The Hodnett Family Converting Scotland

[Palimpsest]

1 minute ago, Gobsmacked said:

Hodnutt and Tool sounds like a Dickensian Solicitor firm.

And neither of them would have a clue what you mean!  

[PopRox]

While Mr. Hodnett is certainly...large... at least his children don't look like they're starving (Lookin' at you, DRod).

[Seahorse Wrangler]

10 hours ago, Gobsmacked said:

Sounds dangerous!

Would love to watch him navigate some of the junctions and roundabouts in Inverness they are  Baaaad!

Swindon and the Magic Roundabout...I lived there for a very long time(1995-2000 but it seemed longer!) and only once successfully managed to get through in less than 3 lane changes.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alba]

I hate the rural roads, too @Palimpsest. I always get Mr Alba, who grew up in a rural area, to drive when we're going anywhere like the Highlands/his grandmother's house. Then I just have to put up with his mutterings about 'bloody tourists going far too fast'.

Speaking of which, when we were in Skye last year we were heading up a single-track switchback road (out of Uig, for those familiar with the area) that had passing places at each hairpin bend. We pulled over in one to allow a car coming down the hill to pass, and I got a good look at the driver and the car. She looked TERRIFIED. It was a clean, 16-reg car, so almost certainly a tourist in a hire car, and she was gripping the steering wheel for dear life. And that's why I married a rural Scotsman

Honestly, though, living in Dundee, you don't *need* to drive. Sure, it makes life easier - if you can do it safely - but the public transport in the city is decent, and Edinburgh's just a train ride away. You only really *need* a car if you're going off sightseeing in the Highlands, where you get to deal with those lovely rural roads that terrify anyone who didn't grow up in rural Scotland. I'm not snarking on Jody's discomfort with driving, just the poor judgement shown in choosing to drive without practice

[Lurky]

@Seahorse Wrangler I've got a mug with an illustration of Swindon's Magic Roundabout!  It is one of my favourite gifts!

 

 

[ladyaudley]

I hate the rural roads, too @Palimpsest.
Honestly, though, living in Dundee, you don't *need* to drive. Sure, it makes life easier - if you can do it safely - but the public transport in the city is decent, and Edinburgh's just a train ride away. You only really *need* a car if you're going off sightseeing in the Highlands, where you get to deal with those lovely rural roads that terrify anyone who didn't grow up in rural Scotland.

But since he didn't do any research, he probably assumed it was like most America cities where cars are often vital!

[Gobsmacked]

Wow! The photo of the Swindon roundabout is horrific!

Medals should be given to any one who even dares to challenge it. What were the road planners thinking? They must have been drinking more than tea during the planning meetings.

Ive never visited Swindon but if ever I do its public transport all the way!

[hoipolloi]

Roundabouts - beloved of traffic engineers and almost no on else.

[kunoichi66]

I may have seen hodit and dodit himself!

 

Has he posted about coming to Glasgow on day trips?  I was going down buchanan street yesterday and there was an American standing on a soap box preaching about the glory of God and something about sin.

 

There were a few people watching (I had the pleasure of seeing a man lean out of his car window with a 'wtf?' expression, lol) but most of them seemed to not be taking him seriously.

[Gobsmacked]

Was he large, with a strange beard? 

[kunoichi66]

6 hours ago, Gobsmacked said:

Was he large, with a strange beard? 

He did have a beard, but I'm not sure what you mean by large?

[hasunah]

20 hours ago, Seahorse Wrangler said:

Swindon and the Magic Roundabout...I lived there for a very long time(1995-2000 but it seemed longer!) and only once successfully managed to get through in less than 3 lane changes.

 

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Assuming I'm the white car on the right side , standing on the dotted line entering the circle (of hell) , how would I drive there ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FrumperedCat]

@hasunah Essentially with the magic roundabout there are two routes around it so you can go clockwise or anticlockwise. To get on to the anticlockwise route you take the second exit going on to the roundabout whereas with going the clockwise route you take the first exit. Of course you have to make sure you're in the correct lane and it is generally said that going in the clockwise route round the outside is easiest.

[Gobsmacked]

34 minutes ago, FrumperedCat said:

@hasunah Essentially with the magic roundabout there are two routes around it so you can go clockwise or anticlockwise. To get on to the anticlockwise route you take the second exit going on to the roundabout whereas with going the clockwise route you take the first exit. Of course you have to make sure you're in the correct lane and it is generally said that going in the clockwise route round the outside is easiest.

