Michael Ramsay-Fraser

Posted by Donald Fry on 26/02/2017 20:08:22: But as Steve Redgrave said, today we crush dreams. I think I remember you using this quote during the World Cup, Donald

Posted by Donald Fry on 26/02/2017 20:08:22: But as Steve Redgrave said, today we crush dreams. I think I remember you using this quote during the World Cup, Donald

Now looking forward to the Calcutta Cup game with a bit more hope. Having said that, that result might buck England up.

How many steps backwards was that ??

Don't get me wrong, I think EJ is a great coach and he's done wonders with England. I just think comments about dressing rooms, lambs and daffodils belittles him. He's good enough without having to resort to snide remarks. Re the Calcutta cup game, despite my best wishes, I think England will prove to be too strong. Scotlands scrum will be in for a very hard day. Bear in mind that Scotland have gone through the tournament without their first choice props. Having said that, I think Scotlands back line is more creative and that may even things out. However, I woke up today thinking Wales by a couple of points so what do I know.

I do hope not. Whilst I appreciate EJ skills as a coach I don't think his confrontational remarks have a place in Rugby. His lack of respect of the Welsh prior to the game was unnecessary.

I'm not convinced Gattland is the best choice either. We'll see when the team is announced. I wouldn't be surprised if he relied on the bulk of the team being Welsh again.

There ain't no substitute for practice IIRC, when I was teaching myself, I'd spend at least 2 hours a day, every day, at it. Keep going, all of a sudden, it will click and everything will become so much easier.

I taught myself to play many years ago and got reasonably proficient without any instruction. I tend to play a finger picking blues style but have now probably forgotten more than I know. I taught myself from various books that were about at the time but if I was starting now and wanted to learn by myself, my first port of call would be youtube. There are literally hundreds of excellent videos for new guitar players covering a variety of styles. Browse through them and take your pick of the ones you feel comfortable with. Oh, and buy yourself an electronic tuner. There's nothing worse and more likely to put you off than an out of tune guitar.

Posted by Rich2 on 18/02/2017 08:34:43: Posted by Michael Ramsay-Fraser on 17/02/2017 20:18:31: I'm sorry but admitting to wanting to own an estate car is tantamount to admitting your life is over and you have nothing to look forward to. Easy answer, buy a sports car (the new Alfa is nice), fit a tow bar. Buy a trailer. Job done. Percy is clearly not a petrol head! I am and have had a couple of Alfas, however, your advice is not very practical for a family man! And please do not compare the MX5 (hairdressers car!) with a spider! The use of trailers seems to be quite common in the US, and I do like the idea, however, storage would be a major problem for me. Edited By Rich2 on 18/02/2017 08:35:57 Sad but true, Rich. Irrespective of the choice of car, I was simply trying to suggest that a smaller car and trailer combination might be an option, I thought I was being lighthearted about it but appeared to have ruffled a number of feathers. I make the point because I changed from a large 4x4 to a much smaller one. A Panda Cross, in fact and, surprise, surprise, and contrary to (apparently) perceived wisdom is 100% reliable and can go many places that even my old HiLux couldn't. The lack of space, however, was problematic and overcome by the addition of a trailer to the fleet. I appreciate not everyone can readily store a trailer but it works for me. I do actually have an open top sports car too (along with a couple of classic GT's restored by myself) and a bald head. If it came to a choice between it and an estate, I know which one I'd rather be in.

Posted by Percy Verance on 17/02/2017 21:28:19: Well Michael, I'm afraid I'd beg to differ. I'd rather walk than buy an Alfa Romeo. In fact if you bought one, you'd almost certainly end up walking at some point, such is their somewhat tarnished reliability record. Indeed, it might be fair to say that most Italian produced vehicles have a less then good reputation here. Sure, they're better than they once were, but they don't clock up big sales in the UK. It was just an example, Percy and irrespective of reliability or lack of, the new Spyder is a very attractive car at least to my eyes. It should be reasonably reliable, though. It's built by Mazda, after all. Don't like the Alfa? Get an MX5. Basically the same car

I'm sorry but admitting to wanting to own an estate car is tantamount to admitting your life is over and you have nothing to look forward to. Easy answer, buy a sports car (the new Alfa is nice), fit a tow bar. Buy a trailer. Job done.

This would make camping out near the warehouse difficult. Temporary Christmas staff at the Scottish warehouse near Dunfermline had to resort to camping in the woods nearby to avoid the punitive transport deductions to their wages which would have seen their pay fall well below the minimum wage.

