Early Risers.

[Gwiwer]

Evening all

 

What do you call an octopus on my plate? Nuneaton.

 

Congrats to Mal’s boy.

 

C0ckwomble of the month for July is awarded to the Yodel driver who had not one but six goes at propelling me into the next life. One of my recent coastal walks required a mile or so’s stroll down a lane from the bus stop in Swyre to reach the coast at West Bexington. It’s one of those wide single-track roads where a car will easily pass a pedestrian but not quite pass another car. Screaming down the lane behind me comes Mad Transit Man achieving something like 40mph but not in top gear. Maybe he remembered the bit of driving theory that you change down to tackle hills. He missed me by inches.

 

Five minutes later he comes roaring back up seemingly having delivered his package and clearly displaying the Yodel logo front and side of his tortured Transit. I hopped into the long grass but again he missed me by a whisker and was clipping the grass with his wheels despite having several feet of road spare. Then minutes later back down he comes for another go, whistling past me and putting up enough dust to obscure his number plate.

 

I saw him turn into a driveway some distance ahead. Moments later out he came back towards me. Same story - spare tarmac on the right but mowing the verge on the left. And then this whole fiasco was repeated once more as he whisked past me for the fifth and sixth times.

 

I wondered if he ever found where ever it was he was trying to find. And I wondered, too, if he had even seen me at any time. Probably not as when driving towards me I could see his head down, eyes well off the road, looking at something on the console. A phone, maybe??

 

I never did get his number. I was too busy attempting self-preservation.

 

Take a bow, sir, as you are well in line for c0ckwomble of the year.

Edited August 7, 2018 by Gwiwer

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone

 

Despite some dark clouds and very little sunshine, we never actually got any rain today. This is quite surprising as I cleaned the brass door furniture on the front door on Sunday and that usually guarantees rain within a few days.

 

Well no great achievements were made in the garden today, but I have done quite a bit of maintenance on some of my older garden tools. I also moved the edging stones for the new path, to make allowances for the shrub I mentioned yesterday.

 

The afternoon was mainly spent applying wood filler to an area of the workshop were the wood is starting to go a bit soft. I applied wood hardener a few weeks ago which seems to have done the trick, so once I’ve applied all the filler required, I can rub it down and then repaint the area in question.

 

My first task after breakfast tomorrow, is to go to the big orange DIY shed and purchase a few bits while I can still use my 10% discount card. As of next month, it’s use will change and I’ll only be able to use it garden supplies. So, in future, if they are cheaper the local businesses will get business in future.

 

Goodnight all

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[AndyID]

I have never disinfected the system, and I really don't know how to do that. AAAARRRRRRGGGGG!

 

I do now. You dump bleach down the well. They recommend unscented.

[BR60103]

We managed to pack up much of the motorhome today. The non-life-supporting connections and the shade have been packed away.

We took Dayle's 91yo cousin out yesterday and today on taxi runs -- part of it was getting her vote in. This country seems to have non-stop elections; I think it may be their biggest business.

 

It looks to be cool enough to leave the A/C off tonight.

[pH]

Just realised I've had a wrongly-captioned photo on Flickr for over 6 years. Corrected now!

[Barry O]

Just a passing ey Up! As the wifi here is poor.

Hope everyone is well..back Saturday.

Baz

[NGT6 1315]

Wakey, wakey!

 

Not that this were easy for me to say, given that it was just too warm for sleeping comfortably… Or, to quote one of those funny images I was sent these days:

 

"Thunderstorm discharging itself. Temperature drops by fifteen degrees. Top floor residents embrace in tears, uncorking champagne." Oh, please, yes!

 

Anyway, hope you made it through this heatwave all right so far. Will try posting again later…

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It is cooler this morning. We had some rain last night, the thunderstorms didn’t pass over us, the nearest one must have been over Gravesend.

Bins and bags have been put out. My other appointment today is at the blood test clinic. Just routine and not a fasting test.

Tony

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

A little bit cooler last night so I got a few hours sleep. We had a few brief showers and one longer spell of rain in the evening for about an hour. Nowhere near enough though.

