The Night Mail

[Happy Hippo]

49 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Big H are you back from 'foreign climes'? Was your visit to Waddesdon  a success? - I use that term in the widest possible definition i.e same number of grandkids as when you started.

 

A sit rep would be appreciated.

Q1: Yes

Q2: Yes

Q(3): Yes

Trains tomorrow if weather is bad

Garden tomorrow if weather is good.

 

In either eventuality, any activity will only be permitted after domestic duties involving loading the washing machine, then intimate contact with a carpet cleaner, polish and a duster.

[J. S. Bach]

Pray for rain in California, er, Hipposhire.

[Happy Hippo]

9 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Pray for rain in California, er, Hipposhire.

I think they've already had quite enough over the past few days🤣

[PhilJ W]

55 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I think they've already had quite enough over the past few days🤣

The muddy hollow is full then?

[PhilJ W]

There was (is?) a local businessman near were I used to work named Michael Hunt. He was known to everyone as Mike and thats the name he put on his business premises, i.e. Mike Hunt. It was on there for several years until someone complained.

[SM42]

Mrs SM42 has arrived in The Motherland

 

Only problem, in the wrong city. 

 

Flight was cancelled at the 3 hour late mark. 

 

Eventually got rebooked on a later flight to Warsaw.

 

Rather annoyingly flew over the FiL's place to get there.

 

She has cadged a lift with other rebooked passengers on the plane who are also heading to Poznan and being picked up by a relative

 

It would have been quicker to drive all the way. Been on the road for 17 hours and still an, at least,  3 hour road trip to go.

 

Did get a free lunch though

 

Andy

[Happy Hippo]

9 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

The muddy hollow is full then?

It was until I jumped in!

[Northmoor]

1 minute ago, PhilJ W said:

There was (is?) a local businessman near were I used to work named Michael Hunt. He was known to everyone as Mike and thats the name he put on his business premises, i.e. Mike Hunt. It was on there for several years until someone complained.

I used to work with a bloke whose surname was Hardon......

I also worked on an industrial site where D Hill (this was the year Damon Hill was F1 champion), L MacPherson and JR Ewing were all tannoy'd on the same day; it was the Friday afternoon in my first week there and assumed it must be a series of wind-ups.  Over the following months I met Dave Hill, Lindsay MacPherson and John Ewing who had all worked there for years.

Later in the same company, my team produced project management plans which could be said to summarise the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How of a project.  Apparently I was the first to spot that amongst our team we had four people whose surnames were Watt, Ware, How and Venn.  I also suggested we needed to recruit the two men with surnames Hu and Wye, who worked elsewhere in the company.

I think this would be called "Collective" Nominative Determinism.

[PhilJ W]

We had an unfortunately named person on the payroll. His surname was Head, his first name was Richard.

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

......then intimate contact with a carpet cleaner, polish and a duster.

 

Sounds to be on the definitely very weird side of kinky if you ask this Bear........

[Winslow Boy]

41 minutes ago, SM42 said:

Mrs SM42 has arrived in The Motherland

 

Only problem, in the wrong city. 

 

Flight was cancelled at the 3 hour late mark. 

 

Eventually got rebooked on a later flight to Warsaw.

 

Rather annoyingly flew over the FiL's place to get there.

 

She has cadged a lift with other rebooked passengers on the plane who are also heading to Poznan and being picked up by a relative

 

It would have been quicker to drive all the way. Been on the road for 17 hours and still an, at least,  3 hour road trip to go.

J

Did get a free lunch though

 

Andy

 

Well at she's in the Homeland.

 

If she been flying from Manchester she'd either be on her way back to SM 42 Towers or trying to find somewhere to sleep on the floor. So be grateful for small mercies.

 

Will you be going over to pick her up in the car or will she take the train. Perhaps she could be passed down the line by NM's like an escaped prisoner?

Edited June 1, 2022 by Winslow Boy

[BoD]

4 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

 

4 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

Is he a relative of Hugh Janus?

 

Both have been members here at various times in the past.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

The muddy hollow is full then?

I believe it is perpetually overflowing, runoff being funneled to the residence of one advocate of red engines.

[SM42]

45 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Well at she's in the Homeland.

 

If she been flying from Manchester she'd either be on her way back to SM 42 Towers or trying to find somewhere to sleep on the floor. So be grateful for small mercies.

