Early Risers.

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from LBG where it is cloudy.

 

The daily commute was as busy as ever on the Sidcup line, although Borough Market was quieter than normal.

 

TFL status for the Jubilee line is "Good Service". I believe the driver came back from Vietnam and felt ill so self isolated and now has tested positive. So probably no need for the line to be shut down.

 

Hope all stay well. And Happy Birthday to Neil.

[Oldddudders]

1 hour ago, The Lurker said:

Is the first round of IndyCar from St Petersburg Ma still on? Scheduled for Sunday

Behind closed doors, no fans, with a compressed race schedule for the weekend, apparently. 

[Gwiwer]

Afternoon all.  Welcome to POETS Day.  As always it is not possible to celebrate in the manner intended when one is employed at the House of Fun but the spirit and intent were there.  

 

Today was rather quiet.  We cannot be sure how much might be ascribed to the formerly-announced but suspended industrial (lack of) action which would have taken place this week and how much might be down to individual reactions to the Great Lurgie Menace.  Southern trains arriving from Gatwick were as busy as ever, there was no evidence of mask-wearing other than by the usual tiny number of Chinese who wear them every day anyway, and there was no sense of unease.  

 

A couple of people asked if we would be working from home next week.  Having thought about it for the split-second after they spoke they agreed with me that operating a railway from home is really Not A Very Good Idea.

 

We await any form of communication from anyone within the company on the matter.  We have not received any advice, support, sanitiser, impermeable gloves, assurances on leave (whether self-isolated or otherwise) nor that leave taken over and above that entitled when on medical advice will not fall foul of the absence policy which triggers a disciplinary procedure.  We share equipment, hard surfaces, mess rooms, offices and wash-rooms.  Cleaning is contracted but we often have to ask for new supplies of soap.  Last week we were supplied with dish-wash not hand-wash.  

 

SWMBO introduced me to newly-acquired supplies of antibacterial soap and tissues upon my return home.  I have issues with tissues as they trigger my allergic rhinitis making the need for them more frequent and urgent and therefore driving the cycle of irritation.  We shall see if this batch is any different.  

 

Plans for the weekend include fiddling with small objects of desire, tinkering in the gardens and consuming moderate amounts of alcohol.  In the meantime SWMBO has offered me a muggertee and I shall attend to that as a priority.  

 

With biscuits.  

 

 

[Tony_S]

I successfully obtained my prescription this morning and also remembered to  visit the petrol station to get some petrol for my car. I can’t remember when I last filled it but it seemed cheaper today. 
I wasn’t going to buy any more big engines for the model village in the garage but I do like the express blue colour so I even pre ordered one and I assume  it will come fairly soon as my Paypal has just been debited. Having stuff on pre order is quite positive for me. I tidied access to my layout yesterday and even ran the trains that have been sitting there for almost a couple of years. 
Tony

[TheQ]

Just received another company missive asking how I was going to work from home.. I aren't... unless they want to spend many hundreds of thousands building me a lab in the garden..

 

Of work, the second major system is on it's cross checks now, that won't be finished till midnight.. I aren't here for that either..

 

In ten minutes I depart and will see how high the water is in Effin clown town, we have flood warnings due to the northerly winds and it being near spring tides..

 

MRC tonight, I wonder how many will turn up. I have some wood bashing to do first, must remember to put the right tools in the landrover..

 

But first.. Tes and co on the way home, I'll panic buy 1 loaf of bread and a bottle of milk..

 

 

[Ian Abel]

POETS - yes please...

 

Yesterday choir practice and "all other activities" have been suspended at church, and the group that meet for happy hour had also/already decided to practice some sensible "social distancing".

Subsequently the Mrs and I went and "panic shopped" for gin and red and white "flavoured liquids" in case we need to be isolated!

We're also thinking of panic shopping for jigsaw puzzles - an activity we enjoy and may need to stock up on "just in case"

 

Mrs having a "lunch" with her sister at our place today, something she's not looking forward to especially.

 

Jemma will be dropping Whitney off later as she's out on a 4-day trip tomorrow from JFK.

We've not much planned for the weekend, were originally going to a party on Sunday, but are probably not going to attend.

 

-3 and sunny first ting, +3 for the high.

 

Carpe diem...

[The Stationmaster]

Afternoon all,

 

And a slightly belated happy birthday to the man on Manin's Isle, and many more of them Neil.   Working from home the lad has undertaken some online training - company coronavirus training, score 100%, company diversity awareness training 80%.  Presumably that means he will now be steering clear of foreigners in a bid to avoid contracting coronavirus, and he will definitely be steering clear of the Spanish office where they are unfortunately going down like flies with the virus.

