The Night Mail

[Tony_S]

7 hours ago, SM42 said:

the machine is 16 years old, I'm not holding my breath but at least it is only costing a 16t mineral plus any parts. 

Did you manage to extract the washing from the machine without creating a flood?

What scale mineral wagon?

Edited October 10, 2023 by Tony_S

[polybear]

53 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

There is snobbery in every branch of the arts (and as I've said on here before, also in things like food).  With the arts, excusing yourself by saying you "haven't sold out", is just code for not being able to sell your work because it's too cr@p.  

 

Ditto pretentiousness; the earlier comments about Booker Prize winners reminded me of my Mother being given Ben Okri's The Famished Road as a Christmas present.  She said it was probably the only time she gave up on a book a quarter of the way in.  I remember the author doing a Great Railway Journeys programme where he wanted to talk to everyone about the meaning of their journey.  It was almost hilarious by the end; most of them ended up looking at him like he was weird.

 

This is a personal favourite of Bear's - I find the artwork and imagination to be excellent:

 

https://www.thebanksyshop.co.uk/banksy-canvas-print-monkey-parliament/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw7JOpBhCfARIsAL3bobcJXuH0BAY7FQwYYZvzmUsSySgVD9qUxmvYQMVZieVvph4gO-dRkykaAo9rEALw_wcB

 

It seems that it may not be a Banksy after all - Google searches suggest it may be by "Mason Storm" under the direction of Banksy; as to whether or not this'll p1ss off whoever purchased the original for a cool £9.9M in 2019 is unknown.....

 

[pH]

7 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

A colleague of mine who spent some time with the RAAF told me that one of their Mirage pilots once wrote in the unservicability page of the aircraft log book, “Something in the back squeaking.” The maintenance response of remedial work carried out was, “Something in the back oiled.”

 

Dave

Some more here:

 

http://www.flyingstart.ca/FlightTraining/PSTAR/5J.html

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[newbryford]

Oh dear, I may have upset someone on FB..

How sad, never mind.

 

When I found out what I'd done, I was initially confused as to why they were distressed.

Upon thinking about it - I'm now quite amused!

 

I will sleep happy tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by newbryford

[BR60103]

Simon Brett wrote The Booker Book.  An author is determined to win the Booker, so he changes his style and subject every time the prize is announced. The writing changes in every chapter too.

 

One of our neighbours is reputed to be Canada's best-selling author.  Check out The Paper-Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. (It should be read aloud.)

 

[SM42]

6 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Did you manage to extract the washing from the machine without creating a flood?

What scale mineral wagon?

 

Yes it was

 

Further questioning of Mrs SM42 revealed that it got to the last half hour of the program (during which it was making a noise like playing cards being flapped against each other, which was put down at the time, to being a button or zip hitting the door window) and stopped doing anything. The drum had stopped turning.

 

The program was skipped forward to spin and it drained without spinning. 

 

There was a minor flood when, on the advise of the repair place, I  checked the filter wasn't blocked before they come out. 

 

The cost is about one 00 16t. If I hadn't bought it from them back in 2007, it would have been two 0 gauge 16tonners. 

 

Mrs SM42 was not keen upon the wait for an engineer and called them to get them out quicker, as if they could magic up some extra staff overnight. 

Oddly she was unsuccessful.

 

 

I fear that Mrs SM42's washing instinct will result in a couple of Deltics being expended on a new machine sooner rather than later.

 

Andy

[monkeysarefun]

18 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Just to show how hard life can be, here is the view from where I am typing this:

 

 

In order to prepare for such an ordeal I am about to consume some cheese, chorizo and beer.

 

TTFN

 

Dave

 

 

 

 

 

Hey there's one like that  here at work:

 

 

Its a hell hole but someone has to do the job.

Edited October 11, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[iL Dottore]

10 hours ago, Northmoor said:

There is snobbery in every branch of the arts (and as I've said on here before, also in things like food).  

