Early Risers.

[Barry O]

Trip back to the land of the Auck successfully completed. Some steak for tea.

 

School dinners...well I walked to my junior school. Lunch came from the council run canteen in my street! It was never hot but mostly enjoyable except for runny cheese and onion slice.

 

Grammar school..lasted 5 days then used the tuck shops instead.

Now the food at the Grammar School at Leeds is very good. Lots of different things most are healthy. And the same food is available for our exhibitors and visitors at our exhibition in Leeds.

 

Tried some NZ beef pressed tongue. Very nice!

 

Not sure where youngest Herbert has got to....

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Still snow on the ground but it is definitely warmer.  Forecast to stay mainly dry today.

I must have been very lucky as a youngster. Mum was a fantastic cook so no problems there. All three of my schools cooked on the premises so the food was at least hot and in the main OK. No force feeding took place either. In the second year at grammar school we had to act as waiters and wear white jackets.

Busy day ahead as we are holding a birthday bash for Joe for friends and family as we have a bit more room here.. He's a bit disappointed as so far half a dozen relatives who live a bit further afield have phoned to say that they don't think they'll make it due to the weather. Can't be helped really.

Needless to say The Boss  (another fantastic cook) is i/c catering today whilst I will be i/c everything else i.e cleaning. Nicki and the kids will be here to assist wherever necessary. Furniture shifting was done yesterday. 

I'm also hoping to find time to watch some rugby as I've got two games recorded and another live this afternoon. That may cause a problem. 

I now know which car (on paper) I prefer. Now got to go and see all three choices in the flesh and then try them out. Muddling has therefore gone on the very back burner.

I may get back later - if not....

....have a good one.

Bob.

Edited March 3, 2018 by grandadbob

[chrisf]

Good mornning one and all, with apologies to Ian A for overlooking his birthday

 

I'm getting fed up with the snow now.  It has wrecked my plans for the weekend.  Hoowever, on the plus side, not driving to Bletchley on Wednesday and Leamington today has left enough miles in the budget to enable me to go somewhere later in the year which had been looking distinctly dodgy.  As for how the country has responded to the severe weather, it is as if Ethelred the Unready were still on the throne.  I would love to hear South Western's explanation for leaving so many customers stuck in the New Forest overnight.  We have much to learn from the Swiss.  A few years ago there was fresh snow on Christmas Day morning.  The road through the village was on a bus route but otherwise was nothing special.  At 7.30 am came the snowplough.  The buses have chains on the wheels.  A few months back there were rail replacement helicopters when Zermatt was cut off.  Imagine that here ...

 

School dinners entered my life at age 11.  Appetising is not the word.  Portions were distributed unevenly and arbitrarily by a senior boy designated as table captain from rectangular aluminium vessels yet to be found on the Antiques Road Show.  There were often fights over the custard jug.  To this day the sight and aroma of macaroni cheese prompts nausea.  The tuck shop did a roaring trade.  At age 14 I changed schools and the dinners improved immeasurably.  So did the atmosphere.  When Mr Jamieson was on dinner duty some irreverence came to be expected when grace was said.  One day he banged a table with a ladle and bellowed "Eyes down!"

 

To the customary warm thoughts for the ailing, recovering and missing, let us think today also of the immobilised.  In some places it is neither safe nor physically possible to go anywhere or even venture outside.  May there be deliverance.

 

Chris  

[Barry O]

Steak was nice as was some Ngatarawa Stables Reserve 2016 Merlot.

For some reason we, the British, can't get our heads around weather now. Is it because we now see a change in attitudes due to changes in our legal system? The Kiwi we have met have said we are too American as litigation rules.....

 

GDB I have just had a Toyota Corolla coupe which was..carp! Go for a bit more acceleration and road holding...bring back the Issigonis Mini with the Clubman engine...

 

Stay safe and warm...and beware the upcoming floods....

 

Baz

Ps youngest Herbert still missing after landing in Heathrow...

Edited March 3, 2018 by Barry O

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl inner temple here,

All this talk of school dinners is exceedingly familiar, none of my five schools served what I would call edible food. The only difference between them was the Scottish schools served their attempt at scotch pies, steak pies, and haggis. None of which resembled the real thing in anything but shape.

 

After a few flying emails it was decided that the Ben the Border Collie Appreciation Society would go ahead, although only the 5 nearest made it. The club was RAF Coltishall MRC, so we have members up to 40 miles away who still attend and since we are a out in the wilds club many members more live up to 20 miles away.

 

Every single person who did turn up said..... Where's Ben?

 

SWMBO was at home with Ben because her art group was cancelled.

 

The journey there included some single track lanes with a car width cut through 3 ft snow drifts.

