Early Risers.

[jamie92208]

Good morning. We better behave ourselves as the awl if obviously around. What great news.

 

Yesterday I dashed home from the meeting to meet the guy who has bought our house but he's now coming today to sort the details out. The main thing is that after several phone calls to and from the solicitors things all went through and the money is safely in the bank account. In fact some of it is now winging it's way towards France as 'We' are apparently going car hunting next week. A good evening at the club then ensued. Many sets of points were brought to life and we even got a little loco running. This morning some more packing will be done then off to see the good count's sister. I forgot to go on Friday. Apart from that not a lot to report apart from the fact that it looks damp outside.

 

Jamie

[roundhouse]

It's wet down here aswell. As what normally happens when it rains, the us is do ok ate that we had to walk.

 

A trespass at Brighton has messed up train services so quite a few cancelled. Luckily ours is running and we were lucky to get seats. Just noticed that there are no coat hooks on thr new Thameslink trains as I wanted to hang up my wet coat. They really are carp trains. The ride is very lively let alone the seat issue.

 

Just two more days before we head yo Leeds for Easter. Using it as a base to visit the Keighley and Worth V as lley, Huddersfield, Newcastle and York although we won't be visiting the show but will be meeting up with friends who are at the show, one evening.

Edited March 27, 2018 by roundhouse

[Happy Hippo]

 

Packing will shortly commence for our stay in Robin Hoods Bay which starts tomorrow.

 

 

Baz

Mask, tanks, flippers and drysuit?

[Happy Hippo]

He's goin' for Class: a Rolls Or just the Royce?

 

[edit: Oh wait, I know! It's a Harrier!]

 

Wot?

 

A Ford Escort Harrier?

 

I'd hardly call that a classic car!

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Rather a damp start to the day here and very dull and dismal. More rain due throughout the day.

That makes me glad that I got the grass cut yesterday although my back is now aching a bit.

 

Did you "LED" it? Last week I replaced all of ours with LEDs. They ain't half bright. Lorna said the utility room was now like that scene at the end of 2010

 

TBH I didn't even think about it and I replaced it with an ordinary one which seems a lot brighter. I suspect that's because I haven't cleaned the old one for some time! That was the original from when we had the kitchen refitted 8 or 9 years ago so it hasn't done badly.

 

In view of the weather no gardening for me today so I have been offered the delights of escorting The Boss on a small shopping expedition.  Great!

Have a good one,

Bob.

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Raining here.

I checked under the sink and everything seems dry so all the stuff that normally is stored in the under sink cupboard can return. Aditi has put them all in little baskets so it won't take too long.

 

I notice that Debs has also been responding with "likes" and other symbols on Facebook which is a good sign I think.

 

I don't known what we are doing today. I don't think it is a "going for a walk" day.

Tony

[45156]

Morning All

 

Wet here this morning, and has been for a few hours so far.  Dog walk is due, so she's going to be very damp on her return.  Lovely smell, wet dog.

 

Great to hear from Debs, and that she appears to be on the mend - and let's hope that it continues.  And of course, the usual generic greetings are on offer to everybody who is ailing or celebrating at the mo.

 

Not a great deal happening here at the mo other than the usual domestic jobs, but I have been summoned to the hospital this afternoon for an appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon as it is now over two years since my hip replacement.  I'm guessing that this will be a long(ish) appointment, as it will probably involve the usual traipse from out patients to X ray and back with the attendant waits at both.  In my experience, it is better to get there a lot earlier, as then you get to X ray sooner, and have more chance of getting seen a bit earlier. 

 

So hopefully, we won't have the same chaos as yesterday when I had to get to the GP for blood tests, and was almost late having left well early, got to where I park and get the bus, to find that there was an accident somewhere in town, and the traffic was diabolical - one of my tests was for blood pressure, and hey ho that was high, as I had to walk the last half mile otherwise I'd have missed my appointment.

 

Phone calls to make, bathroom to clean, dinner to prepare, so back another time.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[bbishop]

ERs...............

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

Thanks for the warning.  Can't say that I'm over enthused by car registrations.

