changing to another bank. I have found them to be
unfailingly excellent.

The only credit card I hold is with FD. It doesn't have points,
cashback or any other additional features. It just works, and is backed
up by an excellent team of real people in the UK if you ever need any
help. On the one occasion when someone made fraudulent purchases using
my details, they dealt with it impeccably: quick, efficient, friendly
and no unnecessary fuss whatsoever.

I cannot recommend them too highly.

--
Sid
(Make sure Matron is away when you reply)

[Vicky]

On Mon, 8 Aug 2022 18:31:05 +0100, Sid Nuncius <nun...@hotmail.co.uk>
wrote:

I have a bank a/c with them and had a Midland one from age 18. I
wonder if my first card, Access? came via them.

[Sid Nuncius]

On 08/08/2022 18:35, Vicky wrote:
> On Mon, 8 Aug 2022 18:31:05 +0100, Sid Nuncius <nun...@hotmail.co.uk>
> wrote:

<First Direct>

> I have a bank a/c with them and had a Midland one from age 18. I
> wonder if my first card, Access? came via them.

Mine did! Access it was, used with those slidey gubbinses which copied
the details onto translucent slips using carbon paper.

Mind you, several years earlier, wofe was with a different bank who gave
her a card which you could put into a machine in the wall and get £10 at
a time in cash! It was an absolute lifesaver when both of us were
working and the banks closed at 3.30pm. Those were the days, eh?

[Vicky]

On Mon, 8 Aug 2022 19:15:26 +0100, Sid Nuncius <nun...@hotmail.co.uk>

wrote:

>On 08/08/2022 18:35, Vicky wrote:
>> On Mon, 8 Aug 2022 18:31:05 +0100, Sid Nuncius <nun...@hotmail.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>
><First Direct>
>
>> I have a bank a/c with them and had a Midland one from age 18. I
>> wonder if my first card, Access? came via them.
>
>Mine did! Access it was, used with those slidey gubbinses which copied
>the details onto translucent slips using carbon paper.
>
>Mind you, several years earlier, wofe was with a different bank who gave
>her a card which you could put into a machine in the wall and get £10 at
>a time in cash! It was an absolute lifesaver when both of us were
>working and the banks closed at 3.30pm. Those were the days, eh?

I think I had one of those too and an early machine was in Camden
Town.

[Kate B]

On 08/08/2022 19:15, Sid Nuncius wrote:
> On 08/08/2022 18:35, Vicky wrote:
>> On Mon, 8 Aug 2022 18:31:05 +0100, Sid Nuncius <nun...@hotmail.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>
> <First Direct>
>
>> I have a bank a/c with them and had a Midland one from age 18. I
>> wonder if my first card, Access? came via them.
>
> Mine did! Access it was, used with those slidey gubbinses which copied
> the details onto translucent slips using carbon paper.
>

It's amazing how long the slidey gubbinses lasted. We were astonished,
only a few years ago, to see slidey machines still active in certain
diners in New York City when chip'n'pin had been standard for years in
the UK. Presumably even there everyone uses contactless now.


--
Kate B

[Joe Kerr]

On 08/08/2022 19:15, Sid Nuncius wrote:

> Mind you, several years earlier, wofe was with a different bank who gave
> her a card which you could put into a machine in the wall and get £10 at
> a time in cash!  It was an absolute lifesaver when both of us were
> working and the banks closed at 3.30pm.  Those were the days, eh?

National Westminster as it was known back then. My cards should be
upstairs somewhere. You never know when you might need them.

--
Ric

[Penny]

On Mon, 8 Aug 2022 15:54:28 +0100, Kate B <elv...@nospam.demon.co.uk>

scrawled in the dust...

>Ooh, update. On actually looking at the FAQs, it says:
>> Can I keep any residual points (less than 500) if I move to NewDay?
>> Yes we will ensure any residual points (less than 500) are credited to your new card.
>
>So here is a mention of the new finance company, and googling the name
>reveals we probably should have known about this a couple of months ago...
>https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/john-lewis-to-relaunch-partnership-reward-credit-card-with-new-day-aQbat7m63fPV

NewDay run the Amazon CC these days, previously it was MDNA. The change of
finance company had no effect upon the points.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

[Sam Plusnet]

Which I found very strange.
They announce the date when the current card becomes a useless bit of
plastic, but not a word on what will replace it.
Is that any way to run a business?

