Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

My secondary school playing field was 'detached' from the school with the access through a construction plant contractors yard. There never seemed to be any of the contractors staff present when we went through the yard, I presume the yard was only used for storage. Half of the playing field was loaned to the nearby girls school (Romford County High) though it belonged to our school. The playing field was huge, big enough to contain not one but two cricket pitches, and that was in the half not loaned to the girls school. It also meant that the girls could only be seen in the distance. The two halves were only separated by a strip of rough grass but woe betide any boy caught crossing it. My school was demolished and now a gated housing estate was built on the site. Most of the playing field is housing leaving the girls school, renamed Francis Bardsley after a former headmistress with a fraction of was loaned by my school.

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

Baz

[tigerburnie]

G'night

[monkeysarefun]

4 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

Buqqer - two covid cases in the community found this afternoon, no known links found (yet) to the 'steam packet' group.  There is a controlled batch of them who all got it via a member of the ferry crew, but that has been isolated well up until now.  It may be a link is found, in which case it'll be contract-traced and should be OK.  If not, we're heading for another circuit breaker. Pants.

Auckland has gone into a snap lockdown after an unresolved case who was meant to be isolating but went out to the gym, fast food and so on. Now we get to call NZ a 'hotspot' and make them quarantine on arrival. Does show how up in the air everything is even when you think you've got it licked. 50 days with no local cases in NSW yet we are  still pretty much living one day at a time, who knows this time next week we might be in a snap lockdown due to some quarantine breach. Sure makes 'roadmaps' listing what will happen at some date weeks or months into the future seem pretty pie in the sky stuff. 

(just rereading before posting and noticed my typing had turned 'pie in the sky' into 'pie in th esky' which is what those refrigerated coolers are called here...)

Edited February 27, 2021 by monkeysarefun

[BoD]

GDB still appears to be missing.

A pity because I just wanted to point out to him that Falcons beat Quins this afternoon.

 

Seriously though, I hope there is a straightforward explanation for his absence.

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Just woke up, had a bit of eyelid inspection after tea. 
Got the Vat return  submitted despite  having the nephews round for most of the day. Sil regularly works Saturdays and bil needed to work today to catch up with his work. Bils engineering base closed after Christmas and most of the staff were made redundant but bil was moved to another post and so avoided redundancy. He now works from home and it’s not easy for him, especially as sons are at the moment schooling at home. Hence their visit.

I did manage to watch the mighty Reds record their fifth successive league win, though it wasn’t a good match to watch. 
Regarding the importance of football Bill Shankly, a former Liverpool FC manager once commented ‘Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it’s much more serious than that’.

Been a warmish  sunny day here and tomorrow I may put some ‘stuff’ out at the bottom of the drive.

Houses at school, Penn, Gurney, Fothergill and another whose name escapes me.

Thats about it for today so,

Goodnight,

Robert

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[monkeysarefun]

One for chrisf..

 

 

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone

 

I also went to a boys only school, but it don’t recall and dodgy teachers when I was there. There weren’t many female teacher either, I only remember 1, who was a student and so was very young, quite attractive too I seem to recall, although I was never taught by her myself. By the time I’d got to the 5th year, I too was sick of learning and couldn’t wait to leave. I did my exams, but not all of them and still I walked away with 5 CSE’s and an O level. Once I started my apprenticeship and went to college, I excelled and gained mainly distinctions or merits.

 

My last junior school had a mixed entrance and so we’re the classes, where there were no restrictions as to who you sat next too, although we all had individual desks, the type that had a lift up top and inkwells. But invariably, boys sat with boys and the girls sat with girls. However the playground was diff, that was divided by a white line which separated the girls from the boys and woe betide, any girl or boy who crossed it. I got into trouble several a few times when I crossed ‘just to get my ball’ back! When we moved to Canada in ‘67, I took an autograph book into school and all my class mates signed it. One girl wrote in that book the following message,

“if all the girls lived under the sea, what a good swimmer Brian would be”,

oooh, if only she knew!

 

Well the removable extension piece to the test track is almost finished, I just need to make a couple of alignment pins and it’s finished. It was at this point that I suddenly thought, I could have made a fixed extension and just made alignment pins for the turntable, Doh! Possibly something to consider later. Aligning the new tracks to those on the turntable were a bit tricky, but with the use of a couple of tracksetta pieces certainly assisted greatly, the tracks line up perfectly. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[skipepsi]

I have done some modelling and on that bombshell ! Goodnight. 

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[TheQ]

7 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I have a vague memory that Akitas are meant to be controlled like pit bulls under the Dangerous dogs act, bu that may have changed since I retired.

 

Jamie

No it's the Japanese Tosa that is banned, which is 4 inches taller again, it's rare even in Japan and was bred for fighting. Has a look something like a mastiff but not as tall as them.

