Early Risers.

[The Stationmaster]

I reckon Gordon definitely saw a Meteor the other day - one (it?) passed over us at c.16.00 this afternoon.

 

Assuming the wind is in the right direction and the aircraft aren't passing overhead we should be getting a freebie (longish distance) sound of Joss stone filtrering up the hill in about 10 minutes or so.  Caught a bit of Bryan Ferry last night but not too impressive and we have Burt Bacharach tomorrow night and The Jacksons on Saturday - no doubt we'll hear them!  But the LHR landing pattern seems to have just changed with a 777 due over in a few minutes so it could be an 'interesting' evening.

 

And good to see you back Stewart - hope you're keeping well.

[Coombe Barton]

Happy birthday Jock

 

And celebrating the encouraging news.

[Tony_S]

Can we assume that Robbie is  the ne'er do well of the family?

I suppose compared to his five generations of field trials champions and siblings who work for a living he may consider himself lucky. At least Robbie's ancestry is documented. Mine gets very vague before 1890. Aditi's lot sometimes give the impression that they know their descent from some long ago ancestor who invaded North India from Central Asia.

Tony

[iL Dottore]

I am very, very pleased to hear of Jock's news (a wonderful, albeit belated, birthday gift) Having worked on developing a number of new generation anti-cancer drugs (monoclonal antibodies, small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors) it is particularly gratifying to hear of individuals who do far, far better than expected. Regarding surgery, in advanced disease it is unlikely to effect a cure, but it does reduce the tumour burden and that can bring improvements in quality of life. So keep up the good work, that man.

 

And as an aside, anyone who drinks Piper Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top is undoubtably a man of note, and should he also have a case or two of Monopole Green Top, Monopole Red Top and Monopole Pink Top (brut, sec, demi-sec, rose) in his cellar it will confirm him as a man of impeccable taste, 'tis a pity Monopole is hard to source (certainly round here). As Napoleon was reputed to have said: "Champagne! In victory you deserve it, in defeat you need it" and it most certainly improves Quality of Life (QoL).

 

And whilst on the subject of QoL, adding 2 strapping lasses like Iris and Sunny to my menagerie would have some serious QoL repercussions - least of which being the weekly offal run (normally the butcher has ready minced offal for dogs, but once he only had whole beef lung and I spent a good 40 minutes slicing lung into chunks and feeding it through the mincing machine). Mrs iD may be wavering though, she recently asked me if I would prefer Iris over Sunny... Who knows (although introducing a new dog to a dog owning household is apparently a long and painstaking process).

 

Well, to bed and turn off my iPAD to gentle snores of wife and dog!

 

Good night, sleep tight!

Edited July 10, 2014 by iL Dottore

[Tony_S]

 

BTW just a couple of more updates - firstly Lily is still being a four legged mischief, and she has currently got an obsession with chasing birds from "her" garden - usually with the most vociferous barking.  This is a bit of a problem as we have had a large number of Blackbirds and Thrushes nesting in our hedgerows, and she has been known to try to catch the babies when they are learning to fly.

  

Robbie doesn't chase little birds. He used to always chase pigeons and when he was younger caught a couple. He just knocked them out of the air with a mighty vertical take-off but then seemed confused (as were the pigeons). He never barks when on a chase. He might bark to be let out, but if it is a garden intruder he growls until he is let out then silence. He is fairly pigeon tolerant now but if they get too close when we are in the garden he goes from half asleep to mighty leap instantly, and then struts round the garden looking very pleased with himself!

[pH]

We used slates for a few months in primary school in suburban Glasgow in the mid-1950s. But we never rose to the level of chalk for writing on them (shades of Monty Python) - they came with slate pencils attached. Just imagine the sound of a class of about 55 kids scraping away with those!

 

I also have vague memories of sand trays being used for 'art'. Sort of a very primitive Etch-a-sketch.

[Smiffy2]

If you were going to write with chalk (in Victorian times) you would have given the kids wooden boards painted black (like the teacher's blackboard) because it would be much cheaper anywhere other than almost next door to a slate quarry. A slate you can write in is much higher quality than one on a roof. Slate and slate pencils, as said.

[Steve Williams]

I also have vague memories of sand trays being used for 'art'. Sort of a very primitive Etch-a-sketch.

 

But much easier to draw curves!

[Tony_S]

 And as an aside, anyone who drinks Piper Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top is undoubtably a man of note, and should he also have a case or two of Monopole Green Top, Monopole Red Top and Monopole Pink Top (brut, sec, demi-sec, rose) in his cellar it will confirm him as a man of impeccable taste, 'tis a pity Monopole is hard to source (certainly round here). As Napoleon was reputed to have said: "Champagne! In victory you deserve it, in defeat you need it" and it most certainly improves Quality of Life (QoL).

 

 

I haven't seen the other colours but Blue Top has been available in recent years at half price in Tesco usually in the last week in November. I'm not that bothered about fizzy wines but I do like the Blue Top variety (special occasions etc).

