The Night Mail

[Northmoor]

Just now, Happy Hippo said:

Did they spot these two?

 

Sgt Gaylord Savage and Lcpl Horace Buckle of the Close Observation Platoon 1st Bn The Queen's Regiment.

 

 

 

Horace's series of operations seem to be progressing well.

[jamie92208]

4 hours ago, GMKAT7 said:

Good afternoon Northmoor,

 

EMA is, or certainly was, exactly the same.

 

You have to dodge through the duty free shops to get to the food/drink outlets and departure areas.

 

Cheers, Nigel.

Stansted sends walking passengers round a snakes and  ladders course through all the shops then the route march and stairs, up and down, the Robbingair gates.  However with Beth needing wheelchair assistance we bypassed the lot and were able to use the lifts.  There are short cuts like you get in IKEA. 

 

Jamie

[SM42]

What amused me about Stansted last time I used it was last call was  10 minutes before the gate closed and a big sign says all gates 12 minutes from here. 

 

Andy

Edited July 14 by SM42

[Oldddudders]

On 13/07/2024 at 13:33, GMKAT7 said:

I am sure Ian/Oldudders will remember the 'bad-old' BR ways of expenses, otherwise known as Scale Allowances'.

'

So called because the allowances were on a rising/sliding scale, so the higher the job grade the better the expenses. Naturally those who were paid more could claim more :)

They were available to staff who worked away from their home station, by day or by week.

I certainly do. In 1978/9 I was a Relief SM, Home Station Dartford. If my posting was more than a few miles from Dartford, I got expenses. There was also travelling time, I think. There were Home Stations dotted around the Division, but the clueless relief allocator ignored them. So I spent months covering Ramsgate, Margate, Ashford, and other such remote locations. Worse (but better for me!) if in 12 months more than 25% of my placements were at stations in a higher grade, MS1, I automatically got regraded. It happened about 8 months into the job. And for some reason I went straight onto the scale maximum. Oh dear! That meant when, a couple of years later, I was elevated to MS2 as Divisional Operating Assistant, I went over half-way up the MS2 scale, and qualified for my Regional First Class pass. I was a very lucky boy sometimes.

 

Today's news of the US shooting is rightly being described as an attack on Democracy. So what were Trump's shenanigans after Biden was fairly elected?

[polybear]

26 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Today's news of the US shooting is rightly being described as an attack on Democracy. So what were Trump's shenanigans after Biden was fairly elected?

 

After watching a Ch. 4 programme about it a few minutes ago I find it unforgiveable that the Orange One played "The Big I Am" several times immediately afterwards (both on the stage and also when getting into the Trumpmobile") and put himself right in the firing line yet again - and risking the lives of all those surrounding him who were trying to keep him alive....

TW@T.

[Oldddudders]

Today, as many will realise, is Bastille Day. It has been dry here, but rather cloudy until mid-afternoon. I decided to go to the local heritage railway, the TRANSVAP. Sherry and I went on this day in 2014, and rather enjoyed it. Their operation this year has been a bit truncated, as there is some failure of permanent way preventing them getting right through to Bonnetable. Since much of the trackwork could most kindly be described as dreadful, the mind boggles at whatever has befallen them.

 

In 2014, and on several subsequent Bastille Days, the train for the morning service has been a 4-wheel Billard railcar, which hardly smoothes the ride, but today we got the Picasso, a lovely vehicle, if a little spartan inside. I adore these things, and admit to owning 10 HO versions - including most recently a model of this one, X93953. They seat 64, I think, and today we numbered about 50 passengers, I should think, including several very young people. Here we are at the impromptu terminus at Prévelles.

 

 

 

 

[Hroth]

Is that conning tower thingie where the driver sits?

 

[PhilJ W]

5 hours ago, polybear said:

The thing that worried me when returning to LGW from Lisbon a couple of weeks back (at a bit past 8pm on a Monday night) was that the Red Customs Channel was CLOSED - as in blocked off with a desk.  As for staff in the Green Channel - zero, zilch, diddlysquat....

 

[iL Dottore]

3 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

The practice of making people walk through duty free seems to be increasingly the norm, it's getting to a point where it's nice to use an airport that doesn't do it.

Sadly too true. All the Swiss Airports do that.

Unsurprisingly, the private aircraft terminal at GVA was totally bereft of any duty free (and of eateries, strangely enough).

 

I assume that those in the fortunate position to fly privately (and not commercial) will not be remotely tempted by a £20,000 gold Rolex at the duty-free, and will have plenty of food and drinks awaiting on board

4 hours ago, polybear said:

 

In which many of the prices are "somewhat more expensive" than those available on the 'net.

Not necessarily, although you do have to hunt around.

 

I rarely wear aftershave and when I do, it’s from a small company based in Jermyn Street. So I was rather gratified to find my usual fragrance* on sale at ZRH a good £30 cheaper than at the companies Jermyn Street store! 
 

About the one thing that duty-free shops are good for is picking up decent single malt whiskies. Many of which are not readily available outside of certain duty-free shops. Whilst many of them can go for  “silly money” prices, the £50-£120 price range has some really nice bottles available (of course, the drawback is you can only import 1L without paying import taxes).

