The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

vivatifosi

Pyxis wrote: »

Although I'm 5'6", my legs are short relative to my height, iyswim.

You must be a long lost relative!

The same height as me and I have the body length (only similarity) of Elle McPherson but the legs of a dachshund.

vivatifosi

The caravan is beautiful Maggie. Were it not for the fact you can see underneath it, I would even have known it was one.

Did you see the programme on BBC1 last night about the northern family going back and living in different decades? Last night was about the 1960s. The family went to stay in a caravan and it was interesting to see how much static vans have changed over time.

The presenter said that the companies, based mainly around Hull, had been making prefabricated housing due to the war, but saw an opportunity to sell the same things to a burgeoning leisure market who had money to go on holiday for the first time.

Pyxis

vivatifosi wrote: »

You must be a long lost relative!

The same height as me and I have the body length (only similarity) of Elle McPherson but the legs of a dachshund.

It does run in the family.......

........and my father's work did take him away from home sometimes...................


:D





Yes the joys of trousers that are often too long, with waistbands that are at half-mast!

GDB2222

Is it disconcerting being in a new caravan, assuming the layout is not identical to the old one?

chris_m

PasturesNew wrote: »

That'd not be high enough to reach a light fitting and see what's what. On one of those I might be able to touch a light fitting, but not be close enough to work on it...

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about the lights - have you got any still working now?

PasturesNew

vivatifosi wrote: »

Did you see the programme on BBC1 last night about the northern family going back and living in different decades? Last night was about the 1960s. The family went to stay in a caravan and it was interesting to see how much static vans have changed over time.

I missed that, saw the first episode.

In the 60s we used to stay in caravans.... cheap/old ones, often in the corner of a farmer's field with a chemical loo outside.

There were gas mantles for lighting, no electricity of course - and the double bed would be a drop down from the wall one, with our single beds being the daytime table seating.

PasturesNew

chris_m wrote: »

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about the lights - have you got any still working now?

Living room: never even had a bulb in it when I moved in, needs a peculiar BC3 fitting that's hard to source and expensive. Best advice is "have them rewired" so I've waited....

Downstairs hallway: never worked, BC3 fitting, I've waited.

Downstairs loo: works ... so I sometimes flick that on to light the stairs.

Upstairs hallway: it worked, then blew, BC3 so I've left it.

Bathroom: was working until 2-3 weeks ago. I've left it.

2 bedrooms: both work

Kitchen has spots: 2/4 work.

Overall .... I've not many lightbulbs left. I spend most of my time in the dark ... and struggle to see after dark in the kitchen anyway as the two working spotlights aren't all that bright.

I yearn for the days when all rooms had simple bayonet fittings that you could access and understood - and all you needed to know/buy was a common lightbulb

PasturesNew

Interesting new programme on the BBC this morning. Murder, Mystery & My Family.

What they do is take a family with something in their past and re-investigate.

This morning was a lovely old chap in his 80s and his son. When his son was nearly 30 the father told him "out of the blue"; he said to his dad "I remember it, we were in the car, it was father's day"... and his dad said "Yes, your mother kept nagging that I had to tell you".

It turned out that in 1936 the old man's father had died and as his mother didn't fit in with "the local villagers" the gossip was that she'd posioned him. She was tried and hanged at Exeter in 1936.

She left 5 children, who were immediately adopted by the Local Authorities. The old man said that, as girls, his two sisters went to another Institute and he never saw them again. None of the five children were ever adopted and spent their lives in the children's homes - and the old chap met his wife there (father of the son in the programme).

They brought in experts for prosecution/defence to go through the files to see if it'd go to trial today. They took the father/son to visit the burial areas of his parents. The father in an unmarked pauper's grave pit - and the mother in a communal pit at Exeter Prison.

The programme seemed to suggest that they only had one woman's "say so" that the mother had poisoned him - and they felt that she put under pressure about the death of her own husband suddenly 5 years before - and her statements were inconsistent. So it all looked leaning that way .... but then the Judge said that nothing significant had come to light that would prevent a modern day hearing going ahead.

Sad, but they couldn't win. As they said - if it'd been decided the mother couldn't be tried then they'd have to live with the knowledge she'd been taken from them unfairly..... and if it was decided a case would go to court then you have a murderer in the family. But it's good they got to go through all the facts/evidence etc (a lot more off camera no doubt) as they could finally see all the paperwork/facts for themselves.

Loanranger

My kickstool measures 16 and a half inches tall.
Your arms are about 24 inches, mine are and I'm same height as PN within an inch, and that takes you up to over 100 inches, plenty if your ceiling is 93 inches. It is far more dangerous to live in the dark than to change a light bulb.
Can you lean against a wall to change any of them? If not then fold up step ladders that form a triangle shape with the ground are safest as you can lean onto them safely.
The bulbs that haven't lasted long are probably halogen. LED are much longer lasting, but I am not sure they are interchangeable.
If paying for an electrician or even just a handyman isn't an option then could you ask a neighbour? It doesn't even have to be a man. I would gladly do it even though I am only about 5 foot 2 and a female OAP.

PasturesNew

Loanranger wrote: »

My kickstool measures 16 and a half inches tall.
Your arms are about 24 inches, mine are and I'm same height as PN within an inch, and that takes you up to over 100 inches, plenty if your ceiling is 93 inches. It is far more dangerous to live in the dark than to change a light bulb.
Can you lean against a wall to change any of them? If not then fold up step ladders that form a triangle shape with the ground are safest as you can lean onto them safely.
The bulbs that haven't lasted long are probably halogen. LED are much longer lasting, but I am not sure they are interchangeable.
If paying for an electrician or even just a handyman isn't an option then could you ask a neighbour? It doesn't even have to be a man. I would gladly do it even though I am only about 5 foot 2 and a female OAP.

Armpit to wrist, 16", I just measured.
Armpit to fingertip of longest finger 21".

I think your assumption on "working height/being able to see and work at something" is optimistic... fine if you're dusting it.... not if you're trying to dismantle and swap a bulb out.

I think I'd like the top of my head to be about 6-9" from the ceiling to be a safe working height, to be able to explore and discover how to do it .... and get on with it without over-reaching/wobbling and falling.

It's where my head's placed that's important.... not where my fingertips might reach with a duster.

You need more than you suggest to grab and undo an unknown light fitting and see what you're supposed to do to get it off and reach safely to then remove a lightbulb... not to mention the fact you're now a bit wobbly and holding a lightbulb.

Buying another set of steps whatever then gives the question "so where will they be put between jobs?".

I'm happy in the dark, I can't ask a neighbour as I "don't like to be a nuisance" and have issues that mean speaking to people/strangers/neighbours is problematically awkward.... not to mention the fact that I'd have to go round tidying up before anybody saw my house. Nobody's been inside it for 3 years

I dislike having anybody "in my space", it's part of my condition.

When the smoke detector battery was beeping the other year I did get to ask a neighbour (since moved away) .... as I couldn't ignore it, I worked up to it over several days including tidying things away so it didn't look like I was squatting.

Additionally .... even a step stool I'd need to see/try before discovering if I could use it/reach .... and then, where do I put it between jobs? I only have a 2-up-2down and am already inundated with "stuff one needs to possess just in case you need that"