Early Risers.

[BoD]

Many happy returns to this point in our solar orbit, Tony.

[skipepsi]

Afternoon all, not a great week I am only a weekend away from going back to work and delivering a full day's training on Tuesday. Karen's replacement hip is doing well but the epidural she had has left her left leg reacting strangely or numb. FIL is back to waiting for a decision on Tuesday with three options; chemo operation, operation chemo or palliative care. Not what we were told previously but those are his options now.

 

Happy Birthday Tony and many more of them. May your day go well. 

[grandadbob]

Happy birthday Tony.

 

I've had my medical MOT and passed but with some advisories although she did say I seem to be doing some things right. This of course means that I'm still doing some things wrong.

 

I knew that. 

[The Lurker]

Happy birthday, Tony.

 

I think the idea of using the agents came from your comments. I used the Via Rail agents in the UK and assumed it was the ones you mentioned. What is it they say? Never Assume as it makes an ass out of u and me

[roundhouse]

Happy birthday, Tony.

 

I think the idea of using the agents came from your comments. I used the Via Rail agents in the UK and assumed it was the ones you mentioned. What is it they say? Never Assume as it makes an ass out of u and me

For hotels I use Booking.com to search location amenities and reviews. Always good if you want quiet rooms as any noise issues normally get mentioned in the reviews unless they are younger and say they had a great time in the night club in the hotel!!

 

I don't always book through them though as I can get reward points booking directly through the various chains.

 

With trains I normally book direct through Via Rail or Amtrak. Just gives me more control if I want to upgrade or make changes.

[Barry O]

Congratulations AndyB.

 

MickB.. I hope that Karen's recuperation continues space and that FiL is given all opportunities with a clear route for each.

 

Need to have some eyelid resting time as our guests kept me up till 3am, forcing me to drink Old Poultenay single malt.

Baz

[lightengine]

Morning all,

 

Rick I think your wife has been spun a bit of a yarn.  There is nothing to prevent her being employed in the UK but it does involve a mountain of paperwork (n.b. employment is not the same as seeking to settle here although of course ultimately it can amount to the same thing).  My past employers (post big railway) brought in people from Hong Kong and South Africa citing that they were the most suitable applicants for the job but the paperwork took months - and that was simply for permission to work in the UK; after all the NHS are, it seems, almost perpetually recruiting in non-EU countries.  I can trace no requirement to offer employment to EU citizens in favour of non-EU citizens and in fact I suspect that to do so would be illegal under Human Rights legislation, however it is much simpler to give a job to an EU national than it is to a non-EU (or EEA) national because the latter requires a work permit etc.

 

If you wife really cares about wanting the job (and let's face they approached her from what you have said) then she should challenge them.

 

Today is 'replace the logs in the porch' day.

 

Have a good day one & all.

Mike, I think 'yarn' is too mild a word. I would like to see their faces when the solicitors letter arrives. Surely if 1 person is wanted more than person B all that needs doing is person B's application needs filing in the Out trash basket/shredder/recycle bin. No explanation needed to person B, no yarn spun to person 1 and no solicitors required.

[Gwiwer]

 

 

Happy birthday Tony

 

Rick, that is nonsense if your other half has a UK passport.

 

Happy Birthday Tony.

 

On the other matter thank you for the support and comments made.  SWMBO holds an Australian passport having been born here.  She has previously lived and worked in the UK on both Work Holiday and Fiancée's Visas.  She also held an Australian UK Resident's visa at one time after we married but all have expired.  She has an automatic right of entry as a Commonwealth Citizen (and being married to a Brit-Cit) but no right to work nor entitlement to public funds as things stand.

 

Questions are being asked.  It may yet prove to be the case that the amount of paperwork is in the "too hard" basket for the employer.  It might even be the case that of the two remaining candidates she shows a clear lead over the other at second interview and can in fact be appointed after all.  The wording of the letter she received seemed clear enough but there might be "wriggle room".

 

For the record I hold a British EU passport and have never had any intention of relinquishing it.  I have an Australian Resident's Return visa which allows me to come and go without restriction and to work in all but security-related and inner-governmental jobs.  We can thus both travel freely between our home nations but only in Australia are we both currently permitted to work.  Of passing interest is the fact that we may both enter both countries through the "home" lane at border control when travelling together but if she enters the UK without me or I enter Australia without her we must use the "aliens" lane.  

