Early Risers.

[Coombe Barton]

... and not plastering the floor ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/01/01/sounds-of-the-season-34-a-marian-feast/

[simontaylor484]

I have just listened to the Radio Norfolk special on the signal boxes on the Wherry  lines that have been resignalled. 

Someone mentioned it on here the other day I can't remember who i think it may have been Q 

Anyway it was on BBC Sounds very interesting thanks for the info

[polybear]

36 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

I used to know an ambulance man and he had many such stories including one about a man whole was peeling potatoes whilst in the bath. He managed to get one stuck in a certain bodily cavity.

 

A mate's daughter works at the Lister, Stevenage.  In 2019 (IIRC) some guy was admitted, with something "stuck" and couldn't get it out again.  Seems that he & his missus had been "experimenting" and it all went a bit too far - literally.  Apparently all attempts by the hospital to retrieve it failed, and it took surgery to recover it.  My mate never did find out what the object was though.  His missus never visited him in hospital, as she was too embarrassed.....

 

Another one I heard was a brass door knob "stuck".  He told A&E (not the Lister) that he was bending over to put his socks on and someone opened the door behind him.  Yeah, like we all believe that one....

[Coombe Barton]

When I was having investigations diagnosing my Prostate Cancer in 2011, the Doc said that he had had an old Warwickshire farmer for the same procedure. When the biopsy instrument was inserted the farmer exclaimed, loudly "OH BU99ER ME!", which the doc thought was worth a mention.

[laurenceb]

Bloke I know uses that phrase, then looks puzzled when I reply "no thank you

[Gwiwer]

12 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

the farmer exclaimed, loudly "OH BU99ER ME!"

A kind offer but one I would be obliged to decline

 

Long exchange of messages with a very hung-over Former Neighbour (Upstairs) this afternoon. She and flat-mate are back in their current abode but are unlikely to be teaching for a couple more weeks. 
 

The frivolities of last night understandably included excessive drinking (at home, just the two of them) and something new to me namely a Zoomed game of Cards Against Humanity. But hey - why not?  
 

It also resulted in flatmate posting fairly explicit material to her social media accounts which platforms duly alerted me and what was seen cannot be unseen. In my humble opinion an extremely bad move for a teacher as her children - and their parents - are as likely to end up seeing it as anyone. I wouldn’t want to be a fly on the Head Teacher’s wall when the conversation went something like “So, Miss ****, please explain why Year 3 are all staring at their screens shouting “Look at Miss’s t**s”

 

FN(U) is also of the opinion that a Bad Thing has been done and that alcohol will not form a valid excuse. 
 

The fallout (sorry - the pun might have been intended) will occur when term finally starts. 
 

In other news the gout has reached the itchy stage which is usually an indication of it abating. I managed to get a soft shoe on earlier so it’s also less swollen than it was.  Cherry juice and Nurofen are working better than Indometacin this time around. 
 

All I need is to be fit enough for a four-hour shift on Moan-day. Here’s hoping. 
 

G’night all 

[jonny777]

7 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

If a drug is not used as per its ‘license’ the prescriber is responsible for the consequences, the product would be used ‘off license’. I believe that I read somewhere that the government was passing a law to say that no compensation claims would be entertained with respect to COVID-19 claims.

Robert.

 

I think that proviso was made way back in April/May which shocked people at the time. 
 

I am not going to get involved, as the subject has a big whiff of politics about it. 
 

I don’t want to get embroiled in an everlasting argument but the idea of fish getting stressed about ice breaking seems a bit sans-evidence. I have kept fish for about 50 years, and the idea that a few seconds of ice breaking will affect them is a bit unlikely. As long as they are not chased around the pond they will have no problems. 
 

What affects fish is continued physiological difficulties such as poor water quality or other conditions they do not like; the conditions persisting for a long time. Fish are quite hardy creatures, as my boyhood nightmare of finding one of my goldfish on the carpet when waking up in the morning. 
 

Yes, it looked dead but I put it back in the tank and went to school. When I came home it was swimming around normally and a generous feed had it back to normal. 
 

The fish lasted for years, given continual decent conditions which it liked. 

[brianusa]

7 hours ago, laurenceb said:

Localy only heard a few bangs through the evening with a sharp fusalade around midnight, perhaps the cockwombles had run out of fireworks, or money to buy them. We can only hope

Likewise, which is a bit strange considering an important event like New Years went quietly into the night!  Spent the evening watching old MGM musicals which had been seen before.  Always interesting as having seen them many years ago, all the stars are now dead, those whom I had seen in their prime.  Makes you think!

