Quote, Joe, post # 12: That said, these are mainly retired people so whether this is just because they have time to spare or if it's a generational thing I wouldn't like to say. / Unquote.
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It's predominantly a generational thing, Joe, as David (Yorkie) will readily agree, I'm sure!
Not wishing to ape what David has said in the past, but the older generation (58+ years of age, approx.) were indeed raised in a 'make-do-or-mend' culture - to which I would add "or make one yourself". And it is that very last idea that inspired the youth of that era indeed to 'make things': e.g. Meccano, Trix, Bayko, carpentry kits, 'go-karts', (using salvaged pram wheels and a discarded wooden potato box), etc. It was the disciplines learnt in so doing, and fed by the imagination of youngsters that produced such fine engineers and technicians in the past, but which today are almost non-existent. Now add in the mix of over-cautious and spendthrift parents, obsessive & inane H & S regulation, the relative ease of obtaining 'entertainment' with very little 'input effort', our 'throw-away' society, and you have the mess that this country is in today.
Even now, when something that would be easy and cheap to replace goes and breaks, I still have a compulsion to take it to bits to see what bit broke - and to see if can I repair it. And if I can't repair it, can I make something that will do the same job? - to which the answer is often 'yes' - but at a ridiculous cost and which will occupy a great deal of my time!
What was once the standard phrase, accepted around the world - "Made in England' - has now become 'Made in China' - but comparisons of quality are non-existent.
Having got all that off my mind, I feel a lot better now - so much so, I'm ready to have another go at a certain DAC90A that's waiting for my studious attentions . . . .
Al.
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It's predominantly a generational thing, Joe, as David (Yorkie) will readily agree, I'm sure!
Not wishing to ape what David has said in the past, but the older generation (58+ years of age, approx.) were indeed raised in a 'make-do-or-mend' culture - to which I would add "or make one yourself". And it is that very last idea that inspired the youth of that era indeed to 'make things': e.g. Meccano, Trix, Bayko, carpentry kits, 'go-karts', (using salvaged pram wheels and a discarded wooden potato box), etc. It was the disciplines learnt in so doing, and fed by the imagination of youngsters that produced such fine engineers and technicians in the past, but which today are almost non-existent. Now add in the mix of over-cautious and spendthrift parents, obsessive & inane H & S regulation, the relative ease of obtaining 'entertainment' with very little 'input effort', our 'throw-away' society, and you have the mess that this country is in today.
Even now, when something that would be easy and cheap to replace goes and breaks, I still have a compulsion to take it to bits to see what bit broke - and to see if can I repair it. And if I can't repair it, can I make something that will do the same job? - to which the answer is often 'yes' - but at a ridiculous cost and which will occupy a great deal of my time!
What was once the standard phrase, accepted around the world - "Made in England' - has now become 'Made in China' - but comparisons of quality are non-existent.
Having got all that off my mind, I feel a lot better now - so much so, I'm ready to have another go at a certain DAC90A that's waiting for my studious attentions . . . .
Al.
