Early Risers.

[Ian Abel]

Thoughts with Dave for his dad and the op today and also Neil. 

 

Chewsday.

Books/Bookshelves - OK, hopefully not offending anyone here, but what IDIOT bothers to have a bookshelf full with them spine IN! I can't even begin to fathom why you'd have a bookshelf and then do something "creative and decorative" resulting in being unable to identify something you may want to find to reference or, HEAVEN FORBID, actually READ! Maybe chuck the bookshelves out and replace with something else?? The mind boggles and I often wonder how "interior designers" come up with this carp. 

 

Nothing of note yesterday. Slow both work-wise and otherwise. Pleasant sitting in the garden after work for some wine and cheese before dinner.

 

Yesterday was a record high here at 29C, who knows where the weather trend is moving! 

Some rain overnight moving the temperature to 10 first thing, only making 21 later apparently and some possibility of a rain shower or two.

 

Have a good day.

[J. S. Bach]

20 minutes ago, AndrewC said:

 ...snip...

It involves go faster leaning trains, CP steam locos, 7mm coaches, and more. 

Hopefully not the PE version!

[polybear]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

Law Society? Complete waste of time, Mrs NHN had an issue years ago when she was Ms A,  with a will much like stuff that has been discussed above, and the end result was a couple of grand - should have been enough to buy half the street.  Reported to LS, result - nada.  Nowt. No case to answer.

 

A perfect candidate for a Big Stick With A Nail Thru' It me thinks.  Never fails to get the message across

 

41 minutes ago, jonny777 said:

On the subject of solicitors, I have had two problems recently. One when M-i-l passed away and I was executor, I had to go to her local solicitors who were storing the house deeds. They were all sweetness and light when I arrived, but before they went to find the deeds they asked if I would be inviting them to do the financial sorting of the will. When I replied in the negative, as I intended to do it all myself, there was a stoney silence which persisted until I left with the deeds. Very poor PR I thought. 

 

The second was when SWMBO was keen on making a will. She had approached a local solicitors who told her that it was a legal requirement to have solicitors (i.e. them) as one of the executors; which is nonsense. Needless to say, they did not get to draw up her will either. 

 

Bear has had dealings with two solicitors in recent-ish years, both when drafting a Will under those schemes which offer a Will for fifty quid (or whatever it was) with participating Solicitors, the money going to charity (and in the hope that you may also choose to leave a bequest to one of the chosen charities).

 

Solicitor One:

(Who also happens to be one of the Trustees (I think) of Bear's chosen charity (who was down for a "nice little earner" in the event of Bear's untimely death due to poisoning by Coffee Cake ).

Well, work was done and then the Solicitor decides that the amount of work involved fell outside the scope of the scheme - and the Bill was now four hundred quid.  No chance, says Bear - why didn't you mention this at the start?  She gets all uppity and decides that the "Client/Solicitor Relationship had broken down and she was no longer able to represent me".  Fine by me, especially as I'd been sent a draft copy of the Will for checking....

The Charity still got their donation.

 

Solicitor Two:

Some years later, Bear decided that a revised Will was in order.  There were so many typos in the various editions of the draft Will that Bear told 'em where to go, politely.  Little details like putting totally incorrect addresses with beneficiaries (so nothing too important then.....) despite having been provided with all the necessary details on their own Questionnaire.  They'd correct typos when pointed out to them, only for new typos to appear.  They never chased me for any sort of payment so must've realised they were on a sticky wicket. 

Again, I had a Draft Copy (several, in fact...) of the Will.

 

Both Solicitors were high street practices with several partners, not recently qualified juniors.

 

[PupCam]

17 minutes ago, polybear said:

Both Solicitors were high street practices with several partners, not recently qualified juniors.

Encourages one doesn't it!  

 

Looks like I'll have to have another crack at a DIY update for my and Mrs Puppers (I like to think) simple affairs.   

Must fill in those official LPA forms as well and get them registered.

[Barry O]

I find most solicitor to be between totally incompetent and useless (and I have a couple as "mates!")..

 

Always far too slow (clocking up extra money), always "not quite where we should be".. House sales/purchases are always fraught with opportunity not to get things done in a "timely" fashion.