 

My intended work went well, I took a hammer and chisel to the countryside!!! Well, the valley the viaduct goes over, this was to fit the rebuilt piers, they have been fixed and leveled, the countryside will be rebuilt next week, Slartibartfast might be useful.

As I had some time left over, some rails went rusty.

 

When we opened the door to leave, there was heavy snow falling, but this faded away by the time I got home. It did make it a very slow journey, as I could not see through the thin layer to see if the road was dry underneath or covered in compacted snow or ice.

 

I arrived home to no power, it went off just before 22:00, so I went to bed with no hot chocolate, I was woken by everything all coming back on and the boiler working hard at about 02:15.

 

Plans today, more shed work, either another shelf or a door to divide the railway shed from the workshop.

 

Time to... Take Ben for his morning Patrol.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. No snow overnight and the coating of snow that was on the car last night has disappeared. When I looked out earlier there was a bit of fatchy pog about but that has now gone. Not much else to report, be back later.

[NGT6 1315]

Mawnin' awl. Only just emerged, so not a lot to say yet really. Which you may take quite literally re actual speaking as my voice only starts to become substantial by about noon due to that laryngitis thing…

 

School lunch never really existed for me - not only because, for one, afternoon lessons were a large exception for most of my time, and, two, I was easily able to come home on foot throughout primary and secondary. In addition, there simply wasn't any school lunch as a standard issue! For some of the later years at secondary, there was an option of ordering catered meals, which needed to be done until a deadline around 11ish am.

 

An actual cafeteria in that sense was only set up when the school was fundamentally refurbished after I had graduated, but I cannot pass any judgment on the food quality there.

 

Cheers. Later.

[BlackRat]

Snows all gone, grey miserable and wet........and that's just me!

 

Give me the cold and blue skies and a bit of snow anytime, not a lot you can do in the pouring rain.

 

School dinners, compared to my mothers habit of boiling everything for at least an hour they were heaven.

 

Apart from prunes, apple crumble and rhubarb, all of which we were made to eat and I still can't stand now........

 

I do like the skin off of the custard tho.....may fav bit then and still is!

[Happy Hippo]

My orally induced lubrication fund has received a unexpected but welcome boost.

 

Yesterday, the PH had to go to Bridgnorth for the afternoon and due to the deteriorating weather conditions outside of the sub tropical Telfland weather bubble, took my X3.

 

During his return trip, he rendered assistance to a number of less well prepared motorists, including towing one lady up a hill out of  Much Wenlock. (she was in a car!!)

 

She had been stuck there for over 45 minutes, with many other 4 x 4 users just ignoring her plight, so her gratitude extended to a financial reward which has been passed to me as it was the X3 that did all the heaving.

 

I have suggested that he and I take a short stroll this evening to partake in suitable oral lubricant sampling.

[Happy Hippo]

Right you mutinous dogs:  Listen in and quack quake in your boots.

 

I have just received orders directly from the hand of  Debs.

 

Forthwith, I am her official enforcer on ERs.

 

You have been warned!

 

PS. My eyes are playing up in this cold weather so don't take the mickey!

[Horsetan]

...We have much to learn will never learn from the Swiss....

FTFY

Edited March 3, 2018 by Horsetan

[PhilJ W]

Morning yet again from Estuary-Land. Now bathed and breakfasted and muggatee # 2 awaits. Dom, as I discovered many years ago when I visited Germany the German school day was different from that in the UK. It usually started and finished earlier than in the UK, typically from 8 until 2 and included Saturdays for the older pupils. Mind you that was over forty years ago and things might have changed since. The snow and ice is disappearing rapidly and if the forecast is to be trusted should be gone by tomorrow. Just as well as next Saturday is my friends sons 10th birthday so as a birthday treat we are taking him to the Huntingdon show, I have a large badge proclaiming that the wearer is 10 for him to wear and no doubt he will be wearing his favourite Spiderman outfit. So if you attend the show and see a young lad so adorned the crabby old git with a beard and walking stick with him will be me.

[Gwiwer]

Morning all. The snow is melting though plenty remains. Stories arriving from the battered south-west indicate roads, cliffs and some homes and other buildings were claimed by Emma and are now somewhere out at sea. Brixham and Falmouth lost cafes. The coast road westwards from Dartmouth has completely gone. Minor repairs are required to homes and the railway at Dawlish where around a foot of water flooded the track.

 

None of which quite equals the spectacular and alarming sight inside the ever-wet Balcombe Tunnel. The line speed here is 90mph. What happens when a train strikes this at that sort of speed gives me shivers.

 

 

Notwork Rail, to their credit, imposed a 20mph limit until the offending material could be removed. You can tell by the brick patches it’s not the first time.

