General Chat

What do you think of as a heritage craft, thatching, flint napping, hedge laying?

I still drive like I learned in a horse and cart, know the correct hand signals (how many fingers each misdemeanour warrants!) and can double de-clutch but never thought of the engine fitting skills I was taught at a similar time a being heritage crafts.

Can you imagine my horror at seeing a feature in a local programme about some enterprise that specializes in heritage vehicles and teaches their repair as a special skill to their apprentices? Cars I drove and others I coveted are heritage models now.

Well, I thought I was the dogs things in my Cambridge and have never thought of my Anglia in the same light as a Model T.

On the up side, I suppose I must have (valuable?) heritage skills.

I went to the Science Museum YEARS ago, and there was a model of the computer we used at college (the sort that filled a room and had 48K of memory).

Apparently some of the crafts are on the brink of extinction, but some are thriving, like thatching and dry stone walling.

'The computer at County Hall' was always like some sort of Orwellian god when I was at school.

I always thought the only heritage craft I had was being able to use AND sharpen a fag hook. Nobody bothers with them any more. I have the knack of using sheep shears, purely for lawn edging (no sheep are harmed during the demonstration) without having them spring open.

Whether I could still execute any of the heritage automotive skills now is anybody's guess!

Well our first car was a 1937 Austin Ruby, I didn't drive it but to travel in it was interesting. The only way to get it up a steep hill on Dartmoor was in reverse for some reason. We lived in Hampshire and regularly travelled to Devon in it. We then went 'up market' and had a Wolsey like the old police cars, this was sold for the mortgage deposit, we then had another ancient, then a Ford Popular, followed by an Anglia, 3 speed box and windscreen wipers that were intermittent depending on engine speed. We thought we had really made it when we got the MG Magnet (I skidded that one on top of Portsdown hill on ice and smashed the rear fog light on the bank). Cars after that were less interesting except maybe the Cambridge and the Wolesly equivalent, both of which we had at the same time. I guess many of our age ( not me I didn't do engines) including my Oh have these hidden heritage skills as if you could fix it you did, you didn't take it to a garage.

Your mention of Portsdown Hill reminded me of one of the garages I delivered to. They had a young man bring his car in for service, it may even have been MOT because, in the days of Taply meters you needed a quietish road to test the brakes.

Anyway, this car had the lot, gauges, wide wheels, sporty seats, fog lights and it wouldn't go up Portsdown Hill.

Ann, that brings back a few memories! My friend had a prewar Morris 8, and quite often on steep hills I had to get out and walk up (to lighten the car :-)) and occasionally she had to reverse up them. The reason is that reverse is a "lower" gear than first. After we were married our first car was a Ford Prefect (cost £350.00) with wipers driven by the engine, like yours. I well remember driving up a steep hill in heavy rain, and the wipers gave up altogether, so I had to get up the rest of the hill without being able to see!! :-( Fortunately back then there was very little traffic, even on main roads.

When we lived in Ghana, there was an inspection pit at the Naval Base and all the Brits used to service their own cars. We heard of one case where someone had his car done by the local garage, including new tyres. Afterwards the car seemed a bit wobbly, so he did some checking and discovered that the wheel nuts hadn't been tightened up!

Andydmum I think our car zi referred to as ancient might have been a pre war Morris eight.

I know how to build a dry stone wall and lay a hedge. Both taught to me by an uncle who was a farmer, I used to spend time with him in the summer holidays and he did not like me being bored :-D :-D :-D

At country fairs, I've seen people queuing up to chop wood with an axe!! :-D

Health and safety would not have liked it as I used axes billhooks etc from an early age. Also my Dad was a cabinet maker and taught me to turn wood on a lathe while I was still in Primary school. We often used to sit and sharpen up all the chisels and gouges on the stone.