Early Risers.

[Mark Saunders]

Just now, leopardml2341 said:

S'pose it's the same debate as whether 'zero' or 'one' is the starting point for counting - sorry for setting out down this path. Rather reminiscent of the 'new millennium' debate; once again apologies

Wagons are a good example BR started at Zero but PO ones started at one like locomotives!

[Coombe Barton]

11 minutes ago, BokStein said:

 

I think not as it marks the end of the first year of the decade.

 

Remember, when you are born, (forgetting the 9 or so months inside Mum) you emerge at zero years old. 12 months later, your first birthday is celebrated (although you probably won't remember it!). You are 1 year old at the end of your first year.

 

By contrast, 1st January 2020 marked the passing of the previous decade.

 

We now find ourselves in the (until December 31st) first year of the third decade of the 21st Century.

 That's one method, but not definitive.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decade

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Back to Captain Cynical(tm) , I’ve been skiing once and quite enjoyed it but my body (and head) is not up it now. I do regularly go sledging when in Switzerland and have nearly come a cropper, but that’s a tale for another day.

The snow around town wasn’t as bad as out where I live but as we weren’t that busy I decided to do a few deliveries as if the weather close  in I don’t want Gary chasing around in the snow/ice tomorrow.

This evening I watched MY team win again, six wins out of eight,  against another local rival Rotherham. I think that makes us eight in the table and I bet we haven’t been that high for at least ten years.
I find penguins fascinating and admire their determination but boy do they smell.

May have had a bit too much C2H5OH this evening so feeling a bit drowsy so I’ll bid you all a goodnight.

Robert

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

Q, we're told here that our Q surnames (Quirk, Quine, Quilliam, Qualtrough, Quayle etc) are shortened 'Mac' or 'Mc' names.

 

The penguins were well cute, we met some of the Kiwi versions when we last visited that stunning country. 

 

I don't think Donk is a Poitou, the colouring is wrong.  Plus he's only 10" tall and IIRC Poitous are large donkeys.

 

Be careful about using Poitou Neil, I live in Poitou Charente though now it has been amalgamated with at least one other region to  become Nouvelle Aquitaine. Where's Elenor when you need her, perhaps we should ask Lindisfarne.

 

Jamie

 

 

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[andyram]

Evening all

 

To add to the snow watch stories. I got up this morning to prepare for the drive to the shop for my final day open before New Year. I observed that a few flakes had clearly fallen over night from the evidence of the thinnest of coverings on the outdoor table. Within five minutes the clouds had burst and a full on blizzard ensued soon covering the roads. It continued for a couple of hours unabated and I made the decision to close for the day and stay home. It seemed the correct decision on several counts. Yesterday's quietness would surely be repeated with people not wanting to travel to Matlock Bath. After all, the snow is traditionally much worse up there. This was further supported by announcements on Facebook from a couple of fellow Matlock Bath traders that they were closing. 

 At 9.15am, almost two hours before opening,  I put relevant announcements on the shop's Facebook page and website to state that I would not be opening. Despite this I still managed to get an irate Facebook comment from one customer at lunchtime bemoaning a wasted journey. This was followed by a call just before my 3pm closure time from another customer who had made the journey. Apparently there was little snow in Matlock Bath and, from 20 miles away, I should have known that! It just goes to show that sometimes you simply can't win.

 On the positive side, Amber dragged me out in the garden for the obligatory snowman build although in our case it proved to be a snow cat! Much needed time together. 

 

Stay safe

 

Andy

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well I managed to get all the switch wiring in and made a start on the soldering, so far 11 of the 19 switches are soldered, so just 8 left to do, that’ll have to wait until Thursday, as I’ve got a few shopping trips planned for tomorrow. 

 

Tea tonight was chilli con carne, as usual, I made a large batch and after eating some, there was enough for 4 portions were decanted into suitable containers and put in the freezer once they’d cooled down sufficiently. 

 

After tea we decided to catch up on some films we’d recorded of the festive period and managed to get 2 watched. One was called ‘The Mercy’ about the amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst, who disappeared in 1969 whilst competing in the solo round the world yacht race. The second film was called ‘Hidden Figures’ and about the role Black women played in the early 1960s NASA space program. Both were excellent films, well acted and very entertaining. 

Edited December 29, 2020 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[newbryford]

On 28/12/2020 at 14:27, Tony_S said:

We seem to have got to the age where we get food hampers as presents. So some of the items have “use by” dates. We did get a present from our nephew  that was from a vineyard near where he lives. I think we may save that until he and and his fiancée are able to visit. I hope that is going to be in 2021 rather than 2022. 

