Early Risers.

[laurenceb]

Belated birthday greetings to Beth

Thoughts with Sandy & John and with Andyram

Not been posting, black dog prowling

Night awl

[Coombe Barton]

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/09/13/sandys-treatment-day-269/

[AndrewC]

As a bit (lot) of a Gerry Anderson fan, Happy Breakaway Day. 20 years ago today the moon was blasted out of Earth’s orbit. 

[Barry O]

Good evening.

Thumb is theobbing but has yet to fall off.

Hope the weekend goes well especially for John and Sandy.

Positive thoughts to all who ail or are missing. 

 Goodnight all! 

Baz

[Gwiwer]

Evening all.  Is anyone still awake?  What am I doing awake at this hour having been up since oh-my-goodness-o'clock.  Which is now well before the sun is up and is almost before significant daylight.  Time moves on.

 

A warm day today with a good deal of that yellow shiny thing above us.  After coaching a new starter at the House of Fun I headed south and "knocked off" a few more miles of previously untravelled London bus routes.  This included passing through the centre of Sutton three times though no other ERs were spotted out and about.  The map is now solidly inked in across the SW quarter of London with the closest untravelled routes now being a few bits in the Croydon area or, generally in the other direction, Hayes End and as far away as Harefield West.  

 

SWMBO was again not in bright form and complains of pains "beyond grumbling but not thermo-nuclear".  She has a date booked for surgery in November but has to clear numerous hurdles before they will proceed with the procedure.  Has she lost enough weight?  Has she satisfactorily completed the initial month on CPAP?  Is her blood pressure adequately managed?  All of these have to be assessed and answered and then we have the question of whether her anxiety will still get the better of her on the day.  

 

Last night we entertained one of her professional associates to dinner.  A lovely young Australian woman who is a professional poet and is working over here for a few days.  A relaxing and most enjoyable evening was had by all.  Tonight before SWMBO arrived home I joined our Turkish neighbours on the lawn for drinks.  They generously offered me nibbles and cigarettes as well of which only the former were accepted.  It's surprising how much communication one can understand when one doesn't speak a word of the language.  With Mr & Mrs Turk and their two friends plus numerous children all conversing in their own language I was the only one not in on some of the jokes though they all speak fluent - if heavily accented - English.  Mr. Turk was kind enough to explain some and translate bits and pieces for me.  

 

The weekend should be a resting one.  After a couple of busy ones and several more ahead there is nothing inked into my diary.  I shall not be Woking however because I am Worthing in a couple of weeks' time.  I have extended an invitation to Former Neighbour (Upstairs) to join me for dinner if she wishes while SWMBO is out for her own dinner-and-movie night with the Director and his family.  Not my scene and I am not an essential accessory this time around.  If I end up alone the menu will be a delivery-service curry from the local Indian restaurant.  

 

It's time for a final muggertee which will accompany me to bed.  Best wishes to all.  

[Ozexpatriate]

7 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Is anyone still awake?

Certainly sir, though here it is nearly half past three in the afternoon.

 

After an apparently rainy night and overcast morning, the sun has appeared and the afternoon is warmer than I had guessed it might be be (around 24°C presently and close to the forecast high).

 

I attended a round of ten, 45 minute job interviews in the Bay Area yesterday. I woke before my alarm at 3:00am and was at the airport in plenty of time for my 5:40am flight. Southwest Airlines apparently takes more than an hour to "fix a light"* and despite the delayed take off (around 7:00am) was (barely) in time for my first interview at 9:30am. Ultimately I was home around 10:00pm, so it was a long day.

 

* Begging the "how many Southwest Airlines technicians does it take to change a light-bulb" question.

 

A good weekend to you all.

[brianusa]

We've been up since about 9:00, had lunch, in fact time now for our afternoon genteel 'cuppertee' and a Tim Tam; and so the day goes!

     Brian.

[Ozexpatriate]

18 minutes ago, brianusa said:

our afternoon genteel 'cuppertee' and a Tim Tam

Very civilized. I heartily endorse your choice of accompaniment to the tea.

 

After decades of having to bring them back from Australia tucked away in suitcases, it is very pleasant to find them readily available in local grocery shops.

