Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Need to pop down to the big orange shed tomorrow for a few bits and pieces, though I might put it off until Monday when it should be quieter. Now to finish ploughing through Farcebook, be back later.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Glad to read that Tony has managed to escape hospital and is now safely back home.

 

Once again we’ve had a day of sunshine, followed by some rain late in the day, not heavy but enough to mean I don’t need to go out and water the plants again. 

 

It’s been a busy old day and yet another Saturday where no time has been spent in the workshop, but the bathroom is now almost done, the only tasks left are to clean the grouting and re-silicon round the bath, but that can now wait until Monday, as I plan to spend at least some part of tomorrow in the workshop.

 

I was asked to knock off early as Sheila was opening Vidal Babboons for business, consequently, I have been shorn. 

 

I can’t remember the last time I had hospital food, it was too long ago, I was probably 6 or 7 at the time. Every time since then has been as a day patient and I’ve had to starve from 10 the previous evening, so a cup of tea and a slice of toast was always welcome when I awoke. 

 

As it’s Saturday, after tea we decamped to the living room, opened a bottle of Malbec and watched a film, tonight it was Sully, about the plane that landed on The Hudson River in New York. The film was mainly set around the enquiry into what happened. It looked like the company were looking for a scape goat but picked on the wrong guy. 

 

It’s now time for bed, so I’ll wish you all a goodnight. 

 

Brian. 

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[PeterBB]

I'm no food expert but worked in the NHS and was always able to find something on the staff menu that I could eat.  As a, relatively frequent patient compared with some who have posted,  have had days when little on the menu was 'edible' for me and on other occasions had to remove items to one side before eating.  There was a plus to this, I always lost weight so even not so welcome hospital patient food had its positives.

 

Goodness it posted!

Edited September 5, 2020 by PeterBB
Happiness at being able to post first try

[J. S. Bach]

Glad to hear that Tony is back. Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Hello all,

 

Weekly update. I went out to the track today, and had an excellent run in the kart with the new sprocket, and managed not to hit the donkeys that wander in from the field next door. I’m begrudgingly getting back into the rhythm of schooooooooool, however it’s quite hard to do as I only go in on Tuesdays and Fridays, and all other days are online. And Wednesday is a scheduled online day, which is quite difficult to do. I did however find this wonderfully drainage canal on campus, perfect for a rainy day when I happen to have my nonexistent model narrow boat on hand. I think it’s used for irrigation, but I think it part of the 1926 section of the school so is fairly old. 
 

I got to choose the take out/take away place for dinner tonight, so we had Cuban food. I haven’t been cooking much lately, though I have observed the merits of fried bread. The tube amplifier has been getting some use from me as it’s in the room where I do online schoooooooool. It has mostly been playing “Tourist” by St. Germain, I highly recommend most of it.

 

As always, stay healthy,

 

Douglas

I also find it strange that this canal flows under a gate and seems to be in the middle of a walkway used by the landscapers.

Edited September 6, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[TheQ]

Morning awl inner Temple Hare,  again,  not seen me before this morning ?

 

It's because this is the third attempt at typing this.   The keyboard is doing strange things,  it's a strange interaction between RMWEB and this tablet computers keyboard.  It's not happening on other forums.  Even those using the same software. The main problem is still the keyboard disappearing when I hit the enter key. This time I got dumped into the song title thread. 

 

The Barleywood colour is one from cuprinol,  I bought it because it "guarantees" it will last six years on the can.  If it lasts that long I will be impressed,  the BBQ woodwork  is fully exposed to the sun facing south. The paint didn't seem expensive compared it it's competitors. 

 

I've not managed to keep in contact with anyone from school days,  being a moving target for most of my life, it's not been possible. 

 

Time to.. Do nothing,  until summoned by Ben the alarm clock Collie. 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all and welcome home to Tony

 

It’s going to be an interesting week.  Tomorrow is the day when I should be allowed, finally, to book an appointment for my hormone injection.  Until recently I could have booked it six weeks in advance but without undue publicity that has been changed.  If I cannot get an appointment on the day that the injection is due, someone will have some explaining to do.  Depending on the outcome of that skirmish, I really ought to ask in all innocence what has happened to my six-monthly diabetic reviews.  Perhaps it will be best to let sleeping surgeries lie.

