What floats your boat for hobbies ...

[Tazzmac]

Apologies in the deep recesses of thread topics if anyone else has done this before but.....hobbies... What is the Skirt Cafe crew into .. I have several both sport and actual hobbies... So , I love my golf . I used to play pretty well once and got to 5 handicap but now out to 14 and rarely play to it but despite that I can't wait to get a game in when I can . Luckily I was part of a great Pennant team that won many team flags over three decades and won a few individual things too but the sheer joy of hitting the ball is the key .. Lawn bowls these days too. Loved my cricket as a young bloke ..bowled a bit of seam stuff and batted low down but we had a terrific team in the local comp with a few good years but no championships ..
Now the hobbies and there's a few ..

HO Model rail ...so much fun .. Doing modern era ATSF /BNSF layout at the moment ..Awesome stuff in DCC now and it fascinates me .. A little bit of R/C earthmoving ..(Huge hobby in Europe) not so much here in Oz . Just dabbling in it with some entry level at the moment , Photography ....awesome hobby also not far into yet but have a great teacher , She works with me at my employment and she helped me get my first DSLR camera and lenses and already teaching me the basics ..She is really amazing landscape photographer .

Fishing.......OMG... All sorts ... Boat Sea fishing a little bit , Surf fishing which I mostly do off the beach about 15 minutes from where I live , Estuary fishing for Black Bream , cocky salmon , cod , silver trevally , sand mullet etc .. Trout fishing very locally ... Too many rods , too much stuff but too much fun .. These days I catch a feed and release the rest except for the trout ..I release all of them after a photo ..

Hiking/Bushwalking of course (that's where the kilts come in a lot) and one other thing is movie collecting (mostly sci fi and comedy ) ..One last thing ...I'm a Ford nut ...I own a beaut 2008 Ford Falcon XR6 in mint condition ..Joyous thing to drive and it's the sporty version of the Australian built Ford Falcon that was part of our lives from 1960- 2016 when the last one rolled off the assembly line ..I'm a member of a car club that have a similar interest in Aussie built Fords .. I also have my dear old 2001 AU ll Ford Futura ..dear old bird she is too..and a 39year old Honda Accord I will do up one day ..Car fan in general ..don't like SUV's much though.

Hobbies are really important I think .. It keeps you interested , it distracts you from life's troubles and work boredoms and I'd love to know what other
Skirt Cafe members love to do or would like to consider trying in the future or have in the past .

Cheers all ...

[Happyskirt97007]

I have a bunch of HO trains, I am a CSX fan but I have not had a layout up for a couple years. I used to be part of a laid-back club but we lost our space 3 years ago.. I need to get back railroading.

My other hobby that has taken over my garage is wood working. I enjoy making (and selling) coffee and end tables. I don't make much of a profit but it does cover the cost of the wood.

My other passion is sailing. I don't sail as much as I would like but I trade quantity for quality as I do offshore sailing. Last October spent a week in the Exumas in the Bahamas, but prior to the pandemic I would do a couple big trips a year, I have sailed up and down the east coast about a half dozen times, sailed from Ft Lauderdale to Bermuda, and from Antigua to Grenada a couple times.

[crfriend]

I am highly computer-focused in my hobbies, and part of that is restoring "antique" systems from the 1960s and '70s to operational condition and running them as exemplars of how things were done "in the day". I also dabble with them otherwise for general fun and doing things around the house like monitoring the biv PV array on our roof.

I've been involved in photography in the past, and still have the chops, and really should get myself a real DSLR at some point, analogue film (remember that?) being rather difficult to get at this point in time. I've had a few shots actually get published, and quite a few adorn my living space. I specialised in landscape and architectural work.

I also sail recreationally as crew, navigator, and ballast with a good pal of mine from where I work and we've been everywhere from Rockport, MA to Nantucket and to Martha's Vineyard several times. Provincetown used to be a big draw, but with the "revamp" of the marina there it's a bit hostile to "common boaters" (they're after the 100+ foot types now). Fun bits include a boisterous trip from Boston to Scituate the day after a big storm in 7-foot seas (in a 35-footer) and being in the midst of a pod of humpback whales who were hunting. Tip: Whales don't brush, and have very, very bad breath -- it gets worse if the spray gets on you (it did us).

