On 17/04/2022 00:44, RustyHinge wrote:
> One of my fiends ran his examiner over - and passed.
>
> Taking his botormike test riding/driving a botormike and slidecar in the
> days when you were just observed and the examiner went from place to
> place, the bod was standing on the pavement by the White Hart in
> Hornchurch. He said: "When I step forward I want you to do an emergency
> stop."
>
> He stepped forward, but it was a wet day, and his feet shotout from
> under him and well out into the road. There was no time for Ken to stop,
> but he gave the handle bras a twist to the left, raising the slidecar
> (as it does, providing it's on the left of the contraption) so that its
> wheel only lightly touched the legs of said examiner, who was extremely
> apologetic, accepting all the blame, and no doubt thankful that Ken knew
> how to drive it.

When I were a tender yoof my old man bought himself an Austin 16 and
gave the previous family transport to me, a BSA M21 600cc sidevalve and
double adult chair. But this was pre my m/c driving test. In those
ancient days we could not drive a double adult sidecar on 'L' plates,
but we could drive a sidecar frame and box.

So the old man took the seats out, padlocked the door shut and declared
the sidecar a box.

Unfortuntely a Devonian copper disagreed because he said it had a fabric
top and anyone could get in through that, seat or no seat.

I had to go to court but was given a conditional discharge. The
condition was that I removed the sidecar.

This I did. And the frame. (there ws no cc limit on 'L' plates back then.)

But the beezer had always had a sidecar attached. Consequently the tyres
were of square cross section. Cornering was very hairy, however the bike
only did 47mph flat out with sidecar gearing.

But it was fun stopping at traffic lights and not having to put my feet
down - until I did it on a camber and fell over. BSA M21s were heavy
bikes to lift, from underneath.

Tone

lOn Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 7:32:42 PM UTC-5, Tone wrote:
> On 17/04/2022 00:44, RustyHinge wrote:
> > One of my fiends ran his examiner over - and passed.
> >
> > Taking his botormike test riding/driving a botormike and slidecar in the
> > days when you were just observed and the examiner went from place to
> > place, the bod was standing on the pavement by the White Hart in
> > Hornchurch. He said: "When I step forward I want you to do an emergency
> > stop."
> >
> > He stepped forward, but it was a wet day, and his feet shotout from
> > under him and well out into the road. There was no time for Ken to stop,
> > but he gave the handle bras a twist to the left, raising the slidecar
> > (as it does, providing it's on the left of the contraption) so that its
> > wheel only lightly touched the legs of said examiner, who was extremely
> > apologetic, accepting all the blame, and no doubt thankful that Ken knew
> > how to drive it.
> When I were a tender yoof my old man bought himself an Austin 16 and
> gave the previous family transport to me, a BSA M21 600cc sidevalve and
> double adult chair. But this was pre my m/c driving test. In those
> ancient days we could not drive a double adult sidecar on 'L' plates,
> but we could drive a sidecar frame and box.
>
> So the old man took the seats out, padlocked the door shut and declared
> the sidecar a box.
>
> Unfortuntely a Devonian copper disagreed because he said it had a fabric
> top and anyone could get in through that, seat or no seat.
>
> I had to go to court but was given a conditional discharge. The
> condition was that I removed the sidecar.
>
> This I did. And the frame. (there ws no cc limit on 'L' plates back then.)
>
> But the beezer had always had a sidecar attached. Consequently the tyres
> were of square cross section. Cornering was very hairy, however the bike
> only did 47mph flat out with sidecar gearing.
>
> But it was fun stopping at traffic lights and not having to put my feet
> down - until I did it on a camber and fell over. BSA M21s were heavy
> bikes to lift, from underneath.
>
> Tone

I got my drivers license at 13 years old . with diverse edumacation you could get it at 14 and the way my birthday hit let me get it at 13.

once I was driving along and my windows were all iced up and I was playing the radio and there's a song called "Indiana wants me" on the radio , right at the end of that song all these police sirens are going off in the song so I was driving along and the song ended but the police sirens didn't , turns out the cop said I illegally crossed the line painted to warn people of no passing.

On 17/04/2022 07:39, Don Stockbauer wrote:
> once I was driving along and my windows were all iced up and I was playing the radio and there's a song called "Indiana wants me" on the radio , right at the end of that song all these police sirens are going off in the song so I was driving along and the song ended but the police sirens didn't , turns out the cop said I illegally crossed the line painted to warn people of no passing.