Define “snobbery in food”

 

If being a “food snob” means wanting to have good quality ingredients (preferably from regional and sustainable sources and from high-welfare animals) properly prepared, then I am proud to be a “food snob”!
 

It’s not coincidental that those countries where, traditionally, great attention has been given to the quality and preparation of food also tend to have low incidences of diabetes, heart disease and other conditions much influenced by diet. And adoption of a “western diet” (read US/UK type diet) amongst the youth of these countries is reflected by an upwards trend in diet influenced disease in that young demographic.

 

I suspect, Northmoor, what you are thinking about are those people who jump on to every passing food trend to show how “relevant”, “with it”, “contemporary” they are without having the slightest clue about what they are spouting off about (quinoa anyone?).

 

A true lover of food will enjoy a simple lunch of local cheese and homemade bread washed down by a local brew as much as a haunch of venison with a morel sauce and game chips served with a vintage claret.

 

For “real” food snobs - look at the “customers” paying over £1400 for a gold leaf covered steak at Salt Bae’s restaurant https://www.timeout.com/london/news/salt-bae-has-had-to-reduce-his-london-restaurants-extortionate-prices-072023

Definitely more money than sense (or good taste or culinary knowledge..)

[AndyID]

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

 

Yes it was

 

Further questioning of Mrs SM42 revealed that it got to the last half hour of the program (during which it was making a noise like playing cards being flapped against each other, which was put down at the time, to being a button or zip hitting the door window) and stopped doing anything. The drum had stopped turning.

 

The program was skipped forward to spin and it drained without spinning. 

 

There was a minor flood when, on the advise of the repair place, I  checked the filter wasn't blocked before they come out. 

 

The cost is about one 00 16t. If I hadn't bought it from them back in 2007, it would have been two 0 gauge 16tonners. 

 

Mrs SM42 was not keen upon the wait for an engineer and called them to get them out quicker, as if they could magic up some extra staff overnight. 

Oddly she was unsuccessful.

 

 

I fear that Mrs SM42's washing instinct will result in a couple of Deltics being expended on a new machine sooner rather than later.

 

Andy

 

I realize this is not unusual but I have to admit to being a wee bit confused. IIRC the last 00 16t I bought cost  3/11d (Airfix)

[AndyID]

15 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

paying over £1400 for a gold leaf covered steak at Salt Bae’s restaurant https://www.timeout.com/london/news/salt-bae-has-had-to-reduce-his-london-restaurants-extortionate-prices-072023

 

 

OK, but they really do have sh** of gold. What more could a person ask 🤣

 

Gold is pretty dense stuff and not reactive at all. It has to precipitate out at some point in the process. Some enterprising folks might come up with a recovery method.

[jamie92208]

9 hours ago, polybear said:

 

This is a personal favourite of Bear's - I find the artwork and imagination to be excellent:

 

https://www.thebanksyshop.co.uk/banksy-canvas-print-monkey-parliament/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw7JOpBhCfARIsAL3bobcJXuH0BAY7FQwYYZvzmUsSySgVD9qUxmvYQMVZieVvph4gO-dRkykaAo9rEALw_wcB

 

It seems that it may not be a Banksy after all - Google searches suggest it may be by "Mason Storm" under the direction of Banksy; as to whether or not this'll p1ss off whoever purchased the original for a cool £9.9M in 2019 is unknown.....

 

Leeds has severabits of 'art' l

On plinths round the city.  There is one large thing outside the Henry Moore Gallery, allegedly a female form.  I think it would be better melted down and converted to bearing brasses.  Just up the Headrow is a bif statue of a German brewer carrying a barrel.  It came IIRC from Dortmund as part of the twinni g process.  I think it*0's a great piece of work and actually know what it is.  Sadly several arty types in the city hate it as being representational. 

 

 

7 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

OK, but they really do have sh** of gold. What more could a person ask 🤣

 

Gold is pretty dense stuff and not reactive at all. It has to precipitate out at some point in the process. Some enterprising folks might come up with a recovery method.