As I suspected The Boss got her parcel yesterday. Mine is still somewhere in the clutches of Royal Mail.

Cause for more merriment on the parking wars front. Two car family's mother parked her car outside to save a space for daughter. This is really ridiculous as they have space off road to park 3 cars and also they've got a garage at the rear of their house which is never used. They just object to someone parking in the road in front of their house. I have in the past told them there's nothing they can do about it but it doesn't seem to have registered. Meanwhile 4 car family's sons didn't come home last night so there wasn't a problem! resumption of hostilities.

Have a good one,

Bob. (reporting from the trenches on the Sutton front)

Edited August 8, 2018 by grandadbob

[jamie92208]

Morning all from a cloudy and cooler Charente, 17 overnight due to get to the mid to high 20's today. We had a bit of thunder and a small amount of rain yesterday morning. I managed to get the mains electrics in the shed finished and Beth seems to be pleased with the result. However I still need to tidy up and cut some slots in the decency board at the back of her desk (That is not an EA). This will allow her to move the anglepoise clamp to different places when doing art work. For the avoidance of doubt the desk will be against a wall. During the day a friend brought her grandchildren up to lay trains. a pair of 3 year old twins and then later the 7 year old who got the hang of controlling trains straight away. In the afternoon we had a gentle stroll round the village via the bottle bank and the post box. It had been decreed by the domestic authorities that I had done enough work for the day.

 

 

This morning the ironing awaits then it's over to the shed to tidy up and cut slots. I may even get some work done on the layout later.

 

I hope that Chrisf is enjoying Sidmouth.

 

 

Regards to all.

 

 

Jamie

[Smiffy2]

Much cooler here, which is nice. Huge storm yesterday, small branches from the trees etc. Kids' tent gone, I'll have to go and see the farmer. I tried to retrieve it yesterday, but failed. I didn't know you could electrify barbed wire...

 

Kids (and grandparents) a bit knackered now, getting ready to go home tomorrow by playing on their ipads. It's been good, but the heatwave has been dreadful.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Here.

 The previous mentioned radar picture of rain heading our way, later showed it wandered off into the German Ocean.

 

A B*****Y awful nights sleep just too hot, even SWMBO came downstairs to a relatively cooler 27C. The Rain eventually arrived just after 01:00 and lasted for 30 seconds.. Still 25C downstairs this morning, as as you go upstairs you are met by a wall of heat...

 

Only after I had driven  5 miles on the way in, did I come to any road showing a display of dampness. Luckily this increased on the way in So work seems to have had a wet night.

I've now powered up some equipment that had been sending the lab way over temperature and once it has stabilised a load of measurements that have been put off, will have to be done.

 

I powered up the sound system in the lab, previously mentioned, to find them playing Gustav Holst (Jupiter), the piece adapted to also be known as "I vow to thee my Country"... wonderful...

 

SWMBO has informed me that her Weavers group will be visiting next Tuesday, as they haven't been able to book a hall. This means all my Muddling stuff currently occupying the mobile home floor will have to be sorted and found a home. This will probably tie in with loading the next section of portable landscape into the landrover. Also an area of our car park, which we have been clearing of jungle, will come into use, so the heavy stuff left there will need my attention.

 

Having finally come to a conclusion over Keel design and position for my sailing boat, I started looking up the mounting structure for the keel on the hull. This led to reviewing various articles and forum discussions on the boats that had lost their keels over the last 30 years, the most famous (infamous?) being the Cheeky Rafiki.  I've come to the conclusions there are a lot of idiots out there, in some cases designers, in others builders (workmen) and others the building yard companies / owners.

 

OK, they used larger bolts for larger keels / boats but the lack of spreading plate in many seems incredible.. Even My initial thought's of design before I started reading up on the subject, are stronger in proportion, than they put on ocean going boats...

Note that keel (not Cheeky Rafiki), IIRC weighed 6000Lbs, all the pressure in normal sailing is side to side, all they had to spread the weight was effectively large washers. Nothing to spread the weight ACROSS the hull. So after a grounding, and then sailing away for some time, it just ripped the hull skin off...

