The Night Mail

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

It’s a hiking boot print and means don’t walk here. 
 

Dave

 

I thought it meant no paper clips. 🤣

[polybear]

4 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

This morning I had an early appointment with my ENT surgeon, reviewing the operation he performed on my thyroid on 4th September. The scar really is pretty minimal, but even so he has encouraged me to massage the area fairly vigorously to eliminate the remaining swelling. I had actually been avoiding too much touching other than when washing, so that will be novel. He gave a demo, and I wondered how many people, at work or in other walks of life, had wanted to shake me warmly by the throat!

 

Sadly the biopsy on the lump that he removed from the thyroid identified a 3mm 'microcarcinome papillaire' which is a bit disappointing. He proposes no further action, but is keen to monitor things. I'm not inclined to argue with that! I see him again in December.

 

A long established treatment for minimising scars that really does work is to use Bio Oil on them - many Docs & Nurses recommend it AFAIK.  A friend of mine used it after a heart bypass and the improvement was amazing - you'd have a job to know it'd been done now.

 

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

It's no big deal to drive 800 miles in one day in the US.

 

So that'd be 15+ hours (probably nearer 20) driving in absolutely perfect conditions.  At least one Bear wouldn't call that safe unless the driving is shared.

[AndyID]

5 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

So that'd be 15+ hours (probably nearer 20) driving in absolutely perfect conditions.  At least one Bear wouldn't call that safe unless the driving is shared.

 

Depends a lot on the road and traffic conditions. Here to Salt Lake city is a very easy route. It's around 700 miles and it takes 10 hours without pushing it. I've done it many times.

[Tony_S]

We have lots of stops for snacks and toilets. I prefer to split the journey so we arrive at any overnight stay by about 5pm. We were able to cover quite long distances in France earlier this year at speed so actually arrived at our overnight stop early.

[New Haven Neil]

I went all the way to Port Erin once.

[Hroth]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Harry Potter is just a rehash of Enid Blyton.  Mallory Towers intertwined with the Famous Five.  Just spin it out as a series and don't mention the g*p*y children.

 

Blyton was fairly inclusive at times, I think I remember that one of the characters in her series for slightly* older children was from what would now be called the "Traveller" community.

 

*Those who had outgrown the Famous Five.

 

[MrWolf]

11 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Blyton was fairly inclusive at times, I think I remember that one of the characters in her series for slightly* older children was from what would now be called the "Traveller" community.

 

*Those who had outgrown the Famous Five.

 

 

Funny you should mention that, I remember reading the old Famous Five books which my had kept since about 1950. The actions and fate of some of the villain's accomplices often got into examples of domestic abuse, coercion and forced servitude, still relevant even now. There was quite a bit of empathy and moral messages about not everything being black and white.

Pity that such things have been painted over by the screeching PC mob, who fail to realise just how intolerant their tolerance and inclusion can be.

[Dave Hunt]

In some parts of the US, where much or all of the journey would be on Interstates, I would be quite happy to drive 600 or maybe more miles in a day but in backroads country a couple of hundred would be enough.

 

Dave

 

 

[Tony_S]

28 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

In some parts of the US, where much or all of the journey would be on Interstates, I would be quite happy to drive 600 or maybe more miles in a day but in backroads country a couple of hundred would be enough.

 

Dave

 

 

When I went to Texas I found I was able to proceed 10mph faster once I left the interstate.

[Happy Hippo]

We are about to call it a day here.

 

All packed and almost ready for the return to St Malo for tomorrow evening's ferry.

 

We just need to stock up with a little bit of cider and wine, prior to boarding.

 

My brother and sister in law are currently airborne over the SE of England having left earlier this evening.

 

A great time was had by all (Well, if you were Welsh!)

[pH]

5 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Americans visiting the UK asking is their itinerary OK.

https://www.boredpanda.com/unhinged-americans-uk-trip-itinerary/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter

They are based in the Lake District and intend taking a day trip by car to Polperro in Cornwall.

A Canadian co-worker asked me to look over a proposed itinerary for a self-driving visit to the UK. It ended up quite a bit shorter than it started.

[newbryford]

4 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

I suppose Penrith can't be too far from the North/South mid-point of the UK 😀 I can understand their confusion. It's no big deal to drive 800 miles in one day in the US.

 

But most of their 800 would be on the M6 and M5 lottery.

[pH]

2 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Depends a lot on the road and traffic conditions. Here to Salt Lake city is a very easy route. It's around 700 miles and it takes 10 hours without pushing it. I've done it many times.

I did 700 miles in a day here - Edmonton to Vancouver - once! Any time I did that journey after that, I split it over two days. Lots of two-lane sections and several mountain ranges to cross.

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

So that'd be 15+ hours (probably nearer 20) driving in absolutely perfect conditions.  At least one Bear wouldn't call that safe unless the driving is shared.

 

Sydney to Perth  (3995km/ 2444miles)  at 41 hour drive-time is usually done in 3 days, but I know  one person that did it in 2 in an emergency.