--
Sam Plusnet

[Sid Nuncius]

That's the badger. I think wofe still has a card somewhere; the machine
used to punch a dent into it and when it had 10 dents in a row she had
to get a new one. And I used to have to go to the nearest machine a
couple of miles away on my cronky old MZ motorbike[1] to get the cash.

I am beginning to feel very old.


[1] Like this, only in red (and slightly less decayed):
https://classic-motorbikes.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/mz_es150.jpg
God, it was a dreadful machine - unreliable, hard to ride and impossible
to get spares - but it was what I could afford at the time. After
three years or so and a new job, I bought a new, silver Honda 250 Super
Dream and felt very swish indeed. Er...why am I rambling on about this?
And did Matron hear?

[Sid Nuncius]

On 08/08/2022 22:18, Kate B wrote:

> It's amazing how long the slidey gubbinses lasted.

It is. Even their first album was rubbish.

Sorry. IGMC.

[Mike McMillan]

Ask P&O…


--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

[krw]

On 9.8.22 01:11, Sam Plusnet wrote:
> They announce the date when the current card becomes a useless bit of
> plastic, but not a word on what will replace it.
> Is that any way to run a business?

These days it seems running a business means that zero customer care is
an important aspect to incorporate. The good lady wife is seeking to
book our holiday and UK in June next year and various establishments
cannot either respond or confirm when it will be possible to book.
About which I hear at frequent intervals.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

[krw]

On 8.8.22 19:15, Sid Nuncius wrote:
> It was an absolute lifesaver when both of us were working and the banks
> closed at 3.30pm.  Those were the days, eh?

I am in the process of rewatching (with thanks to the Drama channel) the
original All Creatures Great and Small (currently set in 1951) with the
Herriots seeking to acquire a house and James having almost unbelievable
discussions with the bank manager who feels (at the end of the process)
that the bank should retain the title deeds.

It put me in mind of my 1976 discussion with my bank manager over a loan
to buy my first car. I think that was the last time I actually met a
bank manager.

[Vicky]

On Tue, 9 Aug 2022 10:24:30 +0100, krw <k...@whitnet.uk> wrote:

>On 8.8.22 19:15, Sid Nuncius wrote:
>> It was an absolute lifesaver when both of us were working and the banks
>> closed at 3.30pm.  Those were the days, eh?
>
>I am in the process of rewatching (with thanks to the Drama channel) the

Have you seen my undies before? Drama is one of the two channels #2
daughter manages :) The other is Alibi.

[krw]

Every so often Alibi comes up with some interesting murder mysteries -
set in Dundee for some strange reason (probably cheap to make) but
usually with at least one or two "names" I respect. Drama has been a
way of me rewatching some of the TV I missed in the period when I did
not have a TV. Some of the All Creatures is familiar - but more from
the books.

Anyway next month we are off to Skeldale, Sutton Bank and Herriot land!

[steve hague]

On 09/08/2022 10:24, krw wrote:
> On 8.8.22 19:15, Sid Nuncius wrote:
>> It was an absolute lifesaver when both of us were working and the
>> banks closed at 3.30pm.  Those were the days, eh?
>
> I am in the process of rewatching (with thanks to the Drama channel) the
> original All Creatures Great and Small (currently set in 1951) with the
> Herriots seeking to acquire a house and James having almost unbelievable
> discussions with the bank manager who feels (at the end of the process)
> that the bank should retain the title deeds.
>
> It put me in mind of my 1976 discussion with my bank manager over a loan
> to buy my first car.  I think that was the last time I actually met a
> bank manager.
>

These days a bank manager would be delighted to see a vet, would
possibly invite him, her or it for a substantial lunch followed by an
offer of an enormous loan. If I were to start my career again, I would
train as a vet or a dentist.
Steve

[Penny]

On Tue, 9 Aug 2022 10:19:12 +0100, krw <k...@whitnet.uk> scrawled in the
dust...