Thus the Northern expression of 'where there's muck there's brass'. Precious metals are worth recover g.  I once read that the floor of The Johnson Msthey foundry is wooden blocks.  Every few months these are burned and the ashes refined to recover the dust from the processes.  

 

Jamie

[polybear]

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

 

Yes it was

 

Further questioning of Mrs SM42 revealed that it got to the last half hour of the program (during which it was making a noise like playing cards being flapped against each other, which was put down at the time, to being a button or zip hitting the door window) and stopped doing anything. The drum had stopped turning.

 

The program was skipped forward to spin and it drained without spinning. 

 

There was a minor flood when, on the advise of the repair place, I  checked the filter wasn't blocked before they come out. 

 

The cost is about one 00 16t. If I hadn't bought it from them back in 2007, it would have been two 0 gauge 16tonners. 

 

Mrs SM42 was not keen upon the wait for an engineer and called them to get them out quicker, as if they could magic up some extra staff overnight. 

Oddly she was unsuccessful.

 

 

I fear that Mrs SM42's washing instinct will result in a couple of Deltics being expended on a new machine sooner rather than later.

 

Andy

 

Bear would suggest just having a quick check to see if the drive belt is busted - probably very easy to get to & fix; the "flappy bit" could be the belt slowly shredding itself and when it finally failed the drum would stop turning.  A lot cheaper than two+ Deltics

 

42 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Define “snobbery in food”

 

 

"We don't serve red & brown sauce, Sir"

[Northmoor]

29 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Leeds has severabits of 'art' On plinths round the city.  There is one large thing outside the Henry Moore Gallery, allegedly a female form.  I think it would be better melted down and converted to bearing brasses.  Just up the Headrow is a bif statue of a German brewer carrying a barrel.  It came IIRC from Dortmund as part of the twinni g process.  I think it*0's a great piece of work and actually know what it is.  Sadly several arty types in the city hate it as being representational. 

Perhaps the best public sculpture I have ever seen was in the courtyard of the Deutsches Museum in Munich, which is devoted to engineering achievements.  They had three turbine wheels, one of each type (Pelton, Francis and Kaplan), all about 10-12 feet diameter and recovered from hydro-electric power stations in Southern Germany.

 

Their inherent complex shapes makes them interesting; the fact that they served a practical purpose makes them (as far as I'm concerned) an even greater achievement than an artistic installation, not less.

 

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Define “snobbery in food”

 

If being a “food snob” means wanting to have good quality ingredients (preferably from regional and sustainable sources and from high-welfare animals) properly prepared, then I am proud to be a “food snob”!

Enjoy it; i'd do the same if I could be bothered.  You're only a food snob if you are looking down on those who don't share your interest, but who just buy something to stop them being hungry.

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:A true lover of food will enjoy a simple lunch of local cheese and homemade bread washed down by a local brew as much as…….

I must be a true lover of food. One of the more memorable lunches I ever had was in a tiny Greek village where a lady gave us some raw onions, which were beautifully mild and sweet, some pieces of, I think goat’s, cheese, some tomatoes and hunks of bread with glasses of local wine. It was all absolutely delicious.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

50 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Leeds has severabits of 'art' l

On plinths round the city.  There is one large thing outside the Henry Moore Gallery, allegedly a female form.  I think it would be better melted down and converted to bearing brasses.  Just up the Headrow is a bif statue of a German brewer carrying a barrel.  It came IIRC from Dortmund as part of the twinni g process.  I think it*0's a great piece of work and actually know what it is.  Sadly several arty types in the city hate it as being representational.

At Jill’s behest we once went into the Tate Northern in Liverpool. I won’t attempt to list some of the rubbish pretending to be ‘art’ in there but just to give two examples:

Standing in a corner was a broom handle that had been painted with bands of different colours; next to it was a closely typed A4 sheet explaining what the ‘artist’ meant with this ‘work’ ; Another was a collection of driftwood placed in a circle on the floor. Once again there was an explanatory sheet. I think that I upset one of the curators when I said to Jill as we left, “This place is just an example of the unscrupulous preying on the gullible.”

