Early Risers.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well I’ve been lucky today, as all the times I’ve been outside, the rain has held off, meaning that I stayed dry during my various shopping trips. I also managed to get both a pastie for my dinner and the latest copy of RM from WHS which has now reopened. 

 

After dinner I decided that as it was still raining, I was going to have a lazy afternoon and sat and read the RM I’d picked up earlier this morning. I’d not been reading long when the desire to inspect the inside of my eyelids took hold and that was that until it was time for a mid afternoon hot drink. As we drank our drinks, we sat and watched a gardening program that we’d recently recorded. 

 

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[PeterBB]

Hi Guys,

 

Been able to flick through, go to a number of 'follows' go out and get back in after the initial 'forgot password' initiation but this time much quicker because my email was 'left on'.  We will see if I can return tomorrow.  Some interesting reads although soy above my grade in railway terms.  Sorry about the F15 pilot.

 

Again, the above did not go out on last visit ...  still variable response that suddenly starts with ticks not registering and then the usual 'no permission'.  It even came up on my 'regulars' as 'no permission'.  I have been through a number of blogs tonight so will try to post this, close down and then retry to see what happens.  TTFN

 

[PeterBB]

Well the last one registered then came

 then on coming back

so yet again needed to reset PW.

 

Then when I decided to add this content one that I wrote over a week ago came up for 'saving'

Having said that a long interesting read so it is now 0110 hours so, sleep well.

Edited June 20, 2020 by PeterBB
Spelling correction

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Evening all,

 

Just finished the condenser mock-up for the trunk engine. It’s not the greatest ever, but it works and looks good so I’ll keep it. If you fancy a read you can read about it Here. Just had some excellent tacos for dinner, these ones had brisket inside which is new for me, but tastes excellent. The Trump Train arrived in town today, his rally is tomorrow. So it should be interesting to see how that plays out. Been reading up on John Penn & Sons, quite an interesting company. 
 

Douglas

Edited June 20, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

Can't sleep, too early.. Need more sleep

 

[Ozexpatriate]

40 minutes ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

... had some excellent tacos for dinner, these ones had brisket inside ...

Inquiring minds need more data:

• proper low and slow barbecue brisket ...
• or prepackaged from the supermarket?
• barbecue sauce, pico de gallo or salsa?
• soft tacos? flour or corn?

[Florence Locomotive Works]

21 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Inquiring minds need more data:

• proper low and slow barbecue brisket ...
• or prepackaged from the supermarket?
• barbecue sauce, pico de gallo or salsa?
• soft tacos? flour or corn?

Unfortunately I can’t answer any of those except that they were soft tacos, and definitely low and slow. It was takeout so I don’t know how they get there meat, but certainly better quality than most supermarkets. 

[Ozexpatriate]

The welcome lack of rain over the last two days encouraged some outside chores.

• Thursday saw some of the more urgent gardening. About 30% of what could be done was achieved but the weeds growing in between the patio pavers are laughing no more.
• Today saw the sweeping and hosing of the covered patio, followed by scrubbing the patio tables and chairs.

Half of my patio space (stamped, textured concrete) is covered, so in theory, the tables and chairs are protected from the elements. If only this were true. Despite being protected from the vertical rain the general dampness of an Oregon winter means the teak furniture can get mouldy spots and then accumulate a generous layer of fir pollen. Had I a shipload of matelots scrubbing the teak deck furniture every eight bells of the morning watch, this would not be an issue. Without that, I'm hard pressed to get it done once in the Spring. 

That happened today. There are two adjoining tables, each with four chairs. I was waiting for a suitably warm day since this is a wet splashy chore. I didn't think I'd get to them all in one go, but felt up to the challenge, though my thoroughness on the chairs was inversely proportional to the order in which I scrubbed them. (That's not quite true, a couple of the chairs on the weather side had two passes of the scrubbing brush.)

 

 Now I can dine alfresco without getting covered in pollen and grime. I'd do it tomorrow if it wasn't supposed to be rainy.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Goodnight all, from Greencountry.

 

Douglas

[Ozexpatriate]

Earlier in the week I had decided to forego my afternoon constitutional due to a brief and not at all severe thunderstorm. As soon as my decision was made the sun reappeared. I reversed my decision thinking I had plenty of time for a brisk walk before another storm band arrived.

 

Inevitably the sun disappeared the moment I locked the front door. The whole walk had me looking at ominous clouds in the south and traffic coming from that direction with their headlights on. Close to home it started raining very gently. Then the sun reappeared. 

 

Oregonians use the term "liquid sunshine" to refer to rain. The last ten minutes of my walk home was accompanied by sunshine, blue sky overhead, with gentle, essentially vertical, very light rain that evaporated as it hit the ground. Such is Oregon in the Spring.

