Early Risers.

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Another grey day (I haven't counted how many shades of).   Talking about light fittings and wiring if it's a 1960s job the light fitting won't be bakelite (unless it was secondhand used for sentimental reasons) as bakelite was way out of date by then for new stuff, and the wiring is probably pvc covered. although obviously getting ona bit.

 

As to leg cramps if you know a mitigation I think I've tried them all.  Stage 1 was to stop taking statins (after I'd tried all the normally available ones) and that made a massive and is why I'm nowadays on something else but it isn't so good as statins when it comes to bashing cholesterol. The best mitigation I have found is a glass of dioralyte before going to bed - gives soem salts and obviously some liquid and taken over a period is pretty effective but I've mainly been off it for the past few months and have simply had a glass of fruit jice before heading for bed (I did have dioralyte last night but steer clear of too much of it because of its impact on the kidneys).  

 

I tried one of those fancy tonic waters and it was useless and i get the impression that any sort of hydration is better than none.  Fortunately I don't suffer every night but if one of the cats sets off arthur'sitis in my feet that inevitably leads to cramp in the calves and, as Polly described, just getting up and standing/walking around usually rectifies the problem.   Some warming-up exercises to sttrretch the muscles before going to bed were recommended by the GP and they are reasonably effective while the chiropractor's ministrations can help as well but I don't think I'll go in for pins in my legs as well as my back (and they might not work for cramp).  So sorry to rattle on and it's very much a first world problem with far worse being suffered by far too many folk to make too much fuss about this.

 

Incidentally talking of 'far worse' during her Saturday shift the GD and colleague were rasked with transferring a patient to the ICU - described as 'very interesting with masses of equipment.  the ICU staff have a special changing/clean up area for when teh y gfinish their shifts - in a wooden lean to shed.  Overall I understand from the GD that while the High Dependency unit is still getting admissions they have reduced and they are now below capacity and even have a few 'recovered' patients in their care - all their patens are in individual rooms.  so some good news.  

 

GD is up for her much delayed second jab this week and the lad will be getting his first one.  Ratty appears to be starting to ingest some of the poison and the car will be burning modelling tokens tomorrow as it has a service and its MoT test.   Have a good day one and all and stay safe.

[45156]

Morning All

 

Great to be here two days running - it does make a change, and I doubt it will continue.  Not a lot to report, other than the usual 5.10 start this morning to make 30747 some breakfast, prepare her lunch, feed Lily (while 30747 has her shower and hair wash) , and come back to bed for an hour before my shower and hair wash.  The reason for this being that a few years ago we had a power cut early one morning, resulting in 30747 not getting her shower, so now she grabs it as soon as she's awake - which is almost always by 05.00.

 

And the usual greetings of the generic variety are on offer to all fellow ERs.

 

So with that in mind all I pffer today is a little bit of the amazing Mona Lisa twins which popped into my inbox last night, and which I'm sure Andrew P will appreciate if it didn't also pop into his 

 

 

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[leopardml2341]

28 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. 

Those scales will not be able to weigh your trailer. They are solid state, they work by passing a small electric current through your body (thats why you have to stand on them in your bare feet). It was from using one of these scales not set up properly that someone got a four figure BMI. I would suggest using a spring balance if you have somewhere to hang it from and enough space.

Not necessarily Phil, the weighing bit works independently to the BMI bit - at least on mine it does.

 

It is possible to weigh oneself in one's socks should the desire be there

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by leopardml2341

[southern42]

' morning all from red dragon land.

 

HEATWAVE

10C and wall to wall sunshine  

... if pine cone predictions are to be believed.

 

A chance at last to check up on the pot plants.

I have already noticed the daffodil bulbs I re-potted have come up nicely but no buds.

I will give them another chance later on and plant them in the garden and hope they flower next year.

The tree fern protection cover did not survive the winds so that is another job to sort out.

 

But first,  a mugadecaf.

 

Fitt  and  Elfie working on it.

Take care all and play safe.

_________

Best wishes

Polly

[PhilJ W]

35 minutes ago, leopardml2341 said:

Not necessarily Phil, the weighing bit works independently to the BMI bit - at least on mine it does.

