The Night Mail

[jamie92208]

39 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I'd concur with that :

 

Or as @iL Dottore once kindly remarked about me, the scan may show normal hardware but says nothing about the software.

 

Jamie

[Winslow Boy]

44 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Or as @iL Dottore once kindly remarked about me, the scan may show normal hardware but says nothing about the software.

 

Jamie

Sorry Jamie I recall that and I don't think he was saying it kindly.

[Winslow Boy]

Update on the fiendishly, cunning and down right diabolical plan to finally achieve sheddom.

 

I can't get into the garage as I've lost the key and the thingy me gig isn't working.

 

So World - 1, Me - 0

 

Frustrated of Manutopea.

[iL Dottore]

51 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Sorry Jamie I recall that and I don't think he was saying it kindly.

Take it as you will, Winnie dear boy, take it as you will!

[iL Dottore]

Alas, alas, alas! It seems that the erudite, informed, sage and venerable members of TNM have been fully taken in by The Bear's dastardly propaganda.

 

Let me make this abundantly clear  I AM NOT ANTI-BEAN, I quite like beans, many of my favourite Northern Italian dishes (like pasta e fagioli, Tonno Con Borlotti etc.) have beans amongst the ingredients.

 

I am definitely anti tinned baked bean especially cheap baked beans as all of them, to a greater or lesser degree, are full of UPF ingredients, have no discernible identity or taste beyond that of sweetened "tomato" sauce and they resemble the real thing much like I resemble an  Olympic Marathon runner!

 

Once you've had proper Boston baked beans, the tinned ones pale into insignificance beside them 

Edited 22 hours ago by iL Dottore
Typo

[PhilJ W]

9 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Why aren't the owners and senior management of these places ever held accountable?  Friends in high places I suppose (much like senior NHS management).

 

As much as one has Walter Mitty-esque thoughts of drumhead tribunals and summary firing squads for such individuals, this - of course - is unlikely to be.

 

But what these people do fear is publicity and exposure. A constant stream of "name and shame" exposés will have an impact. I wonder how many "respectable members of the business community" would like to have a microphone shoved under their noses and questions asked about "making profits by starving people's grannies"

 

Very little gets me really angry: but exploiting the defenceless and vulnerable (including animals) is definitely on that short list..

 

I feel so strongly about it, that if I had to eat baked beanz every day to see the culprits face proper justice (up to and including the gibbet), I'd be on the phone making a bulk order with Heinz!

This does concern me as I'm now 76 and though my general health is pretty good for my age I have mobility problems. Add to that I have no family able to support me I can see the day coming when I will have to enter such an establishment. 

[polybear]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Not quite beans but we nearly had an innovative chick pea based meal yesterday. Aditi needed to make a sauce when she realised that the “tomato puree” she had removed from the freezer was frozen raspberry. Labelling mishap. 

 

Hmm, Raspberry Puree- based Pizza.....Aditi could be onto something there....

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Hmm, Raspberry Puree- based Pizza.....Aditi could be onto something there....

@Grizz will I am  sure correct my impression but when we went to Denmark, quite a few of the meals we ate seemed to have jam served with the meat.

We were really relieved to get to Denmark as we had stayed in Lubeck for a few days and all the food there was so salty. We had wondered if it got saltier as we moved north but fortunately it didn’t .

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Hmm, Raspberry Puree- based Pizza.....Aditi could be onto something there....

Many years ago Beth's uncle gave her a 'frozen salmon' to bring down to Leeds for my Mil.  It went into our freezer.  Some months later, Bessie asked us to thaw it out. It gradually went a dark red.  It turned out tbe a complete fillet steak.  Bessie offered to share it with us.  The decision to accept was made very quickly. 

 

Jamie

[jjb1970]

The best place for accommodation on a ship is somewhere near midship. 

 

The bow and stern experiences a lot more movement, pitching and heaving. The stern experiences a lot less slamming than the bow but makes up to a degree with vibration from the propeller(s). And if the weather is at the right angle to come in under the stern it can get very lively at the back.

