Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

5 minutes ago, pH said:

There are fairly frequent references in this topic to the "G word". Can I introduce the "J word", as in "jungle"?

I would have thought the temperate rain forest would require the "F word" (for Forest, naturally)

 

The invasive Himalayan Blackberry is a scourge and it certainly grows prodigiously in the Northwest. The birds love them and we don't have many bears in the Willamette Valley - they were chased off many years ago. They are a very effective colonizer. The thorny little proto-canes magically appear out of nowhere in my garden and I pluck them (almost) as soon as I spot them.

 

The city where I recently lived had let a large open field (of many acres) succumb to blackberries.  The infestation was higher than a man and dense. I shudder to think what kind of chemical warfare they perpetrated to remove them. Something like the deadly RoundUp no doubt.

 

I had raspberry canes perennially appear in my garden in the Chicago area. Someone had planted them deliberately. Even after a valiant attempt to remove them (they weren't very productive for all the thorns and area they occupied and we wanted the space for strawberries), they came back every year.

[pH]

2 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I would have thought the temperate rain forest would require the "F word" ...

 

Oh, yes, it certainly does!

[BR60103]

16 hours ago, TheQ said:

The Kilt technically is Not Scottish formal dress, It is the dress of the Gaelic  highlander, who were mortal enemies of the Scots, trews as in tartan trousers were adopted  by Scots when tartan became fashionable in Victorias reign.

The kilt today is very different to the phillabeg or Phillamore , which was a loose unpleated cloth worn around the waist held by a belt, or around the waist and over the shoulder. 250years of development has created the very formal kilt of today..

But the Sassenachs don't know so we can get away with anything.

 

[AndyID]

2 hours ago, pH said:

 

Oh, yes, it certainly does!

 

Quite so. Also known as Rubus fruticosus.

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all, and welcome back to 81C.  I share your distaste for prolonged periods in tin tubes since one such is prime suspect for the source of the virus infection that knocked me for six after my holiday Down Under.

 

Yesterday I was trying to take my mind off certain things, with some success.  In the afternoon I wielded the shears on creepers and ivy overhanging my rear access [ooh matron!] from the property of my neighbour Mrs Electric-Chair.  My green bin is now almost full so there is no point in ripping out the last of my triffids until it is emptied next week.  We would each have different thoughts as to whose neck might be severed if the shears were aimed badly – or, as the case may be, well.  One job which needs a cunning plan to make it succeed is to replace the laces in my boots with the rainbow ones that I bought at Exeter Pride.  “Will they be long enough for these?” I asked the guy on the stall.  “Sure”, he replied, “they’re Doc Martens”.  I have no doubt that they are indeed Doc Martens but they are not long enough.   Leave that one with me.

 

At Cambridge beer festival on Wednesday I found a stall selling paella for £6 a portion, and very nice it was too.  Later in the city centre I bought some CDs which have bypassed the hessian bag and been put straight into the car for the next trip.  One is a reissue of “Airs and Graces” by June Tabor with bonus tracks, to mark the 80th birthday of Topic Records.  The haul is completed by a collection of Chet Atkins guitar tracks and a compilation of English folk field recordings assembled by Stick In The Wheel.  There should be plenty of scope for winding down the windows, cranking up the volume and annoying all and sundry.  After that bout of shopping we had afternoon tea at Patisserie Valerie.  Swipe me, how decadent. 

 

Ninebarrow were good last night, by the way.  One more CD, naturally.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It's quite a nice morning today.  Fairly mild, and with temperatures due to climb into the mid 20s later on.

 

Time for a coffee!

 

Have a good day everyone...

[TheQ]

16 hours ago, Northroader said:

Not good if you forget and put it on back to front.

Like Sir Richard Branson when he stepped off a new virgin trains service in Edinburgh in full view of the press...

Edited May 24, 2019 by TheQ

[TheQ]

3 hours ago, BR60103 said:

But the Sassenachs don't know so we can get away with anything.

 

Well  to A true Gael, a sassanach is any of the Scots as well as those from England..

[Barry O]

My grandmother (fathers morher) was a Cummins. Her definition of a Sassenach was any form of lowland Scot. Next down the country were Border Reivers..she never referred to the English as Sassenachs.. probably because she was living in County Durham.