[J. S. Bach]

Good night owl from the Piedmont.

[BR60103]

There was a disparity in the weather forecasts in today's newspapers -- partyly cloudy or thunderstorm. While SWMBO was out shopping (for a third newspaper) we had a couple of inches of partly cloudy.

The driveway men finally appeared today. They started just about 7:00 to accompany the Bang a Pot gang and were finished before 9:00. Interesting that they just stuck a pick or something under the tar and peeled it off in a sheet (well, sections of a sheet). The new stuff is still warm.

 

I really enjoyed Coombe Barton's music selections today.

 Note: driveway times are P.M.

Edited June 21, 2020 by BR60103
clarifying

[TheQ]

Mooring awl,  inner Temple now here, 

A further 3 hours sleep,  was had,  unfortunately ended by Ben the alarm clock Collie,   almost on time. 

 

Sunny cloudless sky out there, heavy dew, the jungle is trying to reassert itself,  some greenery is nearly a foot high after the last mow a couple of weeks ago.  I'll try to get at least an hours mowing in later, just to keep the main areas clear. 

 

I'm going to set SWMBOs laptop on updates in a minute,  while I head  to the kitchen I fancy a full English for breakfast..  I can keep on Microsoft's vagaries while consuming.. 

 

Time to put the kettle on... 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

Once again the process of booking a service appointment with British Gas was more of an ordeal than it should have been.  What should have happened is that the website would spring into life and display a selection of slots from which I could choose.  Instead it apologised noiselessly and displayed a telephone number.  I dialled it and the fun started.  How I detest those voices which belong not to a human but to a machine that seems to be hard of hearing.  For all the good it did I found myself yelling the answers.  Out of the rigmarole came an appointment for a six hour afternoon slot and being asked no less than three times whether I had symptoms of the virus.  Only one of the questions was accompanied by an invitation to press 1 for yes and 2 for no.  I do hope that British Gas do not regard their customer service as state of the art.  It isn’t.

 

The next irritation yesterday came from what I suspect was meant to be a cold call.  The phone rang, I answered it and there was too long a pause before a woman spoke in a non-native accent.  After I confirmed that I was the person that she sought she hung up!  How pointless and rude is that?  The number revealed by 1471 had 14 digits starting with two zeros so I suspect that it originated from overseas.  I used the 1572 facility to redirect any further calls from that number to the junk mail box.  It will have no lasting effect save to make me feel better.  At the risk of sounding selfish, that is what matters to me.

 

In other news, the face masks that I ordered from China through Amazon – yes, I know – turned up yesterday.  From Newmarket.  Make of that what you will.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[jamie92208]

Good moaning or whatever time of day/night it is to all readers.  After the exitements of actually playing trains with friends in the afternoon, a very pleasant evening was had. Beth was out with a friend for the day meat shopping in Haute Vienne. This meant that my tea was a grilled pork chop accompanied by  onions and carrots, mashed potato and cheese sauce, all prepared by me. A glass of red and some music from The Who (Odds and Sods) made for a very pleasant meal. Beth returned, meat was packed away and we sat out with a glass of wine for a while.  

 

Today I am venturing to Angouleme to buy various stuff and will return via the Gauge 1 meet that my friends from yesterday are attending.  There may even be some trainspotting.  Not a bad plan for the day

[5 C]

Morning awl from a cloudy Bedfordshire.

 

It's been another mad week. Two days spent in the office to accompany some of the senior management on tours of the socially distanced workplace. It's been a welcome change of scene from my kitchen table and the chance to interact with real live human beings (albeit from behind a surgical mask) has been priceless. The other unexpected benefit was the improvement to my exercise regime. I couldn't work out why I woke up yesterday feeling a bit sore and achy. A check of my iPhone told me that I'd managed over 5,000 steps on both days, simply from walking round the office and observing the one-way system - even though I didn't really need to.

 

Working silly hours means I don't get much chance to relax during the week. I find YouTube a useful distraction. Occasionally its algorithm throws up some absolute gems and this week it was the 1981 BBC series "Fighter Pilot". At the time it was (and still is) compelling viewing - like an early form of reality TV where you were kept guessing which one would make the grade. Fifteen year-old me was utterly enthralled as I harboured similar ambitions before eyesight and other things got in the way. Hard to believe it's nearly 40 years ago. The joys of the internet mean you can find out what the protagonists went on to do and are doing now. One thing I didn't realise was the Officer Cadet Training Unit at the time was at nearby RAF Henlow and not as I'd thought, RAF Cranwell to where I think it moved a few years later.

 

Some sad news yesterday as I found out that one of my neighbours had died on Thursday following a stroke. This had all happened while I was at the office, with two ambulances and a fire engine in our little cul-de-sac. A lovely lady who would always stop and chat, ask how I was and what I was up to  work-wise. I've been very lucky to have had great neighbours over the years.