The ecilop are far less pedantic nowadays, here, probably because there
are much less (oxymoron?) of them, and those there seem to be fully
engaged in chasing drug dealers, if you believe the TV hype.

Tone

On 17/04/2022 01:32, Tone wrote:

> When I were a tender yoof my old man bought himself an Austin 16 and
> gave the previous family transport to me, a BSA M21 600cc sidevalve and
> double adult chair. But this was pre my m/c driving test. In those
> ancient days we could not drive a double adult sidecar on 'L' plates,
> but we could drive a sidecar frame and box.
>
> So the old man took the seats out, padlocked the door shut and declared
> the sidecar a box.
>
> Unfortuntely a Devonian copper disagreed because he said it had a fabric
> top and anyone could get in through that, seat or no seat.
>
> I had to go to court but was given a conditional discharge. The
> condition was that I removed the sidecar.
>
> This I did. And the frame. (there ws no cc limit on 'L' plates back then.)
>
> But the beezer had always had a sidecar attached. Consequently the tyres
> were of square cross section. Cornering was very hairy, however the bike
> only did 47mph flat out with sidecar gearing.
>
> But it was fun stopping at traffic lights and not having to put my feet
> down - until I did it on a camber and fell over. BSA M21s were heavy
> bikes to lift, from underneath.

I unforget an action-packed journey from Hornchurch to (IIRC) Downe in
Kent. Ken's Ariel VB (600pp side-valve) and double adult slidecarriage,
Graham (SeniorScout), Ken, (ASM*) driving/riding, me, (Rover Scout)
Pillion Passenger, and all the camping impedimenta and grub we would
require for a long weak end.

Graham was installed in the slidecarriage and all the equipment and
provisions stacked round him. I can't unforget whether the Dratford
Tunnel had been done by then, I rather goove not 'cos we went to Downe
by way of Glodnosewhere, but we got to t'other side of Old Father Thames
with the only incident of note being the eggs horsed pipe glowing red in
the dark from thyme to thyme.

Then some long, steep inclines and the clutch began slipping. Ken
managed to get the equipage to a bit of downhill road, and stopped. We
unpacked some of Graham's surroundings and Ken got his tools (*NB*
plural) out and opened the primary chaincase and screwed the clutch
springs down until the whole clutch was locked solid-ish.

We then re-entombed Graham, Ken resumed duty at the handlebras, put the
injun into second gear, and I pushed the mechanical mountain into
forward motion and leapt on the dual seat, and as we gathered speed the
injun began to thud-thud-thud-thud.

Those who have ridden old botormikes will know that they have 'crash'
gerarboxen, and you can, when experienced, change gear 'by ear' by using
the throttle and knocking the (gear)box into neutral (easy) matching the
injun revs to the road-speed, slip the (gear)box into the next gear
without any grating or grinding.

We proceeded thus to the campsite and it being late, fortunately didn't
have to stop too often at triffid lights and the like.

During the (Easter weak end) camp Ken got to jbex (not 'got to jbex') on
the clutch. All the (cork) clutchlinings had turned to charcoal - not an
ideal material in an oilbath situation. It was Easter weak end so
getting replacement inserts wasn't on, so we carefully, with our
sheath-knives trimmed down (not Downe, but in Downe) what corks we could
acquire and inserted the pieces into clutchplates.

The bits we'd trimmed were biggerer (thickerer, rather) than proper ones
and the clutch had to be reassembled lacking a pair of plates (one with
inserts, one plane (not - oh well - YKWIM) and that bodge got us home
laterer without prombles.

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On 17/04/2022 12:16, RustyHinge wrote:
>
> Those who have ridden old botormikes will know that they have 'crash'
> gerarboxen, and you can, when experienced, change gear 'by ear' by using
> the throttle and knocking the (gear)box into neutral (easy) matching the
> injun revs to the road-speed, slip the (gear)box into the next gear
> without any grating or grinding.

Same as modern motorbikes, in fact. I rarely use the clutch when
shifting up (I mostly do on downshifts thobut).