Baz

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Sunny again this morning.  The coughing won't go away despite the use of cough jollop. Serious review of the necessity of trying stronger cough jollop going on.

 

Shopping to be done and a box of locos to fix and weather needs my attention today..

 

Dom , did you handcraft the new bed? Ideal for a little princess.

 

Positive thoughts to all who ail..talking of which anyone heard from Rick?

 

Baz

 

[jamie92208]

Bonjour to all from a slightly cloudy corner of the Charente.   We are both up and about.  Beth is wandering round the garden looking at what things have appeared during our absence.  I'm finishing a cup of coffee after eating a god bowl of my home made muesli.   It is great to be back from out travels.

 

There has been quite a bit of discussion of cruise ships and flying.   For us the former were born out of necessity when Beth temporarily lost the use of her legs for four months in the run up to our silver wedding.   A cruise of a ship built to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards, provided the answer and a controlled environment where she could use her electric buggy to get round the ship and visit an enjoy amazing places that she could not otherwise have done. Our first was to Alaska.   We've done three more in the last 15 years and the controlled environment is still a vital part of the package for us.  I do not consider them good looking ships but, certainly of Holland America (Other lines are available) the seamanship and ship handling appears to be superb.

 

Beth has now re appeared from her inspection of the estate.  Apparently the fruit trees are full of fruit and one of the fig trees has produced new leaves. One of the partridges is perched on the end of the shed but there is no evidence of the owl. Also the irises are in full flower, the first time we have been here to see them flower. 

 

We also have invasive blackberries.  They colonised several corners of the garden and together with what we know as bind weed and ivy, produce almost impenetrable thickets around various bushes and small trees.   The good news is that the 4 bushes that we cleared, and that I pruned severely, are looking great and producing lots of new growth without the invasive suckers to stifle them.

 

Lots to do today and hair to be cut this afternoon so I will wish you all well.

 

Jamie

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Another bright start here and it should be a mainly fine day although there is the chance of one or two showers later this afternoon.

Final day of window replacement today with the kitchen to do. The Boss is extremely happy with the new ones and they have brightened the place up, being white uPVc frames instead of the old brown wooden "monogomy " type. Just the "small" matter of touching up some paintwork and also redecorating in a couple of rooms which are overdue anyway. Oh joy. However I've informed The Boss that the major tasks will be delayed due to Mr. Left Knee being extremely irksome. Even walking short distances is quite painful and I fear that this will put my visit to Fawley on Sunday in jeopardy as I suspect that there is a lot of walking involved there.

I have to visit Wickes tomorrow as they are doing a BOGOF offer on emulsion paint which would be very rude to refuse.

Time for toast and some more tea,

Have a good one,

H. Obbling.

Edited May 24, 2019 by grandadbob

[Kingzance]

Muggerteas made and delivered to SWMBO. I have already been asked "what are your plans for today?" and, as usual, I cautiously proffered the idea that I could fix more solar-powered lights around the micro-estate. Unusually, this seems to have been accepted so I will present myself with hammer drill and plastic wall plugs once wheat products soaked in milk have been consigned to the digestive tract. I shall strongly oppose any idea that we could plant some raspberry canes as our present nice G-word could easily regress to the F-word. We have been in this place for 15 months now and are still to be attended by the builder's repairs team to address a few snagging issues so wielding of paint-bearing devices is still not part of my task list.

Baz and ChrisF, please take time to at least discuss your ongoing coughs with a qualified pharmacist, better safe than sorry! GDBob, sounds like rest and physio may be required to ensure you can make future railway modelling gatherings AND to take full benefit of your recent erection. The Q, I didn't see that one (thankfully) but assume it was only a little pr!ck (as Hattie Jacques would have said). Condolences to all sufferers, particularly those who are affected by pollen dust as we head for another Bank Holiday - of course pollen counts will lower on Sunday and Monday as rain arrives - almost certain as it is a BH weekend.

Have a nice day y'all.

 

[TheQ]

This is the second time I've type this, the screen suddenly went blank, then came back on, and I was dumped at the top of page 7628  with the editor empty but if I tried typing anything nothing happend. I had to hit the cross in the corner and start again..

