Hobbies for the middle aged man

If you're into nature, photography is a hobby that can destroy your wallet quickly. Doubly so if you get into wildlife photography. All of the fun of hunting without having to kill and animal at the end of it.
 
Johnny Mars Bar said:
It’s easy to spend tens of thousands on bikes and gear.

A few years ago someone called it the new golf, which is a very good comparison.

You don’t have to of course. You can get into it for not a lot of cash. It just quickly sucks you in once you get the bug.
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I did a 2000 km bike ride back in 2012 and used a $200 bike. It was faultless. Wore 3 quid Karrimor shorts from Sports Direct. Also fine.
 
halfmist said:
I haven’t scrolled through 27 pages of posts but mine is model railway.
I have built a 60 ‘s era one in a bedroom during lock down and a modern one over the garages that I will be working on for several years.
A bit of an expensive hobby if you buy everything from new but there is plenty of second hand out there now many of the older train set enthusiasts are dying off.
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I’ve just done a modern 2020s one. The best thing is you don’t need any engines as they’re all on strike.
 
halfmist said:
I haven’t scrolled through 27 pages of posts but mine is model railway.
I have built a 60 ‘s era one in a bedroom during lock down and a modern one over the garages that I will be working on for several years.
A bit of an expensive hobby if you buy everything from new but there is plenty of second hand out there now many of the older train set enthusiasts are dying off.
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I work in O Gauge myself. A real money pit. But you don't need as much stuff in a given space and I enjoy making wagon kits.

Edit: I do have one 4mm loco LNER 2871 Manchester City. Fancy that!
 
I'm With Stupid said:
If you're into nature, photography is a hobby that can destroy your wallet quickly. Doubly so if you get into wildlife photography. All of the fun of hunting without having to kill and animal at the end of it.
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Double fun though if you kill the animal and then photograph its dead body!!
 
I'm With Stupid said:
This is a dangerous conversation, because I've just moved house and there's a really expensive specialist bike shop just round the corner.
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I got a £200 mountain bike with a cycle to work scheme from Halfords so it came out of my wages, love going out for a spin. Not too far, 10 miles or so at a time, loads of old mining trails round my way so no traffic to worry about.
Also fun to tinker with keeping it maintained, and I wear cut off jeans and an old city shirt so I look cool as Fuck.
 
KS55 said:
Learn to cook.

Home made English dishes are so easy and so much better if you know a few principles.
Cooking techniques: the best way to fry, bake, roast, braise etc etc.
Produce: learn the characteristics of produce and the best way to treat them. If you see something with which you are unfamiliar, buy it and try it, you may be surprised. You can always look up a recipe or two on that interweb thing.
Sauces are a must to master, they enhance so many dishes and are easy to learn. Home made brown stock will improve almost any meat sauce and is imperative for gravy. No granules allowed. Use the Italian ‘Holy trinity’, that is onion, celery and carrot chopped very small as the basis for many sauces. Shepard’s pie is twice as good with it. If you can’t be bothered to chop, get a food processor or manual chopping system.
I find cooking both satisfying and maddening in equal measure, but I love it and cook every day.
The internet is awash with recipes, techniques, a mine of information. Utube is good, so is BBC. You’ll soon be expanding your repertoire to Asian, Italian and others.
I wouldn’t claim to be cordon bleu, more a cross between Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver. (The mind boggles) So, LET’s BE HAVING YOU.
PS. Oh, get to know a decent butcher.
PPS Grow some herbs in the garden or in pots on a window sill.I find mint and Basil most useful but Mrs KS grows a wide range. Today I’ll be using mint, chives, and rosemary fresh from our patch.
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Completely agree. I did this during lockdown and now love cooking. I will normally cook Asian, italian, Spanish, North African and Indian at some point during the week.
Best thing I did was to buy a decent set of knives up front. What a huge difference they make.
 
Citizen of Legoland said:
I’ve just done a modern 2020s one. The best thing is you don’t need any engines as they’re all on strike.
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I have 5 lines going in to a 10 platform station and I reckon when all 5 lines are running at the same time it requires more concentration than the real thing, especially as there is such a din you cannot hear when one of them derails. Fortunately head on smashes are avoided by the current flow on the track.
 
BrianW said:
I have probably done more cooking in the last 5 years than in the whole of my life.

Creating an exceptional meal is a pleasure. But probably only if you're doing it because you want to, rather than because you have to, IYKWIM.
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Agree. Its like meditating for me, really clears your head of everything else
 
Loads of midi keyboards come with a free copy of Ableton lite / Fruity Loops, and usually other stuff, some of which is damned good. It's enough to get you hooked and having a laugh expressing yourself.

Cheap 25 key mini Akai's start from 80 quid, but there's usually deals on second user / open box.
Arturia Keylab Essential is a cracker, 49 full size keys and a proper quality interface, very nice at £160 odd

Or if you're not into keys, you could start with a Launchpad.

I mention them because they're all proper boys toys, with pads to drum, colorful displays, nobs, wheels, sliders.

Many obstacles to remixing old tunes have disappeared, we now have free apps like UVR, which can rip any tune into component instrument / vocal stems.
 
Johnny Mars Bar said:
On a serious note, cycling.

Low impact so you’re miles less likely to get injured than running, the best cardio exercise you can possibly do and it’s part of the culture to stop for a pint halfway through a ride.

And there’s an endless supply of kit and gadgets to get sucked into, which lets be honest chaps is half the fun of any hobby.
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Just avoid the bright coloured tight Lycra until you are the appropriate shape to wear it.
Nb I don’t wear it.Fortunately allergic to the stuff.
 
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