I'm totally confused having read your post at least 4 times. Is there a short cut avoiding the roundabout?

[Gobsmacked]

3 hours ago, kunoichi66 said:

He did have a beard, but I'm not sure what you mean by large?

I was being polite, was he hugely overweight?

[FrumperedCat]

15 minutes ago, Gobsmacked said:

I'm totally confused having read your post at least 4 times. Is there a short cut avoiding the roundabout?

I don't know but that wasn't what i was referring to. What I meant is  there's two ways of going round the roundabout because of all the mini roundabouts. There's the inside flow of traffic which moves anti-clockwise and the outside flow which is clockwise.

[Gobsmacked]

Thankyou, I'm even more confused. Is this the only roundabout in Britain with mini roundabouts inside it? Its a nightmare!

The planners and engineers must have been on LSD that day. Surely there must have been an easier plan?

Spaghetti  junction in Birmingham is horrendous but made slightly easier by the use of flyovers.

[FrumperedCat]

Just now, Gobsmacked said:

Thankyou, I'm even more confused. Is this the only roundabout in Britain with mini roundabouts inside it? Its a nightmare!

The planners and engineers must have been on LSD that day. Surely there must have been an easier plan?

So sorry- it seems even more confusing to navigate though! Apparently it's only the fourth scariest junction in Britain though.

It's not the only one, no- there appear to be quite a few others dotted about. It's very safe though as traffic is too slow to cause any real damage to anything. It's even got it's own Wikipedia article!

There don't seem to be any in Dundee though perhaps that's for the best.

[Bethella]

@Gobsmacked Here's a video about how it works.

https://www.wired.com/video/see-how-an-insane-7-circle-roundabout-actually-works 

[Lurky]

@FrumperedCat Do you happen to know the top 3 scariest??  I've been a passenger in the Magic Roundabout, and the fact the mini roundabouts don't have a raised middle made it all the worse!

Oh Swindon....  Apologies to any FJers from the Swindonian National Park, but it's a town where their biggest selling point is "excellent transport links", which is meant to be a plus for businesses to move there, but always comes across as "easy to leave"....

[ladyaudley]

I may have seen hodit and dodit himself!
 
Has he posted about coming to Glasgow on day trips?  I was going down buchanan street yesterday and there was an American standing on a soap box preaching about the glory of God and something about sin.
 
There were a few people watching (I had the pleasure of seeing a man lean out of his car window with a 'wtf?' expression, lol) but most of them seemed to not be taking him seriously.

Nah, that dude is there fairly frequently. No idea who he is.

[kunoichi66]

4 hours ago, ladyaudley said:

Nah, that dude is there fairly frequently. No idea who he is.

Aaaah, that explains it.

 

Sorry, FJ!  Didn't mean to stir up hope...or dread, as the case may be.

[Peas n carrots]

Aaaah, that explains it.
 
Sorry, FJ!  Didn't mean to stir up hope...or dread, as the case may be.

Keep your eyes open he may show up and there will be a street preacher showdown.

I've seen a street preacher where Sauchie Hall and Buchanan meet - I don't recall him being American but he was getting some verbal lashings from passerby!

[kunoichi66]

3 hours ago, Peas n carrots said:

 

Keep your eyes open he may show up and there will be a street preacher showdown.

I've seen a street preacher where Sauchie Hall and Buchanan meet - I don't recall him being American but he was getting some verbal lashings from passerby!

a preacher-off!  We could sit back and mock them both for being utterly ridiculous!

This guy had a grey knit cap on, if that helps.

I thought he was American - granted I'm terrible with accents, but he didn't sound Scottish, or English.  There used to be a guy who hung round royal exchange square as well, has he been seen recently?  Always talking about the dangers of homosexuality and using the phrase 'my brothers', he was.

[Triplet3]

There's a magic roundabout in Hemel Hempstead too, though it doesn't seem to be as complicated as the Swindon one. The Hemel one is pretty simple, really - just six mini roundabouts round a big central circle. The trick to tackling it, as my driving instructor taught me, is to always stay on the inside lane unless you're coming off. It's pretty easy if you just think of it as a set of mini roundabouts rather than one big, complicated roundabout.