 

A reason big containerships were often very good is the accommodation is set well back from either the bow or stern. On the other hand, the very high fretboard combined with high superstructure means rolling movement can be violent.

 

However, modern bow and stern design can radically alter assumptions about how ships behave in heavy weather.

[Happy Hippo]

We are all set up for the show tomorrow at Telford.

 

When I left, The Colour Squadron RAF Regiment, were still practicing their Advance in Review Order and the General Salute, in anticipation of Dave Hunt's triumphal arrival after his flu jab.

 

 

[Northmoor]

9 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

This does concern me as I'm now 76 and though my general health is pretty good for my age I have mobility problems. Add to that I have no family able to support me I can see the day coming when I will have to enter such an establishment. 

Not suggesting you will be this position but some of the stories of family-less care home residents can be incredibly sad and others incredibly heart-warming.

 

The first kind are the ones where at the funeral, nursing home staff outnumber friends and family.  One of my favourite examples of the second kind was a chap who died in a home in Portsmouth in 2013 (something similar happened in 2021), here's the story from the (sorry) Daily Mail: 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2282231/James-McConnell-Royal-Marine-70-family-gets-grand-send-vicar-rallies-mourners-Facebook.html 

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

Not suggesting you will be this position but some of the stories of family-less care home residents can be incredibly sad and others incredibly heart-warming.

 

The first kind are the ones where at the funeral, nursing home staff outnumber friends and family.  One of my favourite examples of the second kind was a chap who died in a home in Portsmouth in 2013 (something similar happened in 2021), here's the story from the (sorry) Daily Mail: 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2282231/James-McConnell-Royal-Marine-70-family-gets-grand-send-vicar-rallies-mourners-Facebook.html 

Yes it can be quite touching when people rally round to ensure that the deceased does get a decent send off.

 

I recall one such event where the British Legion did an appeal and were quite overwhelmed by the response. People who had known or simply served with the individual turned up.

 

I suppose though when someone hasn't been in the services and don't have any family and/or outlived them it can be very difficult to make the 'numbers up'.

Edited 13 hours ago by Winslow Boy

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Not suggesting you will be this position but some of the stories of family-less care home residents can be incredibly sad and others incredibly heart-warming.

 

The first kind are the ones where at the funeral, nursing home staff outnumber friends and family.  One of my favourite examples of the second kind was a chap who died in a home in Portsmouth in 2013 (something similar happened in 2021), here's the story from the (sorry) Daily Mail: 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2282231/James-McConnell-Royal-Marine-70-family-gets-grand-send-vicar-rallies-mourners-Facebook.html 

A friend of mine’s Momma was in a care home with dementia, because of which she had no comprehension of time.  So after she’d got up to go wandering instead of going to bed the two “carers” got fed up and tied her in the bed….

That was a Police job - it went to Court but the Judge directed the Jury to find the defendants not guilty (dunno why).

That was the same day the Boss of the care home chain received a Knighthood(?) in the Queens honours list….

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

A friend of mine’s Momma was in a care home with dementia, because of which she had no comprehension of time.  So after she’d got up to go wandering instead of going to bed the two “carers” got fed up and tied her in the bed….

That was a Police job - it went to Court but the Judge directed the Jury to find the defendants not guilty (dunno why).

That was the same day the Boss of the care home chain received a Knighthood(?) in the Queens honours list….

Demented patients are often restrained for their own safety. One of the problems with full blown dementia is that these patients tend to be very susceptible to fractures and if not restrained can seriously injure themselves by trying to get out of bed* And a fall out of bed in such a patient can be fatal or, worse, result in a hip fracture. In a younger person a hip fracture is no big deal, but in an older person, this usually means that they will be permanently confined to bed with an untreated hip fracture (the NHS rarely fixes hip fractures in the over 80s), which will leave them in constant pain and definitely shorten their lifespan.

 

So the Judge was right in his summing up.

 

The real opprobrium should be reserved for the Care Home Chain who doesn’t employ enough staff to ensure that such patients are regularly ambulated and thus minimise the need for restraint.

