Early Risers.

[jamie92208]

After nasturtiums were cast in my direction about my motives for heading for the shed I thought I better set the record straight.  The 2nd gate was re hung and this afternoon Beth and I uprooted some 30 metres of fencing at the back of the shed.  That was  hard work.  Afterwards we sat out on the bench in the sun and watched our resident Pheasant wandering around.   He has now been christened Harry for some obscure reason. I was a bit late getting my camera but di get this shot as he walked up the road towards the Mairie.

Considering that there, all the houses he can see from the crossroads apart from ours are occupied by members of the Chasse he is certainly living dangerously.

Coming back I thought I would gather some evidence.  Here are the two gates now back in their correct position.

brownie points were awarded.

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

Is this a suitable "minion placement"? 

 

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

 

 

Here is a photo showing just how small Minions are.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I was sorting out some old papers this afternoon when I came across a paperback crime novel. When I started reading it there was nothing to make me think that I had already read it and even after reading a few chapters I'm still certain I haven't read it. I do chips in my air fryer with just a sprinkling of oil or I use oven chips. Tess Coes do excellent oven chips still with skins on. You can usually find them alongside the baked potatoes. Speaking of Tess Coes, my local branch had a batch of bread pudding this afternoon, one is now in the fridge but as yet intact. When it came to my pension entitlement I found that by calculating how much my net income would be it turned out to £2 per month more on pension than if I was working.

Edited March 6, 2021 by PhilJ W

[Winslow Boy]

43 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

After nasturtiums were cast in my direction about my motives for heading for the shed I thought I better set the record straight.  The 2nd gate was re hung and this afternoon Beth and I uprooted some 30 metres of fencing at the back of the shed.  That was  hard work.  Afterwards we sat out on the bench in the sun and watched our resident Pheasant wandering around.   He has now been christened Harry for some obscure reason. I was a bit late getting my camera but di get this shot as he walked up the road towards the Mairie.

Considering that there, all the houses he can see from the crossroads apart from ours are occupied by members of the Chasse he is certainly living dangerously.

Coming back I thought I would gather some evidence.  Here are the two gates now back in their correct position.

brownie points were awarded.

 

Jamie

Not wishing to cast doubt but there is nothing to actually  confirm that they are your gates. They may be your neighbour's or someone on your street. 

[Ozexpatriate]

7 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear now has a pressing appointment with a Saveloy, Chip Roll and Beans.  I may be some time.....

 

7 hours 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.

Saveloys are well known in Australia.

 

That Wikipedia article, including the section on Australia/New Zealand is quite comprehensive. I was pleased to see a reference to  "Cheerio" (the term I was most familiar with for shorter sausages of the saveloy family) along with "Dagwood Dogs" and "Pluto Pups", known better in the US as "corn dogs". 

 

In the US the "Cheerio" would be a "cocktail sausage/frank/weiner" which might or might not taste anything like each other.

 

The variety of foods under the umbrella of "hot dogs" is quite amazing. Curiously (despite there being a link to it) there is no subcategory for Australia on the "hot dog variations" Wikipedia page. I remember a visit home many years ago when my (then) spouse ordered a hot dog at the airport in Sydney. She was revolted and asked me (as the local) to identify it. It was quite definitely ovine in origin. It might have been generous to call it "lamb". I liked it, but a lamb sausage on a bun would never be sold as a "hot dog" in the US without some kind of warning.

 

For some reason I'm now thinking of the Aussie snag (pork sausage) cooked on a flat top hot plate with onions and served with (Australian) barbeque sauce folded diagonally into a slice of fresh bread. Any day is a good day for a sausage sizzle, but perhaps Saturday even more so.

 

[PhilJ W]

All this talk of sausages and saveloys is making me hungry so I'm going to see what the sell-by-date lottery shows up. If this was Germany it could be wurst. Hat, coat and I'm gone.

[Gwiwer]

7 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Saveloys are well known in Australia.

 

As are kransky

 

Just now, PhilJ W said:

If this was Germany it could be wurst.

 

See above.  Also sometimes sold as rotwurst

 

7 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

For some reason I'm now thinking of the Aussie snag (pork sausage) cooked on a flat top hot plate with onions and served with (Australian) barbeque sauce folded diagonally into a slice of fresh bread

 

And always on offer outside Bunnings (the huge hardware warehouse chain in Oz), proffered at polling booths on election day and, as you say, universally the stuff of the backyard, neighbourhood or local community group bbq.  

 

Kransky and two potato cakes (with sauce) was a regular snack on the train home after an early shift at the Palace of Attendance.  They were popped into a small brown paper bag (along with aforesaid sauce and a shake of salt) and occupied a part of the 75-minute commute as well as occupying a part of my stomach quite happily.  

[The White Rabbit]

20 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

... On a similar note but I think genuine this time was a call from a ‘fine wine merchants’ and the gentleman spoke with a very nice Queens English type of voice. He also tried to part me and my cash but when I told him I didn’t drink wine he said in a most condescending voice ‘Oh sir, this wine's not for drinking’ . At that point the conversation ended....