 

[AndyID]

29 minutes ago, pH said:

I did 700 miles in a day here - Edmonton to Vancouver - once! Any time I did that journey after that, I split it over two days. Lots of two-lane sections and several mountain ranges to cross.

 

Here to SLC is all Interstate. Hop on to I-90 East up the road and make one right turn on to I-15 South 😀. Of course it can be tricky in the Winter. I-15 runs along the Continental Divide for a bit. The slightly odd thing about that route is you go from Idaho into Montana on I-90 then back into Idaho on I-15 😀

[Winslow Boy]

58 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

We are about to call it a day here.

 

All packed and almost ready for the return to St Malo for tomorrow evening's ferry.

 

We just need to stock up with a little bit of cider and wine, prior to boarding.

 

My brother and sister in law are currently airborne over the SE of England having left earlier this evening.

 

A great time was had by all (Well, if you were Welsh!)

Sorry HH have been somewhere?

Asking just in case I've missed anything important like you know Wales winning or anything. I do like to keep abreast of international affairs and everything.🤣

Edited October 9, 2023 by Winslow Boy

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[polybear]

3 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Depends a lot on the road and traffic conditions. Here to Salt Lake city is a very easy route. It's around 700 miles and it takes 10 hours without pushing it. I've done it many times.

 

55 mph limit?  😉

 

[AndyID]

7 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

55 mph limit?  😉

 

Not anymore. A lot of it is 80. Montana had no daytime limit when we came here.

[MrWolf]

10 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

55 mph limit?  😉

 

 

The old "Double Nickel" limit is a bit more complicated nowadays:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_States

[SteveyDee68]

19 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Terry Pratchett must be, for me, the all-time eminently re-readable author. Of the more than 70 books that he wrote, maybe 3 or 4 I haven’t read more than twice and only 1 novel I’ve read but once.

And I just finished re-reading “Raising Steam” for about the 20th time a couple of nights ago! 🤣

 

Totally agree re: the great Terry Pratchett, although most of my collection was binned by a vindictive ex-wife. Together with my full set of Isaac Asimov books, my Harry Harrison ‘Stainless Steel Rat’ collection, all of my Douglas Adams books, my Lord of the Rings trilogy volume (the prize award from secondary school) and my set of Iain Banks books (the originals, in monochrome book covers).

 

Now, there’s a writer who can be read again and again! The first book of his that I read (and actually the first he had published) was recommended to me by a close school friend when we were at sixth form college together; my friend was a brilliant artist, going on to achieving a first class honours degree in fine art, and was the coolest person I ever knew (never understood why he had me - the uncoolest of the uncool - as his friend!), sadly succumbing to liver failure aged only 49 due to a long struggle with mental illness and the bottle, which I knew nothing about…

 

I digress, but I remember him handing “The Wasp Factory” to me as if it was yesterday - “Read this - it’s brilliant. As long as you don’t skip to the end. Don’t skip to the end. Read it. It’s worth it!”

 

If you haven’t read it, get a copy and do so. Don’t skip to the end. I can vouch that it is worth it, and that the twist at the end is such a surprise that it may leave you - like I found myself all those years ago - with mouth agape! In fact, you may end up rereading the whole book again immediately in light of the revelations in the last few pages, in order to suddenly make some sense of everything previously read!

 

The books I read once tend to be work related 🥱 or manuals. Anything fiction that gets read once gets donated PDQ to any local charity shop that will take it!

 

Steve S

Edited October 10, 2023 by SteveyDee68

[pH]

Iain Banks grew up in the same town as I did - Gourock. There is a very minor character in his book “The Crow Road” that could be another person who grew up there - there’s no way of finding out now whether that’s true or not.

 

[AndyID]

3 hours ago, pH said:

Iain Banks grew up in the same town as I did - Gourock.

 

 As in "awa tae the side, like Gourock" 😄

[polybear]

4 hours ago, SteveyDee68 said:

Totally agree re: the great Terry Pratchett, although most of my collection was binned by a vindictive ex-wife. Together with my full set of Isaac Asimov books, my Harry Harrison ‘Stainless Steel Rat’ collection, all of my Douglas Adams books, my Lord of the Rings trilogy volume (the prize award from secondary school) and my set of Iain Banks books (the originals, in monochrome book covers).

 

 

One advantage** of Bear not being married (nor ever have been) means I've never experienced a VEW - which is A Very Good Thing as Bears are known to be more vindictive that you could ever imagine; it's a little-known fact that we share some common DNA with Elephants as well cos' we NEVER forget......

 

Of course there are downsides.....

[jamie92208]

8 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

We are about to call it a day here.

 

All packed and almost ready for the return to St Malo for tomorrow evening's ferry.

 

We just need to stock up with a little bit of cider and wine, prior to boarding.

 

My brother and sister in law are currently airborne over the SE of England having left earlier this evening.

 

A great time was had by all (Well, if you were Welsh!)

Just remember t look out for duty free Penderyn on the ship. 

 

Jamie