SEM

I thought it was a 'bit off' as well, as a whinging statement of the 'bloody obvious' to all of us including Kim I'm surprised the letter got an airing!

Mark H

Yerst. Excuse me whilst I try to find someone that gives a toss ;o))

(In this invariably polite corner of the world, perhaps I should add that "give a toss" is a naval term referring to how far one can throw a ship's biscuit, not derived from a more personal carnal pleasure. Didn't I say that nicely? )

I had naturally tried to ascertain the condition of the trailer in advance and with 20/20 hindsight should have been more pressing on this issue. However, things were as they were and I either bit the bullet and bought it as it was or drove the 400 miles home empty handed.

The Volvo didn't do many to the gallon and the petrol for the trip came to nearly £150. Determination, frugality of spirit and sheer bloody mindedness carried the day and here we are.

I've at last found someone to rehash the trailer by (effectively) transferring the body to a four wheel braked flat bed & should have Mr Parson's product ready to rally next year.

Regards,

Kim

I'll look forward to seeing the Parsons in action, Kim. You're at the start of a long and thirsty relationship, methinks.

Interestingly the term "tosspot" refers to the sort of person who is in the habit of tossing pots of beer down the throat with regularity.

DISGUSTING :-), hic.

Regards, Arthur G

Arthur Griffin wrote Interestingly, the term "tosspot" refers to the sort of person who is in the habit of tossing pots of beer down the throat with regularity.

That's right - and suddenly the term "tosser" refers to an inebriate and is OK to use in polite company.

Well, probably ................

Regards,

Kim Siddorn,

Also, for those under the age of 40, Going "Balls out" seems to be thought of as rude these days but simply refers to the governor balls being fully out at speed.

Thought I'd toss that in.

Paul

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Internal Fire, Museum of Power, Wales

Internal Fire Museum of Power is a Not-for-Profit company registered in the UK

So then...

All this means there must be at least one balls-out tosspot amongst our number! Who can it be?

I claim the right to remain silent, lest anything I say is used in evidence against me :-)

Arthur G

to the governor balls being fully out at

On the contrary, I claim the right to be heard. By the way, thats the american style" caution ".

The standard of conversation has certainly plummetted in these last four threads. Churlish innuendo on a news group that has signatories internationally.What must they think?

number! Who can it be?

evidence against me :-)

refers to the governor balls being fully out at

Hopefully they will think that some of us have a sense of humour :-) ttfn

None of the recent contributors to this thread who have criticised me, apparently humourously, have explained or even dicussed why they have done so. I would like to hear from these "erudite" gentlemen who seem to think that they have the right to criticise someone publicly, without explanation, who is willing to stand up and speak out for what they, and others, believe.

The main gist of my letter was that only negative benefits, such as bad publicity and an incorrect public perception of :- the way the rest of us tow our loaded trailers, our respect for respect road traffic laws and the safety of other road users. If anyone wants to break laws ,do it quietly.That was my point. As I put in the letter,"otherwise commendable article"

As they seem to disagree so adamantly with my, and others, views, and as they have " "raised" their "standard" " so all can see which side of the fence they stand, I would like to give the trio the chance, here under public and international scrutiny,as the criticsm was, to enlighten us all on the positive benefits to be gained by our hobby in general, by printing in our own specialist hobby magazine, a description of ,and the" bragging "about, how the author disregarded the road traffic law,construction and use regulations, good towing practices and public safety.

Well, gentlemen, I waited patiently to see how and who responded. I expected literal flack for my views. Consructive criticism with objective comment I can accept. However, it was the attitude in which it was conducted. Also, I recieved a supportive, alright only one, e-mail off group, from some-one who did not want to feel intimidated if he voiced his view in public. Sad days or what?

Your audience awaits your most erudite and constuctive replies on the subject at your convenience.

Its late and too hot for sleep so please forgive me if I'm tetchy. You appear to have been lurking for some time Dave yet you chose not to contact Kim privately before submitting your letter. You made your point in the mag and in between the humour your point is no doubt well taken. Incidentally I think your main point was that wiser editing would have edited out the transgression. I agree. I saw no criticism of you rather the usual thread digression to which this NG is somewhat prone.

I'm sure we'd all welcome your future contributions to this NG but unless you meet any of the following criteria I suggest this particular thread has run its course: a: you have never broken any laws yourself b: you are determined to extract some sort of public mea culpa c: you are trying to start a brawl d: you are a troll and would like to be in everyone's kill-file

Unlike you I have met nearly all the contributors to this thread and know them to be fine upstanding group of people with respect for the Rule of Law and concern for the future of our hobby. We ALL make mistakes!

