To pick up on Dave's thread in Motoring where he said...
"When I first started using this forum [HJ Backroom], my eldest daughter was 5 years old. Well she's just passed her theory test, and is now all set to build up to her practical"
I had only one daughter, was doing a really irritating contract in Rio, hadn't been to the UK except for the odd 2 week visit for 10 years ish, drove an Audi A8 [sometimes an A6 depending on not much], and my wife had a Xantia.
I drank more than I do now, unbelievable though that is, never had to watch my weight and ran 20 odd miles a week.
I looked forward to the day I returned to the UK but coveted the price of cigarettes in Brazil. My dogs were still alive and ran with me often.
The forum itself was new, the software brilliantly developed by Stephen as we went along. And to be fair whatever its limitations these days, it was market leading and more advanced than anything else available at that time.
We had no idea of the viewers we would get, and we got a lot more than we expected, including some outstandingly good characters.
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>> The forum itself was new, the software brilliantly developed by Stephen as we went along.
We all owe a lot to HJ and Stephen Khoo. The site keeps us amused and enables us to show off, and to be scolded for it sometimes.
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Just so people known, the "beginning" was October 2000.
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I've been around since spring '01. Must say I've learnt quite a lot in that time.
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Just did a search on HJ, and that indicates my first post was in 2002. I was asking whether to stick with the Yaris we owned then, or change it for an imported turbo diesel Corsa - no idea what that was about!
Son would have just started school. Just got back from a prizegiving which will probably be his last visit to the place (not where he started, but you know what I mean). Doesn't time fly :)
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My first post was in Jan 2003. Didn't realise I was so old.
The layout and ease of use of the forum is magic compared to many.
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Can't remember when mine was. It was early on though, very early. I was Lud in those days.
If the site hadn't been easy to use I couldn't have used it.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Thu 17 Dec 15 at 17:54
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Christ on a bike! Memory Lane is reminiscing about itself. Now who's sucked all the Werthers Originals?
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I'm a bit of a new boy. I've only been talking nonsense and irritating people on these sites since late 2007.
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>> I'm a bit of a new boy. I've only been talking nonsense and irritating people
>> on these sites since late 2007.
It seemed so much longer.
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Late 2005 on HJ for me. Come across the site when having yet more troubles with my god awful pug 306. Took a few months to rejoin here - never a dull moment.
Miss a few who don't post here anymore.
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Oh my word. Turns out my first was 2002 with an exciting post about the height of kerbs. That's brought back some memories.
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I think I joined in 2002, can't work out how to check.
So then I was a 39 year old, grumpy, divorcee... who'd just splashed out £30K on a 2.75 year old Jag S Type, a mate's 3 year old Honda Blackbird motorcycle and having my then 34 year old Triumph 2000 mk 1 restored.
No wife or kids then and my thinking was, I live in a house in London with a mortgage being paid off, have a good well paid job and a good pension looming eventually.. so sod it, can't take it with me.
Fast forward to now and I still have the same cars and bike, only they are 16.5 years old, 17 years old and 47 years old now.
So that money was somewhat frittered then, with only some relics to show for it... and now I have a wife and 2 sprogs, I have other priorities... but do I have any regrets?..nope.
It was right for the time.
Last edited by: Westpig on Thu 17 Dec 15 at 18:20
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Earliest I can find for me on HJ is July 2002 - posed a question and it was answered by Smokie!
Pretty sure it wasn't my first contribution - was probably lurking for a while first!
P
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I wonder if he misses us? I had a few email exchanges with HJ and I found him helpful and pleasant.
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>> I think I joined in 2002, can't work out how to check.
I used the forum search, which for you:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/Forum/Search?author=westpig&days=0&f=&model=&q=&subject=
Not convinced that's right though; wasn't convinced the first post of mine it found really was my first. Doesn't help that the results aren't in date order.
Last edited by: Focusless on Thu 17 Dec 15 at 20:30
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First topic I started was on 7 December 2003, but a search (for me at least) only shows the topics I started, not my contributions to others.
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>> only shows the topics I started, not my contributions to others.
Ah right - yes, I think that explains it.
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>>
>> So then I was a 39 year old, grumpy, divorcee... who'd just splashed out £30K
>> on a 2.75 year old Jag S Type, a mate's 3 year old Honda Blackbird
>> motorcycle and having my then 34 year old Triumph 2000 mk 1 restored.
>>
>>
>>
Westpig, did your handle used to be 'Mid Life Crisis'? Rings a bell, I'm sure he was in the fuzz too?
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>>>>
>> Westpig, did your handle used to be 'Mid Life Crisis'? Rings a bell, I'm sure
>> he was in the fuzz too?
>>
MLC was a separate character, he was a little sensitive to criticism of the police and flounced.
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I don't think he flounced. He just got called out on a job, but due to compliance issues, elf and say fifty etc., he's still out there!
I can remember my Father who retired from the met in the seventies saying then that they couldn't do the job properly due to the ever increasing paperwork.
Just saying like......
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First posted on HJ I using my own name. The Bromptonaut handle came along c2002 when I found myself writing on stuff a bit close to my professional responsibilities.
Earliest post I can find is November 2001. At time my daughter was 9 and son 7.
She was 23 yesterday, works for the blood transfusion service and lives in Cornwall with the son of her Mum's oldest friend. The video of them meeting in May 1993 will be shown at their wedding - should they be daft enough to stop living over t'brush.
The Lad is 21 and an undergrad in Liverpool halfway through final year.
Both passed test first time.
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Mid 2002 for me, based on first thread as above so probably truly earlier.
