Save on MOT Bills 16 January 2004 at 3:55PM in Motoring 221 replies 152.8K views

System

Sorry I forgot to say Thamesdown Buses are in Swindon

System

Any one know where in Brum you can get a council MOT.

System

Thanks for the tip my car is due for a test so I called Medway Council on 01634 306000 They put me through to the centre and I have made an apt.

I will let you know what I think ::)

System

on Jan 27th, 2004, 1:09pm, Adrian IV wrote:
I do not know that local authority vehcle testing stations are any better in terms of quality than any other. Further, it might be thought that there is less scope for determining their quality than testing stations which have a repair and maintenance facility attached.

on Jan 27th, Jack_Pott responded:

'Essex County Council garage does do repair and maintenance, just not for the general public. It's to be hoped that they're competent...'

Adrian IV responds:

The key word is 'determining'. In theory, all testers have carried out repair and maintenance and are competent! How do you know your local authority tester is, in reality, competent? Have you seen any other examples his work? Are you sure he has no axe to grind? Are you sure he is not passing you because he doesn't wish to retest you because this would be problemmatic as far as, for example, reaching his targets are concerned? Local authorities don't advertise this service widely - are you sure you know why? I used local authority testing stations many years ago, but now I know I use a good garage.

norman

noted all the above

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NB I always made a point of using an MOT station that did NOT do repairs

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I have now been in EDINBURGH for 14 years & found :- WESTSIDE MOTORS @ the junct. of Lanark Rd & Inglis Green Rd EH13 to be honest & fair. In ABERDEEN for many many years before that used to go to SWAILEND MOTORS ? next to Swailend Nurseries--- I THINK --- near DYCE
BUT right now , READ Jan WHICH? for full report

@ last they got the SPARE WHEEL correct IE I had to write to them in 1997 when they said IT WAS IN THE TEST!!!!!!!

System

Well, I started out getting some v. intertesting info on MOTs and it ended up on phrase derivation! Here's one I've been working on for years, and found no clues at all "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey". So what's a brass monkey? I have a feeling it might be something nautical, but even that's just a guess!

System

I have been in touch with Hampshire County Council and received this reply back to my email:
Thank you for your email, I am afraid that this is not a service that is offered by the county council and we are not aware that any of the local district and borough councils in Hampshire offer this service.

BargainHunter_2

I remember a dim and distant memory re the origins of "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" is as follows.
Cannonballs were stored next to the cannons in a shallow tray called a brass monkey. In extreme cold the metal contracted and the balls were fell off i.e it got cold enough to freeze them off the brass monkey.
Hope that helps
Hey,I knew listening to my old form teacher would pay off on e day- pity it took 15 years ;D

Galstonian

Unfortunately your teacher may have been repeating urban myths since there is little evidence to support this explanation.

The phrase is not documented prior to the early to mid- 1800's, if it were naval in origin it would likely have occured earlier.

Cannonballs were stored in holes in planks which is very cheap and relatively stable.

There is little to support the term "monkey" in relation to canoonbal storage. Powder monkeys did service cannons but brass monkeys? Brass is expensive and there is little to suggest why it might have been used.

The difference in contraction bewteen iron and brass is probably not significant enough to warrant the balls falling off.

I had heard the same explanation except that the "monkey" was meant to be a brass triangle and the cnanonballs were supposedly stored in a pyrmid on top of it. This was worse since a pyramid of spheres would be inherently unstable and not a good solution for use on a ship which would pitch and roll wildly.

I would love to hear if there is another explanation though.

alared

It's cold enough to freeze the balls from a brass monkey:
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannon fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon, but prevent them from rolling about the deck. The best storage method devised was a square based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of thirty cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem - how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding/rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a, “Monkey," with sixteen round indentations. If this plate was made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make, "Brass Monkeys." Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.
Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the cannon balls would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!"

What`s this got to do with MOT`s?