Early Risers.

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It is a very grey morning today - with sleet.  The grey was forecast, but the sleet wasn't!

 

Speaking of length of meetings, I once had a manager who would only conduct meetings standing up.  People weren't allowed to sit down and they weren't allowed to bring coffee and so on.  It was surprising how efficient they could be. 

 

Do you remember the title of that one by any chance? Sounds like something I might well use as an icebreaker in my English lessons - with upper classes where I could expect students to be able to comprehend such things at least!

 

Likewise, I was just looking at that infamous phrasebook by the title, "English As She Is Spoke" ...

 

Unfortunately not Dominik - I no longer have the phrasebook in question.

 

All I remember is that it dated from around 1942.

 

Have a good day everyone...

[Oldddudders]

Morning all

 

We had quite a lot of rain yesterday - first real downpour for several weeks, I'm sure. I had finally got my ducks in a row (!) over the Xmas cards, and went to Bonnetable to the post office. As it is in a backstreet, I took a circuitous route avoiding the centre - and then found the premises abandoned. Bums! So I drove back round and went into the main square - to find a nice new post office staring at me. Sigh. No queue, so the bright young lady and I had a giggle over my wanting 100 stamps for the UK. I then spent 20 mins on the desk in the corner licking and sticking. I then took them back to her to post. "Are you still here?" she said, weighing a couple of cards. "Yes, with a very dry tongue!" More giggles. I must get out more.....

 

Today dawned bright, clear and not too cold, but I is now closing in with some mist about. Pity.

 

Hope your weekend goes well.

[GWR00N]

A company I once worked for had meetings to discuss what the agenda fro the next meeting would be about. We/they also wasted time at meeting discussing nothing to do with what the meeting was called for. Are most meeting run along theses lines I wonder?

[DDolfelin]

A company I once worked for had meetings to discuss what the agenda fro the next meeting would be about. We/they also wasted time at meeting discussing nothing to do with what the meeting was called for. Are most meeting run along theses lines I wonder?

 

Depends who is running it, I think.

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Proper job 'breakfast' coming up over the horizon soI might be gone for some time.

 

And yes - DD has now fully explained why I at one time referred to myself as an 'insultant' rather than a 'consultant' (the latter being best defined as someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time).

 

As for meeting the sort I liked were those where no one had bothered to read the agenda in advance (did anyone?) or to study the papers - hence my famous 1st April escapade when I slipped a spoof paper onto the agenda for a major planning meeting - only a short one but after lots of nonsense about reduced journey times and improved traction performance the final line read 'Accordingly  xxxxxxx group is asked to approve for full development the scheme to widen the gauge to seven feet on all the principal mainlines of the Western Region'  Fortunately the Deputy GM, who was chairing the meeting got both the joke and the message.

 

Havea  good day, 'breakfast' approacheth, I hope.

[Oldddudders]

Mike (SM) - you must have known Bob Poynter over there. He came to be DM at Beckenham in '82, after the mass retirements prompted by the Maggie Thatcher Awards scheme. When he arrived mid-year, performance was quite good, but then it tailed off as the Autumn wore on. Determined to motivate us all, he announced that poor performance equalled no Xmas party, and so it proved. At the last minute he relented slightly, and the operating team had a drink in the mess. Having been handed my sherry (or whatever) I mused aloud whether we were allowed to say Merry Xmas. "Piss off, Dudley!" came the response. Going to work could be fun!

[shortliner]

Do you remember the title of that one by any chance? Sounds like something I might well use as an icebreaker in my English lessons - with upper classes where I could expect students to be able to comprehend such things at least!

 

Likewise, I was just looking at that infamous phrasebook by the title, "English As She Is Spoke" ...

 

I do remember that my Dad, who went in with the Americans on the Omaha Beach landings on D-day (http://www.therafatomahabeach.com/?page_id=1546), despite being in the RAF, was issued with a US French/English military phrase book that contained similar phrases - like " My tank track has broken and It can go no further, is there a garage nearby!"