 

Bill

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone

 

Not a lot happening here today, just waiting for the boiler service technician to arrive to complete the annual service. He phoned earlier to say he’s stuck in traffic on the M62 and is running about 45 minutes behind schedule.

 

Chucking down here too, so I’m glad I did all my wood cutting etc yesterday, as I usually do that sort of thing outside and wouldn’t like to do that in this sort of weather!

 

Back later.

Edited March 27, 2018 by BSW01

[81C]

I like the kitchen in the photo. I'd better not let 'her' see it!.

 

I've just used the B&Q cheapy white tile, just with a different pattern & grout. My local gas fitter is well impressed, so we shall see. I've got a back wall to tile out, and then hang a chrome towel radiator. It's quite a dark in there, so I'm using a lot of white to throw the light about. I'll try to remember to get some photos.

 

Cheers,

 

Ian.

 

I used quite big tiles when I rebuilt our ensuite shower room some years ago. It actually seemed easier than previous attempts at tiling with small tiles.

I don't think I could cope with such a task now, the minor plumbing today has left me feeling sore!

I checked the pipes, and valves and there seem to be no leaks now. Earlier every time I stopped one tiny drip, another one revealed itself.

Tony

Thanks for the likes, I was an installer of kitchens & bathrooms for many years they were a good earner along side the home maintenance side of my business when tiling 

you need to take you time, prep the area being tiled, work out your pattern and use the correct tile cement, Bal Cement or Wickes were my prefered ones or the quick set 

stuff you mix up for the armour plated porcelain heavy weights use a good qulity tile cutter, other cutting tools and drills.

 

My neighbour took 4 hours and 4 drill bits last week end drilling holes for a blind in his bathroom proper diamond cutting drills which cost a fiver would have saved him 3 hours and 58 minutes

time and he was too tight to pay the installer to put the blind up and he also made 3 trips to Screwfix everytime a drill went blunt.  yes you can't make it up with this guy.

 

Tony use a very thin smear of this stuff on new non solderd joints and it should never leak.

 https://www.screwfix.com/p/fernox-jointing-compound-400g/21548

Edited March 27, 2018 by 81C

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Great to hear from Debs and glad to hear that she's better. Normally about now I should have been on the steam special leaving Upminster for Bath. Regrettably I would have had to drop out anyway, last night and the night before the sciatica came in with a vengance. I hardly had a wink of sleep last night despite a couple of co-codemols before going to bed. It seems to have eased off after a soak in the bath this morning, hopefully it will have cleared by the weekend.

[tomparryharry]

Good morning Folks.

 

Raining here in a wet Newport. Putting in a rebate for cable, and box sinking. After that, preparation for tiling.

 

Have a nice day, and keep dry!

 

Ian.

Edited March 27, 2018 by tomparryharry

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl Inner Temple Here.

I've been and had my eye test, 5 miles away, the appointment was 09:00, and it's now 09:39. So quick service today.

Eyes are slightly fuzzy but will get worse.

It's chucking it down outside, SWMBO has decided she will take Ben the Border Collie for his big walk later as she wants me to wait in for that big order of weaving wool.

 

I'm now going to start marking out some plastic in 2mm scale, for long as my eye last...

[andyram]

Morning all from a grey and damp corner of Derby. What a difference to yesterday. Good wishes to you all with particular supportive wishes to Debs, Simon et al. Good to hear from Debs and I hope her health continues to improve.

 

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments about the photograph. It is one I am quite proud of. As I mentioned, Sarah is convinced that it is something I can sell prints of. I am less convinced. Two other pictures have since had the framing treatment.

[The Stationmaster]

This goes against everything that sounds sensible.

 

I was taught to start a flooded engine with the foot to floor and choke fully out........ And quick reactions when it fired.

 

It certainly worked with a Kent crossflow.

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

All it would do on some Citroen engines is make a bad problem a heck of a lot worse - and time to call the AA if you don't happen to have your socket set with a universal joint handy/. Universal joint in a socket set?  Yes the only way you could get two of the plugs out on a flat four Citroen GS engine was to use the universal joint as no other way of using a plug spanner or socket worked due to the clearance (complete absence of) between the plug and the inside of the wheel arch.   The last thing you should do starting certain real Citroen engines when they are cold is give them any throttle at all as they will flood (auto-choke as well).

