Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

16 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Its surprising what storm Dennis has thrown up.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ghost-ship-african-coast-washes-21511055

 

15 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Curiouser and curiouser.

https://www.maritimebulletin.net/2019/09/04/12702/

Some sort of scam?

Looking at the vessel it would make a good 00 scale model for a dockside scene. Easy to scratchbuild, the only curves are the bow and 77 metres long translates to 1.013 metres, 3' 4".

[jamie92208]

12 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

 

Looking at the vessel it would make a good 00 scale model for a dockside scene. Easy to scratchbuild, the only curves are the bow and 77 metres long translates to 1.013 metres, 3' 4".

I wonder whether the awl still targets mentions of ship modelling. After all they don't usually run on parallel strips of Nickel silver.

 

Jamie

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from LBG, where I can see a little bit of blue sky, but it is very windy.

 

Today is one of those days where lots of demands are being made but when I follow up with the demanders they are not available to talk about whatever it was they wanted to talk about. Mrs Lurker is out this evening so I will need to get out of the office pronto; I was in well before 8 so I won't feel guilty.

 

Best wishes to all

[Dave Hunt]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Just hope that his old mates don't mistake it for the Brocken. I believe that one rite of passage before the fall of the Berlin Wall, was to take photos of the east side of the Brocken. Along with selfies taken throught the cockpit canopy.

 

I've never actually heard of anyone doing the east side of the Brocken thing - the tricky bit would be getting back through the buffer zone and the various missile belts, not to mention avoiding the inevitable court martial should you survive. The craziest rite of passage thing I ever heard of involved USMC Phantom back seaters. The aircraft had two separate cockpit canopies that could be opened below 60 knots and the trick was to land with a chinagraph pencil mark on the outside of the front canopy. This was achieved by the back seater unstrapping then the pilot putting the aircraft into a steep climb at low power and bunting over the top of the arc in a zero G manoeuvre. As the speed approached 60 knots the back seater opened his canopy, stood up and reached over to put the cross on the outside of the front canopy, hastily sat down again and closed his canopy before the speed built up enough to prevent it closing and rip it off. I never actually met anyone who had done it but the USMC guys I flew with for a short while at Yuma swore it had been done several times. Ever so slightly insane was my verdict. My own silliest moment was probably seeing how high I could get a clean wing (I.e., no underwing stores) F4 one night in the 70s by accelerating to about Mach 1.5 at about 35,000 feet then putting it into a 60 degree climb in full reheat and waiting. Unfortunately as we went heavenward the engines decide this wasn't a good idea and eventually as we flopped over the top, at which stage I no longer had any control over what was happening, they both went out. Apart from the obvious lack of power problem, this also meant we no longer had proper cabin pressurisation so the situation wasn't really all that good but before things got really drastic we fell into more habitable parts of the atmosphere and eventually I got the two Speys running again. Somewhat chastened we went home and in all the excitement I'm not even sure how high we did get. The things you do when you're young and stupid eh? Sometimes I do wonder how I got to be an old man.

 

At the moment the main problem is a return of the lurgy so I'm typing this in bed feeling like rubbish. Hope the rest of you are having a good day and carpeing it.

 

Dave

[J. S. Bach]

Good morning owl from a soon-to-be-damp Piedmont.

[Tony_S]

In this clip Brian Cox mentions that the only people above him were the crew on the ISS

Tony

[Gwiwer]

7 hours ago, Barry O said:

Carpe diem

Seizing of the fish will have become distressingly easier for residents in parts of Herefordshire and Shropshire, several areas of Wales and of northern England of late.  

 

The river here has accelerated to "fast-flow" mode and is only just contained within its banks though the level is managed upstream by the Thames Conservancy to the extent possible with locks and weirs.  Teddington Weir is in full spate.  A decent king tide now or an increase in storm water coming downstream will have the Ham Lands and parts of this side flooded.  

 

In other news today has been Tuesday.  I hope it treated you fairly and respectfully.  

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Just had a heavy downpour, it was over and done with in 15 minutes. Only thing is it bought Arthur Itis out to play so a couple of paracetamols are putting him back in his box. SEERS meeting tonight so must be off, be back later.

[Ref44]

A bright start to the day has deteriorated to some showers, although no heavy rain. A mystery of a missing Amazon delivery has been solved; the residents 3 doors down have just handed over the parcel. It would help if the tracking info showed which letterbox they had stuck the packet into!