Trains: I like my railroading in 1:1 scale, but I used to work with a guy who was replicating in N-scale the track layout for Boston's South Station Terminal circa 1904, at which point was regarded as being the most complex interlocking on the planet. The intent was to have the entire thing live and operating, including the rolling-lift bridges that spanned the Fort Point Channel.

[Happyskirt97007]

I am highly computer-focused in my hobbies, and part of that is restoring "antique" systems from the 1960s and '70s to operational condition and running them as exemplars of how things were done "in the day". I also dabble with them otherwise for general fun and doing things around the house like monitoring the biv PV array on our roof.

I've been involved in photography in the past, and still have the chops, and really should get myself a real DSLR at some point, analogue film (remember that?) being rather difficult to get at this point in time. I've had a few shots actually get published, and quite a few adorn my living space. I specialised in landscape and architectural work.

I also sail recreationally as crew, navigator, and ballast with a good pal of mine from where I work and we've been everywhere from Rockport, MA to Nantucket and to Martha's Vineyard several times. Provincetown used to be a big draw, but with the "revamp" of the marina there it's a bit hostile to "common boaters" (they're after the 100+ foot types now). Fun bits include a boisterous trip from Boston to Scituate the day after a big storm in 7-foot seas (in a 35-footer) and being in the midst of a pod of humpback whales who were hunting. Tip: Whales don't brush, and have very, very bad breath -- it gets worse if the spray gets on you (it did us).

Trains: I like my railroading in 1:1 scale, but I used to work with a guy who was replicating in N-scale the track layout for Boston's South Station Terminal circa 1904, at which point was regarded as being the most complex interlocking on the planet. The intent was to have the entire thing live and operating, including the rolling-lift bridges that spanned the Fort Point Channel.

It is nice to see a fellow sailor here...it is nice to see someone who understands the power of Neptune!

[6ft3Aussie]

For me, I enjoy brewing beers, amateur radio and if I was still living in Auckland, New Zealand, I'd be out with one of my good friends sailing out around the Hauraki gulf, nothing like bashing into head wind with 4 ft swells at 7 kn for about 4 to 5 hours (in a 35 ft yacht) to get to Mansionhouse Bay, Kawau Island, a simply beautiful spot, sheltered anchorage in about 8m of water.

[Big and Bashful]

My hobbies have changed as my knees have aged, one of the pleasures of being overweight I suppose. I used to love sailing, I used to like off-road driving, I have always spent a lot of time playing with, tweaking and building computers. I love music, I am always listening, I dabble with sound engineering and have a variety of mixing consoles and portable recording studios. I have also sort of learnt how to play the guitar, just the basics really, I can pick out a tune on a keyboard, I don't have a creative bone in my body but like to play along with songs, used to participate in music nights in the local pubs singing some folky stuff and songs that work with an acoustic guitar. I am not doing much with the guitars now, since my diabetes has given me numb fingers and thumbs, I get diabetic blisters which are inconvenient, large and slow to heal, really don't want them on my fingertips! Also any blisters and sores seem to take forever to heal even though I have my sugar levels under control. These days when the jammists are practicing songs I make multi-track recordings of them so that each musician can listen to themselves and hear how good/bad they are and what they need to change.
Other hobbies these days? I like simulators on the computer, U-Boat, flight sims and mostly train sims, which I now often record and upload to YouTube. Oh, we still do the annual boat trip but I am not sure how much longer they will go on as we all fall apart! Looks like the Broads this year as they are lock free, the trip will be 3 people with number 4 if he recovers from a knee op in time, at least that is as close to a plan as we can get at the moment. The rest of my time is going to change as I retired on Friday 6th, so apart from rowing (machine) and walking sessions to manage my diabetes, I am going to have to figure out what to do with my time!
Oh, mustn't forget my bits for the local community, looking after the public access defibrillators, there are 15 of them now. I am a Heartstart trainer, also for our local hall, as well as being the licence holder for alcohol sales, I have been roped into being Safety Manager, but don't know what that entails yet. I am also, since I enjoy driving, applying to a local patient transport service for a part time driving job, to fill a couple of days a week and give me a bit of pocket money.

