The Night Mail

[Northmoor]

2 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

So long as the bills get paid, there is food on the table, a little put by for future rainy days and some spare for causes we choose to support then it matters not from which account it comes. 

A round of applause - how I wish far more people in the UK took such an attitude.  It is amazing how many people conflate their Wants with their Needs.

 

The current rises in the cost of living are real and life-changing for all too many.  There are also a lot of people (like me) in a second group who for the last two years had a completely unearned pay rise by being told not to commute to work, but are whining (not me) that they should get a pay rise as well, just because, there's some unwritten rule that Thou Shalt Never Earn Less Than Last Year.  Those who didn't get the free pay rise, overwhelmingly, had to keep turning up to work..... for the lowest salaries.   All those people who couldn't take their usual foreign holidays during the pandemic, are also thousands better off.

 

One of the very few things to really irritate me, whether by the wealthiest in society or by dole claimants, is a sense of entitlement. 

 

My rant for today, thank you.

[br2975]

7 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

A round of applause - how I wish far more people in the UK took such an attitude.  It is amazing how many people conflate their Wants with their Needs.

 

The current rises in the cost of living are real and life-changing for all too many.  There are also a lot of people (like me) in a second group who for the last two years had a completely unearned pay rise by being told not to commute to work, but are whining (not me) that they should get a pay rise as well, just because, there's some unwritten rule that Thou Shalt Never Earn Less Than Last Year.  Those who didn't get the free pay rise, overwhelmingly, had to keep turning up to work..... for the lowest salaries.   All those people who couldn't take their usual foreign holidays during the pandemic, are also thousands better off.

 

One of the very few things to really irritate me, whether by the wealthiest in society or by dole claimants, is a sense of entitlement. 

 

My rant for today, thank you.

.

As a recently deceased entertainer once sang......

.

"You took the words right outta my mouth........."

[Happy Hippo]

My absence today is due to me unexpectedly ending up in the local hospital.  I should be released tomorrow after some minor surgery.  Once this has occurred, you will all be bored rigid with the gory details.

 

It is possible   I may even get a bed.

 

More importantly I have been given cake.

 

PS  Pantmawr North's wiring was OK and it's all working, so now onto the scenery.

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

My absence today is due to me unexpectedly ending up in the local hospital.  I should be released tomorrow after some minor surgery.  Once this has occurred, you will all be bored rigid with the gory details.

 

It is possible   I may even get a bed.

 

More importantly I have been given cake.

 

PS  Pantmawr North's wiring was OK and it's all working, so now onto the scenery.

 

Don't worry Big H the tingling in the tongue will eventually wear off.

 

I would like to state for the record that WHO was proven to be 97.5 % effective when tested so it was rather pointless to try and prove it could be beaten wasn't it.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Winslow Boy

[PhilJ W]

[Erichill16]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Nip across from France in a boat and they'll come out and collect you halfway - you won't even need a ticket.  Or a Passport.  They'll even arrange coach collection upon arrival.

Is that a Rant?

And I believe they get fed pizza and LDC.

*this is not a rant*

Edited July 12, 2022 by Erichill16
Addition

[Dave Hunt]

I'm sitting on the patio with a glass of Caol Isla and mulling over life, the universe and everything; In particular I'm recalling the good times Dad and I had together over 75 years. The funeral went off quite well and I managed to hold it together apart from a lip tremble and a bit of voice trouble towards the end but everyone was complimentary about the service. The music choices I made also gained approval - Renato Scotto singing the One Fine Day aria at the beginning, Going Home sung by Sissel part way through and, since Dad was a dyed in the wool Liverpudlian, Gerry and the Pacemakers You'll Never Walk Alone at the end. We also raised over £400 for the animal home that Dad supported at the wake by offering some of his watercolours for sale and the pub did us proud with the catering so all in all the day was about as good as we could have hoped for. We are going tomorrow for a quiet day out with a couple of friends who came up for the funeral and are staying at a nearby B&B, which should be a good way of winding down.  So, for now I'll wish you all a good night and when I've finished my drink I'll head for the land of nod.

 

Dave

Edited July 12, 2022 by Dave Hunt

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

My absence today is due to me unexpectedly ending up in the local hospital.  I should be released tomorrow after some minor surgery.  Once this has occurred, you will all be bored rigid with the gory details.

 

It is possible   I may even get a bed.

 

More importantly I have been given cake.

 

PS  Pantmawr North's wiring was OK and it's all working, so now onto the scenery.

 

I was just on my way to bed when I saw this so before hitting the sack I have to say  commiserations to HH and hopes for a speedy recovery. This DCC wiring is obviously more dangerous than I thought!

 

Dave

Edited July 12, 2022 by Dave Hunt

[J. S. Bach]

5 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

My absence today is due to me unexpectedly ending up in the local hospital.  I should be released tomorrow after some minor surgery.  Once this has occurred, you will all be bored rigid with the gory details.

