James May's Man Lab

[He11cat]

How cool is that :)
He also has bikes on it inc a Speed Triple.

Shocking that today's man only 2 out of ten can wire a plug!!???

I think even a dim wit like me can still manage that! :eyepopping:

I think he's great :)

I am proud that I am really good at spit and polishing boots to parade standard I can still do it!!!


Serenading .. oh dear.. lol

(Oh by the way that does not mean the Armstrong and Miller song " I like women over.... they are thicker round the middle... ").

[JerryXt]

that was fun! I missed the part about men not being able to wire a plug - that's shocking. My father rewired his whole house years ago.

The part about defusing a bomb was interesting. Good to know about the secondary fuse - might have caught a few of us out.

[He11cat]

yup scary about bomb disposal..
And we all need a model railway to deliver snacks :)
I found the whoe thing interesting to be honest but then I am a nerdy woman :)

[samieb]

Can someone remind when its on next time please, I missed it.. thanks

[He11cat]

I saw it on Sunday Il check when i get home :)

[jerry]

Absolutely brilliant program ...James May is a gentleman and a hero.

[BluprintZ]

Can someone remind when its on next time please, I missed it.. thanks

Here ya go bud: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vs617/James_Mays_Man_Lab_Episode_1/

G ; )

[He11cat]

BBC 2 9pm Sunday .... only 3 of them :(

James is fantastic .. I said I liked him lots of people laughed at me :(
Proper English gentleman ... and interesting to boot.

I want to go in the man Lab and win a badge and not a fail one!

[Char]

I'd marry him

[samieb]

Thanks for the info of when its on..

[He11cat]

No worries :)
why only 3 ???? Does this mean all a man needs to know in life to excell at manlyness can be done in 3 episodes???

What about the art of dualing?
How to duff you hat in the correct fashion ..
How to learn to say "yes dear" in the right places and britches .. How to wear them .
Ice cream how to impress a lady ..

They have to do dualing!!!!! Oh and how to run in a suit of armour without looking stupid!

[jerry]

I want him as my best mate .

[He11cat]

Handbags at dawn with Char lol!!
The pink stripey top is mine!!!!

[Char]

Handbags at dawn with Char lol!!
The pink stripey top is mine!!!!

I'm only after his garage :biggrin:

[He11cat]

ok deal.. I get the top!

[He11cat]

Was just reading in a paper that Men today can't do the simple jobs that our Fathers could do.

James stated wiring plugs , bleeding radiators and car oil change..

I have to say if I need to know something about household stuff I often ask my Dad and he knows .. or can help me.

On the whole most men who like to tinker with cars and bikes know how to do the things that keep a house in order and a car in order (DIY and electrical stuff).

"modern man" as James refers to knows what the latest scent is ... what the trendiest designer label is .. often sorry if I am really wrong in saying this and get hung.. suit in an office...

The fact is we don't fix stuff anymore , we throw it away and buy another.
Make do and mend has gone by the wayside.

Our Fathers where often war babies and you had to make do and mend so you learn't useful skills in the shed with your Father... unless you where a girl grrrrr!!!

Id rather a man who was practical and good with his hands then your David Beckham pretty sort !!

Its sadly really true .. dread to think what the next generation will be like!!

[He11cat]

:( last one tonight..
But I am most happy that last week he did dueling.. and threw down his motorcycle glove. :)

[MrsC_772]

That programme leaves me strangely nostalgic for childhood visits to my grandparents when I'd find myself looking through my dad's old 1950s children's encyclopaedias and Eagle comic annuals, or trying to build things out of my dad's old meccano set (and thinking lego was better).

And May was wearing a motorcycle related T-shirt and drinking lots of proper beer tonight.

Shame most of tonights projects were heroic failures - exploded sandwiches in the war against wasps, a rocket that reminded me of the brilliant This is David Lander "Sea Demon" episode and an orchestra that makes the Springfield Elementary School band sound good.

[He11cat]

I think its a brilliant program .. fireworks to "The Smiths" lol.

Rocket .. priceless .. :)
and Dueling... my fav thing.. " I demand satisfaction or death!"... (s******!)..

Well have to say beats the other tripe everyone seems to be watching .. XFactor and I am a...
even with Shaun Ryder on it I don't think I can be bothered ..
Pity its only 3 programs .. please make more...

