Early Risers.

[New Haven Neil]

25 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Good to see Donk.. missed him in Newcastle last week..but you should have brought those far too clean wagon and loco as well.. we could have easily covered it in ink and powders weathering while you visited!

 

baz

 

Got to build the layout first Baz, but I did begin weathering a 16 tonner this afternoon. Have no fear, there will be little that is clean when the job is done!  The 64 will probably be fairly clean as per the photos I have of the railtour loco, but the rest will be minging.

 

Donk didn't come across to Ambleside, I think he and his mates were having a party back home.  

 

 

[New Haven Neil]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I'll shoot you in your good foot and make off at high speed.

 

Then the Awlmighty can pick you off in slow time.

 

 

 

You're just after my panniers, I know your game.

[New Haven Neil]

30 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

snip<

 

Donk didn't come across to Ambleside, I think he and his mates were having a party back home.  

 

 

 

Ha - found them.  In the campervan.....

 

[Coombe Barton]

Slow Road ... a month since Sandy passed away

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/11/17/slow-road-a-month/

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Bob there are some ERs who could take on the role of chip fitting with no problemo for a small fee...

 

Baz

I did my Wickham Trolley before the “how to “ guides appeared.  With hindsight I probably should have paid someone else to take the stress.

[Simon G]

Two busy days at the Workington Model Rail Show this weekend, so I am well knackered.  My sales stand did a brisk trade yesterday,  but less so today.  Plenty of friends also turned up, so a lot of nattering done.  Nothing caught my fancy in the trade stalls, so no modelling coupons were spent.

[Ozexpatriate]

15 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Slow Road

John, after the "Frozen Messiah" performance you attended at 13, I'm surprised that you ever listened to another.

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Ozexpatriate

[Gwiwer]

Evening all.

 

A day of two halves today.  A lovely sunny, though cold, morning, during which we strolled for an hour to the river and back by way of Strawberry Hill House.  SWMBO had intended to visit the Christmas Fair taking place therein but was put off by the queue at the door which we estimated to be 100 people and which clearly wasn't moving forward at all.  Inside all we could see was a mass of people.  Christmas is clearly popular and on that basis perhaps it should occur more often

 

After lunch we hosted SWMBO senior director and Mrs senior director to afternoon tea.  They arrived bearing a large bouquet of flowers which was not for me!  Home made scones and apple cake were enjoyed and I managed to sit through two hours of their largely in-house conversation nodding and Hmmmm-ing occasionally but feeling I lacked the wherewithal to be a meaningful part of it.  SWMBO is indeed fortunate to have a senior director who is also a good friend; they worked together in Melbourne and have therefore had that connection for over 20 years.  

 

Having planned the afternoon tea a couple of days previously we decided a full roast dinner would not be required.  SWMBO offered to cook a vegetable tagine which turned out rather well.  She is clearly on the mend and I shall have to take discreet advantage of her recovered abilities in the kitchen.  Not least of which is the ability to stand at the workbench for more than two minutes.

 

Speaking of workbenches the Thing We Do Not Mention has finally frustrated me beyond a comfortable limit.  I have threatened to bin the lot and find a new hobby.  After two years and modest expenditure all I have achieved is to replace one short with another and another culminating today in causing damage to already-laid track while trying to fix a problem.  I therefore have a much bigger problem to fix now and am nowhere closer to understanding the electrickery of it all and what I need to do / am getting wrong.  

 

I might be better suited to flower-arranging.  I really don't want to fiddle around and spend money any longer to get nowhere.

 

And on that note I am off to bed.  Mornings are predicted to be very cold again this week; I am not looking forward to the 05.00 alarm.  Best wishes to you all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Coombe Barton]

22 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

John, after the "Frozen Messiah" performance you attended at 13, I'm surprised that you ever listened to another.