On 17/04/2022 12:16, RustyHinge wrote:
> On 17/04/2022 01:32, Tone wrote:
>
>> When I were a tender yoof my old man bought himself an Austin 16 and
>> gave the previous family transport to me, a BSA M21 600cc sidevalve
>> and double adult chair. But this was pre my m/c driving test. In those
>> ancient days we could not drive a double adult sidecar on 'L' plates,
>> but we could drive a sidecar frame and box.
>>
>> So the old man took the seats out, padlocked the door shut and
>> declared the sidecar a box.
>>
>> Unfortuntely a Devonian copper disagreed because he said it had a
>> fabric top and anyone could get in through that, seat or no seat.
>>
>> I had to go to court but was given a conditional discharge. The
>> condition was that I removed the sidecar.
>>
>> This I did. And the frame. (there ws no cc limit on 'L' plates back
>> then.)
>>
>> But the beezer had always had a sidecar attached. Consequently the
>> tyres were of square cross section. Cornering was very hairy, however
>> the bike only did 47mph flat out with sidecar gearing.
>>
>> But it was fun stopping at traffic lights and not having to put my
>> feet down - until I did it on a camber and fell over. BSA M21s were
>> heavy bikes to lift, from underneath.
>
> I unforget an action-packed journey from Hornchurch to (IIRC) Downe in
> Kent. Ken's Ariel VB (600pp side-valve) and double adult slidecarriage,
> Graham (SeniorScout), Ken, (ASM*) driving/riding, me, (Rover Scout)
> Pillion Passenger, and all the camping impedimenta and grub we would
> require for a long weak end.
>
> Graham was installed in the slidecarriage and all the equipment and
> provisions stacked round him. I can't unforget whether the Dratford
> Tunnel had been done by then, I rather goove not 'cos we went to Downe
> by way of Glodnosewhere, but we got to t'other side of Old Father Thames
> with the only incident of note being the eggs horsed pipe glowing red in
> the dark from thyme to thyme.
>
> Then some long, steep inclines and the clutch began slipping. Ken
> managed to get the equipage to a bit of downhill road, and stopped. We
> unpacked some of Graham's surroundings and Ken got his tools (*NB*
> plural) out and opened the primary chaincase and screwed the clutch
> springs down until the whole clutch was locked solid-ish.
>
> We then re-entombed Graham, Ken resumed duty at the handlebras, put the
> injun into second gear, and I pushed the mechanical mountain into
> forward motion and leapt on the dual seat, and as we gathered speed the
> injun began to thud-thud-thud-thud.
>
> Those who have ridden old botormikes will know that they have 'crash'
> gerarboxen, and you can, when experienced, change gear 'by ear' by using
> the throttle and knocking the (gear)box into neutral (easy) matching the
> injun revs to the road-speed, slip the (gear)box into the next gear
> without any grating or grinding.
>
> We proceeded thus to the campsite and it being late, fortunately didn't
> have to stop too often at triffid lights and the like.
>
> During the (Easter weak end) camp Ken got to jbex (not 'got to jbex') on
> the clutch. All the (cork) clutchlinings had turned to charcoal - not an
> ideal material in an oilbath situation. It was Easter weak end so
> getting replacement inserts wasn't on, so we carefully, with our
> sheath-knives trimmed down (not Downe, but in Downe) what corks we could
> acquire and inserted the pieces into clutchplates.
>
> The bits we'd trimmed were biggerer (thickerer, rather) than proper ones
> and the clutch had to be reassembled lacking a pair of plates (one with
> inserts, one plane (not - oh well - YKWIM) and that bodge got us home
> laterer without prombles.
>

<like>

Tone

Tone <tone@email.com> wrote in news:t3fbgm$kd4$1@dont-email.me:

> On 16/04/2022 20:22, RustyHinge wrote:
>> But IMBY W have had, maybe still do, CATS, girt big things the size of
>> elongated Labrador retrievers. (Do the retrieving of game, not of
>> Labrador...)
>>
>> Ixabj it's not a myth as I've seen at least two, and know of many other
>> sightings.
>
> Several of us saw one loping across a field next to the Basingstoke
> Canal whilst cruising eastwards from Greywell some years ago. The shape
> of a domestic black cat, the size of a - well - panther.

That's uncomfortably close to me. There have been claims of sightings in
the vicinity (but then, there are also some well-frequented pubs in the
vicinity).

This afternoon that big glowing thing in the sky appeared and it was quite
pleasant to sit in th gardning with a book. The local vixen wandered in,
yawned at me a couple of times and then settled down for a snooze on the
lawn. After a few minutes (perhaps when she realised that I wasn't going to
produce food) she wandered off again.

