Practically Classics Forum

He had no love at all for the landy but seems genuinely enthusiastic about the cars. Mind you, he is a paid actor so he should (appear to) be enthusiastic!

JPB wrote:in something called "Los Angeles." , no, me neither but each to their own.

Like anywhere else, it is what you make it. F'instance i made a Wife, two kids, and a life out there for 12 years.

Cool, so do you know Chris Violence? He stays there too.

(Well worth a listen via TuneIn web radio).

The British Embassy in Caracas sent a bloke from Wallingford (the one in Connecticut, not the one between Streatley and Oxford, and we never yet found out how he came to be working there) to meet us when we first went out, first thing he said to the Fiscal's officer when we were doing the intros was "So you're British then, do you know Niall Oliver from London?" She replied ever so politely "sorry, no, we've come from Scotland" then the embassy guy said "well that's in England too, you sure you don't know Niall..."

Medal due for taking twelve years of that.

Reminds me of one of my stays at the Newcastle General. I think it was the last bit - radiotherapy - and a patient had cone in with appendicitis. As the surgical wards were all full, they had to put him in our ward and the nurses were worried that he might think that the surgeons had found something else. The lad was from London and, after waking up and being told (by me) that the surgical beds were full, was reasonably friendly - though quiet.

"So you're from London then?"
"Yes"
"You'll know my brother in law then - he's called Smith."

The lad fell for it hook line sinker and most of the damned rod; carefully explained to the "Northern idiot" that London was a big place etc. I didn't tell him that my brother in law (indeed called Smith) was actually serving in Germany at the time!

A lady patient I saw later said she'd been to South Africa (this was 1978/9) and the immigration officer asked where she came from "Workington" (that's a few miles north along the coast from Sellafield ) was the reply. Noticing the English(ish) accent, he insisted that she as English and therefore from London!

On the flip side, when we decided to move back here, we had to get Chris (Wife) a UK work visa. Filled in the forms and went to the UK Consulate in L.A to get her passport stamped. The immigration officer at the consulate read through the paperwork, then did a double take, and read it again.


Then he started asking us questions about the address we'd put down as our UK place of residence. We'd put down my parents address as we were going to stay there until we'd found a place.

He wanted me to describe the street, the green opposite, and the houses around. Very strange.



Until he revealed that in fact, he had lived on the same green for years, a door or two down from my parents house!



Sometimes it is a small world, after all.

UKJeeper wrote:
Sometimes it is a small world, after all.

I was helping the boss shortlist for a job interview and an applicant (who later got the job) had just moved into the house we had vacated a few years before - which came in handy as one of our relatives had ignored several requests to change the address for our Christmas Card

The "love of cars" one with Phil "Gene Hunt" Glenister was excellent and they have done some superb restorations. So far there was an Escort Mexico, Land Rover Series 1, Stag, and Mini Cooper. They have a MG TC and something else as well but I have to admit I do enjoy the show as its like Wheeler Dealers but done properly!

DoloMIGHTY wrote:Anyone watched Ultimate Wheels on History channel?

British show, a guy called "Elo" who runs the London Car Museum, a former male model it seems, very down to earth and personable character, who along with another chap (who name I don't know) who has huge ginger sideburns that haven't been seen on tv since 1973 on Noddy Holder's mush, west country accent, does the mechanics of the cars.

Previous episodes have seen a VW camper turned into a mobile office, a Ferrari 400 turned into a pick-up (looked better than the original) and last night a Bristol 400 turned into a "gentleman's hot-rod".

Worth watching, addictive viewing.

http://www.history.co.uk/shows/ultimate-wheels

Its all gone down hill with the Bristol, the pile of crap engine went in with a core plug missing then they cut the leaf spring to lower it and genraly ruined it, then it and the folowing car were never driven on the the road.....because they were a total bodge.

The Bristol was a waste, it looked dreadful. I have no idea what the silly haired idiots were thinking.
The Nissan looked terrible but at least they welded it all back together rather than adding half a ton of filler. "Don't fix the spoiler, it is part of the design" translated to "we haven't got time in the filming schedule to fix it properly so just bodge it on". If they knew anything about the Japanese drift scene at all they would know that the cable tie repairs are not a style statement, they are to keep a car going without spending money on something that is going to get broken anyway.
It could be worse, at least the Nissans were both scrap before they started. If they had to modify the Bristol, the least they could have done was to do it properly and put an interior in it not some garden chairs and as the original was not available, at least a decent engine!

Car SOS RS1600i Escort tonight. Watch it then I'll list all the jobs that had to be done to get back on the road!!!! Nice car after. I gave it a road test at 2-00 am and then loaded it so we could hand it back at 1-00 pm.