 

The Japanese Akita, is a breed similar to a husky, muscular, needs exercise , nearly three times the weight of a Border Collie. But if brought up correctly, are very good with people particularly children. I've met a few very Friendly Akitas over the years. 

 

I note that there are now two recognised Akita breeds since we stopped showing Rough Collies. The Akita, which was known as the japanese Akita, it's a bastardised American version of Akita Inu, with added breed influences of German shepherd and other breeds.

And the Akita Inu, which has more pure Japanese breeding, related to the Japanese Matagi .

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, inner Temple Hare,

Nearly seven hours solid sleep, something to do with physical work and a quantity of red liquid.

 

I should add that with football being like religion, between Rangers and Celtic it is religion. The granddad from Glasgow, wouldn't let a Catholic or Celtic supporter in the house!!

 

I note the latest figures show having just one vaccination jab reduces the chance of hospitalisation by 90% which is good news.

 

Plans for today,

 Top coat the bits of metal zinc coated yesterday.

More shelving, finish yesterday's section and prepare next week's section.

And if the rod set arrives, clear the drain, I note the rod set arrived at the Norwich depot at 01:05, I hope we get the delivery early, they often don't get here till after dark, and I'm not playing with open drains in darkness.

 

Brown eyes wants out..

 

Time to get up.

[TheQ]

Err,  just a splash and dash, Too much dawn chorus for Ben, it's very misty foggy out there, water dripping off the trees.

 

Time for muggacoffe no 1.

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

The long awaited double CD finally arrived yesterday morning.  I look forward to sitting, relaxing and playing it and who knows, some of that may occur today.  As a change I plan to stir-fry some strips of pork into submission for lunch.  They were an impulse purchase in the unfamiliar supermarket where I went to top up my reserves of custard powder.  To say that one tires of steak amounts to heresy but it does happen.

 

There was more good news yesterday in the form of a trailer on Facebook for an autumn touring performance of Riverdance.  Its nearest calling points to me are Cambridge and Milton Keynes.  I prefer the latter, which will be at the same theatre where I saw the National Theatre production of War Horse a few years ago.  My late father saw a version of Riverdance in Brighton circa 2000, having been sufficiently keen on the idea to travel from Huntingdon by train.  Any time I get the idea that I am getting too old to do the things I do I remember him and some of his exploits with just a little inspiration.

 

This morning I learn that the Speaker of the House of Lords, Lord Fowler, is to stand down.  He plans to campaign for greater LGBT+ equality around the world, saying that he is "only" 83.   Wow!  Remind me to look out for a man dressed in full Lords ermine at the head of the parade at Pride in London.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

 

EDIT - I neglected to thank Monkeysarefun for posting the clip of the koala joey.  Look no further if anyone is in doubt as to why I am so fond of the delightful creatures!

Edited February 28, 2021 by chrisf
left something out

[iL Dottore]

19 hours ago, Andrew P said:

 

So was mine but the Girls School was next door.

I recall a joke made by a famous comedian in the 80s about an all girls school - nothing obscene or even improper, just playing on tropes and expectations in a way that now is completely verboten...

15 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

DCC conversion?  
 

Dottore’s Chocolate Chips?  

G R O A N

(I do wish that AndyY would stop being stubborn and reinstate the groan button - with suitable personalised not blanket censure for those who abuse it)

15 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

If you can do it GF, forget the zwie bak, just bring it to the next brains trust meeting and I’ll be there!

Hmm, interesting challenge.

I wonder if I could use another flour (almond, potato, corn or rice flour) and still get the same result in terms of taste and texture? But I suspect another type of flour would make the cake somewhat “claggy”.

 

Whilst I am very happy to accommodate people with true intolerances (we have a friend who is also gluten intolerant and I manage to feed her well without any problems, using “all-natural” ingredients), I am vehemently opposed to products marketed as “gluten-free“ or “vegan“.  Partly it is because I am opposed to the marketing slight of hand that takes place in many instances (such as labelling a naturally gluten-free product, such as rice cakes, as gluten-free and hiking up the price of the product because of the labelling) and partly because I am very, very opposed to all those products that are heavily processed, mostly chemical and horribly environmentally unsound to boot (the amount of water needed to make 1 L of almond milk is staggering, and as for palm oil and how the rainforest is being destroyed to make way for palm-oil trees....  well, best not go there as I will get rather testy...)

 

With so many great dishes out there, from various cuisines, to satisfy the hungriest of gluten intolerant, vegetarian or vegan diners; why oh why do people insist on having heavily processed, chemical-soup “copies“ of things they can’t or won’t eat?  (please can someone explain to me the rationale for the existence of the “vegan burger“?)