--
Peter
-----

In article <XnsAE7CA51181CFactura3476@144.76.35.252>, Peter
<myshed@prune.org.uk> on Sun, 17 Apr 2022 at 15:13:36 awoke Nicholas
from his slumbers and wrote
>Tone <tone@email.com> wrote in news:t3fbgm$kd4$1@dont-email.me:
>
>> On 16/04/2022 20:22, RustyHinge wrote:
>>> But IMBY W have had, maybe still do, CATS, girt big things the size of
>>> elongated Labrador retrievers. (Do the retrieving of game, not of
>>> Labrador...)
>>>
>>> Ixabj it's not a myth as I've seen at least two, and know of many other
>>> sightings.
>>
>> Several of us saw one loping across a field next to the Basingstoke
>> Canal whilst cruising eastwards from Greywell some years ago. The shape
>> of a domestic black cat, the size of a - well - panther.
>
>That's uncomfortably close to me. There have been claims of sightings in
>the vicinity (but then, there are also some well-frequented pubs in the
>vicinity).
>
>This afternoon that big glowing thing in the sky appeared and it was quite
>pleasant to sit in th gardning with a book. The local vixen wandered in,
>yawned at me a couple of times and then settled down for a snooze on the
>lawn. After a few minutes (perhaps when she realised that I wasn't going to
>produce food) she wandered off again.
>
Size is problamatic for field identification. In the half light I have
mistaken next door's ginger moggie for a fox, just for a moment. That
was in familiar surroundings. As soon as it moved I knew it was a cat,
foxes and cats move in a different way.

Most if not all supposed large felid sightings in the UK are almost
certainly dogs or cats, unless it is a child's stuffed toy:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-13507026

--
0sterc@tcher -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 15:13:36 -0000 (UTC), Peter <myshed@prune.org.uk>
wrote:

>Tone <tone@email.com> wrote in news:t3fbgm$kd4$1@dont-email.me:
>
>> On 16/04/2022 20:22, RustyHinge wrote:
>>> But IMBY W have had, maybe still do, CATS, girt big things the size of
>>> elongated Labrador retrievers. (Do the retrieving of game, not of
>>> Labrador...)
>>>
>>> Ixabj it's not a myth as I've seen at least two, and know of many other
>>> sightings.
>>
>> Several of us saw one loping across a field next to the Basingstoke
>> Canal whilst cruising eastwards from Greywell some years ago. The shape
>> of a domestic black cat, the size of a - well - panther.
>
>That's uncomfortably close to me. There have been claims of sightings in
>the vicinity (but then, there are also some well-frequented pubs in the
>vicinity).
>
>This afternoon that big glowing thing in the sky appeared and it was quite
>pleasant to sit in th gardning with a book. The local vixen wandered in,
>yawned at me a couple of times and then settled down for a snooze on the
>lawn. After a few minutes (perhaps when she realised that I wasn't going to
>produce food) she wandered off again.

Does this happen often enough to you for it to become ordinary? If it
were to happen to me I think I would be more than a bit overwhelmed by
the thought that a totally wild creature felt so comfortable in my
presence.

Nick

On 17/04/2022 17:03, Nicholas D. Richards wrote:
> In article <XnsAE7CA51181CFactura3476@144.76.35.252>, Peter
> <myshed@prune.org.uk> on Sun, 17 Apr 2022 at 15:13:36 awoke Nicholas
> from his slumbers and wrote
>> Tone <tone@email.com> wrote in news:t3fbgm$kd4$1@dont-email.me:
>>
>>> On 16/04/2022 20:22, RustyHinge wrote:
>>>> But IMBY W have had, maybe still do, CATS, girt big things the size of
>>>> elongated Labrador retrievers. (Do the retrieving of game, not of
>>>> Labrador...)
>>>>
>>>> Ixabj it's not a myth as I've seen at least two, and know of many other
>>>> sightings.
>>>
>>> Several of us saw one loping across a field next to the Basingstoke
>>> Canal whilst cruising eastwards from Greywell some years ago. The shape
>>> of a domestic black cat, the size of a - well - panther.
>>
>> That's uncomfortably close to me. There have been claims of sightings in
>> the vicinity (but then, there are also some well-frequented pubs in the
>> vicinity).
>>
>> This afternoon that big glowing thing in the sky appeared and it was quite
>> pleasant to sit in th gardning with a book. The local vixen wandered in,
>> yawned at me a couple of times and then settled down for a snooze on the
>> lawn. After a few minutes (perhaps when she realised that I wasn't going to
>> produce food) she wandered off again.
>>
> Size is problamatic for field identification. In the half light I have
> mistaken next door's ginger moggie for a fox, just for a moment. That
> was in familiar surroundings. As soon as it moved I knew it was a cat,
> foxes and cats move in a different way.
>
> Most if not all supposed large felid sightings in the UK are almost
> certainly dogs or cats, unless it is a child's stuffed toy:
>
> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-13507026

While on crutches due to a borked kneecap, I had the assistance of a boy
I knew. I had a smallholding at the time and he carried buckets and
things to and from the goats and rabbits for me.