 

In Japan there are a lot of elderly people, but they tend to be in better shape than their Western counterparts - a large part due to a healthier diet and lifestyle. We are already seeing the consequences in the UK of an unhealthy lifestyle, UPF rich diet - the generations coming after us (the “Baby Boomers”) are expected - in the UK - to have a shorter average lifespan (https://www.health.org.uk/publications/reports/mortality-and-life-expectancy-trends-in-the-uk?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADunFmQnLuCUn8YeO4qOf94OkanKM&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIy-TY6en1iAMVvamDBx2kjjtEEAAYAiAAEgKPwPD_BwE). Diet remains a major factor and anyone with a functioning brain should be horrified by this: https://www.euronews.com/health/2024/10/04/ultra-processed-foods-account-for-nearly-half-of-calories-eaten-by-uk-toddlers-study-finds

 

* as you age your sense of depth perception alters, as does proprioception, your bones become more brittle and thus more likely to break even with a minor fall and healing takes longer…

[AndyID]

4 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Demented patients are often restrained for their own safety. One of the problems with full blown dementia is that these patients tend to be very susceptible to fractures and if not restrained can seriously injure themselves by trying to get out of bed* And a fall out of bed in such a patient can be fatal or, worse, result in a hip fracture. In a younger person a hip fracture is no big deal, but in an older person, this usually means that they will be permanently confined to bed with an untreated hip fracture (the NHS rarely fixes hip fractures in the over 80s), which will leave them in constant pain and definitely shorten their lifespan.

 

So the Judge was right in his summing up.

 

The real opprobrium should be reserved for the Care Home Chain who doesn’t employ enough staff to ensure that such patients are regularly ambulated and thus minimise the need for restraint.

 

In Japan there are a lot of elderly people, but they tend to be in better shape than their Western counterparts - a large part due to a healthier diet and lifestyle. We are already seeing the consequences in the UK of an unhealthy lifestyle, UPF rich diet - the generations coming after us (the “Baby Boomers”) are expected - in the UK - to have a shorter average lifespan (https://www.health.org.uk/publications/reports/mortality-and-life-expectancy-trends-in-the-uk?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADunFmQnLuCUn8YeO4qOf94OkanKM&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIy-TY6en1iAMVvamDBx2kjjtEEAAYAiAAEgKPwPD_BwE). Diet remains a major factor and anyone with a functioning brain should be horrified by this: https://www.euronews.com/health/2024/10/04/ultra-processed-foods-account-for-nearly-half-of-calories-eaten-by-uk-toddlers-study-finds

 

* as you age your sense of depth perception alters, as does proprioception, your bones become more brittle and thus more likely to break even with a minor fall and healing takes longer…

 

Similar problem in the US and even in Japan there are concerns about modern diet. The good news is beanz don't seem to make the top ten list of UPFs.

Edited 6 hours ago by AndyID

[AndyID]

On the same subject, not long after we moved from Paisley to Arizona we were driving to the Grand Canyon with our three young children the oldest of whom was no more than seven. We stopped at a diner and while we were there another couple came in. The waitress showed them to a booth.

 

There was no way in hell the poor gent could possibly squeeze into a booth. Our children had never seen anyone of such gigantic proportions and we were terrified they were going to say something or start laughing. Fortunately, with a bit of prompting, they were very well behaved 😄

[AndyID]

21 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I'd concur with that :

 

 

My haircut is nothing like that.

[AndyID]

18 hours ago, Tony_S said:

@Grizz will I am  sure correct my impression but when we went to Denmark, quite a few of the meals we ate seemed to have jam served with the meat.

We were really relieved to get to Denmark as we had stayed in Lubeck for a few days and all the food there was so salty. We had wondered if it got saltier as we moved north but fortunately it didn’t .

 

Sixty plus years ago my dad drove us to Denmark for a holiday. (Them were the days!) IIRC we stayed in a really nice hotel at Elsinore and the food was great. Unfortunately I was focused on the strange motorbikes, a lot of which seemed to have straight-four (water cooled?) engines. Had I been a bit older I might have focused more on the young ladies 😄

[AndyID]

On 03/10/2024 at 13:49, New Haven Neil said:

 

Interesting stuff, I'm off to read up, thanks.