 

The next one was at the De Montfort Halls in Leicester in 1968, and it was a huge one. I was fortunately to be at Leicester at the same time that David Monrow was on the staff, and he gave lunchtime concerts, lectures and engaged in conversation about early music. I've never been able to hear a chamber performance of this work live. though.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Coombe Barton

[Tony_S]

18 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

The next one was at the De Montfort Halls in Leicester in 1968, and it was a huge one. I was fortunately to be at Leicester at the same time that David Monrow was on the staff, and he gave lunchtime concerts, lectures and engaged in conversation about early music. I've never been able to hear a chamber performance of this work live. though.

I rather like Handel’s Messiah despite the introduction at school. One lesson of music a week continued even for those of us not taking it as an O level. The music teacher, Mad Fred, used to say (for two years) “Now, Boys, we are going to do something different today”. It wasn’t different, he handed out scores for Messiah, put a record on and told us to follow.  It was best not to be observed to be on the wrong page as Fred had poor control of his saliva and it was not nice to be showered as he ranted. 
Tony

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I went into town this afternoon. The 'Ch*****as Fayre' had been set up and was running but seemed a shadow of itself compared to previous years with only four or five stalls compared to the couple of dozen of a few years ago. Not that it bothers me as I'm of the Bah Humbug! persuasion.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well it’s been quite a productive day today, not only did I manage to do the 2 watch backs for James, but I also built the 6 MERG kits a found on the bench in the workshop. I can only assume that I’d put there with the intention of building them and either gone in for a cuppa, or been distracted by another project. Anyway, I’ve now got quite a large number of completed kits to put ‘away’ until they will be fitted to the l@@@@t, when it’s finally started. 

 

This evening we we sat down with a glass of red and caught up on some recorded TV. 

 

Goodnight all

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[newbryford]

Work was worked - very much was accomplished with a relatively empty (from other employees) workspace.

Hockey was then watched - a great team effort for a 6-2 win over the Billingham Stars.

At the same time, (US College Women's) soccer football was viewed online.

Mountain East Conference Final.

Concord University Mountain Lions 2, Fairmont State Falcons 0.

My niece's team - for the first time in their history - now proceed onto the national tournament.

Go Mountain Lions.,

 

More work tomorrow - along with the extension to DL after hours.

 

Have a good week folks.

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

On 16/11/2019 at 12:25, bbishop said:

I found the following in my e-mail:

'As we couldn't take the latest payment on 11/16/2019 ` Please renew | Remember, if you don't keep up with your payments, we may be forced to cancel your license [Automated Message]

We are sorry to let you know that the TV License could not be automatically renewed. Something's gone wrong with your payments

As we couldn't take the latest payment from your bank account, this amount will also need to be paid when you set up your new Direct Debit.

Setup Direct Debit Now >>

Am I really that stupid?

 

Off to the garage shortly, to varnish my ass.

 

Bill

And just what is a "TV LIcense"???

[roundhouse]

20 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

And just what is a "TV LIcense"???

The BBC  channels do not have advertsing  unlike other channels. This (in brief) means that in order to pay for the BBC, anyone in the UK who is watching any TV has to have a TV license by law. There are exceptions such as those over 75 but thats a very moot point at the moment as thats due to be withdrawn.

 

We used to be able to go to the post office to pay for a yearly license but in recent years it has been easier to do it on line and set up a direct debit to pay in monthly instalments.

 

The idea is that the BBC is unbiased, not affected by those sponsoring the adverts or political bias. Many will say it is politically effected but that just depends on each individuals views depending what they are seeing at the time. The best bit is that there aren't annoying advert breaks except for the BBC's own ones about paying for your TV license!!

[zarniwhoop]

1 hour ago, J. S. Bach said:

And just what is a "TV LIcense"???

Apart from the spelling, the mercan date format is also a bit of a giveaway. I get these every month or two and there is even a FAQ https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ288

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, roundhouse said:

... except for the BBC's own ones about paying for your TV license!!

Those must be tedious!

[Ozexpatriate]

Commercials are an inevitable part of television watching in the US - even (to a lesser extent) on PBS.

 

It is interesting to see the progression of what is and is not allowed / shown. Of course, long gone are commercials for tobacco products. So too are the commercials for ED (aka " pill") medications. I watch a lot of sports and the commercials are dominated (in no particular order) by beer (particularly light beer), road vehicles, mobile telephones, mobile telephone providers and insurance.