 

Mooring awl , Inner Temple Hare,

A  Terrible nights sleep, 2.5 hours A loooong gap then 1.5 Hours sleep ish..

 

Why the long gap? My brain was on overdrive, on today's and the weekends work.

 

I'm finishing 15 minutes early in order to get to Auto glass in time, when thats finished it's a dash home, grab something to eat, out to the MRC to prepare the 2 units there for transport.

 

Saturday, hopefully the club has arranged to get the keys to the hall after the previous occupants a farmers market open till 12:30 so hopefully we'll get in Mid afternoon.

 

Sunday the open day... Monday rest I hope, but I bet SWMBO has other ideas..

 

A lot of the night was working out a long list of what I need to take as effectively I will be demonstrating modelling for 5 hours.. oddities I've thought of..

A gallon of water and a mixing mini bowl to wash brushes etc in,

 yogurt pots to mix up gue in,

drill and screwdriver to attach latches of new boards to old, this should be done before opening time I hope,

box of paints (200ml bottles)

A pasty or two.. as much as how wonderful the ladie's cakes are , I'm diabetic and there is too much sugar in them..

The new board and another Sheet of Extruded Foam. Some normal polystyrene foam.

Some pre cut lengths of ply (3 in wide) another board for the making of.

non solvent glue for above.

polyfilla ,PVA, J cloths.

vinyl gloves,

Apron, leather, for the protection of kilt.

High stool, it will be long day..

Mini hoover reserved for the removal of execess static grass, static grass gun and grass in various shades.

Heather ... OK purple dyed litchen..

 

While typing thisI've been starting work on another major system..

 

Time too... take the next measurement..

 

PS there is a large pile of ex brambles awaiting the application of heat once the wind is in the right direction..

Edited May 24, 2019 by TheQ

[roundhouse]

Morning form a Sunny Surrey.

 

roof sheeting delivery been and these have now been loaded out through house into the garden ready for fixing on Tuesday. I have a couple of spare sheets and ridge panels whilst they were only 11.00 each for any future repairs. Light enough to lift two at a time so that was 8 trips through the house plus another couple for the ancillary items. Checked the fixings and there is plenty in the bag plus they will work with the battens already fixed onto the roof as expected. I still need to decide on the chipboard internal lining and the external cladding over the weekend.

 

However its beer time today before heading to Brum for the weekend.

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

It’s another sunny start here in the northwest, blue skies with just a few clouds. My first task this morning is to hang my wetsuit outside on the washing line to dry. Then it’s off to Asda to pick up a few bits that Sainsbury’s no longer stack, then on to the Trafford Centre for the rest of the shopping. Back home via the butchers where I’ll pick up the weekly meat rations and hopefully a pastie for dinner. 

 

I’ve no plans for the afternoon, but that may well change if Sheila comes up with an idea!

 

Enjoy the day, back later. 

Edited May 24, 2019 by BSW01

[New Haven Neil]

Morning.

 

Breezy and bright here, less so indoors.

 

Chet Atkins - a last Chris mentions someone I have heard of! Although to be fair I had heard of Russ Conway, the late parental units had an LP of his distinctive style.  Kind of art deco piano I always thought.  Pixilated Penquin IIRC.

 

Now off to the OF's bike club to talk even more crepe than we do here, then to a local hotel to see a gathering of 'Supercars', but not the one of my youth on TV I suspect, then classic bike racing way down south at Castletown this evening with Mrs NHN.  TT starteth.

[NGT6 1315]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

Dom , did you handcraft the new bed?

 

Yep, I did, though with a bit of aid in having had the wood cut to length by the DIY store. I did buy a sander and mitre saw for finishing work, though. Should be useful when I end up building a layout, too!

 

Morning all. Quite warm and a bit cloudy, and I’ll see to taking things a bit slower today! I think dinner will be either beef Stroganoff or Chinese stir-fried beef with onions, depending on what they’ve got at the butcher‘s.

 

 

[laurenceb]

I had an ongoiing battle with b***dy brambles because of their habbit of pulling fences down, complicated by one of the management who compained obout me choping down the d**n things on the grounds that they yealded good fruit.