>On 9.8.22 01:11, Sam Plusnet wrote:
>> They announce the date when the current card becomes a useless bit of
>> plastic, but not a word on what will replace it.
>> Is that any way to run a business?
>
>These days it seems running a business means that zero customer care is
>an important aspect to incorporate. The good lady wife is seeking to
>book our holiday and UK in June next year and various establishments
>cannot either respond or confirm when it will be possible to book.
>About which I hear at frequent intervals.

I think I'd blame that on the pandemic, rather than poor customer service.
They've had a particularly difficult time over the last few years.

[Nick Odell]

On Tue, 9 Aug 2022 10:19:12 +0100, krw <k...@whitnet.uk> wrote:

>On 9.8.22 01:11, Sam Plusnet wrote:
>> They announce the date when the current card becomes a useless bit of
>> plastic, but not a word on what will replace it.
>> Is that any way to run a business?
>
>These days it seems running a business means that zero customer care is
>an important aspect to incorporate. The good lady wife is seeking to
>book our holiday and UK in June next year and various establishments
>cannot either respond or confirm when it will be possible to book.
>About which I hear at frequent intervals.

I suspect that we will need at least a couple of years of global
stability before businesses are willing to plan more than a fortnight
or so ahead. I don't see that coming any time soon.

Nick

[Nick Odell]

On Tue, 9 Aug 2022 06:58:38 +0100, Sid Nuncius <nun...@hotmail.co.uk>
wrote:

>On 08/08/2022 22:51, Joe Kerr wrote:
>> On 08/08/2022 19:15, Sid Nuncius wrote:
>>
>>> Mind you, several years earlier, wofe was with a different bank who
>>> gave her a card which you could put into a machine in the wall and get
>>> £10 at a time in cash!  It was an absolute lifesaver when both of us
>>> were working and the banks closed at 3.30pm.  Those were the days, eh?
>>
>> National Westminster as it was known back then. My cards should be
>> upstairs somewhere. You never know when you might need them.
>
>That's the badger. I think wofe still has a card somewhere; the machine
>used to punch a dent into it and when it had 10 dents in a row she had
>to get a new one. And I used to have to go to the nearest machine a
>couple of miles away on my cronky old MZ motorbike[1] to get the cash.
>
>I am beginning to feel very old.
>
>
>[1] Like this, only in red (and slightly less decayed):
>https://classic-motorbikes.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/mz_es150.jpg
>God, it was a dreadful machine - unreliable, hard to ride and impossible
>to get spares - but it was what I could afford at the time.

The answer's right there isn't it? It was forrin. You never could
trust forriners to make decent motorcycles. Why, we would spend hours
and hours in our garages taking our bikes to pieces to try and work
out why the boodly things wouldn't go but at least they were fine
British bikes that wouldn't go. My mate had a Royal Enfield 650 with
sidecar and I had a BSA 250 solo (push-rods thank you - none of that
modern camshaft stuff) and at least every time they went wrong we knew
why they'd gone wrong and what we had to do to fix it.

>After
>three years or so and a new job, I bought a new, silver Honda 250 Super
>Dream and felt very swish indeed. Er...why am I rambling on about this?
> And did Matron hear?

Honda? I remember when those bikes first came out. Screaming along the
road at 6,500 rpm - those bearings won't last more than a month at
those revs, we said to each other. Japanese bikes? They're only a fad.
They'll never catch on, we said.


Nick

[Sid Nuncius]

Fair point. The trouble with my Japanese bike (and others) was that it
just worked. I got on it, pressed the starter button[1] and it went.
And kept on going. Wofe and I even had some trouble-free holidays on
it. Hopeless. "Call yourself a bike?" I used to mutter to it as it
didn't break down. Again.

I found this picture of one just like mine. It left me full of nostalgia...
https://www.wemoto.com/news/article/525/honda_cb250n_superdream

P.S. On the subject of revs, I met a bloke on my PGCE course who owned a
Vincent Rapide. When it was idling, you could almost hear it thinking
about whether to make the next stroke or not. Now *that* was a bike.


[1]Yes, I know. Don't say it.