 

But other than whisky, duty free holds no attractions for me…

 

* the place I get my “fragrance” started in about 1750 catering to “The Gentry and Gentlemen of Quality”.  BUT they don’t make after-shave, they make “fragrances” - from very high quality ingredients and a little goes a long way. One of my few indulgences.

[Happy Hippo]

The football coverage for tonight's Euro 24 final started at 1830.

 

I've just come in from the garage hoping to get the half time score, only to find the match does not kick off until 2000.

 

Now I know football pundits are full of verbal diarrhoea, but 90 minutes of pre match blather?

 

The only blessing will be their mouths will probably be worn out by the time the match starts.

 

Never in the field of football pre-match commentary, have so many, talked about so little, for so long.

[Northmoor]

4 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

The football coverage for tonight's Euro 24 final started at 1830.

 

I've just come in from the garage hoping to get the half time score, only to find the match does not kick off until 2000.

 

Now I know football pundits are full of verbal diarrhoea, but 90 minutes of pre match blather?

 

The only blessing will be their mouths will probably be worn out by the time the match starts.

 

Never in the field of football pre-match commentary, have so many, talked about so little, for so long.

They're rather like politicians being asked to comment on an unpublished report: "It's too early to speculate, but what I believe the report will say is......"

[Hroth]

47 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

The football coverage for tonight's Euro 24 final started at 1830.

 

I've just come in from the garage hoping to get the half time score, only to find the match does not kick off until 2000.

 

Now I know football pundits are full of verbal diarrhoea, but 90 minutes of pre match blather?

 

The only blessing will be their mouths will probably be worn out by the time the match starts.

 

Never in the field of football pre-match commentary, have so many, talked about so little, for so long.

 

They'll rest until half time and gab some more...

Then, depending on the score, they're timetabled for further gab up to 22:40.

 

Its an eternity.

 

[Oldddudders]

2 hours ago, Hroth said:

Is that conning tower thingie where the driver sits?

 

It is, and his seat is transverse, so he gets a crick in his neck in each direction! They were nicknamed Picassos because of some resemblance to his crooked portraits. 

[SM42]

It's like locksown again out there. 

 

Just me, Mrs SM42 and the tumbleweed on the roads 

 

We've been to the pictures tonight to watch a cartoon. 

 

In the words of the song  Just the two of us. 

 

Heaven. 

 

4 people in the building including the staff. 

 

Judging by the loud cheer from the pub down the road England may have a scored

 

 

Andy

Edited July 14 by SM42

[Happy Hippo]

21 minutes ago, SM42 said:

It's like locksown again out there. 

 

Just me, Mrs SM42 and the tumbleweed on the roads 

 

We've been to the pictures tonight to watch a cartoon. 

 

In the words of the song  Just the two of us. 

 

Heaven. 

 

4 people in the building including the staff. 

 

Judging by the loud cheer from the pub down the road England may have a scored

 

 

Andy

I think it was the expatriate Spaniards cheering....

[SM42]

8 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I think it was the expatriate Spaniards cheering....

 

Nope it was 1-1  after the cheer. 

 

On the bright side, Mrs SM42 has won the sweepstake at work.

 

Andy

[SM42]

I bet the chap who was engraving the trophy after the final whistle is glad Switzerland didn't win.

 

Andy

[Hroth]

Well England lost.

 

Never mind, they got to the final, perhaps they'll do better in, I suppose, 4 years time and use todays effort as a stepping stone to the world cup in 2 years time....

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

5 hours ago, SM42 said:

What amused me about Stansted last time I used it was last call was  10 minutes before the gate closed and a big sign says all gates 12 minutes from here. 

 

Andy

Sprint.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from a hot Piedmont.

[jjb1970]

One type of shop that airports could benefit from is mini-mart type shops after passport control. Changi has 7-11 shops in the departure areas, which is useful if you want a bottle of water, soft drink, candy etc. In many airports newsagents and pharmacy type shops sell drinks, candy and sandwiches but the choice tends to be limited and prices high.

 

Despite flying way more than I should I can only remember buying some cheap USB IEMs at the airport when my old one went tango uniform while listening to music in the terminal. Despite all the duty free spiel they were more expensive than a regular shop never mind the Internet. 

[polybear]

5 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

One type of shop that airports could benefit from is mini-mart type shops after passport control. Changi has 7-11 shops in the departure areas, which is useful if you want a bottle of water, soft drink, candy etc. In many airports newsagents and pharmacy type shops sell drinks, candy and sandwiches but the choice tends to be limited and prices high.

 

 

LGW has an M&S in the Terminal, just outside arrivals; I find it dead useful for essentials such as milk, bread, nanas, LDC etc. when returning from a Hols.

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from the Charente.  We survived the 14th meal.  Whether our livers are in a good state is debatable.  We got there at 7 and the starter arrived at 8.45.  We were leaving at about midnight but got strongarmed back into what became the after party. The Cognac and other spirits then appeared.  A cracking evening. 

 

This morning is a French class for me and Physio for Beth. 

 

Jamie

[SM42]

Daily orders are being issued here. 

 

I'm expected in the briefing room shortly. 

 

Andy

[Winslow Boy]

32 minutes ago, SM42 said:

Daily orders are being issued here. 

 

I'm expected in the briefing room shortly. 

 

Andy

Make certain your ties straight and you've got clean underwear on.

 

Chocks away Squiffy.