Early Risers.

[BoD]

Trains up Creek at LBG tonight. One we have been catching is cancelled and another running fast to Oxted so on a rammed Caterham service.

Handed a survey as we got on. Love this bit of it. No surprise which bit I ticked

Good grief. Has the country dumbed down that much?

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The dustbin lorry dawn chorus continued until lunchtime, not unexpected as they had two weeks worth to collect. There was no collection of course last week due to the snow, last week was also 'bottle fortnight' but some idiots still put their bottles out this week.

 

Australia's revenge for having our rabbits inflicted upon them in the 19th century.

Rabbits aren't native to the British Isles either. They were bought over by the Normans after 1066.

[jamie92208]

Four-wheel drive isn't much use without good snow tires. On one occasion I slid backwards down a hill in a Volvo XC70 with all four wheels turning forwards   I was able to back it into a snow bank and it did a neat 180 degree flip that let me go back down the hill forwards. The three lady passengers in the car were all screaming. One even tried to open a door to get out!

My mate that I was out with yesterday used to be in a tank regiment and told a story of one icy morning at Bovington he was driving a Chieftan down a hill when all 60 tons of it started to slide gently down even though the brakes were on.  It was eventually stopped by the tank kerbs before it would have hit some cars.  However Keith said that the cars wouldn't have mattered because they all belonged to officers.

 

My new steed will be a Seat Arona and is due in about June.

 

Must go to Specsavers I thought that said 'Aroma'.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Good evening all.   I can report that peace reigned at the funeral.   No blows were exchanged, no hissy fits or tantrums were thrown about the seating, even by the niece who's a part time coroner.   It all went off very well, so thanks for all the supportive comments.   I had one very hard task and that was to transport 3 20 something step nieces to the church in my ancient Volvo. They all insisted on giving me a hug.   Some jobs are just so hard.   

 

One BiL had to come with the rest of his family in his daughters Ka as it went well in the snow, unlike his Merc.   

 

Now it's time to cast another Baluster.

 

Jamie

[New Haven Neil]

Ah, that's the KWVR one. Once wrapped in curry house wallpaper for an advert, and might still have its lopsided cab.

 

No, the cab was fixed when rebuilt by.....err......Ian Riley I think.  It used to really lean back, a symptom several Black 5's exhibited.

[AndyID]

 

Rabbits aren't native to the British Isles either. They were bought over by the Normans after 1066.

 

What you might call Norman wisdom.

[TheQ]

That darn groan button has hidden itself again

[Barry O]

Getting ready to head back via Singapore later today.

We have had a great holiday, visiting great places, meeting some nice people and having some great food and drink.

 

Girding loins in preparation for our flights with Boeing Allways...the world's most un-favourite airline.....

 

Baz

[Gwiwer]

Rabbits aren't native to the British Isles either. They were bought over by the Normans after 1066.

  

What you might call Norman wisdom.

I bet that was one in the eye for King Harold

[petethemole]

Rabbits appear in the archaeological record before 1066. They were introduced by the Romans as a food animal kept in enclosures but first records of them being established in the wild date from the 12th century.

 

With the pile of shed parts out of the way I can now access several steel storage racks from the old sheds that had been blocked in. They are galvanised so have not suffered from being outside. Now I can re-use them in various locations, so today I cleaned two up and managed to clear a space in the conservatory to fit one in. The other should go in tomorrow. The conservatory is primarily storage so the racks will help keep some of The Stuff in order and off the floor.

 

Have a good what's left of your day/tomorrow.

 

Pete

[Tony_S]

I didn't know that there were Rugby matches in Ireland this weekend. I suppose we may see a few supporters wandering about the city centre.

Aditi got an email from our hotel this evening asking if we were aware that we had 2 rooms booked. Aditi had to contact booking.com whose website said there was a substantial cancellation fee. After explaining to them that it seemed to be a conflict between the website and app they cancelled the extra room without penalty.

We seem to be all packed and ready to go. This isn't even our usual dawn departure. We are going to depart after an early lunch.

Tony.

