A night in the Glens

[Yostumpy]

with the number of Defenders being stolen increasing, it may have looked a bit 'odd' at that time of the morning, to an observant plod. Full marks for checking I say,  most wouldn't bother.

[Anderzander]

^ That was my take on it. If mine had been stolen I’d rather they asked the questions and I stand half a chance of getting it back.

[Bowie69]

Yeah, just doing their job, 1:30 is an odd time to be out.

I used to think the same when I was batting around in a 950 Mk1 fiesta at silly o'clock, now I look back and wonder why I didn't get in more trouble!

[skirky dave]

I suppose it was one of those times where you had to be their, to fully understand the situation, primarily the attitude from the pcso.

Yes the police have a job to do and yes i am aware of the amount of defenders that have been stolen by low life scum and given the implications from having your pride and joy being nicked then i would have no quarms of throwing away the key once thev'e been sentenced.

I should mention that my mate's daughter is a full time WPC, and was a little taken back by the pco's attitude as my mate recorded the whole thing on his phone.  Even his daughter said "Wrong Attitude"

It was her attitude towards us,..pursed lips, and being confrontational, followed by...." And what do you think you two are doing then,eh"

Not, hi guy's everything alright, my my these are old classics, you don't see many of these around etc etc and creating a conversation.

Which is how my mate's daughter, said she would have addressed the matter.

We were, afterall, sitting on the 2A's  tailgate with the kettle on the stove, which was on the floor. Hardly the actions of someone up to no good. We even offered her a cuppa to which the reply was...." I certainly do not",    NOT, no thank you guys. Her attitude was REALLY off.

We have been approached by, FULLL time serving members of the police before and they have always been curtious, even in the early hours of the morning, but that was South Yorkshire Police, in fact we've always had a good banter with them, no problem. To the point where some of them have showed an avid interest with Land Rovers, but not this girl,..she was awful.  Really really miffed.

So, to avoid this sort of attiude in future i shall make sure that i'm home by 11pm, with slippers and hot coco !!!!!.

Shame really because it would be really great to do the same thing as DC did in Scotland. But not in the Peak District of Derbyshire ,.That's a big no no.

So well done DC, and nice images by the way. Stunning.

Dave.

[Bowie69]

That all sounds a real shame Dave, maybe she is the one fly in the ointment, let's hope so

[skirky dave]

Hi mate,

I'm glad you see my point of view.

I suffer from a few medical conditions that usually mean i sleep a lot during the day, so when night time comes i'm fully awake and enjoy the peace and quiet of the night, i sometimes  see a few Barn Owls and Badgers when i'm out at that time.

My mate's daughter, the FULL TIME WPC, said " This is a problem we are having with a lot of PCSO'S, there are many who are full time wanna be's, the problem is.....there free to take on and it isn't costing anything to pay them. Which is why Theresa May said i'm going to be giving the police more powers, to which WE the FULL Time Officers laughed...SHE WAS GIVING THE pcso's MORE POWERS, Not the full time officers, we already have them,.....playing with words for the publics benefit!!!!!. Which is why the Full time officers are being cut but there's an increase in more pcso's. 

The pcso that we had dealings with, made us feel as though we shouldn't be out after 12 midnight, some sort of secret curfew.

What she thought was odd behaviour, is nothing more than an opinion, ..but define ODD. We should all, be able to go out, when we want and not be subject to this sort of behaviour from certain individuals who are on nothing more than a power rush.

As my mate's daughter said...You access, evaluate and use common sense to deal with a given ...not go bounding into what is already a peaceful situation, this is what causes friction when it needn't be.

There was a big difference between dealing with someone with a knife, and two guy's sitting on the back of an old landy having a cuppa in the middle of no where enjoying the peace and quiet.

Common sense in this occasion.......did not exist!

Cheers again mate.

Dave.

[Mo Murphy]

Sounds like a bad attitude spoiled your night Dave.