Please tell us about YOUR engines and related interests.....

As one of the internationals, I'd have to agree that tosser appears pretty apt..

Tom

How thick am I (a rhetorical question if you please)? I've only just twigged that Dave Carter is the guy who submitted the letter! I agree with Roland's appraisal that it was primarily directed at the editing, but surely that part of Kim's article was simply a good old fashioned cautionary tale pointing out the folly of taking other's descriptions of fitness for purpose (of trailers or any thing else for that matter) at face value.

Yes, I too had not made the connection and certainly intended no disrespect to Dave Carter. For the record, I must say that I can see how it must have looked to him as the thread developed and I'm morally certain that not one of us intended any offence, merely following the etymology rather than the subject. My opening line was a throwaway, I admit and perhaps I should have been more temperate in my words.

I agree absolutely that he has the right to say his piece as he sees fit and would always defend a right to free speech in any forum. That said, as I'd more or less run the text in this NG some weeks in advance of it appearing in a wider medium, I'm surprised that it attracted no comment at that time.

I included the description of the trailer and tyres in my article quite deliberately. It was not accidental or witless, but cautionary as Nick Highfield has assessed. I'd made as sure as I could that the trailer was in towable condition before I set out to travel the 440 miles from Bristol to Glasgow, but at the end of the day the purchaser is at the mercy of the vendor in accurately describing the condition of the goods as they are supplied. Readers will recall that the Parsons engine was collected following an e-bay transaction, so, in fact, I was merely collecting something that I'd purchased sight unseen. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, things might have been arranged differently, but like I said, when you have travelled so far to collect something that you have already paid for, your choices are very limited.

The trailer was very well built, just unsprung and I will put my hand up to being unaware that an unsprung trailer is subject to the law as Dave Carter has indicated in print - not that I doubt him at all, but I did not know this. As far as I was aware, the tyres were the only matter for concern. At the end of the day, I chose to take the risk, driving at no more than fifty and stopping at almost every services to check the tyres for any signs of lifting plies, tread shedding, the walls breaking down or the crazing extending into wider cracks. I spent a good deal of my working life in the motor trade and have a fair working knowledge of tyres and their structure. I'd increased the tyre pressures to minimise deformation and although this naturally increased the jolting from the unsprung trailer, I was prepared to put up with it. Nothing I did was thoughtless but a calculation of risk from a knowledge of engineering practice.

In fact, the trailer followed the Volvo without deviation, hesitation or - God forbid - repetition! It towed absolutely straight and the journey was - as stated - uneventful if wearing. Perhaps I should add that the trailer has not moved since as I have sought to have its faults rectified. Having a course of action thrust upon you is one thing, but gratuitously repeating that action when not in need is - in my opinion - another thing entirely.

The magazine is read by about 8,000 engine enthusiasts around the world. I suppose this could be described as a public forum, but certainly a specialist one, the great majority of whom will have towbars on their vehicles. If by my comments in the article and Dave Carter's subsequent letter we have jointly contributed to road safety and made prospective purchasers of trailer-mounted large engines that bit more leery of putting their money up front sight unseen, then we have both done well.

Regards,

Kim Siddorn,

I would with Nick/Kim. My comment was merely an addition to what I considered to be one of Kim's "tangents" and in no way directed at anybody, don't really see how it could be taken as a personal comment.

As far as Arthurs comment was concerned I took that to mean someone other than Mr Carter!

Paul

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Internal Fire, Museum of Power, Wales

Internal Fire Museum of Power is a Not-for-Profit company registered in the UK

All, Just come in from a long day harvesting and hauling hay, tired, smelly and pleased to be almost finished. Gosh, what an exciting time you've had. Paul is quite right. In no way was I targetting Mr. Carter or anyone else with my post, though I can see how he could have interpreted it.. I was merely picking up on Kim's etymological lead.

If any offence was caused then it was completely unintentional. Like almost everyone else I made no connection between Mr. Carter and the letter in SEM, so my posts must be read with this in mind. I must say that I wouldn't have made a negative reference to a named person in a letter to be published to the whole engine fraternity in SEM, and were I the editor of SEM I wouldn't have published it. I must apologise to Roland for this post following his sensible suggestion to cease, but others have had their say and I feel not to comment would seem odd. I will not be posting further on this thread.

Oh and BTW, Paul, could you mail me off group and tell me who you thought I was referring to :-).

Regards, Arthur G

to be one of Kim's "tangents" and in no

Mr Carter!

I've now sent a version of the text of my electronic reply to SEM & had the response that it will be printed ASAP.

Regards,

Kim Siddorn,