 

After dropping herself at her cake eating session (100% successful as far as the one she made was concerned, they scoffed all of it) I proceeded to Tesco.  t The toilet roll area was well stocked when I passed so when I went back about 10 minutes latrter after a long wait at the pharmacy counter there was still a fairly well stocked pallet so I took a 9 roll pack.  When queueing at the checkout a woman arrived in the queue behind and asked where I go the toilet rolls -

'Usual place'

'Where's that, aisle 12, the one labelled Pets'

Oh, I  didn't look there, thank you'

She duly returned with a 9 pack of toilet rolls  so I said to her 'You don't use usually shop here then?'

'No. but I was on my way to the opticians so i called in'

 

Give her her due her shopping included 3x 2 litre bottles of milk, fresh meat and veg so she really was shopping but I bet she normally shops at Waitrose, she was dressed like the sort of 'lady' who shops there  

 

PS There must be some sort of Ramipril shortage going on Baz because I was given green & white ones instead of red & white a couple of weeks back.  They do incidentally go quite well with Merlot.

 

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by The Stationmaster

[Kingzance]

It would seem that today, although not the 25th October, inspiration written by the bard and JR Kipling might be to the fore:

”We few, we precious few, if we can keep our heads whilst all around are losing theirs...”

Barbers have been visited and No’s 2 & 3 clipper guides have been applied to my random thatch such that I am now deemed to be either:

a) presentable or

b) tidy enough for my own funeral, even if I turn out to be late for that.

This was the normal spring cut as the weather is supposed to be better next week. Other things were purchased by SWMBO from a fashion outlet that has a sale on (don’t they all?). I expect to be instructed that “we need more storage space” over the next couple of weeks as there are either six or eight new tops that have arrived since Christmas that need to be hung somewhere. One solution might be that she ditches stuff she no longer wears / fits her, another will be for me to ditch stuff that is perfectly good but that I have (in her eyes) had for far too long. Thankfully, lunch or tea out slipped her mind so the fiscal damage was limited somewhat. I suppose she will now want to go out somewhere to show off wear these new garbs. Could that have anything to do with the upcoming Mothering Sunday or her trip to take Tea At The Ritz I wonder? I shall just sit back because stone the Covids, comments from me would only gain rebuke from herself.

Is it gin o’clock yet good people?

[Simon G]

Happy birthday Neil,

 

A nice sunny day here today, so I got the ladders out and inspected the pointing above the bedroom window where water leaked in 2 days ago.  A hairline gap found between mortar and brick, so I drilled out the mortar and refilled it with new mortar.  I used some PVA glue in the mortar, which will hopefully improve its adhesion and waterproofing.  

 

I also lugged some bags bags of fresh horse manure up the garden and emptied them into a dumpy bag, that I use for rotting down the manure.  The bags will be returned this evening to where the manure came from.  It is quite convenient as we are about to set off for the Ratty, to go on a Fish and Chip run, and the horse manure source is enroute.

 

All this has been quite tiring, so currently having a rest before the Ratty trip.

 

Tomorrow we are due a steam train around the coast, supposedly to be hailed by Jubilee Alberta, which hasn’t been this way before, so I will be out for that, weather permitting.

[Rugd1022]

''Next week I shall mostly be working from home driving the 6O51 Tunstead - Battersea stone train from  the comfort of my favourite armchair''.

 

If only.....!

 

On a related note, apparently we're having sanitisers and hand wipes installed in our 66 cabs asap.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. A jar of pickled onions commited suicide this afternoon. It leapt from the shelf and shattered itself on the kitchen floor. Honest guv I didn't touch it, I was nowhere near it. Problem is I had to clear up the mess and now the kitchen and myself reek of pickled onions. Mind you vinegar makes a good floor cleaner. Latest news is that the London Marathon has been cancelled due to the coronavirus. Theres no events that I was planning to attend this weekend so cancellations won't affect me at the moment but keeping an eye on developements..  

Edited March 13, 2020 by PhilJ W

[tigerburnie]

2 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

POETS - yes please...

 

 

Carpe diem...

Ok I give up and I can't work it out, what does POETS mean then...…………………………………………..

[Ozexpatriate]

I'm sitting here in my living room looking out the window at a strange sight. For the first time this season it is snowing.

 

Here we are a week before the Spring equinox with daylight saving time in effect.  It is even sticking (sort of) to the broad leaved shrubs. Well, not really but they looked a little bit white for a minute. It won't last - according to my patio thermometer it's about 3°C out there. Snow was forecast down to altitudes of 500'. (I might be around 300'.)  Mostly it's melting on contact.

 

Yesterday it cloudless with blue skies and bright sunshine. Highs were 14°C.

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[PhilJ W]

POETS = P!ss of early Tomorrows Saturday.

Edited March 13, 2020 by PhilJ W

[BoD]

We will be ok.  We’ve just panic bought a load of dog food  - we usually buy in bulk anyway, but if the worst comes to worst we can fight him for it.

Valerie works at Asda, bless her, and said this morning was busier than at Christmas.