[maus]

My friend, who is a bike fanatic, goes to Italy to see the new bikes. He
says that Japanese bikes are boring

>
>>After
>>three years or so and a new job, I bought a new, silver Honda 250 Super
>>Dream and felt very swish indeed. Er...why am I rambling on about this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGkBxb_HqFE

(I know all those places, or did)

>> And did Matron hear?a

>
> Honda? I remember when those bikes first came out. Screaming along the
> road at 6,500 rpm - those bearings won't last more than a month at
> those revs, we said to each other. Japanese bikes? They're only a fad.
> They'll never catch on, we said.
>
>
> Nick

any biker that wants thrills ride from Hollywood (The Irish one) to
Laragh in good weather. The council tarred the road and did a bit, but
your ride well reveal plenty of people recovering their bikes from
fields after `bouncing' off the road. I am told that there are stretches
in the IOM as good.

--
grey...@mail.org

Fi Fi Fo Fum, I smell the stench of an influencer

[BrritSki]

On 09/08/2022 17:03, Sid Nuncius wrote:
>
> P.S. On the subject of revs, I met a bloke on my PGCE course who owned a
> Vincent Rapide.  When it was idling, you could almost hear it thinking
> about whether to make the next stroke or not.  Now *that* was a bike.
>

A friend used to take me to the ATC meetings at Coventry airport
sometimes on his BS Goldstar 500cc single. Similarly there were distinct
bangs at idle.

One Sunday morning he picked me up "That oil leak seems to have gone",
neither of us bright enough to think why.

So as we were just drifting back in to our side of the road after
overtaking a car at about 70mph it seized solid.

I remember looking down at the tarmac as it went by sideways thinking
"this shouldn't be happening". Mozz managed to keep the bike sliding
speedway style until we were doing about 30 and then we rolled off.

No helmets of course and luckily we were wearing thick RAF style
uniforms, so there was just a very light graze.

Could have been much worse....

[Mike McMillan]

I suppose a vet would benefit from a cash injection and a dentist would
like to extract a loan from the bank.

[Vicky]

Daughter says
Bolton standing in for Dundee (because yes, that is cheaper)

[Sam Plusnet]

I suspect that this will remain in very short supply.

--
Sam Plusnet

[Sam Plusnet]

It seems to me that almost all vets today work for large conglomerates
who have bought up the small independent vets of yesteryear.
The costs of even the most minor animal care seems eye-watering today.

--
Sam Plusnet

[Chris J Dixon]

Sid Nuncius wrote:

>Fair point. The trouble with my Japanese bike (and others) was that it
>just worked. I got on it, pressed the starter button[1] and it went.
>And kept on going. Wofe and I even had some trouble-free holidays on
>it. Hopeless. "Call yourself a bike?" I used to mutter to it as it
>didn't break down. Again.
>
>I found this picture of one just like mine. It left me full of nostalgia...
>https://www.wemoto.com/news/article/525/honda_cb250n_superdream
>
>P.S. On the subject of revs, I met a bloke on my PGCE course who owned a
>Vincent Rapide. When it was idling, you could almost hear it thinking
>about whether to make the next stroke or not. Now *that* was a bike.
>
>
>[1]Yes, I know. Don't say it.

A Honda 50 kept me mobile through my student years. Towards the
end it had a few problems - the timing seemed to need almost
weekly adjustment, the oil drain plug thread was worn, and needed
a cereal packet packing washer to seal properly.

I now find it hard to believe that I regularly did the run from
Barnsley to Manchester, over Woodhead Pass, on this bike. I do
recall that I had ample opportunity to contemplate the newly
installed Armco barriers, put in place after somebody significant
(MP?) had gone over the edge. For me, it would simply mean that
it would break my leg before I plummeted, head first. There were
occasions when I had to resort to 1st gear in order to battle
against the wind whilst actually going downhill.

I didn't usually do the trip in midwinter, but there was one
February at the end of term (thin sandwich) where I had to get it
home to Barnsley. As I began the run the throttle started
sticking open. Stripping it down in sleety rain wasn't an
attractive proposition, so I just pressed on. As it had an
automatic clutch, I was a bit unsure how I would cope, but it
made it OK. Changing down, the engine was slowed enough to cope,
changing up was a bit more vicious. There was only one stop
line, and I managed to crawl across with judicious braking.
Turned out it was water in the slide that was jamming it, and a
bit of oil was all it needed.