 

The Swiss trip is not kaput yet, for it is still being advertised on Ffestiniog Travel’s website.  However, the game of Russian roulette being played with the quarantine restrictions by those who rule us does not augur well for a happy outcome.  I must be patient until the letter comes at the end of the month!  As for breakfast on the road, I need all the gen on truckstops that I can get!  The existence of one at Colsterworth on the A1 is good news, for in normal times I use the A1 a fair bit and have found it difficult to obtain a decent fry-up since the demise of Little Chef.  I will not starve on the way to Bristol on Tuesday.  I would have been glad of more time in which to plan my trip, but if all goes mammaries up there is an Asda at Cribbs Causeway, not far short of my destination.  My route that day will be: Bedford – Milton Keynes – Bicester - Oxford – A40 – round Gloucester – M5 – Avonmouth – Shirehampton.  If I set off at 7 am I should be at Bicester just in time for the Tesco cafe to open. The late lamented Little Chef at Burford would have been perfect …

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

Edited September 6, 2020 by chrisf
wrong road number!

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from down here.  Glad that Tony is home and hope that the stent works well.  Here, not a lot got done yesterday  apart from scanning some more slides. I also excavated a platic crate full of photos. As well as about 450 slides in strange plastic packages I found various strips of negatives. I forsee that my Odds and Sods file will get larger, then need to work out which films they are from. I'm not sure that one of my nephews will appreciate  the discoveries  as at least one of them shows him as a 2 yr old with jam all round his mouth.

 

Anyway it's a bit cloudy today but we will be heading for the market this morning. There may well be shed time this afternoon.

 

Chrisf, I hope that your journey planning goes well. 

 

Douglas, glad to see your post.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[Barry O]

Boy was it cold umpiring yesterday! At the end of the match the wind dropped and it was warm..pah!

Tony ..Congratulations in escaping from the hospital. Hope your recovery continues well. Lots of acquaintances have had stents fitted and their life has improved dramatically.

 

Chrisf.. go tothe A1/A17 turn off.. the farmers kitchen just off the roundabout serves very bice food..and lots of it! If we are travelling south we stop there as part of the "Grantham, The Streamliner Years" operator feeding stations. Excellent!

 

A friend is visiting today. Hopefully he will get here ok as his car is having issues at the moment.

 

Have a great day!

Enjoy what you do!

Baz

Edited September 6, 2020 by Barry O

[Barry O]

Forgot to say.. hope those suffering from bad backs are ok today. I froze up yesterday trying to pick up the bails..its caused by cold and wet cricket matches and my trip to tha floor last week falling off the chair...

 

My colleague yesterday save a 4.. the ball hit him full pelt. He fell down, I stopped the game as didn't look good...we picked himup and, apart from a large ball shaped bruise he was fine to continue..

 

Baz

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

I think the sedation chemicals seem to have finally departed. I feel less stupid and more coordinated today. Apparently I will be receiving an invitation to attend “Rehab” in Southend.  This is not the same clinic as “Heart Failure”. The lady who informed me of this looked like a PE teacher. At the moment, sit with my right leg straight on a support seems like enough exercise for a few days. I can watch cricket and motor racing today which is perfect timing. 
Tony

 

[AndrewC]

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

The Barleywood colour is one from cuprinol,  I bought it because it "guarantees" it will last six years on the can.  If it lasts that long I will be impressed,  the BBQ woodwork  is fully exposed to the sun facing south. The paint didn't seem expensive compared it it's competitors. 

 

 

My train shed is Cuprinol Barleywood. In the shade the colour stayed pretty good for nearly 11 years. In direct sun however, it does fade fairly quickly. I repainted it about 3 months ago and can already see a difference between where the wall is shielded by the fence and where it gets full summer sun. Even with the fading, this was the first time I'd repainted it since the shed was built. The stuff does last. 

 

Great to see Tony home and hopefully receiving the royal treatment. 

 

All may hospital visits apart from one have been day trips. I will say that my 2 day stay had a great view of the Rockies and Glenmore lake. Other than that, I practically tore open my stitches jumping about trying to convince the doc to let me go home. 

 

It is Sunday. BBQ breakfast, an extra latte perhaps, and off to the shed for some m*delling in the form of module rebuilding. 

Enjoy the day. 

[TheQ]

58 minutes ago, Barry O said:

 

Chrisf.. go tothe A1/A17 turn off.. the farmers kitchen just off the roundabout serves very bice food..and lots of it! If we are travelling south we stop there as part of the "Grantham, The Streamliner Years" operator feeding stations. Excellent!

 

 

Have a great day!

Enjoy what you do!

Baz

If you are referring to the "Friendly Farmer" at that junction it comes up on the internet as permanently closed... http://www.friendlyfarmer.co.uk/

[Barry O]

Sad loss.. mind you there are a few places around here which, having been permanentl closed have now reopened..hopefully someone will reopen it.

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Glad to see that Tony has been released early, presumably for good behaviour.