Happy New Year.

          Brian.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. When looking at the films of the human rocket launchers I can't help thinking some of them must have had some painful injuries and one at least is likely as not lined up for a Darwin award having removed himself from the gene pool, even if he is still walking about albeit in a peculiar way. 

Arthur Itis is making himself felt so there might be a bit of rain/sleet/snow on the way.

[Compound2632]

58 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

It also resulted in flatmate posting fairly explicit material to her social media accounts which platforms duly alerted me and what was seen cannot be unseen. In my humble opinion an extremely bad move for a teacher as her children - and their parents - are as likely to end up seeing it as anyone.

 

Oh dear. The importance of not doing that is drummed into one in basic training. Fortunately I doubt any pupil of mine has ever been on RMWeb.

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

I hope for the very best outcome for Gladys in her fight against the ‘ruddy’ virus.

Not much to report today. Took Sydney for a walk first thing then fetched mil for her turkey and sprout dinner. Bil turned up mid afternoon to collect Sydney and also took mil home. Not much else was accomplished and listed to the football on the radio.

Ive seen Sydney have another episode as did SWMBO  but bil seems unconcerned. He needs to speak to the breeder at least if not the vet. If he doesn’t do something soon SWMBO and myself are going to get very angry. I’m not sure if sil has been made aware of what we’ve seen but I’m going to make sure see does if action is not taken.

Not sure what’s on the agenda for tomorrow but I’m not bothered so long as I get to see my teams match at 3:00pm.

I don’t know if anyone has made any resolutions for the new year but I haven’t. 

Here’s Sydney, he’s keeping an eye on us.

Goodnight

Robert

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well, apart from making a raspberry and rose chocolate cheesecake, I haven’t done much else. I must say, it’s been rather nice sitting in front of the fire reading a book and listening to CDs.

 

 Goodnight all 

[J. S. Bach]

9 hours ago, polybear said:

Easy fix, that one.  Make it illegal to manufacture or sell fireworks that are loud.  Pretty lights yes; big bangs/screams etc.?  No.

 

Delete all after "fireworks"!

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, inner Temple hare,

Back to the usual, not sleeping well, but for a change there's a reason, an upset stomach, it's making gurgling noises and another visit to the small room will occur shortly. I've not eaten anything strange and only ventured to where the public are for one Tes and co a couple of days ago.

 

My stomach has definitely not been as strong as it was since before novovirus last February.

 

Hopefully today is the last day of keel sanding, I'll be glad to see the back of it. The keel weight spreader plank needs to be done, but that just sits on the work bench, I'm not trying to move a 150KG awkward shape.. Moving the keel out will be the next adventure. I'll park the keel by the boat, I'm not going to try to fit it until the spring.

 

Just a thought, I need to get the strain gauge out and find out what the exact final weight is, I'll do that after final painting, just as I lift to onto its transport..

 

Must decide on what antifouling to use, it will be easier to do that before fitting it to the boat.

 

Time to roll over and get more sleep..

[iL Dottore]

14 hours ago, polybear said:

...As for Police inaction in such circumstances, it's about time a directive came down from upon high to "nail the b'stards good n' proper - with no warnings". ...

Forgive me for being rather cynical so early in the year, but it would seem that re-enacting the Battle of the Somme with fireworks and keeping your neighbours awake, annoyed and in some cases fearful, is not the “right sort” of crime for investigation; had they posted something on social media that is contrary to the current “group think” then the plod would be round to their place “toot sweet”, if not to feel their collars then to lecture them about “correct thinking”.

To get very slightly political, I would imagine that the police frontline are getting very, very frustrated with the police priorities set by their superiors. I think that someone should tell the College of Policing that 1984 is a dystopian novel and not a how-to manual (how else would you explain the fact that a pensioner having been burgled receives scant interest from the police nowadays, whereas if you were to tweet something very “non-group think” like “Venusians are tentacled trisexual scum“ you would very rapidly become the centre of some very intense police attention indeed)

14 hours ago, TheQ said:

Norfolk police are a bit more enthusiastic,

Some people were trying to set up a rave last night near Ludham, in open countryside.., 24 arrested, their equipment confiscated....

And, I hope, destroyed.
In such cases punishments should truly be punitive otherwise the miscreants will shrug off the slap on the wrist taking their equipment and go do it again.