It did have indicators, but they were almost completely hidden by
the panniers. When right hand signals were called for, the
throttle grip flew back. Nothing I could do with the various bits
of springy steel seemed to improve matters, so life could be a
bit interesting.

There was an occasion, whilst plodding along the East Lancs Road,
when the slightly oscillating engine sound that I now know to be
the sign of a worn/ stretched chain was followed by the noise of
the chain wrapping itself around the sprocket.

I hitched into Warrington, bought a new chain and chain wheel (no
sprocket in stock), removed flash from the sprocket using the
kerbstone, and continued on my journey.

Eventually I upgraded to a Honda 175, but was no longer doing
long runs. Sadly, I managed to collide with a car when I was
turning right. Luckily it was the bike that went down, whilst I
ended up on the car bonnet. I mended, the bike didn't, so it was
back to a Honda 70, which lasted me until my first car.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham
'48/33 M B+ G++ A L(-) I S-- CH0(--)(p) Ar- T+ H0 ?Q
ch...@cdixon.me.uk @ChrisJDixon1
Plant amazing Acers.

[Sid Nuncius]

On 10/08/2022 08:39, Chris J Dixon wrote:

> A Honda 50 kept me mobile through my student years.

<snip entertaining reminiscence>

I bought an elderly Honda 90 while on my PGCE course. It worked for a
while, then didn't. I used to sing this old Beach Boys number to myself
rather regularly while riding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZOGlgVldAs

(I used to get passed on hills by Matchlesses, no matter what the song
says.)

[Chris]

We won’t tell.

Mrs McT

[Penny]

On Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:39:47 +0100, Chris J Dixon <ch...@cdixon.me.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>A Honda 50 kept me mobile through my student years. Towards the
>end it had a few problems - the timing seemed to need almost
>weekly adjustment, the oil drain plug thread was worn, and needed
>a cereal packet packing washer to seal properly.

I got mine before I left school. Buses only ran to Bishop's Stortford in
our little Essex village on Thursday and Saturday - market days (if you
wanted to go to Saffron Walden, you could get there on a Thursday but
couldn't get back until Saturday). I, and two other outliers, had a taxi to
get to school but once in 6th form that didn't really work so this was the
solution my father came up with. I loved it and the freedom and
independence it gave me. During A levels I got a job in my local pub and,
after doing what I needed to do in the school pottery, would ride out there
to clean the place and sometimes serve behind the bar, or make sandwiches.

>I now find it hard to believe that I regularly did the run from
>Barnsley to Manchester, over Woodhead Pass, on this bike. I do
>recall that I had ample opportunity to contemplate the newly
>installed Armco barriers, put in place after somebody significant
>(MP?) had gone over the edge. For me, it would simply mean that
>it would break my leg before I plummeted, head first. There were
>occasions when I had to resort to 1st gear in order to battle
>against the wind whilst actually going downhill.

I drove down to a village near Winchester for three summers on mine, to
join an archaeological dig. Loaded up with panniers and a large
army-surpless metal cooking vessel as a top-box to carry my camping gear.
When riding at top speed on main roads the whole thing vibrated so much the
wing mirrors would loosen and flap around.

>I didn't usually do the trip in midwinter, but there was one
>February at the end of term (thin sandwich) where I had to get it
>home to Barnsley. As I began the run the throttle started
>sticking open.

I graduated to a Honda 175 when I was at college in Harlow. The throttle
cable came adrift as I was approaching a roundabout. Operating the clutch
made the engine scream at full throttle which was terrifying. I managed to
negotiate the roundabout, slow to the kerb, and reach down to turn it off
with the key.

[...]

>There was an occasion, whilst plodding along the East Lancs Road,
>when the slightly oscillating engine sound that I now know to be
>the sign of a worn/ stretched chain was followed by the noise of
>the chain wrapping itself around the sprocket.

