Early Risers.

[tigerburnie]

Well the sun shone and the wind didn't blow.................much, so I went fishing and it was yet another nice day taking the fishing rod for a walk, the river is still too cold and it was Pizza for tea again.

[grandadbob]

Talking of BBQs a friend has just posted this on Facebook:

 

BBQ RULES:

We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity . When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:

(1) The woman buys the food.

(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.

(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.

(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.

Here comes the important part:

(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

(6) The woman goes inside to organise the plates and cutlery.

(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat

Important again:

(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.

(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.

(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes

And most important of all:

(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.

(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ' her night off ', and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

 

 

Seems about right to me!   

[polybear]

7 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Could I ask advice from other wielders of Vacuum cleaners please?

The domestic Miele had started overheating and cutting out. I will be taking it apart for cleaning and replacement filters before condemning it, I'musing the workshop vac but it's less than convenient.

 

So which vac for domestic use would people recommend? Cordless or mains?

 

Bear is for corded every time - I reckon they're more powerful, no batteries to expire half way thru' the job (or b. expensive to replace when they really die) and cheaper too.  The current Which? Magazine cordless best buy (Dyson V11) is £590 quid (HOW MUCH??); the 1st place corded is an AEG (scoring 83% and £500) - but the second place is (no surprise) a Miele  Complete C3 Pure Red Powerline (scoring 81% and £224).  (Scores don't take into account reliability/life etc. - only performance)

 

Bear's Miele Cat and Dog must be 20+ years old; I thought I'd killed it 3 months ago when it got so hot it cut out (too much Kitchen refurb brick rubble and dust - oops) - a new bag, new filters (including the one visible on top when the bag lid is opened) and it's back to it's old self once more.  As soon as kitchen is finished I'll strip it as much as I can and give it a good clean out and service.  Miele and Sebo come tops for reliability according to Which?, with estimated lifetimes of 24 & 25 years respectively.  Dyson, Vax and Hoover are worst - apparently 43% of Vax are replaced within 5 years; 27% of Dyson within 5 years - only 16% survived 10 years.

 

HTH

Bear

[Ozexpatriate]

10 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

another nice day taking the fishing rod for a walk

Well, you know what 'they' say

Quote

A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work

 

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[brianusa]

11 hours ago, jonny777 said:

I don't feel any great urge to mix with large crowds, even at safe distances outdoors. In fact I feel an increasing reluctance to do that kind of thing

After a year or so of self isolation can get to you in many ways or none at all.  I have trouble in busy or noisy places, always did, otherwise nothing untoward.   We are starting to try and return to 'normal' but have accomplished very little in the meantime.  "Busy doing nothing, working the whole day through, trying to find lots of things not to do" (Thank you Danny Kaye)

      Brian.

[brianusa]

8 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

An ok job made of lunch, I think

 

 

And what are you having for the main course? Or dessert?

    Brian.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Contacted the plumber about the leaking radiator, he will be round on Tuesday to cap off the pipes. The radiator has been out of use for about twenty years, as the utility room is only used for storage and a workroom and gets enough heat from the kitchen and lounge the radiator was superfluous anyway. 

[polybear]

6 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

Talking of BBQs a friend has just posted this on Facebook:

 

BBQ RULES:

We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity . When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:

(1) The woman buys the food.

(2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables, and makes dessert.

(3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - beer in hand.

(4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.

Here comes the important part:

(5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.

(6) The woman goes inside to organise the plates and cutlery.

(7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another beer while he flips the meat

Important again:

(8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.

(9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauces, and brings them to the table.

(10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes

And most important of all:

(11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.

(12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed ' her night off ', and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

 

 

Seems about right to me!   

 

Goodbye GDB - it's been nice knowing you.  Would you like flowers or a donation to charity?

 

In other news:

 

Bear managed to spend the afternoon sorting more of the shed; some items ended up on Freecycle and have proved popular; whilst I'm expecting an imminent visit to relieve Bear of some biggish (and heavy) lumps of metal in exchange for some kitchen tokens We're only talking thirty five quid, but every little helps.....

 

Tomorrow sees the checking of the kitchen wall tile delivery (I have 24 hours to notify the seller of any breakages) - all 200 of them   Then I should really be applying the mist coat of paint to the walls.....

 

Update:  Bear has just sold some metal  - the guy was really interesting to talk to (all distant doorstep stuff).  He has TEN lathes - ranging from small watchmakers jobbies (Boley etc.) up to Myford Super Seven's and similar, plus Milling Machine (s?), four pillar drills, a surface grinder, a ten ton press, engraving machine.....you get the picture....

The best bit....wait for it......

It's all in an upstairs flat!!

Apparently the woman downstairs starts banging at around 8pm for him to knock on the head.  Love it. 

From his description it sounds like there's only just enough room to be able to move around.  He was planning to sell his furnace but then realised there wasn't the room to get it out of the flat, cos' it went in years ago before much of the other stuff had arrived.  Wonder if he still fires it up?  Hope the council, landlord etc. doesn't find out, cos' they'll go bananas.

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[The White Rabbit]

Evening all,

 

Another day at the coalface. Then a trolley dash around the local emporium - much busier than usual, probably because of some strange concept called 'a day off' people are talking about for tomorrow. So I spent quite a bit of time imitating a fly half. Various jobs scheduled for tomorrow. Nervous breakdown at 15:30... Hopefully a better mood for Saturday. 