 

Dave

[Flying Fox 34F]

Changing the subject, I feel for anyone who has a car stuck in the mess that is the Luton Airport multi storey car park!  I foresee some new rules appearing to prevent such chaos and distress again.

 

Paul

[Oldddudders]

Coming back to Luton Airport and discovering your car is a write-off must be pretty sickening. 

 

EDIT It might jut be a lithium battery event that caused it. This remains an imperfect technology.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Oldddudders

[Flying Fox 34F]

I once had a colleague who discovered his car under 4 foot of water in the car park at Gatwick about 25 years ago.  I can imagine the pain.

 

Paul

[ian@stenochs]

28 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

At Jill’s behest we once went into the Tate Northern in Liverpool. I won’t attempt to list some of the rubbish pretending to be ‘art’ in there but just to give two examples:

Standing in a corner was a broom handle that had been painted with bands of different colours; next to it was a closely typed A4 sheet explaining what the ‘artist’ meant with this ‘work’ ; Another was a collection of driftwood placed in a circle on the floor. Once again there was an explanatory sheet. I think that I upset one of the curators when I said to Jill as we left, “This place is just an example of the unscrupulous preying on the gullible.”

 

Dave

The real artistry is demonstrated by the creators of these piles of stuff in convincing the founders that their work is art!

[monkeysarefun]

Much  "community art" is pretty dire wherever you are  but I'm a bit of a  fan of the silo art that has popped up on the bland grey concrete grain silos throughout  regional Australia. 

 

There's  a couple of hundred now, some are almost photorealistic, which is impressive given that they are often 50m or more tall. 

 

Probably dismissed as "naive and sentimental" by  proper art enthusiasts but.

 

       

 

   

Edited October 11, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Hroth]

41 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

At Jill’s behest we once went into the Tate Northern in Liverpool. I won’t attempt to list some of the rubbish pretending to be ‘art’ in there but just to give two examples:

Standing in a corner was a broom handle that had been painted with bands of different colours; next to it was a closely typed A4 sheet explaining what the ‘artist’ meant with this ‘work’ ; Another was a collection of driftwood placed in a circle on the floor. Once again there was an explanatory sheet. I think that I upset one of the curators when I said to Jill as we left, “This place is just an example of the unscrupulous preying on the gullible.”

 

Dave

 

Par for the course, the place opened with a display of "cutting edge" modern art, including the infamous waxed sandwiches with bites out of them.

 

No.  I don't know what they were meant to express either!

 

[Oldddudders]

13 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Much  "community art" is pretty dire wherever you are  but I'm a bit of a  fan of the silo art that has popped up on the bland grey concrete grain silos throughout  regional Australia. 

 

There's  a couple of hundred now, some are almost photorealistic, which is impressive given that they are often 50m or more tall. 

 

Probably dismissed as "naive and sentimental" by  proper art enthusiasts but.

Those are great. The complete opposite of pretentious, by turning structures that for sound practical reasons look like the proverbial sows' ears into, not exactly silk purses, but something actually worth admiring. 

 

I occasionally see a tower block here and there where an attempt has been made to soften the blunt profile. Admirable intention. 

[Canal Digger]

21 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

In order to prepare for such an ordeal I am about to consume some cheese, chorizo and beer.

 

TTFN

 

Dave

envy button pressed

[jamie92208]

Near to where we used to live is the Yorkshire sculpture park with,Moores, Hepworths etc set in the grounds of a former stately home.  Most of the so called art leaves me cold.  However one day we went for a walk round the lake and found the results of a 'sculpture workshop' weekend. The artists had been given piles of scrap wood to work with.  Most again left me cold but one guy had created a piece out of about 10 old planks. This was fabulous and looked like a charging bull and gave all the impressions of power and menace that the real thing does.  That takes real skill. 

 

Jamie, 

Edited October 11, 2023 by jamie92208