[pelmut]

Canal restoration
I have posted before that a skirt is most practical when working in wet or muddy conditions; trousers act as a wick and soon make your socks and the insides of your boots wet but a damp skirt stays away from your legs and dries quickly.  For some unknown reason, skirts are thought to be dangerous when tending bonfires, but I would have thought they were at least as easy to extinguish as trousers and much quicker to remove.

Folk dancing
You don't just wear a skirt for folk dancing, you become part of it.  It comes alive and so do you, as you learn to dance with it.  Folk dancing gives you a chance to show off your latest fabulous skirt and have fun wearing it.  Dancers in trousers just look wooden, but dancers in skirts transcend elegance.

[crfriend]

You don't just wear a skirt for folk dancing, you become part of it.  It comes alive and so do you, as you learn to dance with it. 

That is a truly beautiful commentary on the matter! What a delight to read.

[Tazzmac]

Thank you all guys ....It's awesome to see so many interests outside of the normal work and 'have to do' life eh ...I am in heaven at the moment . I have another 7 weeks left before I return to work . three more weeks of Annual Leave and four weeks of Long Service Leave .. Painting the house is the only 'have to do; thing but it's more a touch up this time rather than a full on paint .. So I'll have lots of days to do fun things like time with the mutts and fishing and golf and model rail and ............... Went beach fishing yesterday but huge swell ,tide was wrong , soft bait , kelp in the way and caught nothing but it was as they say "A bad day fishing is often better than a good day at work " Forgot another hobby I'm into when I started the topic .. UHF CB radio.. I have three cars and I've fitted them all out with UHF (477Mhz) two way radio and have several handheld 5 watt and 2 watt units ..Not only are they fun and really cheap to get but nice to have if you're in a mobile/cell phone dead spot . Pretty common here and quite a few have them . Best bit for me is we have two very twisty Passes to the coast from the valley where I live and the UHF's can give you an indication if there's big stuff on the Passes (St.Marys and Elephant) as the truck drivers , school buses , passenger buses etc use UHF to let each other know when they're traversing these roads ..my UHF is always on so I can keep abreast of all that .. Thanks again for adding your interests to the thread everybody .
Cheers .

[Kirbstone]

Ah yes, Golf. I was brought up almost on a golf course. Both parents avid life-long devotees to the game. Dad was exceptional and played off scratch-1-2 for half a Century. Alas I failed to shine and as a student took up competitive rowing, which put paid to the golf. Had MOH and her family been golfing people I would probably have persisted at plodder level.

Speaking of floating boats, At 08.00 this morning we had our first rowing outing of 2023. On our what's-app contact platform for mobiles our title is the SeaLynx River Gods. Sealynx being the name of our racing eight. We have a panel of some 16 old geriatrics who make themselves available regularly, so we can sometimes fill two boats, but more often just one.
15 Km at varying paces is a sure-fire formula for dispelling the Christmas/New Year cobwebs and the third part of our outing was distinctly sharper/faster and more enjoyable than the first bits.

Sailing too, but that's much more weather-dependant than inland rowing. I expect to get going at offshore activities again sometime about Easter.
....and I didn't mention fishing. Mainly freshwater game (trout, salmon). Not so productive now as in years gone by. Agri-business fertilizer run-off and other pollutants haven't helped at all.

Model boats, radio-controlled: We have an acre lake in the grounds and a few electric powered boats, a 'Bristol Bay' fisher, a Tug Turmoil and a Seaport Work boat. Nothing fast. More fun now for the grandchildren and their friends. A home-built marine ply 12.5 foot rowboat also, which gets a lot of use once the weather is clement.

Used to dabble in old cars yonks ago and owned a 1928 Alvis 12-50. A pig to drive, but an eternal money-sink and conversation piece. I lived but a few miles from the Phoenix Inn near Basingstoke, Hampshire where the Vintage Sports Car Club was founded.