10 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

My father, who followers of this esteemed column will recall founded a football club, used to say that there were two sorts of football 'followers' ..

I wonder what your father would have made of me? I only watch the football on two occasions: the semifinals and finals of the European Cup and the World Cup (and only then when one of the three national teams I feel I have a vague duty to support [Italy, England, Switzerland]  are playing).

Otherwise, if it is a choice between watching 22 overpaid prima donnas kick a ball around and watching a real time documentary on paint drying (without narration), the paint drying documentary would win every time.

6 hours ago, BSW01 said:

... I too was sick of learning and couldn’t wait to leave...

Whilst my school days were as far removed as possible from the halcyon days of childhood as is (unrealistically) portrayed in many books, I have never, ever been sick of learning. 
 

I have never stopped learning about things, but never in a linear fashion: I tend to go through phases whereby I consume everything I can get my hands on about a given topic (without any systematic plan).  So, in my library, I have books about the history of the Imperial Roman Army sitting cheek-by-jowl next to books about post-World War II reconstruction and social change in Britain and so on. Very little doesn’t pique my interest.

On the subject of books: I was recently reading an article about how people are going to charity shops and buying old books to put on shelves behind them during their zoom meetings. The article also stated that these books remain unread. Which is consistent with the findings of a survey recently conducted for World Book Day -  that showed that the average number of books in a British household was 158 of which a quarter were unread and one in 10 households had no books whatsoever.

 

I wonder what the average book count is for ERs (quite high, I would imagine)

31 minutes ago, TheQ said:

...The Japanese Akita, is a breed similar to a husky, muscular, needs exercise , nearly three times the weight of a Border Collie. But if brought up correctly, are very good with people particularly children. I've met a few very Friendly Akitas over the years....

Lovely dogs, but certainly not for the first time, novice owner. I do wish that people would stop buying dogs based on how the dog looks and whether or not some vacuous Internet “influencer”or moronic movie star has that particular dog, but rather get a dog based on the dogs temperament, health and exercise & training requirements. Such an approach could only be a benefit to dog owners and to dogs themselves.

 

Finally, and continuing - albeit tenuously - on the topic of dogs; I have a quiet Sunday all to myself as Mrs ID will be going with the Wolfpack and a friend of ours to suss out the location for her Dog Trainer final exams which she will be taking in a week or two (she has mock exams next week). A day of dolce far niente awaits.

 

Enjoy the day.

 

iD

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Mugatea....drunk! Pah!

 

One or two more ERs are missing at thevmoment. Lets hope they are all well.

 

Today will be a reading day I have decided. Not sure what but I have a few books and journals to catch up on.

 

Have a good day if you can

 

Baz

[jamie92208]

Good moaning. It's dry and bright here and a tad warmer. Yesterday, despite bright sunshine we needed the fire lit in the afternoon and I had a fleece and jumper over my shirt when working in the shed.  I did eventually  get the gate finished and re hung and it looks fine. I jow need to do it's oppo.

 

Today will stsrt with our usual trip to the market then not a lot. I plan to do a little tidying up in the shed and hopefully some modelling but agendas can change as daily orders have not been posted yet. However  this is posted for Chris, Sydney Zoo in April 2019.

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

 

 

[polybear]

 

17 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

As promised: CAKE

 

Future modifications could include adding chocolate chips to the cake batter mix, or replacing the raisins with a mixture of different nuts of the kind that you would find in Cadbury chocolate bars (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts)

 

Any other suggestions?

 

iD

 

Dump the nuts and add Sultanas instead, and surround the outside with a wall of Cadburys Milk Choccy Fingerss standing vertically.  Even better, dump the choccy and use sticky lemon icing instead....

 

Bear is down to his very last Lemon Bakewell, with no sign of any Jaffa Cakes either.  There's is one sole remaining Treacle Sponge though, in the emergency rations.  After that it's biscuits or now't, although ice cream still exists, as does packets of strawberry jelly and various tinned fruit (peaches or pineapple).

 

Yesterday involved painting the kitchen ceiling - a second coat will take place this morning.  Also lots of "figuring out" the best way of wallpapering the walls - which widths go where, and when (i.e. before or after the kitchen units) - as well as pondering cunning plans regarding the best way to wallpaper before the tile splashbacks are applied.  Still pondering.

 

[5 C]

Morning awl,

 

Female teachers. At primary school it was almost all women apart from two men. One was quite young but a fearsome individual who clearly wanted to be in the army. He shouted a lot (for no good reason), would publicly humiliate any miscreant (no matter how minor the offence) and gave us all a number which had to be written on every exercise book and other pieces of equipment. He even rotated pencils on a weekly basis, so you would gradually work your way up to the best/newest/longest pencil. Although he'd been at the school a few years, I only had him as my teacher for a couple of terms. He left on promotion to another school. At least that's what we were told. Most of us thought it should have been the other way.