11 hours ago, TheQ said:

...Ben the choosy Collie, ...came to me and gave me the stare, ... This I Ignored, so he then arrived on my lap.. I asked him if he wanted out, he looked at me..looked at the door ..looked at me...looked at the door.. so I said go on then.. he went to the back door.. I then opened the door and he happily trotted out.

Perhaps Ben would enjoy collaborating with Lucy on a project on “the effective dog stare“. Lucy also has “the stare“ down to a fine art, in fact  Lucy has several, each to be used in a different situation. Apart from the “it’s time for a walk“ stare and the “I need to go out to the garden“ stare, she also has what I can only describe as the “Dame Maggie Smith stare“ with which she looks at you with a penetrating and incredibly judgemental stare, displeasure radiating from every fibre of her body (i.e. the look that Dame Maggie Smith has perfected for many of her roles - like the role of the Dowager Duchess of Grantham in Downton Abbey)

6 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

...It also resulted in flatmate posting fairly explicit material to her social media accounts which platforms duly alerted me and what was seen cannot be unseen. In my humble opinion an extremely bad move for a teacher...

Hmm, an interesting post and one that is, perhaps, also a comment on the Anglo-Saxon attitude towards nudity.  Not having seen the images, I cannot begin to comment on how explicit the photos were/are. But if they were simply Page 3 style topless shots, then most of  Europe would have greeted these images with a bored “ho-hum“. For most of Europe, casual nudity is not a big thing.  A considerable number of European women go topless on the beach and throughout most of Europe when you go to the sauna in a fitness centre you go to it completely naked.  In fact, it is very easy to spot an Anglo-Saxon in a European sauna: they are the ones either wearing a bathing suit or are cocooned in a large towel.

The Germans in particular have a very active FKK movement and it is not unknown for many public swimming pools to have an afternoon or a day set aside for FKK swimming (aka Skinny-Dipping in the US), something I cannot see happening at the Acton municipal pool and slipper baths!

5 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

...I’ve seen Sydney have another episode as did SWMBO  but bil seems unconcerned. He needs to speak to the breeder at least if not the vet. If he doesn’t do something soon SWMBO and myself are going to get very angry.

And well you should. You haven’t described what is affecting Sydney, but dogs are very good at hiding pain and injury (something that for them brought an evolutionary advantage), so when a dog expresses pain then the animal really is hurting. Veterinary medicine overlaps considerably with human medicine, and for animals - as with humans - the earlier you medically intervene to address an illness or injury the more favourable the outcome. If BiL remains indifferent to Sydney’s problems and you & SWMBO are extremely concerned, then a quick call to the RSPCA for advice (and maybe intervention on their part) could help. Ultimately, it’s all about what is good for, and in the best interests of, Sydney.

 

Up fairly early today (hence the pre-dawn post) but I did sleep passably well. Not too much to do today, although if the recycling centre is open I have quite a lot of PET, glass, aluminium, old metal and old electronics to recycle.

 

Slow Roast Pork Belly with Cauliflower mash awaits tonight and I might try my hand at making a proper apple sauce for the pork...

 

Enjoy Day 2 of a brand spanking new year.

 

iD

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

Many, many thanks for all the good wishes for Gladys.  I have cluck "Thanks" on many of them but, I suspect, not all.  I say yet again that you lot are wonderful!  There is no further news, which is agonising.

 

May I share my two penn'orth on fireworks, as I heard a veritable fusillade as I was drifting off to sleep before midnight on New Year's Eve.  I think that there are times when we should expect them and times when we should not.  New Year's Eve is one time when we should.  In happier and less constricted times they are a conspicuous and joyful way of seeing in the New Year that is much more demonstrative than what I did this year, which was to mutter "**** off, 2020" under my breath and turn out the light.  I have had the pleasure of visiting the New Year display in the centre of Zurich several times.  For about 20 minutes the air is full of light and sound.  At ground level the display is enjoyed by thousands and is truly the antidote to social distancing.  In the run-up to ignition and lift-off there is gluhwein - one of many things I sorely missed this Xmas! - and there are sound stages which dispense the latest taste of the Swiss in pop music.  One year I recall marvelling that they had finally discovered the Beach Boys.  Come half past midnight the crowds disperse and by 1 am the nearby Stadelhofen station is dangerously crowded.  Last time I attended my wise companion led me to the Hauptbahnhof and we actually got seats on the train back to Rapperswil where we were staying.   At the 2019/20 transition we were based in Chur, which is not noted for excitement of any kind save when the traffic lights change.

