Early Risers.

[TheQ]

Mooring awl,  Inner Temple Hare, 

Too darned hot,  very little sleep so far. 

 

Trying for more... 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

Another brush with technology for me yesterday.  I was invited to renew my vehicle excise duty, so forking out for that and insurance on the same day is best described as unfortunate timing.  DVLA now offer the option of applying on line.  Unsurprisingly it’s a bit of a rigmarole.  When the webshite is located it is necessary to enter the 16 digit number on the reminder form.   Having to type the number a second time because it did not take properly on the first occasion is only to be expected.  Alternatively there is a phone number which involves a multiple choice of buttons.  I passed up the chance to press 3 and hear the instructions in Welsh.  When you pay by card you have to enter a different 16 digit number, namely the one on the card.  This could get confusing.  On screen, users are encouraged to leave feedback, for this is a new service.  Guess what: I could not make that function function.  Maybe next year I will go to the post office and write a cheque as I have done for years.  The bank app on my phone, aka the new toy, says that a payment of the correct sum is in the system so all must be well.

 

Not so well is my mobile phone.  It has not been accepting the charge via the plug-in charger.  It will be with a sense of foreboding that I try this morning to get some sense out of Currys where I bought it.  The outcome is bound to be expensive, knowing my luck.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[TheQ]

Sorry ChrisF,  the online road tax payment system isn't new and neither is the leave comments section.  I've been using the system for some years without problems ... 

 

Mooring Awl part two, 

Some sleep was achieved later,  only after tripping over Ben the sleeping Collie in an unusual place on the colder floor.

He got his own back dragging me out at dawn,  In time to see the mist lifting from the fields. 

 

A breakfast of bacon egg and mushrooms has been enjoyed with a Muggacoffee.  

 

Today,  I'll be heading down to the boatyard to see what happening with the motorboat,  to be followed by TES and Coes.  Then it will be up on the roof of the MhRC for waterproofing the eaves.. 

 

But first Muggacoffee number Two. 

[Erichill16]

I’m a bit of a technophobe  but find the DVLA site quite easy to to use. You don’t need a user name or password just your vehicle documents.

Robert

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Cricket umpiring last night was nice. No coat on as it was warm..a first for this season. People are going on holiday so at least 2 clubs in our league are struggling for players this weekend. League management are eeediots!

Her indooors can resume her volunteering duties for Sue Ryder today. It may help her to settle down as, like a lot of people , she is longing for a return to semin normality.

 

So looks like after scripting a report on the over 60s match I umpired this week, can do some bodging of scale items for a while.

 

I shall kick Friday into life and drink my mugatea first.

 

Positive thoughts to all ERs, especially our "missing" ones.

 

Baz

[jamie92208]

Good morning to all. It's going to get hot. It's already in the mid 20's.  The main hedgecwas cut yesterday. Now the one at the back of the house before it gets too hot.  This one was originally 8' high Cottoneaster.  A friend said chop them right down and let them re grow. After 3 years they have now grown back into a waist high hedge.  Apart from that, not a lot will be done today though I might scan some more slides.

 

Simon, thanks for the info, I know the area well, having spent 4 years working out of Pontefract nick which was next to the old Haribo factory. IIRC the Selby coalfield worked the Beeston seam that surfacedcon Briggate in Leeds. They were set to work a deeper seam below thecBeeston but the market collapsed and the whole complex closed.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[Andrew P]

2 hours ago, chrisf said:

Greetings one and all

 

Another brush with technology for me yesterday.  I was invited to renew my vehicle excise duty, so forking out for that and insurance on the same day is best described as unfortunate timing.  DVLA now offer the option of applying on line.  Unsurprisingly it’s a bit of a rigmarole.  When the webshite is located it is necessary to enter the 16 digit number on the reminder form.   Having to type the number a second time because it did not take properly on the first occasion is only to be expected.  Alternatively there is a phone number which involves a multiple choice of buttons.  I passed up the chance to press 3 and hear the instructions in Welsh.  When you pay by card you have to enter a different 16 digit number, namely the one on the card.  This could get confusing.  On screen, users are encouraged to leave feedback, for this is a new service.  Guess what: I could not make that function function.  Maybe next year I will go to the post office and write a cheque as I have done for years.  The bank app on my phone, aka the new toy, says that a payment of the correct sum is in the system so all must be well.

 

Not so well is my mobile phone.  It has not been accepting the charge via the plug-in charger.  It will be with a sense of foreboding that I try this morning to get some sense out of Currys where I bought it.  The outcome is bound to be expensive, knowing my luck.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

 

49 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

I’m a bit of a technophobe  but find the DVLA site quite easy to to use. You don’t need a user name or password just your vehicle documents.

Robert

I did mine on line the last 2 or 3 years, even the private plate transfer was so quick and easy. The only thing I have concerns about is there is no proof of renewal other than your E-Mail, especially as my Road Tax is a freebie, so not even a payment is shown.

And I hate modern technology normally.

Edited August 7, 2020 by Andrew P

[Andrew P]

And talking of the DVLA and modern Technology, we moved home as many will know on the 15th May, so on the 20th May I sent both my V5 Vehicle Registration Doc and my Driving Licence Change of address  off to the DVLA.