 

BUT our first Solicitor was "Scroggins of Hawkins" in Hitchin.. he did a very good job on two house purchases and one house sale.. albeit with a lot of help from me.. I delivered contract papers to another solicitor which saved money and time.

 

Baz

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I have yet to sign my will, thanks to covid its proving difficult to get the witnesses together but with the easing of restrictions over the next few weeks I should be able to get things done. I will start distributing a few items among friends and family over the next year or two. That way I know they will be with someone who appreciates them. I did get a call from the will company this morning asking me if I want to take out my house and contents insurance with them. I'm quite happy with my current insurers so I've no intention of changing. 

Edited April 6, 2021 by PhilJ W

[iL Dottore]

11 hours ago, polybear said:

...Hmm, Eurovision.

Absolutely nothing to do with music anymore as it became a political popularity contest years ago. ...

There are those, my dear bear, who would argue that the European song contest was never about music. Back then, us yoof were listening to such obscure bands such as The Who, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd and thus missed out on all those glorious tunes from remote corners of Europe,  whose claim to fame and glory rested on being very innovative in the way they sang “tiddle pom-pom, tiddle pom“

11 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

If anything like my library there's not enough shelves and I'm running out of chairs to stack them on.

Despite having a whole room dedicated as a library, with bookshelves on every wall and despite having further bookcases in practically every room in the house (except the bathrooms and one bedroom) I am still running out of chairs to put books on....

I might need something like this eventually...

8 hours ago, Barry O said:

.I knew I should have put a ganzy on rather than just me T Shirt 

I am shocked, I thought you were made of sterner stuff. It’s my understanding that anyone from “oop north“ are superhuman and are tough enough that they only consider that they might need a light cotton jumper when the temperature outside descends to about 10° (that’s 10° Kelvin!)

6 hours ago, 45156 said:

....Just had a worrying phone call from our vet that Lily's lump has been diagnosed as a tumor - though luckily it is non malignant - but unpleasant nonetheless....

Oh the poor dear, my heart goes out to her. The night of Lucy’s spaying was somewhat distressing to me. The poor lass was in considerable discomfort, despite medication to manage the pain. Fortunately, feeding her little balls of boiled rice and chicken kept her mind off her pain which slowly eased during the night (I didn’t get much sleep that day). Even when I know my dog will benefit by a procedure that causes pain, I still don’t like doing it (causing pain to humans is another thing entirely ).  Somehow, I have managed to gain the trust of the BDWBA Posse (Bad Dogs with Bad Attitudes - Lucy, Schotty, Frida) and when Frida tore her dewclaw, I was the only one she would let near the injured limb. Like it or not, I seem to have become the ersatz “Vet on call“.

 

I’m sorry to hear about Dave’s Dad and Neil’s friend. NHN so didn’t say what his friend’s “nasty“ is, but the way he wrote about his friend I assume it is a malignancy of some kind. And a broken femur at any age is absolutely no fun at all.
 

Paradoxically, both Dave’s Dad and Neil’s friend I have become patients  at what is the probably the best time in all of history to be a patient. With orthopaedic surgery, advances in materials technology and in anaesthesia means that so much nowadays can be done in a minimally invasive way with very little anaesthesia and a rapid recovery thereafter. The days when the anaesthesiologist would knock you out with large doses of halothane and the orthopaedic surgeon would, quite literally, take a hammer and chisel to you are long gone, thank goodness.

 

And as for oncology, when I first started seeing oncology patients in the very early 80s, most malignancies were pretty much a death sentence, nowadays most of the big killers (NSCLC, breast cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer and many haematological malignancies) are now eminently treatable with very good survival rates. Of course, one of the reasons for this amazing improvement in cancer treatment and outcomes is early detection and therapy, sadly the UK is not very good at early detection....

 

I wish the very best of outcomes to both Dave’s Dad and Neil’s friend.

 

iD

[brianusa]

6 hours ago, Andrew P said:

Just had a worrying phone call from our vet that Lily's lump has been diagnosed as a tumor - though luckily it is non malignant - but unpleasant nonetheless.  She is booked in for surgery tomorrow morning, and the claim for the vet's bill has already been submitted.

 

We always worry about our pets.  Fortunately being NM to would appear to be straightforward with a happy ending in this case.

    Brian.

