Early Risers.

[Ashcombe]

Afternoon All

 

.  ............Sherry, glad to hear that there is a buyer in prospect, and that you manage to steer the sale to a successful completion - also the purchase in Babbacombe (if I recall, much of that area is quite high, and involves a climb from Torquay - or am I thinking of somewhere else - new location sounds handy for Kent's Cavern, though.

 

 

Regards to All

Stewart

 

Thanks for your interest. Babbacombe is high above sea level so my nearest seaside walk would be on the Cliffs from which there is a funicular ride to the beach. The area immediately surrounding my new home is mainly level; it's at the corner of St. Alban's Road and St. Anne's Road, TQ1 3NF, if you want to check it out on Google maps. It's only just inside Babbacombe, being close to St. Marychurch so Kent's Cavern is a car/bus ride away. The apartment block is called Carydale Court and the details of the flat may be found on Right Move, should you wish to investigate. I'm going to have a final viewing tomorrow before completion on Friday.

 

Exciting times! I would like to be as organised as possible before Ian arrives in mid October, but I shall leave him a few jobs to do to make him feel useful!! 

Edited September 30, 2014 by Ashcombe

[shortliner]

More slow progress on the Coaling Tower (Superquick "remember") yesterday evening, boy they sure know how to make a very BLAND kit!

At least I know not to buy any more of their stuff - possibly unfair judgement, but I'm not that impressed, they're so basic... if anyone has a Hornby Coaling Tower they wanna unload email me

I did have a look this morning, but all the Hornby one seem to be ash plants , which I don't think is what you want at all

[45156]

Sherry - I used to have clients in St Marychurch and Babbacombe when I was in the City, and I had to visit them from time to time - usually involved a train trip from Paddington, then a taxi, and it was the climb up by road that I remember quite well.  I also spent my gap year working in a hotel in South Devon, and usually spent my days off visiting the touristy sorts of places, hence my recollection of Kent's Cavern. 

[The Lurker]

We called our son Nicholas and accepted it being shortened to Nick (or even Nicky, by his paternal grandmother when he was young) but we hadn't anticipated "nickel a**e" or "knickerless" being used by his schoolmates!!

My wife banned "Nicholas" from being in the running for our eldest's name because of the knickerless thing and that she thought Nick would be wrong for a small child.

 

Of course I learnt that she's right....

[The Lurker]

Thanks for your interest. Babbacombe is high above sea level so my nearest seaside walk would be on the Cliffs from which there is a funicular ride to the beach. The area immediately surrounding my new home is mainly level; it's at the corner of St. Alban's Road and St. Anne's Road, TQ1 3NF, if you want to check it out on Google maps. It's only just inside Babbacombe, being close to St. Marychurch so Kent's Cavern is a car/bus ride away. The apartment block is called Carydale Court and the details of the flat may be found on Right Move, should you wish to investigate. I'm going to have a final viewing tomorrow before completion on Friday.

 

Exciting times! I would like to be as organised as possible before Ian arrives in mid October, but I shall leave him a few jobs to do to make him feel useful!! 

Babbacombe also has a model village to visit, complete with train.....!

[Tony_S]

Babbacombe also has a model village to visit, complete with train.....!

The train and model village don't feature in Fairport Convention's "Babbacombe" Lee 1971 folk rock opera album!

[gordon s]

Just a thought, haven't heard anything from Gordon S lately? Possibly still on a high from watching the golf at the weekend?

Jock.

Hi Jock, thanks for asking. I'm still around and trying to keep up to speed with ER happenings, although I have been fighting a losing battle with the sheer number of posts…:-)

 

The Ryder Cup is THE sporting event for me and I always used to take the Friday off work to watch the whole thing. Apart from now being retired, this year was no different and I parked myself in front of the TV for three days. As 99.9% of our phone calls are for Jackie, even the phone was switched on to auto answer if she was out. I could always ring back if it was a dire emergency…;-)

 

Another great competition and once again the Europeans were just too strong as a team whereas the US are a good group of individuals. I'm pleased that apart from one idiot in the crowd, it was very well supported and good play appreciated by all fans, irrespective of their allegiance.

