Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It is a bit cloudy here but it isn’t raining. MiL rang quite early this morning to thank us for her nice card. She is going round for lunch at Aditi’s sister’s house as they are a care bubble. Her nighttime carer bought her an orchid which was kind too. 
Tony
 

[tigerburnie]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Borderline Royalty I'd say....

Did you call?..........................................

[Gwiwer]

Good Morning all.  The Hill of Strawberries is enjoying Sun Day living up to its name although clouds and rain are forecast for Later Ron.  

 

SWMBO was out and about bright and early and was witness to a pair of Great Crested Grebes performing their Spring ritual on the river.  She also recorded some bird song which she suggested was made by a "chaffinch-type bird but not a chaffinch".  OK.  What size, shape, colour?  I don't know - It was looking up to the sky and saw it in a tree.  We identified the song using the RSPB online recordings as a Great Tit.  Common enough around here but always good to hear and see.  I am still waiting to actually see either of the woodpeckers we hear most mornings.  

 

In other news the Lesser Spotted Neighbour was out and about at midnight again and was one reason for a disturbed night.  It's none of my business where anyone goes after they hop out of bed at that hour and drive away in the car    I was also woken at 4am by cat claws in the face demanding that he be patted and again at 6am having somehow tangled my arm and phone charging wire together  

 

It must be time for a muggertee.  After which there will be tasks performed which if detailed here might trouble the Keeper of the Awl.  

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone

A bit late on parade today due to having a bit of lie in this morning and doing breakfast in bed for Sheila and myself. Should really use bowls, it's a lot less messy! 

The weather is dull, dry and there's no wind, but it's cool, currently 7C.

 

Plans for today are to do a little calligraphy, mainly to brush up, as it may needed for Mike and Sarah's wedding. It's been pushed back once again, this time to May, which means they may be able to have a small (but reduced) reception and I've been asked to write the table seating cards. 

 

Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later.

 

Brian 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

Having not been active on ERs for a few days I haven't up to now congratulated NHN so please accept belated ones Neil.

 

 

 

@New Haven Neil  Likewise belated congratulations from Bear - though Bear has been active, so shame is due...

 

Bear on a tea break - the score is evens at half-time with the floor tiles I'd say; some are dead easy, whilst others can be a bit of a b*tch.  There is a very thin layer of self-levelling compound underneath - some bits break off with the floor tiles, whilst the rest is well stuck down so will stay put.  I figure it's been there over 30 years so is unlikely to go anywhere now if it's showing no signs of distress.  Not sure my wallpaper scrapers will be quite the same again after this job though....

No queues of ER'ers at the door offering help, sadly - so it looks like Bear will have to scoff all the cake single-pawed.  Oh well....

 

In other news:

I see the Police are in the firing line for their actions during the Clapham Common vigil - that was well advertised as being cancelled and illegal under current rules.  Bear confused.  It's easy - don't break the law.  By all means walk in, lay flowers, perhaps pause for a moment then walk out - as the Duchess of Cambridge did.  Any attempt at social distancing was "iffy", with many not wearing masks either (ok, so it's outdoors - but common sense?)

Rant Over.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A bit late on parade, a long lay-in and an equally long soak in the bath is my excuse. Better get breakfast on the go before it becomes brunch.

[Coombe Barton]

39 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

We identified the song using the RSPB online recordings as a Great Tit.

Sure it wasn't Boris on a bike?

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

Ask him if he worked in Essex about 30 years ago. What I replaced in the bathroom yesterday was quite creative but really bad work. 

That was his father. He learnt everything from him. He's carrying on a family tradition.

[The Stationmaster]

G'day all,

 

Somewhat cloudy at present after a reasonably bright start to the day and rain will follow later.  Being the day it is on the 'ways to encourage sales of greetings cards' calendar it appears that the offspring will this evening be treating their mother to a brought-away meal from a much favoured (by them and us)  local restaurant which really is a restaurant and not a chippy.  In accordance with local commercial catering tradition this particular Italian restaurant is not run by Italians but by a chap of Portuguese origin but the food is good.    Hopefully I will be included in the feast but i do have plenty of mushrooms and bacon in stock should my needs be neglected/.  I might even partake of a glass of alcohol in order to celebrate the occasion.