 

A quiet day is anticipated here though not without a stroll into Twickers. And I seem to have been offered a space to exhibit some weathering work in the library thereat next month ℅ the local MRC.

 

Avagoodun. Thoughts with our absentees, various.

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Today is thawsday rather than Saturday.

Going shopping was just sweeping slush off the drive so that the delivery man could get to the door without paddling.

Tiny nieces in Kettering have proper snow now so they are very happy.

Matthew said he will go to the shops and see if there is any bread available.

Not a lot happening otherwise.

Tony

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

After yesterday's continued snowfall for much of the day the temperature here is now a bit above zero and what was there by yesterday evening is now retreating with the front path actually clearing much of itself for once and even the road is starting to show signs of its surface instead of packed snow.  Today will no doubt see a big change from yesterday when sledge movements massively outnumbered the very occasional cars passing our front gate.   The lad also did quite well getting home as the company's Finance Director lives near Twyford so he got a lift to there over largely clear main roads and the branch service was running normally - in fact so normally that many trains were arriving at their terminating point before time.

 

So herself will be off out to do a bit of shopping and we'll do a car swop around so that the Good Doctormobile will be standing open for the morning in the hope that the forecast rain will not be freezing when it lands.

 

Have a good day one and all

[DDolfelin]

Still solid snow here, roads closed.

Icicles seem to indicate some slight thaw took place overnight.

The wild birds are costing more to feed than me.

Soon be Summer.

[Tony_S]

My orally induced lubrication fund has received a unexpected but welcome boost.

 

Yesterday, the PH had to go to Bridgnorth for the afternoon and due to the deteriorating weather conditions outside of the sub tropical Telfland weather bubble, took my X3.

 

During his return trip, he rendered assistance to a number of less well prepared motorists, including towing one lady up a hill out of  Much Wenlock. (she was in a car!!)

 

She had been stuck there for over 45 minutes, with many other 4 x 4 users just ignoring her plight, so her gratitude extended to a financial reward which has been passed to me as it was the X3 that did all the heaving.

 

I have suggested that he and I take a short stroll this evening to partake in suitable oral lubricant sampling.

My friend said her parents' had got stuck in snow a few years ago. She sent her husband down with his brother to tow them out. Unfortunately only the front of her family's Fiesta moved. It was at this point they found out the Fiesta was made up of two quite poorly welded vehicles.

[Smiffy2]

Morning all.

A personal take on school food: I ate it for 30+ years! We used to get a free lunch if we ate with the kids and supervised. Easily bought...

 

For me the difference was when we had to tender for privatised meals - we had no choice, it was a government instruction. Before that our food (all of it) was produced in two large industrial kitchens by Mrs Sheila Monk (now sadly departed) a lady who was, and looked, every inch a school cook. Most food was made from scratch, there wasn't a huge amount of choice, but it was wholesome and good. The 'dinner ladies' knew the kids, and those who were likely to be hungry at home were given big helpings, seconds and sometimes a little parcel from Sheila. Others were 'advised' that they had already had chips twice this week and they might consider something less unhealthy.

 

Sheila and her team tendered for the contract, and were the lowest bidder, but then the goalposts moved and 'local authority' tenders were thrown out. So we got a series of low-cost, low value catering companies. Away went the kitchens, the cooks, the dinner ladies. Hungry kids got the same as fat ones. There was more choice, and I suspect that the food was closer to the nutritional guidelines, but it was never the same. Change is not the same as progress.

 

Meanwhile - best wishes to Debs - I loved that dog with the sled, I bet she did too. And, of course, those bereaved or coming to terms with frightening diagnoses.

 

 

 

As Bob says it's thawing in the Greener Borough, and all the snow should be gone soon. We were going to visit some friends in the Malverns, but we've postponed. Just waiting on news from France. I don't think it's as spring-like in Normandy as Sherry is posting on Facebook from Oldudders place further east and a bit south. I think we've been pretty thoroughly Emmaed. We await with trepidation news of our pipes - we drained them down before we left in the autumn, but there are low spots in the eaves that are vulnerable. One year the shower heads froze and split...

 

Just awaiting the arrival of Daisy - her dad's 'access' today has been to take Rose swimming this morning, then to a party (where he has to stay) this afternoon. Mum expected Daisy to be taken home, and she wants them back by 5, but she wants to do some crafting with Julie. She also wants to learn how to paint fantasy figures from her dad, which I rather like, as he learned from me.

[tetsudofan]

How things change in 24 hours. This time yesterday it was raining with the rain freezing as it hit the ground making the roads and pavements positively dangerous. Today the wind has dropped, the sun is shining, the snow is melting and the central heating boiler is taking a daytime rest.

