Early Risers.

[Killybegs]

Sadly, my own diagnosis of the nasty noise (which had disappeared again this morning) was the same as the garage's, namely the Dual Mass Flywheel is nearing the end of its days. So it will be raid the piggy bank time! Considering the car has now done over 240,000 km and the garage have been advising us that we should consider replacing it ever since its 60,000 km service, I don't think it has done too badly. Annoyingly, if I had I taken it in a couple of weeks before that service, I could have had it replaced under warranty. Yes I did have a great deal of communication with Ford Ireland at the time but to no avail! We are planning to trade it in against a new car at the end of the year, so I had a chat with the sales director (who I've known for a long time) and he assured me that he will make sure we get back most of the outgoings on the trade in price. All we have to do now is drive it gently until Steph takes it in on Friday week (I will be over in the UK!) so it's fingers crossed for the next ten days!

 

Other than that, it's just the 'getting over being back from holiday' blues.

 

Have a nice day!

[Gwiwer]

There has been more than one Amanda / Mandy in my life and indeed there currently is one lurking in the shadows as my youngest nephew's partner.  Two, however, have been a little - shall we say - closer to me at times and I have lived to tell the tale.  Except that out of respect and because I have moved on in life I don't

[sixoh8sixoh]

I now can't help but think of Mo in the Simpsons taking one of Bart's prank calls...

 

"I need Amanda Huggenkiss! Why can't I find Amanda Huggenkiss?"

[Happy Hippo]

I won't listen to rationalisations about "nature red in tooth and claw" when it comes to the depredations of magpies amongst the blackbirds I regard as my friends and neighbours. If it wasn't for the fact that my back garden overlooks the houses down below, I think I would have succumbed to the urge to buy an air rifle by now.

At present, I'm practising with a catapult and experimenting with various possible types of limited-damage ammunition... 

The Magpie is a pest species under a number of general licences issued by the Govt.

 

It can be shot or trapped and killed by an 'authorised person'.

 

A number of years back we trapped over 61 Magpies in a season, and about 40 the following year.  After that there were none around.

 

They are making a comeback into the hole created.

 

Since I am an 'authorised person', and the Magpie is now also taking eggs from the docks(I meant Ducks! See Geoff's comment below) at the smallholding over the road,(therefore depriving the smallholder of his liveleyhood,) there is sufficient justification for another purge.

 

However, it is not a case of sticking a gun out of the window and letting fly, as there are a number of legal technicalities regarding the use of an airgun that have to be observed to remain within the law. (And ammunition leaving your property or areas where you have permission to shoot are one of them).

 

As a matter of interest we advise people asking about pest control using airguns, that they should not attempt to shoot at any permitted species until they can place a string of 10 consecutive shots into an area the size of a 10p piece at a distance of around 25 metres.  This proves, if nothing else, that their shooting is both accurate and consistent. There are those that can shoot out at greater distances with similar accuracy, but for the vast majority, 25 metres is the average 'engagement range' for vermin and avian pests.

 

Interestingly enough, I took delivery of six new BSA rifles on Friday last, and once they have been set up, will require some exercising, probably near to where the Magpies are currently hanging out with their mates.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Happy Hippo

[Ohmisterporter]

... the Magpie is now also taking eggs from the docks 

 

 

How big are the magpies round your way?

[station cat]

Many thanks for all the birthday wishes. Yesterday made it a very happy birthday indeed. So 2 days worth of picspam coming up.

 

Railex (CAUTION: TRAINS)

 

Aberbeeg

 

Loch Tat, whoever did the scenery and back scene on this is a talented artist

 

Black Country Blues, looking a bit misty on this may morning

 

Frecclesham was the layout I enjoyed most

 

Perhaps it was the communication between the operators

 

Moving onto Wembley...

 

Walking down Wembley Way

 

The view from the nosebleed section

 

Post match pics

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry about the quality of this one, apparently cameras don't work so well when you're jumping up and down

[DDolfelin]

Amazing that they had a Football Match too.

Enjoyed the layout pictures.

 

Just done my good deed for the day.

Took a pile of donated goods 20+ miles to a Claire House Charity Shop.

My reward? A £70 Parking Ticket.