One morning when there was snow on the ground we were walking into
Harleston to get stores, when we came upon a line of footprints (spoor)
coming out of a field and continuing down the road in fromt of us.

They struck me as highly odd: "Come on, Steven, you're a Scout: what
made those footprints?"

He looked at them and stated: "Dog. Big dog."

"OK," sez I: "where are the claw marks?"

He looked more closely and said: "There aren't any. What made them, then?"

"They are rounder than a dog's paw, as far as I can see, they were made
by a cat."

His reply was rather atypical of someone of his age (then): "Shpxvat big
moggy, then!"

We didn't follow the trail when it disappeared into dense undergrowth
shortly afterwards.

Not wanting to alert a posse of trophy hunters, we kept schtum, but I
wrote to an old schoolfellow who was 'something big' in BBC Wildlife in
that Bristol and told him about it.

He replied that there have been reports of big cat sightings for
centuries, and that some rspected zoologists believed there was an
indigenous nocturnal cat about the size of a lynx which though rare, was
widespread.

The two I have seen were probably pumas, but that was years later than
the above, and about the time when the law changed to tighten-up the
keeping of dangerous animals, and people were releasing their 'pets'
rather than footing the expense of complying with the law.

My next-door neighbour, a gamekeeper, saw one while lamping fo foxen.

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

Nick Odell <nick@themusicworkshop.plus.com> wrote in
news:umpo5hl2cnsqpl4pcn30t1auhkgkt0m1l9@4ax.com:

> On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 15:13:36 -0000 (UTC), Peter <myshed@prune.org.uk>
> wrote:
>
>>Tone <tone@email.com> wrote in news:t3fbgm$kd4$1@dont-email.me:
>>
>>> On 16/04/2022 20:22, RustyHinge wrote:
>>>> But IMBY W have had, maybe still do, CATS, girt big things the size
>>>> of elongated Labrador retrievers. (Do the retrieving of game, not
>>>> of Labrador...)
>>>>
>>>> Ixabj it's not a myth as I've seen at least two, and know of many
>>>> other sightings.
>>>
>>> Several of us saw one loping across a field next to the Basingstoke
>>> Canal whilst cruising eastwards from Greywell some years ago. The
>>> shape of a domestic black cat, the size of a - well - panther.
>>
>>That's uncomfortably close to me. There have been claims of sightings
>>in the vicinity (but then, there are also some well-frequented pubs in
>>the vicinity).
>>
>>This afternoon that big glowing thing in the sky appeared and it was
>>quite pleasant to sit in th gardning with a book. The local vixen
>>wandered in, yawned at me a couple of times and then settled down for
>>a snooze on the lawn. After a few minutes (perhaps when she realised
>>that I wasn't going to produce food) she wandered off again.
>
> Does this happen often enough to you for it to become ordinary? If it
> were to happen to me I think I would be more than a bit overwhelmed by
> the thought that a totally wild creature felt so comfortable in my
> presence.
>
> Nick
>

Once or twice a year. Usually at this time of year when the vixen is glad
of the chance of a bit of a sit down without her cubs pestering her - she
[2] learns quite quickly that I'm not going to try to eat her. Coat still
grubby and a bit mangy from spending her confinement underground (or under-
shed, more likely, though there are plenty of badger sets around that she
could make a den in), and her teats quite swollen from suckling. I expect
that in a few weeks she'll bring her cubs for me to see[1] - that's usually
the next stage. Then she'll disapear until next winter. I rarely see the
dog directly but I pick him up regulalry on my wildlife camera.

[1]perhaps anthropmorphising a bit much there - she'll bring her cubs out
for a romp and won't worry too much about my presence.

[2]I say "she" as if it's the same one each year - obviously it isn't and I
can usually see the difference.
--
Peter
-----