 

Walked up to town this morning and walked back along The Leas in the sunshine. The Channel was smooth but no chance of seeing the French coast, looked rather foggy out to sea.

 

Can't remember much about school lunches but do remember that whilst in the 5th form the cost of a school lunch was enough to cover half a pint of beer, a pork pie and bag of crisps at one of the local pubs hidden in a side street on the outskirts of Woolwich.

 

Got to phone Hattons now, received a dcc-fitted NCB Teddy Bear yesterday and when just placed on the programming it shot off like a rocket. Rather scary......

 

Postie has just been, have received a rather detailed questionnaire from Germany asking my opinion about my new car including what has gone wrong, what I like or don't like about the car etc., etc. Wouldn't mind but I only got the car end of November and (as its winter) its only done 280 miles!!

 

Keith

[newbryford]

My friend said her parents' had got stuck in snow a few years ago. She sent her husband down with his brother to tow them out. Unfortunately only the front of her family's Fiesta moved. It was at this point they found out the Fiesta was made up of two quite poorly welded vehicles.

 

That deserves and funny and friendly smiley at the same time.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[AndyB]

There should be a pipe (Ours is about an inch in diameter) that vents to a drain. If it is outside it is almost certainly iced up. Pour hot water over it to melt it( tje ice not the pipe). My neighbour has just done his and wrapped bubble wrap round the pipe. A couple of other ERs have had the same problem and Rick mentioned it earlier. Of course if it isn't a condensing boiler that won't be the solution.

 

Thanks, Tony.

The pipe wasn't frozen but for whatever reason water is dripping from inside the boiler - the pipe you describe has a knurled plastic nut that secures it to the boiler and the leak is coming from there. i was going to see if I could tighten it, but when I turned the electricity supply off to the boiler at the fuse box it carried on working, so looked to still be "live". Didn't fancy putting my hand inside with water and 'leccy! 

Ironically BG had done a service on the boiler very recently. 

I've lagged the pipe just in case, but am going to have to get a plumber out to fix the leak. Not chance of getting BG as both their website and phone line are unresponsive. I may see if I can back charge any costs to them as they aren't able to deliver to one of their vulnerable customers. 

[Purley Oaks]

Too this day I will not eat liver & onions (uck!!!)

 

Our school meals were pretty good apart from the mounds of butter beans (which I love now in stews but not on their pasty-own) and liver, which was cooked to resemble a piece of car tyre. Gabe taught me how to enjoy liver a few years ago but it needs to be carefully cooked and never overcooked. As a non-meat eater now though it matters little, shame!

 

Got to phone Hattons now, received a dcc-fitted NCB Teddy Bear yesterday and when just placed on the programming it shot off like a rocket. Rather scary......

 

Keith

Was it part of the batch produced in North Korea?

 

Stay warm everyone

 

Mal

[81C]

Morning campers.

                             Has anyone stay in either of these places ?  http://www.thebellwillersey.com/

                                                                                                    http://foxinnbarrington.com/

Both are on the cards for our safari into deepest Cotswoldland for an early summer break and to play trains at the 

 Gloucester & Warwickshire Railway our normal lodgings have hiked the price up 25%ish so they can swivel.

 

GDB good luck with that Berlingo Camper it's got the added bonus of a large boot for shopping and putting your motorised

bathchair in the back, it will also fit into a parking bay at Sainsbury's.

 

Have a nice one youall

Edited March 3, 2018 by 81C

[Gwiwer]

Welcome back to a rapidly-thawing Hill of Strawberries. The very last of the snow is about to go. The walk into Twickers was almost warm and definitely felt Spring-like. The hydrangea has emerged from its white fluffy coating covered in huge leaf buds.

 

I feel the need to be microferroequinologically acquisitive this afternoon. Supplies of drinking vouchers will be exchanged for supplies of blue boxes. Nuff said

[New Haven Neil]

A'noon.

 

Miserably cold here from a wind chill point of view but no snow lying, the odd shower blowing away, it did briefly reach 2c but soon dropped back to zero, wind chill taking a good 6 - 8c off that.

 

A short visit to the outside world for lunch was sufficient, getting the foot used to the idea of doing its job again, 2 more weeks partial weight bearing left before the next round of irradiation in the name of CT scanning to check everything remains in place before being allowed to begin to learn how to walk properly once more.  It is beginning to respond now to the wake-up call to muscles that have been out of use again for a month and also feels less like it has been for a spin in a blender too, thankfully.  I am sick of the sight of crutches.

 

GDB, how about a list of your criteria and a short list of candidates? We'll be looking for new (4) wheels for Mrs NHN later this year and am always interested in people's opinions of motors.