[peanuts]

great news today my lady has an been asked to attend a paid trail for bar staff at the Oldham Events Center for tommorows game V shrewsbury  proper chuffed for her 

 

 now to find a job for myself 

[Gwiwer]

How do you get the little hat over the "o" ? (is it a circumflex?).

 

Ed

 

 

It is indeed a circumflex.

 

On a PC you can download (if not already installed) Character Map which gives you click-on options along with the keyboard code for a huge range of characters.  On a desktop Mac you get the same (if not even more) via the little national flag at the top of the screen and select Show Emoji and symbols from the dropdown menu.  Accented letters are sorted under "Latin".

[Purley Oaks]

Afternoon all

 

Happy birthday, Tony.

 

Sorry to hear about the employment probs, Rick - as Mike has said an appeal could be the way to go, or even requesting to see the exact piece of employment regulation.

 

Quick day trip to London yesterday by train for a reunion with school mates. Luckily they agreed to meet in the Parcel Yard at KX where we all had several beers and a good meal upstairs. Journey south was marred by a refurbished train which meant that seat reservations were not where they were meant to be. BR, GNER, NXEC and EC all managed to retain the same seat numbers but VTEC have altered them so that seats 75 and 76 which had long legroom are now 71 and 72. Train was packed so I was squashed!

 

Journey home was 50 late into Edinburgh - the 1700 left after the slightly slower 1703 and didn't get passed it until Doncaster - then the 225 unit broke down at Morpeth, but the driver fixed it. Seat reservations on this were screwed, too, because the booked train is a 125... Managed to get a cheap 1st class ticket for the return which was great, but they did not have enough for the food offer and even managed to run out of some free booze, too... (cries of shame!)

 

I have my first annual CT scan next week - perhaps I should ask about a PET scan?

 

Hope your day is going well

 

Mal

[Purley Oaks]

It is indeed a circumflex.

 

On a PC you can download (if not already installed) Character Map which gives you click-on options along with the keyboard code for a huge range of characters.  On a desktop Mac you get the same (if not even more) via the little national flag at the top of the screen and select Show Emoji and symbols from the dropdown menu.  Accented letters are sorted under "Latin".

On MacBooks go to Edit (top left) then Special Characters

Mal

[Oldddudders]

On my iMac, iPad and iPhone, accents, umlauts and other funny things are available simply by holding down the vowel sought, and this reveals a pop-up raft of options, many in languages of what I wot not. Much easier than I'd ever imagined. 

[roundhouse]

great news today my lady has an been asked to attend a paid trail for bar staff at the Oldham Events Center for tommorows game V shrewsbury  proper chuffed for her 

 

 now to find a job for myself 

Shes not Australian is she, just thinking about an earlier post about being behind bars

[Gwiwer]

Fascinating reading of some of the crimes they committed to get transported. The court transcriptions often list all the coins that were stolen or the handkerchief that was stolen.

 

 

One side of SWMBO family arrived as Irish free settlers.  The others arrived as English convicts.

 

Of the latter there were two chaps who, in the records, were deported from Chatham as "night-soil workers" yet mysteriously arrived styled "Gentlemen" implying not insubstantial standing and wealth.  Their crime?  "Using exciting language".  Given that one could be transported to the colonies for stealing a loaf of bread or a small-value coin using exciting language seems to be on some sort of a par with the pettiness of the day.  

 

Not only had these two somehow climbed the social ladder whilst incarcerated aboard ship they had also changed names.  This we have proven through the many records now available.  SWMBO family surname is of Lincolnshire origin, whence there are no known family connections, when the name which should have endured is better known from Kent and the south-east of London.  We have been mystified by this until fairly recently.  We were however not then surprised when examining the Cornish branch of her family to find once again that the surname had mysteriously been changed though in this case by adopting another and using the original as the second given name until later generations abandoned it completely.

[Smiffy2]

Good morning all. Apparently the grandchild is going to be of the female persuasion. Having had two sons and being an only child I have no experience or knowledge of girls, apart from the need to wipe from front to back. It will be an interesting experience.

