Early Risers.

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[Ozexpatriate]

2020 continues apace. While I will defer from politics, recent developments will make the next six weeks even more fraught in the US. (News that the administration sought to use a mm wave, heat-ray device, determined to be unreliable as a battlefield weapon, on peaceful protesters in DC a couple of months ago, has disappeared in the noise.)

 

At least the smoke has cleared west of the Cascades. With vigorous thunderstorms in the wee hours of Friday morning, Friday saw some remaining smoke in the damp air but with a changed weather pattern it was gone by Saturday. It was hazardous to venture outside without an N95 mask (the same kind we were asked to save for heath care workers for protection from Cov-SARS-2) from the 10th through the 17th.

 

The extent of the damage to small towns in the Santiam River valley is now clear. Nightly protesting in Portland has resumed now that the air is breathable.

 

Before the fires struck on Labor Day (September 7) the weather was summery. Now that the smoke has cleared it is delightful but much more Autumnal. It is nice to be able to sleep with the windows open again. While many trees have not yet turned, some have, and the storms on Friday morning resulted in a lot of leaf fall (adding to the debris remaining from the explosive east winds on the evening of Labor Day).

 

On a personal note, 2020 continues to bring bad news. My daughter-in-law has decided to separate from my son. He is bewildered and hurt and doing his best to carry on. I won't say something like "what more could go wrong this year?". I do not wish to tempt fate like that.
 

 

 

[Dave Hunt]

Not the most exciting day I've ever spent as a fair proportion of it was taken up peeling, slicing, chopping, blanching, bagging, freezing, bottling etc. various vegetables and fruits from a friend's allotment, our garden and yesterday's market. At least it gained enough brownie points to enable me to get in a reasonable amount of workshop time during the next few days.

 

I'm appalled by Andrew C's situation, which goes to show how local councils and planning authorities have been reduced to toothless talking shops and apologists. I think that by now I'd be considering dynamite.

 

Goodnight All

 

Dave  

[PhilJ W]

Just watched the Ghan on BBC4. Couldn't help thinking when looking at the cloud formations about half an hour before the end that if anyone had painted the same on a backscene everyone would be saying that it was unrealistic.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

It’s been a beautiful sunny day here in England’s northwest and quite warm too. Warm enough for me to be able to leave the workshop windows and door open all day!

 

More progress has been made on the turntable vacuum motor platform, although I had to make a new one, the one I’d made yesterday wasn’t quite deep enough, but the new one is much better. I’ve also carved off one of the wheel guards and made a replacement that covers the whole wheel and not just half. 

 

This afternoon I was able to pick the first few apples of the tree today, bringing 3 this afternoon. Experience has shown that they're best left to sit in the fruit bowl for a few days before eating them. There’s still lots to pick so I’ll keep checking them every day or so and bringing in the ones that are ready. They seem to be ready a lot earlier this year than previous years, I’m assuming it’s the hot weather we had earlier in the year, but the tree flowered earlier too, so that may have some bearing on it too. 

 

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[iL Dottore]

Good morning all,

Up bright and early this Monday morn, well up early at least. I’m afraid I am suffering this morning from the sequelae of three things, two of which were eminently avoidable: a medication overdose, too many carbohydrates and a flareup in all my joints of my arthritis.

A medication overdose does sound melodramatic, although it was nothing of the sort. I simply took an extra dose of one of the two anti-hypertensives I have to take on a daily basis. Technically, this was an overdose- i.e. a dose greater than what was prescribed although there was a very remote, but possible, chance of hypotension (specifically postural hypotension), no intervention, beyond remembering not to stand up too quickly, was required. So no emergency 999 call, blues and twos, urgently concerned medics at A&E, stomach pumps and worried relatives. Actually, it was quite boring.

The too many carbohydrates bit of yesterday’s mishaps was due to me sampling some of my plum-based creations (specifically a plum and yoghurt muffin) AND having a quick sandwich or two (or three) in the evening as Mrs ID was visiting her cousin which always means a very late return on her part and a consequent late dinner.

 

Now, back to the bunnies: the black pudding stuffed rabbit saddle was wrapped in bacon, cooked sous-vide and finished off in a very hot pan. It looked much better than it tasted. The meat, though moist and tender, was rather bland, a fault only partly attributed to me being a little bit too restrained on the seasoning. The real reason being that it was farmed rabbit; wild rabbit and, especially, hare have lots more flavour. The rabbit trimmings will, today, form the basis of a rabbit potage and the forelegs - together with some root vegetables - will become a rabbit pie/pudding tomorrow (and I will not forget to season well).