 

As for lockdown and all that stuff i really don't find it a massive problem although it not only destroyed last year's holidays afloat but also meant this year's would not happen either.  similarly it has meant that I have missed quite a number of days out and meetings with friends and former colleagues but that is probably a small price to pay for avoiding a premature encounter not just with final despatch but doing so in a body bag.  The answer might perhaps lie in one's make up and attitude to various facets of life (a view expressed by one psychologist) but probably also owes far more to having plenty to do/immerse oneself in at home and in the gatrden.  of course we are lucky in the latter because we actually have a garden -something which many lack.  Even if I were still working it wouldn't be too awkward as modern comms would allow a large part of it to be done from home,  and without the interruption of some silly b*gger sticking their head round my office door to interrupt me.   Back in my final big railway job, in the 1990s, I used to do a lot of my manpower analysis, planning, and forecasting, work at home anyway because complex stuff like that needed to be done without interruption.

 

And a nice surprise in yesterday's post in the form of a freebie copy of a new 'bookazine' (horrible word) from Irwell - they are very good at sending you a free copy of such publications however little you might have contributed to its contents (a single caption in my case).

 

Have a good day folks and stay safe.

[petethemole]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Borderline Royalty I'd say....

 

I'm now imagining what it would be like to be monarch of a borderline.  If it was just a line of notional thickness you'd have to be a monarch in exile, but would you have any subjects and where would they be?  But if you had the type of border that consists of two fences with a no man's land in the middle, it would actually be your land and have a population.  You could have a long, narrow palace wide enough to sleep in plus a corridor to access the different parts.  This could run and run. What about an army? customs duties? agriculture.... Nurse! I think I need my meds.....

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, Coombe Barton said:

Sure it wasn't Boris on a bike?

He said A great tit not THE great tit.

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Sure it wasn't Boris on a bike?

Up a tree?  
 

I know cars can manage that but bikes?  As GDB will tell us Cars halt on Beeches 

 

I’ll get me coat

 

[Sir TophamHatt]

Another day, another "too cold to do anything" day.

 

But it's Mother's Day so chilling out on the sofa watching 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood' thinking how good 'Downsizing' could have been but how rubbish it was!

[polybear]

The final score between Bear and Tiles was 2-1 to Bear after injury time (Bear has a grazed knuckle - though no tears were shed

); technically there are still 9 to do but these are underneath the washing machine, so they can wait until tomorrow, as can checking for any remaining loose bits of adhesive or self-levelling compound.

This afternoon's fun will be taken up with making room for the sink unit, cooker and washing machine in the front room, and with planning what needs to be re-located out of the bathroom and conservatory (and shed?) when tiling starts, as walking on the tiles will no doubt be a no-no until they are well and truly stuck down.  Fortunately Bear also has an upstairs loo (a previous project that I'm rather pleased with) so the use of a bucket will not be required

[polybear]

 

 

 

 

 

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

Now being bothered by adverts for fridges , I wonder why?

 

Authorities have declared we are reducing the amount of freezer capacity we have, so a fridge only will be bought. Further research required, also required something to raise the fridge off the floor, a cupboard will have to be built..

 

The shelves went up very well, also I've painted the shelves for next week. Next week's are another free standing starter unit for the other end, that will be followed by by units matching last week's and this week's construction. That will leave a final fill the gap in the middle unit..

After that is a unit between fireplace and door way,.

 

On the trailer I drilled the holes to attach the axle, that went well, and then.....

 

I discovered the bolts I'd ordered were too short, , they were what I'd ordered, but I'd forgotten 2x 2mm washers, that makes the thread short of  the plastic on the lock nut. Oops that meant I've had to order the next size up.. (120mm X 16mm). So I taped up the holes to keep water out of the chassis and then...

 

After that the leading triangle of the trailer was wire brushed as was the coupling arm. Then the rest of the trailer got the second coat of zinc and the triangle the first coat.

 

Ben has been taken for his long walk, I note a big tree down into a farmer's field. 

 

Time I think for a long soak in the bath...

 

[The White Rabbit]

6 hours ago, polybear said:

And Bear makes three....

About the only thing I have missed is the opportunity for holidays (usually to Italy) and various expeditions to certain "happenings" with names like ExpoEM, Railex and Scaleforum.

No doubt such things will be available again, though I don't foresee any foreign holidays for Bear this year - apart from the obvious risks to health (hopefully diminishing as the vaccine take-up grows) I don't fancy getting into a complete bundle with everyone else scrabbling for a holiday, particularly as Bear predicts that many providers will be kicking the ar5e out of prices as they seek to recover lost profits.

 

In other news:

Today is one of four days in the year that Bear doesn't look forward to

I'm sure there are fellow ER'ers who feel the same.

 

And Rabbit makes four...