 

It is possible to weigh oneself in one's socks should the desire be there

 

Just hope that the Q has ordered the right type.

[Tony_S]

I wonder if Neil has seen the news from Westminster about the Isle of Man this morning. When I first read about the giant subterranean roundabout idea  I thought it was perhaps a satirical news website. 

[Tony_S]

46 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Just hope that the Q has ordered the right type.

As mentioned elsewhere the electronic scales will work fine for weight. The other features require bare feet. Before we stopped going anywhere I used to use ours for weighing suitcases. Even for cruises there is a maximum weight!

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, 45156 said:

Morning All

 

Great to be here two days running - it does make a change, and I doubt it will continue.  Not a lot to report, other than the usual 5.10 start this morning to make 30747 some breakfast, prepare her lunch, feed Lily (while 30747 has her shower and hair wash) , and come back to bed for an hour before my shower and hair wash.  The reason for this being that a few years ago we had a power cut early one morning, resulting in 30747 not getting her shower, so now she grabs it as soon as she's awake - which is almost always by 05.00.

 

And the usual greetings of the generic variety are on offer to all fellow ERs.

 

So with that in mind all I pffer today is a little bit of the amazing Mona Lisa twins which popped into my inbox last night, and which I'm sure Andrew P will appreciate if it didn't also pop into his 

 

 

 

Regards to All

Stewart

Yes, very nice indeed, I'd not heard that one, and didn't realise that she also played Drums, and the other one Bass as well as normal Guitar.

Thanks.

 

Now here's another favourite of mine.

 

[Gwiwer]

3 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

pecky birds in full song

Good lunchtime all.  Pecky birds not sighted.  Not even the Great Guzzlewumping Megapecker.  On the other hand a large number of small brown flitty things were doing something their kind has done for millenia and which was appropriated by an internet messaging service a few years ago.  I suspect one or  two might have broken wind at about the time I left the Hill of Strawberries.

 

Moan-day has lived up to its name.  There were no trains at the required hour to convey me to the House of Fun because of an engineering over-run.  There are also no buses hereabouts either because the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Union are upset at something or another and have chosen to withdrawn their labour for three days.  Plan C was invoked which required a brisk walk to the station of the Full Well and from where the (currently hourly) train was able to run allowing me to sign on with seconds to spare before being declared late.  

 

Even that wasn't plain sailing.  The walk to that station required me to pass the bus garage of the same name which is one of those from which labour has been withdrawn.  Outside - milling about on the footpath and partially blocking the main road - I found around 50 drivers.  Some were wearing chin-protectors.  Only one that I noticed was correctly wearing a face-covering.  Most had nothing.  All were standing close together in conversation in groups of 10 - 20 in clear violation of Covid regulations.  It's one-plus-one and you must be on exercise, folks, and if you are in dispute with your workplace then you must, as I understand things, stay at home.  Gatherings of large numbers anywhere are expressly forbidden and when those gatherings block the public footpath and part of the main road then any empathy from this member of the public can be considered null and void.  

 

I attempted to walk past.  No-one was willing to move and allow me any sort of space.  I asked if they might stand aside at which point two did so but not the majority.  Instead I was verbally abused with shouts of "Use your feet - that's what they're for" and other choice expressions which cannot be repeated here.  

 

If drivers want social distancing to apply on their buses then they should remember it applies on the public footpath as well.  If they want to make a point then the law allows them to strike. But it does not allow them to block the public highway and abuse members of the public and neither - currently - does it permit them to gather in numbers for any reason.  

 

Rant over.  

 

I'll take the blue pills and lie down for an hour.  

 

 

.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Gwiwer

[TheQ]

Thanks for your concern folks, however we still need new bathroom scales even if they don't work for the boat.

 

I do have a 1 Ton crane strain gauge, but that would need something to support the top end while I look at the meter.. I could probably lift from the top and then Have SWMBO read the results but I don't fancy straining my back.

A ball park oblong tube weight calculator on line, indicates the all up weight to be around 200KG I need to weigh the weight at both wheels and at the coupling.

