The Night Mail

[polybear]

25 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

Are yes but it's just not the same Tony when you've done it yourself in your own home. It makes all the difference.

 

Yes - it's a fraction of the price at home.....

 

11 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

There is always the catch/shoot your own option, which is considerable cheaper (unless you are on a syndicate shoot).

 

Bear would never shoot a fluffy animal* - or bird**; as for eating it afterwards - nottachance.  I'm not a veggie but don't eat much in the way of meat - the most adventurous being Gammon Steak.

 

*Rats would be well to keep clear of A Bear with an AK47 though.....

** If it were "the enemy" though - yes (I'm actually a pretty good shot).

[Dave Hunt]

23 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Arr.

 

 

You forgot the rest of your post, viz:

TROUBLE IS, SOME OF THEM LOOK LIKE THIS THOUGH.

 

😋

 

Dave

 

[New Haven Neil]

17 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I have to ask...

 

What is a Penzance engine doing in the deepest recesses of the Forest?

 

4534/4564/4567 were Gloucester residents over the years so more likely interlopers.

 

However, she is still a very fine loco and worthy of the finish the cleaners have lavished on her.

 

It cost so bl**dy much (sound fitted)  I'm 1) frightened to renumber it, 2) frightened to weather it, in case I *&^% it up.  The cleaners have however painted the once shiny wheel rims black.  My 64 Paneer is also un-weathered, same reasons. It's more out of place than the 45 really, also.

 

I do have that photo of one 'up the forest' (edit - the Prairie, not a 64) so a number is there for the doing.

Edited July 11 by New Haven Neil

[New Haven Neil]

5 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

You forgot the rest of your post, viz:

TROUBLE IS, SOME OF THEM LOOK LIKE THIS THOUGH.

 

😋

 

Dave

 

 

Sorry.

 

[J. S. Bach]

11 hours ago, Willie Whizz said:

For those of us who have come to value comfort over speed, one could do a lot worse …

Comfort? If that rolled over on you????

[Tony_S]

44 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

On SAGA ships there is no extra charge for anything - all inclusive means just that from being picked up at your front door to being delivered back there after the cruise.

 

Dave 

On Cunard, drinks other than tea, coffee fruit juice and water are extra. Various food options are included. The standard restaurants offer so much choice Imdont feel inclined to go off to the alternative(extra cost)  dining. The ability to enjoy a terrace experience with Mediterranean cuisine isn’t totally appealing on a voyage up to Iceland, though possibly if they send us a special offer to try the Indian or Japanese alternative dining. 
Things like WiFi and gratuities are charged for too., Excursions are additional costs too. Some of these charges are offset by using the on board spend allocated to your cabin. This amount is a bit mysterious, depends on when you booked, how you booked etc. We have had amounts between zero and $600 on cruises.  

[Willie Whizz]

22 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Comfort? If that rolled over on you????

Where’s your sense of adventure?

 

Besides, what a way to go!

[polybear]

10 minutes ago, Willie Whizz said:

Where’s your sense of adventure?

 

Besides, what a way to go!

 

Death by Whale blubber?  Doesn't float this Bear's boat..... 😱

 

 

 

Edited July 11 by polybear

[bbishop]

15 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

What I find intriguing about the British psyche is how so many would be horrified about spending £150 or so on a meal, but would happily spend that amount on a top-level sporting event or pop concert.

Like what I do?  Hang on, I get in for nothing.

[bbishop]

9 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Ah, but 24 hours later the meal goes down the tubes and the sporting event is over when the last whistle is blown. The O scale locomotive will give one pleasure for many, many years. Sometimes even beyond the end of your years. I have several pre-war steamers (maybe one electric*, too) that were built before the world war and still give me pleasure when I run them.

 

*The one electric was available from the late 1930s till sometime in the early 1960s. I have no real idea when mine was built, only a suspicion based on many factors.

The sight of Anderson exploding Brathwaite's stumps will always remain with me.  Yes, one can save it to a computer, but to be actually there ...

[Northmoor]

12 hours ago, GMKAT7 said:

But he has got two Michelin stars

I think the tyres on my SORN'd motorcycle have these but it doesn't mean I'd want to try and eat them.

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Death by Whale blubber?  Doesn't float this Bear's boat..... 😱

 

 

 

Yes but at least your get a mention in the 'press' - other terms are available, as the first person to die from eating to much lard.

[monkeysarefun]

12 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Bear was going by the website:

 

https://www.restaurantsatbains.com/dining/#restaurant

 

(£199 for a ten-course evening tasting menu - presumably p.p)

 

- plus:

 

"A discretionary 12.5% gratuity will be added to your final bill and is shared equally between the whole team"

 

- Hence the £450 plus drinks I arrived at.

 

 

The bit that would erks  me about going there  is the "A discretionary 12.5% gratuity will be added to your final bill and is shared equally between the whole team"

 

Heres an idea, pay your workers fairly to begin with, rather than slugging customers extra to make up for your stinginess. 

 

Establishments here can charge a 10% surcharge on Sundays or public holidays but that's because staff get paid double for working those shifts, and the establishment must make you aware via big signs or printed on the menu  that they are doing it.

Edited July 11 by monkeysarefun

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[jjb1970]

Gratuities are a minefield. In the US it is expected, and not just a nominal sum, I had dinner at a restaurant in Washington which offered 15%, 20% or 25% on the card reader when paying. In Japan it's almost an insult as they consider excellent service to be the norm they're expected to deliver. 

 

The one I hate is including a service charge (for some reason it always seems to be 12.5%) and then suggesting tips on the bill (would you like to add a 15% tip prompt on card readers?). I don't mind a service charge, and I don't mind tipping (especially as a way to get rid of old mattresses and such like when the neighbour offers to let me borrow his van) but levying a service charge then prompting a tip when settling the bill annoys me.

