The Night Mail

[Hroth]

4 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

 

I think many of us here can identify with that...

 

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Beth swears by her Kenwood Chef that is built like a tank. 

We have one of those .We got it in 1978. A few years ago while Aditi was processing rather a lot of oranges for marmalade some rather acrid smoke  came out and the motor stopped. Aditi did look at a Kitchenaid replacement (not cheap) but thought perhaps I could repair our dead one. I found a remotoring kit online. It used the more powerful motor and electronic speed control as fitted to newer models. It did say some slight modifications to the existing base unit were required but it they were simple. So we soon had a perfectly working Chef again. 

[Dave Hunt]

Just about to have an early shuteye as I need to be up at 0 double silly so that I can get my back sorted out before setting off for the NEC where I hope to see several TNMers and maybe, just maybe look at a few layouts. Based on previous Warleys, though, by the time I've done some time on the stand and spent time chinwagging with friends and acquaintances there will be little or no time left.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

49 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

When we moved back to UK from Germany in 1980, two of the boxes we brought were place unopened in the shed (we had a garage as well but so as not to upset Bear I won't mention it). Two moves later the unopened boxes had been in storage when we were in America then in another shed until when we once again moved in 2001 we decided that whatever was in them we didn't need so we arranged for a house clearance firm to take them away. To this day we still have no idea what was in them.

 

Dave

Both full of scratchbuilt museum quality S7 Midland Railway Coaches.

 

 

[SM42]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Huh??

So that's a bit like telling Big H when he can f@rt and when he can't?  Good luck with that one.....

 

There is apparently a company that has developed a feed additive that reduces methane emissions from  cattle. 

 

They were featured on Prince Wossisname's earthy, award  thingy wotsit the other day

 

Anyway back from  the NEC.

Mostly set up. 

 

Some last minute jobs to do in the morning but shouldn't take too long. 

 

If your passing E83, stop by and say hello. 

 

I'll be the devilishly handsome one. 

 

Andy

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

@Ian Abel What a lovely family photograph.  Were that all families were the same!

 

A chilly evening now sur le rock, 3c and falling, so our first frost of the year is on the cards.  I won't be venturing out early doors, but Mrs NHN will be out at 0830hrs to be Pilated, silly gurl.

Have you caught Bearitis?

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[iL Dottore]

3 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

When our 25+ year old food mixer gave up the ghost earlier this year we went to get a replacement but instead of simply buying another basic model, for some reason I still can't fathom we ended up buying one that apparently can do everything except whistle Dixie and had more add on bits than you can count. Naturally, we have never used any of the add on bits and only employ it as a basic food mixer. 😟

 

Dave

I have a Kenwood Chef Standmixer with added attachments - some of them are now drawing their pension having been replaced by younger stand-alone items; others - like the meat mincer & sausage stuffer - are still in regular use.

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Beth swears by her Kenwood Chef that is built like a tank. 

I definitely agree with Beth on this. My Kenwood Chef is now pushing 35 years of age and is still going strong.  One of the really great things about Kenwood is that they have not changed how their attachments fit on to the Kenwood chef; so you know that any new piece of equipment you get for a Kenwood Chef  (which given the longevity of that device tends to be replacement attachments) will fit.  The Kenwood people seem to be very sensible and savvy business folk as have made a long lasting, backwards compatible system that appeals not only to professionals and amateurs alike.

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Bear's fancy Miele Oven has plenty of settings (apart from the temperature knob).  The only ones that get used (apart from OFF and the Light) are one oven setting and the grill setting. As for the rest - and the timer - they're a waste of space.

 

Oh dear, oh dearie, dearie me, Bear. I reckon the kitchen appliance salesman thought you a  right gullible Charlie if he ever saw one, when you forked out the Deltics for that oven. Miele make very, very good domestic and some professional equipment, but like most manufacturers, Miele have not been immune to the temptation of loading every single bell and whistle that they can think of onto their top of-the-line models.

 

My old bells and whistles Miele oven (something foisted on us as part of a total kitchen refit), refused to perform at all the early part of this week and when the repairman said a new one would cost more than the repairs, the old oven was taken out and shot (humanely!!).

The replacement oven is another Miele, but one at the very bottom of their range:of ovens - which means the build quality of Mile with only simple controls and a basic timer.

 

It wis the closest you can get to a professional oven from a domestic oven manufacturer (manufactures of professional ovens also make domestic sized ovens but the electrics and high power demands are so different that they are usually not installable in the domestic setting)

[Tony_S]

11 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

My old bells and whistles Miele oven

I can no longer hear the beep from our oven so although I thought it was gimmicky I do appreciate the Miele app on my tablet or phone letting me know the oven has finished.  
I think the only feature we haven’t used is the steam option. The pyrolytic cleaning option is most definitely used. It might not be professional but having all the grime converted to white ash is much appreciated here. 

[coastalview]

3 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

If it's a Kitchenaid stand mixer it will last for a very long time. They are built like tanks. Lorna has not  managed to cream-cracker our one in 20+ years

🤣

 

 

We have one that's been going for an equally long time. I think it makes tanks look rather poorly constructed 🤣

[PhilJ W]

[newbryford]

11 hours ago, SM42 said:

I've just been watching an old Wheel of Fortune. 

Lord knows what Care Smilie was wearing, but she looked like she had fallen into a cup cake. 

 

Anyway, a contestant had the following choice of prizes

 

A shower cabinet  ( looked about 80x80 of they had a big bloke modelling it)

A trip to Copenhagen 

A bathroom cabinet 

 

They chose

 

The shower cabinet 

 

 

Andy

 

That was a bit like the guy from Rotherham winning a speedboat on Bullseye. Not many big lakes nearby.

[newbryford]

9 hours ago, SM42 said:

 

 

The other locos have, I hope, been reprogrammed to unique numbers. 