 

My younger sisters assert that if you bite the ends off, a Tim Tam can approximate a drinking straw. They also assert that this is a good thing. I have not performed this experiment myself. I can confirm that Tim Tams are also enjoyable refrigerated - a necessary expedient in many un-air-conditioned Australian homes.

 

Edited September 13, 2019 by Ozexpatriate

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

This morning’s trip to the Trafford Centre was uneventful, although I did see some sights that once seen cannot be unseen. Think a 2lb sausage in a 1lb skin or even worse, a 1lb sausage in a 2lb skin and you’ll get the idea, a frightening sight! The thought still gives me the shivers! There were also plenty of zombies, walking round looking lovingly into their mobile life support control units, aka mobile phone and not where they’re going, I was glad to get out of the place. Once home I packed all the shopping away and then completed some online banking before sitting down for dinner. 

 

After dinner I finished making the cake I started last night, which meant we got a lovely aroma wafting through the house for most of the afternoon.

 

Once James and Amelia had left we had a quick tidy up, I then brought my dry wetsuit in of the line and then I opened a bottle of merlot. 

 

Goodnight all 

[pH]

58 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Very civilized. I heartily endorse your choice of accompaniment to the tea.

 

After decades of having to bring them back from Australia tucked away in suitcases, it is very pleasant to find them readily available in local grocery shops.

 

My son worked for a while in Brisbane, and had to visit a mine the company operated in Laos. He topped up his luggage allowance on the way there with many packets of Tim Tams. He was most welcome at the mine!

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[BR60103]

We spent the evening watching Bergman's Magic Flute with the Opera Group.  Apparently we missed the most spectacular thunderstorm of the year.

 

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all

 

There are too many reports of black dogs on the loose.  Let them not proliferate but instead be rounded up and confined.   Let this apply also to those who rely on their mobile phones for everything except looking where they are going.  Harry tells me that you can get screen time apps which tell you how often you use your phone.  Reading between the lines, I think he has one of these apps and it has scared him.   He tells me that he is trying to cut down on his use of technology.  This is an interesting objective for someone who works for Amazon and I look forward to learning how he will do it.  Apologies if I have mentioned this already. 

 

I have decided not to go to Pride in Milton Keynes today, despite the fetching rainbow marquee in which some of the events will be held.  As it is a newly revived Pride, after a break of seven years, the organisers have decided not to have a parade.   That's a shame, but it is the reason that I will not be going.  I'd like to give a plug to the organisers of the first Barry Pride next weekend, which I would be minded to support were I not out of the country. 

 

So what does today hold for yours truly?  Unspecified pottering, I think.  There is a surfeit of triffids in the garden, but not quite so many that they threaten to engulf the tomato plant.   Yesterday I harvested four ripe tomatoes, with more to come.   My rainbow bow tie made its public debut yesterday afternoon but needs repair already.  My late mother would have described the cause as hot needle and burnt thread. 

 

Apparently there was an Ed Sheeran tribute gig in this part of the world yesterday.  For goodness sake!  Are people so desperate to be entertained?

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,  inner Temple Hare, 

A good  nights sleep. Of which more shortly,  as Ben the border collie is snoring. 

 

A solution popped into the brain during the night  ... Ben woke up,  we've been on a chilly patrol,  clear skies except for a few wispy bits of clouds. The great fried egg is over the model railway shed,  The main grass has stayed short,  but the outer areas are in need of a mow.

 

Ah the solution ..for the trailer suspension,  it will still need a template to be made to prove it. 

 

Time for a snooze button though I'm not sure it will work after patrol.. 

 

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

A bright start to the day and it should be a sunny and warm pleasant day.

This is more than can be said for the weather in Majorca.  Granddaughter Abbie was due to leave there at 8.55 (our time) last night but because of bad storms they were unable to take off until 11.32. Arrived back at Gatwick at 1.44 and didn't get home until 2..45am. On top of that she's not very well. Let's hope she'll be able to make our "do" tomorrow as we haven't seen her for a few weeks.

Today I will be mainly visiting Woking or as The Boss put it "swanning off to leave her to do all the work." Oh dear, never mind.

