Early Risers.

[jamie92208]

 

 

So basically my brother is in hospital (with his phone charger and a clean pair of pants) and Mr and Mrs Stationmaster will be home tomorrow. And our neighbours are great. And I might have another drink.

 

 

What a horrible day you've had SC.  I hope it all gets sorted out.   It;s a good thing he had you nearby to help sort things out.

 

Jamie

[andyram]

My little girl may be two and a half years old, but I have still not got used to receiving Father's Day gifts. I did quite well today too having received three bottles of Real Ale, some Jelly Babies and the latest Top Gear DVD. Very nice!

 

 Today has been quite quiet with a lie in after last night's late night watching England. Disappointed to lose, but felt that we played well and deserved a point. Hopefully we can play as well and get a better result against Uruguay on Thursday.  Despite the result Sarah and I had an enjoyable evening at home with a fridge full of beer. This was a nice time as Sarah continues to find life in the bungalow very difficult and we have had our ups and downs this weekend.

 A few concerns earlier today as a result of the gentleman over the back deciding to burn some garden rubbish this afternoon. Burning whole branches of dried leaves produced plenty of smoke, and flames that could be seen well above the height of our six foot tall garden fence. They were getting very close to the branches of an overhanging tree and I was concerned that the fire could get out of control which could have produced further problems for us. Thankfully we managed to get away with it!

 

 We visited Sarah's parents today and she is back up there tomorrow to stay for much of the week so I will be home alone again. We do have the welcome meeting at the new house to look forward to on Wednesday.

[Jock67B]

Evening all,

Really sorry to read of the misfortune that has affected the 'Stationmaster' family, thank goodness Dr SC was around to help! Hope the situation improves as the week progresses.

Look forward to the pictures when you've had your beauty sleep Ian, hope you enjoyed the race. Everyone on Eurosport was convinced that Mark was going to put the Porsche on the podium. Should never assume but they've got every right to be gutted so far into the race!

Simon, I have to forgive you, living in the 'wetlands' of West Cumbria', you probably need it more than us!

Neil, well done once again, taking the lassies mind elsewhere for the moment. Good luck with the rerun to work - I know it isn't long now but I hope they'll be decent about leave for the funeral.

Like many others, I'm sure, await news of Aditi's meeting if it ever takes place - becoming a proper soap opera!

Let's hope Monday turns out to be a day without dramas for all the ERs,

Kind regards,

Jock.

[Tony_S]

 

  . We do have the welcome meeting at the new house to look forward to on Wednesday.

At our first house we had a "meet your new neighbours". Aditi was asked where she was currently living and she said "Ilford".One of the soon to be neighbours told us how much we would enjoy living in Benfleet as there was  "No Asian problem here". Aditi happily announced that that might not be the case in future and said she was Indian. Lots of "of course we don't mean...."

[andyram]

At our first house we had a "meet your new neighbours". Aditi was asked where she was currently living and she said "Ilford".One of the soon to be neighbours told us how much we would enjoy living in Benfleet as there was  "No Asian problem here". Aditi happily announced that that might not be the case in future and said she was Indian. Lots of "of course we don't mean...."

 

 Talk about open mouth and insert foot!!!

 

 Our neighbours have already moved in and we met them the other week when we went to look at the progress. They seem a nice enough couple. She is a primary school teacher too, and currently teaches the same age children as myself. They also have a 2 year old daughter so that could be a friend in the making for our little one.

[iL Dottore]

Morning all,

 

Sorry to hear about the misfortunes of DrSC's brother, but pleased to hear that it's been diagnosed and is under control. But it does sound like DrSC's brother is in that most unpleasant of places: "patient limbo", where one is too unwell to be "fit and active", but not unwell enough to be truly "ill" (and if one is in hospital/rehab like this, the brain turns to cabbage whilst the body heals...)

 

Lovely cat photos; whilst feral (and semi-feral) cats and dogs are subject to the same survival pressures as truly wild animals, I guess we have a "soft spot" for them as we are quite enamoured of their domesticated cousins - our pets. Although, whether or not a semi-feral "farm cat" would ever truly become a pet remains to be seen.

 

Good news re. footie: Italy 2: England 1 (a positive result for me, even if the score had been reversed) and Switzerland 2: Ecuador 1. Two rhetorical questions: 1) why does the England team persist in choosing "names" over talent? and 2) why is the game being played so "safe" and boring (the Swiss team played a very lackluster and safe game)?

 

Have a great day...

Edited June 16, 2014 by iL Dottore

[trisonic]

Evening all,

Let's hope Monday turns out to be a day without dramas for all the ERs,

Kind regards,

Jock.

That will certainly be an impossible hope, Jock....