 

The keel weighs 188Kg, the Hull weighs 244KG so that's 432KG, take that off the unbraked trailer maximum weight of 750 KG  and there is 318 KG to play with for the trailer.. giving if the tube guesstimator is right 118 Kg left  for hull supports.. wheels and Jockey wheel.

[Coombe Barton]

1 hour ago, southern42 said:

wall to wall sunshine

And here's me thinking that Water Wall was a carpet fitter

[simontaylor484]

3 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

I think the house would be sold as a ‘renervation’ project rather than a house to live in straight away. It’s actually got a new(ish) consumer unit. Not sure quite what the bulb holder is made from but of 60s origin. I’m hoping that perhaps she’ll not sleep in the house again but there is a lot of stuff to move and it wouldn’t be practical for her to drive up from Newark day after day to sort stuff out.

thanks,

Robert.

A surveyor would point out to a prospective buyer that the wiring would need inspecting by a qualified electrician in a homebuyers report they may pass comment on electrical fittings being dated but a chartered surveyor is not qualified to test the wiring 

[Barry O]

Two and a bit hours of being scanned..then an ecg.. then half a gallon of blood donated (and some other body fluids) ..then After  the scanning bit I had to walk up and down a corridor under the LGI for 6 minutes. I did get a cupofcoffee and a biscuit though (and boy did I need it by then). Arrived there at 07:45 got out at 11:30 worn to a frazzz!

 

I am now to inject myself every day using an epipen type device.. I  did the first jab under the watchful eye of the Doctor.

 

Next door don't learn.. the "foundations" are under water again.. Materials for the "dwarf wall" have been delivered. As he is in the trade I was surprised to see where he has bought the supplies from. I know a better and (to me at least) probably cheaper supplier.

 

Have to go as her indoors has a cricket zoom meeting to attend

 

TTFN

 

Baz

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

5 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Gary might have retired by then. His replacement wasn't involved with the B-I Council.

 

 Howard Quayle has done a good job this last year as CM, despite what the keyboard warriors say!  I bet he didn't expect to be dealing with this situation.  I understand he isn't going to stand in the autumn, a shame.

Probably worn out by all the stress from last year and having to go on TV to try and convince the locusts - other descriptions of brain dead selfish hoarders are available, to think of others rather than just themselves. I think being a peacekeeper with the UN would be less stressful.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Spent the best part of the morning clearing out the shed that is attached to the house. This is the same shed that I was preparing to be lined out about 18 months ago. The timetable seems to have slipped a bit lot since then and it became a depositary for all sorts of rubbish (2 pink sacks full). I've temporarily installed the 18 mm ply shelf that I had cut, not fixed yet as there are still adjustments to be made. I also checked out some other things such as space for shelving etc. Hopefully it will be a lot less than 18 months before I carry on with it. Tea is made so I'll be back later.

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

and if you are in dispute with your workplace then you must, as I understand things, stay at home. 

Actually no. The right to picket ones workplace under lockdown is allowed. However the picketers must be socially distanced in addition to obeying any laws regarding   what constitutes a picket. However it doesn’t sound as if those you encountered  this morning were social distancing. 
 

Edited February 22, 2021 by Tony_S
Incorrect grammar

[leopardml2341]

2 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

And here's me thinking that Water Wall was a carpet fitter

I thought his name was Walter Wall?

[Ian Abel]

11 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Based on the news I saw tonight I thought you are expecting a high of perhaps 5°C tomorrow! Certainly chilly but a respite from the deep freeze.

Indeed yes, more details (well not MUCH really) below in the post of the day...

 

 

Monday it is - I looked around and found nothing to dispute that fact, so...

 

Yesterday fairly uneventful, reading the paper, that sort of activity, Mrs still having residual affects from the #2 shot, but overall we're faring better, just a casual Sunday.

 

<RANT>

Today back working, with the receipt of a new set of requests from the client as dictated by the auditors, for the annual reports.

