Kitchen from offcuts.

[ayjay]

I'm not big on flying either, a trip around Broadstairs harbour in 1954, in a bi-plane, and last year we flew to the Shetlands and back (without stopping) with the hope and anticipation of seeing the Northern Lights.

I don't do foreign holidays, there's still plenty of this country I've yet to see.

I had an old push bike once, (well, more than once, they were all old at one stage of my life) but this one was a bit different, it had a set of moped forks on the front, complete with suspension, that meant no front brakes, I was steaming down the inside of a line of stationary traffic when some dunce pulled out of a side turning, only about three of four feet, but it left me with nowhere to go and no hope of stopping, I ploughed into the side of him and ended up sitting on his bonnet gawping at him through the windscreen, uninjured fortunately.

[Sean-edwards]

Well done col looks just the job!

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks for adding your story ajay; isn't it amazing when such things as these happen that it all suddenly goes into very slow motion just before impact with a deep feeling of impending doom? Once the door is slammed shut preventing an escape route in such circumstances quickly makes us realize just how vulnerable we are; fortunately we both survived but five of my motorcycling chums didn't. I did however convert the old Austin A40 into a mid engined sports car in an instant.

As kids we once found an old scrap bike in the pit yard by the bike sheds; it had no tyres; brakes or pedals but we would push it up the yard and come hurtling down on it at speed creating a heck of a racket with the bare metal wheels in contact with the concrete whilst shrieking with delight at the tops of our voices; happy days of long ago. No pit yards now let alone scrap bikes kicking around.

Thanks for the thumbs up Sean much appreciated.

Kind regards, Col.

[Leif]

I agree about insurance, it is madness not to have it, even if you were screwed by one company. It only takes a dodgy appliance to send your home up in flames. Do you have the funds for a rebuild?

Something to remember though, is that price can impact the payout rate too - this is all available online in places. I'd hazard a guess that claim payout rate is linked to the provider/underwriter and the amount that people spend.

Personally, I'd never be without.

Do you have evidence for that?

[joinerjohn]

Col, you should become a published author. A delight to read any and all of the threads started by your good self. Keep up the good work.

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Leif; sorry to beg to differ but in our case it was madness to have insurance the way things turned out for us and I think it fair to say anyone suffering the distress we did for 18 months at the hands of the building society and insurance company wouldn't be praising either of them? It still winds me up 25 years later thinking of how we were treated and now we've been without home insurance for the last 14 years. I'm too polite to state my true feelings but to us insurance stinks. To answer your question yes we have funds for a rebuild and as backup we could also convert part of our rear garden into a superb building plot with panoramic views across the valley if ever we suffered the loss of our home; as it is we can afford to leave the garden as our garden because there is a lot more to life than money unless of course you happen to be an insurance company like Legal & General? No offence intended or meant to anyone but WE DETEST INSURANCE COMPANIES!!! I don't know who are the worst; insurance companies who rip us off or the low life trying to rip the insurance companies off; decent people always come off worst?

The pictures below show parts of our rear garden; the middle picture shows how I went up the 40' tall Scots pine; removed the top then as I came down lopped all the branches off allowing me to then fell the trunk under full control. Last year I felled two 80' tall trees because they were getting rather out of control and could have been brought down by the high winds gusting up the valley. The bottom picture shows one of the 80' tall trees which dropped beautifully up the garden without causing much damage. We still have plenty of trees and bushes and prefer our garden to having more money sitting around in an account? This bungalow and gardens keeps me fully occupied during our short summers; I don't need to visit a gym.

On a much lighter note many thanks jj for your support and encouragement which I sincerely appreciate. If only the weather was better all year round here on the valley side I could do so much more; yesterday I felt cold till dinnertime even though the bungalow is warm then after dinner it was a waste of time making a start because it gets dark so early; today we had friends visiting so again another day slips by but I'll keep on with my projects and keep writing the notes up; once Christmas and New Year is over then I'll ignore the freezing weather and get stuck in. I've got lots of projects stacked so will never be bored which suits me.

Kind regards, Col.

Cutting back in rear garden. (2).jpg (343.5 KiB) Viewed 3641 times

Branches removed..jpg (293.49 KiB) Viewed 3641 times

Bottom half of trunk..jpg (364 KiB) Viewed 3641 times

[joinerjohn]

Thing with any insurance is,, you just don't know how good, or bad the insurance company is until you make a claim on the policy. Only thing I've ever claimed for off insurance was some years ago we both went to Tenerife for Christmas and I had my wallet pickpocketed (300 euros , driving licence and my bank card gone in bloody seconds) Got about £220 back through the insurance, once we got home. Luckily I'd put money in the missus's account before we left, so didn't struggle. Only had that amount in as we'd gone out to book day trips (missus wanted to swim with dolphins at a waterpark)
Still had a great time though. It's unreal hearing all the Christmas songs in bars and clubs when it's almost 30 degrees outside and you've got a t shirt and shorts on.