 

a) So just why would I wish to purchase it then? 

 

b) Thank you for admitting it's not fit for human consumption. Did I tell you I work in environmental health? We'll serve the court order first thing tomorrow. 

 

c) Oh but I tried washing the cat in it and that's how I lost an eye and two fingers on my left hand. 

 

If only I had the time, there's a lot of amusement to be had from baiting the would-be scammers. 

[The Stationmaster]

5 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

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

I didn't realise that you couldn't get them everywhere - no doubt a consequence of growing up in areas (South Oxfordshire.northern and western parts of Berkshire as well as family visits to Yorkshire) where it was unusual for chippies not to offer them.   Round our way you got saveloys in chippies but sausages other than saveloys were a much moretrecent addition to the menu.

 

3 hours ago, Andrew P said:

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

Thanks Andy and others.  After hunting high and low through various gardens and round the roads in the area the s*d wandered back in late this afternoon as if nothing untoward had happened although he was even hungrier than normal so we wondered if he had got shut in somewhere.  That apart all ok.   The Dremel has subsequently been in used slightly amending the cutout in an internal door striker plate to make sure that the door latches properly and won't open when Charlie gives it a shove.  He also managed to push aside the kitchen rubbish bin - with a brick in the bottom to weigh it down - that was blocking the cat door z (we don't lock it having had an interloper cat who simply charged it and partially demolished it in the past).

 

BTW Mrs Stationmaster coming from a long line of umpteen generations in Cornwall and south west Devon reckons that the idea of chips with pasties must have been invented invented purely to suit the emmets.  Definitely not something which was around when she was a youngster.    Pasties were pasties which didn't need to come with anything else and chips came from chippies - with or wiithout fish.

[Erichill16]

10 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

 

a) So just why would I wish to purchase it then? 

 

b) Thank you for admitting it's not fit for human consumption. Did I tell you I work in environmental health? We'll serve the court order first thing tomorrow. 

 

c) Oh but I tried washing the cat in it and that's how I lost an eye and two fingers on my left hand. 

 

If only I had the time, there's a lot of amusement to be had from baiting the would-be scammers. 

This wasn’t actually a scam, I looked it up. They are a valid form of investment and if drunk probably would taste ‘off’. I think they are like say rare stamps, to be enjoyed by looking at and collecting them. Perhaps like old Hornby tinplate, nice to have but not to use. 
Robert

[The White Rabbit]

14 hours ago, polybear said:

I suspect that as soon as an individual starts to ponder retirement then perhaps it's a sign that they aren't enjoying the job anymore?

 

I think I must have been about 23... 

 

 

Evening all,

 

Another busy day with the G word. And afterwards, dealing with a request for Laneside Verge, though that's more to do with the M word and trying to reduce the mountain of grass 'cuttings' to a mere hill. I put an extra layer on in the morning, anticipating several hours outside, though it did warm up quite a bit in the afternoon - saw three convertibles with their tops down on the drive home. When defining the arrival of spring in the modern era, never mind the sound of a cuckoo's call, the first lambs or the first daffodils, it's when you see the first MX5 with it's top down... 

 

A throwback to the earlier chat about tea and coffee - I'm one of the unusual people who doesn't drink either. I tried but couldn't find anything I cared for, so stopped bothering. I do like consuming beverages which you can stand a spoon up in though. Earlier in the week I had 'soup and a roll' for lunch. However, the 'soup' was chicken chasseur stock and the 'roll' was home-baked bread, so maybe a peasant's lunch but it was seriously flavoursome. The stock was heated up in the microwave (sorry!) and I gave it a stir with a spoon, met some resistance, OK Simon, put some effort into it, all this WFH, you're getting feeble... Finished, let go of the spoon, no 'ting' or 'clang' from the spoon against the side of the mug. Looked and the spoon was sinking ... very ... slowly to one side. I didn't try it (we are talking about my lunch after all) but I had a feeling if I'd inverted the mug, nothing would have dropped out. 

 

Well, some more G word (lumberjacking) is due tomorrow, so I'll wish you all Good Night. 

[trisonic]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

 

And always on offer outside Bunnings (the huge hardware warehouse chain in Oz), proffered at polling booths on election day and, as you say, universally the stuff of the backyard, neighbourhood or local community group bbq.  

 

Was there not some Government interference into this when people started suing Bunnings due to falls on slippery onions or some such nonsense?  Pete

[Erichill16]

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

Heavens above, absolutely not.  Captain Cynical does not indulge in penny-ante petty crime capers. 

iD

I never mentioned it was a scam, just a phone call from Zurich,  from perhaps some hard working trader earning his commission. Perhaps I hit raw nerve! 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Erichill16

[brianusa]

21 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

After hunting high and low through various gardens and round the roads in the area the s*d wandered back in late this afternoon as if nothing untoward had happened although he was even hungrier than normal so we wondered if he had got shut in somewhere.  That apart all ok

Once this happened with our cat.  Got all worried when she didn't return one night, searched high and low and sorrowfully went to bed (We do have coyotes around at times).  Next morning opened the door and in she walks.  Relief and happiness restored!