[JerryT]

I'm very pleased to hear so many people here approve of May. He's a proper chap, if you know what I mean. Once upon a time ordinary men had to face up to rather sterner tests of character than, say a job interview or getting a date. One of my Great Grandfathers was torpedoed on a Dreadnought in the Great War. I've never had to face anyhting like that, but I've always felt a chap should be as self-reliant as possible. I'd like to think he'd approve of some of the stuff I've done, like design and fit our house's central heating system; remove, service and replace a Lancia steering rack two days before going on a family holiday to Devon plus numerous other DIY and household projects, usually to a standard better than the average tradesman - most of whom I don't trust to wipe their own noses properly. I used to fence for my school and learnt how to build lutes at the London college of furniture. Must admit I've never defused a bomb though. I found quite a lot to like in May's last program. Like May I am rather appalled at the pathetic and contemptuous attitudes of a lot of men today, who barely understand the technologies they daily profess to rely on. :fou: A chap really should have more sense...

What's the best thing that any of you have done that May might approve of ??

[JerryT]

OH! just realised I've posted a rant in a humour/jokes forum. Oh well, some you win...

[BluprintZ]

James May is a legend, it's as though he has refused to leave the 70's and i like him for that.

Yes, times are different these days, some of us were fortunate enough to have been around in the 60's/70's, when it was quite normal to strip a Triumph twin over weekend and re-build it, after fitting new rings or valves, then going to work on it on Monday morning.

In the early`90's, a load of us went on a camping trip down the coast to Tywyn, on various bikes, including my mates BSA M21 side valve.
His head gasket blew on the way, so whilst the rest of us dossed about, my mate pulled the cylinder head and annealed the copper head gasket with a gas blowtorch he had in his tool roll.
Fitted the gasket and head and we were on our way again in less than half an hour.
Of course, the head gasket was prone to blowing quite regularily on side valve bikes, so the blowtorch was always a part of my mates onboard tool kit.

It's a bit like the guy who maintains the studio computers and website for me, i'm not afraid to admit that i don't have a clue about keeping computers sorted but i do know how to sort his car when it goes wrong, as i have done on several occasions.

These days, it's more a case of technology decreeing that maintainance of virtually everything, is either left to the specialist, or it is scrapped and a new replacement is bought, the days of practical maintainance is drawing to an end i fear.

G ; )

[He11cat]

I'm a chapess ..
I did sort my radiators out the other day for the first time.. I used to spanner alot but in the last 16 years have forgotten what I learnt.
I have to make do and mend can't afford nothing new !!
The bike see,s to that!

May is a proper chap!!
I also like Reading the magazine "The Chap" it's fab!
I can't be doing with poncy men sorry!
I agree with him why have lengthy litigations and solicitors when you can just have a duel and be done with all the faff in ten mins!

I think your right this generation up and coming will be very different..
It's sad really . Like good old fashioned manners.
Manners maketh the man and cost nothing!!
Another dying art.

[utopia]

May is a top chap.
I particularly liked his soft-top Triumph sailing dingy on top gear.
And he rides at the Thundersprint.

One of my best fixes was when the cambelt snapped on our escort en route to a holiday. Me, the wife and 3 small children. This was a sunday afternoon. A mate towed us home and I felt the beginnings of an attack of man flu. It hit hard by the morning. I put on extra jumpers under my overalls, and a wooley hat. I delved into the mucky recesses of the many wheeled beast and wrestled the cylinder head into the shed to discover 5 bent valves and 3 cracked rockers. This was one of those cars by the way, which are not financially viable to have fixed professionally. I'm sure you've all been there. I got my pushbike out and fetched the bits and by the thursday we were back on the road to Tenby. That little 1100 engine ran like a dream after that, what with newly lapped valves and new stem seals an' all.
And by the thursday the man flu had run its course and the world was rosy again.

I changed the clutch on the same car too. On the drive. February. I had to prepare everything very carefully for maximum speed of assembly cos it was so cold that my fingers would only remain useable for a few minutes and steel can get very cold. By the time the new clutch was in place (and only just), my legs were covered with an inch of snow. And I really did actually cry as the feeling came back to my fingers.

[Gordon H]

My kids refer to me as James May - but I don't think it's a compliment.........

[He11cat]

I get called 'Captain Slow' .. dunno why ... (whistles to herself )....