 

It is possible   I may even get a bed.

 

More importantly I have been given cake.

 

PS  Pantmawr North's wiring was OK and it's all working, so now onto the scenery.

HH models in O scale, right? Must have dropped a locomotive on his paw.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

1 hour ago, J. S. Bach said:

HH models in O scale, right? Must have dropped a locomotive on his paw.

*hoof

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Evening all,

 

 

Well another secret pie has been added my multitude of pies with fingers in them. 
 

 

I’ve been planning since Brunel was nearly finished to build another engine, and that day has finally arrived. And to HH’s (hoping all is well Richard btw) horror I’ve once again chosen a totally useless gauge, 7mm broad gauge, which really is nowhere near as bad as G2. 
 

 

So what engine am I doing? Well, I decided on a model of Iron Duke in Rover Class condition, circa 1885. I chose it as: A, the valve gear doesn’t necessarily need to be modeled. B, no quartering need be fretted over. C, they look excellent and the shapes aren’t to difficult.

 

Being an ancient broad gauger however drawings were not forthcoming, only one being found in the HMRS archive and they didn’t specify what it depicted, so I endeavored to make my own, which I had planned on doing anyways.
(hence the acquisition of the drawing instruments and writing slope, all part of the master plan you see) So I ended up scaling up the excellent Finney7 drawings off my laptop screen to produce these, rough but usable drawings.

 

 

The project is somewhat of a joint project between me and William Robertson of W.M. Robertson Miniaturesup in KC, who is providing a lot of advice from his 45 years of making fine scale models of just about everything. 

 

 

Construction so far amounts to 5 of the six 4”6 inch wheels for the engine being turned on the lathe as brass disks (seen by the pencil in last image) as I can’t afford castings these days. 
 

Todays main job however was the cutting out of the one of the main frames with a jewelers saw. This took about 2.5 hours and apart from the blade snapping every 7 minutes as usual it went pretty well.

 

 

 

 

Douglas

[AndyID]

My car's toastometer was reading 99F (37C) today when I came out of the optician's. My left eye's vision has been acting up recently and he confirmed it is a bit "cream crackered" but new "gegs" have been ordered which should help. He did have to remind me that in the US it's far and near sighted rather than long and short sighted 😀

[polybear]

11 hours ago, Northmoor said:

........who for the last two years had a completely unearned pay rise by being told not to commute to work, but are whining that they should get a pay rise as well, just because, there's some unwritten rule that Thou Shalt Never Earn Less Than Last Year. 

 

Perhaps the Bosses should call their bluffs by saying that when they get the pay rise they have to start back at work full time....

 

8 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

And I believe they get fed pizza and LDC.

*this is not a rant*

 

For a moment there I was worried you'd really, really p1ss a Bear off by saying they got oven chips with the Pizza.....

[Happy Hippo]

Nil by mouth since 0001 so I am enjoying a saline cake breakfast. The NHS is very keen that their clients don't get dehydrated .

[Dave Hunt]

This morning I feel both relieved that Dad's funeral went OK and tired with the thought of all the things that still need to be done. I'm also worried about HH as cake deprivation on top of whatever calamity has befallen him is not something to be taken lightly. Get well soon HH.

 

Dave

[Winslow Boy]

I think he's swinging it and cake deprivation hah! He'll have all those young nurses bringing him treats as he regales them with his feats of daring do- how to build a model railway layout whilst balancing on one foot or how he parachuted into the Wembley area with a GWR engine tucked into his tunic.

 

Hope all is well Richard.

[Oldddudders]

Nil by mouth is no fun, Richard. I hope all is sorted as soon as you first told us, and you can resume normal Hippolife.

[Oldddudders]

I got home safely last night, despite the late-running Eurostar threatening to leave me high and dry in Paris. I am now home for a couple of weeks, and we are due for 35 deg today....

 

I hesitate to post this, in light of others' difficulties in these times, but I just received a 425 euro rebate on my elec bill. I pay 10 times a year on DD, and in July they compare what I have paid with what I have used and either draw down the difference or refund, as this year. Giving Alison my second freezer last Autumn will have helped. And whereas in 2020/21 I was in France most of the time thanks to Covid, 2021/2 has been mercifully different, with several longer stays chez Sherry in Torbay. Still, it is pleasing to think that the DD I pay now is not much more than it was in 2004 when we moved here. France must be doing something right re energy costs!

 

In Jan 2020 Sherry had a minor heart event, which was diagnosed as a leaking valve. Annual reviews show no great deterioration, but her cardiologist has now decided remedial work would be good, and placed her on a colleague's waiting list. On 2nd August she meets the colleague, and there is some chance of surgery within 12 weeks. The first thing they do is break the sternum to get to the heart, so recovery takes quite some time! I think I will be seeing a lot of Devon later this year!