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November 2003 earliest I can find on HJ regarding extended warranty costs.
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>> Mid 2002 for me
Me too. Although I can't be 100% sure as clicking on a person's username doesn't bring up any details like it does on here.
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You were before that, Dave. 2001 i think.
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Aaaah, memories!
The pink Chieftain Tank
Perpetual motion
Ladas are Cool
Mark from Royal Leamington b***** Spa - whatever happened to that Chap?
A day of name changing - when it was still possible - and everyone becoming everyone else, and posting spurious stuff on their behalf.
A 200+ post back in 2003 - ostensibly on Car Mats, which transmogrified into a Rugby World Cup final thread, with some *extremely* tentative motoring links!
We must also remember the much-missed Growler, and his missives from the Philippines.
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>> whatever happened to that Chap?
Beastie??
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>> We must also remember the much-missed Growler
I know we shouldn't talk ill of the dead, but no, don't miss him. Never could see what all the fuss was about.
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>> Growler
>> I know we shouldn't talk ill of the dead, but no, don't miss him. Never could see what all the fuss was about.
He was OK I thought. A sort of civilian Hells Angel who rode a tricycle. His old lady was a biker too, known on the site as Growlette.
You wouldn't necessarily want to meet anyone from the site I have to say, although the ones I have met have been perfectly all right. Some people hate being disagreed with and can respond badly. But much the same applies to one's friends and relations.
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>> >> We must also remember the much-missed Growler
>>
>> I know we shouldn't talk ill of the dead, but no, don't miss him. Never
>> could see what all the fuss was about.
>>
Neither could I. I found those Letters from the Colonies to be very boring. I don't think I ever got beyond the second paragraph.
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>>>>
>> Neither could I. I found those Letters from the Colonies to be very boring. I
>> don't think I ever got beyond the second paragraph.
>>
That's about as far as I got too.
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>> I found those Letters from the Colonies to be very boring. I
>> don't think I ever got beyond the second paragraph.
I didn't find them boring at all. But then I can pass for an old colonial.
Where was it the Growler went? Indonesia? Somewhere like that. Anyway I enjoyed the letters.
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I remember being bombarded by emails from Oilrag wanting me to start a thread on Pink of Blue Screenwash.
I had no idea why and in the end the easiest way to stop the emails was to do it.
It didn't have any impact.....
I still have no idea why he wanted me to do that.
Pat
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>> Oilrag
He never lasted very long as a moderator on there, IIRC.
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>>I know we shouldn't talk ill of the dead, but no, don't miss him.
He was a rude and stroppy buggur as well, ridiculously so at times.
I didn't particularly enjoy his letters, nor do I like the rough, tough expat running the local economy type image. There's quite enough pretending to be those in the world and its always false.
Having said that, he was a character and the world is a better place for having characters, so despite all I miss him being around.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sat 19 Dec 15 at 18:22
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>> >>I know we shouldn't talk ill of the dead,
Why? Its not like they are going to get upset.
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>>A day of name changing - when it was still possible
That was funny. As was convincing Martin that we'd hacked the website and could edit each other's posts.
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>> You were before that, Dave. 2001 i think.
Earliest reference I can find is a post in Tech Matters, June 2002. Can't even remember my log in details, whether that makes a difference to finding things?
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>> I'm sure he was in the fuzz too?
Dwight Van Driver was here for a while. He was a retired bobby. Not seen here since Nov 2011 though.
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I remember one thread started by Murphy The Cat (I think) about his Chrysler 300C which went on and on and on...
There was a thread about an 'ooky VX220 where the poster just kept digging himself deeper and deeper. Wonderful.
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I have no idea when I joined and can't be arrised to find out. For some reason I still think of myself as a newbie though.
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>> For
>> some reason I still think of myself as a newbie though.
>>
I've always had that feeling about life in general. I really must try and think what I want to do when I grow up.
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Read a couple of my posts - Different world for me then. Can't find my earliest....but do you remember the (P) thing...?
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I have no dea when I began posting on HJ, then moved over here. Cannot even remember if I changed my moniker. Lords knows how I had time to post anything, unlike my current situation where I lounge around overseas posting between G & Ts. Or backpacking trips. Or drinking margeritas, sometimes whilst swimming in the sea ( honestly).
The downside is my small private pension will be gone by the time I'm 64. Maybe earlier at this rate. Spare some money for a cuppa guv'nor?
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"The downside is my small private pension will be gone by the time I'm 64. Maybe earlier at this rate. Spare some money for a cuppa guv'nor?"
What's the plan then? Work till you drop?
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Gave up proper work several years ago after health issues. Had lots of interesting poorly paid full time jobs since. Butter making. Selling outdoor gear ( doubled salary by buying gear at cost for future personal use) helping my legal chums with office stuff, painting & decorating, gardening, site labouring.
I'm firmly in the school of spend every penny you earn. Just don't get into debt!suits my current lifestyle but deffo not for everyone.
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I get all that but the question was what's the plan for when the pot runs out, or isn't there one?
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Easy. Downsize and release equity. I decided at a very early age to have a large mortgage, pump very little into a private pension, and consequently I had a nice mortgage less property by my mid fifties. It would have been very different if I had been employed and was looking for a final salary pension or some such.
Don't forget I'm a tight Yorkshireman.
And to be perfectly honest, I can be very selfish and only consider myself. Many of my peers want to provide for off spring. The nearest I got to that were three ex step daughters.
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>> Don't forget I'm a tight Yorkshireman.
>> Easy. Downsize
Is that possible from a single roomed small cattle shed?
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In the beginning............. - Armel Coussine