 

AndrewC’s situation sounds utterly ghastly. When I first moved into our house, here in Switzerland, I was frustrated by all the building regulations that are enforced, but now I am certainly appreciative of how limited are the changes neighbours can make to their properties. Let’s hope that Andrew finds an acceptable solution to his problems.

 

I almost missed noting that Happy Hippo has become a grandparent. Fortunately, for humanity, I have not dipped a toe into the gene pool. But friends of mine who have had offspring report that being a grandparent is a thing of great splendour: all the fun bits of raising children (and I am assured that there are fun bits in that process) but none of the headaches and inconveniences. So, my congratulations to our cake loving friend for his good fortune and, if I may be a bit presumptuous and pass on a tip from friends who are grandparents, you can say NO to babysitting! Apparently, it’s not mandatory.

 

Returning to something I posted a while back, I would add that in addition to an “eccentric uncle” a lucky and happy child would also have “indulgent but stern grandparents”

 

And on that familiar and familial note I will bid you a good start to the week. My tried and trusted recipe/prescription of strong coffee, with milk, sugar and brandy seems to be doing the trick and I will try and get a few more winks before “getting up properly“.

 

iD

Edited September 21, 2020 by iL Dottore

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

While my rather pedestrian beef casserole was cooking yesterday I received a phone call from BT's Fixit team about the e-mails which have disappeared from my Sent box on three separate occasions, the first being on 2nd August.  Naturally I was glad that the man was able to make contact without resorting to a seance but I felt duty bound to remark that it was better late than never.  He came as close as he could to conceding that if the mighty machine had swung into action when the matter was first reported rather than six weeks down the road there might have been a chance of getting them back.  I am now fully expecting the blame to be attributed to my "devices", ie a laptop and an android phone.  This would only make me even more p!ssed off with BT than I am already.  I did thank him for taking the trouble to get back to me.  We shall see what happens, if anything.

 

Like PhilJW, I enjoyed the TV programme about the Ghan.  I had seen it before and first watched it to brief myself about what was involved before I made the journey myself in the reverse direction in February last year.  Truly it is one of the great rail journeys.  Even Portaloo has done it.  [We interrupt this essay to take our blood pressure.]  Before that I watched "Dr Zhivago" for the first time.  At least I can say I have seen it should anyone ask.

 

Today I must put a urine sample through the Stalag letter box ahead of my review on Wednesday.  Fortunately I was provided with a test tube and a suitable envelope.

 

Best wishes to all, especially Flavio with his surfeit of carbs, aches and pains.

 

Chris 

Edited September 21, 2020 by chrisf
typo

[roundhouse]

My other half has just been woken up by next doors cat when he jumped up onto her pillow. I was outside eating my cereal when he appeared. To get back in through the conservatory door I had to chase him by using the broom. Then I took my chances to open the door and get in before he came back but failed for the second day in a row. He headed strait upstairs to her. She has had to get up to coax him back downstiars and outside. Hes a lovely black and white cat and will often spend most of the day in our garden as next doors is a tiny patch of grass. The downside is that he uses our garden and the garden the other side as a cat litter tray.

Edited September 21, 2020 by roundhouse

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Off to have my "voluntary guine pig" MRI scan. Scan time..8am,,,I know I volunteered but...

 

Have a good day ERs. 

 

Baz

[roundhouse]

5 minutes ago, chrisf said:

 

Today I must put a urine sample through the Stalag letter box

 

 

Oh... that could have a different interpretation if you had said after the pubs closed

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple, hare, 804/502

A fairly good nights sleep of 6:45 solid sleep followed by some semi dozing..

 

Ben I'm scared of the dark Collie has returned and he point blank refused to go out for his morning constitutional, I suspect when dawn arrives SWMBO will find a huffing Collie by her bedside.

It is exceedingly foggy out there, and a damp atmosphere requiring the blower to be on the windscreen all the way in..

 

On the radio, this morning, it was announced that Keith Skues's final radio Broadcast will be on his 500th show  for Radio Norfolk on Sunday, at 80 I  think he deserves some retirement.. Elsewhere there is a discussion of what to do with your hobbies stuff when you are gone... Cardboard shoes has over 300,000 records... Lets hope has has at least another 20 years to find a home for them..

 

Rabbit I've never been fond of, it was regularly on the menu at my parents till we moved to the Hebridies. So I've not had it since 1971 or there abouts.

 

I have a broken major system sitting in the lab, awaiting the bosses return this morning, and another out in the main lab for which I will set up the test equipment again, it they've finished with it..

 

So quite what I'll be doing today I'm not sure.. 

 

Time, I think, to check the company spam..