[Sir TophamHatt]

Well this is nice, everything is working itself out.

 

> Now have 4 days off.

> The £300 of goods I'd ordered turned up today (phew!)

> Have picked up the parts I need to get this new tv aerial up and running today too, cost less than £5.

 

Now to put those 4 days to use!

Soldering speaker to the Hattons Class 66 and testing.

Adding speakers and new chips my second HST set.  Testing.

Re-drilling a hole in the wall for the TV aerial cable after testing with wires all about the house - going to be a fun one this!

 

I like having a plan for a few days.

[brianusa]

4 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

Pleasant sitting in the garden after work for some wine and cheese before dinner.

Very civilised!

     Brian.

[Gwiwer]

G’devening all. 
 

The freezicles are being thawed away with a brandy and lovage as we speak. It has been every bit the un-warm day promised despite a good deal of sun. 
 

The task today was attending the new Welcome Desk. A sort of first-class information desk where special attention is required to appearance, presentation, pro-activity and excellent customer service. Not a job for those who cannot be bothered ironing the uniform nor shaving the morning fluff. Nor for anyone who thinks “Plafform Thir’een” is an adequate answer to a request for trains to Wivelsfield. 
 

Despite the temperature I enjoyed the experience and so did Miss Management. She has invited me back on Monday next. For Tomorrow it’s back to the day job   

 

 

Taken socially distanced with the face covering briefly removed. 

[Erichill16]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

I find most solicitor to be between totally incompetent and useless (and I have a couple as "mates!")..

 

Always far too slow (clocking up extra money), always "not quite where we should be".. House sales/purchases are always fraught with opportunity not to get things done in a "timely" fashion.

.

 

Baz

As you may be aware my MRC is in the process of purchasing new club rooms We engaged solicitors five years ago and we haven’t yet signed the contract. In those years the building has deteriorated considerably including break ins and vandalism and the club has been in limbo, as according to the solicitors ‘they kept reporting we’re nearly there’.

To be fairthe delay has not always been their fault but five years! 

[Gwiwer]

4 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

As you may be aware my MRC is in the process of purchasing new club rooms We engaged solicitors five years ago and we haven’t yet signed the contract. In those years the building has deteriorated considerably including break ins and vandalism and the club has been in limbo, as according to the solicitors ‘they kept reporting we’re nearly there’.

To be fairthe delay has not always been their fault but five years! 

And I thought road gangs and house builders took ages because they weren't sure where the next job was coming from.  Go slow, stay on the job, be sure of pay packet Friday.  

[Erichill16]

2 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

And I thought road gangs and house builders took ages because they weren't sure where the next job was coming from.  Go slow, stay on the job, be sure of pay packet Friday.  

Part way through a fixed price was agreed, to be paid on completion so no incentive for slow progress. 

Anyway should be ready for signing this month but none of us are holding our breath!

[monkeysarefun]

50 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

are those, my dear bear, who would argue that the European song contest was never about music

 

Or about Europe since we are in it too.

 

 

Our two-way travel bubble opens up with NZ  on April 19,  in time for ANZAC day. Previously it's been one-way, NZers didnt need to quarantine on arrival here but they made us sit in a hotel for two weeks watching The Hobbit and sheep dog trials on the telly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

Fortunately I have had very little to do with solicitors but the few I have had dealings with have varied between good and appalling. Doing the job I did, managing parks and open spaces, I had occasions to come into contact with solicitors when drawing up leases or the transfer of ownership. The one thing they all had in common, whether good or bad was that they were all slow and had no concept of what impact that had.

[PeterBB]

21 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

And I thought road gangs and house builders took ages because they weren't sure where the next job was coming from.  Go slow, stay on the job, be sure of pay packet Friday.  

I believe that that was one of the problems with the Titanic.  As I seem to recollect (not from personal experience I hasten to add) the final check came across a 'hole' in the main ballroom carpet the size of a room and various other things on the way had had 'faults' or 'had gone missing' thus adding 'overtime' and delaying proper completion of the liner and of course the redundancies that were to follow as it was the last ship that was then contracted for building.  Not to mention of course the boiler room fire the overall effect of what was probably the real reason why she was lost.