My feeling is that a large part of the problem is the lack of skills attributed to guys below a certain age. I, probably like most on this forum, am of an age where I learned (from my father) how to fix things. Most men under 40 can't even change a plug these days and why would they when every appliance comes with a new one bonded on. How often do we here about people struggling with flat pack furniture? If someone can't even put together a bookcase from Ikea, what chance is there of them successfully completing one of Richards kits? Absolutly zero. The skills that trad builders have started with Airfix and Keil Kraft kits and expanded from there. Along the way, we've developed other skills (restoring classic cars, in my case) that have helped us through life. Plumbing, re-wiring, building and a host of other skills are probably things most of our forum users are familiar with or know someone who is. Sadly, anyone under 30 is of a mind to throw something away if it doesn't work and buy a new one. If something in the house doesn't work, call an electrician or plumber. The sad fact is that many people under a certain age just don't have the ability to think through the processes of building anything more complex that your average ARTF. There simply won't be any demand for kits in the very near future (very sadly, in my view) and the only self builds that we are likely to see will be by 'model geeks' doing scratch builds.

Posted by Bob Cotsford on 07/12/2016 11:29:11: One thing that occurs to me Dave - how would a legitimate parking company or transport agency get your email address from a car registration? These only ever get postal contact details, never email! Thanks for the heads-up though, flag them up as spam straight away! I'm not sure if it follows but when I tax or SORN my cars online, I get a confirmation email from the DVLA so I would presume a link exists between a registration number and the owners email address. Knowing the DVLA's notorious lack of security and ability to sell on information, it wouldn't surprise me if the scammers had just bought the details.

Seriously! Are we now so scared of driving down a dark, unfamiliar road at night (particularly in a large 4x4) that we feel the need to have a fleet of drones lighting the way. How stupid.

Thanks, Gary. Must download.

Posted by TinPot Pilot on 17/11/2016 09:54:50: Allegedly a DJI Phantom has been flown to 11,000 ft so 4,900 ft is now feasible . Story here. Irrespective of the rights and wrongs and whether it actually did reach that height, that's a great bit of music in the video. Anyone know what it is??

and I was about to say wood is non-conductive

I've been telephone polled a couple of times but always politely declined to answer. I guess I'm probably put down as a 'don't know' when, in fact, I do know which way I'm going to vote. I'd just rather not tell the pollsters.

I can't comment on the Me 262 but I have one of Phil Noels other designs, the Sea Vixen, in both plan and CNC pack awaiting a build slot. I believe both are designed in a similar style. Your decision to go with the CNC pack is a VERY wise choice. You'd be driven mad by the number of holes you'd have to cut out if you were creating the parts yourself. It's a seriously complex set. Again, I'm not sure if the same applies to the Me 262 but the Sea Vixen requires the builder to create a sort of mini-jig (or build tabs) on the building board to support the frame in the correct position prior to gluing. I've done a dry run of the major parts and its an impressive sight even in its skeletal form. A real builders model. Best of luck with the build and please post on your progress.

I have to admit, the use of the word 'So' at the beginning of a sentence is one of my pet hates. However, I don't think the decline in linguistic standards is wholly down to American influences. 'Estuary English' as used by the likes of Jamie Oliver and Steve Wright is a pernicious attack on our culture. Bosh! Phrases such as 'diamond geezer' and 'I see what you done there' being prime examples. The widespread use of the glottal stop in 'Estuary English' is particularly annoying. Steve Wrights current use of 'Serious Jockin' (no g on Jockin)' I find infuriating. Edited By Michael Ramsay-Fraser on 22/10/2016 10:34:32

It's your life, Percy and, naturally, you're entitled to eat whatever you fancy but personally there is nothing on this earth that would tempt me to eat a Greggs sausage roll.

Posted by Percy Verance on 21/10/2016 10:26:13: The nearest I get is the occasional visit to a Greggs near my place of work. Their sausage rolls do seem to have a certain something about them........ They do a steak and cheese version which is also rather good. Edited By Percy Verance on 21/10/2016 10:39:50 I hate to say this but I suspect the MacDonalds burger would be far better for you than the Greggs sausage roll. The fat content of the sausage roll alone will be higher and there will be virtually no carbs and very little in the way of protein. The actual meat content will be very low. The burger, by contrast, will have a reasonable level of carbs thanks to the bread, lettuce, tomatoes and gherkins and a lot of protein in the burger itself which, according to MacDonalds is 100% British beef. God know where the minimal level of meat in a sausage roll comes from. I'm not a huge fan of fast food outlets either but would choose a plain burger in a bap with salad any day over a sausage roll (or any other 'hot' food from Greggs) or a fry up in a greasy spoon.

Posted by Peter Miller on 19/10/2016 08:35:46: This meant that A they didn't stock it and/or B it was cheaper than their alternative. Or C, they had a bigger mark up!