 It seems some designers don't think of normal sailing and there are very few sailors who have not taken the ground some time.

 

 I know I will take to the Norfolk Broads mud sometime and possibly the odd tree stump in the water. There will be a spreader plate longitudinally outside the hull on a my boat, and across the hull, inside..

 

 

 Well everything is stable,

 

Time to... go on to the next section of measurements..

 

 

[Purley Oaks]

Cause for more merriment on the parking wars front. Two car family's mother parked her car outside to save a space for daughter. This is really ridiculous as they have space off road to park 3 cars and also they've got a garage at the rear of their house which is never used. They just object to someone parking in the road in front of their house. I have in the past told them there's nothing they can do about it but it doesn't seem to have registered.

I have a little sympathy for your neighbour because we've had instances of long-term parking in our street (no garages or drives here btw). Not so long ago a car seller was regularly using the street to park his vehicles; one was dumped here for just under 6 months - polis will remove a vehicle if it's been left for over 6 months.

 

But assuming that's not happening, sympathy for a family with, what? four cars plus driveway and unused garage, has evaporated.

 

We like to park outside our house but with some 2-car families and one 3-car family in the street it can be difficult sometimes.

 

I don't like parking outside a neighbour's house when we're on holiday for a week or two cos it'll probaby hiss them off.

 

Ah, chatting about parking, what a great way to start the day!

 

Mal

Edited August 8, 2018 by Purley Oaks

[81C]

Good morning all,

A little bit cooler last night so I got a few hours sleep. We had a few brief showers and one longer spell of rain in the evening for about an hour. Nowhere near enough though.

As I suspected The Boss got her parcel yesterday. Mine is still somewhere in the clutches of Royal Mail.

Cause for more merriment on the parking wars front. Two car family's mother parked her car outside to save a space for daughter. This is really ridiculous as they have space off road to park 3 cars and also they've got a garage at the rear of their house which is never used. They just object to someone parking in the road in front of their house. I have in the past told them there's nothing they can do about it but it doesn't seem to have registered. Meanwhile 4 car family's sons didn't come home last night so there wasn't a problem! resumption of hostilities.

Have a good one,

Bob. (reporting from the trenches on the Sutton front)

 

Good Morning every one 

We watch every day the family of pillocks across the road play music cars they have a parking area in front of their garage just up the road

if they use the car that is parked outside their house they bring the other one down the road ready to replace it , what sad b'stards they are

as no one else would park there any way, yesterday both of there cars were gone and some else had parked in front of there house he stood there 

with a face like a slapped @rse scowling at the house where the naughty parker had gone for a good 5 minutes.   

 

Back to last night has any one put together peco 009 couplings the mancave air turned blue with my attempts one out of four done in 30 minutes

there must be better things in life to do rather than modelling small scale rolling stock. 

 

Better get on things to do.              

                                                                                                                                                                                     SWMBO approaching  Imoff Rapide

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A lot cooler this morning, just caught the edge of the thunderstorm so Tony was correct about Gravesend copping it, ironic as yesterday Gravesend was the hottest place in the country at 34:5 C. If the weather map is anything to go by its heading east so Dutch Master should be getting some much longed for rain, not so sure about further east though. I was intending to take the lad to the family fun day at the Essex Fire Museum but he decided that he didn't want to go, but not to worry as there's three more this month if he changes his mind. Thats it for now, be back later.

[newbryford]

An odd thing happened on my commute this morning.

 

The front windscreen became difficult to see through because there was some strange liquid on it. The road was also shiny.

Then, as if by magic, two black metal arms fitted with strips of rubber began to oscillate steadily across the windscreen, clearing my view.

 

Then the road wasn't shiny anymore and the metal strips stopped moving, parking themselves along the bottom edge of the windscreen.

 

I think I may have witnessed rain.

 

Have a good hump day folks. (My weekend starts tomorrow)

 

Cheers,

Mick

[TheQ]

An odd thing happened on my commute this morning.

 

The front windscreen became difficult to see through because there was some strange liquid on it. The road was also shiny.