 

Unsurprisingly these are all markets where the actual products are largely undifferentiated commodities. Usually the product hardly makes an appearance in these commercials. The four largest insurance advertisers have multiple concurrent campaigns - to avoid people throwing things at their TV sets after seeing the same commercials every six or seven minutes. One company uses a recurring metaphorical character called "mayhem" who is usually responsible in some creative way for damage to automobiles.

 

Cat fanciers might enjoy this mayhem commercial for home insurance. Or not, one cannot account for taste. To me, the newer ones with Tina Fey are funnier but I know ERs  (along with the internet) have a soft spot for cats.

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by Ozexpatriate

[AndyID]

2 hours ago, roundhouse said:

The BBC  channels do not have advertsing  unlike other channels. This (in brief) means that in order to pay for the BBC, anyone in the UK who is watching any TV has to have a TV license by law. There are exceptions such as those over 75 but thats a very moot point at the moment as thats due to be withdrawn.

 

We used to be able to go to the post office to pay for a yearly license but in recent years it has been easier to do it on line and set up a direct debit to pay in monthly instalments.

 

The idea is that the BBC is unbiased, not affected by those sponsoring the adverts or political bias. Many will say it is politically effected but that just depends on each individuals views depending what they are seeing at the time. The best bit is that there aren't annoying advert breaks except for the BBC's own ones about paying for your TV license!!

 

And there are (were?) "detector vans", although it's been suggested that they were a load of technical baloney but there is no doubt that when they showed up in an area there was a sudden increase in license revenue.

[chrisf]

Good morning one and all

 

The week ahead looks to be relatively quiet for there are only two items in the diary.  On Wednesday night it’s Chris versus the M1 as the Chilterns Area Group will be meeting in Harpenden.  If I am right, our organiser will be absent because he is knocking seven bells out of the organ in Lausanne Cathedral, so it falls to me to keep what passes for order.  Thanks to impromptu road or lane closures it can take anything up to an hour and a half to get back.  On Sunday it’s the Warley endurance test at the NEC, less chance of being trampled than on Saturday but still a bit of an ordeal.  I don’t think much of the M6 either, by the way, but my one attempt to make part of the journey by rail was hardly an outstanding success.  It is at times like this that the in-car CD player becomes invaluable.

 

45156, many thanks for the encouragement.  I take your point about a shroud having no pockets but someone quite wise used to tell me that the best way of being able to buy anything I want was not to do it!  Once in a while something comes along that must be done and hang the expense.  A year ago it was the Antipodean.  I would not have missed it for anything and my only regret is that I was so ill with a virus infection for so long afterwards.  In 2020 it will be Dublin Pride.  Since starting to check accommodation prices I have been noticeably paler but I dare say I will get over it.

 

Tony S, you’re in for a treat with that CD.  I’m glad you have been able to source a copy so quickly.  I bought mine at the Union Chapel gig and played it on the way to and from Portsmouth on Saturday.  June’s capacity to let her hair down comes across well.  See if you agree.

 

I’ve had one of those TV license e-mails and will be ringing TV Licensing this morning.  

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It is a pretty revolting morning weather wise.  Damp, and chilly.

 

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

And there are (were?) "detector vans", although it's been suggested that they were a load of technical baloney but there is no doubt that when they showed up in an area there was a sudden increase in license revenue.

 

They weren't baloney - they did exist and they did work.  However, they did have certain limitations.

 

Time for a coffee!

 

Have a good day everyone...

[AndyID]

The heated towel rail has been commissioned. Quite why we never thought to install one 24 years is a bit of a mystery but better late than never

 

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by AndyID
typing nonsense!

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, AndyID said:

The heated towel rail has been commissioned

This is something I wanted for my bathroom but never insisted on - along with radiant floor heating and a fancy shower.

 

Is the unit wall mounted? (That might seem obvious, but designs attached to the floor are conceivable.) Is the wiring hidden or does it have a plug for a normal electrical receptacle?