On 17/04/2022 21:36, Peter wrote:
> Nick Odell <nick@themusicworkshop.plus.com> wrote in
> news:umpo5hl2cnsqpl4pcn30t1auhkgkt0m1l9@4ax.com:
>
>> On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 15:13:36 -0000 (UTC), Peter <myshed@prune.org.uk>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Tone <tone@email.com> wrote in news:t3fbgm$kd4$1@dont-email.me:
>>>
>>>> On 16/04/2022 20:22, RustyHinge wrote:
>>>>> But IMBY W have had, maybe still do, CATS, girt big things the size
>>>>> of elongated Labrador retrievers. (Do the retrieving of game, not
>>>>> of Labrador...)
>>>>>
>>>>> Ixabj it's not a myth as I've seen at least two, and know of many
>>>>> other sightings.
>>>>
>>>> Several of us saw one loping across a field next to the Basingstoke
>>>> Canal whilst cruising eastwards from Greywell some years ago. The
>>>> shape of a domestic black cat, the size of a - well - panther.
>>>
>>> That's uncomfortably close to me. There have been claims of sightings
>>> in the vicinity (but then, there are also some well-frequented pubs in
>>> the vicinity).
>>>
>>> This afternoon that big glowing thing in the sky appeared and it was
>>> quite pleasant to sit in th gardning with a book. The local vixen
>>> wandered in, yawned at me a couple of times and then settled down for
>>> a snooze on the lawn. After a few minutes (perhaps when she realised
>>> that I wasn't going to produce food) she wandered off again.
>>
>> Does this happen often enough to you for it to become ordinary? If it
>> were to happen to me I think I would be more than a bit overwhelmed by
>> the thought that a totally wild creature felt so comfortable in my
>> presence.
>>
>> Nick
>>
>
> Once or twice a year. Usually at this time of year when the vixen is glad
> of the chance of a bit of a sit down without her cubs pestering her - she
> [2] learns quite quickly that I'm not going to try to eat her. Coat still
> grubby and a bit mangy from spending her confinement underground (or under-
> shed, more likely, though there are plenty of badger sets around that she
> could make a den in), and her teats quite swollen from suckling. I expect
> that in a few weeks she'll bring her cubs for me to see[1] - that's usually
> the next stage. Then she'll disapear until next winter. I rarely see the
> dog directly but I pick him up regulalry on my wildlife camera.
>
> [1]perhaps anthropmorphising a bit much there - she'll bring her cubs out
> for a romp and won't worry too much about my presence.

Year sago on the parents' back lawn, there I sat down, yea even upon the
grass was I seated. I did that because a number of fox cubs were playing
'king of the castle' on the compost heap and I wanted to watch them.

Vixen appeared about as far from them as I was from her, and she just
stood there, a lert.

Then one of the cubs spotted me and led the rest to run in a circle
round me. This continued for a minuet or two until mum gave a sharp yap
and the cubs all ran off to her, and thence into the wood adjoining the
garding.

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

In article <XnsAE7CA51181CFactura3476@144.76.35.252>, Peter
<myshed@prune.org.uk> on Sun, 17 Apr 2022 at 15:13:36 awoke Nicholas
from his slumbers and wrote
>
>This afternoon that big glowing thing in the sky appeared and it was quite
>pleasant to sit in th gardning with a book. The local vixen wandered in,
>yawned at me a couple of times and then settled down for a snooze on the
>lawn. After a few minutes (perhaps when she realised that I wasn't going to
>produce food) she wandered off again.
>
During the first spring that we had this year I took my first coffee
(expresso) outside sat on our bench being warmed by the rising sun.
Drank my coffee and quietly read the long read in my paper.

Totally engrossed in my read, I caught the glint of an eye to my left. A
magnificent fox had sat down on the pavement beside me and was looking
out in same direction as I was pointing. When he realised that he had
been spotted he quietly and slowly stood up and walked away.

My wife said she had been looking through the window for about 5 minutes
watching the pair of us.
--
0sterc@tcher -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

On 17/04/2022 21:01, RustyHinge wrote:
> Size is problamatic for field identification.

in our case size was estimated against the sheep who also inhabited that
field. This thing was almost as big.

And there were mysterious cases in the area of sheep being ripped apart.

Tone

On 17/04/2022 22:15, RustyHinge wrote:
> Year sago on the parents' back lawn, there I sat down, yea even upon the
> grass was I seated. I did that because a number of fox cubs were playing
> 'king of the castle' on the compost heap and I wanted to watch them.
>
> Vixen appeared about as far from them as I was from her, and she just
> stood there, a lert.
>
> Then one of the cubs spotted me and led the rest to run in a circle
> round me. This continued for a minuet or two until mum gave a sharp yap
> and the cubs all ran off to her, and thence into the wood adjoining the
> garding.

When moored at Mytchett on the Basingstoke Canal, I took Sophie, the
boat hound, for an evening walk across the fields.

She darted off suddenly and started playing with what I thought was a
loose bin bag blowing about in the wind.

When I put a torch on it, it was a young badger. They were chasing each
other round and round in small circles quite happily.

