Supporting Members

[malcolm]

This is partly a repost from one I made in the private moderator section on another forum but applies here too. I've realised most people lead regular lives and won't have experienced a mental drop before. Few will have gone through stress like we are having now.

Last year I came back from a couple of months of stress in Finland and had a drop. I had no work after Finland and I wasn't motivated to do my own projects. 3 months later still nothing done and the lack of motivation had turned into full on depression with all the horrid anxiety too. The thing that pulled me out was regular work and a social life. I opened up to the crowd I (used to) work with and gave them an ultimatum - regular work or I'll go elsewhere. I made a huge effort to get out and see people every weekend. I got better and am better prepared now. (Mad but happy is working fine for me)

It's an easy trap to fall in to. On another forum I can see a load of people with stress at the point of a drop, and now that regular work or social interaction might not be available as a rescue it might be a good thing for them not to drop in the first place.

I guess what we can do for members is try to keep the forum constructive. Maybe try to discourage reposting of the depressing facebook anger and scaremongering as the official sources are bad enough. Otherwise I have no ideas, and suggestions to help members keep sane through this would be welcome.

Off-topic is fine on here - if you want to post about anything on your mind then Clementine's Cafe is here for you and the coffee and croissants are now free. I'm not busy and I'm happy to chat if you need.

Also Clementine needs you! If you are at home with nothing to do please get on with the R4 and post your progress in the projects section. Your progress will help motive the rest of us to get on with our projects.

 

[ecurb.renots]

This is partly a repost from one I made in the private moderator section on another forum but applies here too. I've realised most people lead regular lives and won't have experienced a mental drop before. Few will have gone through stress like we are having now.

Last year I came back from a couple of months of stress in Finland and had a drop. I had no work after Finland and I wasn't motivated to do my own projects. 3 months later still nothing done and the lack of motivation had turned into full on depression with all the horrid anxiety too. The thing that pulled me out was regular work and a social life. I opened up to the crowd I (used to) work with and gave them an ultimatum - regular work or I'll go elsewhere. I made a huge effort to get out and see people every weekend. I got better and am better prepared now. (Mad but happy is working fine for me)

It's an easy trap to fall in to. On another forum I can see a load of people with stress at the point of a drop, and now that regular work or social interaction might not be available as a rescue it might be a good thing for them not to drop in the first place.

I guess what we can do for members is try to keep the forum constructive. Maybe try to discourage reposting of the depressing facebook anger and scaremongering as the official sources are bad enough. Otherwise I have no ideas, and suggestions to help members keep sane through this would be welcome.

Off-topic is fine on here - if you want to post about anything on your mind then Clementine's Cafe is here for you and the coffee and croissants are now free. I'm not busy and I'm happy to chat if you need.

Also Clementine needs you! If you are at home with nothing to do please get on with the R4 and post your progress in the projects section. Your progress will help motive the rest of us to get on with our projects.

Good ideas and thoughts here. it is very easy for people to be critical online whereas they would not have the balls to do it to ones face. Fortunately not something I have seen on this forum which does tend to be very supportive, maybe because we all suffer from the same ailment being a fondness for R4's. Glad you got over your spell of darkness

 

[jjad]

Thanks Malcolm,

This site and its friendly members are a welcome distraction to the current global situation. The kindness that this site demonstrates in terms of members helping each other out with advice, encouragement and sharing of expertise is incredible. Thank you, Malcolm, for enabling this to happen.

Stay safe everyone

 

[bigjobbins]