 

Derbyshire Live has stated that it snowed in our area today!  We actually saw some fairly large flakes coming down.  Dental visit nowhere near as unpleasant as thought 'clean break' stated for the fillings/teeth and as a needle phobia  ...

Edited April 6, 2021 by PeterBB
typos -hope there are no more as I am not a solicitor!

[Andrew P]

53 minutes ago, brianusa said:

We always worry about our pets.  Fortunately being NM to would appear to be straightforward with a happy ending in this case.

    Brian.

I cant see how this was picked up Brian, as it wasn't from me. 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Just been watching Secrets of the Museum on the Yesterday channel. In the title sequence I spotted a familiar face. A chap I see at transport rally's and swap meets. He mostly trades in transport books and periodicals with some stuff that you don't often find in W H Smiths. Kettle has just boiled and there's a couple of hot cross buns to be eaten.

Edited April 6, 2021 by PhilJ W

[Tony_S]

I was told when I had my first Covid vaccine that I would get a second dose date within 6 to 8 weeks. That has gone now and the site used by the gp practices seems deserted., So just in case I have booked an appointment with the online scheme for next month. It is easy to cancel if the gp system restarts. It will be in Rayleigh rather than round the corner but no problem at all. 
I am glad I am not having my jab this week, my digestive system has not settled after the last lot of antibiotics so I have again reverted to the rice, dal and yoghurt diet. Definitely calmer!

[brianusa]

18 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

I cant see how this was picked up Brian, as it wasn't from me. 

It was from 45156 originally.  One of life's great mysteries

  Brian

[Andrew P]

2 minutes ago, brianusa said:

It was from 45156 originally.  One of life's great mysteries

  Brian

Yes Brian some strange Mystic offerings from the Dark Side of the Web. It must be because of the Transatlantic crossing its had to make.

[simontaylor484]

We have had snow hail sunshine wind virtually every possibility apart from thunder and lightening. There is still a residue of the White stuff left over the allotments. Don't know how longer will last.

 

Continued wishes sent to Dave Hunt and NH Neil.

[Erichill16]

13 hours ago, polybear said:

 

 

Ah yes, that word "Sometime".  Can often have a nasty habit of multiplying and turning into "Bvgger - Too Late" before you know it.

 

.

To tell you the truth I was being sarcastic, I’ve got that much to do it’s not on my radar. I have actually made a will and almost all my railway stuff will go to my ‘best’ mate. I intend to create a list of wishes for him to carry out on my behalf but some of my other best mates have got something earmarked . He is also an executor of my will and will receive a cash amount as well and I’ve told him to sell anything he doesn’t want and put the money to good use.

My cousin passed away three years ago but though a relatively young man it wasn’t unexpected. He had collected HO European model all his life and I remember him showing me a pretty average model in about 2010. He asked me if I knew it’s significance but as I said it was nice but nothing apparently special. He revealed that it was his one thousandth loco! He had an equivalent amount of wagons and coaches. He knew of his mortality and didn’t have any family he communicated with so asked a certain emporium  in Sheffield if the would purchase his collection from his executors on his death. They politely declined saying it was too specialised and large for them to deal with. He asked me to be an executor and explained that in his will he had given instruction as how it was to be disposed. For various reasons this didn’t happen and I’m not sure what ever happened to his belongings. He did leave me and O KISS class BR 50 and the MRC a gauge 1KISS BR 50. (KISS  is a manufacturer of museum quality brass loco and a BR50 is a German standard 2-10-0).

I think his ex girlfriend/partner was the main beneficiary. A very sad story as he did have a brother and two nieces and his mother is still alive.

Sorry for the sad story but at least it on topic.

Robert

 

[pH]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

And I thought road gangs and house builders took ages because they weren't sure where the next job was coming from.  Go slow, stay on the job, be sure of pay packet Friday.  

I worked in a new building where the opposite had happened. The company building it had been having obvious financial problems and sub-contractors had been rushing to finish in the hope of being paid before there was a bankruptcy. There were all sorts of ‘teething problems’, one being a whole section of a floor with no power. A physical inspection of the wiring showed no problems, but a connectivity check showed a break at a wall. It was a double-leaf brick wall. A major cable had been put through one leaf, and a major cable came out through the other leaf. The problem was that they did not connect in the middle.