 

She is due on January 8th which would be nice cos that was my Mum's birthday.

 

Best wishes

 

Ed

 

The first nappy change comes as a shock... something missing...

[shortliner]

No handle to pick it up !

[Smiffy2]

On MacBooks go to Edit (top left) then Special Characters

Mal

 

You can set up a custom set using the 'Show Emoji and Symbols' option on Keyboard Preferences (top right menu bar, may be a Union Jack). Put a frequently-used character or symbol into Favourites, and then it appears under Edit, then Emoji and Symbols.

æsy! ☞ try it.

[lightengine]

One side of SWMBO family arrived as Irish free settlers.  The others arrived as English convicts.

 

Of the latter there were two chaps who, in the records, were deported from Chatham as "night-soil workers" yet mysteriously arrived styled "Gentlemen" implying not insubstantial standing and wealth.  Their crime?  "Using exciting language".  Given that one could be transported to the colonies for stealing a loaf of bread or a small-value coin using exciting language seems to be on some sort of a par with the pettiness of the day.  

 

Not only had these two somehow climbed the social ladder whilst incarcerated aboard ship they had also changed names.  This we have proven through the many records now available.  SWMBO family surname is of Lincolnshire origin, whence there are no known family connections, when the name which should have endured is better known from Kent and the south-east of London.  We have been mystified by this until fairly recently.  We were however not then surprised when examining the Cornish branch of her family to find once again that the surname had mysteriously been changed though in this case by adopting another and using the original as the second given name until later generations abandoned it completely.

Have you got the transportation documents? We got them for 1 member of my family. Really fascinating reading. Personal details etc as well as the criminal bits.

[Tony_S]

We liked Canadian Affair as they were happy to book things that weren't in their brochure. Aditi told them what she wanted and they sorted it. It worked out to be cheaper. In Europe our experience of booking direct is variable, mostly good though.

[Ian Abel]

Happy birthday Tony.

 

Congratulations AndyB.

 

Rick not at all familiar with the issues, although I did discover that the Mrs can't now wok in the UK where in the distant past she'd have been allowed to. Unlikely to be a problem for us really, but at one point would have been considered. Hope it all gets sorted out somehow, sounds like there are some options yet.

 

 

 

POETS arrived with little fanfare here, unlike in Florida where the tropical storm is causing a dreadful start to the holiday weekend.

 

Weekend plans contain little of substance save getting up early tomorrow, renting YET ANOTHER 16ft. truck and helping move Trevor.

At least this time the move is on the order of 20 miles, from his current place to the new apartment with his fiancée.

After that and a suitable dinner, we're free for the rest of the three day weekend - modeling anyone??

 

Will possibly POE today, but no plans other than relaxing and enjoying life.

 

15 and sunny here, a lovely day, only 24 for the high - starting to feel autumnal already.

 

Have a good start heading into the weekend everyone.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Ian Abel

[grandadbob]

Further to my earlier post about the medic implying I'm still doing some things wrong she probably won't be happy with me over the next 30ish hours.

Tonight we're going to a party to celebrate the wedding of a couple of who have been together about 20 years, have 2 kids aged 17 & 8 and then got married at Gretna Green last week.

Tomorrow afternoon we're off to a 60th all day birthday bash for about 4 hours then in the evening going to our friends   next door for " a few drinks and a bite to eat" (They really don't know the meaning of "few" and "a bite")  

Probably a good job I don't smoke anymore.      

Edited September 2, 2016 by grandadbob

[Tony_S]

On my iMac, iPad and iPhone, accents, umlauts and other funny things are available simply by holding down the vowel sought, and this reveals a pop-up raft of options, many in languages of what I wot not. Much easier than I'd ever imagined.

 

Seems similar to the feature on my Android devices.

[NGT6 1315]

Given the time of year, may I offer this for a suitable musical theme?

 

 

[Tony_S]

...

... She has an automatic right of entry as a Commonwealth Citizen (and being married to a Brit-Cit) but no right to work nor entitlement to public funds as things stand.

 

 

If you were a Commonwealth citizen in 1982 that would seem to be true. Everything changed then even for people born here in the UK. Commonwealth citizens from India born before 1982 in Aditi's family have needed a visa for even family visits.