Early Risers.

[monkeysarefun]

5 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

The ultimate cockwomble display came at Waitrose where the driver of the artic delivery vehicle was giving an amazingly skilful display of how not to reverse an artic trailer.  He appeared to be having difficulty understanding the geometry involved in reversing such a vehicle with the result that the trailer didn't go where he thought he was making it go.  It's a difficult move at any time but I saw him make half dozen failed attempts before he got it almost right (after which he had 4 goes trying to straighten the way the trailer was heading) but herself said he'd been at it for more than 10 minutes before I arrived.  if he had passed a test for a Group 1 HGV Licence the examiner must have been blind or drunk.

 

A highlight of one of my trips to the Northern Territory was watching a road train driver reverse  his 3 trailer rig  about3 truck lenths  backwards  around a slight curve  into a space between two others. Thats mental  skills.

 

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by monkeysarefun

[Erichill16]

17 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

.

Unfortunately, for the people who really do suffer from gluten intolerance or from irritable bowel syndrome (which also requires careful attention to diet) the waters have been muddied by all the attention seeking trendies who have started claiming that they are “this intolerant and that intolerant”  when they are nothing of the sort. My good friend (and former GP, now retired) has said that the real incidence of true IBS and gluten intolerance has barely changed over the 30 years he was practising medicine. Sadly, because of all the attention seeking trendies, nowadays when someone says that they are gluten intolerant their claims are too often met with, at best, polite scepticism])j

Completely agree, with some people it’s a fad and they will often eat gluten if they don’t fancy anything on the menu. However, the range of gluten free products has rocketed in recent years and presumably this has been fuelled as much by fad dieters as by people ‘needeing’ a gluten free product. There is a strict  definition for gluten free products, gluten content less than 20ppm. Some places I’ve considered eating at seam not to have a grasp on the issue so I’ve walked away.

For me I have to be very careful, if a product is make in a factory that even handles gluten I have to avoid it.  

I don’t have coeliacs disease but the condition I have lead me to losing my driving license for four years and my taking early partial retirement. I am pleased to say that the avoidance of the gluten does appear to be working.

Robert

Edited December 17, 2020 by Erichill16
Spelling

[Barry O]

2 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

The only reason that I would want to travel to the other side of the world.

What about the Wombats and quokkas?  Really nice animals ..

 

Baz

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

Baz

[monkeysarefun]

26 minutes ago, Barry O said:

What about the Wombats and quokkas?  Really nice animals ..

 

Baz

And the Peacock spiders!

 

 

[New Haven Neil]

Funny Jamie should mention reactor design - I have just finished reading 'Midnight in Chernobyl', and what an eye opened that was.  And I thought NHS management was bad.

 

The old farts night out was enjoyed this evening, just a couple of beers so I was good, nice group, just large enough but not so big we didn't all get a good chat with one another, which we're very good at - hot air.

 

Horrible weather though, really blowing and rain in sheets like fog almost, eeuuw.  Not weather for a jet ski.....

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[southern42]

It has been a long day...

 

Breakfast

(Weigh ingredients for *C* cake as required.)

Cake: Cream butter and sugar.

Lunch

Cake: Stir in 6 eggs a little at a time into butter-sugar mix.

Get ready for click n collect groceries.

Sort click n collect groceries, clean and tidy up.

Cake: Fold in flour & other dry ingredients and pre-soaked mixed fruit to egg-butter-sugar mix.

*Stir and make a wish.*

Dinner

Cake: Line cake tin and add cake mixture.

Line outside of tin.

Place in oven on sheets of newspaper.

Set timer for 4 1/2hrs...

...smells good...

2340 Oven alarm pinged.  Cake done.

Wrap and cool down overnight.

 

Bed methinks.

 

' night all and nos da.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

I was up later than planned this morning, so after a quick look in to ER I went straight to the butchers for the weekly meat rations and a pastie for dinner. After I’d put away the rations I again went out, but this time to the Trafford Centre, before The Mongol Hordes, Covidiots other shoppers got there. Principally I went to pick up a click and collect order, but whilst I was there I did the shopping that I normally do on Friday, thus leaving tomorrow free!

 

Then I had an early dinner was the order of the day as I had an early afternoon appointment with the dental hygienist. Not my favourite place to visit, but the fair Anna, (tall, slim 30 something blonde) more than makes up for that. Then I was back home for an afternoon muggertea and feet up time. 