If they even dreamed I'm paying that they would apologise.

[NGT6 1315]

From the "you couldn't make it up" category: A woman from Garching (near Munich), in an attempt to persuade her husband that they should move away, invented a story according to which an unknown man of an extreme right-wing attitude supposedly threatened and physically assaulted her. She even went as far as inflicting wounds on herself using a hammer.

[DDolfelin]

From the "you couldn't make it up" category: A woman from Garching (near Munich), in an attempt to persuade her husband that they should move away, invented a story according to which an unknown man of an extreme right-wing attitude supposedly threatened and physically assaulted her. She even went as far as inflicting wounds on herself using a hammer.

 

... and did he move away ... from her?

[NGT6 1315]

... and did he move away ... from her?

 

I guess that'll remain to be seen!

 

Also from the "WTF" category: A restaurant owner in Tel Aviv decided to season two pizzas with flaked marijuana instead of basil or oregano. It turned out the diners were police officers, which the owner said he had been aware of and that it was supposed to be a practical joke. He now faces criminal charges and a possible revocation of licence.

[The Stationmaster]

A Railex pic (sorry Debs) a bit nearer, perhaps, to DD's scale interests is one of John Greenwood's superb 2mm scale engines standing just outside his brilliant model of St Blazey shed (click on the pic to enlarge!!) -

 

Edited May 26, 2015 by The Stationmaster

[lightengine]

Agree with the comments on Avebury, anyone not seeing it should definitely go... and NEXT up on our places less seen, is WELLS CATHEDRAL. We decided that would be a good midway stop down to Cornwall, I'd not been since I was a teen, and it's well worth it. Bonus for us was there was a choir rehearsing there, sounded amazing.

 

After that we drove on to Tintagel, arriving around 4, and enjoyed a walk around town, a beer in the local, and a short walk along the coast road.

 

Old guys rule

Off to "somewhere" this morning. Not sure where yet, maybe Port Isaac or  other local points, for some walking and sightseeing...

Take a close look at Tintagel Post Office, as modelled by Allan Downes and featured somewhere in 'anything you can do I can do better' on this site.

[lightengine]

I won't listen to rationalisations about "nature red in tooth and claw" when it comes to the depredations of magpies amongst the blackbirds I regard as my friends and neighbours. If it wasn't for the fact that my back garden overlooks the houses down below, I think I would have succumbed to the urge to buy an air rifle by now.

At present, I'm practising with a catapult and experimenting with various possible types of limited-damage ammunition... 

I watched similar happening  a couple of years ago when a magpie attacked a blackbirds nest and the noise the blackbird adults made as they were kept at bay was awful.

[trisonic]

I guess that'll remain to be seen!

 

Also from the "WTF" category: A restaurant owner in Tel Aviv decided to season two pizzas with flaked marijuana instead of basil or oregano. It turned out the diners were police officers, which the owner said he had been aware of and that it was supposed to be a practical joke. He now faces criminal charges and a possible revocation of licence.

OMG! He’s having his Pizza license revoked!!!

Best, Pete.

[trisonic]

In tribute to the Pizza Guy here is Lou Reed and “Sweet Jane" - the definitive version but annoyingly set to a different video from Paris (the audio is from New York).

 

If you haven’t heard this it is a real treat with Hunter/Wagner on guitars and the amazing intro. Listen how the simple chord sequence becomes hypnotic in the later stages of the song.

 

 

Turn it up!

 

Best, Pete.

[lightengine]

OMG! He’s having his Pizza license revoked!!!

Best, Pete.

He has had his 'licence to chill' revoked. 

[NGT6 1315]

He has had his 'licence to chill' revoked.

 

Bing bong, the witch is dead…

Edited May 26, 2015 by 1216 025

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Evenin' all,

 

Just back from a smashing 3 day stay with the outlaws in Wimborne Minster, Dorset. Good use made of the to & from journey with investigation of the Somerset & Dorset route between Wincanton and Blandford. A few visuals.....

 

Just to the north of Wincanton

 

Ditto...looking north-west

 

Horsington

 

Ditto....looking south

 

Stalbridge

 

Ditto....looking north

 

The Gartell light railway just south of Templecombe....looking north

 

Looking south

 

The north end of the light railway

 

Ditto....looking north

 

There was a visit to Abbotsbury swannery.....

