The Night Mail

[Northmoor]

On 17/01/2024 at 10:51, Happy Hippo said:

In other news I have to face the ordeal of the car parking at the Royal Shrewbury Hospital this afternoon.

 

The appointment is only a check up, but for those that don't know, the car parking is a f*ck up. You can easily spend 30 minutes or so looking for a non existent space.

 

Nyda and I now go over together, and the attendee gets dropped at the door and the driver drives to the local retail park for a mooch around and a coffee.  It's easier, less stressful and probably cheaper!

I recently went along to a consultation event by the hospital trust as our local (walking distance away if I'm feeling energetic) hospital is riddled with RAAC and to be replaced in the next decade.  Wherever it ends up being located, it won't be as convenient for us as it is now.  Traffic to Frimley Park heavily impacts the local roads so most of the round table discussion was about access and traffic.  One guy on our table insisted that a P&R was the complete solution; I did gently suggest - coming from a transport background - that a P&R on the opposite side of the hospital from your home is a PITA.  It's also unlikely to be an option for anyone leaving hospital or finishing a shift in the early hours.  There are a couple of bus routes serving Frimley Park but the biggest problem in this part of the world is that for many residents, other than the train for commuting to London, public transport is a good thing for other people to use.

 

My takeaway from the event was that we all want the hospital to remain convenient for us, but not too convenient that we'll be affected by the traffic.  That will be someone else's problem.

Edited January 18 by Northmoor
typos

[newbryford]

14 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

On March 2nd we are going on a Northern Lights cruise up into the Arctic so I thought that I'd start preparing for it on, say, February 29th but this morning I was disabused of that notion and informed that we were going into central Telfland to do some of that  dreadful thing called pre-holiday shopping. My protestations that I already had sufficient clothing to last me for the rest of my days fell on deaf ears and it was decreed that I need more trousers and sweaters (my, "But I've already got three pairs of trousers and they give us Arctic jackets on the ship", was completely ignored). So, after checking our Telfid 19 vaccinations were up to date and the active armour plating on the car was in place we set off. On reaching the dark centre of Telfland we went into a shop where I tried on two pairs of trousers and two sweaters, paid for them and left within about ten minutes, at which stage I thought all was going well and I'd be back in the shed by lunchtime. Schoolboy error. Jill wanted a pair of trousers for evening wear and that required visiting about twenty shops (it may have been more but they all kind of blurred into an amorphous mass) and looking at allsorts of other items as well as the desired trousers. My query as to why she was examining such things as blouses and raincoats when they weren't on the list was met by a withering look so I then kept quiet. Eventually the search was complete and we went for coffee and sandwiches before returning home but the fates weren't finished with me and the journey time was extended by road works every half mile or so (well, it seemed that way) so Hunt Towers wasn't reached until nearly four o'clock.

 

Aren't some days fun?

 

Dave 

 

Men buy, women shop.

[SM42]

Here at SM42 Towers we are going through a period where I and Mrs SM42 may get a brief glimpse of each other as we pass, like ships in the night. 

She's in bed when I get home, and at work when I get up, she's still at work when I leave for work. 

 

Thankfully (?) only a short lived artangement. 

 

However it seems in one of these brief passings I have committed some heinous crime and am now being punished by being left lentils for dinner. 

 

The cooking instructions say "warm gently with a dash of water or simply enjoy cold. "

 

Enjoy and lentils are two words that certainly don't belong in the same sentence. 

 

I thought there was some law against cruel and unusual punishments. 

 

Andy

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, SM42 said:

Enjoy and lentils are two words that certainly don't belong in the same sentence. 

 

Andy

Oh, I don’t know; there are “lentils” and there are lentils…

 

The Italians usually do a pretty decent lentil dish or two (a particular favourite of mine is Zampone con lenticchie con purea di patate: basically a stuffed pig’s trotter with unctuous lentils and creamy, smooth mash).
 