EDIT - I believe it was the blue book in this ebay item 

eBay item number:

151188388679

Edited December 14, 2013 by shortliner

[The Stationmaster]

Mike (SM) - you must have known Bob Poynter over there. He came to be DM at Beckenham in '82, after the mass retirements prompted by the Maggie Thatcher Awards scheme. When he arrived mid-year, performance was quite good, but then it tailed off as the Autumn wore on. Determined to motivate us all, he announced that poor performance equalled no Xmas party, and so it proved. At the last minute he relented slightly, and the operating team had a drink in the mess. Having been handed my sherry (or whatever) I mused aloud whether we were allowed to say Merry Xmas. "Piss off, Dudley!" came the response. Going to work could be fun!

 

Definitely sounds like RJP - who gave me a rather sound r*ll*cking after a steam special I had planned rolled into Swindon 20 early (related in another thread) and delayed an HST.  However he was rather more pleased after I located a very important 'missing' file in the desk of his immediate asst while the latter was on leave - although I had to tell a white lie when asked how I had managed to get it when it was supposed to be held under lock & key (fortunately I was on excellent terms with the building's caretaker and he was already repairing the lock).

Edited December 14, 2013 by The Stationmaster

[New Haven Neil]

Bleah.

 

Fraggle rock currently under seige from howling gales, currently we're making about 10 knots towards Scotland I think.  Not cold though, but persisting down, well persisting horizontally, lot of trees down according to local radio.  Hopefully it will be better tomorrow for Santa trains at Grumble Glen.

 

Spent an hour fiddling with DCC decoders in the garage, they are so frustrating sometimes!  Cheapo Hornby job that came in a Brighton Belle was useless.....until I put it in a Bachmann 24, where it operates like a Rolls Royce.  Bachy decoder in the Belle wasn't much better than the Hornby though, still some work to do there. 

[Tony_S]

Matthew doesn't speak German and got a friend to help him learn a few phrases rather than take a phrase book. I got him to test them and said the words were correct but his pronunciation was odd. Probably due to his friend being a speaker of Dutch.

Matthew liked Mainz and Tuebingen (though Frankfurt Hahn wasn't impressive), German trains are "awesome" He will be off to Russia next, to the bit they still run on the Baltic coast. 

 

I hope Mick's daughter enjoyed Leicester. Matthew has been happy there. Parking on a Saturday is possible but "interesting" or expensive. Going out with students who don't drive is fun. "Go down there". "That's a footpath" "oh! Sorry".

 

Tony

[skipepsi]

She did Tony and I parked on the street outside £1.20p for two hours, Manchester forget it...

[Donw]

We are  off to Severnake Forest tomorrow for three days due to a limit on how long you can stay on one site. It is very breezy and wet here at the moment. I hope it will be better tomorrow.

 

Regarding meetings, often the meeting proper was not really necessary but getting the right people together in a room was. Often things came up over lunch or coffee which suddenly exposed something the techies had overlooked a bit like one lot planning a P4 layout and someone else buying EM stock both thinking that was covered by finescale. My way of working was for the meetings to get quicker as shorter as the project progressed and the team knew what they were doing an new each other well enough to sort problems before they became an issue.

 

When a bit junior I had been secretary for the traffic meeting which was chaired by my boss with his boss attending. I used to decide who was right when they disagreed and make it appear in the minutes that the appropriate descision had been made at the meeting. Neither would say anything to me just glare at each other next meeting.

 

Don

[gordon s]

Hi Guys, late on parade having survived (just) a train journey to Milton Keynes.  Took the train from Wokingham to Reading.  Three coach train, totally packed so stood to Reading. No big deal, just a 10 minute journey.  Arrived at Reading with all the building works and found the London platform packed to the rafters.  First train in, another three coach jobbie, jammed solid and everyone pushing and shoving to get on.  Gave that one a miss as another was due in five minutes.  Next train a five coach one, similarly packed and the same scrum ensued.  Gave that one a miss as another was five minutes away.  An eight coach one, packed but managed to get a seat.  