I continue to ask/question why, unless the business has decided to branch out into automotive manufacture, or a side-business as an airline, WHY, WHY, WHY, do we have to add an additional twenty or so lines of excruciating details to the annual report. Auditors certainly have excellent and creative ways of extracting more than their share of any profit from a company, for exactly the same thing they did the past several years!!! 

<END RANT>

 

Weather, as noted by @Ozexpatriate, taking a change for the warmer here for a few days at least - not exactly the SPRING some of you folks are reporting, given there's still nearly a foot of snow, and overnights below zero, but it's heading in the right direction for a while.

-5 and sunny first thing, will reach PLUS FIVE later today, definitely Whitney walking weather :). the next five days at least threaten to be highs above zero each day.

 

Stay safe.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Ian Abel

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

picketers must be socially distanced ...... it doesn’t sound as if those you encountered  this morning were social distancing. 

Far from it.  Standing shoulder to shoulder or face to face and definitely not at 2m separation though possibly some were 1m apart.  Then there is the issue of obstructing the highway ..... And then there was the language; members of the public who are clearly not involved in any way with a dispute should not be advised to "F*** off" when they request social distancing be observed on the footpath.  

[The Stationmaster]

4 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I wonder if Neil has seen the news from Westminster about the Isle of Man this morning. When I first read about the giant subterranean roundabout idea  I thought it was perhaps a satirical news website. 

Judging by the comments in one of yesterday's 'heavies' it would indeed appear to have been something of a satirical job.  But internal to No.10 where the tunnel idea is looked on with what might politely be termed 'misgivings' but basically amount to it being seen as downright barmy.  So the 'Douglas roundabout' scheme was allegedly hatched by advisors in order to make the whole idea look even more stupid but they were told to go away and adopt a shorter route - so they chose one through a dumping site for sarin and mustard gas - it appears that idea hasn't killed off the barmy idea either.

 

Elsewhere somebody else in officialdom has calculated that to provide a decent high speed rail link between the Scottish end of the tunnel and Carlisle will in fact cost more to build than the tunnel (that sounds a bit idd to me but it n9 doubt mnakes good copyte

[PhilJ W]

While they're about it why not build a bridge or tunnel between Canvey and Sheppey? If they want a big bang to go with it there's the SS Richard Montgomery.

Edited February 22, 2021 by PhilJ W

[TheSignalEngineer]

After a damp start it turned out sunny today, so I took advantage and cleaned a wheelie bin of debris from the garden ready for this week's collection.

I see we have a set of non-binding dates for relaxation of restrictions in the offing. Let's hope they happen.

Straying a bit close to politics, I do wonder whether they are dragging it out as a cover for the Breaksh!te trade fiasco. During yesterday's ride one of our usual off-road sections was rammed with groups of people with no thought of social distancing or trail etiquette. We diverted onto the Woodhead road as there was virtually no traffic in sight. It used to carry several thousand HGVs per day. A lot were European or Irish based. On Sundays there still used to be a large number because of the weekend restrictions on moving HGVs in France and Germany. Yesterday we saw hardly any HGV traffic and didn't identify one foreign lorry or trailer in two diversions along the road and several miles in sight of it.

[simontaylor484]

That is unusual for the Woodhead road the times I have crawled behind have on that road. Lockdown will no doubt have reduced the number of vehicles. We had some vehicles come back to the yard just of the A628 in Dodworth nr Barnsley off the woodhead with their brakes nearly on fire especially when loaded with plant and machinery and that is a smell that gets in the back of your throat

[TheSignalEngineer]

9 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

Lockdown will no doubt have reduced the number of vehicles.

During the earlier lockdowns there were still a large number of lorries about on the road. The drop in construction activity made a big difference around Glossop and Buxton at first with less stone lorries.

In November last year there were quite a few foreign lorries especially Irish ones about on Woodhead. Now it seems quite rare to see even ones from Northern Ireland.

[TheSignalEngineer]

A State of Emergency may have to be declared.

We are out of cake.

 

On the brighter side whilst searching for cake I found an unopened box of chocolates and a box of biscuits for use in transferring cheese from plate to mouth. All is not quite lost, yet.