 

The best answer I finally arrived at was to fit the largest amp hour battery I could get hold of that would physically fit the vehicle and change to the hottest plugs that could be used with that engine - and that was the end of my cold start problems but it took me two GSs to get to that solution!  And yes - I used NGK plugs.   But noting what AndyID has said this is a way of dealing with cold start flooding problems and not the answer to other problems that Andy outlined.  BTW in Citroen terms 'cold start' means starting an engine which has not been running recently and is therefore somewhere on the way to full operating temperature - left overnight, or all day in a station car park, is more than long enough for the engine to get cold (don't ask how I know that).

[Tony_S]

Thanks for the likes, I was an installer of kitchens & bathrooms for many years they were a good earner along side the home maintenance side of my business when tiling 

you need to take you time, prep the area being tiled, work out your pattern and use the correct tile cement, Bal Cement or Wickes were my prefered ones or the quick set 

stuff you mix up for the armour plated porcelain heavy weights use a good qulity tile cutter, other cutting tools and drills.

 

My neighbour took 4 hours and 4 drill bits last week end drilling holes for a blind in his bathroom proper diamond cutting drills which cost a fiver would have saved him 3 hours and 58 minutes

time and he was too tight to pay the installer to put the blind up and he also made 3 trips to Screwfix evrytime a drill went blunt.  yes you can't make it up with this guy.

 

Tony use a very thin smear of this stuff on new non solderd joints and it should never leak.

 https://www.screwfix.com/p/fernox-jointing-compound-400g/21548

Using the "proper" drill bit for household jobs saves much time. I am also lucky that for the en-suite I just copied what a neighbour over the road did. Except I took a lot longer as he is a builder. His

recommendations for people to do jobs and products for diy are very useful. I help him with his computer!

I have some Fernox stuff arriving soon. I ordered yesterday in case the Wickes equivalent I had used wasn't as good. Thank you for the recommendation.

Tony

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Now properly in attendance following a bite to eat and having got some point rodding advice despatched in the right direction.  Talking of tile grouting Mrs Stationmaster is a somewhat less than happy bunny as a little of the grouting she did in the bathroom at the weekend has a lifted, fortunately I haven't been blamed (for once).

 

We are also suffering the somewhat soggy weather and it looks to be here for the rest of the week and, obviously, the Bank Holiday weekend.  However, as normal, some parts of the media are still proclaiming snowmageddon for the weekend, I really wish the silly twits would grow up and develop working brain cells.   And I quite agree with Chris about banks - they have the use of my money (well for some of the time) but they always seem keen to want to sell me something if I ask a simple question or the machine isn't working and I have to pay-in a cheque at the counter.  Trouble is there doesn't seem to be any realistic alternative to using them.

 

Anyway enjoy your day one and all and good to hear Debs is on the up.

[81C]

Mike you can't patch grout you need to dig all the old stuff out with a grout rake make sure everything is spotlessly clean then

re-grout use a grout pusher to force the grout right into the gap, silicones don't take to being patched remove all the old stuff

use a silicone remover to clean up after silicone has been removed to do a bath properly it should take at least a couple of 

hours steamcleaning the bath or shower tray as well.

[Gwiwer]

Greetings all from Cheeseday in Eeyore’s Gloomy Place. As any fans of Winnie the Pooh will know that is Rather Boggy and Sad.

 

It was certainly wet overnight and early on. That was nothing compared with trying to run a train service. No point detection at Wimbledon decimated all our services with around a quarter of the normal service possible and crush-loaded trains delayed by in excess of an hour. An engineering over-run made matters worse. Only the slow lines were available which led to overcrowding on platform 11 as that was in use by main line passengers as well. That in turn prompted a request to Southern to non-stop their main line trains which use platform 12, the opposite face of the island, on safety grounds. They were asked to divert some services to the Brighton Slow lines but were unable to do so due to a trespasser at Thornton Heath. Coupled with a similar incident at Brighton they too were not having it good. You know it’s bac when the normally non-stop Gatwick Express trains serve Clapham Junction.