A bright start here with only a few clouds in a mainly blue sky.  Sunny spells with the chance of one or two showers are forecast.

I've just enjoyed a very nice cooked breakfast, far better than the mediocre and tepid offerings at the hotel in the week.

Yesterday afternoon two good rugby matches were watched and enjoyed even though Quins were beaten by Bath who definitely deserved their victory.

I note that Neil had "things to do" yesterday.  It will come as no surprise that so have "we" (I) as Nicki and kids are coming for a Sunday roast.  Lamb is on the agenda and I'm looking forward to that as it's been a while since we've had a proper Sunday meal together.  Before their arrival I'm tasked with moving a bit of furniture and a general policing of the area to tidy up and put away my "rubbish" as The Boss fondly chooses to call some of my most valued possessions!

Coffee first though and then to work.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[tigerburnie]

Morning, bright but coolish,,,,,some of the "G" word has already occurred and some more may well happen later, enjoy the day winters coming...............................

[iL Dottore]

4 hours ago, chrisf said:

I really ought to ask in all innocence what has happened to my six-monthly diabetic reviews.  Perhaps it will be best to let sleeping surgeries lie....

 

The Swiss trip is not kaput yet, for it is still being advertised on Ffestiniog Travel’s website....

I wouldn’t let “sleeping surgeries lie”. You DON’T mess around with diabetes (even Type II), DM can get very nasty and it is far too easy to lose your eyesight, kidney function and get all kinds of neurological unpleasantness (not to mention that perennial problem of the diabetic foot ulcer..)

 

As for your Swiss Trip,  I’d be getting ready for a refund. Not only because - for the foreseeable future - anyone returning from Switzerland to the UK will have to go into quarantine, but also because if you travel anywhere in Switzerland (by train, tram or bus) you MUST wear a mask. Something you have repeatedly said you hate.

 

Additionally, according to the Swiss Federal Office for Public Health, there are no exceptions to wearing a mask (I suppose they take the entirely justified and rational point of view that if you are unwell enough not to be able to wear a mask you really should not be going out in public).

 

Would you be happy to wear a mask from, say, Basel SBB to Brig HBf? (3+ hrs or longer). Something to think about.

 

Oh, and by the way, it’s Switzerland so the regulations will be enforced...

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

...My colleague yesterday save a 4.. the ball hit him full pelt. He fell down, I stopped the game as didn't look good...we picked himup and, apart from a large ball shaped bruise he was fine to continue..

 

Baz

Forgive me if I am a naive, if not incurable, optimist; but isn’t “Sport“ supposed to make you healthy and fit and not broken, bruised, damaged and not good for much else afterwards?

No wonder that gold medals go, not to the strong and the fast, but to those who have the best sports doctors, sports pharmacists and sports physio therapists (or is that just Captain Cynical talking?).

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

...less stupid and more coordinated today....

May I ask, says he cheekily and not a little impertinently, is that a self assessment or one made by Aditi? If Aditi is anything like Mrs iD, then her opinion is the only one that counts. 

But good to hear about the improvements....

 

My consulting work is charging ahead full steam, although I am being paid in US dollars, which given the current weakness of the dollar is a bit annoying. However, I have just set up a US dollar account with my bank (after undergoing a 10 minute interrogation about any potential money laundering activities that I might in future indulge in) which will allow me to park my honorarium in USD until the dollar picks up.

 

The only downside to putting in 10 to 12 hour days and getting outrageous sums of money (haha!) is that come the end of the working day, and indeed the working week, and I really do not have much interest or energy in doing much of my usual hobbies and pastimes. Which, amongst other things, means that I have a number of recently built and painted GWR wagons to weather and a Townes van Zandt song still to learn.

 

But if things continue to go this well, I should be able to retire at 70 or so!

 

Enjoy your Sunday

 

iD

[New Haven Neil]

Morning.

 

Things to do are on the back burner today Bob, thankfully!  It's Mrs NHN's first archery for weeks so she's really looking forward to it, and I made a suggestion about something in the garden that gained mucho brownie points, so all is well.  It won't last of course.

 

A covid case here today, but the person was already in isolation as having visited the UK (presumably on medical or compassionate grounds, the only way in) so spread should not occur.  Contact tracing is in full swing, but they were spaced well out when travelling apparently and all masked.  No panic. Well, the 'Manx crabs' will be panicking, it is a national trait here to whinge and complain about things, we see it as a result of having an easy way of life with little else to complain about.  That's crabs as in pulling down those trying to climb out of the bucket, not Dave H and his fly-boy mates. 