There are also many amazing lentil based dishes from the Indian Subcontinent as well.

 

Unfortunately, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Nordic and Slavic cuisines haven’t quite mastered the humble lentil!

 

Edited January 18 by iL Dottore
Missing word

[Happy Hippo]

I use lentils to bolster various vegetable soups.

 

In support of the 'men buy' comment, I have bought a bench top planer. I was going to make one from an electric hand plane, but the cost of this was only about £30 less than the one I could buy ready made.

 

It will be most useful as it will prove itself  when manufacturing parts for a number of household projects. Then it can be used for its proper purpose, as a model railway support machine.

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, SM42 said:

Here at SM42 Towers we are going through a period where I and Mrs SM42 may get a brief glimpse of each other as we pass, like ships in the night. 

She's in bed when I get home, and at work when I get up, she's still at work when I leave for work. 

 

Thankfully (?) only a short lived artangement. 

 

However it seems in one of these brief passings I have committed some heinous crime and am now being punished by being left lentils for dinner. 

 

The cooking instructions say "warm gently with a dash of water or simply enjoy cold. "

 

Enjoy and lentils are two words that certainly don't belong in the same sentence. 

 

I thought there was some law against cruel and unusual punishments. 

 

Andy

Sorry Andy I believe there is a specific exemption clause in the Human Rights Act which specifically states that wives are allowed to be 'cruel' when providing sustenance to there husbands. You could of course challenge it, but let us know beforehand as we'll need to take shelter from the fallout.

[Happy Hippo]

6 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Sorry Andy I believe there is a specific exemption clause in the Human Rights Act which specifically states that wives are allowed to be 'cruel' when providing sustenance to there husbands. You could of course challenge it, but let us know beforehand as we'll need to take shelter from the fallout.

There are only two rules regarding the fairer sex:

 

Rule 1:  The lady is always right

 

Rule 2:  If the lady is wrong, then Rule 1 will apply.

[SM42]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

Unfortunately, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Nordic and Slavic cuisines haven’t quite mastered the humble lentil!

 

 

That's cos' them's 'orrible and so there's no reason to bother ( Cor! Look at all those apostrophes)

 

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

There are only two rules regarding the fairer sex:

 

Rule 1:  The lady is always right

 

Rule 2:  If the lady is wrong, then Rule 1 will apply.

 

I find it best not to ask for an opinion. 

 

Better to regret something you've ( there's them apostrophes again, ooh and another)  done than something you might have done if you hadn't ( and another) asked for an opinion or permission first.

 

Andy

[Flying Fox 34F]

Andy,

 

As you are opposite shifts, go and treat yourself to a sneaky Take Away!

 

Paul

[Tony_S]

5 hours ago, SM42 said:

law against cruel and unusual punishments. 

I think that is gruel and unusual…

My Mum used to sprinkle red lentils onto stews. So I associated them with nasty tasting gritty bits. However the lovely lentil based dishes from India are a favourite of mine. 

[New Haven Neil]

5 hours ago, SM42 said:

Here at SM42 Towers we are going through a period where I and Mrs SM42 may get a brief glimpse of each other as we pass, like ships in the night. 

She's in bed when I get home, and at work when I get up, she's still at work when I leave for work. 

 

We had a few years like that, the cat got enormous. He begged to be fed by each of us, crafty old b*gger.  We ended up having to leave notes saying the cat had been fed, don't believe him!

[iL Dottore]

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

Better to regret something you've ( there's them apostrophes again, ooh and another)  done than something you might have done if you hadn't ( and another) asked for an opinion or permission first.

 

Andy

I see that the wisdom of ages (or at least some of it) is settling on Andy’s broad shoulders…

 

For is it not written: ‘it is better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission”’

小屋の道
Koya no michi - The Way Of The Shed!

[bbishop]

Simon came round today and we finished rewiring the layout.  It is just about ready for Longfield next weekend.

