The Night Mail

[polybear]

2 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

I couldn't hire a car in the UK in August. I don't have a UK address and because I have no intention of driving here I never bothered getting a Singaporean license. I need to do that before my next visit home in case I need a car. It's funny, not so long ago I loved cars and the idea of being carless would have been a terrible thought, now I really don't miss it and have very little interest in the things. 

 

I'm guessing there is a way round not having a UK address (the metal fairies seem to manage ok - though maybe some of them having a driving licence is debateable....) - I suspect that the DVLA wouldn't be big on the idea of an address along the lines of "someone else's private land/public park/Tesco Car Park" etc. 

 

51 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Not a lot is being asked of me today as Beth is a bit knackered after a trip to A and E last night.  Her blood sugar tanked and she ended up semi-comatose despite all the various emergency  remedies. The health care was fast and superb. I'd rung the emergency  number for advice and spoken to a doctor. He had said, don't wait for an ambulance just get to hospital pdq.  I complied and when we got there the staff were waiting for us having had a fax from the call centre. No questions asked, straight to resus and a glucose drip inserted within 5 minutes. Superb. We got to bed anout 03.00.  Just one problem, she's talking again.  You can't win em all. 

 

Bear seems to recall a gadget that can be worn that monitors blood sugar 24/7 and warns the user if it's going out of limits - a message to a phone maybe?

[simontaylor484]

I wonder how those visitors who hire cars at Airports go on with not having a UK Address.

I have just had a hire car booked on line with Enterprise I am sure it would let you put in an international address 

 

[PhilJ W]

34 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

I'm guessing there is a way round not having a UK address (the metal fairies seem to manage ok - though maybe some of them having a driving licence is debateable....) - I suspect that the DVLA wouldn't be big on the idea of an address along the lines of "someone else's private land/public park/Tesco Car Park" etc. 

 

 

Bear seems to recall a gadget that can be worn that monitors blood sugar 24/7 and warns the user if it's going out of limits - a message to a phone maybe?

Just google blood sugar monitor. They vary in price from less than £10 to almost £100. 

[jjb1970]

11 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

I wonder how those visitors who hire cars at Airports go on with not having a UK Address.

I have just had a hire car booked on line with Enterprise I am sure it would let you put in an international address 

 

 

Having a foreign address is fine if you have a foreign license, but with a UK license they want a UK address. And the DVLA will only assign a UK address to a UK license so I'm not quite sure what the status of my license is as it is linked to my old address. I could register it to my brothers address but car hire companies generally also want a utilities bill or bank letter or something and so it gets complicated. 

I suspect there are ways to get around it but then you have to ask if it is worth the risk. If I was involved in an accident or the car was nicked it'd very quickly come out in the wash that I'd been less then truthful, and then I'd probably find myself in a world of the proverbial. My job is largely working with various government agencies and attending the IMO, because of reputational stuff I am guessing that if I ended up in court on some sort of fraud or deception charge, driving without insurance etc I'd find myself looking for work. And it's just not worth that. It's something I have never understood, when I worked in electricity generation I knew guys risking properly well paid jobs with dodgy mileage claims etc, why? Yes, they pocketed a few quid, but they were risking blowing what at the time were £50 - 80k pa jobs (and this is over 12 years ago), I just thought that was stupid as well as dishonest.

[rockershovel]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

I suspect they are quite open about who can and can’t work there if it is anything like purchasing property. I noticed signs on all the property we saw being built that stated whether or not the property could be purchased or rented by non nationals, residents etc. My nephew who lives and works in Zurich didn’t seem to have any problem finding somewhere nice to live though. 

I worked on the Nord Stream 1 project which was based in Switzerland, and I know a number of people who worked on NS2 based in Zug (I didn't pursue that as I was already committed). They all spoke well of their experiences although tax, visas and forms of contract seemed to have been an issue for most of them - tax was an issue in Germany and I did several short spells there finishing off items left by people who had left to avoid becoming liable for German tax. 

[rockershovel]

21 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

 

Having a foreign address is fine if you have a foreign license, but with a UK license they want a UK address. And the DVLA will only assign a UK address to a UK license so I'm not quite sure what the status of my license is as it is linked to my old address. I could register it to my brothers address but car hire companies generally also want a utilities bill or bank letter or something and so it gets complicated. 