 

By the time I got to high school (late 70's/early 80's), female teachers made up at least half of the teaching staff if not more. I remember many of them but two of them stick in my mind. The fake tan, bottle blonde, bottle green tracksuit wearing games teacher who we christened "Farah Fawcett-Kermit". The other was a young and very nice English teacher who was rather well endowed and forgot the affect water has on a white t-shirt when she agreed to participate in the "soak the villain in the stocks" event at the school fete.

[jonny777]

Another clear and sunny morning in North Somerset. Sausages, bacon and eggs duly consumed and now to glance at the Sunday paper which seems to be 90% covid hypothesis these says. I would give daily newspapers up, but SWMBO likes all the puzzles. 

 

I am ambivalent about cake. If some is offered, then I will eat it but do not go out of my way to consume items which are full of sugar and fat; because they don't treat me nicely when I dare get on the bathroom scales. 

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, a frosty but sunny start over here, with covid hanging on to ruin our day by the look of it.

 

Morons on line here going on about legally forcing the closing hospitality venues and a circuit breaker lockdown (they have been asked to voluntarily close etc over the weekend) failing to understand that to do so legally means passing emergency legislation - and the necessary folk to produce this are also having their weekend off.  Friend Jayne for instance, is the person the reads through such legislation for legal whoopsies after drafting by lawyers (and boy does she find a lot) is walking her dogs in the middle of nowhere so she certainly isn't able to work this morning.  We all just are asked to take care and wait developments while voluntarily avoiding contacts......  So next door has just gone shopping with her MiL....#sigh#  Makes me mad.

 

Think I'll get the log splitter out and work it off on scrunching wood!

 

Oh, school - hated it, I think because of my last two years in primary when I had the most horrible female teacher (boy did she have a reputation) who ground out any enjoyment of the process of education.  What's the opposite of a Mysoginist?  She hated boys, it was a mixed class of 42 sat girl/boy in pairs alphabetically.  By the time I went to the Grammar school (having being told all the boys would fail the 11 plus by her - but we all passed, unlike her girls!) any thought of engaging with education was beaten.  So I bumbled along, occasionally being noticed in sciences as doing little work but producing good exam results, which was due to my personal interests at home.  In physics they were making a circuit to make a lamp light, I was making simple transistor speed controllers at home!  When I went to college it all changed - good lecturers, enthusiasm, and lots of distinctions followed! And a 2.1 later. And MIMarE, MCIPD, all that guff.....despite school's best failings.  I envy those who had good schooling with enthusiastic teachers, I could have achieved so much more.  OK, wood, you're in for it now....

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Weather reasonable but currently high cloud although it's forecast to break up and allow a sight of the sun for several hours.   In a touch of genius I have fired up Radio Garden so currently have 'The Archers' on the 'puter - nice way to spend Sunday morning.

 

Back to schools.  The infants school was 100% female teachers but boys and girls were pretty thoroughly mixed - only one gate for the pupils and only one playground.  Just the same at junior school although there the teaching staff were predominantly male and rather nicely during the couple of terms my mum was supply teaching there I had no aggro from anybody although she was teaching the other class for our age group.  Grammar school was, as mentioned previously, rather more segregated during the  lunch hour although a little more mixed in just one area during the breaks.  Staff was fairly mixd with several very attractive females to hold the attention of hormonal teenage males.   Our games field was (and is) of a decent size so in winter the hockey pitch and rugby pitch didn't need to intrude on the cricket square or where of where the running track went in summer.   So boys and girls were within reasonable distance of each other although the tennis courts - 100% for the girls - were all separate,  on the other side of the main building.    There were a few mixed hockey matches for the 6th form including an annual pupils vs the staff match - which tended to get rather rough.   The CCF of course, being the 1960s, was very definitely not mixed but was good fun for all that ex spevcially for the 6th form as a couple of events involved considerable alcohol consumption.

 

At about the time I arrived a new building containing the main hall, kitchen, and canteen area opened with the games changing rooms underneath.  There were high level ventilation grills between the two lots of changing rooms so very quickly metalwork started to get bent with the idea that someone standing on somebody else's shoulders/back could see through to the other sides.  Now the interesting thing about that was that when plays were put on only the girls changing rooms were used - for both boys and girls although unlike the boys side they were partitioned into cubicles big enough for 4 or 5 people to change at once but still not entirely private - yes, plays were fun.  But the real eye opener was that there were far more bent pieces, and worse, in the ventilation grills on the girls' side than there were on the boys' side.

 

Appalling music at the end of 'The Archers' - some BBC trendy needs to be shot - slowly, in numerous places starting with the knee caps.

 

Have a good day folks and stay clear of the lemmings