[Oldddudders]

Our cruise (sailing 14th April) has been cancelled with full money back. A relief. But M. Macron says over 70s shouldn't travel, and I would still like to get back to Blighty to spend a few weeks with Sherry. I am booked on a Eurostar on 26th March. Fingers crossed I get there in one piece. France has five times as many Covid-19 cases as the UK, so you might think getting away would be good. But I live in a very rural area, and need to meet very few people. Interestingly, while France has nearly 3k diagnosed cases, my Region (think a grouping of counties) with 3.8m inhabitants, has 41 cases. So Torbay, with 7 cases, may be worse! 

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, Barry O said:

My prescription came through. Instead of red and yellow ramopril I now have green and white capsules..must be the traffic light approach!

 

3 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

PS There must be some sort of Ramipril shortage going on Baz because I was given green & white ones instead of red & white a couple of weeks back.  They do incidentally go quite well with Merlot.

I'm getting tired of my blood pressure medication changing hue. This was a medication where one by one suppliers (in China) had inadequate quality control and trace carcinogens were detected and medications were recalled. While they were all the same shape and a similar colour, they were all slightly but visibly different.

 

Now the COVID-19 situation makes me wonder what the global supply chain for medications looks like right now and whether such substitutions are impacted by shortages in the pharmaceutical supply chain, not to mention other potential trade impacts in Britain. The "good" news I suppose is that the ship in China seems to be righting and we can imagine post COVID-19 normalcy in the supply chain.

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[J. S. Bach]

A rousing good afternoon owl from the Piedmont.

The US post Office has something called Informed Delivery; a scanned image of what will be put in one's mailbox that day. Today was the 2020 US Census forms packet, also in that image was a link to the Census website. A few mouse-clicks (about 25 or so, actually) and my Census reporting duties are done. That even before going out to the mailbox. The printed forms packet? That will go in my "unusual envelope" part of my stamp collection.

 

40 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

Ok I give up and I can't work it out, what does POETS mean then...…………………………………………..

 

Pi$$ On Everything, Tommorrow's Saturday

[Oldddudders]

3 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Pi$$ On Everything, Tommorrow's Saturday

Well, that's a new version, thankyou. 

[Joseph_Pestell]

29 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Our cruise (sailing 14th April) has been cancelled with full money back. A relief. But M. Macron says over 70s shouldn't travel, and I would still like to get back to Blighty to spend a few weeks with Sherry. I am booked on a Eurostar on 26th March. Fingers crossed I get there in one piece. France has five times as many Covid-19 cases as the UK, so you might think getting away would be good. But I live in a very rural area, and need to meet very few people. Interestingly, while France has nearly 3k diagnosed cases, my Region (think a grouping of counties) with 3.8m inhabitants, has 41 cases. So Torbay, with 7 cases, may be worse! 

 

What date are the municipal elections due? I am wondering whether they will be delayed. I have several friends involved including a Brit who is "tete de liste", so a potential mayor. Presumably he has taken French nationality or he would not be eligible.

[Tony_S]

4 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Well, that's a new version, thankyou. 

I suppose the version I was first told, Push Off Early, Tomorrow’s Saturday just shows what refined places Essex school staffrooms were in the 1970s.

[Joseph_Pestell]

57 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

POETS = P!ss of early Tomorrows Saturday.

 

Are you sure it's going to be Saturday? No Six Nations and no pro soccer. Even the 3mm Society has cancelled its Midlands meet.

[JohnDMJ]

 

 

3 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

POETS - yes please...

 

Yesterday choir practice and "all other activities" have been suspended at church, and the group that meet for happy hour had also/already decided to practice some sensible "social distancing".

Subsequently the Mrs and I went and "panic shopped" for gin and red and white "flavoured liquids" in case we need to be isolated!

We're also thinking of panic shopping for jigsaw puzzles - an activity we enjoy and may need to stock up on "just in case"

Carpe diem...

 

Like the panic buying of flavoured, coloured liquids.

 

Jigsaws, now there's a thought! If facing the prospect of self isolation, should we all not be stocking up on 'materials' to pursue our hobbies? (I generalise so as to reduce the risk of the wrath of the awl!)

 

42 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

I am booked on a Eurostar on 26th March. Fingers crossed I get there in one piece.

 

That's cute! I'm booked on a Eurostar from London, turning left at Lille and heading beyond Bruxelles on 25th, returning, with an enforced change at Bruxelles Midi on the 27th! I have similar thoughts and hopes!

[Rugd1022]

I've just had an email stating that the classic car restoration show at the NEC on the 29th of this month is going ahead, or at least appears to be, I'm quite surprised actually considering the number of sporting fixtures being postponed left right and centre.

 

We shall see...

[Ozexpatriate]

31 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

Are you sure it's going to be Saturday? No Six Nations and no pro soccer.

I know how you feel. I had planned to plant myself in front of the TV for the PGA Players' Championship at TPC Sawgrass. No 17th hole, island green drama this weekend! (All for well intentioned reasons I hasten to add.)

 

Yet another bloviating Presidential press conference starting now.

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by Ozexpatriate