Astronomy. Have a Newtonian 8" Reflector, but nowadays I find nights too damn cold for serious sky study.

Chess, Bridge, Model-making in primarily wood...toys for the children/grandchildren/ great grndchldrn. now!

Oh yes.....Dentistry. I still do it, but what I do now has become a hobby really. My Med. GP said to me: 'If you don't use it, you'll lose it'.

and Music. Choral, Piano and whistles for trad. Irish &c. A lot of fun. Once again we had a N.Y. party, 1st for three years. 30 usual suspects and a mix of poetry and fine musical performances.

That's it, I think

Tom

[john62]

Hobbies - golf, which is a highly frustrating hobby.
reading - sci- fi or history.
music - listening to, playing no skills at all.

John

[Fred in Skirts]

Well lets see!
1. Reading: Mostly Sci-Fi and Who Done Its.
2. Model trains: Mostly G gauge and some HO gauge. Have a small G layout on back porch but was going to have a garden layout but back and knees gave out so that put finish to that idea.
3. Train Spotting: Really used to enjoy traveling to distant places to watch and photograph and video trains. To old now (80) and many of the places no longer have rail traffic.
4. Riding on trains: Best way to travel in the world!! Fun too!
5. Video making: see 3 above... I have an editing studio in my living room.
6. Watching other people work and enjoying the fact that I no longer have to.

[Myopic Bookworm]

I have no interest in sport: I run about 5K three times a week purely as a way of staying at my present waist size and kidding myself that I am staying fit. I've never done any of those dad things like golf or sailing or fishing or modelmaking or woodwork or mending my own motorbike...! Basically I am a nerd.

I will have to brush up my Scottish country dancing, as Mrs Bookworm has bought tickets to a upcoming dance! (Kilt on!)

Reading: the house is full of books. I mean full: there are bookcases everywhere, and piles of books, and boxes of books, in several places. I wish I spent more time reading, especially speculative fiction (SF and fantasy).

Music: I sing in a couple of choirs (classical/church and early music), and occasionally dabble in composition.

I do spend too much time on computer games - mainly Forge of Empires, which is one of those very slow city-building games that would drive anyone with a short attention span quite insane.

And I like to eat, so when I get the time I try to cook nice things that I can then eat, sometimes using things I have grown in the garden. (We have a cupboard full of home-made jam and chutney, and the marmalade season is now upon us.)

[Uncle Al]

Well, I used to do quite a bit of gardening but not any more.
Sold my boat several years ago and quit fishing
Cooking - used to do that too and enjoyed every moment of it
(Created an excellent seafood dip )
Model trains - Too many supplies and no layout(N, HO, S and G)
Started to get into R/C aircraft. Purchased one and it's still sitting, assembled, in the garage.
Music - Playing(piano, organ and silent film accompanist) and some composing, also tuning
pipe organs. Budget buying parts to convert my analogue organ into a digital theater organ.
Watching Youtube clips.
Building the Enterprise-D (temporarily on hold until the supplier gets back up and running.)
Using my computer to watch shows on Disney+, Paramount+ and HBOMax.
(If I watch 2 shows on each service per month, I've saved money over paying at a movie house.)
Being the best Santa a person can be and enjoying the look on kids faces

Uncle Al

[Ray]

Cycling. I have 4 bikes and love seeing the countryside firsthand.

Hillwalking. Climbing mountains in Scotland is a joy.

Fine wine. I have a reasonable collection numbering over 1,500. My tastes are varied, from Australia to USA (and all points between) and from a £9 (US$11) basic wine to, well, rather more. I hate Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc though. Horrible stuff.

Music. I love my hifi, in the same room as my guitars and piano. I’ve got about 2,000 albums. A real aficionado would scoff at the content but hey; I love them.

Lego! Especially the Star Wars stuff.

Cars. I’ve got decades of car magazines and an old but charismatic Alfa Romeo outside. I love it.

Books, jigsaws, gaming? Yes to all. Oh, and I love love skiing.