[newbryford]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The dustbin lorry dawn chorus continued until lunchtime, not unexpected as they had two weeks worth to collect. There was no collection of course last week due to the snow, last week was also 'bottle fortnight' but some idiots still put their bottles out this week.

 

 

We missed last week's collection due to snow. This week seems to have gone the same way. We have a separate collection of waste paper every two weeks that I think comes from the same depot. That turned up.

 

The bins including the bottle/can bin have been left out in hope for tomorrow.

 

Two days off and there's a chance that there may be some golf played on Saturday as it's thawing out very quickly on the course - even allowing for my pictures taking earlier today.. Although my back gives me a bit of gip when sitting down in most chairs for any period, I can twist and turn quite easily. I will be mindful of any extra twinge.

Tomorrow is a visit to the tooth wrangler for a check up and then a meeting for our annual exhibition with the club treasurer. His missus always welcomes me a coffee and bacon and egg butty!

 

There may a bit of modelling done into the late hours.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[pH]

No, the cab was fixed when rebuilt by.....err......Ian Riley I think.  It used to really lean back, a symptom several Black 5's exhibited.

Thank you for that! I've quite often looked at broadside pictures of Fives and Jubilees and thought the cab was noticeably leaning. However, I've never seen anybody commenting on it, and so just put it down to bad eyesight on my part.

[tomparryharry]

My mate that I was out with yesterday used to be in a tank regiment and told a story of one icy morning at Bovington he was driving a Chieftan down a hill when all 60 tons of it started to slide gently down even though the brakes were on.  It was eventually stopped by the tank kerbs before it would have hit some cars.  However Keith said that the cars wouldn't have mattered because they all belonged to officers.

 

Must go to Specsavers I thought that said 'Aroma'.

 

Jamie

You and me both. I thought the word was 'Corona'... A well-known brand of pop from the 60's.

 

Ian.

[Horsetan]

...Rabbits aren't native to the British Isles either. They were bought over by the Normans after 1066.

Yes, but several centuries later, it was "our" eight - and there were just eight to start with - that were shipped over to Aus.

[pH]

Yes, but several centuries later, it was "our" eight - and there were just eight to start with - that were shipped over to Aus.

 

Where they obviously bred like ....

[PeterBB]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The dustbin lorry dawn chorus continued until lunchtime, not unexpected as they had two weeks worth to collect. There was no collection of course last week due to the snow, last week was also 'bottle fortnight' but some idiots still put their bottles out this week.

 

Rabbits aren't native to the British Isles either. They were bought over by the Normans after 1066.

 

As far as I knew the Romans bought rabbits over - they were a 'favourite' so I suppose that they escaped at some time so were around when the Normans arrived.  In the 50s myxomatosis decimated the Australian rabbit population as I seem to remember.

 

Edit = I see petethemole had already mentioned that

Edited March 8, 2018 by PeterBB

[81C]

 

Evenin' each,

The minor hiccup in my quest for a new car has been resolved and an order has been placed!   

I did say that I wasn't going to rush into it but on Tuesday after a test drive I fell in love with something. 

 

I also said the following:                                                                                                                                                     

 

"Main criteria apart from liking the look and driveability of it are:                                                                                         Definitely! I think it's a lovely car, nippy enough for me and                                                                                                                                                                                                       really nice to drive.

1. I need to be able to afford to buy and then run it. (Sounds obvious but it would be easy to get carried away)               Errrm- I won't actually own it for some time.

2. Automatic with preferably a petrol engine.                                                                                                                       Yes.

3. Higher ride height than my Focus.                                                                                                                                   Yes but only just - about a couple of inches.

4. Reasonable rear seat leg room for adults.                                                                                                                       OK for 2 , will be a squeeze for 3.

5. A few "bells & whistles" without being stupid about it."                                                                                                    Lots of them, some I've never heard of, a stupid amount but I don't care.

 

This is the first and probably the last time I will ever purchase a brand new car myself* so in the end I thought "Why not?"

 

My new steed will be a Seat Arona and is due in about June.

