Early Risers.

[Ian Abel]

...Dry start here and it should remain like that with some sunny spells and temperatures around 8^oC. I suppose that is positively balmy by Minnesota standards...

GDB - that's actually verging on the tropical by Minnesota winter standards!!  

Since GDB raised the topic, I'll provide the weather report first today;

-8 and fog this AM, and in the last hour (since getting the paper and first cuppa of the day) it's up a degree and now light snow falling. Expecting a heady -3 for the high.

We've been threatened with a serious warming trend this week and it could top a mighty +3 briefly by the weekend!

 

Yesterday we had the Christmas cookie baking fiasco event, went off extremely well, especially since I decided to provide myself (everyone else wanted tea for some obscure reason!) a couple of glasses of wine to "FORTIFY" me  Somehow we made over 200 cookies as shown below;

 

The tree was also brought in from the garage, where it was awaiting Trevor as "I need to be careful as I get older - PAH!!", silly thing is smaller than we usually get and it would've been a doddle for me to bring it in - SMBWO called the shot though...

As yet undecorated or "lit" as it was either that task or the cookies.

 

Onward and upward...

[BoD]

Sorry to hear your news John.  Thoughts are with you and Sandy.

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

The way to the hotel for the Christmas dinner Was enlivened by a house in the road. Err well half a house... Err well half a mobile home. It was on the wrong side of the road and they were trying to chain it to a landrover. I suspect they had failed towing equipment. It was right by a 3 way roundabout on the busiest exit..

 

The dinner went well, on leaving a waitress ran out trying to stop us, assuming I think we weren't paying, meanwhile our boss was entering the room she had come out of, through the door the other side to pay with the collected money.

 

Driving back there was a huge spill of diesel and I had to drive through it. This meant the following Mile and a half of twisty road with three small roundabouts was interesting. Every time turned the wheel I could feel it slip.

 

As I approached home the Heavens opened and the steering got interesting again.

 

I'm now in my pit, having had a large meal and last nights lack of sleep, it's time to survey the eyelids.

[bbishop]

John,

 

So sorry to hear of your news. Best wishes to Sandy and yourself.

 

Bill

[roundhouse]

John - Sorry to hear your news and lets hope the hopsital performs at their best for her.

 

ian A - with all that baking it must have felt tropical inside!

 

More furniture assembled at Mums which got me a few lunch before heading home then to the recycling centre ot get rid of really old tech, foam packaging etc. Then it was to Homebase for a leaf burner which is now set up ready for use hopefully this week. A bit more spraying of USA locos and now ready ot adjourn to our favourite Harveys pub via Halfords that just happens to be opposite. Getting $$s on hold as the exchange rate has dropped again today

 

Update

My other halfs train cancelled and the next one connecting at a ECR is now 8 late so definitely a delay repay for her despite its hardly worth claiming but we do the paper voucher as it costs them considerably more in time and effort to issue and it feels good when spending them on other operators services and ticket counters.

Edited December 10, 2018 by roundhouse

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Ian, those cookies look delicious. Certainly in the opinion of the dogs the way they're eyeing them up. Time to put the dinner on, be back later.

[AndyB]

John, I'm so sorry to hear your news. Wishing you and Sandy all the very best and that you're in our thoughts. Andy

[New Haven Neil]

I am so sorry to hear your news, John.  Speechless really.  My best wishes to you both, and to Mal.  Sheesh....

 

Brian, thanks for the photos and explanation - great machinery.  My step- F-I-L was an electrician and the rolling mill in Jarrow, awesome places.

 

I don't have any photos of those LPG compressors or motors, I didn't have an intrinsically safe camera as these are dangerous spaces. I did find these photos of the main engine of a ship I sailed on, talking of big machinery.  Sulzer (yep, same people) 9 cylinder RND90 engine, 90cm bore, 155cm stroke, 25,000 shaft horsepower. Piston ported (loop scavenged) turbocharged 2 stroke.  Nosy b8ggers.  This was a 70's ship, engines this size now make about 70,000 hp!

 

[Coombe Barton]

Once again - thank you everyone.

[Andrew P]

Sorry to read your news John, thoughts with you and Sandy.

[lightengine]

Once again - thank you everyone.

Sorry to hear your news John, my best wishes to you both.

[NGT6 1315]

E‘ning, folks. John, may I post my thoughts and best wishes for Sandy and you first of all. Certainly not the kind of news anyone needs, and especially not so close to Christmas. As always, if there’s anything you’d like to get off your chest, do let us know.

[PeterBB]

As the one who has been keeping us up to date with Debs I am sorry to hear your news on Sandy- thinking of you both.