 

It is days like this which sort the professionals from the “this year’s job” type. I can only offer empathy to anyone who has to travel today.

 

Now it is time to relax, pat the cat, cook some bacon for lunch and attempt to flat-dry some jumpers.

 

Best wishes to all.

[Barry O]

Packing done..

 

A banana, pineapple and coconut loaf has been made and baked. Smells lovely but too sugary for me. Her indoors thinks it tastes alright.Praise indeed!

 

Next up chicken, onion and peas plus rice for tea...scrummy! But I have to build it first!

 

Anyone seen my modelling mojo?  It seems to have wandered off somewhere...

 

Baz

[Ian Abel]

Chewsday once again - and I keep forgetting you "lot" (the UK variety at least) are on a 4-day week with another to follow, talk about an easy life!

 

Nothing major to report yesterday.

Did receive a package of four "Wifi Smart Sockets" on the continuing move towards a smart house.

I can now report that rather than shuffle downstairs, turn on the kettle and wait around like a spare watsit at a wedding until it boils, to make a cup of tea, I simply say "Alexa, turn the kettle on..." and a couple of minutes later stroll down and make my tea. (Instant hot water faucets are quite UNCOMMON over here still so we resort to boiling water in kettles still)

Sadly, I haven't yet figured out how to have the system respond to " 'ey up, pop the kettle on will ya..."  seems "pop" isn't in the command vocabulary and gets her right in a tizzy...

 

+1 and cloudy expected to reach 9 today, snow fast disappearing though still plenty present as a reminder we're NOT in the Bahamas

 

Have a good day all.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. The sciatica seems to have abated somewhat, so much in fact that I was able to chance emptying the washing machine. I usually run the washing machine of an evening and empty it in the morning. The spin cycle compresses everything to the sides so tightly it has to be left for a while to 'loosen' so it can be removed from the machine. I will probably need a new washing machine sooner rather than later as the current one is at least 35 years old, but it still works perfectly.

[Tony_S]

I see lots of adverts for instant boiling water taps here but I have never seen one in a domestic environment. I think most people have kettles.

[Horsetan]

Changing to hotter plugs is not going to fix that. It stopped either because no fuel (or too much fuel) was being supplied or because the ignition system stopped producing sparks at the plugs at the right time. There are many potential reasons. If you don't fancy spending a lot of time testing things, take it to a good mechanic. The worst thing that can happen is for the problem to go away for no apparent reason then suddenly reappear on a motorway in the middle of the night.

I will have to wiggle some wires first, and see what happens. Possibly the current spark plugs could do with a clean. I have seen other online discussions about non-starting CXs, and electrics figure prominently. If no result, then I will have to ask Brodie's if they can recover the car and take it to their Willesden workshop - they specialise in old Citroens anyway.

 

.....The best answer I finally arrived at was to fit the largest amp hour battery I could get hold of that would physically fit the vehicle and change to the hottest plugs that could be used with that engine - and that was the end of my cold start problems but it took me two GSs to get to that solution!  And yes - I used NGK plugs.   But noting what AndyID has said this is a way of dealing with cold start flooding problems and not the answer to other problems that Andy outlined.  BTW in Citroen terms 'cold start' means starting an engine which has not been running recently and is therefore somewhere on the way to full operating temperature - left overnight, or all day in a station car park, is more than long enough for the engine to get cold (don't ask how I know that).

 

To clarify, the CX has only ever been driven at weekends - specifically on the Jewish Sabbath, because less traffic. It was only because I was so pleased with how it ran last Saturday that I wanted to try it on Sunday afternoon.....which is when the perfect idle followed by cut-out followed by non-start arose.

 

I have discovered that NGK plugs for it - specifically the BP6HS are only about £2.50 each, so it may well be worth spending a tenner on new plugs anyway.

Edited March 27, 2018 by Horsetan

[jamie92208]

I see lots of adverts for instant boiling water taps here but I have never seen one in a domestic environment. I think most people have kettles.

They are appearing. My nephew has one in his kitchen which he redid recently. I've no idea how economical they are though. I suspect they might be a new fad.

 

Jamie