RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2014 NHN Wellfield "Grammar" aka A J Dawsons is now housing . . . That'll be right! I did say my friends taught there - past tense! Both retired some time ago. June was deputy head I think. Dullness here too, and rather tired still after another disturbed night but at least I know why this time! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2014 Morning all Some blue sky about, and still none of the threatened showers yet, with 20 degrees forecast for today. I honestly feel the grass could do with a bit of a refresh, actually. That said, I managed an hour or so strimming yesterday, so bits of the place are looking a tad smarter. I had to spend a good quarter of an hour getting the strimmer fettled - my garage lacks a door, and is very popular with nesting birds, due to being 20 feet high at the apex. And a guano-covered strimmer is not a nice prospect. I didn't see the GP, but quite like the result. At least the order has changed a bit from last year. Hope your week goes well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelintrev Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Morning all, Did try getting on a lot earlier but the net was playing silly burgers...(as it can) Anyway GF sent me several pics from a place called Ottumwa, Iowa.. Dont know how many more stuffed locos she's going to find on her journey (This is the best of the lot.. rest are more close ups) Lets make the most of the day? - Only Five days till the week-end! Trev 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2014 (edited) Morning all, Raining and dull here, I'm off to Leicester this morning to collect Matthew. I'll set off at about 10 hopefully avoiding rush hour traffic. I will check the traffic reports but I'll probably use the M25, M1 route. Tony Traffic news this morning M25 a car park in both directions from the A10 to the A12. Would suggest A130/A414/M11/A14/M1. Edited April 7, 2014 by PhilJ W Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2014 I managed an hour or so strimming yesterday, so bits of the place are looking a tad smarter. I Beards are so difficult to look after. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonBradley Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 (edited) .Hi Trev, Your GF has class. An Hudson 4-6-4 I guess. A typically American powerful type of locomotive.. Thanks for posting. Edited April 7, 2014 by DonBradley Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewC Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Morning all. The borough is still boring. My man-flu is still winning. Appt with the quack made. What an idiotic experience that was. They changed their online appt service so you have to re-register. Its an online service, right? Originally I just clicked a few buttons and filled in my info to set up the online services. Now you register / re-register by downloading a form (can't get one at the surgery, you have to d/l the PDF) print it, then fill it in, and taking it back to the surgery. WTF is wrong with this picture? No doubt a process created by one of my ex-project managers. Only one of those assclowns could come up with something that idiotic. In the end I spent 40+ minutes hitting redial and finally got an appt for Thursday afternoon. No doubt the practice has a 10 month waiting list for pregnancy testing as well. This is the strangest flu thingy I've ever had. Normally a cold or flu for me starts in my throat, spreads with the aches and fever, and ends up with me coughing up concrete for a week. This time the sore throat and swollen glands haven't receded. Gone through the rest of the symptoms twice now. Throat still hasn't cleared up but it seems to ebb and flow. One minute its not too bad, the next its like someone is strangling me and I'm gargling with razor blades. Right now I'm feeling as up and down as a toilet seat at a mixed incontinence sufferers convention. Don: enjoy the heat while you can, winter is coming. Have a great day all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Today I am mostly abusing nickel-silver in the shape of a High Level Kits gearbox. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2014 Traffic news this morning M25 a car park in both directions from the A10 to the A12. Would suggest A130/A414/M11/A14/M1. Yes I had decided earlier when checking the motorway reports to go the pretty way, Chelmsford, A1, and possibly approach Leicester from the east if necessary from the A1. It is a bit slower but quite a pleasant drive. Off in a few minutes! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Pete, thanks for those snapshots. Those air horns look like they're going to instil the fear of the Maker into any trespassers! I wonder if there may be a H0 scale model of these locos some day... Yep, the engineer gave me a blast just as I took the last photo - I swear I felt the compressor (not really but it was very loud). Note the "Fly" covers over the trumpets. I got there one minute before it did and was out of the parking lot just as it was pulling away. Shame you missed the GP, Ian. It may well turn out to be the best of this season.... Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 I've ticked 'funny' on Andrew's post but I am not unsympathetic - just amused by the description. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium southern42 Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2014 Morning all. Sorry to hear some of you are poorly. Hope the rest of us can cheer you up. Same here at the northern extremity of East Angular. Is the dullness a nationwide thing today? Sure is dull here. Not that you can see very far. Fog horn weather. Oh, and wet. I'm glad to be still in Once in a Blue Moon (Didcot) memory land, so a few pics to brighten the day - that's the intention, anyway. First, on the other side of the fence...! And going the other way... And now for the proper stuff:.. A great day out. When's the next one......? Polly 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2014 Morning all, Time for a few holiday pics and some reflections on our voyage, not too boring I hope! Definitely in the 'trip of a lifetime'/one of those things you ought to do while you still can - it was an interesting voyage with some smashing scenery and some pleasant and interesting places to visit. Around the equinox is reputedly one of the better times to see the Northern Lights but it definitely gave an interesting variety of weather and scenery and it was neither too cold (most of the time) nor too hot and there was about 12 -13 hours of daylight. I'll set up a thread somewhere in Wheeltappers for those with any greater interest in seeing/learning more about the trip but for now here are a few pics. Starting with a view from the funicular in Bergen with our recently docked and waiting ship, the MS Nordlys, virtually dead centre in the image. Now docked at Alesund And at Bodo - the ships always dock Port side to as the main cargo hatches, and the ramps, are on that side with only a small cargo door on the Starboard side And this is how cargo is worked - very efficient and usually no more than 1 or 2 men shoreside plus the ships handling crew (a total of only 8 Seamen in the crew) Here is a view of the MS Polarlys which is very similar in size and layout to the 'Nordlys' And don't forget the camera! Although the Sea Eagles were not at all easy to get for a variety of reasons including a blizzard for part of teh time, loads of people trying to do the same thing from a small boat, and their speed. 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Yes I had decided earlier when checking the motorway reports to go the pretty way, Chelmsford, A1, and possibly approach Leicester from the east if necessary from the A1. It is a bit slower but quite a pleasant drive. Off in a few minutes! My Dad had a convoluted route that took in Ongar and Sawbridgeworth to the A1. Mind you enroute to Glasgow in a Hillman Minx once we passed through Troutbeck twice... Best, Pete. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2014 Pete are those passengers at the front of the loco or are my eyes playing tricks? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 (edited) I haven't driven the A1 for years - but I used to quite like it. Some of the dual carriageway stretches were a bit annoying/ unnerving though. The traffic in the left hand lane always seemed to be doing 30mph whereas the right hand lane was doing 90mph. Trips "up North" were usually associated with holidays when I was a kid. That normally involved being up in the middle of the night, to get through London before the traffic picked up. That meant A21, A2, through the Blackwall Tunnel, round the City road and then pick up the A1 at the Angel. My Dad always swore this was faster than the Dartford Tunnel - which it probably was when the traffic was light. Of course, everything changed once the M25 was opened! Edited April 7, 2014 by Robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2014 Mike, that's why it's called the 'Port' side....... ..after they got shot of that larboard nonsense. Also the Engineer's cabins are always on that side - the Mates bagged the quiet side first, as they used to be on their own on those wind powered ships before we sorted speed out for them. This may be apocryphal..... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2014 (edited) Mike, that's why it's called the 'Port' side....... ..after they got shot of that larboard nonsense. Also the Engineer's cabins are always on that side - the Mates bagged the quiet side first, as they used to be on their own on those wind powered ships before we sorted speed out for them. This may be apocryphal..... There is also a small cargo hatch on the starboard side - seen here just after we exited through in order to join the boat for the Sea Eagle watching session. Being Norway there is a far more common sense attitude to all the 'elf & safety stuff so there was no nonsense like going alongside or even stopping for the transfer to take place - just the two vessels running alongside