 

This afternoon it was announced that Manchester is to remain in tier 3, we’ve been in tier since August! The bushy haired imbecile incumbent in No 10 must really be p!ssed of with Mr Burnham. Many businesses around here are on their knees, if there’s another lockdown next year, which, (after the up and coming 5 day free for all), I suspect there will be, I think a lot of business will simply give up, shut up shop and cut their losses! The towns and cities around Britain are I think in the not so distant future, going to be like ghost towns. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[BR60103]

We are getting our Christmas dinners delivered tomorrow. As the Village dinner was cancelled, the catering students at the University will be delivering it frozen. We're apparently having it for my birthday instead.

The local abbatoir has had around 80 cases (arithmetic doesn't always add up to the headlines).

I'm not sure what our current restrictions are; they don't seem changed from last week.

 

[iL Dottore]

Good (early) morning!

 

Quite a few morsels of “food for thought“ being banded around over the last few pages of ER.

Working over Christmas. I used to do that on a regular basis when I worked in the hospital, apart from the fact that it meant I would only have to deal with my relatives within a very narrow time window, the way the hospital pay structure was set up, meant that if I worked a double shift (afternoon/evening and nights) I could end up earning, in one shift, the equivalent of 5 days worth of regular shifts. For me, as an impecunious student, it was a godsend. Another wonderful aspect of working over Christmas was that Christmas lunch was usually pretty good as the hospital had (certainly in comparison with the NHS standard) a very good canteen. Staff would get meals at a reduced rate and you could choose to have the cost of your canteen meals deducted from your salary, so no cash was required. There is also the satisfaction of occasionally being able to do something very worthwhile as well (the example that sticks in my mind is the patient resuscitated on Christmas Day. Normally, even in hospital, survival from a cardiac arrest – at least in those days - was rare; but one Christmas Day one poor fellow did go into cardiac arrest, we had a successful resuscitation and two weeks later he walked out of the hospital and home. Which was gratifying).

 

Cakes: very much a hot topic on ER, especially considering the number of predatory patisserievores around. For the present, I have moved away from those cake recipes that involve creaming butter and sugar together. Primarily because, at the moment, I can’t be faffed to do so. Instead, I have moved to those recipes involving either butter which has been melted or oil. And example of the former is my traditional boiled fruitcake and example of the latter are a Turkish quince cake and an Italian Castagnaccio - which is a cake made with chestnut flour, sugar, eggs, olive oil and rosemary. Just the ticket for the gluten intolerant who would like a slice of something sweet over Christmas (it is normally served with a spoonful of sweet ricotta). On a relevant digression, one of my childhood favourites was the Cadburys fruit and nut chocolate bar and I think, this Christmas, I will try and create a fruit and nut bar cake. Using the basic traditional boiled fruitcake recipe and substituting hazelnuts for half of the fruit and then, when baked and cooled, covered with a chocolate glasur.

 

Finally, I know that everyone is unique, but I sometimes wonder if I really am a completely atypical specimen of the human race. Unlike many, I have absolutely no desire to see any of my relatives at Christmas (or, for that matter, at any other time). To be very blunt, I think the magic went out of Christmas by the time I was 15.
 

Nor do I have any particular desire to go out and mingle with complete strangers in public spaces. I enjoy the company of friends (a very small and select group) but I am equally happy with my own company and that of the dogs.

 

So, from nearly all aspects of my life, the pandemic has barely brushed against me. Certainly, it would be most enjoyable to meet up with the ER “Brains Trust“ once more in London, but my life is not going to come to a crashing halt and fall apart if this meet up does not occur for awhile. And as for going out and getting completely ratars3d at the pub, were I so inclined to get completely legless, I will do so at home: cheaper and better booze AND without having to negotiate the massed ranks of sozzled cockwombles.

 

And on that jaundiced and misanthropic note, I bid you all a great POETS day

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, BR60103 said:

The local abbatoir has had around 80 cases

Food processing plants are typically some of the highest CoViD-19 outbreak locations. We've had problems with seafood processors in Oregon.

 

Prisons, nursing homes, and universities and houses of worship (that don't follow distancing guidelines) are also particularly bad. At this point the epidemic is so widespread that gatherings in homes are the highest contributor to new infections here.

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

Yesterday’s news has not left me in the best of humours.  One day I may see the funny side of a scenario in which with one breath those who rule us invite us to “have ourselves a merry little Christmas” and with the next they bu99er up Christmas dinner for heaven knows how many people.  That day will not be today!  Come 25th December it will be no great hardship, but one more irritation, to fend for myself for yet another day.  I shall miss out once again on the opportunity to get out of the house and perhaps spend time with other people in what would have been congenial surroundings.  Hey, I'm used to it.