 

Is that reference to a tier level?

[newbryford]

12 hours ago, leopardml2341 said:

Please don't tell me there's more than one 'Barnsley'

 

And only one Yorkshire.....................

[newbryford]

11 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

There certainly is, one in Gloucestershire!

Never been but can’t be as picturesque as my home town.

 

On a similar note - there is another York - in Lancashire! What a come down..............

 

(It's about a mile from where I live)

Edited December 30, 2020 by newbryford

[The Stationmaster]

Evening all.,

 

We normally use Yorkshire Tea.  But we also have a reserve stock of Tregothnan Tea - the stuff grown in Cornwall and the Morning Breakfast blend isn't too bad at all (GWR serve it on their trains  when they're doing catering that is);   the company does quite a few different blends.

 

Christmas ahs now been eaten - well most of it.  There is a bit of sage & onion stuffing left and some of the pork pie  but that's about it.  The last of the chicken was eaten via two bowls of soup today and the soup also included the lst of our 2020 carrot crop,   There will be a sort of repeat meal this coming weekend because we can't go out to celebrate my ageing event but wewill only have the pork and no chicken this time round.

 

the GD didsn't have too bad a day for her first on the Covid ward although there were some problems with an older patent near the end of the shift.  As everybody idiot tells us this illness barely exists and only affects old people - hence the reason there is at least one patient in their 30s hospitalised oin oxford with it.  Fortunately the staff have plenty of PPE but no proper faclities to thoroughly wash themselves before leaving work.  The hospital also has plenty of oxygen in stock which is apparently just as well because of the rate at which  patients are getting through it with many of them suffering from Covid induced pneumonia.  But as we're repeatedly told it's all nothing to worry about and doesn't really exist.

[newbryford]

5 hours ago, BokStein said:

My geography's never been up to much, but weren't the Jam Butty Mines and the Broken Biscuit Repair Factory in Lancashire, somewhere around Knotty Ash?

 

Your geography is off - Knotty Ash has been long consigned to Scouseshire.

 

As for a true Lancastrian delicacy, don't forget the Treacle Mines of Sabden...........

Edited December 30, 2020 by newbryford

[newbryford]

Various activities have been undertaken in the last few days, but golf wasn't one of them due to excessive pluviation.

However, that has allowed a bit more time for other stuff including m*delling and a much delayed bed swap.

No sniggering at the back - the mattress and base had already been acquired - they just needed picking up from store and the old ones removing.

 

A bit of snow has appeared, but not enough to prevent a quick spin to Gisburn Forest on Monday for a MTB outing with Junior under clear skies.

 

Despite the heavy precipitation of the previous two days, there was nothing more than a quick spray with a suitable water dispersant/lubricant on the mech of the bikes, ready for next time.

 

There is an "emergency trip for supplies" to Skipton [*] planned for Wednesday. After all the F&C chatter, it may have to be timed with a visit to a chippy.......

 

Then home in time for delivery of Kingspan for a long-standing domestic project.

 

Stay safe folks.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[*] Passport and suitable vaccination certificates at the ready.

 

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by newbryford

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[BR60103]

I would say, on the matter of when a decade/century starts, it depends on the sort of number you use to describe it.

If it's the 202x decade, it started in 2020.

If it's the 202nd decade, it starts in 2021. The 1st decade started in 1.

We managed a drive to the next city today for a walk in the park. Not much else, although I tried to glue some tabs in a Superquick house down the wrong way. I noticed when I saw that the tab would obstruct the windows.

 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

There was a brief discussion yesterday about drawing cash from machines and visiting bank branches.  Since the current situation began I have needed very little cash.  In accordance with the expressed wishes of the few shops that I visit I use a card to pay for my purchases, except for lottery tickets.  The last time I drew cash from the hole in the wall was 4th September!  The downside is that there is a lot more paper in my wallet.  Possibly not in accordance with the expressed wishes of the few shops that I visit, I do insist on having a receipt to help me keep track of my spending.  Some vendors do not proffer receipts at the time of the transaction and appear quite affronted when I ask for one.  Tough!  As for visiting my local bank branch, I am sick and tired of receiving e-mails every time I do so asking for my comments on the experience.  A few days ago the purpose of my visit to the branch was to move funds between accounts.  I am happy to do this but I am beginning to tire of being asked the reason for my visit after having to queue to get in.  Yesterday morning an e-mail from the bank helpfully told me how to use the bank app on my phone to move funds between accounts.  Perhaps perversely, this makes me more intent on visiting the branch.  It may help to secure its continued existence and there is the very welcome face to face contact, even though it is mask to mask at present.