I think you'll find, though, that pcsos are paid, it's the specials who are volunteers and perform their duties unpaid.

Mo

[skirky dave]

Hi Mo,

Yes, sorry my mistake, i always get the two mixed up. To me they all look the same. But thanks for pointing that out..

As it just so happens, my mate's daughter ( WPC ) also pointed that out to me last night SO my apologies to all pcso's.

I think it's also safe to say, that, every barrel has a bad apple and that maybe on reflection....i found it!.

I shall just chalk it up to one of those things and another experience gained in my later years. 

Almost 60 and still finding dodgy fruit!!.

I once made a brew with my Kelly Kettle, as the fuel is free, and was told to put it out even though the fire is contained in the bowl...it was still classed as an open fire. Didn't get round to cooking my bacon and eggs.

Different rules in Scotland it seems.

Hope DC finds a good night heater, the scenery up there is simply stunning at all times of the year. Free camping, Land Rover, Scenery, Photography, what more could one want, apart from a good night heater. I think i shall have to start saving up, it's been many years since i was last there. At least in Scotland, ..as far as camping and open fire's is concerned...they can never take away our freedom.

Only in the Peak District.

Cheers Mo

Dave.

 

[Yostumpy]

back on topic, how about a baby wood burner, plenty of fuel available, pipe coming out the roof , or removeable pipe thro the side. there are some really small ones about.

[Mo Murphy]

Which reminds me that I must assemble and weld my wood burner, I've only had it for 4 years 😂

Mo

[Troll Hunter]

From experience in my shop a really small one will only be suitable for cooking on.  Because it holds so little wood it tends to need very frequent re-fuelling, which doesn't happen during a good night's sleep.  One of the problems is that a small firebox generally needs smaller pieces of wood and these burn much faster than a large solid lump.  One big enough to last ~8hours would probably need a firebox of at least 1.0ft3 capacity.  Our household wood burner has a firebox of ~2.0ft3 and that last 8 - 10 hours max when completely filled with dry wood, a mixture of pine and birch, with the air damper totally closed. Also, consider the safety clearance needed around a metal box containing burning wood!   Even a 110 doesn't have that much room in it. 

I believe that the best option for you would be a Webasto/Eberspacher type of heater, provided the hum of fuel pump and/or fan are not a disturbance. 

Mike

[DC_]

Great to see everyone getting involved, just a shame there’s no beer and fire under the stars...... I’ve seen two eberspacher heaters on flee bay. One looks great with thermostat and timer. What to do? Go for the planar new at £430 or second hand eberspacher at £300? 

The programable timer really tempts me, this Sunday at home my landy will be out in -2 ish tempts..... I’d program it to heat it up around 4am. (I need to get out more I know) 

Dave, why save up? It’s only up the road? If you’re really thinking of it let me know. I have my close knit 3 Amigos (me included) that do these runs and camp. We know where to go in the Landy’s where we can relax, fire, beer and hopefully stars. 

 

[skirky dave]

Cheers for that DC, have to say that is soooooo tempting, but we are saving up like crazy at the moment for the summer holiday, Whitby,

and i'm sort of in the middle of things ,what with my series 2a swb and my son's Defender ( when i get to see him ). Pennies, or should i say, the lack of, are in the way of things at the moment But what a great offer, cheers mate.

Those posh heaters look great but i have heard they do make a bit of a din, something like a jet engine taking off followed by the pump.

What i've done in the past, is to fire up my Optimus 111T stove and put a brass dome on the top to create masses of radiated heat, but you must take EXTREME care as your dealing with a naked flame. Also my Vapalux M320 lamp, which gives off loads of light plus heat. Both are paraffin, and burn very very well. BUT...I also use 2 Carbon Monoxide Detectors,  Check youtube for  vids on these, stoves and lamps that is.

However....if your wanting to heat the 110 all night...Mmmmm your better of asking those who've already done it.Way out of my pocket though.

Dave.

