Early Risers.

[roundhouse]

 

 

A swim,

I know that the bus stop near us on the main road is flooded but didnt think it rained that hard overnight

Edited June 15, 2016 by roundhouse

[Donw]

You do tend to feel that these flood events are becoming more frequent and more intense. I does look to me what one would expect from global warming ( I never believed those who said we would have a Mediterranean climate too much sea around us). Seeing as any action to stop such warming has been very limited one wonders how bad it might get.

For those who believe the warming is due to natural causes can reassure themselves with the thought that however bad it gets it wasn't our fault. Personally I believe clearing the forests has made as much effect as burning fossil fuels.

Don

[Oldddudders]

Now drinking Chablis in a pavement cafe on the Champs Elysées, noshing a very superior Club Sandwich, and watching football fans of several nations. I have had worse lunches.

[The Lurker]

Greetings all, no Chablis here and no football fans. I haven't bothered to go and have a butchers at Farage's flotilla sailing up the Thames, nor Geldof's boat.

 

Not a lot to report here, so have a good day all. I hope that Dave is able to report on success for Is on the operation front

[sixoh8sixoh]

Afternoon all from somewhere in central Scotland. I've been trying to catch up q little before posting but for the past three days just got to do a bit of the catching up a bit, sprinkling ratings but no posting!

 

Hope Is manages to get out today. Best wishes to everyone else too. Sounds like Ian's enjoying Paris. I'm hoping to get a day in Paris in a fortnight's time. We've got 4 nights booked at Disneyland but I'm hoping Jamie doesn't want 4 days in the park and might let us investigate Paris for a day.

 

Currently on my way to Glasgow for a meeting. Unfortunately the main E-G line is goosed at the moment as they're lowering the track in a tunnel at Queen Street Station to put in OHLE. So I'm on the all station stopper (Class 334) through Injun Country...

 

Been pretty busy lately and unfortunately relationship with Jamie's mum has deteriorated to the point I had to send a 1700 word email to her last night. And not one of those 1700 words was sweary!

 

Car's in for its MOT and service today at the very reasonable garage in my street. Despite having done 80K miles it's in good condition and has needed very little work today. It will need its timing belt replacing soon though.

 

Best wishes to all and hoping to post again soon!

[The Stationmaster]

Now drinking Chablis in a pavement cafe on the Champs Elysées, noshing a very superior Club Sandwich, and watching football fans of several nations. I have had worse lunches.

 

If I were a rich man -  I could do that too (but then it is a honeymoon, so hang the expense).

Edited June 15, 2016 by The Stationmaster

[Smiffy2]

Now drinking Chablis in a pavement cafe on the Champs Elysées, noshing a very superior Club Sandwich, and watching football fans of several nations. I have had worse lunches.

 

Have you spotted the Haagen-Dazs shop?

[Ian Abel]

Hope things go well for Is and Dave today...

 

 

 

HUMP day here already, time flies when you're having fun to work!

 

Not much to report over the past couple of days. Did have a very positive meeting with the Real Estate agent Monday at our rental house and he's the man for the job.

Bob was subdued (of his own volition even!) at the vet and was even praised for his lack of "attack mode" tactics

 

Driving in late to the office today as Jemma needs a ride to the airport for a 1-day trip, odd how they schedule this stuff! This is a 1-day, then tomorrow afternoon she starts a 3-day. Don't even "ask".

What it means is she leaves here this morning, does a turn to Dallas, a turn to Chicago/Midway and ends here tonight around 9 - when I'll pick her up again.

 

Awaiting a package which will hopefully arrive today, but given it's coming from the UK, there's no definitive tracking available, just an "estimate" <sigh>

 

Weather has been all over the place last couple of days, from sunny and pleasant Monday to rain and thunderstorms yesterday and overnight.

Currently 20 and clearing after some early morning storms, expecting sunny and 25 for a high.

 

Enjoy the day everyone.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Ian Abel

[AndyB]

Ian A doing sterling work as a taxi driver on top of his day job. Hope the tips are good.  

I won't ask if the need for a lift relates to Jemma's driving and parking ability; I value my life.  

 

Anyway, back home after a couple of hours oven cleaning at mum's.

Quite therapeutic actually, albeit I tend to concentrate hard on not dropping the glass as it's a pane (sorry) to source a replacement for a momentary lapse.

 

Intermittent heavy rain and bright sunshine has been the order of the day. 

 

I hope the Parisian Honeymooners are enjoying some sunshine. 

[Danemouth]

Back from a fortnight's holiday in Malta; there have been 1,052 posts on ERs since my last visit!

 

There is no way I am going to try and read all of those  so may I offer sincere sympathy, support or commiserations as appropriate to those in need. Similarly congratulations to those to whom something nice/pleasant has happened.

 

Coming home last night from Valletta where the temperature has been between 20 and 32 degC during the days of our stay was not a surprise but chilly all the same.

 

Now to sort/delete/whatever the 2,808 images photographed during the holiday.

 

Best wishes to you all as always,

 

Dave

[lightengine]

Pat's ortho appt was productive but the wait from Nov till now is not really acceptable. However it results in an xray and a further ortho appt.