 

I remember my cousin’s husband being rushed to hospital convinced he was having a heart attack (a mutual friend having just had one) he was diagnosed with “indigestion”!

 

Almost certain to be alive come daybreak, Pete.

[travelintrev]

Morning all,  in case any one needs reminding, it's Monday....!  

 

 

Try to survive the day, 

 

 

Trev

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It is a nice sunny morning here - definitely pleasant - with blue skies and around 15°C at the moment.

 

We didn't do a lot over the weekend.  The little guy had two Birthday Parties to go to.  One where they went to a climbing hall, and one was in an indoor play centre.  I'll probably sound like an old git for saying this, but It's a far cry from jelly, ice cream and party games!

 

Have a good day everyone...

[Shedman5]

Morning, up early (for me) today, lovely morning outside, off to get the paper followed by breakfast outside.

 

As for the rest of the day who knows? the joys of being retired I guess!

 

Enjoy your day

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Rather cloudy here.

I have a little list (just shopping, no DiY!). It will be Waitrose again as I have more online shopping from John Lewis to pick up.

Aditi has her "interview" this afternoon. She doesn't appear anxious.

Tony

[Barry O]

Morning. The curry is fighting back...nuf said!

 

Exciting day as new bookcase being delivered, parcels to be posted, housework to be done etc.

Hope all is well in the Stationmaster's family today and hope that you all have as good a Monday as possible.

Baz

[DonBradley]

Full cloud cover, although it's high. The forecast says clear with no rain and a max temp of 17C.

It's a public holiday here, but that means very little in an O.A.Home.

I have given up trying to catch up in ERs but am following up developments in the Layouts forum.

 

Sorry to read of Station cat's scare. I hope it all goes well.

 

Have a happy day.

[Pete 75C]

Mornin' all.

The kids have decided that they can tolerate my evening meals... fresh pizza, garlic bread and a side salad on Saturday, home-made cottage pie Sunday evening. I suppose it could have been worse - there's always the frozen ready meal aisle at Tesco... Luckily, I mastered the oven years ago as well as the washing machine, microwave, iron etc...! Now if I can only ensure they're ready for school on time and they keep their rooms tidy, I'll have achieved something! Fat chance.

Grey today, noticably cooler.

Hoping for some (good?) news by mid-week and maybe a return to normality in the very near future.

Pete.

[The Lurker]

Morning from a cloudy view over Borough Market Junction. It's been a busy weekend what with getting the boys hair cut, swimming lessons, gardening and visiting my parents - and squeezing in watching football. My 5 year old has suddenly developed an interest in football - mainly the score and the "how many minutes" but hey, any extra football ally is good. The missus was less impressed when I mentioned just how many possibilities there are for stats and numbers in cricket.....

[PhilJ W]

Another reminder, 'The rise and fall of Penn Station' 10.15 pm on PBS America. Channel 243 on Virgin Media. (Sorry I don't know the Sky channel.)

[AndyB]

Morning all, and a sunny start to the week here.

The weekend saw us at cub/scout camp, my lad's first.

I guess it is a rite of passage to do a camping trip together and what better way to wake up on Father's day to have a homemade card shoved in your face by the little chap.

Of course the reality was a tad different, apart from the card etc.

Some of the other campers - school expeditions - had some fairly excited children still running around in the woods at around midnight. Like many we'd headed to bed around 9:30 / 10ish.

Around 00:30 one child was heard calling out for their dad - who was MIA watching the footie in the scout hut. 

By about 03:00 I was wishing for a bladder  that would see me through the night  and not having to get out of the tent and walk a few hundred yards through the campsite to the loo.

On returning the small person who'd appeared asleep had somehow claimed my airbed and was looking a little cheeky!

At 04:00 the birds came to life and started sqwarking at each other across the wood (insert your own jokes about girl Guides). 

At 04:30 the snoring from the neighbouring tent reached a crescendo. 

At 06:00 I drifted off to sleep and the alarm went at 06:20.

My shift on the duty rosta started at 07:00 helping cook for 120 people.     

Learnt at 08:00 it's an annual event and my lad wants to go for two nights next time.

 

Hoping that Aditi gets a result today.

 

All the best. Andy 

[Two_sugars]

A dull grey day here today. . . .promising a lighter shade of grey later.. .. .. .......

[Sidecar Racer]

 

 

I remember my cousin’s husband being rushed to hospital convinced he was having a heart attack (a mutual friend having just had one) he was diagnosed with “indigestion”!

 

 

 

 My mate sat at home thinking he had indigestion , it was actually a heart attack .  

[New Haven Neil]

Morning.

 

Desk IS the Somme, plus 200 e mails, Court to prepare for on Wednesday.....and 6 working days to go.  I'll be leaving 199 of the mails I think!