I suspect there are ways to get around it but then you have to ask if it is worth the risk. If I was involved in an accident or the car was nicked it'd very quickly come out in the wash that I'd been less then truthful, and then I'd probably find myself in a world of the proverbial. My job is largely working with various government agencies and attending the IMO, because of reputational stuff I am guessing that if I ended up in court on some sort of fraud or deception charge, driving without insurance etc I'd find myself looking for work. And it's just not worth that. It's something I have never understood, when I worked in electricity generation I knew guys risking properly well paid jobs with dodgy mileage claims etc, why? Yes, they pocketed a few quid, but they were risking blowing what at the time were £50 - 80k pa jobs (and this is over 12 years ago), I just thought that was stupid as well as dishonest.

DVLA will be quite happy with your brothers address, if you write them a letter to that effect. However if you are officially non-UK resident that can cause problems. Better to get a licence wherever you are officially resident, or an international licence matching your current address. 

 

 

[rockershovel]

29 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

 

Having a foreign address is fine if you have a foreign license, but with a UK license they want a UK address. And the DVLA will only assign a UK address to a UK license so I'm not quite sure what the status of my license is as it is linked to my old address. I could register it to my brothers address but car hire companies generally also want a utilities bill or bank letter or something and so it gets complicated. 

I suspect there are ways to get around it but then you have to ask if it is worth the risk. If I was involved in an accident or the car was nicked it'd very quickly come out in the wash that I'd been less then truthful, and then I'd probably find myself in a world of the proverbial. My job is largely working with various government agencies and attending the IMO, because of reputational stuff I am guessing that if I ended up in court on some sort of fraud or deception charge, driving without insurance etc I'd find myself looking for work. And it's just not worth that. It's something I have never understood, when I worked in electricity generation I knew guys risking properly well paid jobs with dodgy mileage claims etc, why? Yes, they pocketed a few quid, but they were risking blowing what at the time were £50 - 80k pa jobs (and this is over 12 years ago), I just thought that was stupid as well as dishonest.

I've never understood the petty dishonesty that tends to accompany mileage claims and expenses, but I've seen a great deal of it over time. 

[Tony_S]

24 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

I've never understood the petty dishonesty that tends to accompany mileage claims and expenses, but I've seen a great deal of it over time. 

One of my colleagues made a very minor error when totalling up his supplementary sheets to make a grand total on the front sheet. It was for one local journey of a few miles that got entered twice. Approximately 30p (It was about 1990). He was summoned to be admonished by a couple of people in the town hall treasurers department. He claimed for the trip to the meeting! I believe our boss made a point to the treasurers of how much money had been wasted by him not being able to do his scheduled training sessions. A “claim not paid” would have been sufficient. 

 

Edited September 23, 2022 by Tony_S

[Northmoor]

3 hours ago, rockershovel said:

I can't comment on Switzerlsnd or the Swiss, don't know the place but I must be quite blunt about one thing. 

 

I have encountered quite as much, often quite blatant exclusion and discrimination from Europeans in European companies (often through the medium of language or not having passed through their specific education system) as from any "sharp elbowed middle classes" at home, partly because not working in finance or the BBC, Tarquins and Jocastas don't tend to be a problem for me. 

 

I would have signed away any rights to work in Europe with no reservations at all, if I could have gained rights to work in Canada and USA instead. Looking at staff movements at my (Dutch) erstwhile employer/contractor, I see I am far from alone in this. 

 

Interestingly enough , they have employed British staff for the project I am now on, in consequence of the combined effects of IR35 and Brexit. I wasn't interviewed but I'm presently working for the Client so wasn't eligible. 

I'm as British as they come but my own experience of education and work is that it works both ways; those with a "trade" tend to apply inverse snobbery to graduates, while those with University education tend to look down on those without one (the normalisation of a degree has made this attitude more common in the last generation).  Our governments' (laudable) attempts to promote apprenticeships, T-levels etc., are all very well, but I would love to know how many of our 650+ MPs children have taken that route......

 

I have met and worked with many brilliant people and some (fewer) complete idiots; their qualifications had almost no correlation with their behaviour.  Unfortunately it seems to be a trait in the British psyche that if we want to discriminate against someone, we will find a way.

