Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

1 minute ago, Erichill16 said:

Have heard you go on about saveloy before and thought it was a kind of fishcake/slice. I’ve looked it up on Wikipedia and now I know. You learn something (useless) every day.

Best with peas pudding and chips.

[Tony_S]

2 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Have heard you go on about saveloy before and thought it was a kind of fishcake/slice. I’ve looked it up on Wikipedia and now I know. You learn something (useless) every day.

I had never heard of them either until I moved south. 

[Tony_S]

2 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Best with peas pudding and chips.

Another chip shop item that I was unfamiliar with until working in London was a wally.

[New Haven Neil]

2 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I had never heard of them either until I moved south. 

 

That's odd, as they are a Geordie institution - I thought they would be exclusively northern!

 

 

[Tony_S]

11 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

That's odd, as they are a Geordie institution - I thought they would be exclusively northern!

 

 

They do seem to be regional according to Wikipedia 

Quote

London, Essex, Newcastle, Stoke-on-Trent and the Midlands

However not the bit of the Midlands I lived in. 

[PhilJ W]

I'd never heard of mushy peas with fish & chips until I visited Blackpool (about 1968).

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I've been rumbled it seems, hopefully she win't see your post.

 

Jamie

 

PS there are still 2 cmore gates to do.

Photographic evidence is called for.

 

PS its amazing what you can find on the interwebby thingy - fences, chickens even gates. Just saying.

[petethemole]

Years ago I would go to a small backstreet chippy on the way home from the pub about once a week.  By that time he would be closing up and wanted to get rid of what was left over.  My usual order was pea fritter & chips but I generally ended up with a saveloy and/or a sausage, an extra pea fritter and occasionally something else like a fishcake or pineapple fritter, all with a generous portion of chips, for the price of the basic order.  That took care of the next day's lunch as well.  I never liked wallies (the pickle) although I do like the smaller gherkins.

[Winslow Boy]

4 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Dry but chilly this morning but not going anywhere at the moment.

Have you considered getting a walker? You may recall that I had mine when I met you three years ago (Next Wednesday in fact, the 'birthday boy' becomes a teenager!). I have found that taking the weight off of the joints helps a lot.

 

Its known as a salami fiddle. It apparently happened  to several banks. The one I heard of was where the customers were listed alphabetically. An employee of the bank opened an account with the name Zwiller and set things up to transfer all the fractions to the last account. Apparently he made thousands over a couple of years and was only found out when someone with the name of Zwolle took out an account and was honest enough to query the money going into their account.

Wasn't that the scam that one of villains in a superman film - Richard Pryor was caught doing.

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, jonny777 said:

A dry and sunny morning here in North Somerset. 

 

I thought that the creaming off of tiny percentages from bank transactions was the plot line of a film I saw many years ago, but the fraudster in the film was caught in the end. 

 

Nothing much to do today, as it is a bit early to plant freesia and gladioli bulbs for the summer. Potatoes are sprouting nicely on the utility room window sill, and they may have to be planted in a week or so's time. Tomato seedlings were left a bit later this year due to the cold weather in February, but are now about an inch tall and will need to be transplanted into pots soon. The amaryllis are growing about an inch per day and I am surprised I can't hear them. They seem to grow faster than even rhubarb. 

Don't forget to stagger the planting of gladioli otherwise they'll all flower at the same time. Wish I could plant freesia outside. Used to be able too as I had a very free draining soil but now live much further north so its wetter and colder. Pah as Baz would say.

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

Another chip shop item that I was unfamiliar with until working in London was a wally.

Wally is a very localised term. Anywhere outside of east London / SE Essex and they are either a pickle or a gherkin. 
 

The first time the then-girlfriend ordered “chips and a wally” I had to watch what else went into the bag with the chips

 

Another regional name is “huss” which is the same fish as is known elsewhere as “rock” and that sometimes suffixed with “eel” or “salmon” but often alone.  The name Huss occurs along the Sussex coast, slightly inland and sometimes into Kent and Hampshire. 

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

I wonder if the GP surgeries where it was difficult to get an appointment before the Covid pandemic are still the difficult ones. I phoned our GP practice yesterday morning, explained that my dentist wanted to know if I could stop the anti platelet medication to facilitate an extraction. The receptionist said I should discuss it with a doctor and booked a 15 minute telephone appointment to discuss it with a GP that afternoon. I was phoned at the booked time and everything I needed to know was said. 