 

On the railway front, the last few weeks have seen me sell around 150 items of stock with more to come. Of course it's slightly embarrassing to have accumulated so much over many years, but thankfully most of it had gone up in value, so I think of it as a lucky investment. With a great summer of golfing up to five times a week and stock disappearing rapidly, there has been a lot of soul searching and I've come close to packing up modelling altogether. The one saving grace has been the thought of autumn and winter approaching and how to fill the space when adverse weather conditions put a stop to golf.

 

My old Windows PC has been booted up a few times and Templot opened up to see what needs to be done and whether another simplification might get me running something eventually. It's funny how your thought processes change over the years and I'm sure I'll get more pleasure from something simple that runs, rather than this millstone of a large, complex layout that never gets completed. A large plan just means too many compromises on other pursuits and right now I'm not prepared to do that.

 

I'm 66 and touch wood, fairly fit and healthy. Whilst that is the case, then I'll keep pursuing more active sports/hobbies, as there will come a time when I can no longer compete and more sedentary pursuits will certainly become more attractive. Sadly, I've lost a few friends recently and family members seem to be fighting illness on several fronts which has caused them to completely change their lifestyle. No doubt I may have to face similar lifestyle changes at some time in the future, but right now, I'm doing all I can to stay fit.

 

Seven years ago, I planned to take Jackie to Venice for our wedding anniversary, but had to cancel as I ended up in hospital and it's one of those things that kept getting skipped over. She's had a tough year this year with two members of her family, her best friend and now her first husband all fighting cancer. Right now three of them have come through the worst of it, but it has taken it's toll on her, so the idea has been resurrected and Venice booked again. We both dislike crowds, so are going in the winter. It might be cold and wet, but I'm sure we'll have a memorable trip. I spent the morning looking at Venice on Street View. They must have filmed it on a boat as it could easily be renamed Canal View…:-)

 

Never been, but looking forward to wrapping up warm and enjoying log fires, Italian food and the odd glass of wine. Just need to be careful of Somali Pirates in the waterways…..

Edited September 30, 2014 by gordon s

[gordon s]

You’re quite right. The right of self defense even within one’s own home - despite repeated incursions by the same felons is impossible within England. We all know the case concerned.

 

Of course the other end of the spectrum is the case cited by the late Chris Hitchens which happened in New Hampshire. A resident was working in his home office late at night when he heard someone breaking into his car in the driveway. Getting out his revolver he quietly opened the window and shot the guy dead.

Calling the Police to report it they advised him not to touch the corpse, to go to bed and they would send someone around and clear up the scene and interview him within a day or two. Not to worry.

Why Chris wrote about this is the question of “intent” - if the guy never attempted to break into the car then the resident would never have reached for his legally held gun.

Housebreaking and Burglary in the USA is fairly low as a percentage to total crimes (compared to the UK)....

 

Too many freaking “Pete’s" in ER. I keep getting totally confused.

 

 

Best, Pete.

 

Reminds me of this (old) joke….

 

A man was going to bed one night when his wife told him that he had left the light on in the shed.  She could see the light was on from the bedroom window. As the man looked for himself he saw that there were people in the shed taking things.

The man phoned the police, but they told him that no one was in the area to help him at that time, but they would send someone over as soon as they were available.

He said "OK," hung up, and waited one minute, then phoned the police back.  "Hello" he said, "I just called you a minute ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now 'cause I've shot them."

Within five minutes there were half a dozen police cars in the area, an Armed Response unit, the works. Of course, they caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the officers said: "I thought you said that you shot Them!" The man replied, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"

[Killybegs]

Well settled down here in Wiltshire. Took a spin on the bike along the canal towpath. Very pleasant and fewer fishermen to avoid than usual! I'm hoping for a good sunset this evening, fingers crossed.

