fairly full denim skirt

[Big and Bashful]

I love that clock, there is just something about naked mechanical bits! Real clocks and steam engines, can't beat oscillating metal!

[Kirbstone]

Jack,
Re: the Devon Sea Clock,

I ordered mine on line, having seen their advert somewhere. I was rather more well-to-do then and coughing up the £ Sterling 2 Grand didn't hurt too much.
That was about eight years ago before the economic crash.

Re: watches, I had an Eterna-Matic self-winding Swiss Chronometer for 44 years (Wedding Prezzy) which I ruined by leaving the adjustment knob not tight as I dove into the Eastern Med last year, flooding its normally waterproof internals in salt water. The menders want Eur 280 to fix it & I can't afford that now, so I bought a similar-looking cheapie at Lidl's for Eur7.99 which is w/proof & guaranteed for 3 years!!!, would you believe

Tom

[JoeBro]

Length is a matter of personal preference. I've often wondered why women simply don't let the weather dtermine the length of the skirt / dress they wear. In addition to what could be considered good taste. In the end it has to be comfortable and you can't be self conscious wearing it. I can remember when men wore shorts - and not short baggy pants. My preference being a kilt wearer is just above the knee.

[Caultron]

Length is a matter of personal preference. I've often wondered why women simply don't let the weather dtermine the length of the skirt / dress they wear. In addition to what could be considered good taste. In the end it has to be comfortable and you can't be self conscious wearing it.

Women's clothes don't come by length, and so the buyer chooses a size by torso fit and then deals with or decides yes/no based on whatever the length turns out to be.

Also, there's a huge gap between fashion sense and logic.

I can remember when men wore shorts - and not short baggy pants. My preference being a kilt wearer is just above the knee.

Me too on the shorts, but I prefer kilts just below the knee so their easier to sit in. I don't like my naughty bits rubbing bare against the chair bottom.

[MrNaturalAZ]

I can remember when men wore shorts - and not short baggy pants. My preference being a kilt wearer is just above the knee.

Back when I was much younger, and shorter shorts were common on men, I wore them shorter. My kilts I prefer, ideally, to just cover my knees, though hitting anywhere on the kneecap is OK. Sarongs I prefer mid-calf length. And shorts, when I wear them anymore, I prefer near the knees, and don't mind them covering the knees.

I have no real reason for my length preference (though @Caultron's comment about leaving some fabric to sit on certainly applies with the kilts) other than perhaps I just don't like showing off my thighs?

[Jack Williams]

To my mind any kind of short pants are a fashion crime except on very young boys (or girls).

Kirbstone: On mechanical things, I do have a very nice kitset model steam engine. The expensive part though of course is the boiler. There is a very nice British made one available, made to look like a Victorian power station one. Last I checked, some four hundred pounds Sterling. But the Kiwi dollar is exceptionally high at present..
Here it is. Price has actually reduced since I last looked. Won't have to pay the VAT, and freight won't be too much methinks.
http://www.modelsteamenginesuk.com/acat ... oiler.html

[Jack Williams]

Got it on the way.

[Kirbstone]

Jack,

Lovely things, model (or real size) steam engines. I did have a working spirit-fuelled model fairground steam traction engine, a pic. of which I will dig out of an old album soon, but alas it got melted! It was occupying a prominent display shelf in our 'Old Vicarage' study/liberary in Herefordshire when on the 14th February 1986 we had a fire in that room which killed a dog and a cat, destroyed some 700 books, a few pictures, several armchairs, a lot of boxes of 35MM slides & 8MM cine films + projector...and the traction engine.

Tim & steam traction engine 1979 Rs.jpg

Fortunately the fire brigade confined the fire to that room, so we weren't out of house and home. It was a 'night to remember'.

The thing about clocks is that they at least tell the time and we have a 'tradition' of celebrating key wedding anniversaries with yet another clock. Last one was 45 years, or Sapphire and SWMBO produced this attached cuckoo clock which plays a recording of real Black Forest birdsong with a real cuckoo call & answer, with twelve different little nicely arranged chiming tunes following on each hour. It's programmed to shut off the chime between 12 midnight & 6 AM. A very nice addition to our clock collection.

Clocks6.jpg

Were I to indulge in another steam engine it would be perceived as strictly a boy's toy and nowadays we have more pressing destinations for our few pennies.

Tom