 

As for working in the USA, I'll decline thanks.  I worked for one of the largest defence companies in the world when they were making about 10% of their workforce redundant.  British staff weren't affected; if we had been, more than 100 employee roles at risk would have triggered a 90-day notice period.  My American colleagues (seconded to the UK) were joining late-night conference calls to their US-based managers, to know if they were redundant.  Fortunately none were, but if they had been, they would have to leave their rented accommodation, pull children out of school and return to the USA, with about 3 weeks notice.

[AndyID]

I have just received an email from the University of Glasgow Retired Staff Association inviting me to a jaunt in the Trossachs. It includes a cruise on Loch Katrine, lunch at Lake of Menteith House (the only lake in Scotland btw) and a visit to a gin distillery in Stirling.

 

Unfortunately I will not be able to attend. It's also fairly unlikely I would meet any former colleagues. It's fifty years since I worked at GU 😀

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Bear seems to recall a gadget that can be worn that monitors blood sugar 24/7 and warns the user if it's going out of limits - a message to a phone maybe?

Yes they are called a Captur like the car, and made by Abbott.  I think they are also called Freestyle Libre.  Beth has had one for nearly a year and despite cursing the alarms st times has found it a boon.  Last night our friend (a retired nurse) was taking readings every 10 minutes just by swiping the reader over the sender.  It is good.  What the call centre Dr told me was that when the blood sugar drops belw 2.3 it can't get a reading and just displays LO.  That's coma territory and we had 3 LO's last night.

 

The funny thing about the monitor is that it can go off at any time. If it goes off during our Saturday morning video calls to Emily and her mums, we hear a little voice saying " Nanna's bleeping"  followed by "nanna's bleeping again, abl00dy ell Nanna" if it goes off again.

 

Jamie

Edited September 23, 2022 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

9 minutes ago, AndyID said:

I have just received an email from the University of Glasgow Retired Staff Association inviting me to a jaunt in the Trossachs. It includes a cruise on Loch Katrine, lunch at Lake of Menteith House (the only lake in Scotland btw) and a visit to a gin distillery in Stirling.

 

Unfortunately I will not be able to attend. It's also fairly unlikely I would meet any former colleagues. It's fifty years since I worked at GU 😀

The steamer on Loch Katrine is beautiful, almost silent and with the bolier bolier fired by biofuel. The water is still supplied to the city unfiltered.

By the way I thought that the Trossachs was a euphemism for many years.

 

Jamie

Edited September 23, 2022 by jamie92208

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

 

Having a foreign address is fine if you have a foreign license, but with a UK license they want a UK address. And the DVLA will only assign a UK address to a UK license so I'm not quite sure what the status of my license is as it is linked to my old address. I could register it to my brothers address but car hire companies generally also want a utilities bill or bank letter or something and so it gets complicated. 

I suspect there are ways to get around it but then you have to ask if it is worth the risk. If I was involved in an accident or the car was nicked it'd very quickly come out in the wash that I'd been less then truthful, and then I'd probably find myself in a world of the proverbial. My job is largely working with various government agencies and attending the IMO, because of reputational stuff I am guessing that if I ended up in court on some sort of fraud or deception charge, driving without insurance etc I'd find myself looking for work. And it's just not worth that. It's something I have never understood, when I worked in electricity generation I knew guys risking properly well paid jobs with dodgy mileage claims etc, why? Yes, they pocketed a few quid, but they were risking blowing what at the time were £50 - 80k pa jobs (and this is over 12 years ago), I just thought that was stupid as well as dishonest.

If you have not updated your address details on your UK driving licence they could fine you £1000! When I was based overseas it was acceptable to use you NoK's address as a sub.

 

[jjb1970]

4 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

If you have not updated your address details on your UK driving licence they could fine you £1000! When I was based overseas it was acceptable to use you NoK's address as a sub.

 

I asked the DVLA and they can't take a non-UK address. My wife is out here with me and we don't have a UK address. I am certainly not unique in this circumstance (I guess there will be a huge number of people with UK licenses resident overseas with no UK address) but the DVLA went into a circular argument of 'you need to tell us your new address - it can't be overseas - you need to tell us your new address' so I just moved on. 