 

John

 

 

[Tony_S]

 I spent the morning looking at Venice on Street View.  They must have filmed it on a boat as it could easily be renamed Canal View…:-)

 

Never been, but looking forward to wrapping up warm and enjoying log fires, Italian food and the odd glass of wine.  Just ned to be careful of Somali Pirates in the waterways…..

Our first visit was late May back in 1986 (or 87). We flew to Mestre airport and Aditi was a bit unwell on landing so missed the water bus meeting the flight. Someone tried to sell us a taxiboat ride to St Mark's Square but we got a bus (land variety) to Piazzale Roma and got an ordinary water bus and found the hotel. It was tiny and only served a breakfast (the very elderly waitress was insistent that Aditi must be Italian as she didn't look English). It was a fantastic 4 days, not too hot, we saw all the sights but the one that has lasted was our early morning visit to the fish market. We couldn't afford a gondola trip but we did go out to the islands of Murano and Burano. It was quite sad having to get on the train to leave for three days in Florence but we had a nice time there too.

Next time we visited was when Matthew was a teenager and we had a week's holiday in Riva. We went on a day trip to Venice. It was hot, about 45C in the shade. As he hadn't been we tried to see everything and did share a gondola with a German family, just so we could at least experience one!

The third time was when we went on our Med cruise in 2012. This time it was also hot but we decided we would just see one thing and spent nearly all day in the Doge's Palace. They are banning big cruise ships from Venice soon so if we return it won't be that way.

I'm sure you will have a lovely time, it is quite fascinating.

Tony

[Killybegs]

Well, the sunset wasn't quite as spectacular as I had hoped, too much cloud on the horizon.

 

 

John

 

 

[Happy Hippo]

My mother wanted Nicholas, but my father was worried that would become Nick.

So he named me after his little brother, Richard.

Known to one and all as Dick...

The Obergrumpenfuhrer only ever addressed me by my rank, unless she is really annoyed and then she refers to me as 'Dick Witt'

[Happy Hippo]

 As he hadn't been we tried to see everything and did share a gondola with a German family, just so we could at least experience one!

 

Sorry Tony, I'm a tad confused.

 

Was that to experience the gondola or the German family?

[Oldddudders]

From quite early on in our relationship, Deb and I referred to each other as Small Girl and Small Boy. Not many men enjoy being called small. Discovering a shop in Le Mans some years back called Petit Boy did cause some giggles. Because I am so relaxed in Sherry's company - why else would you offer to marry someone?! - there is more than a slight risk that one day she will get addressed as if she were Deb. We've already talked about it....

[NGT6 1315]

Question, guys: Should I first get me these...

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/luca_farina/6783027140/

 

...or this one?

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/E432004c.jpg

 

First photo shows a pair of E.640 locos of Ferrovie Emilia-Romagna, second one a class E.432 three-phase AC loco.

[travelintrev]

Good evening one & all, 

 

nominal day "off"  tomorrow as it is a Public Holiday.....followed by two more Monday & Tuesday.! What that has meant that almost every bit of spare land  in Lagos has been turned into a livestock market. Photos are a bit crappy as it was raining pretty hard when I left the office this afternoon.  - Because of holiday traffic, rain - flash floods and completely brain dead drivers a  30 - 35 minute drive home took best part of two hours!  

 

But I was rewarded with quite a nice sunset (for all of 5 minutes!) 

 

Whatever you're up to this evening try and behave!

 

 

Trev

[Debs.]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/E432004c.jpg

 

a class E.432 three-phase AC loco.

 

I do like that loco; very impressive!

[Tony_S]

Question, guys: Should I first get me these...

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/luca_farina/6783027140/

 

...or this one?

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/E432004c.jpg

 

First photo shows a pair of E.640 locos of Ferrovie Emilia-Romagna, second one a class E.432 three-phase AC loco.

