The Night Mail

[DaveF]

At the moment (8.50a.m.) pages 2197 amd 2198 are identical.

 

Edit: Having posted this it has moved onto a new page and is now correct.

 

David

Edited 14 hours ago by DaveF

[Tony_S]

10 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

That looks very good. I'll pass it on to our contractor.

 

Unlikely to change our direction as we are pushing it quite a bit now 😄

What about a Tesla roof? 🙂

 

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

Falling in love with a place on holiday and buying property there can often lead to disappointment. 

 

That feeling from  two weeks of freedom soon wears thin when your holiday lasts forever and you have to do stuff like housework, gardening, property maintenance, shopping and cooking.

 

All that stuff you didn't have to worry about when you were in your all inclusive hotel. 

 

Life can get tedious wherever you are.

 

Andy

 

We also find that the friends that we made during our two years of being second honers, find it difficult to understand why we can't accept invitations at short notice when they come over.  Two sets in particulate don't seem to be able to grasp that we have a fairly full life with medical appointments etc as well as a new circle of friends among the permanent resident community. 

 

Jamie

[Happy Hippo]

Today I am mostly picking up the stuff I cut off the hedge yesterday.

 

It is gentle work, that allows one to commune with nature on a nice sunny day.

 

I have been visited by our resident robin, who is definitely on the cadge for for a snack or two, which is more than likely when I'm raking through the rougher ground at the base of the hedge.

 

However, I did get an odd look from our local Evri delivery lady, as when she arrived, I was jumping up and down in a green wheelie bin.

 

I ask you, how would you compress the green waste?

[polybear]

19 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

However, I did get an odd look from our local Evri delivery lady, as when she arrived, I was jumping up and down in a green wheelie bin.

 

 

Really?  Can't imagine why...

 

[Oldddudders]

An unexpected visitor today was my roofing contractor, with whose work I have since had no beef. He sees me as a fairly soft touch, I'm sure, but today's sales pitch was on getting the rear of my roof sprayed with anti-fungal spray. I know it works, as I had the front done last year, but had warned him that funds are short for a while, as the taxman has levied what I owe from last year. So I said February. No problem he said - just give me a post-dated cheque! So I did, and the job is done. House maintenance on the never-never!

 

Whenever I go back to Blighty for a few weeks, young cat Perry gets the hump and shuffles off elsewhere, despite Alison's daily visits. So he had disappeared over a week ago, but suddenly reappeared this morning, rushing from the big barn, squeaking at me as I opened the volets. Insisted on having a mega-cuddle before eating, and has been all over me ever since. 

 

I have had a cold since Monday evening. I was only really under the weather Wednesday evening, but mercifully better for the trip home on Thursday. Now I just have a bit of a cough. Sherry has now got the thing, is rather worse off than I was, has gone back to bed, she tells me. She was due a flu jab today, but managed to cancel that online. With a grumpy, arthritic knee, and an ankle that is still painful after her fall in Lerwick in May, she has a miserable time most days, particularly if it is damp. She so needs this as well. 

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Really?  Can't imagine why...

 

Right down to the cross eyes.

 

Excellent

[SM42]

We have arrived on Luton after a pleasant visit to the Euopean Exhibition near Loughborough. 

 

I left Mrs SM42 to mooch about town whilst I mooched around toy trains. 

 

Not a large exhibition but very enjoyable non the less. 

 

I treated Mrs SM42 to a romantic picnic lunch at Northampton services overlooking the Southbound M1. 

 

It's no wonder she married with the promise such grandiose treatment. 

 

The hotel is handy for the airport, just a shame we are on the wrong side for seeing the passing aeroplanes.

 

We are off to a birthday party this evening so drink may be taken and a booty may be shaken. 

 

Andy

[J. S. Bach]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Today I am mostly picking up the stuff I cut off the hedge yesterday. It is gentle work, that allows one to commune with nature on a nice sunny day. ...snip...

I have this mental image of a Hippo slowly grazing down the hedge line toward the end. 🦛

[Tony_S]

6 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

I have this mental image of a Hippo slowly grazing down the hedge line toward the end. 🦛

I think many of us did too.

[DaveF]

I went to the Tanfield Railway today, it is their annual "Run it Weekend" when everything that works gets run.  It was as enjoyable as ever with both passenger and freight trains in action.  It is one the few railways where you can still walk round the loco shed and other stock buildings as well as around the sidings in the yard.  They do stop people from walking across the track when they are moving things in the yard.

