Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

Goodnight all.

Back home in a damp Essex.

The flight was delayed due to air traffic delays at Alicante delaying the plane that was to become our flight to Southend. Schipol isn't a bad place at all to be delayed in if you really have to be delayed!

Some stupid person nearly barged me down the stairs as we were getting off the plane. Her excuse was that she didn't want to miss the train to Southend. It was only 10.30!

As Rick was enquiring about how long it took from arriving at the gate to exiting the airport (with luggage) I timed and it was 15 minutes.

Tony

[Gwiwer]

The flight was delayed due to air traffic delays at Alicante delaying the plane that was to become our flight to Southend. Schipol isn't a bad place at all to be delayed in if you really have to be delayed!

 

As Rick was enquiring about how long it took from arriving at the gate to exiting the airport (with luggage) I timed and it was 15 minutes.

Tony

 

 

Thanks Tony.

 

In planning my neighbour's travels I also had to factor in the potential for delay on the Schipol - Sarfend leg as a train-specific bargain-price ticket is to be used.  She has a couple of hours clear though I suspect that anyone checking tickets on the every-20-minutes Essex-Girl Express (so named during my time on the railways a Liverpool Street) won't object. It's the booked-seat once-in-two-hours Paddington - Penzance leg that's more critical.

 

God to hear you're back safe and sound.

[Tony_S]

Thanks Tony.

 

In planning my neighbour's travels I also had to factor in the potential for delay on the Schipol - Sarfend leg as a train-specific bargain-price ticket is to be used.  She has a couple of hours clear though I suspect that anyone checking tickets on the every-20-minutes Essex-Girl Express (so named during my time on the railways a Liverpool Street) won't object. It's the booked-seat once-in-two-hours Paddington - Penzance leg that's more critical.

 

God to hear you're back safe and sound.

The train times are all clearly displayed in the baggage reclaim area.

Most of the passengers are EU citizens, the non EU queue to enter has been quite short when we have arrived, it was tonight. Non EU citizens have to fill in a landing card, the cabin crew provide them on the flight.

[JohnDMJ]

Night all!

[Two_sugars]

And so another day comes to an end. . .

 

 

Best wishes to the sick and recovering lists.

 

 

Goodnight everyone  . . Sleep well.

 

 

 

John.

[pH]

I've just read that US Navy ammunition ships are traditionally named after ... volcanoes! That's pretty black humour.

[pH]

A couple of pictures from a walk this afternoon.

 

An American Robin (a member of the thrush family):

 

 

Mount Baker, an active volcano in the US, over 50 miles from where I was standing when I took the picture:

 

[emt_911]

Morning all. For some reason my body clock hasn't adjusted as quickly to the clock change as it normally does. More coffee required.

 

Andy - I hope that Amber gets over what ever it is quickly.

 

Have a good day everyone

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Dry start and a fresh 4^oC. Hazy sunny spells forecast and chance of heavy showers, hail and thunder later.

The fence panels arrived 4 hours after ordering thanks to a friend & neighbour who is the manager of the local timber merchant. I managed to install them without major injury but did pick up a couple of deep splinters due to not wearing my PPE safety gloves! (I know Bob - you did warn me) The curse of GDB strikes again.    

These have now been excavated with the help of a needle.

The Boss is at work and I have nothing special planned. Looks like another day of waiting to see if "The Parcel" will arrive. Now that would be special.

Have a good one,

Accident waiting to happen of Sutton

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all

 

I managed to secure a more suitable appointment for my next encounter with Professor Oncologist.  It is two and a half weeks earlier than the other one and frees the original date for the routine visit to Poorly Pal.  Talking of him, I went shopping for ingredients yesterday.  Spring onions were available only in a pack with  other vegetables which did not figure in the recipe and for which I have no requirement.  Therefore, like proper chefs, I shall improvise.  Some preparatory work can be done this morning.  Tomorrow PP and I will discover whether prawns do go with pork, as Ken Hom says.

 

A scaffolding lorry spent much of yesterday outside the house opposite.  Some poles have been put together but four cars' worth of road space has been cordoned off with wheelie bins, which suggests that the lorry will be back today.  In addition to this, several skips have appeared up and down the street to add to those which seem to have been there for ever without being emptied or taken away once the hire period has expired.  None of this makes being a resident with a car any easier.

 

Never mind all that, it's breakfast time.  Before I head off to munch what I will have prepared, let me proffer the customary good wishes to all who are ailing, recovering or supporting.