[Retired]

Hi,

Very true jj, insurance appears to be a lottery but it shouldn't be so. Each time there is a disaster such as Hebden Bridge and Somerset Plains flooding it makes national news with the government being eventually seen promising every help possible but out of camera what happens? I bet there are still families homeless in both these places due to fighting insurance companies. Fortunately you were not too inconvenienced with your loss but at the time I'm sure you and your wife would have been distressed? Did your wife finally enjoy swimming with the dolphins? 30 degrees is only a dream where we live that is 30 degrees positive by the way; our friends living in Brisbane Australia say its cold there at 20 degrees which is a nice summer for us? I was rudely awakened at 4 o'clock this morning listening to the wind trying to blow the bungalow down which it still is trying to do; we've had a nice long wet period so now its the windy period; next period will be ice and snow when we can look forward to the JCB bucket digging us out again? Knowing how exposed we are to severe weather when I replaced the roof I clipped and nailed every tile.

I'll be happy to see Christmas and New Year over then I can settle down to enjoying projects rather than moaning all the time in the meantime I'll grab an hour or two whenever I can but by the time I get settled I have to knock off. We are visiting our local garden centre shortly it being near Emley Moor on top of the world; bet its windy up there? Over the next few days I'll add another thread covering one of my restorations; at least then I'll be doing something positive.

Kind regards, Col.

[kellys_eye]

Well that's TWO vote for you to start writing about your exploits and restoration skills Col!

Got to second your opinion on insurance companies too as our experience recently, whilst not as tragic and involved as yours, made me question the use of them as we're effectively better off paying for repairs ourselves than claiming on insurance for them - pathetic.

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks k_e. It so easy for someone at home in comfort to defend insurance companies whilst never having suffered at the hands of insurance companies; having only just mentioned Somerset Plains two couples have since appeared on TV; one owned a pottery company which sadly was flooded out and although they are still struggling to keep the business going in alternative property it makes me wonder why they bother. Being a small established company struggling to make a profit whilst actually grafting all hours for a living; they have lots of overheads to pay plus taxes; on top of this their insurance company is now demanding something like £14,800 per year just to insure the small business? They would be possibly better off on benefits? Still it's the way things are these days? The second couple are still unable to return to their home and expect it to take at least another three months before they can. Why the heck build homes on flood plains like standard homes; if building on such sites why not simply build on substantial supports lifting the building well clear of any future floods also with raised car parking?

Thanks also k_e for the encouragement in getting me to write up my assorted projects which I hope to do. I wish I had the time to look at more threads and to reply because this forum has so many talented members and I enjoy seeing how others tackle jobs and the techniques they use; I certainly have a lot to learn. We all have stories to tell however large or small these may be; a full blown thread or a small useful tip; everyone is equally as important and Chez has kindly supplied us all the base to work from so it's a pity not to use it? I'm a newish member to UHM but what a top forum; it's nice to see Chez at the helm leading from the front; the mods are a decent bunch who don't swoop down on the slightest mistake or error and are very tolerant should we slip up and post in the wrong section; then of course are the members bursting to share information in order to help each other out; I must be the dinosaur full of waffle and ramble on but I feel welcome; I just hope I don't come across as a know all or be regarded as preaching; I've just been around a while gathering many skills and doing unusual projects which I'm happy to share if of interest.

Merry Christmas everyone and a very happy New Year.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

I must admit I have never trusted insurance companies because you hear so many reports of them taking the money fast enough but not paying out when they should. I have heard about people that have had critical life cover that covers them if they get cancer but in the small print it does not pay out for every type of cancer etc.

I have been paying insurance for over 25 years without a single claim, yet I know people that claim every couple of years. I just hope that if I ever do need to make a claim they will pay out because in the past I have had small things happen but decided to bear the cost myself rather than claiming on the insurance, such as when some tosser smashed the side window on my car etc.

You have done some amazing work Col, everything you do is top quality

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks for the compliment Chez.

A couple of days ago the Somerset flooding was on the news with a couple and children and a single lady updating regarding insurance. I didn't see the full report but the single lady was shown in tears at the time of the flooding and although she was devastated she had full insurance? Now a year on she is back in her home but no thanks to her full insurance policy; the insurance company refused to pay out because she had not declared she lived within 160 yards of a drain if I caught it correctly; she said that she hadn't seen the tiny clause but more importantly she never knew of such a drain let alone where it was.

The amazing part though because of the insurance rejection she was swamped by volunteers who got all the work done; supplied replacement furniture and was back in her home before her neighbours who were having the work done under insurance; this was on TV for all to see. DO YOU LIVE NEAR A SIMILAR DRAIN?

I'm pretty sure the snip below was the story. I feel saddened for all the flood victims and wish them well for the future. Its time someone sorted out the insurance companies for good. 0/10 insurance 10/10 volunteers.

Kind regards, Col.

Somerset insurance farce..JPG (153.91 KiB) Viewed 3517 times

[BillyGoat]

I agree about insurance, it is madness not to have it, even if you were screwed by one company. It only takes a dodgy appliance to send your home up in flames. Do you have the funds for a rebuild?

Something to remember though, is that price can impact the payout rate too - this is all available online in places. I'd hazard a guess that claim payout rate is linked to the provider/underwriter and the amount that people spend.

Personally, I'd never be without.

Do you have evidence for that?

Sorry it's taken me a while to spot this - I asked the wife, who worked for a bank (she told me this). Apparently there was a team that collected the information each month and internally published it as a sales tool, but this is no longer the case, as they don't use it anymore.

She said the information is something that's freely published by them, although I'm sure it's not going to be on a single web page - although I've been wrong about 10 times today already (according to the wife).


BG