 

Will you be going over to pick her up in the car or will she take the train. Perhaps she could be passed down the line by NM's like an escaped prisoner?

 

Nope.

 

Her return is entrusted to the same airline. She did have a hotel arranged by the airline until she managed to rebook a flight. 

 

She may be several days late for work on Monday.

 

I am awaiting the call to say she has arrived where she should have been at 3 o clock yesterday.

 

Andy

[SM42]

Touchdown for Mrs SM42

 

Yaaaayyyyy! 😄

 

Andy

[pH]

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

Eventually got rebooked on a later flight to Warsaw.

 

Rather annoyingly flew over the FiL's place to get there.

I sympathize. 
 

To fly Vancouver-Glasgow by British Airways (about the only way other than in summer when the ‘holiday’ airlines are flying) you go Vancouver-Heathrow-Glasgow. The polar route comes in over northern Scotland on the way to London. On a clear day, you can see Glasgow airport below and think “In about 5 hours I’ll be there!”. 

[AndyID]

4 hours ago, pH said:

I sympathize. 
 

To fly Vancouver-Glasgow by British Airways (about the only way other than in summer when the ‘holiday’ airlines are flying) you go Vancouver-Heathrow-Glasgow. The polar route comes in over northern Scotland on the way to London. On a clear day, you can see Glasgow airport below and think “In about 5 hours I’ll be there!”. 

 

That's why we try to fly via Reykjavik and keep as far from London as possible 😀

 

I seem to remember I flew from Vancouver to the UK over 20 years ago. I can't remember whether I flew from GEG or drove there.

[iL Dottore]

I think one of the major reasons for these bizarre flight patterns is because of the still existent restricted airspace in most countries, forcing commercial aviation to fly sometimes anywhere but directly.
 

I read that commercial air traffic is restricted as to where they can fly over due to “military concerns“ and that these restricted air spaces date back to when flying over an area was the only way to see what was going on below. Nowadays, of course, spy satellites can see exactly who is doing what and where, but the restrictions on these restricted airspaces have not been reversed.

 

The impression above is based on me chatting to the flight crew on various commercial flights when visiting the cockpit. Of course, this is all pre-9/11 (so up to 2001) and I have no idea how accurate this impression is now.

[pH]

19 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

That's why we try to fly via Reykjavik and keep as far from London as possible 😀

The airlines that used to fly through Keflavik both went out of business a long time ago. After that happened, as I said, except in summer, the only way to go was through Heathrow (or possibly Amsterdam, though we never tried that). Now Icelandair are flying through Reykjavik year round, so when/if we ever go to the UK again, that would be worth looking at.

[Winslow Boy]

Chipping in my two penny worth on the flying and in particular Flavio's comments about restricted airspace. I believe that commercial aircraft have to have a zone around them into which other aircraft should not enter unless they have been instructed to do so by air traffic controllers. If so then and of course this will depend upon numbers you can rapidly fill the available airspace quite quickly. Plus of course you also have military and other restricted areas that commercial air traffic will be kept away from. For example nuclear power stations would be one facility that I wouldn't want to crash on.

[BoD]

11 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

… nuclear power stations would be one facility that I wouldn't want to crash on

Personally I wouldn’t want to crash on anything. 
 

I have only ever flown once.  Actually, it was twice because I came back too. That’s not for any particular reason, I just don’t think it’s in my nature to be an international globe trotter.  

[polybear]

Many airlines are also avoiding flying over Russia as well, which doesn't help one bit.

[Tony_S]

19 minutes ago, polybear said:

Many airlines are also avoiding flying over Russia as well, which doesn't help one bit.

Aditi’s uncle’s direct flight from San Francisco to Delhi became a change at Heathrow recently due to limitations on Russian airspace. 

[Winslow Boy]

7 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Aditi’s uncle’s direct flight from San Francisco to Delhi became a change at Heathrow recently due to limitations on Russian airspace. 

 

Given the amount or ordinance and Russia's reprutation of being 'somewhat' trigger happy I would have thought that that was a damn good idea at the moment.

[Happy Hippo]

8 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

I believe it is perpetually overflowing, runoff being funneled to the residence of one advocate of red engines.

What a spiffing idea.

 

I'll call the Staffel Fuhrer later on today and get his reaction to your suggestion.