Mornin awl

[Joseph_Pestell]

11 minutes ago, laurenceb said:

I had an ongoiing battle with b***dy brambles because of their habbit of pulling fences down, complicated by one of the management who compained obout me choping down the d**n things on the grounds that they yealded good fruit.

Mornin awl

 

They will produce much better fruit if pruned back.

[laurenceb]

I made that point - many times. My interest was keeping a heard of cows in the right place so that he could find them in the mornings

[Dave Hunt]

A sunny day here in North Hipposhire started off earlier with a nice SWMBO-made muggocoffee. Shortly taking Dad into Shrewsbury for a clinic appointment, the main problem being what shall I put on the car stereo that won't result in a grumble of "just a lot of noise" (which, I have to admit, is often my thought when hip hop or rap stuff is audible)? I think I'll try Dire Straits today - how could anyone not appreciate Mark Knopfler's guitar genius? Best have a soothing classical piece standing by though, just in case.

 

Salmon for dinner tonight done in a ginger, orange, garlic and soy sauce marinade (Hairy Bikers recipe) that always goes down well.

 

Not a very exciting day really but at least I'm not a politician.....

 

Dave

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I'm in two minds about brambles and ivy. Despite their invasive tendencies they are both very good at soaking up pollution, especially ivy. I've mentioned the brambles already and will be doing battle with them this weekend and a few other weekends over the coming year. The Ivy I prefer to leave alone as it is in two places well away from the house and where it can cause little damage. One patch is midway down the garden hiding an ugly concrete fence post, its actually rooted in next doors garden and that side of the garden is where the 'mini forest' of shrubs grow. The other ivy patch is by the side entrance and attaches itself to the 2 metre high brick wall that surrounds my property on that side. Apart from soaking up pollution like a sponge it also hides the access to the property from view. The brick wall it clings to is only about four feet long with a buttress at each end and should be able to withstand the ivy.

Edited May 24, 2019 by PhilJ W

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Having introduced the J word O I need perhaps hardly add that it too includes blackberries in profusion - in fact such profusion that the bl**dy things sprout up everywhere.  Incidentally  Roundup will not have much effect on them, they need a dose of SBK which is formulated to deal with them and similar shrubby type things.  Added to blackberries I also have invasive ivy all over the place on two boundaries - all of it originally planted by idiot neighbours who though it 'looked nice' plus dear (??), some of it is now over 20 feet high up trees.  And of course dear (??) old bindweed which is also resistant to every form of chemical warfare except one very specific seasonal attack when it is in flower.  Add in next door's equally invasive laurel (some of which i was tackling the other day) and the estate takes a lot of labour when I'm inclined to offer any.  But I do havea concrete mixer  

 

So maybe some more G/J word today but a rain shower is forecast so if it happens and everyone gets their washing in I might go in for a spot of incendiarism on one of the bonfire heaps.

 

Now a note for GDB - I'm not sure where we will be parked on Sunday but it might be quite close to the centre of action (I hope).  Once you're at the centre of the action it is all pretty close together - no more than a couple of hundred yards at the very most from one end to the other.  There are stairs to ascend in the museum (which Drew said will be open) but that's about it.  What I can't find out is where we are mean to park as there are two routes in and I'm asking Drew which we use - if it's the one marked 'Fawley Hill' on the map below then there is a steep unmade slope to walk down to get to the railway area, not very long but not exactly flat.  The railway and museum area is in the top right corner of this pic below.   As that is the easiest route to access from the main road I presume it's the one we're expected to use?

 

 

Enjoy your day folks.

 

 

[Tony_S]

Hello all.

I didn’t sleep well last night, dreams causing me to wake up but I can’t recall what they were. 

So while I caught up on missed sleep Aditi went out to apply wood stain/preservative to the summer house (big shed) 

I am tea person for this task. 

If we want blackberries we can go to Benfleet Downs. They grow profusely there. When we used to go with Robbie, he would eat the fruit close to the ground while we had some at a more human height. We were not depriving local wildlife as the brambles were not accessible even for a spaniel. Robbie would run along the paths through cleared by badgers and foxes. He used to emerge some distance away. We also collected blackberries for the pet rats but they managed to make a nest meal of a couple of them. We have never been able to make any blackberry or raspberry grow in our present garden or the one in the previous house a few roads away. 

Tony