Tone

On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
> On 17/04/2022 21:01, RustyHinge wrote:
>> Size is problamatic for field identification.
>
> in our case size was estimated against the sheep who also inhabited that
> field. This thing was almost as big.

North Welsh Sheep?
>
> And there were mysterious cases in the area of sheep being ripped apart.
>
> Tone

Uncontrolled dogs are a problem everywhere.

--
greymausg@mail.com
General "Buck" Turgidson; `ten to twenty million killed, tops.'

On 17/04/2022 20:17, Nick Odell wrote:
> On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 15:13:36 -0000 (UTC), Peter <myshed@prune.org.uk>
> wrote:

>> After a few minutes (perhaps when she realised that I wasn't going to
>> produce food) she wandered off again.
>
> Does this happen often enough to you for it to become ordinary? If it
> were to happen to me I think I would be more than a bit overwhelmed by
> the thought that a totally wild creature felt so comfortable in my
> presence.
>
Brer Fox is a quick learner. It only took a couple of weeks for the
local car park one to stop giving me more than a cursory glance when we
passed in the night. (We often jbexrq the same hours.)

He or she knew I was no threat, so as soon as it was sure I was me, I
got the full on "Oh, it's *you* again" treatment.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

On 18/04/2022 10:41, John Williamson wrote:
> On 17/04/2022 20:17, Nick Odell wrote:
>> On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 15:13:36 -0000 (UTC), Peter <myshed@prune.org.uk>
>> wrote:
>
>>> After a few minutes (perhaps when she realised that I wasn't going to
>>> produce food) she wandered off again.
>>
>> Does this happen often enough to you for it to become ordinary? If it
>> were to happen to me I think I would be more than a bit overwhelmed by
>> the thought that a totally wild creature felt so comfortable in my
>> presence.
>>
> Brer Fox is a quick learner. It only took a couple of weeks for the
> local car park one to stop giving me more than a cursory glance when we
> passed in the night. (We often jbexrq the same hours.)
>
> He or she knew I was no threat, so as soon as it was sure I was me, I
> got the full on "Oh, it's *you* again" treatment.

More likely (in)action by a predatory species than a prey one thobut.

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On 18/04/2022 10:03, maus wrote:
> On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
>> On 17/04/2022 21:01, RustyHinge wrote:
>>> Size is problamatic for field identification.
>>
>> in our case size was estimated against the sheep who also inhabited that
>> field. This thing was almost as big.
>
> North Welsh Sheep?
>>
>> And there were mysterious cases in the area of sheep being ripped apart.
>>
>> Tone
>
> Uncontrolled dogs are a problem everywhere.
>
>

If you wish to cast doubts upon what we saw, that's fine, but coming
from a position where you weren't there and didn't see what a boat load
of passengers saw, then this is beginning to sound a bit silly.

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/19467145.big-cats-still-loose-hampshire/

Tone

On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
> On 18/04/2022 10:03, maus wrote:
>> On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
>>> On 17/04/2022 21:01, RustyHinge wrote:
>>>> Size is problamatic for field identification.
>>>
>>> in our case size was estimated against the sheep who also inhabited that
>>> field. This thing was almost as big.
>>
>> North Welsh Sheep?
>>>
>>> And there were mysterious cases in the area of sheep being ripped apart.
>>>
>>> Tone
>>
>> Uncontrolled dogs are a problem everywhere.
>>
>>
>
> If you wish to cast doubts upon what we saw, that's fine, but coming
> from a position where you weren't there and didn't see what a boat load
> of passengers saw, then this is beginning to sound a bit silly.
>
> https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/19467145.big-cats-still-loose-hampshire/

There are people in the UK breeding Maine Coons. They can get pretty big.
You won't find many wandering around as each one could be worth 2Kzu.

--
Bernard Peek
bap@shrdlu.com

Bernard Peek <bap@shrdlu.com> wrote in
news:slrnt5qga9.v1i.bap@localhost.localdomain:

> On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
>> On 18/04/2022 10:03, maus wrote:
>>> On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
>>>> On 17/04/2022 21:01, RustyHinge wrote:
>>>>> Size is problamatic for field identification.
>>>>
>>>> in our case size was estimated against the sheep who also inhabited
>>>> that field. This thing was almost as big.
>>>
>>> North Welsh Sheep?
>>>>
>>>> And there were mysterious cases in the area of sheep being ripped
>>>> apart.
>>>>
>>>> Tone
>>>
>>> Uncontrolled dogs are a problem everywhere.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> If you wish to cast doubts upon what we saw, that's fine, but coming
>> from a position where you weren't there and didn't see what a boat
>> load of passengers saw, then this is beginning to sound a bit silly.
>>
>> https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/19467145.big-cats-still-loose-hampshi
>> re/
>
> There are people in the UK breeding Maine Coons. They can get pretty
> big. You won't find many wandering around as each one could be worth
> 2Kzu.