[TheQ]

Afternoon  Awl,  back home again,  

Well for the last few days we've been at my other home,  that is my parents.. 

We drove up, on Friday,  the only problem being a massive traffic jam just before Beattock summit,  while in the queue,  a lorry tow truck and three car recovery trucks went up the hard shoulder.  We got to the front to find one of those flashing light lorries telling us to change lanes.. So we did,  it promptly pulled up it's lights and departed leaving the road ahead clear in that lane but we were now trapped in another. 

 

Saturday, went to Forth Valley hospital to see my Dad,  I thought  he looked very bad,  but my sisters say it's an improvement. Spent a few hours there,  

Came home complete with added novovirus,  that night both of us were very Ill,  we spent Sunday and Monday recovering,  we are both not right yet,  but well enough to drive back with many extra stops as a precaution.. 

Having now got novovirus we couldn't visit again for a week, so we've come back early to recover here.  We've promised to go back in a month or two or three.

Unfortunately walking Ben became a real problem  especially Sunday, he didn't get the distance he really should,  even his short morning walk was interuppted by me needing to find somewhere out of the howling wind to sit and rest.  He was really good about it and dutifully sat next to me and waited. 

 

A good drive back,  the only reportable incidents were the car getting suddenly shoved sideways by the wind while,  crossing the Solway firth,  and torrential rain in central Norfolk. 

 

I have a Muggacoffee to hand,  once that's gone so am I good night.. 

[Happy Hippo]

5 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I wonder whether the awl still targets mentions of ship modelling. After all they don't usually run on parallel strips of Nickel silver.

 

Jamie

Or signal boxes?

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Nice evening last night. Food excellent as was the wine. We sat talking with a couple of people from Perth (Australia). They had adjusted their trip when the Te Anou to Milford Sound Road was flooded out last week. It may open this week but some friends were due there next week..they are now visiting doubtful sound instead ..the trip companies have moved the catamarans round from one sound to another.

 

Breakfast will be consumed then we are off to Waneka to look at some aeroplanes (their biennial Warbirds over Wanaka show is this Easter. One of the highlights is a P40 Kittyhawk doing strafing runs with blanks in its 0.5" ma deuces...shame we are missing that!)

Time for a mugacaff then breakfast...wooopppiddoo!

Enjoy the rest of the day!

Baz

[JohnDMJ]

 

48 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Unfortunately walking Ben became a real problem  especially Sunday, he didn't get the distance he really should,  even his short morning walk was interuppted by me needing to find somewhere out of the howling wind to sit and rest.  He was really good about it and dutifully sat next to me and waited.

 

This sounds scary; looks like he's learned when to be the boss and when not!

[grandadbob]

Evenin' each,

Raining with pour here and has been for a while.

Shopping done and essentials bought including a bottle of brandy as I'd run out, shock, horror!

I made soup for lunch and that was a success and there was enough left to freeze for another day.

After lunch The Shed was visited and miraculously I managed to lay and wire 4 pieces track and a point successfully. By then The Knee was complaining so I thought I'd quit while I was still ahead.

Celebrated with a bottle of Proper Job and then some Malbec accompanied and is following our evening meal so all is well here at GDB Towers.

[BoD]

Evening all.

 

Met with a couple of former work colleagues today for coffee then went for a haircut and had the mother of all nosebleeds in the local shopping mall.

It must have been my excitement at the barber actually finding some hair to cut that did it.

 

Muddling goes on apace, I've even updated my layout thread. Well it has been nearly a year.

[New Haven Neil]

Evening.

 

Guess what - windy again.  Ferries still sailing though, so not full power as per the weekend.

 

I do rather like marmalade, both orange and lime, fine cut....but the diabolical issue has put paid to that.  Things you miss....  

 

Ta Anau being one of the wettest places in the world, was glorious the twice we have been there! Great memories.  We had fish n chips ice cream there - jelly fish and chocolate chip! 

 

Also Doubtful Sound, for us was doubtful we would get there as the cater-merangue blew an engine and limped back on one - very slowly.  Made it the next time we went!  

[leopardml2341]

Well where did today go?

 

Didn't even get to say morning and now I'm saying Goodnight.....

 

The hazards of earning a crust I suspect.