 

Two weeks ago, I received my new V5, but no sign of my Driving Licence.

 

I went on line to see if I could trace it, send an e-mail to ask about it, or get a replacement as it was now over two Months since it was sent. A replacement would have cost £20 which I wasn't prepared to pay as I was not the one who had lost it, as it must have arrived at the DVLA as it was in the same envelope as my V5.

 

Anyway, to cut a long story short, it eventually arrived on Saturday, so now I'm a happy bunny again, rather than an agitated one. 

[Andrew P]

Harking back to the Good Old Days, when I was in the Motor Trade, and we're talking pre computer era, you could RING the DVLA at Swansea, and 9 times out of 10, the nice young lady at the other end of the phone would be able to find your paperwork, type it up and confirm it was sorted.

 

We / you could even visit the Local Car Tax Office, (does anyone remember them) and sort out any Road Tax issues. I had a nice Lady in our Local Tax office who was always so helpful, we would get some chocs and a few bottles of wine for the Staff at Christmas.

 

I think it was what was called personal service and customer care. or bribery?

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Well I think this is the first day this week that we’ve not had overnight rain! The last of the waste/recycling bins is just being emptied so I’ll go and search the area for them once breakfast is finished. I’ll then set off for my short walk to the butchers for the weekly meat rations and a pastie for my dinner. Upon my return I’ll have muggertea No2 before setting off for the Trafford Centre to get the few things I can’t get from Sainsbury’s. 

 

The are no no plans for this afternoon, so I think I’ll check the MERG article I’ve written, if no more changes are required then I’ll submit it to the editor. 

 

Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. 

[Coombe Barton]

The sun has started to burn off this mist, and it's forecast to be comfortably warm, not blisteringly hot as some will be suffering.

[tigerburnie]

Morning, looks like another warm one here, no plans yet, SWMBO  is expecting parcels, so we won't be going far, maybe a bit light "G" word, the grass needs cutting, but not in this heat.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Commiserations to John (CB) re. his friends cancer, the big C is a bu@@er. Warming up here quite a bit, the thermometer in the coolest part of the house is reading 21 C. and where I am sat its 25 C. Not much will get done today then except moving some stuff from the garage ready for when it gets a bit cooler.

2 hours ago, Andrew P said:

 

I did mine on line the last 2 or 3 years, even the private plate transfer was so quick and easy. The only thing I have concerns about is there is no proof of renewal other than your E-Mail, especially as my Road Tax is a freebie, so not even a payment is shown.

And I hate modern technology normally.

IIRC There is a printable confirmation at the end of the process of taxing a car. I normally print it off but this time my printer wasn't working.

1 hour ago, Andrew P said:

Harking back to the Good Old Days, when I was in the Motor Trade, and we're talking pre computer era, you could RING the DVLA at Swansea, and 9 times out of 10, the nice young lady at the other end of the phone would be able to find your paperwork, type it up and confirm it was sorted.

 

We / you could even visit the Local Car Tax Office, (does anyone remember them) and sort out any Road Tax issues. I had a nice Lady in our Local Tax office who was always so helpful, we would get some chocs and a few bottles of wine for the Staff at Christmas.

 

I think it was what was called personal service and customer care. or bribery?

 

Same with the passport and tax office thats despite there only being a few of the former and the latter being miles away (though you could always take a query to the local tax office and they will deal with it.) The nearest passport office to me was Peterborough, once when my passport needed renewal was when my parents were living in Peterborough so it was easy to pop in when visiting my parents. Although I worked for a London borough the tax office was (and still is) in Middlesborough.

[Happy Hippo]

I have just been informed that the grandchildren have extended their visit and will now be here until Sunday.

 

Perhaps the biggest mistake I made was making a swing for them as they now seem to spend much time sitting in the seats demanding more pushing.

 

I suppose it's good exercise, although a 500 gal premixed and cooled tank of Pimms with a long straw would go a long way to alleviating my torture.

[jamie92208]

I can still remember  the days before the DVLC (as it first was) and the PNC (Police National Computer).  I started on patrol in February 74 and if you wanted to trace the owner of a car the first port of call was either Leeds or Wakefield vehicle office. Out of hours the local nicks had keys. If no joy there you went back to the office of first registration and worked forward from there. Thecprocess could take 3 or 4 weeks as some offices would only respond to telex enquiries.

 

Stolen vehicles were recorded locally at our criminal records office and we would duly record the 10 latest in our pocket books at the start of a shift.  

Then the PNC started for stolen vehicles, check done via radio to the control room. Heaven help you if you got your phonetic letter for W and Y mixed up for all the county to hear over the VHF.  Yisky Wan**y Wan**y was a common registration in the West Riding.

 

Then finally the PNC was linked to the DVLC for vehicle owner information. Brilliant when you saw an attractive young lady in an open topper.