[Tony_S]

 

I also have vague memories of sand trays being used for 'art'. Sort of a very primitive Etch-a-sketch.

I wasn't in what I suppose now would be called reception class for very long and never got to play with the sand tray. I could read, write and do some arithmetic when I started school but I think promotion to the "big" class depended on being able to do "joined up" writing.

Tony

[Barry O]

My old man told me .. from his experience during WW2.. that the best Champagne comes from Epernay... must admit I think he may well be right.... but it is all rather drinkable....

[PhilJ W]

I suppose compared to his five generations of field trials champions and siblings who work for a living he may consider himself lucky. At least Robbie's ancestry is documented. Mine gets very vague before 1890. Aditi's lot sometimes give the impression that they know their descent from some long ago ancestor who invaded North India from Central Asia.

Tony

Researching your family is fascinating. I have a detailed tree for one branch going back to the 1570's and I am investigating another possible relative who was hanged for piracy at Wapping!

[skipepsi]

Who knows (although introducing a new dog to a dog owning household is apparently a long and painstaking process). Quote. If you introduce a bitch to a dogs household it takes less than 5 mins dog sees bitch, bitch decides where she is sleeping dog moves out of the way bitch lies down and sleeps. That was skip and pepsi he was 40kg and his mouth would have gone over her head but he did as he was told from day one. 

[Jock67B]

Evening all,

Barry, Epernay has the 'Avenue de Champagne' where you can see almost all of the big Champagne houses. One of my favourites is 'Castellane' which I've visited several times - they produce a non vintage called 'Croix Rouge' (oddly enough with a Red Cross on the label!) which makes Moët taste like gnats p**s IMHO. Sadly it isn't shipped to the UK but is very reasonably priced in France so I always bring some back. The Champagne area is quite a lot bigger than just Epernay however, and many a good one can be found by careful research and of course tasting! Spent a research week there some years ago but sadly my Champagne taste isn't matched by the Cider budget. Should have told Neil that they sell 'Croix Rouge' in Jersey - oops too late! Tony, I always top up stocks when Tesco have it on offer but sadly I don't have the will power to maintain a cellar - if it's there we drink it and it's no surprise that thirsty family members often join us!

Steve, I hope that the butchered fingers are now properly treated and on the mend. A sharp knife is supposed to be safer than a blunt one but I guess you now know that you should always stroke away from flesh! Get well soon.

Flavio, thanks for the much appreciative supportive comments - I greatly admire and am truly grateful to the wonderful people who work to beat this horrible affliction. My only regret is that I assume the massive profits made by the pharmaceutical companies from their work, don't actually show in their monthly salaries?

I hope Friday passes quickly for you all, especially those to whom it makes a difference!

Kind regards,

Jock.

[station cat]

I haven't seen the other colours but Blue Top has been available in recent years at half price in Tesco usually in the last week in November. I'm not that bothered about fizzy wines but I do like the Blue Top variety (special occasions etc).

 

I don't care for it personally I find it a bit too acidic

 

If you get really desperate Il Dottore you could always try booking a few club Europe flights on BA - they serve blue top on board.

 

 

Happy birthday Jock

[iL Dottore]

Morning All

- I greatly admire and am truly grateful to the wonderful people who work to beat this horrible affliction. My only regret is that I assume the massive profits made by the pharmaceutical companies from their work, don't actually show in their monthly salaries?

Kind regards,

Jock.

We do get paid quite well (especially in Switzerland), but whilst it is true the Pharma industry makes money, what the critics overlook is that research based companies spend a lot on R&D. One large study I was responsible for had a budget well north of US$ 300 million! (one reason generics are far cheaper than "brand" drugs, is that generics companies do almost no research and that what they do do is show that the copy is "equivelant" to the original)

  

Who knows (although introducing a new dog to a dog owning household is apparently a long and painstaking process). Quote. If you introduce a bitch to a dogs household it takes less than 5 mins dog sees bitch, bitch decides where she is sleeping dog moves out of the way bitch lies down and sleeps. That was skip and pepsi he was 40kg and his mouth would have gone over her head but he did as he was told from day one.

  Well, the HM although a mouthy macho adolescent, is quite a "lady's man", so I'm sure he'd soon learn about the concept WE know, oh so well: SWMBO! Our friends have a chocolate brown lab called Lucky and he and Schotty have arrived at what can best be described as an armed truce, yet Schotty seems to love Caramel - the Golden Retriever bitch he meets at the dog sitter

I don't care for it personally I find it a bit too acidic

If you get really desperate Il Dottore you could always try booking a few club Europe flights on BA - they serve blue top on board.

I've never had Blue Top on board BA (nor would I pay for their relatively poor CE offering, [Club World is worth it on long haul]), but I've had some pretty decent stuff on BA. On a long-haul back from SFO in CW I once did a BA crew member "a favour" (answered some questions about bio markers), and on deplaning was given a bottle of Roederer Crystal (from First) to take home! But that was in the days before the penny-pinchers took over at BA.