 

Monkeysarefun, thank you for sharing the koala pictures.  I have become very fond of these endangered marsupials since I came across the story of one [Lewis] being rescued from the bushfires by a brave grandmother a year or so ago.  I am not in a position to travel halfway across the world again to see them in the flesh/fur but there's always Longleat, I suppose.

 

Bah humbug

 

Chris

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Mugatea required....

 

TTFN

Baz

[Erichill16]

Morning All,

A (relatively) early start for me. As per last evenings post I’m about to set off to work to meet the bloke who is going to hopefully fix the white van and then ferry Gary around in my van with the deliveries. Going to be a busy day as with Gary having been off a few days on compassionate leave and the festive season upon us there’s plenty of deliveries to be done. If some of you are thinking why doesn’t Gary borrow my van the answer is he’s not insured to do so. He doesn’t have his own policy and the policy on my van only covers me as  Commercial policies are comparatively expensive.

Anyway better get a move on,

Robert

[jamie92208]

Good moaning, we have fist and mog here and possibly Welsh style liquid sunshine.  Off shortly to put a bedside table up for a friend.  I better not comment of the B word.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[Barry O]

While drinking my mugatea I read a BBC report about Covid in Switzerland. Looks like the Cantons have taken Dithering to almost as high a level as the UK.

 

Today sees herself doing her last volunteering before Christmas. I have a present to wrap, a customer is dropping some crust earning off and I need to hoover up around the tree..pah! For the last bit. 

 

@Erichill16 i was self emploted for a while and had to buy commercial insurance for my car.. ouch!!

 

Stay safe! Hope that some of our missing ERs call in soon!

Baz

[BoD]

21 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Today sees herself doing her last volunteering before Christmas.

As the place where I volunteer has been closed, I haven’t been able to carry out any volunteering for nearly a year now, something which I am missing quite a lot.  Sadly too, I have heard that three of the ‘team’  have passed away.  Damn this year.

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Wet and windy earlier but not raining at the moment.  A dull, blustery, mild, overcast day is forecast along with the chance of more showers.

No firm plans for today.  Not sure whether we'll be going for a walk as The Hip is protesting somewhat. Had to cut short yesterday's walk because of it.  Trying to avoid taking painkillers unless I really have to.  I may just go for a 15 minute stroll to get some magazines for The Boss.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

 

 

 

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl Inner Temple Hare,

A notably good nights sleep, 7.25 hours with just the odd wake up and turn over.

This may because of a  distinct lack of back pain, just one vertebra is letting me know it's there occasionally..

 

Ben the Lazy Collie stayed in bed even longer this morning, but did go to to greet SWMBO as usual, He later went out quite happily. I suspect with bacon on the menu for tomorrow's breakfast he will be more attentive..

Quite windy out there High, total cloud .

 

The orange shed has limited the number of cuts again.. This time it's down to 4 with no option of paying for more as they used to have.. This means I will attend again on the way home tonight and on Monday.  There's no way I'm carrying sheets of MDF on the landrover roof with the amount of water in the skies and on the roads.. So I get it cut into Shelf width strips, and carry it inside the landrover.

 

Monday ? yep I'm heading for the garage with the landrover where they will fit the front tow bar equipment, they forgot to refit ... Should only take half an hour, after that the Orange Shed, and then Tes and Co this will be for the major Christmas shop.

 

It's noticeable on the Land Rover  the front suspension rebuild due to tired springs  / rubbers has given a much harder ride yesterday, but today it's a lot easier as it has bedded in a bit. I've also just noticed the windscreen rubber has shrunk, It's the old fashioned H shaped rubber where the one hollow of the H surrounds the edge of the glass the other hollow of the H surrounds the metalwork.. Anyway where they meet is now a 1/2 inch gap, Some sealant will be deployed this weekend..

 

I must agree with il Dottore, I'm not that enthusiastic about relative visiting, we moved away from most Cousins, Aunts, Uncles when I was Thirteen and I've only met 1 since except for weddings... Also at about that time I had to go away to school, so other than Summer and other holidays during school life , I've not really known my Parents, brother and sisters since then either. The closest I've lived to any of them since 1971 is 111 miles.. 

 

Very strange, the lighting is being changed in the Building, before, they are changing the ceilings... The company doing the task is from Market Rasen 118 miles miles away..

 

No sign of the Company Christmas baskets yet...

 

 Right it's getting warm while this 100A shunt reaches a stable temperature.. 

 

Time to... Measure it..