      Brian.

[Erichill16]

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

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

 

 

iD

It’s surprising how many prescription forms which include a GTN spray (for angina) and Gaviscon (for heartburn).

The best mushy peas are the dry  ones that you soak overnight.

[Barry O]

Ey up! Nice to see you pass by @trisonic.. hope you are well!

 

Baz

 

 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

When it came to my pension entitlement I found that by calculating how much my net income would be it turned out to £2 per month more on pension than if I was working.

 

For those who don't have a full state pension entitlement (you need 35 years of NI contributions, or 30 years if you retired before April 2016) you can buy missing years; the cost is £795 per year, and this ups your state pension by £4-80 a week (so 250 quid a year).  So in just over 3 years you get your money back, and from then on you're laughing.  More here:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/state-pensions/

I believe you can do it even after you've started receiving your state pension too.

 

For those who are (or were) in a pension scheme (company or private) that is/was "contracted it" then there's a pretty good chance that you may be short of enough qualifying years to earn a full state pension.  Bear's company scheme did just that some years back - it was decreed that it was a jolly good idea for the employees (as it would save us money?) but years later we realised that our qualifying NI years (and hence state pension) were shafted as a result.

We used to have a full-time "pensions lady" at work/on-site, which was a jolly good idea since you could get advice from her without trouble.  Then the Great Empire decided to run the whole lot remotely and she disappeared (no doubt with a nice little bunce).  For something that is so important (and pretty complex) it's a total bl00dy minefield for many employees - there are so many little angles that can be employed (some of which are time-critical) to boost your pension (and pension options) but yer average worker hasn't the foggiest idea that they even exist. 

 

In other news:

Bear spent the day hanging on a paintbrush - first when sealing the walls, then painting the doorframe (2 coats done now - it may well get a 3rd) and the pipework which feeds the washing machine was given a coat of primer too.  This evening was devoted to researching wall tiling - Bear may well do the kitchen splashback & upstands (about 3 sq.m in total), though I'll ask the floor tiler what he'll charge to do the job too.  I can pick up a leccy tile cutter for a little over forty quid now; the pattern and tiles that are currently in favour should be dead easy to do, and the walls have all been replastered.  Scope for saving some significant LDC tokens me thinks.

 

[Tony_S]

38 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

 After hunting high and low through various gardens and round the roads in the area the s*d wandered back in late this afternoon as if nothing untoward had happened

I am very pleased to,learn that your cat has returned. I did wonder if he had gone away for a sulk after you disposed of his mouse. 

[pH]

9 minutes ago, polybear said:

Scope for saving some significant LDC tokens me thinks.

What’s the current conversion rate between LDC tokens and mudelling tokens?

[polybear]

29 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

 

I think I must have been about 23... 

 

A throwback to the earlier chat about tea and coffee - I'm one of the unusual people who doesn't drink either. I tried but couldn't find anything I cared for, so stopped bothering.

 

23?  Rabbit did well to last as long as that....

Bear doesn't drink either; when I finished my apprenticeship and joined the Trials Dept.  (= lots of Jollies, Hotels etc etc) and mentioned I didn't drink, one of the guys responded with "Well, you can't be a Trials Engineer if you don't drink....".  Then another said "Hang on lads....he can drive....".  Sorted.

 

15 minutes ago, brianusa said:

Once this happened with our cat.  Got all worried when she didn't return one night, searched high and low and sorrowfully went to bed (We do have coyotes around at times).  Next morning opened the door and in she walks.  Relief and happiness restored!

      Brian.

 

Bear would like a kitty, but situations like this (not that there are many Coyotes around here, just plenty of cars) puts Bear off the idea, along with the complications of care when going on holiday.

[trisonic]

5 hours ago, Tony_S said:

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

I bet not many people here have heard of Harold Hill.................

Best, Pete.

[polybear]

8 minutes ago, pH said:

What’s the current conversion rate between LDC tokens and mudelling tokens?

 

LDC tokens are infinitely more valuable....

[trisonic]

22 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Ey up! Nice to see you pass by @trisonic.. hope you are well!

 

Baz

 

 

Yes considering that I actually had Covid - 19 during February.  Like a really bad cold, I had it mild but a cousin - in - law in NYC 's son (phew) had it so bad he couldn't stand up because he needed more air to accomplish that! He's a  Fireman in NYC too...

 

Glad to see you apparently fit and well too, Baz!  All the best to you and your family.  Pete.

[laurenceb]

Good to see you Pete

Night awl

[Gwiwer]

54 minutes ago, trisonic said:

Was there not some Government interference into this when people started suing Bunnings due to falls on slippery onions or some such nonsense?  Pete

Governments interfering with snag stalls???  What ever next???  

 

Not that I can recall, but it may have been before or after my time there.  Or it might have been a localised thing in another city or state; Aussie news tends to focus on the city being broadcast to and anything happening beyond its limits is deemed of little or no interest.  

 

Good to see you popping in Pete - we hope all is well.