Still, ancient history....not much intercontinental travel in the foreseeable future, alas (but perhaps just as well considering my dog duties, decrepit body and burnt out brain...)

Anyway, TGIF, and with Mrs iD and the HM in the holiday hovel this weekend, I am looking forward to a nice quiet few days.

Stay Frosty Folks

[travelintrev]

Good morning all, TTFIF! -  big "U" turn from the wheel reinventers  yesterday, as they found they didnt quite know as much as they thought they did!  Hence I finished work  around 10pm.......! 

 

Back to slates...my gran had one outside the back door so she could write messages to the village milkman. At school in the '50s (built in the late thirties?)  I only seemed to remember writing on paper.....dont remember any sandpits though! 

 

What ever you're up to today, remember to smile!

 

Trev.

[pH]

We went to a track and field meeting this evening to celebrate the 60th anniversary of this mile race in Vancouver - http://www.miraclemile1954.com/ - the first time two runners broke the 4 minute barrier in the same race. There was a mile race (of course!) and four runners broke the 4 minute barrier - times have certainly changed.

 

We also got talking to an older guy in the row behind us. Turned out he had been a miler and cross-country runner in England in the 1950s (Lancashire mile champion in one year), emigrated to Canada later in the 1950s, founded a company that designs athletic tracks and stadiums, and had actually designed the track being used this evening. (He wasn't kidding , it all checks out online - unless he's memorised someone else's history.)

[NGT6 1315]

Morning all. Sunny ATM, but a new round of heavy t-storms predicted to roll in after noon.

 

As for learning to write: When I was at primary school (in the 1980s), it was insisted on that we use fountain pens. We were also trained in joined-up writing rather than using block letters, but I understand that in recent years, it is being advocated to train elementary students in block writing only.

 

Cheers,

Dom

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Cloudy, some rain and not particularly warm this morning.

I have a shopping list but I can choose which supermarket. 

I'm hoping to go to the exhibition in New Cross tomorrow. It seems to have a beer festival attached to it. Unsure of the etiquette at such events I asked Matthew (he goes to quite a few)if I was supposed to wander round with a small glass and keep a record. He said that as I'm not in CAMRA I can just enjoy myself. 

 

Tony

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It is quite a nice sunny morning here, after a huge thunderstorm yesterday evening.  The rain was so heavy for a while that we ended up having to bale out the cellar.  We didn't get quite as much water in as last time - but I have some tidying up to do this evening when I get home from work.  More storms are predicted for this afternoon, so hopefully we won't have a repeat of yesterday evening!

 

 

We do get paid quite well (especially in Switzerland), but whilst it is true the Pharma industry makes money, what the critics overlook is that research based companies spend a lot on R&D. One large study I was responsible for had a budget well north of US$ 300 million! (one reason generics are far cheaper than "brand" drugs, is that generics companies do almost no research and that what they do do is show that the copy is "equivelant" to the original)

 

Plus, they have to spend a lot of money controlling quality and ensuring that counterfeits stay off of the market.  A member of my family works for a large multinational pharmaceutical company - and this comprises a very large part of her job.

 

Have a good day everyone...

Edited July 11, 2014 by Robert

[Smiffy2]

Morning all.

Wet, pretty disappointing weather.

Up early to get grand-daughter up and off to school. It's Reception Graduation day...

 

I wonder if my GBL will come today?

[Simon G]

Robbie doesn't chase little birds. He used to always chase pigeons and when he was younger caught a couple. He just knocked them out of the air with a mighty vertical take-off but then seemed confused (as were the pigeons). He never barks when on a chase. He might bark to be let out, but if it is a garden intruder he growls until he is let out then silence. He is fairly pigeon tolerant now but if they get too close when we are in the garden he goes from half asleep to mighty leap instantly, and then struts round the garden looking very pleased with himself!

Morning all - lovely sunny day in prospect here.

 

We used to have a cat that liked to 'collect' pigeons.  Only when she got them, she was determined to bring them into the house (still alive) to show us how clever she was.  This also applied to mice etc.  I forgot the number of times we had to chase live mice around the house after she had brought them in and then started to play with them.

[grandadbob]

Morning all,

Dull, dismal & raining. Forecast is cloudy all day with more, possibly heavy, showers and chance of some thunder.

Boss has just asked what are we doing today which means that my idea of taking it easy is about to be kicked into touch.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[The Lurker]

Morning - grey and raining over Borough Market Junction. Drizzly yesterday but the Mrs tells me it hammered down virtually all day in Sidcup/Bexley (the heart of AndrewC's boring borough) - almost up to the top of the wheels of a Qashqai (sp?) that she observed. Funny what a difference of 10 miles makes.

 

The Speciality Chemical industry tried to develop a business model where they did research in the UK and could patent the results and try and keep it that way for a few years. When the Chinese succesfully copied after a few years, they'd move their own production to subsidiaries in the Far East. I'm not sure it worked, as the sites were sold off.