Our surgery just used it as an excuse to make it even more difficult to contact them. Example a) m' Lord. Change the telephone message so that the options no longer include asking to speak to the receptionist. Example two ask anybody ringing in to use website. Example three decide to 'upgrade' website without putting in contingency plan if case upgrade goes wrong. Example four cock up upgrade- website still unavailable four months later. Example five get annoyed when patients still try to contact them.All in all it is one cl.........,....,. Up after another. We would change but everywhere else is full. Our surgery consistently gets t poor marks for admin but excellent for its doctors.

[The Stationmaster]

Afternoon all,

 

Another grey day and even greyer in mood because cat Charlie has done a vanishing act, not even returned for food although neighbours claim to have seen him this morning.  Suitable bulletins have been issued on most local means of electronic cmmunication as well as foot patrols and neighbour interviews - fingers remain firmly crossed.

 

Yesterday vanished with a morning trip to conduct herself to her dentist in Tilehurst and alas I chose the wrong route as there was a 15 minute delay at temporary traffic lights. However both the route and delay were handy for trainspotting so 4 electric trains of various types  seen plus two real trains in the shape pf one conveying empty cement wagons and another conveying curtain stdeed vehicles in the direction of Southampton Docks.  An attempt to visit the trainspotting branch of Waitrose was foiled by a longish queue to get in so we retreated to the trainspotting branch of Tesco where herself had no need to queue and I took exercise doing circuits of the car park; the train was not seen so it's probably reduced to an hourly interval.

 

as for pensions I took my BR one at 52 after redundancy so heftily reduced but i was able to take what is known asa Level Pension which eased the agony.  however mob ving out of teh 40% tax bracket and using part of the pension lump sum to clear the mortgage meant out nett monthly income wasn't reduced by very much.  This is a critical thing to consider when retiring/taking a pension as what counts is not so much the gross income but the nett income once you've stopped paying for things that are a cost due to going to work and so on.   No other nenefits apart from retaining my 'BR' and LT travel facilities (the latter is a free Oyster Card) but the continental travel facilities are heftily cut after retirement due to teh attitude of those darned fireigners.   My railway pension reduced at age 65  because I'd been on the Level Pension but the drop was more than compensated by my (reduced) state pension - I'd been contracted out in NI payment terms - and my Lloyd's Register Pension (on a zero hours contract) also kicked in then.  The only added benefit comes with the former which is free prescriptions but I was already on those anyway thanks to my GP.   I lost most  of my BR Brass funds in effect because of Inland Revenue limits - always something to watch for with AVCs - and because I went 3 years too early early I have lost a lot on my overall pension over the years but no complaints in that respect as I got out on redundancy when the going was good.

 

Key thing, as mentioned, is working out your total finances because it is all too easy to find that you might well be paying to go to work and you'd be better off financially by taking your pension.  Add in another job if you can get it and you might be even better off having taken your pension.

 

Have a good day one and all and stay safe.

[tigerburnie]

46 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Wally is a very localised term. Anywhere outside of east London / SE Essex and they are either a pickle or a gherkin. 
 

The first time the then-girlfriend ordered “chips and a wally” I had to watch what else went into the bag with the chips

 

Another regional name is “huss” which is the same fish as is known elsewhere as “rock” and that sometimes suffixed with “eel” or “salmon” but often alone.  The name Huss occurs along the Sussex coast, slightly inland and sometimes into Kent and Hampshire. 

The Huss is a Bull Huss or Greater spotted dogfish, a small shark, before the trade description act often sold as "Rock", but back then Rock could be any of the small sharks or even Conger Eel or Ling. Rock was sold in chip shops in Leicester in the 1960's

[iL Dottore]

On 05/03/2021 at 10:47, Gwiwer said:

...genuine Cornish pasty (from Philps of Hayle) and beers (Spingo Middle from the Blue Anchor, Helston)..

Blimey, I do hope you’re not a Type II diabetic. Cos is what you’ve got there is an order of carbs, with a side order of fried carbs washed down by a pint of liquid carbs.

The pasty alone  probably has your entire recommended daily carbohydrate allowance and then some.

Mind you, in a slightly smaller size, Captain Cynical wouldn’t mind taking on one of those pasties tonight.