I think the advice I always give Aditi when she asks me to choose something she wants to buy would suffice here. Buy both.

However I do prefer just by looks the E 432.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Tony_S

[NGT6 1315]

Relaxed kitty:

 

[PhilJ W]

Question, guys: Should I first get me these...

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/luca_farina/6783027140/

 

...or this one?

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/E432004c.jpg

 

First photo shows a pair of E.640 locos of Ferrovie Emilia-Romagna, second one a class E.432 three-phase AC loco.

Its got to be the E.432

[New Haven Neil]

Evening.

 

Yes Dom, the 432!  Built like a battleship!

 

Another crazy day at work, busiest I have seen it and a staff member is on holiday. Typical, while I'm still learning too.

 

Mrs H is out with Jayne at dog agility classes, we don't have a dog.....hmm, I'm worried.  Might hide down the garage.

[iL Dottore]

Evening All,

 

Just dashing through, busy, busy, busy...

 

Some random replies/comments:

 

> Although half Italian, I find the "touristy" areas of Rome, Florence and Venice almost UN-Italian. Having said that, I've had enjoyable times in these cities by going out of season (usually October/November or January/February) and going off the beaten tourist trail...

> I remember the E432, but more enjoyable are the carriages of the same vintage (as in photo). First Class was as about as luxurious as you could get without getting into Orient Express territory. Phased out long ago, alas (although still being used on local trains to Perugia in the early 80s)

 

Rather a trying day, today. We took Schotty to the vet to have his nadgers removed, after he had received his pre-op meds and was rather dopey, it tugged a bit at the heart strings to seem him being carried away by the vet, semi conscious and looking very puzzled. We collected him an hour after he went into surgery (all went well) and he has spent the day recuperating. Instead of a collar to prevent him worrying at the stitches, he has a rather nifty body stocking that makes it difficult for him to get at them (will post pic later). He's on 10 days of "light duties" and then the stitches will be taken out. He's still a bit woozy (the vet said that the morphine in the pre-op shot would last at leat 8 hours [there was also a short acting sedative fast sedative in the mix])

 

Off to bed... Have a great one!

[trisonic]

We called our son Nicholas and accepted it being shortened to Nick (or even Nicky, by his paternal grandmother when he was young) but we hadn't anticipated "nickel a**e" or "knickerless" being used by his schoolmates!!

I used to call my late (older) brother "Nickel Arse” but changed it to plain Nick after winning on the Grand National “Nicholas Silver” (that’ll take every one back - but I was way below 18).

 

Confusingly his first name was Colin (which he detested and never forgave my Mother, who chose it).....

 

Other peoples families are so weird aren’t they?

 

Best, Pete.

[Tony_S]

Sorry Tony, I'm a tad confused.

 

Was that to experience the gondola or the German family?

The gondola! Aditi rarely booked our holidays through any brochure issued in the UK so we quite often ended up in hotels or destinations with few other British people. Though of course this didn't apply on our recent cruise. There were a few Australian passengers on board but otherwise very British.

Tony

[trisonic]

 We couldn't afford a gondola trip but we did go out to the islands of Murano and Burano. It was quite sad having to get on the train to leave for three days in Florence but we had a nice time there too.

I don’t mind telling how much they are.  I did take the Wife on a one hour gondola tour last time we were there - I wondered why the gondolier looked happy and said he would sing free (big mistake I should have paid him to keep quiet).

 

The whole thing cost close to $250.00 US in dollars cash. Was it worth it? Yes. My wife made up for the cash later......

 

I must say that Venice really does live up to it’s reputation - always enjoyed visiting - even in July which was the last time we visited it was never too crowded. Mind you we did end up with relatives near Tricarico in Basillicata - that really was sublimely quiet.

 

However a friend who went last year told me that Venice now full up with pushy tourists from China....

 

 

Best, Pete.