Early Risers.

[iL Dottore]

Greetings, Sensation Seekers.

 

It is bloody hot in this neck of the woods (30*c+) and I have been taking refuge in my "underground workshop" (sounds like something a James Bond villain would have), sanding down the cack-handed job I made of applying DAS to Jamie's buildings (to my eternal shame, I informed him, when we met earlier this year, that I reckoned I could construct them for him in about 4 to 6 weeks [cue hollow laughter]. Many months later, I am still progressing glacially...). But at least I am seeing some progress now.

 

Most of my time has been taken up with job hunting (some good news there, I may be on track to landing a senior position which will also allow me to work from home), taking care of the wolfpack and playing the three roles I have in the "Taster Trio" of Shakespeare's plays (Tom Stoppard's "The Dogg's Hamlet" and "Cahoots Macbeth" and a 45 minute version of Romeo and Juliet). We recently got a fairly positive review (see http://www.basellandschaftlichezeitung.ch/basel/basel-stadt/shakespeare-remixed-am-nadelberg-130517357 [if your German is a bit rusty, Google Translate is your friend]) in which I was singled out for a special mention for my role as the inspector. So, for tonight's performance there's absolutely NO pressure, right?

 

Well enough from me, I am going to retreat either to the attic room (where I have a reasonably effective AC unit and a comfy sofa) or the cellar (which has neither, but is quite cool).

 

Congratulations and commiserations to all,

 

Stay Frosty Guys

 

iD

Edited August 28, 2016 by iL Dottore

[Tony_S]

I am sure Dad's Fiat Mirafiori was mainly Castrol oil can and Plastic Padding in a futile attempt to deal with rust.

[jonny777]

The sun is shining in north Somerset, although a quick glance at the rainfall radar shows that we are very lucky because a good deal of southern England and South Wales is dotted with showers.

 

I just had a call from a good friend of mine and discovered he is getting divorced. How sad, and with three teenage children as well. What must they be going through?

 

Even though it is not raining here, that has put a dampener on the rest of the holiday weekend.

[lightengine]

East Devon: it is raining.

This part of south Devon it is refraining at present.

[grandadbob]

My first two cars in the sixties (1947 Morris 10 and 1953 Austin Somerset) both had exhaust pipes comprised mainly of baked bean tin, wire and Holt's gun gum.

 

PS Questions are now being asked as to why I'm "on that computer again while other people are doing all the work."

 

I've told the "other people" that I'm having a rest and a cuppa, it's up to them whether they do so or not!

Edited August 28, 2016 by grandadbob

[Simon G]

We found a decent vantage point to watch Princess Elizabeth at a level crossing at Tempsford, between Sandy and St Neots. We could see it for about a quarter of a mile in each direction, and it went by at between 50 and 60mph, and just seemed to be coasting along. Still worth the short trip out though.

 

Now just completed some DIY so that son's new(ish) cooker will fit snugly between the kitchen units. He had had a couple of so called tradesmen in to see about increasing the gap between the unit by about a millimetre or two, so that the cooker would fit. He had been told that the worktop so would need to be removed, which would be a rather pricey job. I just took my old Black and Decker power file to the worktop in situ, and hey presto, the cooker now fits very nicely.

 

Nice day here so far, so a walk may follow lunch!

[HeeleyBridge]

Dad's Austin Somerset was patched up with sheet metal that was taken from scrapped trams, (pop riveted on of course) and painted (up to the top of the sills) with the leftover paint from the tramsheds/bus depot, where our neighbour worked as a coach painter. The mix of the blue and cream was a very distinctive colour. As kids we used to go around spotting things painted with it (as it was acquired in gallons), from the car, to petrol cans, trailers, spare wheels, Granddad's lawnmower, the garage doors, my bike ...

[emt_911]

A couple of very brief showers so far which has evaporated as soon as it stops.

 

Ed - An 09 plate van? I've just got rid of an 02 which I still considered new.

 

Lunch and the GP then I might think about a couple of mundane tasks

[roundhouse]

It did get dark in Shrewsbury but no rain so we got back to the station in a dry state - not dry in terms of alcohol though!

 

Bought my other half a new phone as hers packed up a few weeks ago and the my old phone is very sluggish and the battery doesnt last long. Just setting it up for her now that we are back on a train heading ot Hereford. Nice and quiet in this coach aswell plus the power points actually work.

 

Craven Arms is the next stop for this train.

[Tony_S]

A couple of very brief showers so far which has evaporated as soon as it stops.

 

Ed - An 09 plate van? I've just got rid of an 02 which I still considered new.

 

Lunch and the GP then I might think about a couple of mundane tasks

Not a van, but in the mid 1970s Aditi's Dad bought a Saab. Every year the sales team at the garage tried to get him to trade it in. He said they had told him it was so well built it would easily last 10 years or 100000 miles. He said had changed their mind? He never got to the 100000 miles but he did replace it with a Volvo about 10 years later. Only because the Saab dealer had closed and the Volvo garage was at the end of the road.