Here's the old quatrelle at the Rio Zezere about 10 mins from where i live in central Portugal. We a spend a lot of time along this river; gathering fallen wood, walking & swimming (in about a month). There are many river beaches; some proper jobs with picnic tables & swimming pools moored in the river or just a clearing - like our own secret beach; where one can remove ones clothing & swim as nature intended! I finally managed to replace the front disc brake pads the other day; something i seem to have avoided in all the 5 R4's i've had over the years. I was amazed at how simple the job was; and afterwards congratulated myself on a job well done. With all the time we've got on our hands now i may get on with some more little jobs on it. But I've realised it will never be an immaculate job (i've had better): & as there is too many glitches to put right, i'm happy that this amazing little motor car just carries on, and on and on. They sometimes refer to it here as 'the jeep of the Renault'; something i often say aloud when i am powering up the unmade tracks from the river with another load of wood for the woodburner. Still plenty of R4's here in Portugal: some in retro bright colours; but mostly white, & driven by old duffers like myself. Not much in the way of friendly waves though - as i expect they don't know this old duffer!
I do hope that everyone is keeping safe & healthy wherever you may be: I think it's going to be a long haul & hopefully a great many 'lessons' will be learned! Now, i have to get back to the garden & get digging some more & plant more courgettes, spinach, lettuce, melons & tomatoes & eke out our meagre funds. Stay busy, Stay healthy. Love. Fruit. Nature. Bigjobbins xx

 

[orsome]

Last year I came back from a couple of months of stress in Finland and had a drop.

...in Finland OMG, eikö ollut kivaa?

 

[AdamWilkes]

I'm actually rebuilding a 1973 Reliant Scimitar GTE now, but previously had the F6 pictured as my avatar until it was crunched by someone. I still love R4's and this forum, so here I am still!
It's so wonderful that the weather here (southern UK) is at present very friendly to messing about on a car stuck on a driveway (the garage is FULL of 'stuff that will come in useful'). I would be extremely frustrated else - and I may have to build another futile website should the weather turn bad See cooldog.uk for a seldom-viewed dog-based store I carved out last summer, with lots of interesting coffee-break-length articles I wrote to do with dogs. Off topic? Not me
On cork gaskets - to use RTV silicone, grease, vaseline, blue hylomar, red hylomar, nothing at all ? The interweb has it all - any experienced input from Renault cork gasketeers ? Sump gasket on the V6 Essex engine awaits.

 

[malcolm]

...in Finland OMG, eikö ollut kivaa?

I enjoyed Finland. I was there over winter and the sky was often blue and the sea frozen. It was the sudden onset of no work when I got back that caught me out. I went back last summer but we were caught out by the beaurocracy and I couldn't work. I had to spend a week cycling around the islands on full pay and expenses instead. :-)

I'm better prepared this time as I know what will happen when I don't keep busy. I've been making the secondary glazing that I started 2 years ago. Glad you guys are keeping busy and it'll be good to see projects.

 

[petak]

Spending "useful" and "quality" time with kids in corona time.

 

[JonathanT]

Well I’m holed up with my lovely girlfriend here in Norwich. Not near my shed or Womble the Renault 4. But I have plenty to do ! I’ve fitted enough shelves up for her house to operate as the local library when this all lifts It has its perks too She is the most wonderful cook and smashing to be with. We have been going 7 months now and despite this intense situation of suddenly living together it’s just wonderful and we are getting on great . Now the funny thing is which I will share is that on our very first meeting I gave her a lift home in Womble the R4. To my amazement she knew how to open the door from the inside instantaneously! THAT was noted ! A BIG brownie point! The next time we met I asked how she knew how to operate the door handle. ‘ My Dad had R4 Vans and I learned to drive in one ‘

 

[jjad]

>> To my amazement she knew how to open the door from the inside instantaneously!
You must have known from that moment, I reckon. She clearly passed the R4 test!

 

[petak]

What nice way to spend lockdown JonathanT.


Knowing how to open door from inside in R4 is ultimate test.

 

[orsome]

corona time works on R4, trying to take off the main brake cylinder, brake line nipples are very tight

 

[malcolm]

I'm a lot more positive now and getting a lot done. I think I'm getting the hang of lockdown. The thing that really helped was a weekend exterior painting job which provided some human contact.

The other thing that helped was doing exactly what I like (within the rules obviously)

Has everyone else found ways to stay happy?

 

[petak]

Looking good Malcolm!

