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Message from the Public

The following message appeared in our Austin Seven club magazine in Essex. The person found the note on his windscreen in a well known North Deven town.

"Followed you into town this morning, your car may look pretty but can I say that you are a bloody nuisance causing people to overtake when they get stuck behind you. Things have moved on since these old buckets were on the road - maybe you should consider being more conscious of others and if you want people to admire your car! stick it in a museum. Move with the times"

Any comments

Stephen

Re: Message from the Public

I saw this too, in view of the fact they were making their way down to Lynmouth (a dead end in more ways than one), I wondered what the note writer was rushing for, and to have been in such a hurry, how he (it must be a man!) how he then had time to write such dribble.

Men, bah hooo......

Naomi

Re: Message from the Public

I get very cross when the people in front of me in the queue at the supermarket checkout take a long time getting their money out and sometimes they prolong the agony by chatting to the assistant. Don't they know how busy I am? Don't they realise that I have only a certain amount of time in which to conclude my shopping trip? They are effectively compelling me to push past them, with all the attendant dangers of trolley-entanglement. Gone are the days of pleasant social intercorse across the retail counter! Behaviour like that really has no place in the modern world. What is the matter with these people?

Yours righteously,

Stuart

Re: Re: Message from the Public

Quite remarkable realy that Mr "I'm in a rush" clearly had time to write a letter and attach it to the windscreen of one of our cars, he obviously wasnt in that much of a hurry.

Anyway on your average modern road in an average modern car it is quite easy to safely overtake a slower moving vehicle if you feel the need.

Try driving a Massey Ferguson tractor along the A38 (one of the main trunk roads into Cornwall) at eight O'clock in the morning (rush hour)the dispays of bad driving and road rage have to be seen to be believed. I have a work colleague who quite literally has been nearly run off the road by these clowns, and that includes HGV drivers who should know better (they get realy close to you and start hissing their new fangled air brakes to intimidate you).
what they fail to realise is that I am at work doing my job, just the same as they are on the way to their work, I pull in were I can and dont deliberately hold them up, but they still insist on performing dangerous manouveres on a road with a dreadfull safety record.

As for the supermarket I hold the world record for the longest time taken to open up one of these awfull polyethylene bags and fil it with shopping! .
I'm afraid I've never had "social intercourse" accross the counter so cant vouch for its merits....

steve.

Re: Message from the Public

.

Profile of a Third-Generation Yob

I expect the oaf who wrote the note wore a grubby singlet, had at least one ear piercing, and probably a fierce dog. His partner would have been loud, significantly overweight, with dyed hair cut in an unflattering fashion, and had a revolting-to-behold bare midriff. The pair would have been accompanied by two or three sticky, obese children. At least one of these would be hyperactive caused by heavy drinking during pregnancy. He would no doubt have been parked on the double yellow lines with his hazard flashers going whilst writing the note, probably resting on someone else’s bonnet. Finally he would have driven away unbelted with his mobile clasped to his ear. Oh, and I forgot to mention the beat music at high volume and the ethereal glow from beneath his SUV

Unk.

Re: Re: Message from the Public

.

Ignore!

Rest happy in the knowledge that we enjoy our vehicles much more than they enjoy theirs.

I am certain sure that our road manners are actually second to none. They have to be with people like that on the road!

Mike

Re: Message from the Public

Stephen, look what you've started now.... I suppose we should expect nothing better of someone from Essex (the County, not the Club).

..and doesn't that supermarket checkout thingy of all the shoppings gone over the till and they start to put it in their bags, and suddenly they are surprised they have to pay, then, and only then, they start to look for their money, or unaccepatable credit card etc. and sometimes that happens in the fast lane........

Patrick (new to this Forum, what a nice Forum too)

Re: Re: Message from the Public

Don't blame Essex (and I don't live there either).

It was reported in the Essex mag.
The incident happened in North Devon.
In my experience Barnstaple has traffic that's as bad as anywhere.

Charles

Re: Message from the Public

Oh, I knew it would come to this.

Re: Re: Message from the Public

Could it be the work of our old 'friend' Mr Stacey ? It certainly sounds a lot like him.
If so, he gets around a fair bit !

Re: Message from the Public

Blame Essex, surely not, and as I indicated in an earlier posting, agree with Charles it was in Devon, in fact it happened in Lynmouth, and for the record, to a Cornwall Club member in September this year, because it was reported in their November 2005 newsletter (issued late October), I saw a copy at the Club Sec's house. That is of course if you believe everything that's printed!