[jonny777]

Simon G mentions the subject of tradesmen, which reminded me of an incident a few weeks ago. The flush on one of our toilets was not stopping properly, and I could see a tiny dribble of water running continuously down the back of the pan. These things are not good when on a water meter, as consumption soon mounts up. 

 

I did take the cistern lid off and slosh the water around just in case a small piece of dirt was trapped under the seal, but the syphon mechanism is one of those new fangled vertical plastic contraptions; not a ball-cock as in all the other cisterns I have ever known. It looked rather flimsy and I didn't want to snap anything and end up with the flush going continuously at full welly until I turned the water off.

 

So, I did the sensible thing and called out a local plumber whose advert said "no job too small". He looked at the tiny dribble and seemed non-plussed as if to say "you called me out for this?". He said that he didn't think parts were easily replaced and it would probably mean replacing the whole unit. My reply was silence, and presumably he took this to mean that I was not inviting him to replace the whole unit, when it was actually because I had no idea what to say next.

 

He showed me how to unscrew the main syphon assembly and told me that it might be possible to source spare parts from "Screwfix or somewhere", replaced everything, charged me £25 for the privilege, and left. The dribble became worse once he had gone, but at least I knew how the syphon was fixed into the cistern even though I was now going to be faced with an even bigger water bill.

 

Maybe our job was actually too small.

 

I sat wondering how I could have called out a plumber who didn't seem to want to do any repairs, when a thought came into my head. Maybe I should inspect the seal at the bottom of the syphon unit. So I did. It was a plastic/polythene circular affair which seemed to be fitted into a groove around the bottom of the assembly. I was on a roll now, so I decided to see if I could pull the seal out.

 

It came out very easily, and on inspection I discovered there was a tiny bump in its surface which looked as though it had been trapped between something and been forced out of shape. I was just about to measure the seal's dimensions in order to look it up on Ebay, when I wondered what the other side was like. The other side was completely unblemished. So I replaced it in an upside-down position to how it had been, screwed the unit back into the cistern and pressed the flush button.

 

Perfect. No leaks, or anything. The water in the pan was as still as a millpond.

 

Which is how it remains to this day. I think that was £25 worth of advice well spent.

Edited August 28, 2016 by jonny777

[Barry O]

Busy day so far. Potugese Navy frigatehas docked, bunch more f people jumped in the sea and had a race, cargo ships spotted, no more rain, wine bought for drinking in the UK....worn to a frazzle so contemplating a bit of eyelid resting time.

 

But hark...the sound of thunder...maybe a stiff drink could keep the calm.

Baz

[Happy Hippo]

Rain stopped gardening play.

 

This interruption enabled the switch blades and the wing rails of the turnout to be generated.

 

A late lunch will now ensue followed by the installation of the turnout (weather permitting).

 

Looking at the state of my workbench, I think 10 minutes sorting it all out and putting things away will be well spent.

[lightengine]

Not a van, but in the mid 1970s Aditi's Dad bought a Saab. Every year the sales team at the garage tried to get him to trade it in. He said they had told him it was so well built it would easily last 10 years or 100000 miles. He said had changed their mind? He never got to the 100000 miles but he did replace it with a Volvo about 10 years later. Only because the Saab dealer had closed and the Volvo garage was at the end of the road.

It did get dark in Shrewsbury but no rain so we got back to the station in a dry state - not dry in terms of alcohol though!

 

Bought my other half a new phone as hers packed up a few weeks ago and the my old phone is very sluggish and the battery doesnt last long. Just setting it up for her now that we are back on a train heading ot Hereford. Nice and quiet in this coach aswell plus the power points actually work.

 

Craven Arms is the next stop for this train.

It must be nice for you travelling on trains that exist.

 

Saw this last week on FB. Next time you are south coast way this is apparently the place to drink.

 

 

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

British guitarists - there's dozens of 'em worth their salt - from Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton of the electric persuasion, and Chris Newman and Remi Harris of the accoustic variety.  There's stacks of unheard of players out there who are extremely good.  I've posted quite a few links myself directing ERs to some of their work.

 

All posts have (finally) been read and rated.  It's getting harder to do this due to all the posts - and welcome aboard to Rob, I noticed your arrival!

 

It really has to be generic greetings all round, as "the clock has beaten us" and I have to use the computer to check if the hotel bookings that the Tr&v*l"dg* website sodded up a few hours ago are there - they seem to have changed all my access details, and I have been waiting for a password reset!!!???

 

Back later/tomorrow as I also fancy a quick eyelid inspection.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[shortliner]

Saw this on Farcebook, and thought it would be of interest to Roundhouse and his lady, of this parish

 

[Gwiwer]

Morning / afternoon / evening all.

 

My goodness how the pages fly.  Insufficient time to read and rate everything but among the noteworthy contributions it has been good to see a visit by Debs.  Hippo left me wondering which of the place names on Taswegia was named after him - surely not Bust-me-Gut Hill, perhaps Humungus Hole or Awesome Wells  Or even Big Hippo???