Holidays certainly missed. Day trips/short bummels missed. But with all the other 'stuff' going on, I wouldn't have had much opportunity to take them anyway. WFH takes care of most of the daylight hours. 'Other things' fill the other waking hours. Not much time left to think about socialising or being confined to barracks. But even if there was, I'd have things to keep me occupied and just enough tech to keep in touch. Though I would probably have sprung for a camera for Teams/Zoom by now...  

 

It is probably as well we are in lockdown, as if I had any neighbour or passer-by question or comment on what I was doing for [today], I may be in trouble for responding with an overly frank reply. Maybe different reasons but yes, I'm familiar with that feeling. 

 

 

 

Afternoon awl,

 

Weather still changeable. Rain, snow and occasionally hail. More wind than in an F1 testing tunnel. (RIP Murray, you lightened many Sundays for us). And even the odd spell of sun. You've heard of the saying four seasons in a day? Recently it's more four seasons in an hour. 

 

Various house jobs done, will have a go at the census shortly and then catch up on some reading of comics. I managed to watch both matches yesterday (thoughts of grandadbob, hope he was able to see and enjoy both). 

 

Sunday lunch cooked & served. Sausage, bins and chippins... with extra 'choices'... but appreciative comments from the chief acolyte about the ingredients. Maybe something more sophisticated later? 

 

Some more seeds sown. Flowers and veg, the weather suggests we're a long way from spring but it's closer than we think. Lots of buds breaking out on the trees and bushes and the narcissii are in full bloom in a couple of sheltered corners. 

 

Best not put it off any longer. See you later... 

 

[The Stationmaster]

This might interest some folk.   I don't know what the units are that are being measured because they are simply referred to as (Covid) 'antibodies'.  At the GD's place of work they seem to be measured at intervals of around 3 months.

 

You should have at least 50 yes, fifty) 'antibodies' if you have had a Covid vaccination (I'm not sure if that means fully vaccinated but I think it might).  The Charge H Nurse on the GD's ward team has 12,000 showing up in last week's test;  the GD has 27,000; another colleague has 28,000;  and a colleague who had quite a bad Covid infection last year has 40,000.   From those figures it looks as if you need to have had a Covid infection, even a mild one, in order to get your antibody count up into the thousands. 

Edited March 14, 2021 by The Stationmaster

[tigerburnie]

2 hours ago, petethemole said:

 

I'm now imagining what it would be like to be monarch of a borderline.  If it was just a line of notional thickness you'd have to be a monarch in exile, but would you have any subjects and where would they be?  But if you had the type of border that consists of two fences with a no man's land in the middle, it would actually be your land and have a population.  You could have a long, narrow palace wide enough to sleep in plus a corridor to access the different parts.  This could run and run. What about an army? customs duties? agriculture.... Nurse! I think I need my meds.....

Sitting on the fence, isn't that definition of the Liberal Party?

[tigerburnie]

I've just a organised holiday in Iceland in April, if that goes well we are planning on going to Tescos in May and Asdas in June.................................................

[iL Dottore]

3 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

I've just a organised holiday in Iceland in April, if that goes well we are planning on going to Tescos in May and Asdas in June.................................................

G R O A N

Bring back the button!

[petethemole]

25 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

Sitting on the fence, isn't that definition of the Liberal Party?

 

"Vote Liberal, or we'll shoot your dog."  (Private Eye, IIRC)

[jamie92208]

48 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

Sitting on the fence, isn't that definition of the Liberal Party?

No it was a song by the Strolling Bones.

 

Jamie

[New Haven Neil]

Had a walk around the village with Mrs NHN, as far as Trevor Hemmings back door in an area called Ohio - Hemmings is the horse owner guy, he lives in a mansion just outside of the village.  In Ohio.  No, not that one, JSB.  He has bought masses of property around here recently, safer and more profitable than money in the bank.

 

Having an issue with my gammy foot, not sure if it is a bone growth or something loose inside working its way out, but it is a lump which is rubbing sore.  As us diabetics need to be careful about foot ulcers, a discussion may be had with any handy orthopod. 

[Winslow Boy]

13 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Had a walk around the village with Mrs NHN, as far as Trevor Hemmings back door in an area called Ohio - Hemmings is the horse owner guy, he lives in a mansion just outside of the village.  In Ohio.  No, not that one, JSB.  He has bought masses of property around here recently, safer and more profitable than money in the bank.

 

Having an issue with my gammy foot, not sure if it is a bone growth or something loose inside working its way out, but it is a lump which is rubbing sore.  As us diabetics need to be careful about foot ulcers, a discussion may be had with any handy orthopod. 

Isn't that an oxymoron? Shouldn't it be a pododontist for feet?