each other although the 'gangplank' did have handrails as can be seen below. Sorry about the white bits on the pic but we transferred in the middle of a minor blizzard. BTW on the good ship 'Patricia' if we go in one of the workboats we have to wear a hi-vis waterproof jacket, a safety helmet, and a lifebelt - in Norway they don't seem to bother with such niceties. Edited April 7, 2014 by The Stationmaster 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium New Haven Neil Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2014 Seems sensible to me. Vessels under way tend to be drawn together anyway IIRC. That's a Mate thing though.... The old 'oil and water never mix' thing was actually very good humoured in my old company, especially on the LPG tankers - you have to work together when dealing with stuff like that, there's no room for messing about. There was one exception who was a senior deck officer on our one and only VLCC, I was very happy with the thought I would never see him again - and guess what, he lives just a few miles from me now! I gather he hasn't changed......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 (edited) For Mike (and anyone who is interested) Aurora over Sebago Lake, Me. on the Earth Science Picture of the Day http://epod.usra.edu/ Some of the pics from the space observatory are rather nice too Edited April 7, 2014 by shortliner 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Abel Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Welcome to Monday - as expected the internet connection was mostly non-existant over the weekend, I am suffering ER withdrawal! I think I explained before that Minnesota and much of the northern mid-west is "odd" to say the least weatherwise. Everyone will recall my labours the last few weeks with diabolical weather. So NOW, we're heading into our spring, the weekend started a minor warmup, and today we're already at +5, headed for 13, and they're expecting 21 by Thursday! How's THAT for a change?? 95% of the snow already gone, except for the large piles that will be around a while. There were already silly sods out in shorts and tee-shirts this weekend in the Twin Cities! They'll be sunbathing in a couple of weekends! We had a very enjoyable weekend, trudging through woods gathering maple sap (over the course of 2 days gathered about 60-70 gallons!), stoking the wood fired burner about 15 hours a day, and in between, eating and drinking Only disappointing part was it was still too early for the migratory birds to begin arriving so pretty much nothing to photograph <sigh>. The birds move north with the opening of the water, rivers and lakes, and the majority of the lakes are still frozen over. The largest inland lake in Minnesota, Mille Lacs -> http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&gbv=2&q=mille+lacs+lake&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x52b15c1777488f7f:0x16212b75b40ad6cb,Mille+Lacs+Lake&gl=us&ei=G61CU5DoN-KQyQHz6YDgCA&ved=0CB4Q8gEoATAA which we have to drive around to get where we were going, is still frozen over, and it is one of the principal locations for migration. They aren't ice fishing on it any more as the ice is too thin, but still no open water to attract birds. We saw a few geese, so it's starting, just nothing for us to watch which is a pity as the place we were staying will soon become overrun with wildlife... I tried to catch up on the three days worth of posts, but it's impossible to comment with such a large volume to wade through, so best wishes for all those suffering trials of various types, and general thumbs up and smiles where appropriate too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium NGT6 1315 Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2014 Very nice impressions from your trip, Mike! I'd give a lot for being oop dere right now! Made my introductions at my new school today and felt quite welcome, I'm happy to say. I rather liked how both the headteacher and the deputy head seem to have a very much common-sensical (is that a word?) attitude to their job and appear to adhere to a "my door is always open if there's anything you need" policy. I'd certainly like that! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium NGT6 1315 Posted April 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 7, 2014 Seems sensible to me. Vessels under way tend to be drawn together anyway IIRC. That's a Mate thing though.... So, ships do mate, after all? I always wondered what those tiny boats hung along their superstructure are all about... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Pete are those passengers at the front of the loco or are my eyes playing tricks? Mick, not sure what you mean? I couldn't even see the Engineer! Let me repost a photo so I don't have to keep going back several pages: You can click on it to make it bigger....... Best, Pete. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 M'tinks dem is Horns, Mon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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