Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I started out with an endowment mortgage but 28 years ago decided to switch to repayment. The big surprise perhaps was that my mortgage lender allowed the switch without demur though I did have to go back to the full 25 years repayment period. It actually worked out less payments each month than the interest + endowment combined and the lender accepted my life insurance cover as protection. I only received £750 when I cashed in my endowment, less than £150 a year for the time I had held it so it was certainly a wise move. I was able to clear my mortgage when I retired 8 years ago.

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

What's all this about 'trainee drinkers' out to enjoy their A Level results, are the youngsters of today slacking in their alcoholic endeavours or are they taking their As a year early?    By the time my year got ours - back in a previous century so maybe things were different - most many of us were spending at least two evenings a week in the pub and we had our Friday evening regular bar (now an Indian restaurant alas), then our after pub hours but ok for 'suitable reinforced coffee' Berni Inn bar (now a Wetherspoons), with another occasional hotel bar for 'lusting after the barmaid'(I wonder what happened to her?).  So a long way from 'trainee drinkers' and some of us even occasionally propped up a bar in school hours while those of us who went on the CCF Easter 'arduous training' quickly found out that it involved as much drinking in bars, various, in the evenings as it did tramping across some of the wilder parts of Mid & North Wales during the day ('arduous' as in if Snowdon was in the way we walked up one side and scrambled down the other).

 

It's raining so no G word but there will be a Tesco visit for a few items and to collect some prescription pills  (the latter could of course well be a consequence of being far beyond 'trainee drinker' stage all those years ago - oops).

 

Have a good day one and all

Edited August 19, 2016 by The Stationmaster

[The Stationmaster]

I know I'm only a damned foreigner these days, but isn't the M40 the better route from the South East? Then taking the M42 as necessary? Despite living near the M6 south of Stafford, Sherry would always use that route to get to the Home Counties. Not least, it's not so far around the M25!

 

M40 and then A43, past Silverstone (assuming the road is open), to the M6 is shorter and - in my experience - quicker but it depends on how much road is being dug up and how many miles of average speed cameras are watching you.

[Happy Hippo]

The TTI on the train called SKP a rubbish loco, personally I would say it was rubbish driving.

 

 

I should imagine that to anyone used to driving the sure footed products of Swindon or Crewe, a Bullied light pacific might be a bit of a challenge as they were notoriously light on their feet. contemporary film of them in BR days with drivers used to their skittishness , still show them very eager to slip when moving off.

[peanuts]

well awoken by the smell of burning at 7.30 am after initial panic found to be neighbour burning a wicker  setee thats been mouldering away in the communal back garden for the last year nice awakening  back to the search for driving work getting rather tiring keep filling out application forms on line only to find its "agency " work which more than likely doesn't exist they just want you on their books 

 

 at least me old agency ave contacted me and been honest about what they have to offer still to prefer to get something more regular 

 

 weather now closed in grey wet and miserable proper pennine summer  must be something outdoors planned oh yep its rushcart weekend so no doubt one or two on here will be in attendance 

[BoD]

Just back from the daily constitutional.

It is grey and overcast here too, but warm and sultry. No rain as yet.

As I walked along the seafront I noticed an empty table outside one of the eateries. I felt obliged to sit at it and, it being that sort of establishment, was forced to have a Cumberland sausage bap and large coffee. Life can be hard at times.

[grandadbob]

Good morning (just) all,

It's been raining steadily here fore a while. 

Got up late after a splendid night out with family, kids etc. We went to an Italian restaurant we'd never visited before and really enjoyed it. The strange thing was that while we were sitting there Chris suddenly said "where was your Dad's betting shop?" (He was a bookie from the 1960's until he retired in about 1980) On looking around the premises I suddenly realised that the restaurant was in fact Dad's old shop - it hadn't even occurred to me when we got there.

Lots of good food and wine and then watching Olympics till late (although I fell asleep in the chair) meant I didn't get to bed until 3.00 hence my late arrival here.

A lazy day planned (by me anyway, Herself may have other ideas)

Have a good one,

Bob.

Edited August 19, 2016 by grandadbob

[DDolfelin]

neighbour burning a wicker  setee 

 

Yes, I always say that it's very annoying when folk burn wicker furniture. 

