Early Risers.

[iL Dottore]

Greetings All,

 

Dinner was consumed. However, I wasn’t that happy with it - the twice cooked pork tasted great, but the reduced sauce didn’t quite turn out as it should have . I think, that at the start of cooking, I over caramelised the sugar, which had a knock on effect.

 

The recipe for pork chops baked in mustard sounds intriguing, I must try it (assuming that I can get decent pork chops. The ones normally available at the butcher are so trimmed down that wave a match at the chop and it dries out...).

 

I am utterly appalled to hear how instruments are binned after a single use rather than set aside, cleaned and sterilised. At the hospitals I’ve worked at, there was a dedicated department and dedicated staff whose sole job was to clean, pack, autoclave (sterilise)  instruments. Why the NHS can’t do the same is beyond me. If a trust can employ “diversity awareness officers”  (and other “non jobs”), then they can certainly employ staff to recycle metal instruments.  At the risk of getting “political” isn’t this another example of how the NHS is in effect two organisations: a smaller one treating patients and a bigger one dedicated to maintaining it’s own privileges (a point made very forcibly in a post on another forum by a NHS Nurse who said - more or less - “the first priority for NHS management is to protect NHS management”)

 

Now off to watch The Supetvet, lots of interesting surgical procedures and lots of lovely doggies....

 

G’night All

iD

[brianusa]

13 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Well, funny you should say that..... I'm not sure where I last updated ERs, so a resumé might help. 

 

The latter part of 2019 was marked by several key events in Alison's life. As some will know, I tend to travel by Eurostar to and from Blighty, and when I got back last August she met me off my local train from Paris and told me she was pregnant. At 54. A pro-life sort of person she carried the child, of course. When she eventually told François he initially said he would support her - yeah, yeah, yeah - but basically did what he always does when life gets tough and disappeared into his farm. At about 20 weeks, I think, Alison was out one day when she got tell-tale twinges and went straight to hospital, where the baby was lost. Naturally it was I who picked her up in a very distressed state and took her home to her boys. 

 

But something more positive had already begun - she had been asked to provide sickness cover for the English teacher at a local secondary skool. A fully paid legit job would help her application for citizenship, albeit losing her social security claim for some months. The incumbent - French, of course, and not possessed of great English, in all honesty - proved to be an awkward cow, and A knew the kids were not getting the best of deals. Sadly after no more than 10 days of teaching A developed chest pains, and guess who took her back to the local hospital? As had happened in 2016, she was transferred to a Le Mans hospital, all the heart tests were done - no real fault found.  So again I picked her up a couple of days later. She was then signed off until the New Year, but the new term did see her succeed in teaching for the required 6 weeks, and the school were pleased with her performance, to the extent that she will now teach three days a week from September. I think I mentioned Sherry and I were guinea pigs at a skool exam. 

 

So by mid-Feb she was back from teaching, and on Feb 15 - yes, the day after Valentine's - François moved in. Of course, he'd moved in for nearly two weeks last Summer, but wifey got stroppy so he meekly went home. This time he stayed three months, but towards the end of that period became increasingly distant and grumpy, so when he left - after two days of both of them in tears, sigh - it was almost a relief. This coincided with the lifting of lockdown, and he knew his wife was now going to pursue divorce, with the threat of his precious farm being at risk. Of course she didn't do that, but continued to hold the threat over him. Then he got all brave again and moved back in for the third time in late-June. This time he stayed 12 days. You couldn't make it up could you? But during that time A managed to get him to see a lawyer about starting divorce proceedings.