 

Completed seven consecutive days of Attendance.  last night was uncommonly sane as Saturdays go.  Tonight however has made up for it.  As at stumps we had counted 1 lost child, 3 seriously drunk (as in incapable of self-control and locomotion) football fans, perhaps 100 more requiring various levels of police intervention, 3 youngsters (possibly 12 or 13) being far too smart for their pants with what was obviously a stolen top-of-the-range DSLR (unluckily for them it was aimed at me, as in the lens was pushed firmly against my face, and it's a subject I know something about ....... cue more police intervention), 2 passengers starting punch-ups with ticket inspectors who were only doing their job, 1 gang of African twenty-somethings running amok and pushing anyone in their way to the floor and resulting in another 11 arrests.

 

That's far too much excitement for one shift and way more than we are accustomed to.  Who knows.  Maybe it was something in the water.  It's certainly a mite warmer than it has been and there's a strong smell of pollen on the night air.

 

Time for bed.  Only seven hours until the roofer is expected - though based on his past record I'm not holding any breath for the morning.

 

Sleep well when it's your turn.

[Tony_S]

Very quiet here...

[roundhouse]

Saw this on Farcebook, and thought it would be of interest to Roundhouse and his lady, of this parishlbg.jpg

Yep saw that earlier. Will be interesting on Tuesday of it does actually look like that.

Meanwhile something a little older whilst walking between pubs in Hereford

[roundhouse]

It must be nice for you travelling on trains that exist.

Saw this last week on FB. Next time you are south coast way this is apparently the place to drink.

FB_IMG_1471795401373.jpg

It's a superb micropub. Very handy for the other exit from Worthing station

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I was an early riser this morning (7:30) but by the time I'd had a bath, breakfasted and had a quick perusal of ER's it was time to go out. Quite amused by the story of the criminal who crashed his car while speeding, having hit two other cars he crashed into a tree a branch of which entered his groin, he pulled the branch out to find his testicles hanging from it. You've got to be nuts to drive like that but I'll bet he'll not have the balls to do it again.

[Judge Dread]

East Durham: it is raining.

It had rained in East Yorkshire during the night but most folks in West Hull were still abed sleeping off Hull F.C's win at Wembley yesterday. Looks like that other Hull club will have to change the words to their ditty about the Airlie Birds not winning at said venue!   

[Donw]

Hi Chris and everyone

 

Bank holidays, eh? Officially the August one in Scotland is the first Monday in August. However, the banks and Post Offices are shut tomorrow instead. Scottish banks are also observing the English Christmas and New Year holidays. So it's all a bit of a breakfast.

 

Speaking of which, warm croissants and fresh coffee and out soon to see Mark Thomas at the Traverse. Last day of the festival tomorrow, and as Mike (sixoh...) says, winter can't be far away...

 

Weather here overcast, possibility of rain I reckon, with temps not much above 16C/64F

 

Have a good day

 

Mal

 

At one point although I was working from our Bristol Office my boss had his office in Edinburgh. He arranged a team meeting for the last Monday in August and was rather put out when I advised him it was a bank holiday for us, acting as though it was my fault.

Don

[Donw]

Wel, there seems to be sunshine over the land of the Telf this morning. I've got a load of washing out on the line, but I fear that the Obergrumpenfuhrer will insist on 100% gardening duties to make up for yesterday's postponment.

 

That postponment did allow the construction of the turnout which will complete the oval of the garden line and will allow for relaxed running.  I still have to cut and fit the wing and switch rails, but I find that filing away the surplus nickel silver to make the switch blades quite easy:  I use a belt sander, not something you can easily do in 4mm scale!

 

Of course, the change to the plans I made now means I have to make up a curved point in order to get around a corner and make a useful siding, but I've decided that this will be left until much later, and a simple section of plain track will suffice until I can draw this beast out on the computer.  In the olden days, I would carefully and some what laboriously lay it out in TurboCAD, but using Templot, makes it a quick and simple task.

 

I have just been summoned to a tasking meeting:  I will be some time!

 

I find it quite easy to build them in situ just using the lead dimension and the crossing angle.

Don

[edcayton]

Afternoon all.

 

Went to see Princess Lizzie. Slightly disappointed because she was LMS red and not BR, but very nice. The experience was enhanced by a McDonald's Breakfast Wrap whilst waiting.

 

British guitarists. Stewart beat me to it, but in no particular order, Richard Thompson, Brian May, Martins Carthy and Simpson all come immediately to mind.

 

Grand Prix. Saw the start and the huge crash, then fell asleep before the restart and woke up as they were on the podium. Hey Ho.

 

Ed

 

btw there were about a dozen of us there to see Lizzie.  Not like that well-known green engine a while back. Mind you, I don't think this was plastered all over the telly this morning.

Edited August 28, 2016 by edcayton