I have looked through the last 4 Essex mags, but cannot find this item! The November copy came last week...... to Sec's house. Incidentaly, I hope Essex Club can sort out their magazine font style and size, it's become a a mish-mash recently.

Naomi

Re: Message from the Public

At least the Essex club is a regular issue, still waiting for my A7OC mag, although I see from an item (Forum reply) on that Club's web site it indicates there have been some changes to their magazine/newsletter issue dates.

Cedric

Re: Message from the Public

Charles states "...In my experience Barnstaple has traffic that's as bad as anywhere".

I have found the traffic to be harmless in Barnstaple, in fact it's often very friendly. However I would agree if Charles had said the Highway Authority are very bad at traffic management, presumably it's all done by Cad drawings and statistical analysis from a desk, when I was in Highways, a long time ago now, we got out there on the street, the results were no better, but they certainly were no worse.

Cedric rolling along....

Re: Message from the Public

No disrespect to "Charles" but to comment on his quote that 'The traffic in Barnstaple is as bad as anywhere' then in my humble opinion he hasn't been "anywhere".

Try visiting
Milan
Sao Paolo
Mexico City
New Dehli
Tokyo

Like the previous poster I also was involved in Highways for the latter part of my career, the last ten in Traffic Management. It doesn't matter whether you've got C.A.D. or a Magic Wand... you can't get a quart into a pint pot.

But of course, you can amass all the Highway Engineers in the whole world, but they don't know jack sh*t compared to Joe Public when it comes to dealing with 'traffic'.

Amazing how everyone becomes an overnight expert when it comes to commenting on anything remotely connected with the motor vehicle.... particularly when it comes to "teeming & ladling" issues.

Re: Message from the Public

I love the way these messages drift in their subject matter. It started with road-rage by a road user and has now moved on to road-rage by the road builders!

As Editor of the Cornwall Club magazine I can agree with Naomi, the 'letter' was published in the club magazine on the 1st November this year. Whilst we all seem to disagree with the writers sentiments there is a message behind it all that we ignore at our peril.

Our free road tax and cheap insurance depend on us and the way we use our cars. We should use them with the utmost regard for other road users as we do tend to stick out a bit, after all modern cars all look the same but when you see a Seven, even a Big Seven, they are fairly unique on the roads at any given time.

Knowing the recipient of the message I am sure that he would have hardly held anyone up as he drives with a certain gusto! Perhaps the poor driver behind had trouble overtaking due to the speed but felt embarassed to say so!

Long may we enjoy our motoring, our cars would be nothing if we were not allowed to use them.

Re: Re: Message from the Public

Bring back the turnpike I say...
Have mercy on he who holds up the mailcoach....

ST.

Re: Re: Message from the Public

.

What a lot of good sense speaks Malcolm. I am in agreement with all his points.

We need to have impeccable road manners, and total consideration for others. Like Caesar's wife - we must be above suspicion.

Mike

Re: Message from the Public

Malcolm, and others, the 'Historic Vehicle' road tax is not free, it's zero rated. The Chancellor in his wisdom can review this at any time, obviously up. I seem to recall Sandy had a few snide remarks when he made a similar remarks about 'zero rate' viz 'free' on the old A7OC web site Forum (before the days of AustinSevenFriends). Lets hope it remains zero rated, but beware.

Remember all those people who thought the Historic Vehicle Class was a rolling 25 years, until it was stopped at 1970.

Re. we all know better than the Highways designers, yes of course we do, just as everybody is an above average driver!

Cedric.

Re: Re: Message from the Public

Good point - I drive in central London every day (Ken doesn't like me) and I judged it merely against the UK.
I can quite imagine that New Delhi is worse!

Charles

Re: Message from the Public

Naomi, have a word with your memb Sec friend, my December Essex Club mag arrived today and has the said letter in it. It appears Essex A7Club are having a little bit of a problem with their printers, so publication dates running a bit behind.

As Stephen is one of Essex A7Club Committee members, perhaps he had a preview of the Dec. Chassis and his opening comments on this Forum item pre-empted the issue of the mag, otherwise the delay in me recieving my copy, ghad< it would be quicker by A7 from Essex to Cornwall, than by post!

Sandy
Essex A7Club
Cornwall A7Club

Re: Message from the Public

Thanks, I heard the mag went out Saturday, so it took a little bit of time to reach you down there. Had a word with my hon sec friend and copy arrived today.

Thinking about it, this topic has only been going three days, so Stephen being in Essex would have recieved his as normal by post, not as you suggest Sandy, a preview copy.

I bet it's warmer down there than up here.

P.S. Have they found the Heligan Gardens yet?

Naomi