 

 

 

*Had quite a few bought by the 

 

 

Evenin' each,

The minor hiccup in my quest for a new car has been resolved and an order has been placed!   

I did say that I wasn't going to rush into it but on Tuesday after a test drive I fell in love with something. 

 

I also said the following:                                                                                                                                                     

 

"Main criteria apart from liking the look and driveability of it are:                                                                                         Definitely! I think it's a lovely car, nippy enough for me and                                                                                                                                                                                                       really nice to drive.

1. I need to be able to afford to buy and then run it. (Sounds obvious but it would be easy to get carried away)               Errrm- I won't actually own it for some time.

2. Automatic with preferably a petrol engine.                                                                                                                       Yes.

3. Higher ride height than my Focus.                                                                                                                                   Yes but only just - about a couple of inches.

4. Reasonable rear seat leg room for adults.                                                                                                                       OK for 2 , will be a squeeze for 3.

5. A few "bells & whistles" without being stupid about it."                                                                                                    Lots of them, some I've never heard of, a stupid amount but I don't care.

 

This is the first and probably the last time I will ever purchase a brand new car myself* so in the end I thought "Why not?"

 

My new steed will be a Seat Arona and is due in about June.

 

 

 

*Had quite a few bought by the firm.

 

 

OK then that sounds good so when are you going on the TV show "PIMP MY RIDE" 

[jamie92208]

As far as I knew the Romans bought rabbits over - they were a 'favourite' so I suppose that they escaped at some time so were around when the Normans arrived.  In the 50s myxomatosis decimated the Australian rabbit population as I seem to remember.

 

Edit = I see petethemole had already mentioned that

 

And in the UK.  I remember being rather upset as a 4 yr old (1956) seeing Myxi rabbits as we walked in Sherwood Forest to see the Major Oak. The upside of the day was actually going inside the Oak which you can't do nowadays.

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

According to an article I have just Googled there was much argument about Romans or Normans being responsible for British bunnies but 2000 year old remains of butchered rabbits found in Norfolk would suggest Romans!

[AndyID]

According to an article I have just Googled there was much argument about Romans or Normans being responsible for British bunnies but 2000 year old remains of butchered rabbits found in Norfolk would suggest Romans!

 

Hare, hare!

[Horsetan]

....In the 50s myxomatosis decimated the Australian rabbit population as I seem to remember.

Up to 90%. Which obviously wasn't quite effective enough, as the survivors had developed an immunity to myxo which meant that they could breed like....well, you get the idea.

[BSW01]

Evening everyone

 

We woke up to no snow but rain, but halfway through breakfast it turned to snow, but didn’t stick as the ground was wet.

 

After breakfast I went swimming and managed about 60+ lengths, but it was quite busy, so I think I’ll stick to going on a Wednesday as it seems a lot quieter.

 

Sarah is still in isolation and await the results of some tests, so we are still unsure of her diagnosis.

 

Goodnight all.

[newbryford]

I have another parcel coming from over the pond.

I have just been advised by USPS that the estimated delivery time is before 8pm Saturday.

 

I know I paid for ebay Global shippng including pre-paid taxes etc, but that's blimmin' good service if it arrives then

 

If I allow for the time difference, that makes it 1am Sunday............

 

I really must stop buying from afar - it's making me become impatient and I'm usually one of those mañana types.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[The Stationmaster]

  

I bet that was one in the eye for King Harold

 

I often wonder about that, apart from the fact that there is also a suggestion from some historians that it didn't happen that way.  Anyway back to the beginning - one of my antecedents arrived in England along with that chap William from Normandy, reputedly one of two brothers, and we know that he acquired land (not a lot) in the north of England about the time that William carried out his conquest of the north.  He definitely doesn't seem to have been a nobleman so the thought occasionally crosses my mind about whether or not he was in William's army at Hastings and was he a bowman?  Of course we'll never know the answer but it a bit of fun to muse on what might have been.

 

Now one bit which we do know about is that the part of the land given to the antecedent was by remarkable coincidence more or less on the site where the Norse forces under Harald Hardrada had landed prior to the battles of Fulford and Stamford Bridge earlier in 1066.