[Ohmisterporter]

When we bought our first house mortgage companies did not take the wife's earnings into account. To get a mortgage for the house we wanted I had to work six days a week and my boss verified that they were my regular hours. The mortgage was sixteen pounds a month and the rule of thumb was the amount offered by the building society was no more than one week's wage. and it was a struggle at times but we managed. Luckily I was able to swap jobs and earn more and get ahead of the mortgage. There were times when interest rates went above 15% and set us back again. I hate to think how people would manage these days as they seem to max out their wage to mortgage ratio and rates are at all time lows.

One thing that really ticked me off was that we took out our mortgage in May and at the end off the year interest was added and we still owed more than when we started, it was as though all that first year's money went for nothing. Luckily we paid it off early and put the money aside for a nice annual holiday. 

Stay safe all.

[New Haven Neil]

Still peeing it down - and then some.

 

Had a 'V2.0' version of my mate's accident at Bonneville speed week.  The first story of a gentle tumble was to appease his Mrs until he came out of hospital - turns out he had a tank slapper and was ejected from the bike at a verified 175mph.....three breaks, two plates, 15 screws, very sore leg......bike trashed.   Four go-pro cameras on the bike provide interesting footage apparently.

[lightengine]

Yes, I always say that it's very annoying when folk burn wicker furniture. 

Lucky it wasnt a wicker man!

[Tony_S]

If Andrew's donkey lives where I think it does I would be inclined to go M25, M1 and M6. When my Mum lived in Droitwich I did use the M25, M40 a few times but preferred M1, M6, M42. However traffic conditions on the day can affect choice. Gales up the Thames can close the bridge.

I am not going up the M11 to Stansted this evening, I go the pretty way via the outer fringes of Chelmsford.

Tony

[Rugd1022]

M40 and then A43, past Silverstone (assuming the road is open), to the M6 is shorter and - in my experience - quicker but it depends on how much road is being dug up and how many miles of average speed cameras are watching you.

 

M40 every time, you meet a better class of idiot on this bit of 'Chlitern-strada'! Beware the pair of Gatso cameras on the Towcester to Northampton stretch of the A43 though...  

 

And looking at today's weather, well, as the late and sometimes great John Lennon once sang mournfully back in 1966... 'Rain'...!

[Danemouth]

 The first story of a gentle tumble was to appease his Mrs until he came out of hospital - turns out he had a tank slapper .

 

Neil,

 

What's a Tank Slapper please? I keep imagining a young lady of dubious morals travelling as pillion but on the tank

 

Regards,

 

Dave

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from a drizzly London Bridge

 

A busy week work but not too much to report.

 

I paid my mortgage off in April.

 

My first was an endowment policy backed and fixed for years at 12 1/2%! However I never changed the standing order so ended up paying off about 25% of it by the time I moved 10 years later. Which was just as well as the value of the house when I sold it was about 75% of what I paid for it. Since then it has been a series of repayment mortgages, the last of which was a Lifetime Tracker at Base Rate + 0.49%, which was for 8 years, starting in 2008. As base rates have for almost all that time been 0.5%, this ended up being an excellent deal. The building society stopped offering that deal not much later as the financial crisis hit.

[AndrewC]

I know I'm only a damned foreigner these days, but isn't the M40 the better route from the South East? Then taking the M42 as necessary? Despite living near the M6 south of Stafford, Sherry would always use that route to get to the Home Counties. Not least, it's not so far around the M25!

Google maps and my satnav's traffic are showing an hour longer via the M40 at present. That road is cursed, every time I've attempted it I've been caught in something. Much faster just to go anti-clockwise on the M25 to the M1. For me the M40 adds around 30 miles each way.

[lightengine]

As promised earlier by the seaweed danglers the sun has arrived.

[roundhouse]

Google maps and my satnav's traffic are showing an hour longer via the M40 at present. That road is cursed, every time I've attempted it I've been caught in something. Much faster just to go anti-clockwise on the M25 to the M1. For me the M40 adds around 30 miles each way.

For us its generally better ot go via the M40 but we do keep an eye out for any delays both on the Sat nav and google maps traffic (well, the person who isnt driving that is).

[Judge Dread]

Th

 

Neil,

 

What's a Tank Slapper please? I keep imagining a young lady of dubious morals travelling as pillion but on the tank

 

Regards,

 

Dave

That would be when the handlebars move violently from lock to lock and the machine refuses to go in a straight line. It usually resulted in the rider and bike parting company. Many bikes were fitted with a damper which could be adjusted with a control knob, to try and control this effect.

