Nice people thread part 5 - nicely does it

LydiaJ

silvercar wrote: »

I seem to remember that a couple of you know Bristol well.

Coming from the M4 west (severn bridge) I need to get to Bristol University before 10am on a week day morning.

3 options:

1. M4, M49, A4

2. M4, M5, A4018

3. M4, M32

The difference between them is only a mile or so, but I'm guessing that Bristol city centre traffic is the deciding factor. Anyone help?

It's a while since I lived in Bristol, so I'm not the most up to date person for traffic info, but if I was doing that journey I'd do M4, M32. You may get a bit of bad traffic at the end, but I think you'd risk bad traffic over a longer distance with either of the other two routes. The A4018 is fine late at night but I wouldn't pick it during a weekday daytime. The A4 might be OK if you avoid Hotwells, go up the Bridge Valley Road and approach the university by going down Whiteladies Road, but it depends if you'd be able to navigate it. Which bit of the university are you trying to get to?

zagubov

My grandparents were born in the 1890s which I thought of as ages ago until I read somebody wrote into the Daily Mail to point out his grandfather was born in the 18th century (the 1790s I believe).

His grandpa was 80 when he remarried and had a daughter, who was then 40 by the time she gave birth to the man who wrote in, (who must have been in his 80s). It's quite something to think that your grandfather was alive at the same time as say Abe Lincoln or George Washington or Napoleon.

The downside is you'd never know the relative- they'd be long gone before you were born.

PasturesNew

People who have normal/good parents and grandparents simply think everybody's experiences were as wonderful as theirs; it makes it hard to say "mine was !!!!" as they don't get it.

One grandfather died before I was born, next three deaths were when I was aged 10, 13 and 23.

I didn't really know any of them except my grandmother (that died last) and all I remember is an old woman who sat in a chair and we bought her slippers for Xmas. We'd pop over with a pot plant on her birthday, then just before Xmas to drop off her slippers/present, then the whole day there boxing day (with other cousins/etc), but us kids were in the front room.... so she wasn't really there much.

I've recently been googling births/deaths and it looks like she wasn't really "all that old". My first memories of her must be from when she was about 60 and my memories span her being 60-75. Having recently sorted out every photo in existence for our whole family, a couple of one grandma has surfaced from when she was in her 40s.

Overall, even photos, I have 3 photos (two tiny) of my paternal grandfather, 1 photo of my paternal grandmother, 0 photos of my maternal grandfather, 2 photos of my maternal grandmother.

Not a lot is it.

lostinrates

I would do m32. It will be congested between m32 and the university.....if we are talking bristol univeristy proper. The city centre main routes are not usually that bad but a4 is the killer. I do this journey from the est, the south and the north nt the west though. Well, once or twice fiftenn years ago fropm the west, certaonly nothing to advise on, lol.

vivatifosi

I think everyone's family is different Pastures. Anyone who says that theirs is typical family doesn't realise how many other different types there are out there. Mine is absolutely massive. Because I grew up in the same town as my grandparents and great grandparents, I was around cousins, second cousins, great aunts, cousins a couple of times removed... Whenever I bump into anyone I know DH says "don't tell me, another relative I haven't met yet". Then there's my dad's family, from the small town just down the road, with all of their cousins, second cousins and so forth. Plus DH's family is originally from the same town as my family. There must be several hundred of us all together. It makes taking my mum out for a quick trip to the supermarket very time consuming as we are always bumping into people.

PasturesNew

vivatifosi wrote: »

...There must be several hundred of us all together....

Blimey!!

Apart from immediate parents/siblings (and 2 deathbed relatives from overseas), I've not seen a cousin/aunt/uncle/etc for well over 20 years... and they're all well over 300 miles away. We did try to contact one of the old's brothers recently, but no sign, no trace, so we think he died and nobody told us.

My mum used to say: "God gave us our relations - thank God we can choose our friends." ... and she meant it.

silvercar

LydiaJ wrote: »

It's a while since I lived in Bristol, so I'm not the most up to date person for traffic info, but if I was doing that journey I'd do M4, M32. You may get a bit of bad traffic at the end, but I think you'd risk bad traffic over a longer distance with either of the other two routes. The A4018 is fine late at night but I wouldn't pick it during a weekday daytime. The A4 might be OK if you avoid Hotwells, go up the Bridge Valley Road and approach the university by going down Whiteladies Road, but it depends if you'd be able to navigate it. Which bit of the university are you trying to get to?

lostinrates wrote: »

I would do m32. It will be congested between m32 and the university.....if we are talking bristol univeristy proper. The city centre main routes are not usually that bad but a4 is the killer. I do this journey from the est, the south and the north nt the west though. Well, once or twice fiftenn years ago fropm the west, certaonly nothing to advise on, lol.

Priory Road. DS has a uni open day.

Plan 4 is to come in on the M32 and if the traffic gets bad, find a taxi rank and drop him off. It can only be 2 miles from the end of the M32 and a taxi driver will know the quick routes.

Originally I was planning for him to take the train, but its a bus ride from Temple Meads so he would need to be at TM half an hour earlier.

silvercar

PasturesNew wrote: »

People who have normal/good parents and grandparents simply think everybody's experiences were as wonderful as theirs; it makes it hard to say "mine was !!!!" as they don't get it.

Could there have been good times and bad times? COuld the grieving process mean that you are at the moment stuck in a loop only remembering the bad?

lostinrates

Bit nippy this afternoon, innit? Brrr.

I am hoping to taketwo quilts into the drycleaner to be laundered, despite the cold weather, this weekend. My hyacyinthes have peaked and are going over, very sad.

PasturesNew

lostinrates wrote: »

I am hoping to taketwo quilts into the drycleaner to be laundered,

I've never done that - I'd buy new ones.

But then I've only ever used a dry cleaner once, about 30 years ago - and the buttons on my best/new/white jacket melted so I've never gone to another one since.

Years ago there used to be machines in launderettes - I used those a few times over the years, probably 2-3x.... but they don't have them any more.