Have a good one,

Bob.#

 

P.S. No Ricks were spotted during the day but that is hardly surprising as our road is not on a bus route. Mind you, I did see a double decker here one Sunday afternoon about thirty years ago. The driver was looking for two yobs who'd thrown stones at his bus.  I think murder may have been in his thoughts.   Took him a bit of while to get round the corner between the parked cars.

 

Edited September 14, 2019 by grandadbob

[Barry O]

Another lovely Autumnal morning here today.

 

My game starts at 12:30. The club I am visiting suffered and arson attack a few weeks ago. I will go dressed for umpiring (umpires shirt, black trousers, white socks) and will change footware in the back of the car.

 

I note that we have additional stickers appearing on fuel pumps. The ones on petrol pumps are Ex "x" being the percentage of ethanol added. Diesel has bio diesel added, I think that is Bx.

 

Have a great day..

Positive thoughts to all who ail especially John and Sandy and Debs.

 

Time to 7ncover my wound a 

replastwr it..but first ...a mugatea!

Baz

 

[jamie92208]

Morning all from the Charente. It got up to 32 yesterday and promises to do the same today.  I'm off shortly, with the trailer in tow, to help one or quiz team to move. Some other friends are bring their trailer so the plan us to get all the outdoor stuff mived to the new house in one convoy of three trailers. Hopefully we will be finished before it gets too warm.  

 

Thoughts with all those trying to deal with dark canines and that John and Sandy gave a good day out.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Only just woke up half an hour ago so running a bit late. The up side is that I'm bright eyed and bushy tailed after a good nights sleep, I wonder how long that will last? Breakfast to be eaten and tea has brewed so its be back later.

[tigerburnie]

Morning, well the fishing was poor yesterday, small Flounders and face that looks like a lobster, the sun was out, but I think the redness is more wind blast that sun burn lol. Off to Stonehaven in a bit, have a nice dayyyyyyy.

[Kingzance]

Morning

 

My visit to the GP and hers to the musculoskeletal specialist were both more positive than we anticipated so the potential gathering of rather dark creatures have been dispelled somewhat. To others who are still attempting to control such beasts, I wish you well. Later, I shall need to collect the additional medications required by yesterday's visit and I believe SWMBO wants to do her (almost daily) visit to the pale green foodie-themed emporium. Related to Herschel's 1781 discovery, we are short of the paper-based items required by/for (one of) it(s) moons - Boomholay. Feel free to repeat the request of the administrators / moderators the GROAN button. Here, the lawns need attention. This will not be the last cut but I prefer the grass to be kept at a reasonable length and we will be away for a number of days...  Of course there is a matter of a televised willow & leather game to visit through the day. I was pleasantly surprised that the local boys finished up with a first innings lead, albeit one of less than my age!

 

I suppose it is the time of the year when the last great expeditions / homeward treks for towed sheds happens on our roads so I am not surprised that in France they do things slightly differently - a convoy of trailers amongst whom can be found Jamie's! Will it have a snail-like tarpaulin covering the worldly possessions? Images of Brian from The Magic Roundabout to be inserted here. Bonjour.

[Stubby47]

Tesco raided, breakfast eaten, football training next then after lunch I'll be taxi-ing SWMBO down to the local cinema to see Downton the Movie. Luckily I am not required to accompany her into said venue, so should be free to wield a soldering iron in a stealth move on some electronic circuitry. 

[southern42]

' morning all from red dragon land.

Sunny as predicted by the pine cone.  

 

Hope all is well.

Belated birthday greetings to Beth.

 

Time now to get cracking to play tr**ns.

Best wishes to all.

________

Polly

[81C]

Morning All 

Blue sky and sun 

Off to the Woking Show shortly to meet up with show buddy GDB, you guys on about the black dog I get rid of mine by chasing women on the dating forum that will take your mind off anything.

Must get on I.M. Ofinfaminit 

[Happy Hippo]

Another greeting from Gogledd this morning.

 

The Obergrumpenfuhrer and I are currently in Llandudno, partly due to the clement weather forecast for today.

 

We travelled up yesterday and stopped in Corwen for lunch, and I took the opportunity to admire the new (under construction) Corwen station of the Llangollen Railway.

 

We may promenade along the front to the pier later or we may venture further west.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Happy Hippo
Splelngi