[jjb1970]

On snobbery and inverse-snobbery, I think these things are rampant and widespread but I also think they only matter if you let them matter. The only time I really found it annoying was at school when teachers derided my choice to do a merchant navy cadetship as wasting my life but it didn't have much affect on me as I ignored them. Since then I have heard countless rants about clueless graduates and eggheads, a similar number of self-satisfied expressions of superiority over blue collar staff and lots more and yet most people coexist happily and it's not something I have ever been particularly bothered about. Maybe it's because I did my degrees later in my career and have seen it from both sides of the fence. What does motivate me to the occasional rant is the system of having to be in an institute to be chartered.

[jjb1970]

This is a semi-permanent feature in the sky where we live, it's a radar balloon. It is part of the defence network and a sort of fixed AEW system. A friend in the Singapore Army claims it's a complete lemon but the air force have to use it as otherwise they'd have to admit buying it was a waste of money. However, I really don't know whether there's any truth in that or if it is the usual inter-service rivalry. Apparently in the army RSAF is said to mean 'rarely seen after five'.......

 

[simontaylor484]

7 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

This is a semi-permanent feature in the sky where we live, it's a radar balloon. It is part of the defence network and a sort of fixed AEW system. A friend in the Singapore Army claims it's a complete lemon but the air force have to use it as otherwise they'd have to admit buying it was a waste of money. However, I really don't know whether there's any truth in that or if it is the usual inter-service rivalry. Apparently in the army RSAF is said to mean 'rarely seen after five'.......

 

A local tyre fitters used to have a blimp like that over their premises. Doubt it had a radar though 

It said Reg Greenwood tyres on it

[Tony_S]

When my brother went to Nigeria it was to work on a telecommunications project. Someone had been convinced that microwave transmitters on large blimp balloons was the way to go. The balloon bit was American. There was a suspicion something that had been intended for military use in Vietnam had been passed onto the Nigerian regime. Anyway it didn’t work so the balloons were replaced with towers which is why my brother has lots of photos taken from Nigerian microwave towers. 

[polybear]

25 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

This is a semi-permanent feature in the sky where we live, it's a radar balloon. It is part of the defence network and a sort of fixed AEW system. A friend in the Singapore Army claims it's a complete lemon but the air force have to use it as otherwise they'd have to admit buying it was a waste of money. However, I really don't know whether there's any truth in that or if it is the usual inter-service rivalry. Apparently in the army RSAF is said to mean 'rarely seen after five'.......

 

 

It does appear to have some sort of pod underneath....

[jjb1970]

There's an article here:

https://www.airforce-technology.com/uncategorized/newsrsaf-begins-aerostat-testing-to-enhance-aerial-and-maritime-surveillance-5685049/

[Happy Hippo]

14 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

It does appear to have some sort of pod underneath....

It's an automatic cake dispenser.  We were trialling them in the Okavanga delta back in the early 70s. 

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

I have just received an email from the University of Glasgow Retired Staff Association inviting me to a jaunt in the Trossachs. It includes a cruise on Loch Katrine, lunch at Lake of Menteith House (the only lake in Scotland btw) and a visit to a gin distillery in Stirling.

 

Unfortunately I will not be able to attend. It's also fairly unlikely I would meet any former colleagues. It's fifty years since I worked at GU 😀

Ahem, would you like to nominate someone to attend on your behalf? <waves>

 

Lake of Menteith is (as you've said) the answer to the pub quiz trick question for How Many Lakes are there in Scotland. Answer = One, all the rest are Lochs.

[J. S. Bach]

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

This is a semi-permanent feature in the sky where we live, it's a radar balloon. It is part of the defence network and a sort of fixed AEW system. A friend in the Singapore Army claims it's a complete lemon but the air force have to use it as otherwise they'd have to admit buying it was a waste of money. However, I really don't know whether there's any truth in that or if it is the usual inter-service rivalry. Apparently in the army RSAF is said to mean 'rarely seen after five'.......

 

Hmmm, that blue sign on the building sort of matches the balloon!

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

said) the answer to the pub quiz trick question for How Many Lakes are there in Scotland. Answer = One

There is I believe a similar question for the number of Lakes in the Lake District too.

[newbryford]

22 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

I have to drive down the M6 tomorrow, then either the M1 or M42/M40 to the M25 and around it to somewhere near, but not quite the M23.

 

Then a return repeat on Sunday.

 

I may be gone some time.

 

M6 became M6T, then M6 again, A14/A something/A428/M1/M25 carpark.......

 

Phew.....