revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Taipan wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 3:00 pm

Yorick wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 2:57 pm We live in a group of about 30 houses about half mile from edge of town.
Totally silent which we love.

15 minute stroll into centre of town and bars and restaurants

Silence is deafening, but you're getting there...

Pardon ?

Yorick wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 2:57 pm We live in a group of about 30 houses about half mile from edge of town.
Totally silent which we love.

15 minute stroll into centre of town and bars and restaurants

Taipan wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 2:50 pm I'm not knocking you lot, each to their own and all that, but living in silence with a tiny population would drive me mad! I want, nay, need interaction, such as multiple pubs, restaurants, shops, markets, transport links and all within walking distance! A market or coastal town is my idyll!

I do totally understand that. It wouldn't be for me all year round, I've never liked living in towns or cities, but I do understand the appeal

Where I am is ridiculous for 5 months of winter, way too many people, but everything open Summer is similar but slightly less people. But over the years, you work out where to stay away from!!

I do so love the interseasons when there's no one here The downside is that this also means that the shop is only open in the week, and (currently) there is no bar or restaurant open on the weekend, and generally none open in the evenings on weekdays - a friend has just bought a place that I believe she will be opening in the interseason Flip side of that is that there's not many people up here that I'd be meeting anyway, so it isn't all bad LOL

I couldn't be up here without transport. I've done it for the odd week, but no way could I do that for a whole inter season. And the drive down isn't bad, riding down is better So I'm ok with that

Downside for me is, when I am too old to ride/drive I'll be stuck here in the interseason, hence possibly in the future looking for somewhere small in town in the valley. Summer up here would be better as wayyyyy too hot in the valley, but the two interseasons would be a bastard with no transport - buses only run in winter and summer Or just get an electric 'sans permis' vehicle (as long as my eyesight is ok!) and stay put

Taipan wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 2:50 pm I'm not knocking you lot, each to their own and all that, but living in silence with a tiny population would drive me mad! I want, nay, need interaction, such as multiple pubs, restaurants, shops, markets, transport links and all within walking distance! A market or coastal town is my idyll!

Yeah errrrm, no thanks

I like to live in an affluent market town, rammed with the chattering classes and outrageously priced organic farmer's markets and PAWG'y young mums going out jogging in those indecently tight trousers with their hair all done and full makeup and eyelashes.

I would never go back into the city for love nor money. Where i am now is about 8000 population what is just enough to have a busy wee town centre but no to busy where you cant move or 10 deep on bars trying to get a drink. Enough restaurants to always get a table somewhere at short notice. Two caravan parks and lots of small hotels with a good tourist season so never a ghost town. Just right i would say

Taipan wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 2:50 pm I'm not knocking you lot, each to their own and all that, but living in silence with a tiny population would drive me mad! I want, nay, need interaction, such as multiple pubs, restaurants, shops, markets, transport links and all within walking distance! A market or coastal town is my idyll!

I think there's a balance to be found which serves various needs. If I'm in the mood for solitude,I can avoid interaction for as long as I want,but if I'm feeling more sociable,I haven't far to go. That's the perfect balance for me.

There's a huge difference between being content with your own company and being lonely. The first is by choice,but the second is thrust upon you.

There were some aspects of the pandemic which I found pleasant,while others more sociable struggled.

I reckon theres times in your life when living in the country /middle of nowhere is good for you (early childhood) and times when you need a few people about to knock the rough edges off and get gou used to others.
Personally I can't stand villages as they're neither nowt nor summat with no isolation nor any decent shops/facilities but we're all different.

Skub wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 8:36 pm

Taipan wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 2:50 pm I'm not knocking you lot, each to their own and all that, but living in silence with a tiny population would drive me mad! I want, nay, need interaction, such as multiple pubs, restaurants, shops, markets, transport links and all within walking distance! A market or coastal town is my idyll!

I think there's a balance to be found which serves various needs. If I'm in the mood for solitude,I can avoid interaction for as long as I want,but if I'm feeling more sociable,I haven't far to go. That's the perfect balance for me.

There's a huge difference between being content with your own company and being lonely. The first is by choice,but the second is thrust upon you.

There were some aspects of the pandemic which I found pleasant,while others more sociable struggled.

The things I mentioned that I need to be around , aren't things I always use, but I dislike not being near them. I work in central London and really wouldn't want to work anywhere else, but I would never live there. When we bought our camper earlier this year, we thought traveling across France in it to Spain would be the best part of it, but it turned out to be the worse part really. It was lovely in some of the small towns, but the mile after mile of empty villages really got me, well, down! I need to see people and people in day to day situations. Shutting the door on it all is fine, and I absolutely love nothing better than a quiet sunny afternoon in my garden with music and a few cans etc, but for me, traces of the world need to be outside, or end of the street etc

I'm not a people person and never have been, neither is Mrs D. Before Baby D arrived we sometimes went whole days and only exchanged a dozen sentences

I just find quiet and closed villages depressing! Like they've shut down and everyone's gone. Usually they sport a "save our post office" sign or something equally grim. The best one was a Lincolnshire village I went through with the sign "Beat crime this summer, don't open your windows"

I moved from a city with a population of over 350,000 to a town with less than 4,000, I ain't in no mind to reverse that decision, if anything I wouldn't mind finding somewhere with half that number.