21 hours ago, polybear said:

....As to why Bear's weight dropped from 82Kg to 70Kg in six months, despite absolutely no attempt to do so (Warning:  four letter word coming......) and definitely no Diet, remains a mystery...

I can think of a number of things to explain such a weight loss: one of which are positively benign if not beneficial.
You had mentioned you had recently left the salt mines and perhaps a change of environment has reduced stress eating (a very common response to a stressful situation or environment is to eat too much and, sadly, most people who do so are not even aware that they are eating too much).

Even a simple dietary change, such as substituting commercially prepared lemon drizzle cake (ICI on a plate) for home-made lemon drizzle cake can make a difference over the long run.

As for other reasons for weight loss that are not benign, perhaps its best that we don’t go there.

18 hours ago, polybear said:

 

..... do recall ordering chips (sorry, Patate Frittes) whilst working in Italy in 1986/87) - some restaurants were ok about it, whilst others seemed to "forget" the chips.  I guess it wasn't the done thing then.  Bear does recall at one restaurant the waiter disappearing after plonking the chips on the table, then coming back a couple of minutes later and quietly plonking a bottle of tommy sauce on the table.  Not sure if he was taking the p1ss or not....

 

I most definitely think he was  “extracting the urine“.

There is a certain stereotype of Englishman abroad who is infamous for ordering everything “with chips“ (Just as there are stereotypes about the “Ugly American” who has a loud voice so he can be heard over his loud clothes, or the Germans who every morning get up at 5 to ambush and take the hotel sunbeds with military precision).

Like all stereotypes, this one is unfortunately based in fact: because for every English tourist who is quietly enjoying a good plate of Tagliatelle al Ragú with a glass of local Lambrusco in a Bolognese trattoria, there are those complaining “ why can’t the trattoria cook a proper Spag Bol and chips like they do back in Croydon”?

15 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

Can’t sleep but also remember someone ringing from Zurich trying to sell  me gold! Captain Cynical trying to feather his Alpine redoubt?

Heavens above, absolutely not.  Captain Cynical does not indulge in penny-ante petty crime capers. The smallest “job” Captain Cynical has carried out was one was when one of his tame techies manage to divert the entire world’s banking computer traffic into a special account for all of 6 µs and siphoned off the interest (believe me, the interest accumulated from holding the entire world’s finances in an account for even only 6 µs buys a hell of a lot of lemon drizzle cakes. I think Captain Cynical bought his minion Mauritius as a bonus for that little caper). And like all really successful crimes, nobody knows that the crime has been committed.  At best, just unprovable suspicions...

9 hours ago, polybear said:

...I deliberately stayed away from Googling for information - there's a lot of information out there, and just as much mis-information - as well as downright bullsh1t.  I ...

That’s being a very wise bear! 

Even with the knowledge to distinguish between fact and bullsh1t,  you really have to know what you’re doing when looking for medical information on the Internet (for example, you can still find on the Internet copies of the Lancet from the early 1900s – very little in there is going to be valid any longer)

Furthermore, differential diagnosis can be incredibly challenging and that’s with a full armoury of medical tests and diagnostic procedures at your fingertips and with the added bonus of being able to be objective about it.

The worst thing you can do is diagnose yourself. Even I don’t do it (although I generally have a pretty good idea of what’s going on).

For example, I can think of 28 possible causes of chest pain some of which very serious indeed....

4 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Best with peas pudding and chips.

Loose the chips (especially if they are the chunky, soggy and greasy variety [aka “chip shop chips”]) and I’ll have a plate, thanks. Saveloys are a much under appreciated contribution to The World of Wurst (and pease pudding can be a thing of wonder when freshly made).

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I'd never heard of mushy peas with fish & chips until I visited Blackpool (about 1968).

Being a well read and somewhat well travelled Gastronaut, I was well aware of mushy peas long before I tried them. To date my mushy pea experience has been uniformly disappointing. I suspect because it is one of those dishes that are best served immediately after cooking and best served prepared at home.

 

Well, an interesting week awaits me next week. A quick visit to the dentist yesterday revealed that some work needs to be done on a rear molar. The dentist said that if we are both fortunate he will be able to save the tooth, if not then a dental implant awaits. So, an appointment was duly made then and there and an “entertaining and informative” evening awaits me

this coming Tuesday.

 

Enjoy the weekend, I’m off to bite something (or somebody) while I still can!