Then, as if by magic, two black metal arms fitted with strips of rubber began to oscillate steadily across the windscreen, clearing my view.

 

Then the road wasn't shiny anymore and the metal strips stopped moving, parking themselves along the bottom edge of the windscreen.

 

I think I may have witnessed rain.

 

Have a good hump day folks. (My weekend starts tomorrow)

 

Cheers,

Mick

pictures or it didn't Happen

[Horsetan]

I have a little sympathy for your neighbour because we've had instances of long-term parking in our street (no garages or drives here btw). Not so long ago a car seller was regularly using the street to park his vehicles; one was dumped here for just under 6 months - polis will remove a vehicle if it's been left for over 6 months.

 

But assuming that's not happening, sympathy for a family with, what? four cars plus driveway and unused garage, has evaporated.

 

We like to park outside our house but with some 2-car families and one 3-car family in the street it can be difficult sometimes.....

 

In my street, I have a family opposite which regards the short strip of kerb between them and their next-door neighbour as their God-given territory (they are, like almost everyone in this street, Orthodox members of a certain religion), so they always put their Honda Jazz there, even though they have a perfectly good driveway that can fit two cars. Their next-door neighbour is rather less selfish and puts his family's two cars on his own driveway.

 

Doesn't always work, because I sometimes bag that spot before they get home in time for the start of Shabbat, thus forcing them to park on the driveway that they actually own.

[roundhouse]

Morning all

 

We often get cars parked in our road for a week or two then they disappear never to be seen again. Often they are people on holiday who park there even though we or 5 - 6 miles away and a mile from our station. Luckily they haven't blocked us in, yet.

 

We witnessed rain yesterday morning on a tour of a couple of BNSF yards. Messed up trying to take photos out the coach windows but at least it was much cooler outside for a while. After that we went back to the West Bottoms to Docs Caboose, picked up a few modelling details, decoders then more rail fanning which included seeing an 11 loco lash up with BNSF, CPR and KCS locos.

 

 

A couple of tours today including one to a loco rebuilding plant where we have been told we cant take photos.

Edited August 8, 2018 by roundhouse

[petethemole]

Mornin' awl. I have a pair of plumbers here on their second day of rectifying a problem that could have been nasty. They were due yesterday to finish off the bathroom refit that was done a couple of months ago. At the time the plastic side panel for the new bath cracked during installation so wasn't installed. For some reason the job fell off their schedule so I phoned to remind them. They turned up yesterday to do it and fit some sealing strips and noticed that the bath had moved very slightly. On examination it turned out that a small lug welded under the bath that secures it to the legs had sheared off. As a result they have had to rip it out, along with the washbasin, which was in the way, supply a replacement bath and refit everything. It took all day yesterday and l expect will take much of today, then some tiling needs redoing. I don't think they'll make much on this job. Actually the delay in fitting the panel was fortuitous as otherwise the fault would have gone unnoticed, cracks would have developed around the bath allowing water to get into bad places.

 

In other news, Mrs mole has gone to Sidmouth for a couple of days; she doesn't go to concerts but spends the time in music sessions.

 

I have a pile of neglected paperwork to go through and file or recycle prior to moving my 'office space' and PC desk; as the plumbers' presence  is making another job difficult (materials and tools in the way), I might as well get on with it.

 

Re parking, I saw in the news recently that police in South Wales had to warn residents that they had no entitlement to specific parking spaces on the street as arguments were getting out of hand. Parking here can be a problem at night when everybody' come home but the overspill ends up on the grassy area.

 

Have a good Hump Day,

 

Pete

[Tony_S]

Pete, will Mrs Mole have a CD for ChrisF to purchase?

[Tony_S]

I am just off to the blood clinic. I usually park round the corner. The parking there can be time consuming. The favourite spot seem to be the absolutely no parking no stopping places that completely block entering and exits. Definitely not a place where the yoof of today can be blamed.

Tony

[jamie92208]

IIRC from law lectures over 45 years ago it was Lord Gifford in one of the higher appeal courts n the 50's who stated that you had no absolute right to park outside your own property as the highway usually belongs to the crown.

 

Jamie