 

 

Feathered ones provided for

 

Enjoy what you do

 

Dave

Edited May 26, 2015 by Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71

[New Haven Neil]

Evening.  Not much to report, averagely busy day at work, Mrs H out at (dog) agility training.  Trouble is, we don't have a dog. She borrows one of Jayne's!

 

Jock, I didn't photograph many of the bikes in the museum.  I'm only really interested in Jap bikes, and the 20 or so of those all belong to a good friend of mine so I'm familiar with them!  I didn't go up onto the Brit bike mezzanine, they all look the same to me.....black, oily.....gold bits.

 

There is a TZ250 there with a registration plate...mad.  That's my friend's too!  He's a little, quietly spoken middle aged bloke, very unassuming.  He is also preparing a turbo 500 for Bonneville next year, with proven, dyno measured horsepower I am not allowed to reveal, but it is a LOT - garnished with a pork pie.  A more unlikely bloke you can't imagine, he looks like a country vicar or something!

 

Edit for usual poor layout, grammar, speelink, etc.

Edited May 26, 2015 by New Haven Neil

[Ian Abel]

OK, so some ER personage suggested we go via Port Gaverne and possibly park there to get into Port Isaac as it may be easier, too hard to look back and find out who it was, BUT,

 

THANK YOU , THANK YOU, THANK YOU...

By doing so, we stumbled across the crew FILMING an episode in Port Gaverne. We parked up in Port Isaac and walked back and here's the result...

 

Does it get any better than this

 

Julie with "Al"

 

PC Penhale, Morwena, and a new member for season 7 - didn't get her character name...

 

Shooting a scene on the beach at Port Gaverne

 

Myself and Mrs with the "surgery" in the background

 

The entire cast and crew are so gracious it's amazing. They all take the time to talk with anyone that's around, between shooting.

 

Following that we had tea in Port Isaac, and walked the town, then "attempted" to go to Padstow, didn't know there was a Food Fair there, and it was a mad house. Returned to Tintagel and wandered the town, the cliffs and Tintagel Castle.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Ian Abel

[AndyID]

Holiday weekend was uneventful - no casualties on the lake - thank goodness. The freezer now contains two less t-bone steaks which were accompanied by Pommes Frites Écossais. Steaks were cooked using the time-honored "unbelievably hot cast iron frying pan" method (best done outside unless you have a really good extractor fan).

[New Haven Neil]

Great stuff Ian A.  My Sis in law lives just up the road from Port Issac, it's a lovely place.  We haven't ever got to meet Martin Clunes though! 

 

Wells is also a favourite place, and Mrs H's favourite loco too!  She's a Spam Girl. The front of the cathedral in the evening sun is so peaceful and uplifting - and this from an atheist!

 

 I hope your friends have enjoyed their visit to the old country, they are certainly getting good value in the trip!

[bgman]

Has spent all day walking around Torbay knocking on doors and throwing "stuff" at fans hoping it will stick in an attempt to make the NHS get their act together for a person very close to me.

Upon returning hope I've received emails confirming matters will be dealt with tomorrow! Result !!

I don't want my experience to be a normal way of dealing with the system but sometimes when it's a close member of my family I will stop at nothing to get matters sorted out.

Dom Littlewood, Ann Robinson or anyone else stand aside I'm here now and ready to stand my ground.

 

Please don't tell me you've no money, there is always money if it is desperately needed, life is more important.

Edited May 26, 2015 by bgman

[emt_911]

Today didn't go as planned. What should have been a 2 hour job turned into 5. As I wasn't too far from Avebury, I'd decided to visit after Gloucester. That plan went out of the window when the van developed vibration above 50mph. I suspected that one of the tyres had de-laminated internally and was proved correct when it was taken off the rim.

 

So, as well as delaying me enough so that the visit wasn't worth it, I ended up paying out more money than I earned today.     :ireful:    

 

Ian - It's good to know that there are TV celebrities out there who are human

[roundhouse]

Superb photos Ian. A programme that we really enjoy watching!!!