 

 

 

 

 

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from the Charente.  Still quite warm but some heavy rain showers around. We have had a storm warning from Orange.  Not a lot got done yesterday afternoon and we watched Vera, then the documantary about Dennis Nilsen, narrated by Daved Tennant. Very well made we both thought. During the conversation Beth revealed that she had been the first officer on the scene st one of the Yorkshire Rippers attacks. Fortunately  the lady survived.  Beth has always just said that she had to guard the scene. Now some 42 years later she has told the full story. It wasn't nice and she had less than a year's service at the time.

 

Anyway there isn't a lot on the agenda today so I will wish you all a good day.

 

Jamie

[AndrewC]

Good moaning all. Monday again. I seem to spend 1/7th of my life dealing with Mondays. <sigh>

 

Thanks all for the support and suggestions, especially Simon. We do have some legal cover with our householder policy so will be chasing this up to see what we can realistically do. Both the council and the building control company (totally separate from the council's building control) have been playing pass the buck. London Building Control say they can only enforce building regulations and that encroachment, damage to adjoining property, etc are all civil matters. Council says the works are inline with permitted development based on the drawings and inspection. It is going to be up to me to force the issue in civil court. 

 

In other news, I've finally extracted a digit and ordered replacement insulation and interior lining boards for the shed. That should keep me distracted for a few weeks. 

 

Enjoy the day. 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The gas engineer is due this afternoon, then I can have a proper soak in the bath. I have managed to keep myself clean though but a long soak keeps Arthur Itis quiet. Biggest problem was washing my hair, just as well there's not a lot of it. My usual practice is to lean over the bath and rinse using the shower head to rinse which of course is not possible without running hot water, looking forward to not having to use bowls and jugs. Not having any children means no grandchildren but I have sort of adopted my friends young lad as a surrogate grandson. The lads own grandparents had gone before he was born so no toes are being trod on. There's only one little niggle, he never says please or thank you, he's never been taught to do so. If I was his grandfather I would pull him up on it but as I'm not I'm not sure that I should.

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, roundhouse said:

Oh... that could have a different interpretation if you had said after the pubs closed

As long as the letterbox does not have a sharp spring. I've no doubt a few have been caught by such letterboxes.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Late out of bed again this morning, it’s seems to becoming a bit of a habit, but who cares, I’m retired now as Sheila keeps reminding me, so it’s ok to have a lie-in. 

 

Another sunny start to the day, once I’ve changed the filter in the water jug, the plan is to spend the rest of the day in the garden, the front has a lot of leaves blown in from the trees down the street and I want to move a few plants around in the back garden. 

 

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

 

Brian

[TheQ]

Well, the broken system has gone, So what do they give me for my troubles?.. yes a brand new system.. and the broken one will be repaired or replaced.... More work.. The other system out in the lab they're still playing with.

 

Our garden is slowly accumulating a selection of leaves, and I notice the acorns have fallen, as they rattled inside the mower bed..

 

Our health and safety officer , is due to retire, so they are removing the post and that of the facilities maintenance man. To be replaced by 1 person.. However it doesn't look like the maintenance man will be getting it.. it looks like maintenance will be contracted out by the new manager..

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

A while back the 'phone rang and a voice at t'other end said  'This is Matthew returning the call about the Govt funded loft insulation you have had installed'.  For once I decided to be really polite to one of these lying time-wasters so only said 'You're talking cobblers sunshine, goodbye' and put the handset back on the 'phone.     Good job he caught me in a reasonable mood or else I'd have told the lying toerag exactly what I thought of his cheapskate sales tricks and told him to go forth & multiply (or words to that effect).

 

Sorry to hear about the lack of flavour in Flavio's rabbit dish - hare does I think offer a much better flavour especially after they've been hung for the prescribed period.  1 to 2 weeks according to one web informant, which sounds about right as I know when my grandmother dealt with them on the farm they were usually left hanging for at least a week after being shot;.  One of the food delights of the harvest season because they used to go to the uncut centre of a field as the binder went round and then all run out at the last minute.  fortunately there was local lad who was a good shot and was using a .22 repeating rifle so four hares went into my gran's cool larder.  And going back briefly to chicken that was also where there were proper hens and if one went off lay then it was for the pot or roasting - at a decent age and genuinely fresh food. 

 

The management and the Good Doctor have raided Tesco - which was fairly quiet so the shopping was easy although herself was told that she has to book the flu jab there this year, no walk-in treatment this time.  That apart nobody appeared to be shopping for panics and they didn't buy any toilet rolls because they have gone back up to their proper RRP - we do however still  have 7x16 roll packs purchased a short while back when they were reduced by 20+% so including the main store we are about at our normal 'high' stock level.  Cat food was on special offer so has been prurchadsed in profusion and is out in the quarantine area with several other bags full of shopping.