 

Into London and found my way to Euston to meet a Virgin train to Glasgow, first stop MK.  No problem getting a window seat, about a third full but a few minutes to go and it filled. Apologies for the description as nothing is implied, but foreign looking gent gets on, a bit dishevelled and a bit short of deodorant gets on and plonks himself next to me.  After 10 minutes I got up to use the loo and returned to find he had nicked my window seat, head up against the side wall and asleep!

 

Bloomin' cheek!  The girl across the aisle smiled at me as she had never witnessed anything like it.  Decided that with 20 minutes to go, to leave it and not get involved.

 

Oh the joy of public transport.  Thank God I was able to drive back….:-)

Edited December 14, 2013 by gordon s

[Tony_S]

Many years ago Aditi got rather fed up that senior staff just assumed that she would take the minutes as she was the only female present. She didn't get asked again after she wrote down what they said rather than what they meant.

[Tony_S]

Gordon. Our local train operator is running longer trains at the weekend to cope with weekend overcrowding. They do respond to public comments on the C2C line. It is unfortunate that they are losing the franchise due to the parent companies East Coast problem.

 

Tony

[NGT6 1315]

(though Frankfurt Hahn wasn't impressive)

 

It's really a laugh that this airport is attributed to Frankfurt to begin with, given that it's almost 78 miles from there!

 

Thought for the evening – Isn't it odd for the dining car on the Japanese sleeper train "Hokutosei" being called "Grand Chariot"?

[southern42]

Well, I said it would be a bit different this weekend, so here it is.

 

For all you bird spotters,

 

sea-goers

 

sightseers

 

and Christmas lovers.

 

Any idea where we went, yet?

 

 

 

 

My copy didn't survive, it fell apart due to a lot of use.

 

Lastly, some goodies.

 

A special day for me, the clue is in the location (song).

Answers on a postcard to Sargent Pepper.

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend..

Polly

Edited December 14, 2013 by southern42

[DDolfelin]

Was it Hamburg?

[southern42]

Was it Hamburg?

 

:no: :no:

[skipepsi]

It is liverpool surely?

[southern42]

It is liverpool surely?

 

It says so on the sweetie bag.

:yes: :yes:

Edited December 14, 2013 by southern42

[NGT6 1315]

Morning all. Still sniffling...

 

Beginning tomorrow, I'll be able to take the train to work as the new Central German suburban network is now open. Might hop down to the station later today to try and snap a photo or two...

 

Photo strip from the opening ceremony by the LVZ newspaper: http://www.lvz-online.de/eroeffnung-des-leipziger-citytunnel/r-detailansicht-galerie-29185-1169500.html

[Tony_S]

Morning.

Sunny, clear blue sky, only cloud is from aircraft exhaust. Not exactly warm though!

Tony

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Last night's rain has abated & it is fairly clear & bright, 10^oC but more showers to come.

My "taxi" job last night with the girls was fairly uneventful but extremely noisy.

I say fairly uneventful but I was reminded why I normally avoid driving around the midnight hours by several idiots who I can only assume were under the influence. These included driving at 20mph about 1" from the kerb in a 30mph, driving at 40mph side by side in the 1st & 2nd lanes of the A3 Kingston By Pass (3 lanes,50 mph limit) then braking down to 25!! when they saw speed cameras and two absolute morons who seemed to be racing at 80 - 90, undertaking people & switching from lane to lane. No wonder people are still getting killed on the roads. Rant mode off!

I believe what Mike (SM) calls a proper job breakfast is on offer as my reward so I'll be back later,

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

 

 

 

[Oldddudders]

Was it Hamburg?

As in Bah Hamburg?

 

Weather milder but delightfully bright again. I had a poor night - no reason, as usual - and made tea about 7.30, which seems silly on a Sunday. Let the cats in, and although it was still almost dark, realised I'd left the tailgate open all night on the Skoda..... Closed it but yet to find out if the cats have wrought terrible revenge on the vehicle that takes them to the vet!

 

Hope your day of rest and decorations goes well!