Early Risers.

[BokStein]

Good Evening, well, at least it was POTS day! Let's get though the weekend for next week until further notice from BoJo looks to be a whole new can of worms kettle of fish!

 

In tonight's headlines:

 

10 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

What I have emphasised in this post is the key to any child getting a good education: parental attitude. Even in the direst of circumstances (such as in very poor countries where access to education is less than optimal) a child having parents that encourage, support and value the power of education will tend to do well in their chosen field (and let's be clear here, "do well" doesn't automatically mean "getting to the top", it can be something as simple as doing a job one enjoys doing for an adequate compensation).

 

Sadly, there are too many parents who couldn't care less about their children's education; too many of those who believe - because of gender - that my son/daughter can't/won't do "that" because "that" is for boys/girls; and too many parents whose idea of a suitable future is class bound (as in "no Tarquin, you can't go to Uni and study engineering, we aren't trade dear" or "what do you mean "go to university"? Too posh to go to [insert manual labouring job here] like me or yer grandad? [cliches, I know - but unfortunately with more than a kernel of truth]).

 

I was fortunate inasmuch as parents and grandparents (and assorted relatives) all valued education...

 

Unfortunately often the case and, most definitely, unW.I.S.E (acronym - Women In Science [and] Engineering)

 

Give the children their head and see how they perform; don't suppress talent!

 

10 hours ago, TheQ said:

My Great niece bitterly complained about Maths when she started secondary School a couple of years ago, saying no one ever used it, so I sent her a formula from a calibration book. Not this,  but a bit more complicated ..

 

 

 

9 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

As for 'foreign' railway and model railway magazines we had an very forward looking arrangement in the dept I worked in during my final big railway job.  We had a system where we could draw foreign currency to cover our expenses before we left.  While it could be a bit of a bind at times going round Europe carrying several hundred £s worth of two or three different currencies we had the advantage of being encouraged to buy newspapers and 'technical publications' to keep up with events  - especially on the mainland railways.  Fortunately many magazines 'over there' combine both prototype and model so, without going mad, money could legitimately be spent in such an area and would be duly signed off by our Director.  Useful language training as well of course.

 

Have the T Shirt for that too!

 

15 minutes ago, Barry O said:

@grandadbob..trying some  sullivans creek shiraz from sainsbugs.. not a bad drop!

Baz

 

Nice drop of McGuigan Estate Merlot from Saint Burry slipping down here!

Edited January 8, 2021 by BokStein

[Gwiwer]

1963

 

It snew. We were in school as usual for the first part of the morning but couldn’t go outside at break. 
 

Then word came through that school was closing early. The roads were closing. The lunch van could not get through (our school lunches were cooked at a larger school nearby and delivered to our servery) and parents were being summoned to take children home.  No-one was allowed to walk home alone. 
 

In due course it wasn’t mother but father who turned up. He wouldn’t let mother risk it in what had become a foot of settled snow. He had slipped on the way, gone feet-before-the-rest and landed in an undignified manner with both trouser-legs full of snow   

 

He cheerfully showed me the “skid marks” on our way home which, in the intervening half-hour, had become almost filled with new snow. 
 

At least next week is forecast to be slightly warmer Upon the Hill of Strawberries. 

[Dunsignalling]

Boxing Day 1962. Mum and Dad had friends round from lunchtime, at which point the snow hadn't begun to fall.

 

Dad opened the front door about 9pm to find snow drifted a couple of feet up the doorway. That was two steps up from the garden path, so pretty deep. 

 

Door got quickly closed before the white stuff fell in, and the guests went out the back way. Fortunately they only lived about a quarter of a mile away.

 

Down here, it hung around well into March and there was still the odd patch that never got the sun come Easter.

 

John

Edited January 8, 2021 by Dunsignalling

[leopardml2341]

1963 - during the cold bit I was nice and warm, what with still being incubated and all that.

 

I popped into the world at some ungodly hour at the end of June, so it's fair to say I missed all the cold. The one I remember is the winter of '81/2 that was cold but for nowhere bear as long. I'd not long started mi first 'proper' job (04/10/81) at GEC Telecommunications in Coventry. I specifically remember one day when it was -18°C or thereabouts and completely still, not even a whiff of a breeze. It's the coldest I've ever been, like standing in a deep freeze with ice crystal laden air all around. Brrrrr!

 

An advance Goodnight all too!

Edited January 8, 2021 by leopardml2341

[Compound2632]

11 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

Boxing Day 1962.

 

... that was my parents' wedding day.

[chrisf]

4 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

If you buy a loo seat on Amazon, then you'll get loads of Amazon offers to buy a loo seat.

How many do they think you need?

 

That's for those people who buy loads of bog rolls ....