 

 

Good luck with that............

[BR60103]

We had a bit of snow this morning, both before and after I went out.

The grounds crew were mowing the grass this afternoon.

 

 

I don't know what all the fancy kitchen equipment is that you've been talking about.

 

[polybear]

7 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Oh dear, oh dearie, dearie me, Bear. I reckon the kitchen appliance salesman thought you a  right gullible Charlie if he ever saw one, when you forked out the Deltics for that oven.

 

No Salespersons were involved......

IIRC I was guided by Oven reviews in Which? Magazine. as well as will it fit/reliability/does it look good/price.

Of course it's quite possible that those who feel some strange need to go beyond Pizza/Oven Chips/Roast Spuds/Snaggers/Rhubarb Crumble may find a use for some of the other positions for their knob......

[SM42]

6 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Good luck with that............

 

Well the first one I tried to test run the layout worked so I'm hopeful for the rest.

 

Andy

[Hroth]

8 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

 

In my opinion, putting things up in the first two weeks of December is suspect too.  Around here, the external decorations are spreading like an unsightly rash...

 

1 hour ago, polybear said:

...... may find a use for some of the other positions for their knob......

 

I thought we were talking about domestic culinary appliances? That sounds a bit "undomesticated"!

 

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

No Salespersons were involved......

IIRC I was guided by Oven reviews in Which? Magazine. as well as will it fit/reliability/does it look good/price.

Of course it's quite possible that those who feel some strange need to go beyond Pizza/Oven Chips/Roast Spuds/Snaggers/Rhubarb Crumble may find a use for some of the other positions for their knob......

 

Getting dangerously close to Grand Designs "look how much I've spent" show kitchen territory there....

 

Definitely sounds like a Bear who has bought a Lamborghini and only uses it to go to the shops once a week.

[Hroth]

Speaking of jumping the gun re: Christmas, Classic FM just played "Silent Night", which is just TOO EARLY!!!

 

Its now got me thinking about my ritual Christmas reading. I'll have to locate my copies of "Hogfather" and "A Christmas Carol" in preparation*...

 

BAH......

 

I suppose I should add

"A Happy Warley", to one and all attending!

 

 

* Located both.  I have a schedule for "A Christmas Carol"...

 

Stave 1: Marley's Ghost.                                 Evening, 21st December

Stave 2: The First of the Three Spirits.         Evening, 22nd December

Stave 3: The Second of the Three Spirits.   Evening, 23rd December

Stave 4: The Third of the Three Spirits.       Evening, Christmas Eve

Stave 5: The End of It                                     Christmas Morning

 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Hroth
Sitrep Update. ~rolls eyes~

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It is rather sunny now but the shed roof has a frosty coating. 
We won’t be going to Newcastle for Aditi’s cousin’s cremation. We found out that it had taken place yesterday morning. All the funeral prayers/service will be in Twickenham next week. Aditi will attend 

We are not going to Enfield today, I think we will be going tomorrow. 
Tony

[Oldddudders]

Miele oven? Yes, one here. When we moved in, the kitchen had a split-level cooker arrangement, which, 21 years before, we had thought cool when we bought the previous house in Cranbrook, only to discover neither bit worked properly, so we had installed a slot-in type. So we were wary here, too. And lo, the oven was rubbish! Fortunately, Keith & Cherie, who bought here at the same time, had a spare oven which they said was new, and gave us it free. 19 years later, that Miele oven still does the biz. In truth, it gets less use now I spend quite a lot of time alone, but grills chops and bacon nicely, as well as roasting a chicken very well. It no doubt needs a clean, but Alison's green tendency does not enjoy using nasty chemicals.... She is good at cleaning and re-lining the grill-pan, though - which did not come with the oven but fits anyway. 

 

I went through a series of cheap food-mixers, used not for me but to mill Varian's food when her teeth were struggling in her last years. I was rather proud of keeping her going to 36, having effectively been horse-keeper since Deb's accident 9 years before. The last mixer I bought survived Varian, and is called VonChef. It has several different-size vessels which clip onto a motor unit. Great for grinding coffee & spices or liquidising veg etc., but neither happens very often.

 

We have a genuine frost this morning, and Perry came in a bit chilly. He must be about a year old now, and is the only cat in 40 years who insists upon a cuddle before eating breakfast! His predecessor Cooper - "I am, therefore I eat!" - would have been baffled and got all the food before him.

[Happy Hippo]

We have had a Von Chef Mixer for some time.  No fancy gadgets attached to it.  It's a mixer and does exactly that.

 

Those with long memories will recall that some years back, I had to repair a Kenwood Chef for a neighbour.  A pin in the top gearing had sheared.  As with most repairs, it took about 40 minutes to get into the machine and less than five minutes to turn a new pin in the lathe, and  then fit it.

 

Nyda is back today after her trip to Gogledd, so I'd better do some cleaning and tidying up, because, despite using only a small part of the the house in her absence, other areas seem remarkably cluttered.

 

I keep finding Heljan Class 128's, Kadee coupling springs, 12BA nuts and bolts and the tips of broken scalpel blades in our downstairs cloakroom.  I'm pretty sure that somewhere in the corners of the cupboard, one day I'll find the lost city of Atlantis.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Happy Hippo

[Flying Fox 34F]

Quick weather report from out east in the Carpathians.  Currently, -1 degrees C and snowing.  Keeping warming, adding to trim to doorways.

 

Paul

 

[polybear]

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

Getting dangerously close to Grand Designs "look how much I've spent" show kitchen territory there....

 

Definitely sounds like a Bear who has bought a Lamborghini and only uses it to go to the shops once a week.

 

Fortnum & Mason......

[iL Dottore]

14 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Fortnum & Mason......

They deliver....