Halfords, 1.5 hour round trip.
Just Eat, never heard of them.
McDonalds, nope that'd be another 1.5 hour round trip

I'd say there's a decent percentage of asocial folk on forums like this. It's a great way of interacting,but keeping a safe distance.

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 10:07 pm
I just find quiet and closed villages depressing! Like they've shut down and everyone's gone. Usually they sport a "save our post office" sign or something equally grim.

The other thing - houses called 'The Old......' We have 'The Old Bakery' and 'The Old Post Office'. A local village has 'The Old Telephone Exchange' (it's not pretty!).

A stroll around Petworth is interesting. At some point in the past they put rather nice tiles under the windows of certain shops relating to their trade, like butcher (lots of old shop fronts are tiled but these all seem to have been done in the same style - probably an edict from Petworth House).

Most of them are now estate agents and antique shops in Petworth.

Potter wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 3:23 am Our house (in the UK) is in a village(?) of just under 2,000 people, it has a bakers, a butchers, a barber/hairdresser, an offie/newsagent, a pub and a working marina where I can moor my boat less than 10 minutes walk from the house.

After that it's fields, but 25 minutes drive to a provincial town with major railway station and big shops.
The supermarkets deliver so no need to subject yourself to actually going there.

The problem with towns or large groups of people living together in the UK is that you will be close to the underbelly of society who will inevitably end up in your space as well, dossing and pinching and worrying the vulnerable. I think many people are so used to it that they don't even think about it, but some do, especially as they get older.

That strikes me as you're going to probably struggle to get regular supplies from that limited amount of outlets and it'll certainly be at a premium price if you can. You'll need to book up a meal/sunday roast in the pub weeks ahead, or face a minimum of a 25 minute drive to another. You won't be getting a haircut without a booking. You will have to drive to survive there as public transport is going to be very limited, if available at all, but you'll need to go to the nearest town fairly often anyway due to the aforementioned supply problems.

IME villages with c6/700 properties often are just like that and when people retire there from a more bustling metropolis, they end up feeling shortchanged by it. After everything you've been used to having on your doorstep, you sure you're going to cope with that, well, culture shock?

It does seem common for many to rise up from their beginnings, get some sort of decent career then retire to a village as the accepted path of success and they are living the dream, but the reality is often quite the opposite with them finding village life too claustrophobic. That said, you (Potter) seem like a man of very deliberate considerations, so I hope it works out for you?

Count Steer wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:06 am The other thing - houses called 'The Old......' We have 'The Old Bakery' and 'The Old Post Office'. A local village has 'The Old Telephone Exchange' (it's not pretty!).

Village (now a town) I used to live in had a 'White Hart' and a - newer - 'Old White Hart'! The first had changed to 'The Bell' (after the nearby Bell Meadow', so the second took the name, then changed again. The pub/hotel next to the meadow is, of course, called 'The Raven'.

Count Steer wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:06 am rather nice tiles

As an aside, there was a pub here decorated with green glass tiles. A coffee shop chain took it over, but were told that they must keep the tiles. Guess what?

Horse wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 9:16 amAs an aside, there was a pub here decorated with green glass tiles. A coffee shop chain took it over, but were told that they must keep the tiles. Guess what?

They seemed to take no notice at all of regs. I remember various of them popping up around Covent Garden when I stayed there and, pretty much without exception, they were in shops that planning hadn't allowed to be coffee shops but knew they'd make their money in the months and years it took to go through the appeals/enforcement procedures.

Thankfully the nearest one to me now is over 60 miles away, whereas my son's coffee/choc shop is just 1.5miles!

During these threads theres stuff being mentioned about hydrogen combustion powered cars being a "Better Idea".
This video goes into fairly good detail as to why thats a bollocks idea and why hydrogen fuel cells are a far better idea. Oh and that just using batteries is still a better idea.



Cue some rivet complaining that they didn't watch it cos his voice is a bit irritating and they continue posting unrealistic bolllocks due the Dunning Kruger effect. <shrug>

I think hydrogen will be significant but not for a while.

I think large scale carbon capture is coming very soon in the UK. Not for vehicles but for power generation and industry etc. It will be moved around in pipes and tanks like we currently move natural gas. And crammed under the sea.

Taipan wrote: Mon Sep 19, 2022 8:34 am
It does seem common for many to rise up from their beginnings, get some sort of decent career then retire to a village as the accepted path of success and they are living the dream, but the reality is often quite the opposite with them finding village life too claustrophobic. That said, you (Potter) seem like a man of very deliberate considerations, so I hope it works out for you?

A friend of mine moved to a lovely old Suffolk farmhouse, middle of nowhere, from a Cambridge townhouse. Ok for him as he was out working all day, nice to come home to the family pile, nice and quiet. His missus on the other hand was either bored to death home alone or back and forth in the car running errands. Hated it. They moved back to a much more lively Cambridge suburb in the end

Asian Boss wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 10:34 am I think hydrogen will be significant but not for a while.

I think large scale carbon capture is coming very soon in the UK. Not for vehicles but for power generation and industry etc. It will be moved around in pipes and tanks like we currently move natural gas. And crammed under the sea.

Centrica have started mixing hydrogen into the gas for one of their peak demand gas-fired power stations. Aiming for 20% max. Depending on how they produce the hydrogen that seems a pretty good idea. I assume they'll use the results to input into the thinking of adding a % into domestic supply.