 

Yesterday afternoon a friend phoned.  She has spent most of 2020 awaiting surgery on her leg.  Two days before it was finally due to take place it was cancelled and she remains effectively housebound.  This served to remind me that there are others in worse trouble than I am.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, inner Temple hare,

Another near solid 7hours + sleep.. without pink pills too, what's happening?

Though I've awoken with a sight headache..

 

Today will include a black pudding search, as we ran out a few days ago, though milk is the official reason for heading Tes and co wards.

 

It's quite annoying they appear to have changed the dictionary attached to this tablet's virtual keyboard. It's now quite presumptuous, changing correctly spelt words, to words it thinks you want to type. It's also lost its memory of specialised words that I've taught it..like cockwomble.

 

Ah.. I think Ben the I want out Collie has woken, though he's not yet giving me the stare.

 

Plans for today, once returned from the big metropolis of Stalham (population just under 2000), more keel work, more shelf work. Which reminds me I must start investigating getting a temperature controlled tubular heat with timer with timer. The fan heat keeps getting blocked by all the dust I'm producing..

 

Ah brown eyes has arrived..

 

Time to investigate the garden.

[jamie92208]

6 hours ago, BSW01 said:

 

The second film was called ‘Hidden Figures’ and about the role Black women played in the early 1960s NASA space program. Both were excellent films, well acted and very entertaining. 

We watched that a while ago. A friend recommended it and it was excellent.

5 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Your geography is off - Knotty Ash has been long consigned to Scouseshire.

 

As for a true Lancastrian delicacy, don't forget the Treacle Mines of Sabden...........

I thought the Treacle Mines were in Natland, just south of Kendal or so my father assured me.

 

Jamie

[Dunsignalling]

Just opened an email from a mate who has reminded me to make some New Tier Resolutions.

 

Any ideas?

 

John

[jamie92208]

Yesterday was a day for strange happenings. I was dispatched  to the supermarket and this fell off a pilecand straight into my trolley.

I was sure that Emily's name was on it. Perhaps  Grandpas shouldn't be allowed to go shopping unsupervised. I hope that The Awl will allow this.

 

Anyway, the builder finished at lunchtime apart from some snagging on Monday.  A very nice meal with some friends was partaken and we arrived home at 19.59 in time for the 20.00 curfew.  

This morning I'm off to try and help some new arrivals with their residence paperwork and then this afternoon I'm off trainspotting, not a bad day to look forward to.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

Edited December 30, 2020 by jamie92208

[Barry O]

Ey up!

I had a great sleep until herself brought me a mugatea at 06:20 this morning.  She is off to moreasons so I need to be awake.  Pah!

Domestic duties to ge undertaken and I need to deposit a cheque to pay someone a final payment for the sale of models . 

 

Won £4.30 on the Eurodollars last night. Now, what should I spend  it on?

 

Just heard the Oxford vaccine has been approved..great news and it should make getting care home people vaccinated more easily.

 

Have as good a day as you can. Carpe diem!

Baz

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

12 hours ago, TheQ said:

He's now sat watching Penguins on TV.

Penguin(s) on the telly? Did any explode?

 

Re:

...and that concludes the week's episode of 'How to Recognize Different Parts of the Body', adapted for radio by Ann Haydon-Jones and her husband, Pip. And now we present the first episode of a new radio drama series, 'The Death of Mary, Queen of Scots.' Part One: The Beginning. (etc).

 

Sorry. Some things seem to be burned into my brain - like the exploding penguin on the television.

[leopardml2341]

Mornin'

 

Like TheQ, what's going on? First time in about three weeks that I've had a decent kip. A couple of 10 minute interruptions, but still pretty good and a dent made in the accumulated fatigue.

 

My JRT Doggo is just small enough to get through a large cat flap, so he's completed his morning constitutional already and has returned to mild snoring.

 

Cuppa time methinks, then a bit more rummaging around RMweb before a trip to the shop to buy milk, which I forgot yesterday.

 

@newbryford Of course Mick, you do know 'why' there's only one Yorkshire? *

 

It's because you can't improve on perfection

 

See you all later, make the most of your day.

 

* Insert county name of choice; but only effective if you're the first to state it.

Edited December 30, 2020 by leopardml2341
Effin predictive text......