 

And, as of two days ago, he has moved back in for the fourth time. Hey, they came for a social visit here on Thursday afternoon. Sherry was not very impressed on her first meeting with F. The marital fat does seem to be in the fire, but he is a pitiful man. Wifey is also a business partner, and holds all the purse-strings, in both business and marriage, so he has no access to cash. She holds all the key data to running the farm, because he has no idea how to turn on a PC. Milk yields and all sorts of stuff about acreages, needed by law, are a complete mystery to him, because it's all online, of course. A tractor has just been repaired, but she has refused to sign a cheque, so it may have to go back and be sold to pay the bill! He has for some weeks been locked out of his own house - only allowed in when wifey is home. He has not been allowed to close the loo door, because he might just be texting A. Who would want such a drip, you ask? Such is love, apparently, 

 

Phew. 

Would make a good soap opera!

     Brian.

[brianusa]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

If I may unburden myself, I would like to state that I am getting very, very frustrated with my next door neighbour. An elderly (80 year old) gent, his telephone has been out of service for the past six weeks. He finally contacted the appropriate people last week

Hey, I'm 85 - I'm not elderly.  Old perhaps, but not elderly; these things are important especially in these PC days!

     Brian.

[polybear]

8 minutes ago, brianusa said:

Hey, I'm 85 - I'm not elderly.  Old perhaps, but not elderly; these things are important especially in these PC days!

     Brian.

 

Poly never made the original quote - iL Dottore did:

 

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

If I may unburden myself, I would like to state that I am getting very, very frustrated with my next door neighbour. An elderly (80 year old) gent, his telephone has been out of service for the past six weeks.

 

I feel a petition coming on - questions asked in Parliament etc. etc.

"Bear is innocent - justice for Bear......"

 

(Me thinks the website has a few glitches....)

Edited July 25, 2020 by polybear

[brianusa]

7 minutes ago, polybear said:

Me thinks the website has a few glitches..

 It seems to get confused between the author and the responder.

       Brian.

[polybear]

29 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I am utterly appalled to hear how instruments are binned after a single use rather than set aside, cleaned and sterilised. At the hospitals I’ve worked at, there was a dedicated department and dedicated staff whose sole job was to clean, pack, autoclave (sterilise)  instruments. Why the NHS can’t do the same is beyond me. If a trust can employ “diversity awareness officers”  (and other “non jobs”), then they can certainly employ staff to recycle metal instruments.  At the risk of getting “political” isn’t this another example of how the NHS is in effect two organisations: a smaller one treating patients and a bigger one dedicated to maintaining it’s own privileges (a point made very forcibly in a post on another forum by a NHS Nurse who said - more or less - “the first priority for NHS management is to protect NHS management”)

 

Now off to watch The Supetvet, lots of interesting surgical procedures and lots of lovely doggies....

 

G’night All

iD

 

An article on today's BBC News website included the following:

"The next day, James, our head of talent, went to look at applications and was amazed to find that in less than 24 hours we had 963 people apply."

Head of Talent?  FFS.....

 

As for V-E-T's, well you've obviously never been on the receiving end of one.  Then they don't become so interesting, believe me....

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, BokStein said:

 

 

Might I suggest a recipe for Pork in Mustard?

 

Coat the bottom of an oven-proof pan with a layer of Moutarde de Meaux (NOT Dijon!) Add pork chops to the pan then add another layer of said mustard. Oven cook the assembly to your satisfaction and enjoy.

 

For reference, the town of Meaux usually wraps this in pastry.

The town of Meaux just happens to be our twin town. It also has a thriving model railway club. Our club has visited on many occasions with our layouts and I have visited on three of those occasions. I seem to remember the pork chop/mustard wrapped in pastry, delicious. I can't for the life of me recall what it was called. The whole town is on show, not just the model railway club and in typical French fashion everything stopped for lunch (which was a three course meal with coffee or wine over about two hours). Lunch was served up in a marquee set up for the purpose. The town itself is about 30 kilometres east of Paris on the River Marne and the oldest part of the town is surrounded on three sides by the river rather like Shrewsbury.

[iL Dottore]

17 minutes ago, brianusa said:

Hey, I'm 85 - I'm not elderly.  Old perhaps, but not elderly; these things are important especially in these PC days!

     Brian.