My daughter has two Maine Coons, Tanqueray and Serendipity, son and mother.
Sprogette and her hubby have started taking them out for short walks on
leashes - the cats enjoy it up to a point but are very nervous outside and
daughter and hubby are nervous of them taking fright and bolting, so
walkies are infrequent - they are house cats really. The neighbours were
intrigued to see small lions on leads, until they got used to it.

--
Peter
-----

In article <t3je9j$v11$1@dont-email.me>, Tone <tone@email.com> on Mon,
18 Apr 2022 at 11:24:51 awoke Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
>On 18/04/2022 10:03, maus wrote:
>> On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
>>> On 17/04/2022 21:01, RustyHinge wrote:
>>>> Size is problamatic for field identification.
>>>
>>> in our case size was estimated against the sheep who also inhabited that
>>> field. This thing was almost as big.
>>
>> North Welsh Sheep?
>>>
>>> And there were mysterious cases in the area of sheep being ripped apart.
>>>
>>> Tone
>>
>> Uncontrolled dogs are a problem everywhere.
>>
>>
>
>If you wish to cast doubts upon what we saw, that's fine, but coming
>from a position where you weren't there and didn't see what a boat load
>of passengers saw, then this is beginning to sound a bit silly.
>
>https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/19467145.big-cats-still-loose-hampshire/
>
>Tone
Looking at the foliage around the cat I would say it is not particularly
big for a domestic cat.

Try this for size.

https://petkeen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Bengal.webp

Bengal cats being hybrids, being domestic moggie x small wild cats
(Asian Leopard cats) have quite variable markings.
--
0sterc@tcher -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
> On 18/04/2022 10:03, maus wrote:
>> On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
>>> On 17/04/2022 21:01, RustyHinge wrote:
>>>> Size is problamatic for field identification.
>>>
>>> in our case size was estimated against the sheep who also inhabited that
>>> field. This thing was almost as big.
>>
>> North Welsh Sheep?
>>>
>>> And there were mysterious cases in the area of sheep being ripped apart.
>>>
>>> Tone
>>
>> Uncontrolled dogs are a problem everywhere.
>>
>>
>
> If you wish to cast doubts upon what we saw, that's fine, but coming
> from a position where you weren't there and didn't see what a boat load
> of passengers saw, then this is beginning to sound a bit silly.
>
> https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/19467145.big-cats-still-loose-hampshire/
>
> Tone

Someone did research recently on UFO Sightings. Most occoured around
closing time.

--
greymausg@mail.com
General "Buck" Turgidson; `ten to twenty million killed, tops.'

On 18/04/2022 17:32, maus wrote:
> On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:

>> If you wish to cast doubts upon what we saw, that's fine, but coming
>> from a position where you weren't there and didn't see what a boat load
>> of passengers saw, then this is beginning to sound a bit silly.
>>
>> https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/19467145.big-cats-still-loose-hampshire/
>>
>
> Someone did research recently on UFO Sightings. Most occoured around
> closing time.
>
>
Any research into the relationship between that and the number of people
looking at the sky from the gutter they fell onto?

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

On 18/04/2022 17:32, maus wrote:
> On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
>> On 18/04/2022 10:03, maus wrote:
>>> On 2022-04-18, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
>>>> On 17/04/2022 21:01, RustyHinge wrote:
>>>>> Size is problamatic for field identification.
>>>>
>>>> in our case size was estimated against the sheep who also inhabited that
>>>> field. This thing was almost as big.
>>>
>>> North Welsh Sheep?
>>>>
>>>> And there were mysterious cases in the area of sheep being ripped apart.
>>>>
>>>> Tone
>>>
>>> Uncontrolled dogs are a problem everywhere.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> If you wish to cast doubts upon what we saw, that's fine, but coming
>> from a position where you weren't there and didn't see what a boat load
>> of passengers saw, then this is beginning to sound a bit silly.
>>
>> https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/19467145.big-cats-still-loose-hampshire/
>>
>> Tone
>
> Someone did research recently on UFO Sightings. Most occoured around
> closing time.
>
>

I'm beginning to think you are a bit of a troll here maus

Tone