[simontaylor484]

As I have just broughtvsone shopping home I have just passed 2 Mormons 

[polybear]

3 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

.......so I am enjoying a saline cake breakfast. 

 

Huh?  

SBT's to Hippo - don't worry, I've had a word with Mrs. H and Bear has snaffled, er, I meant collected your cake stash for "safe keeping"......

[SM42]

6 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

*hoof

 

That's what he said when it landed.

 

Hope you get better soon HH. 

 

By a dint of good fortune I arrived home from work this morning at the same time as the plasterer arrived  

Net result was that I could seal up the east wing to avoid unnecessary mess in the parlour. 

 

I was able to get couple of hours sleep before the plumber arrived. Said plumber is currently fitting radiators and upstairs has gained some new holes in the floor to access the pipes. 

 

However contrary to instructions to empty the airing cupboard and the areas where floors are to be lifted, none of this was done last night by a certain carbon based lifeform that I share SM42 Towers with. 

Muggins here had to do it. She can put it all back.

 

Finally had breakfast around 1030

 

Hoping for building regs sign off on Friday or Monday at the latest.

 

Just the snagging work to do now along with refitting architraves and second fit electrics in the east wing before the paint team (me) is let loose.

 

Got to get it all done by Tuesday and I've still got to go to work too. 

 

Andy

[iL Dottore]

15 hours ago, Northmoor said:

A round of applause - how I wish far more people in the UK took such an attitude.  It is amazing how many people conflate their Wants with their Needs.

There is an interesting expression, which you probably know, which goes: “riches beyond the dreams of avarice“  and is used to describe extreme wealth. It is somewhat of a negative statement, so I am wondering whether “riches within the dreams of avarice“ might not be a more socially acceptable financial situation to be in?

 

Something to contemplate: “whilst it is true that money cannot buy you happiness, it buys you a better quality misery”.

3 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Nil by mouth since 0001 so I am enjoying a saline cake breakfast. The NHS is very keen that their clients don't get dehydrated .

Actually, HH, to be pedantic you are not getting normal saline but rather Ringer’s Lactate (at least according to the IV bag)  which is used in a number of most interesting conditions. I also note that you are hooked up to an IV pump: for the longest time gravity drips were the standard with IV pumps kept for medication that required precise administration.  Certainly, gravity IV drips were the norm when I started back in 1978.

 

The fact that they have got you  n.p.o.  suggests that you might be going to be off to the surgeon in a little while (at least if they are following current guidelines: 0 - 2 hrs before surgery: no oral fluids or nutrition; 2 - 6 hrs before surgery: encourage clear liquids, no oral nutrition; > 6hrs before oral fluids and nutrition. There are variations on that regime based on age, disease and anaesthesiologists preference). But sometimes putting a patient on a n.p.o. regimen is done for other reasons than pre-op prep.

 

Basically, being n.p.o. before surgery means advantages for both you (no aspiration pneumonia) and the anaesthesiologist (no lapfuls of vomitus).

 

So good luck, HH with what ever the vets have in store for you - I shall enjoy a particularly large slice of cake in your honour, this afternoon! 🥮 🧁 🤣 😁

 

iD

[simontaylor484]

Hope everything goes ok for you @Happy Hippo

[bbishop]

34 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Actually, HH, to be pedantic you are not getting normal saline but rather Ringer’s Lactate (at least according to the IV bag)  which is used in a number of most interesting conditions. I also note that you are hooked up to an IV pump: for the longest time gravity drips were the standard with IV pumps kept for medication that required precise administration.  Certainly, gravity IV drips were the norm when I started back in 1978.

 

The fact that they have got you  n.p.o.  suggests that you might be going to be off to the surgeon in a little while (at least if they are following current guidelines: 0 - 2 hrs before surgery: no oral fluids or nutrition; 2 - 6 hrs before surgery: encourage clear liquids, no oral nutrition; > 6hrs before oral fluids and nutrition. There are variations on that regime based on age, disease and anaesthesiologists preference). But sometimes putting a patient on a n.p.o. regimen is done for other reasons than pre-op prep.

 

Basically, being n.p.o. before surgery means advantages for both you (no aspiration pneumonia) and the anaesthesiologist (no lapfuls of vomitus).

 

So good luck, HH with what ever the vets have in store for you - I shall enjoy a particularly large slice of cake in your honour, this afternoon! 🥮 🧁 🤣 😁

 

iD

 

No offence Flavio (and HH), but that's when it's got boring.  Now what were the signs and symptoms, what obs did the crew take, was the AED deployed?  That's the interesting bit.

Bill

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

I have just passed 2 Mormons 

I bet that made your eyes water.

 

Jamie.