Serving through the German Winter

Talking of accents. When I left the army I worked for a while for a Suzuki dealership in Wokingham, and had aspirations to work for the Suzuki racing team in Croydon. The height of the Barry Sheene era, I didn’t make it. So I landed a job running what is called a cycle livery in Bermuda. They rent mopeds to tourists.
So I fly out from Manchester wearing my best suit and carrying a tool box and a big suitcase, arrive in Bermuda and it was so hot !!! My new boss picks me up and takes me to my new yard, I open the gates and am confronted with row upon row of Honda 50 step through mopeds. So I have gone from RG500 racing bikes to 50cc mopeds. Just as I am contemplating if this was a good move or not 4 lovely young ladies turn up and ask ‘can we rent cycles from here”. I said ‘hang on a sec love while I suss the place out”. She says “ I just love your accent, I could lie down all night and listen to you”. I thought, yeah, good move indeed.

Do I stand a chance with a Huddersfield accent?

Steve, that sort of thing is well and good but it don't pay the rent. Did she rent a Moped?

Shelldrake wrote:

Steve, that sort of thing is well and good but it don't pay the rent. Did she rent a Moped?

Probably just a piston !

Finish the story Steve
Did she, lie down all night and listen to you.?

Shelldrake wrote:

Stephen, how did they apportion the Bills for the Electric, did each vehicle have it's own parking slot with meter attached?

Interesting question.....hmmmm. Not being a driver (loved to drive, thought I was a damn good one too, until it occurred to me the number of fender benders I was always having couldn't possibly ALL be the fault of the "other" moron!!! So, I gave it up (driving)), I don't know.

An educated guess here: The plug-ins for the block heaters didn't use a lot of juice, relatively speaking, so I think it just got absorbed by the property management. Or, if one rented a flat that had parking included, one's rent was adjusted in such a manner as to compensate for the use of the plug-in. Or, it's seen as the cost of doing business given the delightful blood-bracing climate we live in. I have never heard of someone in a rental "paying" for the plug-in. A bit different, of course, if one owns one's own house. In that situation, it all gets lumped in with your monthly electrical bill along with lights, furnace (if it's electrical), stove, fridge etc etc.

Given the current concern over 'carbon footprints', though, and the number of plug-ins in a city the size of Calgary (1million+), including residential, commercial, office etc., someone somewhere is going to come up with the brilliant idea of charging for use of said plug-ins and so we may yet see the day where each one does, in fact, have it's own meter attached. Oh! That will go over well.....

brum wrote:

The Yanks stationed with us in Hemer used to have those little sockets dangling out of their radiator grilles.

We allways used to say that, if you pulled it, the car would inflate into an aircraft carrier.

Not true, obviously!!! It inflated into a limousine.....

Hardrations wrote:

Spotted out side BMH Iserlohn heading for an Iserlohner Pils mit curry wurst and palm frits.

Fantastic photo!!!! I love it!!! Such enterprising folk, those Germans! LOL Never saw this here, surprisingly. I'll file this away in the Old Memory Banks of the Stephen Brain (okay, so that might get a bit dodgy) and when I reach the age -- not that far off now -- where I, too, use a walker, I'm going to attach some planks to the front myself and everyone will think I'm a frickin' genius and Such A Clever Old Boy.....hey, I'll take what I can get!

Hardrations wrote:

BLUE BIRD OF HAPPINESS, MY ASS!




It's Friggin' Freezing. There's snow up my ass, all the food's covered with

3 feet of this white shit, and you want ME to sing?

What?? Anne Murray's "Snowbird"? Piss Off!!

Next year, I'm flyin' to Jamaica, and smoke dope!!

Hardrations, you're a funny guy!! Your sense of humour sure jives with mine!!!

I hope you are saving these photo gems and finding a site where you can post them.

I have never seen a grumpier looking bird....the expression is priceless.

brum wrote:

Shelldrake wrote:

Steve, that sort of thing is well and good but it don't pay the rent. Did she rent a Moped?

Probably just a piston !

Dirty Boy!!

Shelldrake wrote:

Hardrations wrote:

It is a provience, but living in British Columbia is a , " State of mind", Shelldrake. It's Canada's answer to flower power and scented tea.

That's what we liked about BC! When we left Kelowna we drove down in to the US of A and booked into a Hotel, out in the sticks. The receptionist told me that she could "Listen to my accent all night" and then said "We don't get many Dutch people round these parts". I'm from Glasgow!!

Could have been worse, she could have thought you were English!! Or Welsh. Irish?

Reminds me of a story....(oh gawd, here we go again!!! )....and I think I may have posted this some time ago (oh lord.... ).

When we lived in Iserlohn, circa 1971, my mom worked in the Tuck Shop at BMH Iserlohn and got quite a kick out of all the young squaddies,most of whom weren't much older than I was at the time.

One made reference to mom being a Yank, to which mom indignantly informed him she was NOT a Yank but Canadian. "Well, same difference, idn't it?" he said smarmingly and off he trudges.

A few days later, same squaddie was in to pick up his daily Express or whatever paper he read (probably News of the World!!) and mom, who could be known to a bit passive-aggressive at times!!, called him "English."

"I'm not bloody English!! I'm Scots (or Irish or whatever he was)...."

Mom shrugged and said "Well, same difference, idn't it?"

His mates, who had also been with him during the previous encounter with my mom, just gaffawed. He didn't know what to come back with so sheepishly paid for his paper and off he went.

Score one for Dear Old Mom.....

Remember the winter of 1952-3 on stag. Used to come across the children of displaced persons living behind the camp. Of course, we used to throw over the fence our chocolate ration to these kids. Even bunged over a 3Ib bag of Self-rasin flour from home and the old lady would knock up a cake for us.
Wonder where those kids are now. I was only 18.5 then

Jimsigs1

Yes she rented a moped, and as for the rest, i am too mich of a gent to kiss and tell. But there were many more who followed in her position. !!!!

Hmmmmmmm

steve jones wrote:

Yes she rented a moped, and as for the rest, i am too mich of a gent to kiss and tell. But there were many more who followed in her position. !!!!

Missionary?

Tsk tsk Teabag,i would expect that from Brum ,not you

Funny how one thread can encompass so many subjects. We start off serving through the German Winter, move on to accents followed by American uniforms impersonating Canadian statues, then vehicle plug-ins in Calgary. Suddenly we are renting mopeds in Bermuda and who would have thought, that given the climate in that part of the Atlantic Ocean, the rentee is also enquiring about "Plug-ins"?

[quote="Teabag"]

steve jones wrote:

Missionary?

Gesundheit !