[polybear]

7 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

The bit that would erks  me about going there  is the "A discretionary 12.5% gratuity will be added to your final bill and is shared equally between the whole team"

 

Here's an idea, pay your workers fairly to begin with, rather than slugging customers extra to make up for your stinginess. 

 

Of course the Management won't like that cos' it'll mean they'll have to up the prices (putting customers off); of course they could always drive a Fiesta instead of a Beemer Series 7 instead....

 

4 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

Gratuities are a minefield. In the US it is expected, and not just a nominal sum, I had dinner at a restaurant in Washington which offered 15%, 20% or 25% on the card reader when paying. In Japan it's almost an insult as they consider excellent service to be the norm they're expected to deliver. 

 

I was aware of 10% in the US but those numbers definitely would really p1ss me off.  I've read that in (much of?) Europe tipping was never expected until visitors from the US started arriving - now in many areas (especially the tourist ones) it's pretty much expected.

 

I don't mind when I'm handed a card reader and asked "just follow the instructions on the screen" but as soon as they start saying anything that involves the word "tip" it puts me right off.  I also check with staff to make sure they do actually get the tip if it's paid by card reader.

 

4 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

The one I hate is including a service charge (for some reason it always seems to be 12.5%) and then suggesting tips on the bill (would you like to add a 15% tip prompt on card readers?). I don't mind a service charge, and I don't mind tipping (especially as a way to get rid of old mattresses and such like when the neighbour offers to let me borrow his van) but levying a service charge then prompting a tip when settling the bill annoys me.

 

That'll be an instant FAIL in my book - and the Restaurant would be crossed off the list for a return visit after that.

Edited July 12 by polybear

[monkeysarefun]

22 minutes ago, polybear said:

Of course the Management won't like that cos' it'll mean they'll have to up the prices (putting customers off); of course they could always drive a Fiesta instead of a Beemer Series 7 instead...

 

Businesses here do alright ,AND  they have to pay penalty rates to staff for weekend/evening/public  holiday work.

 

Any business that is operating on  a model that relies on underpaying the staff then getting the public to compensate via tipping deserves to go under in my book.

 

Of course that means pretty much every US food/service industry  business. 

Edited July 12 by monkeysarefun

[jamie92208]

I liked the fact that in Oz, tips were not expected and the service was usually excellent.  As has been mentioned tips in food service in the US are a good part of staff income.  We met some people on a cruise whose son was in the restaurant business and apparently tips were absolutely essential to him.  In France 8 years ago tipping was the norm in cafes and restaurants.  Since then there has been a big crackdown by the tax authorities and now we get invoices with every cup of coffee and even small purchases on the msrket.  Tipping seems to have just died out. 

 

The one that I didn't like was the semi compulsory daily surcharge on cruise ships.  I can't prove it but I just don't believe that it all goes to the crew as a bonus,  the figures don't add up.  On my calculations our last cabin Steward would have been on $3000 per week.  We discovered that it was possible to opt out so did so but ensured that the people who gave good service got rewarded. 

 

Jamie

Edited July 12 by jamie92208

[monkeysarefun]

28 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

I liked the fact that in Oz, tips were not expected and the service was usually excellent.

 

 

Getting a decent wage for doing it works wonders,  it seems!

Edited July 12 by monkeysarefun

[Happy Hippo]

11 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

It cost so bl**dy much (sound fitted)  I'm 1) frightened to renumber it, 2) frightened to weather it, in case I *&^% it up.  The cleaners have however painted the once shiny wheel rims black.  My 64 Paneer is also un-weathered, same reasons. It's more out of place than the 45 really, also.

 

I do have that photo of one 'up the forest' (edit - the Prairie, not a 64) so a number is there for the doing.

Stop confusing non GWR junkies: The famous  photo you refer to was 4564!

 

The pannier 6437 toured the Forest lines with three auto coaches on a railtour (The Severn Boar?) 

[Dave Hunt]

25 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

The pannier 6437 toured the Forest lines with three auto coaches on a railtour (The Severn Boar?) 

Actually, The Severn Bore would be appropriate on two counts….😋

 

Dave

 

 

Edited July 12 by Dave Hunt

[Dave Hunt]

Having a lazy start to Friday by being served coffee and a bacon butty in bed. This unaccustomed treat is because this afternoon I have to drive to Sheffield to see two of the grandkids in a production of Les Mis then drive back again arriving home after midnight. The drive back should actually be fairly trouble free but getting there on a Friday afternoon?

 

Dave

[New Haven Neil]

34 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Stop confusing non GWR junkies: The famous  photo you refer to was 4564!

 

The pannier 6437 toured the Forest lines with three auto coaches on a railtour (The Severn Boar?) 

 

Yeah, I have that book too, but it's after my timescale.  I bought the 64 when I was a trader, and there was an offer for trade on them from a certain supplier, so I couldn't refuse it.  It's very nice, being metal etc, but was still rather more than I usually care to spend!

[Dave Hunt]

Had a bit of a bad do with the shearlegs I’m making for the layout yesterday. I had just finished it except for weathering when I knocked it off the bench and damaged it. Fortunately the damage is confined to the side frame of the gearing being knocked out of line so all the axles are skew whiff but it means taking off all the chain before straightening it out and putting the chain back on with the top part boxed in will be a real PITA. Oh, well, the tribulations of a careless modeller I guess.

 

Dave

[skipepsi]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

Having a lazy start to Friday by being served coffee and a bacon butty in bed. This unaccustomed treat is because this afternoon I have to drive to Sheffield to see two of the grandkids in a production of Les Mis then drive back again arriving home after midnight. The drive back should actually be fairly trouble free but getting there on a Friday afternoon?

 

Dave

Avoid the Smart motorways if you can.