 

I spent some time yesterday dreaming on paper of a possible future train trip to Italy.  At this stage it has to be only a feasibility study, for there can be no indication of when or whether it will ever happen.  Much more certain is the prospect of a fodder run this morning, which has to pass for excitement in these troubled times.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris 

[leopardml2341]

Oh well, just spent a while composing some drivel only to switch to another tab and find it's disappeared - why, when sometimes the editor retains the last lot of drivel for days and I have to purposely erase it - Grrrrr!

 

The essence was:

1. Morning
2. Tired
3. Any tips for staying asleep
4. Planned wood butchering
5. It's cold
6. Look after yourselves
7. Make the best of your day 

[polybear]

8 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

Here’s Sydney, he’s keeping an eye on us.

 

 

He's cute.

A thought:  BiL isn't "tight" by any chance is he?  The thought of a vet's bill brings him out in a cold sweat?

 

5 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Delete all after "fireworks"!

 

Even better, thought more difficult to implement.  And no doubt the oiks would declare it a breach of their "uman rites"  (can oiks go to the European Court of 'uman rites anymore, now that we are out of that little club?).

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Perhaps Ben would enjoy collaborating with Lucy on a project on “the effective dog stare“. Lucy also has “the stare“ down to a fine art, in fact  Lucy has several, each to be used in a different situation. Apart from the “it’s time for a walk“ stare and the “I need to go out to the garden“ stare, she also has what I can only describe as the “Dame Maggie Smith stare“ with which she looks at you with a penetrating and incredibly judgemental stare, displeasure radiating from every fibre of her body (i.e. the look that Dame Maggie Smith has perfected for many of her roles - like the role of the Dowager Duchess of Grantham in Downton Abbey)

 

There's nothing quite like a Bear Stare though, for making another feel decidedly uncomfortable - Paddington is pretty good at it:

 

 

However, Bear's Uncle Ruben has perfected the art - be on the wrong end of one of his stares (usually when he suspects you're after his cake stash) and I've seen others positively sh1t themselves (a fact not easy to hide when you're a Polar Bear).  He's scared the sh1t out of me several times, even though he's a bit of an old softie really:

 

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Not a lot done yesterday but did catch up with some friends via messenger. 

 

Not a bad nights slepp.. but still could do with some more.

 

Christmas decorations to be removed and stored until next December. 

 

Stay safe!

Baz

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Grey and wet here but the rain has eased off and some sunny spells are threatened later along with a few more showers.

More bloody fireworks last night including another barrage at midnight. F##kwits!

Some decorations already down here and the rest will be done today.  This means that yours truly will have to dig out his crampons to scale the NE face of Mount Loftladder several times to retrieve empty storage boxes and then put them back in the loft for another year.  The Hip and Knee don't feel too bad at the moment although I now appear to have strained something in the port side biceps femoris area.  'Twas ever thus.

Watched one rugby match last night and Newcastle managed to lose to Bristol after crossing the line three times and not getting the ball down.  Wasps v Exeter and Gloucester v Sale appear to be today's offerings.  Pleased to see that Premiership Rugby and BT Sport have now signed agreement to show all matches until 2024.

First thing to do though is have a bit of breakfast.  Porridge will do for today.

Have a good one,

Hobbling firework hater of Sutton.

 

..

Edited January 2, 2021 by grandadbob

[jonny777]

Another frosty morning in North Somerset, but not as cold as yesterday; only -1C today. 
 

Had a horrible nights sleep, probably due to the Chianti drunk with the wife’s birthday dinner of “herb crusted rack of lamb” as they would say on Masterchef. 
 

My usual efforts of tempting sleep are thus - a meditation attempt in bed. Lie as still as possible and then relax each limb of the body in turn. Finally relax the jaw bone as much as possible without opening your mouth, followed by concentrating on the colours visible with eyes closed and not thinking of anything but that. 
 

The process often works for me, but not always, and it is the only thing I know. 
 

The rack of lamb was actually crusted in sage and onion stuffing mix, much of which fell off again when the lamb was lowered into the frying pan for its initial flash fry for caramelisation purposes. However, I basted the top with the resulting liquor while the joint was in the oven, and much of the herby bits eventually stayed on the top and looked the part. 
 

SWMBO said she really enjoyed it, which is praise indeed; and so I am happy. However, I could have done with not waking up every 75 minutes between 11pm and 8am. 
 

Hey-ho, I suppose the advantage of being retired is that if I feel like a kip during the day, there is little stopping me.