[Gwiwer]

Good morning.  A bright one it is here with Sun Day living up to its name again.  SWMBO has already been for her morning walk.

 

Still enduring some back stiffness and discomfort though the worst of the pain has hopefully subsided.  It seems to be non-specific lumbar embuggerence as there has been no obvious cause for it and it responds to gentle exercise and Nurofen.  

 

It's rather quiet in here today.  Are we all waiting for Page 9000 to come along?  

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Great to hear Tony's getting better and hopefully he'll be up and around soon. Baz, I haven't played cricket for years so I'm not sure what the rules are now in the circumstances you described with regard to runs scored or is it just one unhappy batsman. You still see a few numpties going unmasked, as Flavio said, if you have a medical condition that means you cannot wear a mask should you be out at all? 

[Gwiwer]

8 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

if you have a medical condition that means you cannot wear a mask should you be out at all? 

That really depends on the medical condition and your individual circumstances.  

 

I am exempt but I was never required to shield nor self-isolate.  Had I not gone into work I would not have been paid these last six months.  My role was not furloughed nor was it available for furlough. 

 

I am, in fact, exempt twice over.  Once because of a medical condition and once because rail staff on duty in open areas are explicitly exempted by edict of the Government under the temporary Covid legislation.  

 

I respect Flavio's opinion as a medical professional and I also believe he would also understand the need for each of us to make personal decisions.  There are a good many medical conditions which can exempt someone from the face-covering requirements but which do not necessarily make them any more vulnerable to contracting - nor to spreading - the dreaded lurgy.  Those who might be at much higher risk are aware of that fact.  I suspect that many have had the option to work from home, furlough or shield and have therefore not been out and about much if at all for months.  

[chrisf]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

As for your Swiss Trip,  I’d be getting ready for a refund. Not only because - for the foreseeable future - anyone returning from Switzerland to the UK will have to go into quarantine, but also because if you travel anywhere in Switzerland (by train, tram or bus) you MUST wear a mask. Something you have repeatedly said you hate.

 

I'm ready.  A letter from the travel company is due at the end of the month.  In happier times it would comprise a request for the balance of the cost of the trip but because of the quarantine situation I am braced for a refund of my deposit, having paid nothing else yet.  When my trip to Dublin fell apart in March I got all the money back except the premium for the travel insurance.  I even got back the cost of the afterparty in the grounds of a museum.  I do hate the wretched mask, with a passion, but if needs must, etc etc.  If they were as effective as has been claimed, surely those who rule us in the UK would not have dallied for four months before making their use "obligatory"?  Mind you, says he straying too close to politics again, we have a Secretary of State for Transport who has advised people not to use the trains.

 

As for the absence of an invitation/summons to the diabetes clinic, I need to talk to the surgery tomorrow about something else.  I do know the consequences of leaving it untreated but I am on medication, which is hardly leaving it untreated.  Perhaps the vets collective is concentrating scarce resources on those in greatest need?  All that used to happen at my clinic was that I would stand on the scales and the nurse would tut-tut.

 

Chris 

[The Stationmaster]

Morning (just) all,

 

Yes, I began to tripe this 2 minutes before the morning ended all you won't see it until after the morning (I regard the morning as ending at 12.00, others might not).

 

When it comes to masks I don't mind wearing one but Mrs Stationmaster doesn't like it one bit while the GD doesn'y t have any choice - q 12 hour shift fully masked fir the entire shift with the only break from it being the meal break (which of course being the NHS is not part of the working day so her day at work actually totals 13 hours).  Under present rules there's really no way round this in hospitals because now if a member of staff test positive that mean their entire  shift is quarantined which can mean a ward or clinic or whatever having to close because there is nobody to staff it for part or all of the day (in just teh samew way as various food processing factories have had to close).

 

Ah now old school friends /colleagues - although we were not necessarily close mates at various times during our school days we regularly - in pre Covid times - went out for a meal with a couple of chaps who started in the infants school in the same year/class as me.  One of our number - our current Mayor - went to the Secondary Modern )remember those?) while other two of us went to the Grammar School and were in the same class right through until we left after A Levels.  Coincidentally I saw him at the surgery last week and helpfully suggested that if he were to wear his mask the right way up it would be much more comfortable and effective

 

G word might take place today but the temperature is forecast to rise a bit in the coming few days so deferral might take place.  and more importantly the brown bin (garden recycling for teh use of) is getting pretty full so hedge trimming won't be on the agenda - but the ;a lan/grassland, cutting of, might.

 

Have a good day everybody and take care and i'm sure Ferrari's likely performance today at Monza is unlikely to have an adverse effect on Tony's blood pressure.