The Night Mail

[jjb1970]

1 minute ago, Hroth said:

 

They'd certainly be candidates for "re-education".....

 

 

Could be worse, could be LNER.

[jamie92208]

17 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I’m assuming that this is a local French delicacy.

 

Is there a recipe for mdri gue in the Larousse Gastronomique?

Fatfi ger meets android keyboard and predictive text.  Meringue is the answer. 

 

Jamie

[Hroth]

Just now, jjb1970 said:

 

Could be worse, could be LNER.

 

That would be Pol-Pot all over again, especially if the Thompsonistas had the levers of power in their sweaty grasp.  Reconstruction really meant something with them.....

 

[polybear]

14 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

p.s. Of course, if the GWRP did get into power, @Dave Hunt and @jamie92208 (amongst others) would be immediately categorised as “enemies of the people” 🤣🤣🤣

 

And the UK would become a backward, oppressive authoritarian State that would make DPRK look like the Notting Hill Carnival....

[iL Dottore]

4 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Bear has a variation whilst on hols - within reason; for some strange reason I'm not into blowing twenty or thirty quid on a din dins that I subsequently discover I really don't like (or worse, find totally inedible).

But that’s all part of a well rounded holiday experience, trying new things.

Certainly, my experience has been that being adventurous has been very rewarding indeed (such as the bowl of noodle soup I had at a hawker stall in the back streets of KL. After I had weathered the first chilli explosion and my taste-buds had stopped complaining, it turned out to be a wonderful dish [and experience]).

 

Of course, the clever and savvy traveler - whilst being open to the unexpected and unfamiliar - should also do his/her homework. After all, if all the guidebooks say that visiting the Curly Fries Museum in Splunk on a Saturday afternoon is not a good idea because it is jam packed with tourists and locals alike, expect no sympathy from me if you turn up on a Saturday afternoon and find it far too crowded.
 

Likewise, you should know enough about the local cuisine so that, depending on your personal preferences, local food can be classified as either a “must try” (such as Matcha tea Kit-Kats in Japan), “might try” (such as injeera in Ethiopa*) or “must avoid” (such as “drunk prawns” in Hong Kong).

Expect no sympathy from me if you find order Squazzan in Slobbovia only to find out to your horrified surprise that it is pickled boar testicles in a sweet and sour sauce, especially when all the guide books are full of comments like “Squazzan is a incredibly popular local delicacy, but it’s definitely an acquired taste for Westerners, who rarely like it) 

 

* injeera - a fermented flat bread

Edited July 8 by iL Dottore

[iL Dottore]

20 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

And the UK would become a backward, oppressive authoritarian State that would make DPRK look like the Notting Hill Carnival....

Well that’s you on the list….

 

Criticism, whether overt or not, is NOT tolerated….

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

 

 

p.s. Of course, if the GWRP did get into power, @Dave Hunt and @jamie92208 (amongst others) would be immediately categorised as “enemies of the people” 🤣🤣🤣

They could claim asylum in any areas controlled by Hippos provided they were prepared to stroke the revered brass safety valve bonnet on Sunday's and twice on Brunel's birthday.

[polybear]

36 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Well that’s you on the list….

 

 

However, Bear will be in the FINEST company....

Seems like a rather good Tick to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bbishop]

So I have a fairly limited diet.  No meat, no shellfish (except the occasional prawn), minimal dairy (cheese and yoghurt only), limited fruit (allergies) and never, ever the food of the devil - beetroot.  I eat a lot of vegetables (cooked and raw), fish, bread, pasta and bananas.  And beer.

 

Flavio queries meat substitutes.  I enjoy Linda McCartney sausages - flavour and texture - but vegetarian bacon is awful.

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

oppressive authoritarian State that would make DPRK look like the Notting Hill Carnival....

I haven’t been to either so I will take your word for it.

[DenysW]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

no matter how it may pain the ideologues and purists - is to get enough voters in Crewe and Derby to vote for the GWRP to get it first over the line under the FPTP system.

Totally incorrect. The challenge is to get the Magnificent Railway (MR), and its successor, London Magnificent & Scottish Railway, to deign to admit the existence of the Great Wander Round Party, as well as the chappies that run trams south of the Thames.

[polybear]

This may be of interest:

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c29d4l36139o

[J. S. Bach]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 ...snip... Expect no sympathy from me if you find order Squazzan in Slobbovia only to find out to your horrified surprise that it is pickled boar testicles in a sweet and sour sauce, especially when all the guide books are full of comments like “Squazzan is a incredibly popular local delicacy, but it’s definitely an acquired taste for Westerners, who rarely like it)

Kind of reminds me of Rocky Mountain Oysters.