 

I realised today that I am getting older (I am only 75) as there was no one working on the railway that I know, they have all retired or died.  When I first started visiting some 44 years ago many of them were only 10 years older than me.  Now the new volunteers must be in their 30s (and some much younger)  - which is a very good thing as it shows there is a future for the line.

 

I also noticed, just as I sometimes do when I am the beach, that I am an "old person" and as such younger people think I might at some point need help.  It feels strange to notice people just keeping an eye on one when negotiating steps - or stepping over rails or treading only on sleepers as I walk along a siding.  I suppose I should be pleased that people I don't know do keep an eye on old people.

 

I won't comment here on the driving standards I saw on my journey, that is in Early Risers.

 

David

[PhilJ W]

9 hours ago, DaveF said:

At the moment (8.50a.m.) pages 2197 amd 2198 are identical.

 

Edit: Having posted this it has moved onto a new page and is now correct.

 

David

This happens every time there is a new page no matter what thread it is.

[DenysW]

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

the European Exhibition near Loughborough

Specifically Thringstone. With some views of the remains of the (LNWR-Operated) Nuneaton-Loughborough branch line, depending on your route to the village.

 

I also enjoyed it.

[The White Rabbit]

7 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

... I ask you, how would you compress the green waste?

 

If it includes pyracantha cuttings, very, very carefully! 

 

Sez an idiot whose just planted a hawthorn tree so is destined to have spiky trimmings for a long time to come! 

[Tony_S]

14 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

Sez an idiot whose just planted a hawthorn tree so is destined to have spiky trimmings for a long time to come! 

I wouid quite like a hawthorne tree. There was one in an adjoining garden. It used to hang over the corner where our sheds are. It was full of birdies and we used to like seeing it change through the seasons. The person whose garden it was in couldn’t really see it and when some other neighbours asked for it to be removed as they didn’t like,the leaves fallling in their garden, it was removed. Poor birds just looked confused for a while. I did say I might move the sheds and plant a hawthorne and mentioned quite large mature trees were not that expensive…

Edited 2 hours ago by Tony_S

[Hroth]

 

Its the Random Fireworks season once again....

 

"bang bang bang" all evening!

 

And on and on for at least another three bluddy weeks...

 

[Oldddudders]

3 minutes ago, Hroth said:

"bang bang bang" all evening!

Ah, those were the days....

[polybear]

10 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Its the Random Fireworks season once again....

 

"bang bang bang" all evening!

 

And on and on for at least another three bluddy weeks...

 

 

snap....

[The White Rabbit]

41 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I would quite like a hawthorne tree. There was one in an adjoining garden. It used to hang over the corner where our sheds are. It was full of birdies and we used to like seeing it change through the seasons. The person whose garden it was in couldn’t really see it and when some other neighbours asked for it to be removed as they didn’t like,the leaves fallling in their garden, it was removed. Poor birds just looked confused for a while. I did say I might move the sheds and plant a hawthorne and mentioned quite large mature trees were not that expensive…

 

Mine came from Roots - https://www.rootsplants.co.uk/collections/all-trees - various species and types. 

 

I also have my (beady) eye on https://shop.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees - I will probably make a purchase from them shortly. I have a couple of spaces in an original Devon bank/hedge which they will fill nicely. 

 

(Usual disclaimer for both). 

 

Hawthorns are supposed to be good for wildlife and support all sorts of species. I like them, they are one of the smaller native trees and offer some colour in spring and autumn. I have some space here but don't have half an acre or more, so smaller/dwarf species are useful. I want to create a small spinney/copse, rich in wildlife friendly 'stuff' and good for shade - for me, the dogs and the railway... 

 

I was offered an ash tree by a neighbour, I would have loved to have it but they grow a bit more than I had room for. I could say the same about oaks... But then again, if I had the room for those, I'd probably be getting sidetracked with 7 1/4 inch garden railways! 

[Winslow Boy]

3 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

 

Mine came from Roots - https://www.rootsplants.co.uk/collections/all-trees - various species and types. 

 

I also have my (beady) eye on https://shop.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees - I will probably make a purchase from them shortly. I have a couple of spaces in an original Devon bank/hedge which they will fill nicely. 

 

(Usual disclaimer for both). 