[roundhouse]

3 hours ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

Nice evening last night. Food excellent as was the wine. We sat talking with a couple of people from Perth (Australia). They had adjusted their trip when the Te Anou to Milford Sound Road was flooded out last week. It may open this week but some friends were due there next week..they are now visiting doubtful sound instead ..the trip companies have moved the catamarans round from one sound to another.

 

Breakfast will be consumed then we are off to Waneka to look at some aeroplanes (their biennial Warbirds over Wanaka show is this Easter. One of the highlights is a P40 Kittyhawk doing strafing runs with blanks in its 0.5" ma deuces...shame we are missing that!)

Time for a mugacaff then breakfast...wooopppiddoo!

Enjoy the rest of the day!

Baz

We were lucky to get to Milford Sound as there had been bad storms the week before with half the road missing in places. The journey to Greymouth afterwards was largly on an unmade road betweeen Wanaka and Haast in the dark. That was in 1994.

[Tony_S]

28 minutes ago, roundhouse said:

We were lucky to get to Milford Sound as there had been bad storms the week before with half the road missing in places. The journey to Greymouth afterwards was largly on an unmade road betweeen Wanaka and Haast in the dark. That was in 1994.

I have been trying to remember where Aditi’s brother worked as a hospital doctor in Otago. I found our old address book and it was in a place called Clyde. Hospital has closed now and it has become some sort of medical laboratory. He would have stayed but his then girlfriend missed England. 

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[newbryford]

I didn't go to the away hockey game on Sunday mostly due to not having a travelling companion [*] (and a requirement to make progress with some plastic items that will eventually require to be painted yellow).

Although I did keep abreast of the game via a facebook match-night update. The team travelled with a very short squad of 12 out-skaters plus 2 netminders - it was always going to be a tough ask against the home side of 18+2. Especially after the previous night's efforts. Final score was 11-0 to Solihull............ But by all accounts, the Hawks tried their hardest against a much stronger team.

 

As Andyleopardskin says - where has the time gone?

Work has been worked - particularly busy as we're preparing for a trip north of the border this weekend. I'll be on the blue stand for three days, learning how to speak/trying to understand "Weegie"................

 

Mrs NB was duly collected at 2300 last night from her Guides County Eurodisney trip. There were 5 coaches carrying the group and they managed to get split when loading onto the Channel Ferry. Two of them got through before the cutoff for the next sailing. One of our next door neighbours is also a Guide leader - but with another unit -  they were on one of the coaches that caught the second ferry. They arrived home at 0115. We had thought about sharing transport home from the dropoff point - I'm sort of glad we didn't now..............

 

MRC AGM earlier tonight. I am no longer Chairman - not through any other reason than my choice to stand down after 4 years. (And about 10 years previously on the committee). I wish my successor well.

 

Have a good Wednesday folks.

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

[*] Junior will be watching a NHL game in a few days - New York Rangers at the Carolina Hurricanes - I have been promised suitable memorabilia as a souvenir.

 

 

 

 

 

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

This morning’s Sainsbury’s Grand Prix went ok, I left home jus5 after 10 o’clock and I was back home just after 11 o’clock, having also been to the pharmacy, a card shop and Aldi before going into Sainsbury’s. Once the shopping had been put away I made myself a muggertea and then decamped to the dining room where I did a bit of work with the soldering iron. I wasn’t planning on doing any today, so 8 did some small circuit boards and completed another 18 point monitor boards.

 

This evening we had a bit more rain, at times it was as if someone had a hose pointing at the living room window on full. Thankfully it has stopped now and all is quiet. 

 

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Had a very good talk from Adrian Wright on GER branch lines at SEERS this evening. A broad subject indeed with some interesting facts. One of the branchlines covered was the North Woolwich branch. The only branch line in the country to have four tracks. (up and down passenger and up and down goods. Another interesting fact is that Stratford is the only railway station in the world with four different current collection systems used by trains using the station. OEL, third rail, four rail and underrunning third rail.

[JohnDMJ]

 

34 minutes ago, newbryford said:

I didn't go to the away hockey game on Sunday mostly due to not having a travelling companion

Cheers,

Mick

 

[*] Junior will be watching a NHL game in a few days - New York Rangers at the Carolina Hurricanes - I have been promised suitable memorabilia as a souvenir.

 

 

Likewise, nobody would come to the Whitesnake concert with me, so Here I go again on my own