[NGT6 1315]

Mal, just read your report as well. Again, here’s hoping things will improve in due course!

 

Today saw us at Timanfaya National Park, which I guess Tony at least will be familiar with! It certainly is impressive, to say the least, to be stood within miles upon miles of lava fields, which have such an otherworldly appearance to them.

 

Weather continues to be highly pleasant, especially when comparing forecasts for here and Germany. In fact, I am typing this while lazing on the terrace under a pitch-dark sky such as many of us from the more densely populated regions of Europe will no longer be familiar with. And with the exception of lights on the northern fringe of Fuerteventura, the ocean around us is similarly dark at this time of day. Hic sunt dracones, eh?

[Barry O]

Goodnight all.

Baz

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[newbryford]

Thoughts to John and Sandy.

 

Hockey was watched last night.

A hard fought win for the Hawks against bottom team Nottingham Lions.

The Lions certainly didn't make it easy for the first two periods, but despite a depleted team, period three saw 3 unanswered goals from the home side to seal a 8-3 win.

 

It'll probably be a couple of weeks before we get to see another game.

 

Busy day today - more coming up with some new product testing as well as verification of a couple of ongoing projects. 

Longer term project also now started - due date mid-March 2019. (A larger version of the display that was at the NEC)

I bought one of the required items from my new local Screwfix on my way home tonight - quite handy that it opens until 8pm each weekday.

 

Have a good week folks.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone

 

By the time I’d finished baking the cake and making the soup, it was time for dinner. After which is wasn’t really worth going down to the workshop, so I stayed in and read some books, purely for research, honestly.

 

Mal. I hope you are soon on the mend.

 

Goodnight all.

[The Stationmaster]

The Good Doctor is home, alas her hold-checked bag isn't but a somewhat terse email from LGW informed her while on the train home that the bag was being handed over to a courier which would imply that it actually reached LGW and then 'went astray' and is no longer astray.  Seems she quite enjoyed Riga and we''l no doubt hear more tomorrow.  

 

I've also found a way of getting an appointment with the Doctor which seem s to get you in much quicker - the surgery call and say 'the Doctor wants to see you', so only a one week wait instead of 5 weeks.  I presume it's a result of last week's tests but this time  'someone' has acted on the same note the Doctor added after the last tests (that he wished to see me) so obviously their admin is improving, as Mrs Stationmaster has an appointment with him tomorrow I'll ask her to get confirmation that it's about what I think it's about.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[skipepsi]

Morning all, I am so sorry to hear your news John best wishes for Sandy and yourself.

 

Visit for blood letting today and visit to see the GP tomorrow a follow up to previous blood tests. My theory that if I had a 35% chance of having a heart attack I had a 65% chance of not having a heart attack was wrong and I had one on the 31st of July. I have to say the NHS did a good job but the scars are still visible and though I still have some way to go to return to full fitness I am hoping for the best.

Edited December 11, 2018 by skipepsi

[chrisf]

At the dawning of a new day, greetings

 

I was out for most of yesterday but bad news comes wherever you are and does not improve with keeping.  There is little I can say to John and Sandy that has not already been said but I can pile good wishes on top of those already proffered and this I do.  Nobody deserves cancer.  I say this not only as one who is receiving treatment but also as one who has lost a cousin and a father to it already.  Mal, I hope the ailment that you have does not get any worse for it sounds bad enough already.

 

It may not be entirely appropriate to lighten the mood but I came across something so stupid in Tesco yesterday that I just had to share it.  Ahead of me in the one checkout queue open at 8 am was a woman who spent £77 on assorted fodder.  She paid and took it away, leaving two bunches of flowers and a pair of trousers on the belt.  For reasons best known to herself the checkout assistant thought that they were mine!  It took three supervisors to sort out the confusion.  Maybe, just maybe, the other customer will twig that she left £29 of swag behind and come back for it.  I’m sure she will receive a warm welcome from one checkout assistant and three supervisors.

 

Today I will be with Poorly Pal trying to do some m*d*ll*ng.  This evening he and I will remember our friend Roger Elkin, who would have been the speaker at the RCTS had he not passed away a few months ago.  Here’s to absent friends and to all who are ailing or missing.

 

Chris   

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It is a rather chilly 4°C this morning.  Still, I guess that is to be expected for the time of year.  It has also been raining overnight - although it is dry at the moment.

 

Time for a coffee!

 

Have a good day everyone...

[Tangoman69]

Morning all,

A day away from the norm today, I am attending a mental health first aid course in Newcastle. I am a big advocate of looking after the well-being of my nationwide deployed team, and anything I can learn that means I can support them to do their job well whilst maintaining a work/life balance is all good news.

Have a great day

Karl