 

Chris

[skipepsi]

Morning all, beautiful sunny morning here in Hicksville not warm yet but very sunny.Up early for a holiday so time to get some modelling done! Hope everyone has a good day.

[NGT6 1315]

Mawnin' awl. More caffeine needed! I'll be at work from 11.20 till 7.44 tonight, so I'll also see to having an early lunch. Sky's overcast and I suppose we may yet be regaled with some precipitation.

 

 

 

Aside from one or two intermittent showers, the afternoon yesterday turned out fairly sunny while I was out on 1336 "Kleinzschocher" – 1305 "Sellerhausen".

 

 

 

 

Wheel/rail interface highlight on the trailer bogie. Note the track brake, and especially the realistic weathering on the bogie!

 

 

 

 

And after nightfall with yours truly next to 1342 "Neustadt" – 1319 "Schleußig".

 

 

Have a good one, people, and Ian, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Alison.

[jamie92208]

Morning on from another very sunny and bright part of GB.   If this keeps up we will even be getting some buds on the trees opposite.   Glad to hear that GDB managed to et the fence panels up without major injury or a trip to A & E. Also glad to have a visit from Jock yesterday.

 

I hope that Ian and Sherry are doing OK in their current situation. They are certainly being good neighbours.

 

Quite what the day ahead holds I'm not quite sure as morning orders have been delayed. The boss is now helping at a new fat club that meets in central Leeds This means getting up at 6am and she gets home after 9am. The day's structure will become clearer when she returns. However once I've watched the weather forecast I might be ale to do some carpentry on the drive. This evening I will be down at the clubrooms hopefully with Tony. He's not doing very well at the moment and really looks forward to his evening out at the club. I'll be ringing him this afternoon to see if he is up to coming out to play.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[roundhouse]

Morning from a sunny Surrey.

 

Plenty of water on the roads after last nights rain.

 

Not a very good night sleep partly due to the Police helicopter hovering overhead late last night then too many things on my mind. Up at 2am then back to bed a number of times then up again so decided to sort out photos on the PC.

 

Could do with a night in but my other half may be on a course running late, so might have ot wait for her in the Rake, not that I need any more beer for a while.

 

Nice photo of Mount Baker. I do like the volcanoes in the NW USA. Will be seeing them again this Summer.

[Barry O]

Morning all!

Took the 10am Whitby to Pickering. Black 5 Eric Treacey was the train engine.

 

Nice trip to Pickering where I was going to have lunch. It was chucking it down (including white fluffy bits mixed in with the rain) so caught the same train back. Alighted at Grosmont for a trip to the sheds.then made the mistake of going to the bookshop.oops!

 

Back to Whitby on a later train. While this arrived with a proper engine..a Q6 a Super Type 2 dragged us to Whitby (the other loco on duty was a English Electric Type 3).

Nice trip out!

 

Today is a make it up as you go along day until after lunch when I am off to see a model railway friend in Whitby.

 

Have a cgood day.

Baz

[AndrewC]

Morning all from the boring borough. Knee is still f***ed. Will now spend the rest of the week working remotely from home. At least it saves the client £48 in expenses.

 

Ian, Sherry, may I suggest slightly tongue in cheek that when the young'uns are shipped off to the "father" they are accompanied with a bucket each of Haribo. He'll be shipping the hyper-active sugared up offspring back on the first flight.

 

Flying to Amsterdam is a pain from here. Either its a risky drive down the M25/M23 to Gatwick or a multiple train/tube/etc to get to either Gatwick or Heathrow. For some reason flights from London City are always far more expensive. I find its easier just to drive for 10 mins to Ebbsfleet and get the Eurostar to Brussels, then onward to Amsterdam by Thalys. So much more civilised. I can be sitting in Café Horta, Brussels with breakfast and a beer awaiting the 11:52 Thalys in the same amount of time it would take me to get to Heathrow.

 

Good to see Bob managed to not lose any appendages in repairing his fence. I put in concrete channel posts along one side last year. Pain in the bum to do but sooooo worthwhile. Makes replacement of the panels very simple. I just need to get in touch with the absentee landlords on the other side to get them to maintain the other fence.

 

Little else happening. I'm now waiting for my track order from Invicta to arrive so I can finally make a start on the modules I'm trying to build.

 

Have a good one all.