I too had problems with a stretched chain, but never had one break. I guess
it was caused by my habit of slowing with the gears, rather than the
brakes.

>Eventually I upgraded to a Honda 175, but was no longer doing
>long runs. Sadly, I managed to collide with a car when I was
>turning right. Luckily it was the bike that went down, whilst I
>ended up on the car bonnet. I mended, the bike didn't, so it was
>back to a Honda 70, which lasted me until my first car.

My 175 stood me in good stead for several years. I eventually took my test*
on it in Watford after getting my first proper job in Hemel Hempstead. I
was still using it in 1978 (about 10 years after I got the Honda 50) but
when my first pregnancy was confirmed I suddenly felt really vulnerable and
started taking driving lessons. By then I was in Kent, working for the
husgod, and I shared a company car with one of the printing lads who lived
in the village.

*My first provisional licence lasted only 6 months (I think you were
allowed 6 of them without taking a test), then they changed to 12 months so
I had 5.5 years of driving before taking one.

[Sam Plusnet]

On 10-Aug-22 15:31, Penny wrote:
> On Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:39:47 +0100, Chris J Dixon <ch...@cdixon.me.uk>
> scrawled in the dust...
>
>> A Honda 50 kept me mobile through my student years. Towards the
>> end it had a few problems - the timing seemed to need almost
>> weekly adjustment, the oil drain plug thread was worn, and needed
>> a cereal packet packing washer to seal properly.
>
> I got mine before I left school.

I too had one. I never got used to the sensation of changing down with
that automatic clutch. It always lurched horribly and I could do
nothing to ease it into the lower gear.

--
Sam Plusnet

[Chris J Dixon]

Penny wrote:

>On Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:39:47 +0100, Chris J Dixon <ch...@cdixon.me.uk>
>scrawled in the dust...
>
>>A Honda 50 kept me mobile through my student years. Towards the
>>end it had a few problems - the timing seemed to need almost
>>weekly adjustment, the oil drain plug thread was worn, and needed
>>a cereal packet packing washer to seal properly.
>
>I got mine before I left school.

At school I used my dad's old NSU Quickly (there's an oxymoron)
which was a moped, back when that designation meant it had
pedals.

Its final demise was when the rear wheel failed. The drum brake
was only half the width of the hub, so the housing was stepped.
It failed with a complete circumferential crack at the change of
section. Luckily I wasn't moving too fast at the moment the back
end began to feel very sloppy.

I remember having to take the test again, in the 60s, having
upgraded to a Honda 50, which was not in the Moped category.
Pretty daft really, since it then meant that I could (and still
can) legally drive any bike; not that I would dare. Two wheels
were for me simply an economic necessity at the time, not a
lifestyle choice.

[Kate B]

On 10/08/2022 09:48, Sid Nuncius wrote:
> On 10/08/2022 08:39, Chris J Dixon wrote:
>
>> A Honda 50 kept me mobile through my student years.
>
> <snip entertaining reminiscence>
>
> I bought an elderly Honda 90 while on my PGCE course.  It worked for a
> while, then didn't.  I used to sing this old Beach Boys number to myself
> rather regularly while riding:
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZOGlgVldAs
>
> (I used to get passed on hills by Matchlesses, no matter what the song
> says.)
>

I failed my driving test when I took it at 19 so gave up on driving
until I graduated and living in hilly Sarf Lahndon didn't enjoy the
push-bike any more. So I got a Honda 50 on the never-never, stuck an
L-plate on it and biked everywhere for years until I returned from
Austria and found it covered with crud and rust in the garden, with
which I sold it for a tenner to old Lou at the garage who cleaned it up
and sold it on for considerably more. But I had had a great time with
it, not only criss-crossing London but cruising to the Welsh border
(nearly defeated by the Malverns) and even as far as Fife. I loved it
intensely, such freedom, I thought it was the nearest thing to flying.

And only actually flew off once, but into bushes, so only scratches and
a bent mirror. Now I have an e-bike and once I remember how to enjoy
going downhill I hope to recapture some of that glorious feeling.