 

 

[deep]

We are having a real problem in New Zealand now, with officialdom trying to force us to pay for every night out.  They've coined a term "freedom camping", in which freedom is a dirty word!  How did it ever come to this?  Well, there are certainly areas where people turn up for a night and make a disgusting mess.  These are generally near tourist hot spots where accomodation costs are very high.  One or two enlightened councils are designating areas for these people but others just want to ban any sort of freedom at all, sigh.  Over most of the country, there are no such problems - in fact it is locals dumping rubbish and stolen cars that cause the real headaches.  Bar stools.  The things I've found in a campsite near my house would give some people nightmares.  Seriously.

Last year I was sleeping in my Land Rover in a legal campsite, when someone shone a torch in my window.  He turned out to be the local dog ranger(!), who insisted I had to move on or I would face a $200 fine.  His attitude was probably as bad as the pseudo policewoman in Dave's story.  Patronising in the extreme and very rude about my car.  He (erroneously) stated that I couldn't camp there because my Land Rover did not have it's own toilet.  Considering I was camped beside the public toilet, provided for campers, you can imagine what I thought of that.  Eventually, I just had to say goodbye and go back to bed or I might have got angry.

Months later, I got a fine.  Obviously, I challenged it and it got overturned but I wondered how many other people suffered from this one nasty man?  I wrote to the council manager, clearly explaining both the circumstances and the exact wording of the relevant legislation.  I suggested the dog ranger should have his warrants removed until he had undergone proper training.  Secretly, I hoped he would get what really should be coming to him!  I'm wondering if a similar letter about the pretend cop would have similar value?

[skirky dave]

DEEP,

Sorry to hear that mate, it's a real shame the minority out there spoil it for the rest of us gifted with common sense. and consideration towards others.Over here in the UK, you can see the effect of the minority are having on the closure of green lanes.

It's getting to the point where the members of the public living in these areas are shooting video's, taking down registration numbers and getting the police involved. Followed by Local County Council meetings taking place and before you know it a TRO has been put in place.

EXAMPLE...Tales from the National Parks,  ..The Peak District Series 1 Episode 2...On BBC 4.

An 80 tear old teacher decides to launch a campaigne to get 4x4 drives and trial bikers banned from a lane in her village of Great Longstone. 

Thing is...Once it's closed...........thats it!!!.      Then they get together and close more,     shame really.

I don't pretend to know the Scottish Legislation regarding the country code, but, they seem to be far more relaxed.

To be able to just pull up in your Land Rover and camp virtually anywhere in the Highlands to simply relax, maybe light a fire, cook, have a few beers and take in the fantastic views, and to meet up with like minded people who share the experience, must be a real privilege.

It's not just the Land Rover lads and ladies that have these problems, it's also shared with the Bushcraft community. Wild camping here is frowned upon for the exact seem reasons.

All the best mate

Dave.

[deep]

I guess it's all a result of a high population and everyone wanting to impose his/her will on everyone else?  It's tragic.  

We actually go one stage worse here.  There are no historic green lanes but there are a lot of surveyed, legal roads which either haven't been formed or haven't been maintained by the council.  The law is clear that they are for public passage, that vehicles are part of that passage and that it is illegal to lock them, damage them or close them off.  Yet...... if they go near a farm, inevitably the farmer will close them to the public.  They get very crabby if you decide you want to travel that way.  Just two weeks ago, I wanted access to a public reserve for work purposes and found the access track blocked by a padlocked gate with a hand-painted sign, which said access was a privilege, not a right!  Bizarrely, you get no help at all from the councils, who can be just as bad (one near here had three locked gates on a public road!).

It's the same as camping.  You can fight it via the law and you will win but it is so draining that it's very rare that anyone ever bothers!  Those of us who are a little wiser pick our battles.  Instead of getting upset, I tend to keep a look out for places where I CAN still go and still enjoy some freedom.  The Land Rover makes that massively easier.

Edited February 10, 2018 by deep