 

I might be encouraged towards the G word some time this week - 'under supervision' probably.  And hopefully the next door neighbour with ll be round with my tall stepladder tomorrow to pick some apples (tall neighbour, tall ladder - seems like a good combination..  We've been picking odd low hanging ones and using good windfalls for well over a month now but they are cooking apples, not at all nice for eating.

 

Havea good day one and all and stay safe while - so it seems - far too many in this country prefer to join the idiocracy.

[Joseph_Pestell]

Hare and farm-bred rabbit are entirely different flavours and would require very different recipes to cook them.

 

Rabbit is, like so many other meats, quite like chicken although with slightly better texture. It can be very tasty if cooked correctly.

[Barry O]

Watch out incoming rant about to appear (apologies!)

 

Up and out by 7am to get to the Leeds General Infirmary for scan at 8am. Many people in the  LGI DESPITE the VERY LARGE signs saying you MUST wear a face mask or covering... aren't.. including medicos arriving for work.. mainly those drivings AUDI SUVS, BMW SUVs, Range Rovers etc -- ie the insultants who are above the need to follow sound practice.

 

Then.. Finally allowed into Scanner area  at 8:10 following a phone call.. "Are you here yet"... yes I have been ringing the door bell for the last 10 minutes.. apologies accepted.

 

Clinical Trial team then find out I haven't got my new tablets yet.. they ring the doctors while I am having a scan  bit of shuteye. Scan was OK until they injected the heart beat acccelerant.. suddenly felt very warm .. but not too uncomfortable.

 

1 hour 30 minutes after starting the scans - I was allowed out.

 

Her indoors drove me home.. rang Pharmacy... yes she had received the prescription after I had left hospital..Then..a Text arrives from one of the Doctors in the Marie Celeste.. I WON@T let you have the full prescription dose as it is bad for Diabetics... Jeeze.. its now being used to replace Metformin - and guess what, the side effects are very, very similar! (Obviously GP used Wiki to see what this stuff is as NHS website only has it by the commercial name...HUMPH!! So I let GP know this is a clinical trial I have signed my life away etc...So she rang the Clinical Supervisor who has convinced her I am right and so...

 

I collect the tablets today.. start tonight.. and why can't we get the nHS to talk to each other.... oh that may limit opportunities for some to be buying very large cars to park in very small  (cheap to them) hospital internal car parks  PAH!!

 

Rant over..

 

now the good positives.. Her indoors flattened the battery of her car while parked (forgot to turn lights off!  again!!)

 

She rang AA - gave her a minimum wait time of 1 hour.. 19 minutes later.. AA service man turns up gets car started - battery fine but it isn't seeing enough running.....she is a happy bunny now!

 

@AndrewC  perhaps a mass visit by the ERs may get the message across to the idiots.. I can bring my own sledge hammer...

 

Baz

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, AndrewC said:

Good moaning all. Monday again. I seem to spend 1/7th of my life dealing with Mondays. <sigh>

 

Thanks all for the support and suggestions, especially Simon. We do have some legal cover with our householder policy so will be chasing this up to see what we can realistically do. Both the council and the building control company (totally separate from the council's building control) have been playing pass the buck. London Building Control say they can only enforce building regulations and that encroachment, damage to adjoining property, etc are all civil matters. Council says the works are inline with permitted development based on the drawings and inspection. It is going to be up to me to force the issue in civil court. 

 

In other news, I've finally extracted a digit and ordered replacement insulation and interior lining boards for the shed. That should keep me distracted for a few weeks. 

 

Enjoy the day. 

So in effect the council is saying nothing was done wrong and the private surveyors are sticking two fingers up at you.  So ball is in yours and neighbours court. If it was me I would find out if the surveyor is a member of any professional standards organisation and if so report them for breaching there code of conduct for failure to notifying the council of any building code infringements. This can be done by a solicitor or yourself. Whoever does it ensure copies of the notification go to both the council and the surveyors. At the same time  make a formal complaint to the council, formal complaints are dealt with by the chief executive not the department you've been dealing with, notifying them that you intend to sue the council for the issuing of planning consent based upon the submission of incorrect/illegal information by the surveyor, the cost of bringing this case and the rectification of any infringements and that you will be seeking a writ prohibiting the occupation or sale of the property. There is a set procedure for dealing within a formal complaint which should be available on their website. Hopefully this will be sufficient, but i would also let the ward councillors and your mp know as well as that will help pile the pressure on. This is all hassle I know but it depends on how much of an impact you want on the sale of your house in the future. If you want independent advice prior to speaking to a solicitor then contact your local CAB and see if they can help.