--
Kate B

[steve hague]

On 11/08/2022 07:28, Chris J Dixon wrote:
> Penny wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:39:47 +0100, Chris J Dixon <ch...@cdixon.me.uk>
>> scrawled in the dust...
>>
>>> A Honda 50 kept me mobile through my student years. Towards the
>>> end it had a few problems - the timing seemed to need almost
>>> weekly adjustment, the oil drain plug thread was worn, and needed
>>> a cereal packet packing washer to seal properly.
>>
>> I got mine before I left school.
>
> At school I used my dad's old NSU Quickly (there's an oxymoron)
> which was a moped, back when that designation meant it had
> pedals.
>
> Its final demise was when the rear wheel failed. The drum brake
> was only half the width of the hub, so the housing was stepped.
> It failed with a complete circumferential crack at the change of
> section. Luckily I wasn't moving too fast at the moment the back
> end began to feel very sloppy.
>
> I remember having to take the test again, in the 60s, having
> upgraded to a Honda 50, which was not in the Moped category.
> Pretty daft really, since it then meant that I could (and still
> can) legally drive any bike; not that I would dare. Two wheels
> were for me simply an economic necessity at the time, not a
> lifestyle choice.
>
> Chris

I've never voluntarily ridden a motorbike. Nasty, noisy dangerous things
in my opinion. I say voluntarily because my father would take me on the
back of his Harley- Davidson to places I wasn't keen on. I was relieved
when he sold it and bought a Ford Popular.
Steve

[Mike McMillan]

Did he grow ‘Potatoes’?

[Sam Plusnet]

On 11-Aug-22 7:28, Chris J Dixon wrote:
<snip>

> Two wheels
> were for me simply an economic necessity at the time, not a
> lifestyle choice.

That was the fundamental shift. Now people have to have more money than
sense in order to own & ride a motorbike.

(Slight exaggeration may have crept into this post.)

--
Sam Plusnet

[Sid Nuncius]

I loved my motorbike and would probably have carried on riding for many
years, but after someone pulled out in front of me about 35 years ago,
wrote the bike off and left me very lucky to escape with relatively
minor injuries, wofe thought that I'd had my warning and that it was
time for something safer. She was right (she always is). I did ride a
borrowed Honda 50 for a little while, and then, after a year or two's
transportless hiatus, we could afford our first car.

I miss the bike still, to be honest, but I'm spared the late-life-crisis
temptation to purchase a huge, inappropriate machine by the fact that
since my ear failed I don't have sufficient sense of balance to ride any
more. <sigh>

[Chris]

After my mum died when I was nine, I spent holidays and half terms with my
paternal grandparents. Too young to go out alone, obviously, on public
transport dad came to see me on his way home from working in London, had
his tea, then went home. By bus, about 45 minutes. When I was 12, he
asked his mum if I could go on the back if his low power scooter. Yes, if
I wore a helmet. So I did. I was *terrified*! Hump back bridges, bends
in the roads steep down hills Reading is built on steep hills. Was I glad
when he met stepmum with her work paid for car. Now I know my lack of
balance is sight related but if you want to seriously scare anyone, that
was the way to do it. God knows what my blood pressure was!

Sincerely hris

[Penny]

On Fri, 12 Aug 2022 13:00:36 -0000 (UTC), Chris
<chris.m...@ntlworld.com> scrawled in the dust...

>After my mum died when I was nine, I spent holidays and half terms with my
>paternal grandparents. Too young to go out alone, obviously, on public
>transport dad came to see me on his way home from working in London, had
>his tea, then went home. By bus, about 45 minutes. When I was 12, he
>asked his mum if I could go on the back if his low power scooter. Yes, if
>I wore a helmet. So I did. I was *terrified*! Hump back bridges, bends
>in the roads steep down hills Reading is built on steep hills. Was I glad
>when he met stepmum with her work paid for car. Now I know my lack of
>balance is sight related but if you want to seriously scare anyone, that
>was the way to do it. God knows what my blood pressure was!

I always hated riding pillion, even on a Honda 50, so when husband#1 and I
went out together, I always drove us (we both had Honda 50s).
I found I still hated it when, 30 years later, the chap I was seeing before
I met Ray bought himself an MZ (yes, Sid, still awful machines) and
insisted we go out on it.