The term is now used to describe the action of a towed load, caravans etc, due to cross winds etc.

It all the years of riding motorcycles I was lucky enough not to experience this trouser fouling process.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Judge Dread

[shortliner]

Dave - a "tank-slapper" is a front-wheel wobble on a motor-cycle - something you really, really, REALLY! don't want - where the handlebars are literally wrenched out of your hands and they oscilate violently from side to side , whacking each side of the tank. I had the pleasure at over a ton on the M1 (when it was legal) on a Norton (oh ye of legendary roadholding! B0ll0CK$) and got away with it more by luck than judgement. Believe me, that bike was got rid of in a hurry!

Edited August 19, 2016 by shortliner

[andyram]

I should imagine that to anyone used to driving the sure footed products of Swindon or Crewe, a Bullied light pacific might be a bit of a challenge as they were notoriously light on their feet. contemporary film of them in BR days with drivers used to their skittishness , still show them very eager to slip when moving off.

Thanks for the information. My observations were based, not just on the failure of the driver to get SKP out of Highley first time, but also on his heavy shunt of the coaches at the start of the day and his constant need to set back at several stations before departing. This was, of course, a hot day and there was no moisture to suggest problems on the rails. The train was a well loaded 7 coaches which should have been well within the locomotives capabilities. On several previous visits to the railway I gave ridden behind SKP on several occasions, on similar length trains in more challenging conditions and there has never been an issue.

That being said I could be doing the driver a disservice as there could have been a mechanical reason for the problems. Alternatively he could have been guilty of being over cautious due to a severe line side fire at Eardington two days previous that caused two hour delays to the timetable. As you say he could also just have been inexperienced on such a locomotive.

Edited August 19, 2016 by andyram

[Happy Hippo]

I know I'm only a damned foreigner these days,

Only since you changed your avatar (Old) Master

[Ian Abel]

The US swimmers versus the Brazillian petrol station contest seems fascinating. An attempt by gold medallists to make America great again!

More like to make America GRATE again <sigh>. What is it with anyone of prominence (was going to say famous but there are others included) who seem to have ZERO common sense and manage to put their foot-in-their-mouths whenever possible.

Maybe I'm just an old fart, but I don't recall years ago so many prominent folks doing positively stupid things on so regular a basis!

 

Morning on this POETS day.

Yesterday was positively mundane work-wise, and today will likely be the same. The "Bond Filing" reports, created in December, tested ONCE (they're quarterly offerings) at that point and not looked at since (despite my continual recommendation to get it done before they're needed) have a slew of changes required "SURPRISE, SURPRISE", so I'm working on them <sigh>

 

Trip to IKEA yesterday evening to obtain a new mattress for Jemma (she has prior experience with IKEA mattresses and finds them exactly what she needs for a good nights sleep), and after that a quiet evening.

 

Slashed it down overnight, and currently 20 and overcast. Planned high of 24 and rain off and on all day according to "them that knows"...

 

Hope your weekend starts well.

[newbryford]

More like to make America GRATE again <sigh>. What is it with anyone of prominence (was going to say famous but there are others included) who seem to have ZERO common sense and manage to put their foot-in-their-mouths whenever possible.

Maybe I'm just an old fart, but I don't recall years ago so many prominent folks doing positively stupid things on so regular a basis!

 

 

 

Most elite sportspersons are pretty responsible, and because they are so high profile within the public domain, any transgressions are immediately seized upon. The immediacy of today's social media doesn't help their cause either.

 

Having said that, one of the group, Ryan Lochte is known for being one of the hardest workers whilst training, but also the hardest partygoer...........

 

Cheers,

Mick

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

As usual, posts read and rated, and greetings to those who are ailing or celebrating.  Too much to comment on and not enough time in which to do so, I'm afraid.

 

Not the greatest day here, but had to brave the rain with a trip to town, combined with a taxi job as 30747 was asked to work an extra shift. 

 

Other than that, not a great deal to say.

 

Wondering about a few of our absentees here, Gordon S in particular - though it is the golf season.  He seems to have been lurking, bit no posts for a couple of months - come on Gordon, we're missing you.

 

Back later/tomorrow

 

Regards to All

Stewart

Edited August 19, 2016 by 45156