TBH Brian, “elderly” is very much down to how you think about yourself and your place in the world. I’m over 60 and I consider myself to be “just about middle aged”.
 

Having said that, a friend of mine is of the opinion that I was “born middle-aged“ (when I first met my friend I was going through a bit of a “pipe and cardigan“ phase. I was 31 at the time)

Sadly, my next door neighbour is very determined to consider himself as “elderly“ (referring back to my original post one of his excuses for not getting a mobile phone, something everyone who knows him has been telling him to do for ages, is that he is “an old man and too old to learn how these complicated new things work“)

 

G’night All

 

p.s. If Mr P Bear believes that he is innocent, then I am sure that he will not mind taking a Poly - graph test

[simontaylor484]

Its like that fella Bill Posters must be a 1 man crime wave. I dont know what he has done but i have seen signs all over the country saying he will be prosecuted. 

 

What ever happened to the presumption of innocence.  

[Gwiwer]

11 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

Its like that fella Bill Posters must be a 1 man crime wave. I dont know what he has done but i have seen signs all over the country saying he will be prosecuted. 

 

What ever happened to the presumption of innocence.  

For many years the nation was riddled with presumptions of innocence.  Everywhere one went one could find slogans proclaiming "Bill Stickers is innocent".  There is no such verdict in English law.  Bill Stickers was in fact found Not Guilty  

[Coombe Barton]

49 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

bit of a “pipe and cardigan“ phase

[PeterBB]

HI guys,

 

A few minutes ago I posted on the blog, a rather longer one than usual because of the 'throw out' but it threw me out.  I am hoping that it will some day return as the odd previous one have but  for now I will leave it and go back to reading - commenting by tick box if it works.

 

Update

 

Hi Guys, the one above 'worked' but the big one and the later one did not and came up with an EXO error.  Please accepts apologies for the missing erudite additions that were repeatedly lost!  Cheers.

Edited July 25, 2020 by PeterBB
EXO Errors on previous blogs and comment ticks.

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

A bit late to the part as they say but Jamie glad Beth seems to have been lucky in her fall but I bet she might be a bit stiff tomorrow.

Usual kind of a day here, gardening in the morning and then a walk and an hour in the shed. I’m not sure the hour in the shed has been a success, when the paint dries I let you know.

Good night,

Robert

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by Erichill16
Typo

[laurenceb]

Glad that Beth is (sort of) ok

Night awl

[Erichill16]

Just been reading the debate on the re-use of surgical equipment and it reminds me of an incident at my MRC.

I was doing a bit of track laying and had forgotten my side cutter so one of my friends said here borrow mine. When he got them out I said ‘where did you get them from?’’found them in a bin he said.’ What he had were a pair of pliers used by surgeons  to cut through ribs ! They were a bit on the large size but cut through the rail with no problems. 

Robert

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[BokStein]

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

The recipe for pork chops baked in mustard sounds intriguing, I must try it (assuming that I can get decent pork chops. The ones normally available at the butcher are so trimmed down that wave a match at the chop and it dries out...).

 

Dijon mustard is too dry for this; the recipe is a speciality of Meaux in France

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

TBH Brian, “elderly” is very much down to how you think about yourself and your place in the world. I’m over 60 and I consider myself to be “just about middle aged”.
 

Having said that, a friend of mine is of the opinion that I was “born middle-aged“ (when I first met my friend I was going through a bit of a “pipe and cardigan“ phase. I was 31 at the time)

Sadly, my next door neighbour is very determined to consider himself as “elderly“ (referring back to my original post one of his excuses for not getting a mobile phone, something everyone who knows him has been telling him to do for ages, is that he is “an old man and too old to learn how these complicated new things work“)

 

G’night All

 

p.s. If Mr P Bear believes that he is innocent, then I am sure that he will not mind taking a Poly - graph test

 

Whilst growing old may be mandatory, growing up is optional!