[bbishop]

My military career was only in the school cadets and, because I was the worst shot in the unit, they gave me the map and compass rather than a gun.  However I have tinnitus so is it worth putting in a claim?  

 

In other news, the Yeti is sick and presently in the garage.  I thought it could have been big Deltics - but probably not.  It is 12 years old and has barely cost me anything - they are as tough as old boots.

 

I am at the Lord's Test for the first four days.  Where tickets cost at least £100 and then there is the food and drink at extortionate prices.  And it all costs me - nothing.

[Oldddudders]

2 minutes ago, bbishop said:

I am at the Lord's Test for the first four days.  Where tickets cost at least £100 and then there is the food and drink at extortionate prices.  And it all costs me - nothing.

Yes, but you are providing an important service. As I knew a chap who up and died while spectating at Lords, your value is not lost on me. [As I have posted before, his demise was a bit of a problem for his two colleagues, since all three were supposed to be at a fictitious meeting a short distance away - BRB HQ, then at Marylebone!] 

[PupCam]

4 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

A successful election strategy - no matter how it may pain the ideologues and purists - is to get enough voters in Crewe and Derby to vote for the GWRP to get it first over the line under the FPTP system.

 

Good luck with that!

 

4 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

p.s. Of course, if the GWRP did get into power, @Dave Hunt and @jamie92208 (amongst others) would be immediately categorised as “enemies of the people” 🤣🤣🤣

 

I prefer to call them (correctly)  Freedom Fighters

 

Now I must dash, I've got a party meeting at the headquarters in Doncaster to attend.

 

 

 

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

8 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Never mind food disorders, what about my slight interest in model railways? 

Take two aspirin and go and lie down in a darkened room. If it's still a problem after two weeks make another appointment. The doctor will see you now.

[bbishop]

1 minute ago, Winslow Boy said:

Take two aspirin and go and lie down in a darkened room. If it's still a problem after two weeks make another appointment. The doctor will see you now.

Dr Beeching?

[Hroth]

8 minutes ago, bbishop said:

Dr Beeching?

 

Dr Beechams, perhaps...

 

[rockershovel]

Took a break from the insanity of the last few weeks, while driving around between sites at work

 

Stopped for a spell of contemplation, admiring the "angel roof" in Isleham Church.

 

Stopped again for the Prickwillow Drainage Museum. A real "hidden gem" of the Fens. 

 

[Northmoor]

13 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

There’s none of this “What! Little Tarquin become an Engineer? Go into “trade”? Over my dead body”

As a very sharp University friend of mine once put it:

"In Britain, tell someone you're an engineer and they'll ask you to take a look at their faulty washing machine.  In Germany, tell someone you're an engineer and they'll ask you to marry their daughter".

[SM42]

I've just finished the dusting and vacuuming in anticipation of the girls coming round on Wednesday for a girlie night in with Mrs SM42. 

 

She was expecting me to be on nights, but I have been swapped to days for some project work.

 

Thus I will be banished to the upper floors all evening  to entertain myself. 

 

I may do a bit of modelling, I may back up some files, I may just do nothing in particular. 

 

Andy

[Dave Hunt]

7 hours ago, bbishop said:

I enjoy Linda McCartney sausages - flavour and texture - but vegetarian bacon is awful.

 

I didn't realise that Linda McCartney had been made into sausages.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

As a very sharp University friend of mine once put it:

"In Britain, tell someone you're an engineer and they'll ask you to take a look at their faulty washing machine.  In Germany, tell someone you're an engineer and they'll ask you to marry their daughter".

 

A friend of mine who was an RAF engineer used to say that there were many kinds of engineers but there was no such thing as a washing machine engineer.

 

Dave

[Northmoor]

8 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Of course, the clever and savvy traveler - whilst being open to the unexpected and unfamiliar - should also do his/her homework. After all, if all the guidebooks say that visiting the Curly Fries Museum in Splunk on a Saturday afternoon is not a good idea because it is jam packed with tourists and locals alike, expect no sympathy from me if you turn up on a Saturday afternoon and find it far too crowded.

Funnily enough, while many always did go to places others went - as popularity indicated somewhere must be OK - the growth of social media and the "Instagram Moment" in particular, has seen more and more people want to go to the same places as everyone else.  As an example, I can no longer see the appeal of going up Snowdon, when on a good day you might have to stand in a queue for three-quarters of an hour to stand at the summit pillar, take a few quick photos then get out of the way.  Funnily enough if you went up Wales' second highest mountain on the same day you'd probably meet 2-3 people.

 

Call me old-fashioned but when I select where to go on holiday, how impressed other people will be by my choice is about the 497th consideration on my list.