Back in town we bumped into her line manager, who said "you look well, Pat". Thats the amazing thing about her assault in November. You cant see the long term damage to her knee or the fears she has about possibly having to be put in the same position again. Also fibromyalgia doesnt present itself as a physical ailment.

If only her line manager had cared a bit and looked a bit deeper. Well, that won't happen!

 

On Facebook this morning, someone had posted this question. "Anyone selling a high chair must be immaculate." (no punctuation)

I answered back that I was immaculate but sadly didn't have a high chair to sell.

How long have Facebook been so fussy that only immaculate people can sell on there?

[45156]

PS no news from Collie Towers recently.....

And quiet on FB since 3rd June - hope all is well there.

[Purley Oaks]

I like Pagey  and Jones but not really a fan ever of Led Zep in toto (Not Toto).

I don’t blame them but their people.  

With the exception of “Strange Brew” which was “Lawdy Mama” with new words (insisted on by the Ertegun Bros) Clapton and Bruce always got the right people credited on Cream’s recordings. If you look through their songwriting credits you will find lots of King, Rush, Dixon, Johnson, James, etc.

 

Led Zeppelin should have credited all of those old bluesmen on LedZep 1 and 2 and given them their due and money from the outset. When you say their people, do you really mean, ahem, their manager (allegedly)?

Their versions/interpretations of You Shook Me and Dazed and Confused were wonderful, though, especially when played very loud

Mal

Edited June 15, 2016 by Purley Oaks

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

Finally caught up, and posts rated - too much to comment on to pick out individual contributions, other than to add my wishes to Dave and Is for the op and a speedy homecoming.

 

Generic greetings, of course, to everybody else.

 

Had a rumble or two of thunder, but the worst of the rain has (today) missed us.  Lancaster got it on Monday, but luckily 30747 got home from work by bus, as the problems were in the opposite direction.  In Kendal there was no rain at all, and here (about five miles out of Lancaster) there was little sogn of heavy precipitiation.

 

Last couple of days have been involved with a bit of unmentionable work gardening, or jungle clearance is is has become with the rain/sun/rain/sun cycle that we've had.  Then there was the most excellent job to cleaning the wheelie bin which has bin wheely smelly, due to something being stuck to the base and not disappearing into the bin wagon.  As with drain cleaning, it is odd that after a successful job done, nobody wants to come up and shake you warmly by the hand.

 

Back tomorrow.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[Tony_S]

Aditi's brother sent me this yesterday. Northants police don't want any repeats of the Wallington incident.

 

I must telephone to see if he got home. It hasn't flooded there before.

[BSW01]

Aditi's brother sent me this yesterday. Northants police don't want any repeats of the Wallington incident.

IMG-20160614-WA0001.jpg

I must telephone to see if he got home. It hasn't flooded there before.

I came home from work in August 2012 and was met with a similar scene at the bottom of our road. When I got finally got home, SWMBO greeted me at the door and said "you'd better go and check the cellar as our neighbours had been flooded". So I checked, so had we, 12-14 inches or so of rain water. Luckily I'd fitted a very fine grate/mesh over the drain outside the cellar door, so we didn't get raw sewage unlike some, we just got the smell, nice!

[Happy Hippo]

We decided to have a day off today.  No gardening and no railways.

 

We went and 'did' the antique shops in Leominster, visited the Cheese factory in Monkland for our lunch, and ended up going for afternoon tea at Croft Castle (NT).

 

But no gardening and no railways?

 

Alas, in an antique shop the Obergrumpenfurer found a very nice metal trowel.  Far superior to the plastic one she recently misplaced.

 

She has been watching too much 'Bargain Hunt' and haggled for the price to be reduced, and got it!

 

In another emporium of overpriced tat, she came over saying, 'I have found this lovely lamp which would be good in the garden. Come and see'.

 

Resigned to my fate of being a walking cashpoint, I went and inspected it, only to find it was a rather nice white  BR(W) loco lamp.  It was complete with the double bulls eye lamps including the red rear filter, and a burner unit inside.

 

All it lacked was a burner filler cap and the door wouldn't close properly.

 

Again 'Mrs Bargain Hunt' did the deal and came away with a lamp for far less than they are selling on eBay at present.

 

I could make a new filler cap, but a cork will do for now, and I've already sorted out the door so that it shuts and locks.

 

All it needs now is a bit of a clean up.

 

Of course, those who read my drivel will realize that I have been looking for the dimensions of such a lamp, as I wanted to make some miniature versions.

 

Well having the real thing as a reference is almost too good to be true.

 

I must have more non gardening and non railway days!

[Tony_S]

It is our wedding anniversary on Saturday. Aditi said we should have some sort of day out. So on that day it now appears that she wants me to treat the summerhouse with new stain/preservative, as purchased today. 39 years must be the Cuprinol anniversary.

[Ian Abel]

Ian A doing sterling work as a taxi driver on top of his day job. Hope the tips are good.

I won't ask if the need for a lift relates to Jemma's driving and parking ability; I value my life.

