I don't think they would believe it nowadays?

[Jacob]

I came to think of one thing....... how many people today know how to harvest grain with a sickle and tie it into bundles for hand threshing?
The old lady next doors often looked after me when my parents were away and every autumn she harvested some oats the old way to feed the birds in winter. In her youth in the late 1920-ies and 30-ies that way of harvesting was still fairly common on small less mechanized farms an even on larger farms as a way of cutting up room for the horse pulling the mower so it wouldn't trample any grain.
Anyway she still did it in the 1980-ies. One way of keeping me calm and in one place was to keep me busy learning things so I learned to use the sicle and how to tie the bundles together with straw and I still know it.
She was left handed and to this day I tend to tie left handed knots on the straw band if I try to do it.

I use a scythe quite a lot for long grass, weeds, lawn edges. Much faster than a strimmer, zero running costs, dead quiet, keeps you fitter.

 

[Harken in Wood]

There must be other more appropriate forums for this sort of stuff - look at the name of the forum FFS.
Go to social injustice.com or something similar

Please repeat in upper case letters on the off chance it will be heard and adhered to.

 

[Jacob]

..... kids today start with a handicap.

But still have all their fingers and eyes. A local kid lost an eye in an air rifle incident. I nearly did myself - ricochet hit me on my forehead 1" from my eyes

 

[Jacob]

Please repeat in upper case letters on the off chance it will be heard and adhered to.

I'm interested in why so many people are so alarmed about talking about stuff. Oddly it seems to be those from the right who are most uneasy - lefties are happy to argue until the cows come home!

 

[Stan]

I'm interested in why so many people are so alarmed about talking about stuff. Oddly it seems to be those from the right who are most uneasy - lefties are happy to argue until the cows come home!

I came here to learn and talk about woodwork/metalwork. I have spent a large part of my life fighting injustice, saving the world etc etc. Now it is somebody else's turn. I would like to spend my golden years hacking at bits of wood and metal, getting pleasure from creating things instead of cleaning up other people's mess and destruction.

Please keep this forum a safe space so we can enjoy our hobby together, regardless of our background/beliefs/what have you. If this forum becomes another soapbox for people with axes to grind, then I'm off.

 

[Glitch]

When the pre decimal halfpenny was taken out of circulation it was worth the equivalent of about 3.5p now. The last decimal halfpenny would be over 1.5p.

Interesting snippet on the lowest value coins Here

'So we can conclude that since at least 1707, Britain has not had a coin worth less than the current 1p piece.

Nonetheless, the government decided to keep the 1p and 2p coins, noting their historic and cultural importance, concerns that prices might go up if prices were rounded up to the nearest 5p and "a number of responses from the seaside amusement industry", which didn't want to lose the "2p push machine".'

I blame Tipping Point

I don't have any memory of spending a farthing. 960 to the £

Does anyone see the need for 1p and 2p coins?

 

[Harken in Wood]

I came here to learn and talk about woodwork/metalwork. I have spent a large part of my life fighting injustice, saving the world etc etc. Now it is somebody else's turn. I would like to spend my golden years hacking at bits of wood and metal, getting pleasure from creating things instead of cleaning up other people's mess and destruction.

Please keep this forum a safe space so we can enjoy our hobby together, regardless of our background/beliefs/what have you. If this forum becomes another soapbox for people with axes to grind, then I'm off.

Spot on. I came here for ideas, advice and general chat about our craft and not to be distracted by dross that one can get from the BBC any day of the week.

 

[Jacob]

......If this forum becomes another soapbox for people with axes to grind, then I'm off.

But you've only just arrived!
A bit soon to be telling people what they should or should not be talking about and you don't have to read it anyway.
Part of the success of this forum has been down to the sheer diversity of the topics - still 95% craft work but we are real people and all have other lives and opinions outside of woodwork.
There have been break-off groups which are less tolerant, but they tend to stay small and less interesting.

 

[Harken in Wood]

Ah that’s the problem. I have not been here long enough to offer a comment on the irrelevance of some topics on what is supposed to be a ukworkshop blog. Sorry, I will keep my thoughts and opinions to myself until I qualify to comment.

 

[Droogs]

IT is simple. If you only want woodwork stuff then stay out of the OFF TOPIC forum, that is the whole point of the forum title.

 

[Harken in Wood]

Sorry, what was the topic again? I don’t think they would believe it nowadays“‘

 

[Jacob]

Fresh stats here:
this forum has currently on line; members: 137, guests: 985
two breakaway fora have: 7 rmembers, 48 guests, and 1 member, 42 guests.
For whatever reason, this forum is flourishing!

 

[Noel]

Is this censorship? Opps

Keep the day job.

Spot on. I came here for ideas, advice and general chat about our craft and not to be distracted by dross that one can get from the BBC any day of the week.

Bloke complains about "dross" by making political statement....in the non "craft" section.......hmmm

Ah that’s the problem. I have not been here long enough to offer a comment on the irrelevance of some topics on what is supposed to be a ukworkshop blog. Sorry, I will keep my thoughts and opinions to myself until I qualify to comment.

This site is not a blog, it's a forum.

IT is simple. If you only want woodwork stuff then stay out of the OFF TOPIC forum, that is the whole point of the forum title.

Excellent advice.

 

[Rorschach]

I remember life back pre 1980 when thuggery and general idiocy were a fraction of what they are today indeed a time when people left school at 15 and could read and write and tell the difference between right and wrong a time when we could buy 5 star petrol in fact a time when you could buy a gallon of petrol for less than 20pence.

What planet were you living on? Violence has never been lower and with the exception of Scotland education standards have continued to rise year on year for the most part.

 

[selectortone]

Does anyone see the need for 1p and 2p coins?

If shops stopped listing prices as £x.99 they would no longer need them for change.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The item would then be £n. 95p
The original reason for the 99p or 19s 11d or even back to the farthing was to ensure the shop assisistant had to use the till and not just wait until the customer had turned their back and then pocket the note.

 

[Jacob]

I remember life back pre 1980 when thuggery and general idiocy were a fraction of what they are today indeed a time when people left school at 15 and could read and write and tell the difference between right and wrong a time when we could buy 5 star petrol in fact a time when you could buy a gallon of petrol for less than 20pence.

Yes most of us can remember when we were being looked after by our mums and dads and the word seemed a much cosier sort of place!
Christmas has never been the same since instead of just presents for me I had to start buying them for other people!
Moan, moan, when ar worra lad etc etc

 

[Rorschach]

I'm interested in why so many people are so alarmed about talking about stuff. Oddly it seems to be those from the right who are most uneasy - lefties are happy to argue until the cows come home!

That's funny, I was thinking the opposite. I think there are people on both sides who prefer to shut down the conversation because it makes them uncomfortable. I like having uncomfortable conversations, you learn a lot about people.

 

[Jacob]

The item would then be £n. 95p
The original reason for the 99p or 19s 11d or even back to the farthing was to ensure the shop assisistant had to use the till and not just wait until the customer had turned their back and then pocket the note.

Really I never knew that! Makes sense though, I would have kept a few notes.

 

[Cabinetman]

Really I never knew that! Makes sense though, I would have kept a few notes.

And I would’ve had no qualms in sacking you when I caught you, as I did lots of times. Can’t stand thieves.