 

[mr-reno-139]

hi Malcolm and everyone else reading this firstly to wish everyone one the best from what is obviously a very serious situation we all find ourselves in
I have been struggling mentally with this as having spent most of my adult life being a problem solver and using my logical brain 2 think of Solutions 2 mainly car based problems it is very difficult for me to focus
As a self-employed Renault mechanic my workload has dropped to zero and the few projects which were lined up up for customers are now on hold
And my day to day life now consists of of queuing up in supermarkets for vulnerable relatives shopping needs and being on standby in case any of my local customers have an urgent problem with their car
I will be using this forum more often as social media has become a very volatile environment and I'm pretty sure we can all get along nicely on here stay safe everyone

 

[JdeW]

Hard times for everyone it's the sad reality.
For me, living in the corona hot spot region of The Netherlands, it's hard to see the National banner halfraised on several houses, knowing what has happened.

Luckely over here the family is all right, my wife and I are 55, raised 4, oldest 35, youngest 19, grand daughter of 10 and second on the way.
No time for real social happenings since 2018, as Robert (@harbourseal ) once asked if I would go visit the Renaultoloog in 2018 because some "Clementines" wanted to meet the crazy (Dutch) guy regarding his restoration. Sorry I didn't had time, the new old house ate all my spare time.
But I will come by, anywhere, any place, any time in the future, as I am a man of my word just as I promised to visit Hrvoje (@petak ) when my wife and I wil cross country the complete former republic of Yugoslavia with our GTL.

As for my work, I'm a professional process engineer working as a professional special beer brewmaster brewing over 200 types of special ales, hitting my car at 02:00 a.m. and start at 03:00 a.m. working. When all pubs and restaurants closed we immediality saw a decrease in orders and production, but again we are expanding the brewery for the third time now, so still a lot to do and to achieve, ready to start producing when everything opens.
As for my former profession, I served for 28 years, done a lot over the whole world for many many years mainly in crisis operations but that was always "pretty" locally/regionaly orientated and never worldwide as this corona pandemic that hits everyone.

I'm still very busy with the garage build, house restoration and up next the garden landscaping, I do those things when I return home from work (approx. 12 noon) before I can really continue the GTL restoration. I trully miss working on our "Reeske" as my wife and I named our mighty GTL.
As Paul ( @mr-reno-139 ) wrote, I'm also using the forum more and more as social media as I'm absolutely no fan or participant of any social media at all!!

And I love humor, being raised with Monty Python's Flying Circus in my younger years, so when I react, on various topics, on a "Python way" forgive me, but that's my kind of humor.
Stay safe you all!

P.S.
Could somebody lend me a hand with a shovel, rake or whatever for my landscaping?
Free beer as a bonus!

 

[malcolm]

As a self-employed Renault mechanic my workload has dropped to zero and the few projects which were lined up up for customers are now on hold

Are you able to get on with your own projects? Wondering if I need to put some effort into the Rodeo race to completion - or have you won that one already?

 

[mr-reno-139]

Are you able to get on with your own projects? Wondering if I need to put some effort into the Rodeo race to completion - or have you won that one already?

rodeo is at my house and would need me to trailer it to work and then be in the way if a paying job came in
it does run and drive but not finished obviously
got on display at local French car club display last year

 

[harbourseal]

I’m busy at work in the hospital. So no time for being home blues.
At the dialysis ward we have been lucky so far, not many of our regulars have been affected with the dreaded virus. We have a warm relationship with our long term patient. And it is more or less business as usual but we have a somewhat strange way of communicating. We have to keep our distance after connecting the patient to the dialysis monitor. Good thing is that we can joke for a group now. Because we have to speak a bit louder. Humor keeps us going.
After work I ride my bike home. Sometimes I do some shopping for elderly neighbors. Working on my vagabond project and cycling keeps me sane in these troubling times.
The insanity posted on social media is I bit troubling, but there ar initiatives around to break the gloom and doom.

This forum is a very nice place to vent.
Take care everyone,
Robert

 

[malcolm]

rodeo is at my house and would need me to trailer it to work and then be in the way if a paying job came in
it does run and drive but not finished obviously

Looks fab. You are probably ahead now yours is running. Though mine doesn't need paint so it might still be neck and neck in the 10 year Rodeo restoration race.

I've gone furlough. As far as I understand it just means you can't work in normal working hours so I'm getting on with my own projects during the week and still have a day of work each weekend. I'm finding that system works well and the projects are more fun now they aren't been interrupted by work.