Why You Have To Take Your Grandad To MacDonalds

Recently I have been enjoying the delights of the Yorkshire Dales, as you should know by now. I have been staying in a cottage owned by my Great Uncle, who is 88 and owns a smallholding that is now no longer productive apart from a few apples in the the orchard and a few rusty tractors in various sheds, alongside many pieces of furniture.

So on this summer trip up to the cottages to build a kitchen and other traditionally relaxing things like that, I have spent a lot of time bobbing about with my Great Uncle and one of those trips was a morning in the local co-op, followed by a trip down to the local MacDonalds.

Now you need to know a few things about this chap before I tell you the rest of the story or else it is not really that funny. He has lived in the same village all of his life, and has been working since he was 11. Because he is 88 that means he lived through the war and also because he is from Yorkshire that means that he is even more traditional and set in his ways than anyone else in the country. This however has proved to be something that he doesn't mind breaking once in a while.

So off we went to MacDonalds, with an 88 year old man who could brick-lay, rewire a house, plumb in an immersion heater, build a tractor from scratch and pretty much tell you anything you would ever need to know and more about farming, but has never had a fast food meal in his life. Born and bred on meat and 2 veg, he is now sat opposite me in MacDonalds. Firstly there is what he should have. Basically the extent of this was: "I'll 'ave what you're 'aving lad." And then there was the lack of cutlery .. that really got him. But for the entire meal, he just sat there giggling about the whole experience.

I suppose it makes me think that us, as a generation of young people, have grown up with MacDonalds and technology and these type of things, but they really are weird. I mean what kind of an establishment is one that doesn't even provide you with a knife and fork? To eat a meal? Yet to us it is normal. And I am not criticising anybody, because I am just as accepting and take these things as much for granted as the next man, but for somebody who hasn't been brought up with it, it is really something alien.

We joke about our parents being useless with technology, they are so slow about it and don't understand error messages and think it breaks all the time when really it is them who can't use the things, but if you haven't know it your whole life, how are you supposed to understand it? And this works both ways. There are lots of things that we will never be able to do because we have never known it. I have a classic car, so I have had to learn about mechanics to a certain extent, but to most people, anything more than the pedals, gear stick and steering wheel is alien to them. They don't know how a car works and how to fix it if they go wrong. And how are we supposed to understand about rationing and "make do and mend" when we live in such a throw-away society.

The one thing I can say though, is that when your Great Uncle's parting comment, in a broad dales accent, is: "I might have to go again..." then you know you have achieved something!

Thanks for reading!

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Lucy The Moggy Update 28/06/2013

Well what a few months it has been for dearest Lucy. She has been to the grim north twice, and also to see about 1000 of her friends in oxfordshire at the Morris Centenary Rally at Cornbury Park. She has also had a lot of attention for her human supporters, namely me, and is about to get a full makeover...

We have been visting the relatives that Lucy came from more regularly this year, as they have 3 holiday cottages which we are trying to renovate. My working shifts disallow visits at weekends, but during the week I can pop up quite happily on my own, and so Lucy has been the fateful one to get me and a load of other stuff up there, and back, safely. Which I must add, she has done twice so far! Also my Great Uncle, from whom the car originated has much appreciated seeing Lucy again and on the road, running in her former glory.

Then the other weekend, I took some time off and headed down to Charlbury, a little village in Oxfordshire, with the most ginormous stately home and grounds, where the MMOC National Rally was held in conjunction with the Centenary celebrations event of International recognition, to celebrate 100 years of Morris car manufacturing, and massive feat in itself. And yes, we did see some vehicles from 1913! So she spent a day in a field full of Morris Minors, and lots of other different types of Morris, which both of us really enjoyed.

Now, onto the makeover bit. This is the most interesting bit for me as it has been something I have been wanting to do since I got Lucy. I have just received the varnish and scrapers to start to redo Lucy's woodwork! With a lot of time over the summer, and with any luck (or not knowing Britain) the weather on my side, I can't wait to get out and start work on re-varnishing the woodwork. When the rain actually stops of course!

Alongside this, I have also picked up a roof rack from my Great Uncle's farm which I have now found some suitable attire for: in the form of a suitcase from the 60s and a wicker picnic hamper, as you can see in the picture below:

So the minor is really starting to look the part, and I hope to be able to take some lovely photographs of her when the skies show a hint of blue in them, whilst I keep looking around for vinatge suitcases! As an aside, if you have any you are looking to get rid of, then let me know!

There is loads more on the way this summer in terms of Lucy and her restorations and adventures, so please feel free to keep checking my blog for further updates on my baby!

Thanks for reading!

Follow me on twitter: @peachy146

Post-Exams

Firstly I would like to apologise for the lack of posts in recent months. I have been incredibly snowed under with lots of things, mainly exams. I have just undertaken my final A Levels, which were to say the least, stressful and a right pain. But now I am a free man, so I can't complain!

I have loads of time on my hands now. Well I say that, I have spent every day since I broke up doing something. My mum teaches music at the local primary school, I am have been roped in to do numerous project in and around the Alreas Radio and Arts Fest stuff that I got involved in last year. Today I spent my day making signs out of wood with the Lord's Prayer on it. I am not even sure if that fits into anything, but apparently it was important! I must say, they lok pretty swish, even if they are about the Lord's Prayer...

So on top of all this work I have been doing in the Primary School (which by the way, I am not even getting paid for it, I am doing it completely voluntarily) I have also been putting my time to good use, working on 'Lucy the Moggy' doing some very important work on the car that I have been wanting to do for a long time. I have recently been part of the Morris Centenary International Event MMOC National Rally, and I have rekindled my love for the Minor. 

I have now got a book about the Morris Minor Traveller, which includes complete Morris history which I have now buffed up on, as well as some whacky and crazy Travellers with 5 rear passenger doors for example, or different boot and window configurations, which are really quite interesting, both visually and mechanically. It also has a complete step-by-step guide on how to replace the Ash frame, which I am looking at doing in the future. For the time being though I have been revarnishing her and she is starting to look really quite elegant. That and the addition of Chrome front light eyelids, and a roof rack complete with vintage suitcase and picnic basket, she is really taking shape.

The next project is the caravan which Lucy will soon be towing. Something that I saw at the Rally the other weekend, and have also researched before, is the idea of creating a 'Half-Timbered' effect trailer to use and tow around. Ones I have seen are really light and fellow owners of said trailers say they can drive at the speed limit quite comfortably because of the lightweight design and shallow height of them, allowing for a more streamlined effect. In fact the rood of the trailer, in a teardrop shape, at it's highest point would not exceed the roof of the car, which would mean it is really streamlined. I am looking forward to building it and using it thereon! All I need to do is find a trailer which I can use as an A-Frame chassic on which to base the caravan...

So anyway, that is an update on my life, and hopefully with a bit more time on my hands, a few more to follow!

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And on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/peachy146

Thanks for reading!