Thread 16 - TalkLair: "Well, I'm not exactly quaking in my stylish-yet-affordable boots, but there's definitely something unnatural going on here."

[Kucinghitam]

(Previous thread 15).

Another year over, a new one just begun...

In the TalkLair, the hearth is glowing, the walls festooned with tinsel, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors, the tree is twinkling with fairy lights (and possibly being clambered on by cats). The denizens of the lair are a welcoming bunch though, always eager for general chit-chat on all manner of topics.

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey Christmas roast beast over there in the corner of the cave…

I haven't had to do any kind of car maintenance in yonks, not least because I no longer own a car. But back in the day, I have changed tyres, jump-started a flat battery, changed said battery, replaced wipers, all that sort of stuff. Also helped friends with more complex car repairs, e.g. replacing cam belt, just because I was curious. In defence of The Young, I observed that modern cars are very DIY-unfriendly with everything sealed up?

Similarly, modern domestic appliances now come with moulded plugs, very tidy but not conducive to learning how to wire one up. I've done my fair share of bulb-changing, plug/socket/switch-replacing, minor plumbing e.g. toilet flush repair. But I consider myself quite a DIY dunce (apart from these minor things) because my parents didn't do a lot of house maintenance either - I'd happily throw money at a professional, and only do most of these things myself because of the impossibility of getting a tradie to turn up.

There's an added difficulty with modern-ish cars and changing wheels. Frequently they have these plastic covers over the wheel nuts, which can be tricky to remove, they can be quite delicate, and need to be carefully prised off with a screwdriver (or two).

So we reckon young people of today are just fine and journos can butt out with the judgyness?

I haven’t changed a wheel in decades and it’s probably just about as long since I rewired a plug. Years ago I used to regularly rewire an iron though. It was my then flatmate’s and a bit of a design flaw meant the flex rubbed against the body of the iron and gradually frayed (sometimes causing a small fire). When this happened I’d open the iron up, cut a bit off the flex and rewire it. Eventually we needed to replace the wire as it would no longer reach the socket.

Teaching on an art foundation course meant teaching a bit of DIY to prepare the space for the end of year show. Time was the students would build the walls in the space but in recent years the techs did that and students just painted them and installed the work. Even that involved acquiring some pretty useful skills though.

I've never changed a wheel nor would I know how to do so. That's what AAA is for isn't it? (Or AA or RAC for Brits). I could rewire a plug though. I'm mainly of the school of 'pay professionals to do it' but luckily both my husbands have been rather good and hands-on at DIY.

Yes, @artant - I was slightly alarmed to read that The Youth of Today gets a professional in to hang pictures on their walls at home!

My dad taught me how to change a plug - it must have been before I was 8, because my sister wasn't born. So it just sort of slotted into the things you learn as a child. I can also rewire a lamp, which is much the same thing. Moulded plugs are infuriating!

My dad also taught me never to attempt to repair a telephone, because the chances were that it was a fault on the line. This came up in the context of my then (army) boyfriend, Eton-educated but no maths or science skills, having reduced a perfectly functional phone to all its component parts in a vain attempt to repair it. Apparently the very junior signalman who went to sort it out asked "Is Captain B an idiot, Sir?"

I've never changed a wheel but I don't drive so that's not suprising. I have however, done the oil thing in a car because I wanted a go at it so that I'd know for the future if I ever started driving.

I honestly cannot imagine not being able to change a lightbulb or a plug, or to at least give things a go with the help of YouTube. If someone is too anxious to change a lightbulb then they need to have a serious word with themselves, therapy or someone needs to tell them that they're being an utter idiot.

You have taken me back to my youth. When I was 16, I was out on my pushbike when I came across a woman with a puncture. I stopped to ask if she was OK and she asked me to phone her dad.

I offered to change the tyre and did so. She admitted that she knew how to do it, but hadn't wanted to shit her nice nails and clothes up.

I (jeans, DMs and donkey jacket) said, no worries, I don't blame you!

Getting professionals in to hang pictures is extraordinary but I can remember the delight of a student who’d never used a power tool before realising that she could get her work up with a bit of help from others (big paintings, so at least a two person job). I preferred it when the students left knowing that if they needed a stud wall to divide a space up they could build one themselves but just knowing how to cut in an paint a wall evenly is a good life skill!

That definitely falls into "Fair enough", @SinnerBoy - and points to her for honesty!

I didn't mind a bit, my eldest sister would have done the same. At 4 foot eleven.

We used to help my dad, grandads and uncle with all sorts. I could do an oil change when I was 11 and mended my own punctures from 7, after my grandad showed me how.

I was better at taking things apart than reassembling them...

@SinnerBoy I was better at taking things apart than reassembling them...

Figuratively speaking, aren't we all?

My first day at university, my next-door neighbour refused to believe that I could put a plug on her coffee machine. She asked one of the boys on the opposite landing to do it. Entertainingly, she badged herself as The Most Feminist Feminist EVAH. I just used to smile. And I, rather than she, was asked to be the college's first ever women's officer on the student body.