 

Chris

[brianusa]

11 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Sadly, there are too many parents who couldn't care less about their children's education; too many of those who believe - because of gender - that my son/daughter can't/won't do "that" because "that" is for boys/girls; and too many parents whose idea of a suitable future is class bound (as in "no Tarquin, you can't go to Uni and study engineering, we aren't trade dear" or "what do you mean "go to university"? Too posh to go to [insert manual labouring job here] like me or yer grandad? [cliches, I know - but unfortunately with more than a kernel of truth]).

 Surely not in this day and age; thought that went out with Clement Attlee and his post war  Labourites.

       Brian.

        

[The White Rabbit]

2 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

When i did my a level mock geography exam in the mid 90s in the same hall as the Pontefract model rail exhibitions it was dry and a bit sunny when we left it was blizzard conditions with 4 inches of snow on the ground. It was the year that lots of folk got stuck in their cars in Leeds and Sheffield.

 

I remember that day, I was visiting Leeds University, went in on a normal winter's day and came out a couple of hours later with 2/3 inches worth of snow and it just kept going and going, at least six inches by the time I got home. Most of Leeds ground to a halt and looked like scenes from some climate disaster movie. Even Geordies were wearing coats. 

 

But I think it was 2013 I remember as being the heaviest fall, with a week or two when it was a foot deep and drifts of over six feet reported. Some rural villages were cut off for a few days, with one, someone I know who lived there said a plough got stuck, a couple more were sent out to rescue it, got stuck themselves and had to be left until the thaw. 

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Not done a lot today, where has the time gone? Some of it was spent in reading the book that the postie delivered this lunchtime. https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/brian-fagan/the-little-ice-age/9781541618572/ 

Quite interesting and one graph (average temperature) illustrates the effects of industrialisation by suddenly disappearing off of the top of the page. Teas brewed and now to tackle Farcebook.

[Dunsignalling]

26 minutes ago, brianusa said:

 Surely not in this day and age; thought that went out with Clement Attlee and his post war  Labourites.

       Brian.

        

We still don't hide our class system as well as they do on your side of the pond.

 

John

Edited January 8, 2021 by Dunsignalling

[tigerburnie]

Not sure what I will do with wine drinking, I only drink French, guess I will just have to give up and drink more Whisky, Scottish of course.

[Coombe Barton]

... a gig and Percy Pig ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/01/08/and-they-keep-rising/

[BoD]

1 hour ago, The White Rabbit said:

Even Geordies were wearing coats.

I was quite prepare to believe you up until that point.

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

 

Baz

[polybear]

Quote from Biden on the BBC News just now:

"He (i.e. Trumpie) indicated he's not gonna attend the inauguration?  One of the few things he and I have ever agreed on"

Love it

[Dave Hunt]

I don't know whether this is tempting fate, but I haven't seen any advertisements on RMW for ages now, whether I'm using the PC, laptop or iPad. Could it be because every time I get one of these "We respect your privacy, can we put lots of cookies on your device?" messages I put NO on every category? (and no, I'm not a gold member).

 

Dave

[BokStein]

54 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

Not sure what I will do with wine drinking, I only drink French, guess I will just have to give up and drink more Whisky, Scottish of course.

 

There are good wines and there may be French wines...

 

I recall entertaining a French colleague and selecting an Australian Red; he noted the better quality!

Edited January 8, 2021 by BokStein

[jamie92208]

I remember the 62/63 winter well. We were living at Giggleswick.  I remember sledging on the higher slopes of Atermire, above Settle, at the end of October, coming down a slope sitting on my anorak.  Sometime in January I think we walked over to Malham and the normal route through Upper Settle had a 6' snow bank across it. Roundabout that time a train, I think the southbound Thames Clyde was snowed in near Dent.  Apparently  you could always recognise the engine block from the Peak brcause the crankcase got distorted by ice.

 

However I had to walk half a mile to school every day, though a few of my compatriots from outlying farms weren't seen for a week or two.

 

Jamie

Edited January 8, 2021 by jamie92208

[brianusa]

1 hour ago, Dunsignalling said:

We still don't hide our class system as well as they do on your side of the pond.

 

John

 

Your place in society is mainly governed by your net worth over here!

       Brian

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[Erichill16]

Evening all,

swmbo watching a disater film, half the worlds  been frozen to death, really chearing me up.

Just realised vat return  hasnt been accepted, i dont have authority. Been using same system for two years and no problem. Spent quite a bit of time trying to sort it out. More time i´ll never get back. Left feed back on HMRC website, coments fueled by Old Speckled Hen and she was quite rude.

Anyway goodnight,

Robert

[grandadbob]

3 hours ago, Barry O said:

@grandadbob..trying some  sullivans creek shiraz from sainsbugs.. not a bad drop!

Baz

Now there’s a coincidence Baz. Me too!

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

. Even Geordies were wearing coats. 

 

 

2 hours ago, BoD said:

I was quite prepare to believe you up until that point.

Do they have any coats to wear?

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[laurenceb]

2 hours ago, BoD said:

I was quite prepare to believe you up until that point.

Ah but he dont say Geordie girls!