 

It comes as no surprise to those that have experienced it.  I thought the laws of physics were on hold a couple of times, when you're on a bit of metal weight almost 200,000 tons and it is being thrown around literally like a cork, it truly is brown trouser time.  Then a year later you find the very same bit of metal has sunk with a lot of your friends and colleagues on board, due to same water misbehaving, it is incredibly sobering.

 

A terrible loss.

 

Too many of us in the USA seem to think that the laws of physics are negotiable. Supply a hurricane with more energy and it turns into a monster.

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, AndyID said:

On the same subject, not long after we moved from Paisley to Arizona we were driving to the Grand Canyon with our three young children the oldest of whom was no more than seven. We stopped at a diner and while we were there another couple came in. The waitress showed them to a booth.

 

There was no way in hell the poor gent could possibly squeeze into a booth. Our children had never seen anyone of such gigantic proportions and we were terrified they were going to say something or start laughing. Fortunately, with a bit of prompting, they were very well behaved 😄

That was what struck me on my last trips to the US, just how many really big people there were. The other thing was the number of older people on portable oxygen.  On my first trip in 78, I found myself in the Chicago Hilton with 2000 members of the loyal order of the Moose.  One couple, in tightly stretched white jeans were walking down a corridor in front of me.  The corridor was at least 10' wide and they filled it. 

 

Jamie

[iL Dottore]

I really do wish people would  stop using the euphemism "big" to describe obese people, especially morbidly obese people (although the preferred term now is "plus sized" as though that changes anything).

 

These euphemisms are dangerous as it allows people to avoid having to deal with their obesity: if you are "plus sized" then you don't have a medical problem* and you can continue to live a lie and remain in complete denial. In fact, recently, there have been a spate of early deaths amongst "plus sized influencers" from medical complications directly associated with morbid obesity and these "plus sized influencers" were in their 30s or even younger. These were people for whom a diet encompassing 3000 or 4000 cal a day would be considered as a fasting diet

 

In the twisted world of the "plus sized influencer" telling somebody that they are "morbidly obese" is hate speech and "fat" is a word now at a par with the infamous "N word" for being completely unacceptable- at least in the eyes of the "plus sized influencer"

 

This insanity has even permeated the NHS with at least one NHS trust instructing their doctors not to use the term "fat" or "obese" as it "might offend and upset the patient"

 

* which is utter bollox

Edited 2 hours ago by iL Dottore
Typos

[45156]

18 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Is it fair to say the Airline concerned wasn't Ryanair?

 

 

 

The airline wasn't involved - it wsa 100% down to the valeting company, but you're right it wasn't Ryanair - however, they had no involvement in the incident - the airline was British Midland and the valeting company was called Clean Getaway.  My return aircraft was G-OBME which crashed on the M1 the following morning.

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

That was what struck me on my last trips to the US, just how many really big people there were. The other thing was the number of older people on portable oxygen.  On my first trip in 78, I found myself in the Chicago Hilton with 2000 members of the loyal order of the Moose.  One couple, in tightly stretched white jeans were walking down a corridor in front of me.  The corridor was at least 10' wide and they filled it. 

 

Jamie

 

 

 

Myself and partner at the time  were waiting in Cairns airport for the plane to take us to one of the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef, when an announcement came over the PA asking me to go to the information desk. The person there told me that due to weight issues our luggage would be going on the next flight - which was the next day. Kind of annoying but I didn't make a fuss.

 

We boarded the plane which was  King Air kind of size and  a few minutes later two truly massive Americans - they were a couple - got on board. The seating configuration was double seats without an armrest between them and they only just managed to squeeze into a double seat each.  That explains the weight issue, I thought to myself. 

 

We did get an upgraded room for the inconvenience so it worked out well in the end and we did share a dinner table with the couple on the second night and they were a load of fun, if a trifle large.

Edited 33 minutes ago by monkeysarefun