On the subject of Gen Z's apparent frailty, this happened yesterday morning:

Bus into town, rush hour, packed in like sardines, I'm standing near the back (podcast playing, world of my own as usual). Driver in a right grump. Every stop full of angry commuters as full bus sails past.
Bell rings. Bus pulls in to stop, angry commuters crowd around door. After a long wait, it becomes clear that nobody is getting off. Driver shouts "Is anybody getting off?!!" and finally an older chap near the front says "Don't think so, mate." Driver extra-grumpily closes door and drives off.
Next stop, bell rings again and young woman comes down stairs. Bus sails past stop. She does nothing, just stands there squished in with everybody, doesn't ring bell again or shout to driver.
Next stop, somebody else rings bell. Two young men come down stairs. Bus sails past stop. Now we have three young people, and none of them do anything.
Next stop, one of them gingerly rings bell again. Bus sails past stop. All three do nothing further, not even shuffle about uncomfortably, they're just standing there.
Next stop, one of them gingerly rings bell again. Bus sails past that stop too. All three seem frozen like statues.
At this point, more of the other passengers (including me, I'd been seeing all this without really registering it) are becoming aware that weirdness is happening. A middle-aged lady asks the young woman "Did you want to get off?" to which she replies "Yes" and so the lady rings the bell again and calls out to the driver "Can you please stop?"
So at the next stop, we finally pull in and the three prisoners, plus a bunch of people who actually wanted this stop, get off. The prisoners say nothing by way of complaint as they meekly depart. We're now a good couple of miles away from where they had wanted to be!

Anyway, I related this story to DDs being the youngest end of Gen Z and they reckon almost everybody they know, including them, would have done the same. Just stood there helplessly for as long as it took for somebody else to rescue them! They couldn't quite answer WHY, mumbled about not wanting to confront somebody in authority. (Bear in mind that DDs, perhaps unusually for their cohort, are perfectly used to taking public transport all the time. I was really surprised that they didn't think they would be able to get themselves off the bus!)

That's an extraordinary story, @Kucinghitam I can't imagine doing nothing.

@artant mentioned the foundation art course and I'm so glad that I did one too as it taught me not to be afraid of tackling practical tasks and I could think back to all the useful things I'd learned and think 'Yes, reckon I can handle this'.

At home we were taught to wire a plug and change light bulbs around the age of eight. I spent a lot of time scrambling about on rocky hillsides and climbing trees and went through a phase of twisting my ankle, so my dad showed me how to apply a herringbone bandage and gave me my own bandage and safety pin.

Years later, Mr Veg's step dad worked in house renovation and we worked with him for a while so learned a lot there. One time he wanted to show me how to fit a windowsill by hammering nails into the underside, filling the gap with rubble and then cement and sinking the nailed side into it. Windowsill done. I really wanted to do it but we had no sand and it was a Sunday, in the days when everything was shut on Sundays. There was a school over the back from us and they had a long jump so I climbed over the fence and stole a bucket of sand. Then he showed me how to mix cement and I fitted the windowsill. It was really satisfying.

I love the stolen long jump!

That was my favourite part.

That's a brilliant story @Vegemiteandhoneyontoast especially the long jump sand

Just got back from my first optician's appointment in 15 years and to my relief, it's a relatively clean bill of health. I hadn't bothered ever since I had my eyes lasered, but gradually over the years I noticed I was getting longsighted and eventually slightly shortsighted again too. The optician was taking my medical/family history and when I casually said "Oh yeah, my dad has glaucoma," he informed me that my eye test is free under the NHS annually. I had no idea! So I splurged on two new pairs of glasses, one for distance and one for reading.

Two great stories there! On teaching your kids, I do think there was an unwritten check-list years ago. parents (mostly Mums, obv) taught their kids the basics regardless of school (and sometimes pre-school):
Read/write, alphabet, numbers, tie shoe-laces etc. And yes, by seven or eight, change a plug, make a cup of tea without scalding yourself, and change light-bulbs. And nowadays, it seems we have kids in UK schools who aren't even potty-trained.

I've just had a call from the quack, I have Campylobacter and need antibiotics! The Dept for Health may be in touch later.... it's notifiable, apparently.

Bad luck, @SinnerBoy that sounds horrible. Any idea how you caught it?

Oh rats, @SinnerBoy - have they checked out your daughter for it too?

Read/write, alphabet, numbers, tie shoe-laces etc. And yes, by seven or eight, change a plug, make a cup of tea without scalding yourself, and change light-bulbs

Using a knife safely was also one we were taught. Another I remember was how to light a fire outside using a magnifying glass or piece of broken glass and sunlight. I taught a friend's seven year old daughter how to do that, but it was partly a lesson in keeping her little tubs with magnifying lids out of direct sunlight.

There is much I can't do but I love being reasonably competent for day-to-day matters and would hate to live a life where I couldn't change a light bulb or ask the driver to stop the bus. There is something liberating about figuring things out and then fixing them.

There is something liberating about figuring things out and then fixing them.

Isn't there? MiniPSB was the only one in his group of university friends who knew how to iron. He actually enjoys the ironing process so volunteered his Tiggywinkle services.

Poor Sinner

BRAT - bananas, rice, apples, toast

home-made re-hydration solution - pint of boiled water, a pinch of salt, a teaspoonful of sugar or glucose, the juice of an orange. Sip frequently.

It may take weeks to get back to normal