[45156]

Morning All

 

Apologies for going AWOL, but the decorating tasks appear to have escalated, and when combined with all the other tasks domestic, have meant that time is seriously limited for things like RMWeb and other leisure type websites.

 

Trip to see Sister Drac this morning, as my anaemia is still under investigation, then a follow up with the young lady Dr next week.  Then when I get back, more painting, hoovering, etc. 

 

Picked up a new bus timetable for the local service which starts next week, and the net result is no buses after 7 pm, none on Sunday, and an hourly service instead of a half hourly one.  Still better than some parts of the county where the services have been removed completely.

 

Best get on now, as I;m due dwn at the Drs soon.

 

Generic greetings are all I can offer, though a quick skim tells me that Ian is being the good neighbour, and that Jock posted yesterday - other than that, I hope all are well.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

We have a somewhat gloomy morning here, but the weather is dry.

 

Flights from LCY have always been more expensive than LGW, LHR or STN.  I think it is primarily due to people being prepared to pay a premium for the convenience.

 

Personally, I prefer flying to Gatwick - which has the advantage of several possible routes in.  If the M25 or M11 are snarled up, the others can be very difficult to reach.  Unfortunately, nobody flies to Frankfurt from Gatwick any more.

 

Have a good day everyone...

[Coombe Barton]

Wales. The park is soggy - very, very soggy. And so, now, are the dogs. And so, by dint of them jumping up us, are we.

 

But sunny now. And forecast to remain so for a while. It has been decided where we are going today - that information will be later imparted to me.

[Happy Hippo]

Wales soggy?

 

This is the land where the people who live there are whales who wail.

 

Being a marine mammal has it's distinct advantages when you get as much rain as the Principality gets, as on some days it is easier to take a nice gentle swim to work.

 

Having a roof on the Millenium Principality stadium is to ensure we are playing rugby and not water polo.

 

The  whales who wail are more prevelent in the north, where there is more precipitation and where the complaints of such, (and everything else), are amplified by the nasal whine of that part of the populace.

 

It is much more genteel in the south and west, which in comparison to the north, is best described as damp to moist for most of the year.  This leads to less wailing from the Walian inhabitants.

 

We do not mention the neutral zone in the middle where sheep may not safely graze.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Bright and sunny this morning if a bit chilly. Ian, I hope things work out OK for Alison and Andy best wishes to Amber and hope she gets better soon, she's probably more disappointed at missing the birthday party than anything else. GDB glad you repaired your fence without any mishaps, I still have to repair the shed roof but its whether to do it myself or get someone to do it as I will have to get the neccessary materials such as roofing felt when I only need a few feet not a complete roll. Be back later.

[HeeleyBridge]

Central heating now back under control. The interwebs located a very similar but not identical (of course) unit eventually, the lump hammer was not required. Whatever happened to simple?

Grandkids arriving any minute so just a quick visit this morning. Best to all who are ailing.

[Smiffy2]

Good morning all, a bit damp and gloomy here.

 

Just had three cold calls, the last one seemed to be something about telecommunications - I speak reasonable French but the young woman was just gabbling, and requests to slow down just meant that she read the script at the same speed and higher pitch...  I told her to send me a letter.

 

And later I've promised to help our departing neighbour when SFR come to do something to her phone lines. What, precisely, I'm not sure.

 

Went to Jouet Club yesterday, and it's a bit sad. All models and railways gone, just a few bits of Evergreen plastic, which I bought, and a stand of out-of-date Humbrol. I suppose that everything has gone on-line, like in the UK.

 

Anyway, best wishes to all, health and wealth, good luck and good drink.

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Nice and bright and sunny so should be a pleasant stroll to & from the good count's castle wherein one of his daughters will do her best to extract blood.  With, of course, the anticipation of which daughter it will be - maybe Natasha the firmly put together Russian lady, or perhaps Cathy has returned off the sick, or maybe the delightful young Simone - such is the fun of not knowing who is going to be shoving a needle in my arm in about an hour from now.

 

Have a good folks

[AndyB]

Morning all,

 

More spotless photos from Dom; I swear he does a "litter pick" before he takes them. 

 

The new polyprop sentry shed was assembled last night and I've secured it to the side of the house this morning. At £67 it was good value and clears out the greenhouse of detritus. 

The mischief-monkey in me did wonder about taking it to the next school/village fete, putting a bucket inside and waiting to see who would use it as a porta-loo; possibly the world's smallest.