 

Jock, work have been great - I couldn't ask for more support or blind eyes turned to time off.  Gary was an IT support specialist in the social care department so was well known to our team and many others in the Manx government support services.  It's odd that social care pay for me, but my manager is a police officer, I have to say the police have been superb in all respects of this tragedy, dealing with the scene, Jayne and all the other things that have to be done, and my work colleagues could not be more supportive.  Boys and girls in blue, I salute you.

 

On nicer things, it is a sunny morning here, rather warm in the office (no a/c of course and lots of glass) and it is nice to be with friends.

[station cat]

 My mate sat at home thinking he had indigestion , it was actually a heart attack .  

 

I think the two are confused fairly often.

 

Station brother being released sometime today, we will have to time our arrival at the hospital to minimise the amount of parking we pay for. Now I just have to clean the house before Mrs Stationmaster gets home

[beast66606]

 My mate sat at home thinking he had indigestion , it was actually a heart attack .  

 

My dad too - without a positive outcome.

 

Indigestion is also referred to as heartburn for obvious reasons, but if in doubt get checked out.

[Oldddudders]

"Another reminder, 'The rise and fall of Penn Station' 10.15 pm on PBS America. Channel 243 on Virgin Media. (Sorry I don't know the Sky channel.)"

 

Unlikely to be available here, sadly. The name Alexander Cassatt comes to mind - as it did a decade back when a very similar name was posted one day as Duty Station Manager on the concourse info board at Kings Cross!

 

I return, as promised! headline has to be that after a week of feeling a bit below par (healthwise) I found the weekend uplifting and really had a great time. It was, by any standards, a most exciting race, even if the final laps had an air of unwelcome familiarity about them, with Audi uber alles...... The same impenetrable complexity that has hit F1 this year is also present in the top class at Le Mans, with extraordinary hybrid powerplants that defy understanding. How else do you explain the fact that Toyota and Porsche both suffered critical power problems on the same corner - Arnage? There is a tie-up between energy storage under braking, and its subsequent release as extra power, and  both teams had issues in that one corner, each with more than one car. I suspect the proximity to the previous corner, Indianapolis, meant the system was trying to recover energy while the brakes were being used again. We will never be told, I'm sure.

 

Other than that, we had a monsoon on the Mulsanne Straight in the first hour, causing a number of serious accidents, and wiping out one Audi - quite near where I scattered Deb's ashes, I think. Yet, from the layman's perspective, surely one of the most intriguing stories of the weekend concerns car #35. Driven by two Brits and a Russian, it headed the privateer LMP2 class for most of the race, although slipped due to engine-related problems in the last hours. Most racing drivers come up through karting and things like Formula Ford, progressing as the talent outs. Yet two of the three in this car started on Playstation! Brit Jann Mardenborough and Russian Mark Schulzhitsky (born in Vladivostock, many thousands of miles from a racetrack) performed well in a Sony online competition - and are now seriously rapid drivers, much feted by the motor racing media. Third driver Alex Brundle (Martin's son) was full of admiration for them, noting that Jann drives completely differently from him - yet gets the best lap times! Makes you think..... Here they are on the test weekend. I was having a beer at the time - can you see why that weekend is fun?

 

 

Edited June 16, 2014 by Oldddudders

[gordon s]

Seen this a dozen times, but still cracks me up.....

 

[Jock67B]

Morning all,

Difficulty getting on the site this morning and any ratings take some time to load - perhaps it's just busy time!

 

Great to hear that all at work are so supportive Neil, your last days in the job will certainly go down as memorable (if not all as planned!).

Soon you'll join the ranks of the retired and wonder how you ever had time to go to work - perhaps we'll get to see some more shots of your excellent modelling! Good luck with the tasks which still loom for you, funerals etc., and then the rebuilding can begin.

 

I hope we get an update from the 'Stationmaster' clan in due course, and good news from that camp and that of the 'Lifeboat' family would certainly make the week for all of us I'm sure. Icing on the cake would be a good result for Aditi later as well!

 

Had a nice surprise when I finally opened RMweb this morning - a post in the portal headed 'A Virtual Journey down the G&SW' by Andy Kirkham. Lovely photos of the line that runs from Glasgow, via Kilmarnock through the Nith valley to Dumfries. As most of you by now know, I was born in Dumfries and went to Kilmarnock Academy. Hurlford shed where dad was based lay adjacent to this line and I was lucky enough to have several footplate rides from Glasgow to Carlisle with dad at the regulator(don't tell the authorities!). Worth a look at by any of you that believe, like me, that the UK is full of surprisingly beautiful areas, sometimes where you least expect them!

 

Despite a degree of cynicism from Pete (trisonic), I truly believe that the ERs are overdue for a spell of good news rather than the dramas we've had over the last few weeks!

Kind regards,

Jock.