 

Hawthorns are supposed to be good for wildlife and support all sorts of species. I like them, they are one of the smaller native trees and offer some colour in spring and autumn. I have some space here but don't have half an acre or more, so smaller/dwarf species are useful. I want to create a small spinney/copse, rich in wildlife friendly 'stuff' and good for shade - for me, the dogs and the railway... 

 

I was offered an ash tree by a neighbour, I would have loved to have it but they grow a bit more than I had room for. I could say the same about oaks... But then again, if I had the room for those, I'd probably be getting sidetracked with 7 1/4 inch garden railways! 

Ash are very quick growing but are prone to Ash Die Back I'm afraid. Mature ones are very prone to casting there limbs without any warning.

 

The best way of attracting wildlife is to grow a mixture of trees and shrubs. That way you'll offer a wide variety of food sources.

[Northmoor]

4 hours ago, DaveF said:

I went to the Tanfield Railway today, it is their annual "Run it Weekend" when everything that works gets run.  It was as enjoyable as ever with both passenger and freight trains in action.  It is one the few railways where you can still walk round the loco shed and other stock buildings as well as around the sidings in the yard.  They do stop people from walking across the track when they are moving things in the yard.

 

I realised today that I am getting older (I am only 75) as there was no one working on the railway that I know, they have all retired or died.  When I first started visiting some 44 years ago many of them were only 10 years older than me.  Now the new volunteers must be in their 30s (and some much younger)  - which is a very good thing as it shows there is a future for the line.

 

I also noticed, just as I sometimes do when I am the beach, that I am an "old person" and as such younger people think I might at some point need help.  It feels strange to notice people just keeping an eye on one when negotiating steps - or stepping over rails or treading only on sleepers as I walk along a siding.  I suppose I should be pleased that people I don't know do keep an eye on old people.

 

I won't comment here on the driving standards I saw on my journey, that is in Early Risers.

 

David

After a day at working Acton Museum Depot, I had an interesting experience changing at Ascot; today was Champions Day and the platforms were RAMMED.  A few of us getting off had to wait for the train to load so that we could actually get along the platform to the footbridge or subway.  Let's just say quite a lot of shandies had clearly been consumed.

 

Leaving my home station, I watched someone come up to a roundabout on my left; I stopped for the car coming round, they didn't (and then turned right, without indicating).  That was a close one.  This morning (just after eight when it was still nearly dark) I accidentally pulled out across (but nowhere near as close) someone coming round the same roundabout, who then at the next turned right from the left lane (also not indicating).  My excuse for missing them was they had no lights on, not even the blue flashy ones it had on the roof.

[The White Rabbit]

2 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Ash are very quick growing but are prone to Ash Die Back I'm afraid. Mature ones are very prone to casting there limbs without any warning.

 

The best way of attracting wildlife is to grow a mixture of trees and shrubs. That way you'll offer a wide variety of food sources.

 

Yes, some of my favourite trees spotted (and sometimes included in frames) on 'kettle photting expeditions' have been ashes and too many of them have fallen to ADB. (😟)

 

As per ERs, I have just put in a hawthorn and crab apple. There's also a pyracantha, portuguese laurel and two cotoneasters in the 'spinney' and three others nearby. I'm currently weighing up the respective merits of rowans, willows, cherries and hazels. And maybe an apple tree and a Japanese Maple in the back. 

 

Hopefully these and the flowers in the meadow will work well for the local wildlife, this summer's experiment with the latter seemed to go down well with the birds and bees. 

[AndyID]

6 hours ago, SM42 said:

I treated Mrs SM42 to a romantic picnic lunch at Northampton services overlooking the Southbound M1. 

 

 

What did the violinist play for you when he came to your table?

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, Oldddudders said:

Ah, those were the days....

 

There's always one...  🤪

 

[AndyID]

9 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

An unexpected visitor today was my roofing contractor, with whose work I have since had no beef. He sees me as a fairly soft touch, I'm sure, but today's sales pitch was on getting the rear of my roof sprayed with anti-fungal spray. I know it works, as I had the front done last year, but had warned him that funds are short for a while, as the taxman has levied what I owe from last year. So I said February. No problem he said - just give me a post-dated cheque! So I did, and the job is done. House maintenance on the never-never!

 

 

No such luck here. 10% down. 50% at start and the balance on completion.