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

After this morning’s short shower, thankfully the rain held off for the rest of the day. In the workshop more progress has been made on the turntable control panel. Firstly, a few final tweaks were needed to the line (track) diagram that I’d drawn on last weekend were made. I then marked where each hole for the point switch would go as well as marking where the indicator LEDs would go. I then got out the drill, the fascia is too wide to go on my bench drill and I can control the speed easier with my hand drill. Lots of holes have been drilled in it today, starting at the rear where I drilled and fitted the sockets for the 12v control and 3v, motor supplies and another for the supply to the drive motor itself. I also made a start on the fascia, holes were drilled for the start button, the selector switch, both rotation direction buttons and the holes for the sequence on, rotational direction and emergency stop button activated LEDs were drilled. Tomorrow I’m hoping to get the point activation switches and indicator LEDs drilled, I can then make a start on painting the control panel. 

 

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Been raining here on and off all evening but seems to have stopped now. Goodnight all.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[newbryford]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

TBH Brian, “elderly” is very much down to how you think about yourself and your place in the world. I’m over 60 and I consider myself to be “just about middle aged”.
 

 

 

I once heard the phrase "you're only as old as the woman you feel"

 

So that automatically makes me 3 years younger....................

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[J. S. Bach]

Good night owl from the Piedmont.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl inner Temple Hare, 

1 hours sleep,  wake up, turn light out, put book away,  go back to sleep, 6hours sleep.  Needed that,  I may get more. 

 

The woman I feel,  makes me two years younger,  but 34 years ago she was asked if I was her father... 

She also got refused service at pubs while well into her 20s for being under age... 

 

Yesterday evening we got a visit from Thor hammering away at his anvil,  this was accompanied by large amounts of water. Instant deep puddles everywhere. 

Ben the scaredy Collie hid in his cage,  it was shaking,  he was an unhappy Collie for  some time afterwards... 

 

I've remembered I didn't work on the jib club yesterday,  I'd put it to one side safely out of the way,  it is annoying because I had time to work on it.  If I'm not two knackered from barbeque area building, I might do that this afternoon.  There are several wooden loose items for the boat that needs varnishing and one or two that still need to be made,  I need to make them,  and get them lined up to do them at the same time. 

 

Now let's see if I can get more sleep 

 

Time to.. Put this tablet down. 

 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all, with warm thoughts to Jamie and Beth

 

The week ahead should have been so different.  After several days of packing and stowing, I would have set off for Sidmouth on Thursday at an early hour, cunningly timed to avoid nearly all the rush hours between here and there.  Sadly Sidmouth folk festival has fallen victim to that ruddy virus, like so many other things.  I would have had to rethink part of my outward journey.  Until last year I would have stopped in Bristol for a cuppa with my aunt.  Since then she has moved out of her inter-war semi in Sea Mills into a care home in Shirehampton.  I am not at all sure that inmates are allowed visitors at 8 am.  As for the festival, I have only missed two since my first visit in 1975 and there is a sense of longing - what the Welsh call hiraeth.  There will be two festival related virtual broadcasts next weekend from a secret location.  I shall watch them out of curiosity as to how much of the festival atmosphere comes down the line but you would be right to detect a note of scepticism.  At least next year's event is paid for.

 

As befits Sunday, there will be Sunday lunch.  I had intended to feast on coq au vin but circumstances dictated otherwise and rump steak must suffice.  Oh, the hardship.  The day will be spent quietly unless I am inspired to do something else.  Somehow I doubt it.  On Wednesday evening I am supposed to be subjecting myself to Zoom again, this time in the name of the HMRS.  Another evening of technical hitches awaits.  Before it gets under way I must set the digi box to record Portaloo's latest continental rail journey.  I do not know the city of Salamanca but it aroused my curiosity because e-friend Harry studied there.  That's what he told me, anyway.

 

There are still aches and pains to be soaked away and still some Radox in the bottle.  Best wishes to all

 

Chris