 

Brekkie and a second muggertea await.

 

Regards to awl.

 

 

[polybear]

9 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

The last of our "free" board-at-the-exit bus routes converts back to front-door-boarding with fares collected tomorrow.  The 281 had been among the last batch of routes still running in "free" mode across London.  If they don't do something about the ridiculous capacity arrangements soon there will be a lot of angry people unable to board and forming socially un-distanced crowds at bus stops.  20 per bus isn't clearing the demand now. 

 

I understand that the full size single decker buses running thru' the large village where I live are limited to 7 passengers.  And with buses at one an hour out of peak, that's not funny if you can't get on.  Fortunately I (like many others) never have cause to use them, which is one of the reasons they've gone from double to single decker, with a cr@p timetable.  Less and less passengers - and boy, did I get a shock at the fares the last time I did use them.

[roundhouse]

3 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

 

Oregonians use the term "liquid sunshine" to refer to rain. The last ten minutes of my walk home was accompanied by sunshine, blue sky overhead, with gentle, essentially vertical, very light rain that evaporated as it hit the ground. Such is Oregon in the Spring.

Hence why McMenamins brew a  wheat beer called Liquid Sunshine. I remember one trip to Portland some years ago where it rained every day, just like home. Wasnt much fun waiting for the bars to open.

 

Refund recieved yesterday for our outward flight to Chicago but awaiting the refund just received for the  return flight from Seattle back home, so not a bad response from Norwegian once we received the offical cancelleation email from them about two weeks ago. I wish we could still go but hopefully later in the year as long as its afe and affordable to do so.

 

Todays walk is via an old quarry site which now has 100s of homes built on it and a a couple of lakes. It used to be rail served and I have photos of the derelict sidings. Screwfix and our car service place are built on those sidings with just one level crossing gate and a short length of track preserved nearby. The walk will take us via our usual pub for take out drsaught ale.

Edited June 20, 2020 by roundhouse

[roundhouse]

6 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

I understand that the full size single decker buses running thru' the large village where I live are limited to 7 passengers.  And with buses at one an hour out of peak, that's not funny if you can't get on.  Fortunately I (like many others) never have cause to use them, which is one of the reasons they've gone from double to single decker, with a cr@p timetable.  Less and less passengers - and boy, did I get a shock at the fares the last time I did use them.

Oh yes. If we use the local buses its often cheaper for the two of us to get a taxi and way quicker. Luckily we have a tfl bus route that goes from the town centre to Croydon  just a couple of minutes away but cant see us making much use of them for the foreseable future. I cannot see how public trnasport can survive much longer with the current restrictions.

[Barry O]

Ey up! 

The sun has reappeared here in the North West Leeds Highlands.  Hurrah!!

Still feel less than100% but, following an electronic conversation with a fellow ER and a test with my Blood Pressure measuring device could be a problem has been identified. Now to get to talk to the GP about it as they may need rto tejig my medication.

 

I may also be on grass cutting duties today. 

 

A question if I may? How have our overpaid soccer players managed to keep their immaculate haircuts during lockdown? My hair is getting "Shaun the Sheep" like. Do they all travel to a certain town in durham???

 

I have yet to see the Railway Toddler..you get a free copy if you are in it..but it is coming by foot I think!

 

Time to get going. Can't waste the sun!

 

Stay well and i do hope all our ERs are well. Hopefully some may reappear in the nexr few days.

Baz

 

 

Edited June 20, 2020 by Barry O
Spellung

[Barry O]

5 hours ago, roundhouse said:

Oh yes. If we use the local buses its often cheaper for the two of us to get a taxi and way quicker. Luckily we have a tfl bus route that goes from the town centre to Croydon  just a couple of minutes away but cant see us making much use of them for the foreseable future. I cannot see how public trnasport can survive much longer with the current restrictions.

The idea of go everywhere by bike not bus or train is ok if you live somewhere reasonably flat and have panniers or a basket to carry shopping in. The local buses are seeing a steady increase in patronage. Some of the cyclists have realised they can just about ride a bike but not wirh bags draped off the handlebars.

Edited June 20, 2020 by Barry O
Spellung

[TheQ]

22 minutes ago, Barry O said:

The idea of go everywhere by bike not bus or train 8s ok if you live somewhere reasonably flat and have panniers or a basket to carry shopping in. The local buses are seeing a steady increase in patronage. Some of the cyclists have realised they can just about ride a bike but not wirh bags draped off the handlebars.

I don't think a pannier tank with out its a wagon would be much help carrying your stuff. ... 

 

Local bus?  What's that?  Mile and a half to the nearest bus route,  and the first one in the morning  is after I'm supposed to be at work...