 

Re pensions, I have a conventional works pension and a SIPP. But the pension which I expect will be the most useful is not an official pension at all. It's money I have put aside for that time of my life but will draw on the capital rather than rely on the income. Annuities have been low for some time and when I did the maths and thought about the future, I decided that as well as a SIPP, I'd invest in other things as an alternative, some of which may provide an income and some would hopefully provide capital growth. As things stand, I have no dependents, so aspire to spend as much as possible before the Grim Reaper comes knocking. I've always agreed with the old maxim 'no pockets in a shroud'. 

 

Best before dates. I aim to be guided by them rather than take them as doctrine. Though I would be a bit suspicious of this: 

 

 

Night awl.

[Coombe Barton]

... fewer than fifty shades ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/04/01/university-return/

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, grandadbob said:

BBQ RULES:

And that, folks, is why the Rest of the World views Australia as a sexist, testosterone-run nation of beer-swilling, swearing, football egg-chasing supporters who treat and regard women as chattels not equals, staff not partners and who feel free to discard them when the beer isn't cold enough, the salad is warm, they enter the 3-metre exclusion zone, they wear too much clothing or they dare to attempt conversation with the BBQ'ers "mates".  Other opinions may be available.  Refer also to the topic "For Those Who Fear Coming To Australia"

 

It is considered as unlucky for a woman to cook the BBQ meat as it is to whistle underground in a mine or aboard ship, breaking a mirror or placing bread upside down.

 

Tongue may be partially in cheek but sadly there is also a good deal of unpleasant truth in the above and in GDB's humour-intended post.  

 

Meanwhile where's the charcoal - BBQ season must be just around the corner.  And is anyone looking or got a window open?  Because BBQs are strictly forbidden according to our tenancy. Our device, however, is called an "outdoor cooker" and can be proven to be such if we are warned for using it.  

 

 

[Barry O]

Came across next doors planning application today...they haven't mentioned it...

 

Some glaring points to lodge some complaints about.. including no access to the rear of the house for fire or other emergency crews.

 

Colour scheme has grey windows ..whole house to be covered in white render.. it will becthenonly housebin the area to be done that way. Front garden is shown as being grass (having got rid of the top soil and filled it with rubble that could be interesting).

 

They intend taking the joint hedge out.. better make surecthey have a way of building their extension without asking to come into our garden...

 

And all so they can make a mint by selling the house on.... and not pay any tax...yer, right! (Former chief inspector of taxes lives up the road and is an acquaintance...nuff said..

 

Baz

 

[Barry O]

As it happens  my other half would die of starvation rather than cooking a bbq. I set it up, prepare everything, cook everything and then clean it down. Same if we make use of our Raclette.

 

Baz

[Coombe Barton]

2 minutes ago, Barry O said:

whole house to be covered in white render

My house has a covenant saying that the outside material must remain. Wonder if your deeds say the same? I have successfully objected to a neighbour's application by using that - the council didn't know about that, nor about the covenant that restricts from† extensions not being in front of the front building line. Extensions are only allowed out the back here.

 

[Barry O]

Gooall!

 

Baz

[PeterBB]

Coombe Barton. Previously had Dyson -current Shark much better and for stairs has a lift-off making the process easier. Battery ones look good until you use them ... on full power they do pick-up but basically run out of power long before the job is completed.

[Ozexpatriate]

10 minutes ago, PeterBB said:

Battery ones ... basically run out of power long before the job is completed

Good for a quick clean of an area rug but often need to be recharged before anything can be attempted.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

After dinner I spent just over an hour creating 2 cheesecakes, 1 large an 1 small, both with the flavour inspired by a Bakewell tart. The large one is for Vickie, Ian and the kids, the smaller one for Sheila and I. It’s basically a no cook cheesecake made with chocolate, it’s dead easy to make and even easier to tinker with, with regards different flavours etc. 

 

For today’s cake, I used my normal biscuit crumb base, but I used gluten free biscuits, as Vickie suffers from coeliac’s disease, cream cheese, whipping cream and chocolate for the topping. On top of the biscuit base I added a layer of cherry and raspberry jam, on top of that my cheesecake topping, on top of which I sprinkled toasted flaked almonds. Today’s topping is a little different than my usual type, as today I used melted white chocolate, to which I added some almond extract, enough to be able to taste it, without it being overbearing. This is then mixed with whipped cream and cream cheese, once it’s all been assembled, it goes in the fridge for a couple of hours. 

 

We had a slice tonight after tea and Sheila has declared this a triumph and I can make it again, just not too often! I’ve included a photo below, BTW, the jam on the topping is from cutting into it, I should have cleaned the knife before making the second cut, but Sheila couldn’t wait!

 

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

a sexist, testosterone-run nation of beer-swilling, swearing, football egg-chasing supporters who treat and regard women as chattels not equals, staff not partners and who feel free to discard them when the beer isn't cold enough, the salad is warm, they enter the 3-metre exclusion zone, they wear too much clothing or they dare to attempt conversation with the BBQ'ers "mates"

And that's just the koalas.

[BR60103]

We (whole province of Ontario) go into some sort of lockdown at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.  None of the news reports seem to cover exactly what that means -- at least in the time I'm still awake. 

We went panic buying today -- 2 railway magazines and 2 books.

I'm never sure about the dates on packages -- sell by, use by, packaged on?

I think there should be 3 dates:

Best before

Adequate until

Fatal after.

(repeated from another post)

 

The first year of my permanent job, the department actuary had his bank manager phone when his bonus went into his account. He then handed in his notice. Any sooner and the bonus would have been cancelled.

The last place I worked seemed to have an approach to expecting ladies that they didn't think they would go through with it -- never looked for temporary replacements.