 

iD

Edited March 6, 2021 by iL Dottore
Typo

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

Tis a bright and sunny day, out there, so Ben the doggy in control Collie took me for his long walk, quite warm with the sun on me..

 

Saveloys, I've eaten them in Wiltshire, Inverness, Somerset, central Scotland, Milton Keynes, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Lancashire,  Northumberland, and of course Norfolk.  My favourite add on is a battered and fried pineapple ring. I could probably say the same for pasties, unfortunately not necessarily genuinely Cornish.

 

The redesigned shelving has been made and currently the paint is drying. To be installed tomorrow.

 

The old axle has been removed... That was fun, the wheels and hubs were in the way. So they had to be removed first.. Would the castle nuts come off? No they ******* wouldn't, I tried everything, then realised I'm not using them again... Out with the angle grinder, a couple of disks later they admitted defeat..

Once the old axle was removed the new one was offered up, put in place, , measured, remeasured, I wandered off came back and remeasured again.. Now happy, the new axle was marked up for the bolt holes , took it inside for drilling..

To which, I bought a quality set of drill bits  last week, they made a huge difference, a nice slow speed, cut slivers of steel easily through the new axle tube.

 

I think it's time for more red liquid..

 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by TheQ

[New Haven Neil]

I must admit to having viewed Rick's plate of pasty and chips with some jealousy, given the carb content, but managed to scroll past without licking the screen.  I do occasionally get 'carb craving' and eventually give in with a small treat, my T2 isn't so bad as to ban them completely from my diet.

 

The day continues grey but dry at 6c, and other than a good walk with Mrs NHN to the limits of knackered bits (3 miles today, not bad for me) have achieved very little.  Sofa 1, Mojo 0.

[Erichill16]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I had never heard of them either until I moved south. 

According to Wikipedia, so it must be true, saveloy is popular in London, Essex, Stoke and Newcastle. There we are, more useless information!

[Tony_S]

30 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

knowledge to distinguish between fact and bullsh1t,  you really have to know what you’re doing when looking for medical information on the Internet

I had an interesting chat with the GP on Friday discussing how to proceed with my proposed tooth extraction. He confirmed what I suspected about not stopping the post stent medication. He said I would have needed to stop for 21 days and he didn’t want the cardiologist to be cross with him. So it is a dental procedure issue. He then said there was a really useful website by the Scottish Dental Association. I said I had looked at that myself as I wondered about how dentists coped with people on what is fairly common medication now.

When I was having my second lot of stents fitted the consultant was getting one of the other doctors to look something up on the stent manufacturers website. 

The internet can be useful for experts too. When the vet operated on Robbie’s parathyroid glands he hadn’t done that operation on a dog before and couldn’t find anyone else who had except for a YouTube video from the USA. He had done the procedure on cats and said he would treat Robbie as a large cat. It even appeared on the bill as cat procedure. The insurance people didn’t quibble or even comment. 

[simontaylor484]

6 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I've been rumbled it seems, hopefully she win't see your post.

 

Jamie

 

PS there are still 2 cmore gates to do.

Is one of them called Bill

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

what you’ve got there is an order of carbs, with a side order of fried carbs washed down by a pint of liquid carbs.

Liquid carbs should be good for you.  Are they not carbo-hydrate?  

Edited March 6, 2021 by Gwiwer
Auto-corrupt :(

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Wally is a very localised term.

The precise location I first heard the term was in a chip shop in Harold Hill.

[polybear]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

The smallest “job” Captain Cynical has carried out was one was when one of his tame techies manage to divert the entire world’s banking computer traffic into a special account for all of 6 µs and siphoned off the interest (believe me, the interest accumulated from holding the entire world’s finances in an account for even only 6 µs buys a hell of a lot of lemon drizzle cakes. I think Captain Cynical bought his minion Mauritius as a bonus for that little caper). And like all really successful crimes, nobody knows that the crime has been committed. 

 

 

Hmmm, perhaps Bear could consider a suitable "minion" placement after all, subject to suitable contract terms and conditions.  It would have to be a senior board position, however....

[Gwiwer]

7 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Hmmm, perhaps Bear could consider a suitable "minion" placement after all, subject to suitable contract terms and conditions.  It would have to be a senior board position, however....

Is this a suitable "minion placement"? 

 

The village of that name in Cornwall has attracted some yellow life-forms. 

 

 

[Andrew P]

Mike / @The Stationmaster, I hope you find your Cat soon.