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It is a pleasant morning here. Aditi got up early to do some gardening and deploy umbrellas. 
My task for the day was to phone the GP surgery to ask for a copy of my latest bloodtest results so I can discuss them with the Gastro consultant next week. The receptionist sounded as if she was in a small aircraft. Must have been a cloud based phone service.
I appear to have a parcel arriving after lunch, online shopping from Germany, very efficient. 
I have found the DVLA car tax renewal to be really good and as ChrisF mentioned there is a telephone voice option for those who don’t have access to or can’t use a PC. I don’t have any problem entering 16 digit numbers but unlike Aditi I can’t remember all the credit card numbers, expiry dates and cvv codes. 
Tony

 

[PhilJ W]

Sorting out my medicine cupboard I came across a box of forgotten pills at the back of the cupboard. They were issued to me in 2000 by the pharmacy at the local hospital. The name on the advice leaflet is Tarivid (Ofloxacin). I'm pretty sure they were given to me when I had a UTI and are some sort of antibiotic.

[Chris116]

5 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Sorting out my medicine cupboard I came across a box of forgotten pills at the back of the cupboard. They were issued to me in 2000 by the pharmacy at the local hospital. The name on the advice leaflet is Tarivid (Ofloxacin). I'm pretty sure they were given to me when I had a UTI and are some sort of antibiotic.

I hope you will destroy them or return them to a pharmacy for them to destroy. Old tablets can be very nasty things if taken by mistake. 

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, Chris116 said:

I hope you will destroy them or return them to a pharmacy for them to destroy. Old tablets can be very nasty things if taken by mistake. 

As I'm the keeper of my mothers pills I'm quite familiar with this situation. I would suggest you check and see what the use by date is. I am always surprised by the sheer waste that most occur from half used packet of pills or even unopened packets  etc being sent for disposal. It must run into hundreds of thousands possibly millions.

 

[The Stationmaster]

Afternoon all,

 

Having always gone through some sport of fustercluck trying to find all the documents and the time to get to the Post Office I was overjoyed when Vehicle Tax went over to online renewal.  In fact I've been doing it for so long I can't even remember when it started but it's quite a few years back.

 

With the assistance of the Good Doctor the back doorstep was duly demolished on Wednesday and I proved that I still remember how to break concrete 9 inches thick with three whacks from a sledge hammer (and that was GD concrete mixed to my recipe which usually defeats a Kango hammer - the trick is to first get a wedge underneath it).  anyway the water was definitely under the backdoor but as it is still not abating I have dredged out the plumbing photos and have a nasty feeling there might be a leak - no more than a pinprick I suspect - under the screed in the utility room floor although why it has suddenly decide to increase defeats me.  The (fortunately annually contracted) repair man will be here on Monday so hopefully he can hear what is happening under the floor before demolition becomes necessary.  fingers are suitably crossed and hopefully the various insurance will cover the costs ...

 

Herself demands a day out today to take advantage of the car aircon so we shall sally fprth shortly but with no specific destination in mind.  'Somewhere cool' has been requested but alas Antarctica is out of range.

Have a good day folks and stay safe.  

 

[Andrew P]

3 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Afternoon all,

 

Herself demands a day out today to take advantage of the car aircon so we shall sally fprth shortly but with no specific destination in mind.  'Somewhere cool' has been requested but alas Antarctica is out of range.

Have a good day folks and stay safe.  

 

Bournmouth, Bognor, Brighton, Bridlington, Benidorm perhaps?

[Andrew P]

Wife says, somenumpties arrived at Bournmouth as early as 3am.

 

Probably then blamed the Government that they got burnt, and want to sue someone.

[New Haven Neil]

A'noon.

 

Old Farts bike club breakfast was had, and a thoroughly good one it was.

 

Mrs H's course is supposed to finish early so I await her return and instructions.  There will be some, I am sure!

 

I see NICE is recommending cutting back on paracetamol and ibuprofen use, and we should have physio and acupuncture instead according to a local GP.  I take it the persons saying so don't have arthritis.....  otherwise they might understand.

 

Acupuncture didn't work for me and was decidedly uncomfortable, and I already pay for a private massage/physio as the NHS can't seem to supply one this side of Christmas 2050, but I still need paracetamol most nights to sleep.  I can't take ibuprofen now due to other meds, but I do understand NSAIDs aren't good long term, I only used them on 'bad days' previously.  

[petethemole]

I gather the recommendation is that those painkillers should not be used for patients with Chronic Pain, as they are not effective and may cause harm.  I don't think it covers use for short term pain and pain with specific causes.

 

My injured finger is only mildly uncomfortable, so I assume it's healing OK.  Not getting the strapping wet rapidly became a joke.  The washing-up that doesn't go in the dishwasher just piled up until Muggins got on with it, using the free thumb and two fingers.  You just can't get the staff these days.

 

 

[Chris116]

7 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

As I'm the keeper of my mothers pills I'm quite familiar with this situation. I would suggest you check and see what the use by date is. I am always surprised by the sheer waste that most occur from half used packet of pills or even unopened packets  etc being sent for disposal. It must run into hundreds of thousands possibly millions.

 

I totally agree that you should check the use by date but given that the pills in question are 20 years old the chance of them being usable is very unlikely and if they are I would check with a doctor if they were suitable for use in any new situation. 

Edited August 7, 2020 by Chris116
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