 

Not unsurprisingly, we forewent the garage in favour of the kitchen worktop.  A few getroundtuit jobs and Blindheim will be ready to pack.

[Northmoor]

5 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

There are only two rules regarding the fairer sex:

 

Rule 1:  The lady is always right

 

Rule 2:  If the lady is wrong, then Rule 1 will apply.

Mrs Northmoor has always insisted there is no Rule 2 because it is entirely redundant.

[Happy Hippo]

7 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Mrs Northmoor has always insisted there is no Rule 2 because it is entirely redundant.

But without Rule 2 what would be the point of Rule 1.

 

Without Rules, Anarchy would reign.

 

Is, by chance, Mrs Northmoor called Ann?

Edited January 18 by Happy Hippo

[Dave Hunt]

21 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Could you not have ordered the (your) clothes by mail order and got Jill to drop you off here whilst she went on the climb up to hell, solo.

 

It was decreed that there is a need to try things on before buying and although you can return items received via mail order it is less hassle to go to shops than to repack items for return and go to the post office or other return systems. And who am I to argue (since I still like eating and sleeping indoors)?

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

10 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Similar advice was probably given in years past to anyone posted to RAF Brawdy.

 

Known in the trade as the airfield with the 30 knot fog.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

3 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

It was decreed that there is a need to try things on before buying and although you can return items received via mail order it is less hassle to go to shops than to repack items for return and go to the post office or other return systems. And who am I to argue (since I still like eating and sleeping indoors)?

 

Dave

You should order clothing in more than one size, and then you merely return any jacket you get lost in, or where the alternative is  being unable to slide your lithe and muscled frame, into the glove like leather trousers.

 

I just order various sizes of marquee, or if I am being particularly daring, a bell tent.

[Tony_S]

The Royal Mail will still collect return parcels from your home even for many prepaid returns. Some of the clothes retailers use Evri for returns and they collect too. 

[Winslow Boy]

7 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

You should order clothing in more than one size, and then you merely return any jacket you get lost in, or where the alternative is  being unable to slide your lithe and muscled frame, into the glove like leather trousers.

 

I just order various sizes of marquee, or if I am being particularly daring, a bell tent.

Why not try something really avantgarde and just order the material on it own. That way you could have it made to measure in various sizes.

Edited January 18 by Winslow Boy
Oops missed a comma.

[Happy Hippo]

Nyda has just found out that her (and granddaughter Eira's) birthday on15 Feb 24, coincides with World Hippo Day.

 

Now she is not sure what I'll be celebrating the most🤣.

[Tony_S]

7 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Known in the trade as the airfield with the 30 knot fog.

We had some holidays  when I was a child in that area. My parents always chose places for our summer camping holidays in places that seemed to be raining a lot. 

[Tony_S]

3 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Nyda has just found out that her (and granddaughter Eira's) birthday on15 Feb 24, coincides with World Hippo Day.

 

Now she is not sure what I'll be celebrating the most🤣.

I am not sure why but I have been receiving Tweets or Xs (whatever) from Cincinnati Zoo showing their enrichment activities now their hippos  can’t go out due to the cold weather. It seems to mainly involve eating vegetables. 

[Winslow Boy]

1 minute ago, Tony_S said:

We had some holidays  when I was a child in that area. My parents always chose places for our summer camping holidays in places that seemed to be raining a lot. 

It is one of the privileges that they have so I'm told. Plus it never did you any harm did it.

[Happy Hippo]

50 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I see that the wisdom of ages (or at least some of it) is settling on Andy’s broad shoulders…

 

For is it not written: ‘it is better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission”’

小屋の道
Koya no michi - The Way Of The Shed!

Doesn't work when you are about to shoot somebody.

 

Bang! whoops.... sorry.  This gets you jail time

Can I?  Yes... Bang!.. Might get you a MiD (Mention in Despatches.)