 

Taxi driver is definitely a small price to pay as we (Mrs and I) get travel privileges on Delta

Jemma can take the second vehicle (most of the reason we've kept it) and park at the airport for free, and does at times, but I often prefer to have the availability of the second one as I work from home and the Mrs is either working or running errands - probably will change some when the Mrs retires in August. 

 

Re: the second comment - our Jemma can be scary  is feisty enough that I wouldn't even mention your query/concerns, for fear of MY OWN LIFE for simply suggesting someone ELSE said such a thing  

She is an excellent driver anyway.

Interesting aside, related to pilot drivers (in the US anyway), they tend to be FAR safer than anyone else I've met, major reason is that even a single speeding ticket can mean some airlines won't hire you! She never EVER exceeds the limit simply for that reason.

[roundhouse]

Love it. The crew member on our train is at least being open. The train won't split at our station. That means passengers will have to wait half an hour for the next Reigate train. He did say that 'if we are on time which is highly unlikely' they may make the GWR service.
Loads of cancelled or short formation trains some of which are due to shortage of available rolling stock.


He is correct as we are now at least 6 late and still no sign of departing LBG.

Update

Another short formation service just pulled in with passengers running back down the platform.that three short formation services in 20 minutes plus a couple cancelled and we are departing 9 late.

 

Edit - over ten late so missed the bus. 8 of the 12 coaches were terminated at Redhill due to staff shortages. Thameslink running a reduced service due to a shortage of trains so it took some time ot get off the platofmr and out of the station with the crowds. As it was sunny we walked home.

 

In related news a woman was hit in the face by another passenger on the Vic train that leaves Redhill whilst we are waiting for our train and a scuffle broke out. Unfortunatley he left the train at East Croydon before the Police arrived.

Edited June 15, 2016 by roundhouse

[The Stationmaster]

It is our wedding anniversary on Saturday. Aditi said we should have some sort of day out. So on that day it now appears that she wants me to treat the summerhouse with new stain/preservative, as purchased today. 39 years must be the Cuprinol anniversary.

 

The interesting comparison then arises whether - (your) labour cost aside - it will be more economical to spend the money on Cuprinol or take her out for a meal.  However in my experience of the female of the species I have more than a suspicion that you might well be in for both.

 

Rather like the situation I was in today.  We were in the town and decided to pop into a pleasant little eaterie for a sarnie and a cuppa - at time to leave I duly directed (honest) Mrs Stationmaster to pay, receiving a rather disgruntled look in return however I quickly explained that if she paid for that I would pay for the new kitchen knife she wanted when we went round the corner to the kitchen shop - this got a more positive and amicable response.  Now I was fully aware that the kitchen shop is in the midst of a closing down sale but I neglected to keep in mind Mrs Stationmaster's love of what we refer to as 'kitchen porn' (things they might come in useful in the kitchen, a variant on the theme of 'garden centre porn' - which centres on dark blue glazed plant pots).  So we duly found a nice little knife at 20% off, then another knife also at 20% off, then she found a bottle sealer, for wine bottles, which rather took her fancy - and I finished up paying twice as much at the kitchen shop as she had paid in the cafe.

 

I believe this might however have accrued some brownie points for me (I bl**dy well hope it has)

[Tony_S]

We don't have separate money. There are some accounts where Aditi is the first named account holder and others where I am. Most of the time Aditi was happy for me to sort out bills and payments as she was at work and I wasn't for many years. She is very bright and I reckon it would take her about 30 seconds to get up to speed on our finances.

 

We do sometimes eat out but it is a bit difficult for me at the moment. Since changing my medication the only way I can cope is with significant assistance of loperamide (Imodium) . Getting the timing right can be a problem! If Matthew were around I am sure we would go out for a family meal but as we both can cook quite satisfactorily we will probably stay at home. For all I know there may be some football match Aditi wants to watch.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Tony_S

[BSW01]

Good afternoon everyone.

 

I had an uneventful run up to Millom, just one or two cockwombles on the M6 but that's always to be expected. The blue skies did emerge and I had to don my sunglasses halfway into my journey.

 

I arrived in Millom just after 10am so my 2 hour commute estimate was almost spot on. I was on site for just over 1 1/2 hours then I headed to Barrow. A journey which took me about 35 minutes, through some very heavy rain. I was on site there a little longer as I had lunch before starting my work. The return journey was also uneventful, until the heavy rain returned, just north of Lancaster, so heavy that I had to slow down to around 50, as I couldn't see, but I was still passed by cockwombles driving at speed. I mean WTF, if they want to kill them selves, that's fine, but they usually take someone else when they behave it that manner.

 

I've been doing a bit more pension number crunching today, and it's all looking very positive at the moment.

 

I've just got a few questions that I'm not too sure about, can anyone answer or help me understand them please.

 

1/ What is the difference between:

a) Pension fund value

b) Transfer value

 

2/ When asking for an annuity estimate, which should I quote?

 

3/ How do I buy an annuity from a different provider that my current one?

 

Thank you in advance.

[Coombe Barton]

FIL home.

 

More later

[BSW01]

FIL home.

More later

John, that must be a huge relief to you both.