Early Risers.

[BoD]

49 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Any news of Gordon, @BoD?

Gordon’s good lady has said that she will only e-mail if there is any change. That was four days ago so we have to assume that no news is good news.  The surgeons have said it could be as long as two or three weeks before he is fully awake.

 

Regards to all.

[polybear]

9 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

We have hive for our central heating and hot water control it's quite good and simple to use. I even bought a couple of light bulbs from Maplins cheap when they went bust (as well as a load of storage bins) 

The  upshot was when at work i could turn the lamps on and of at home whilst I was out frightening swmbo the first few times till she cottoned on to the reason it was happening.

 

Bear's work buddy had a hive installed; he'd be at work - his daughter at home dialling the heating up to warp 9.  He'd check every 30 minutes via his fone to see the thermostat level and turn it down to warp 2.  Half an hour later she'd be on the fone to him:  "HAVE YOU TURNED THE F. HEATING DOWN??"

The same cycle went on all day - really kept us amused.

 

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

Only had one hotel try the add bits to my bill, which was in Lytham st Anne's, I received the bill to find a large drinks bill on it... I never put drinks on the bill as the company wouldn't pay, and it got complicated having it not claimed for when processed by the company. They very rapidly removed the bill without question which seemed to me to be too easy, so I suspect there was something going on with that...

 

 

 

We'd always get the drinks buried in with the evening meal bills (though Bear's drinks bill was never high as I don't drink - though soft drink prices are often a p.take).  A group of us were busy getting the receptionist to do this for us on various room bills when the boss came down the stairs. The Big Boss....

He went to pay his bill (we were all backing off...), only for the receptionist to ask him:

"Would you like a forgery as well?"

Ooops.....

Fortunately no fall-out was encountered.

 

41 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Next door are not talking to us and just glare at us as they walk past.

 

Bear feels sure that Baz is capable of returning the favour.  Should you need any expert advice then Bear's friend will be only too pleased to help - though be prepared to grease sticky his paws in return; Marmalade being his preferred currency:

 

[Barry O]

No need @polybear her indoors Mum (the Daft Old Bat) was an infant school head.. she passed on the "stop a chargihg bull elephant at twenty yards" stare to her indoors before she died.  It can be very scary when deployed!

Baz

[TheQ]

24 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

 

 

We'd always get the drinks buried in with the evening meal bills (though Bear's drinks bill was never high as I don't drink - though soft drink prices are often a p.take).  A group of us were busy getting the receptionist to do this for us on various room bills when the boss came down the stairs. The Big Boss....

He went to pay his bill (we were all backing off...), only for the receptionist to ask him:

"Would you like a forgery as well?"

Ooops.....

Fortunately no fall-out was encountered.

 

 

 

We did have one well trained hotel, one of our guys set up their first computerized billing system. It was carefully trained to convert beer to food if any of our names were on the bill.. That did not include the boss!! The hotel owner knew, and could add or subtract names from the list as required.

 

Note, being GEC we had to pay for meals and accommodation personally, then claim it back. Credit cards with bonus points or a % back at the end of the year were popular.. GEC tried to claim bonus points etc belonged to them they never got it from us..

[Andrew P]

Reading Rick, @Gwiwer tales of Boiler woe, like his, ours is stupidly complicated.

We now have the water on constant and the heating to come on at 06-30 and off at 21-30 and then control it by the Hall thermostat. but if I suddenly wanted the heating on all night, i.e. cold winters night, we have to go through a total re set of the whole system starting with the hot water, then one of the 3 fixed water temp settings before we can move on the Central Heating.

Our last place was so simple, 

Hot water, 3 way switch, =  on / off / timed with a dial for the temp.

Central heating, 3 way switch, = on / off / timed with a room stat.

Timing done on a manual dial / clock with push in / out tappets.

So for constant heating flick the switch to on SIMPLES.

[Andrew P]

Contrary to my first post of the day.

 

I did NOT go out for the walk, by the time I'd finished in the bathroom, the lower back was complaining, so once again, I have taken the easy option = the chair.

[Coombe Barton]

10 hours ago, PeterBB said:

your description convinces me that the 'combination things' are a pain and not only that but you lose the airing cupboard facility.

Bonuses are that it uses a load less gas and you don't run out of hot water.

 

[New Haven Neil]

MOrning, sunny and cold again, 3c but no forst.

 

Mention of Wuppertal brings to mind it is the twin town of my home town - haven't visited as yet.  We have no twin village here, it would be 'Nowheresville, Germany', I presume.

 

Another shout for Vaillant boilers, a good make, unfortunately this house doesn't have one, but the last did!

 

A trip way down south to pay Tank for his work is on the cards, then a carry out lunch somewhere.  Then finish that &^%$£" bike engine....pah.

[Gwiwer]

Good morning all. 
 

We awoke to a cold Hill of Strawberries inside and out. Frost adorned the grass. The new heating system had clearly not been correctly set. 
 

Adjustments were made which resulted in the radiators slowly warming up but it will take a full day’s cycle to restore the level of warmth we have been accustomed to

 

When doors and walls feel icy to touch it’s too cold. They should be a comfortably neutral temperature registering neither cold nor warm to the touch. 

 

Dr. SWMBO has strolled off towards the river. I declined on the grounds of having to wash the breakfast dishes. A weak excuse. Madras-spiced potatoes, roti paratha, fried egg and tomato salsa were enjoyed along with Muggercoffy The First. 
 

I haven’t seen anything about it but it would be a nice gesture if @Andy Y were to turn us off for a couple of minutes at 15 o’clock today. I’ll be observing quietly from the front door - Dr. SWMBO intends to watch the lot. 
 

Best wishes. Stay well. 
 

 

.

Edited April 17, 2021 by Gwiwer
Auto-corrupt has escaped again

[iL Dottore]

I’ve now had my 3rd cup of coffee and, technically at least, should be awake enough to get going on sorting out the kitchen. Unfortunately, one of my chronic illnesses is severe procrastination and therefore I am putting off the inevitable. One way, for me, to put off the inevitable is to read various online news sources. As I have no particular desire to live in an “echo chamber”, I read across the whole political spectrum of opinions from left to right (or, if you prefer, from right to left) plus a couple of magazines that do not sit neatly onto any part of the political spectrum.

Those of you who have read my previous posts with something akin to mild curiosity, will remember that I have alluded to the poor quality of the university graduates that I have interviewed since about 2010. The article I read today, neatly illustrates what is going on in your universities. https://thecritic.co.uk/is-grammar-elitist/
 

I can’t speak for Australia or New Zealand (I don’t really read too much of their indigenous press), but from reading across various US and UK news sources I get the very distinct impression that the Anglo-Saxon countries in the northern hemisphere are indulging in a very slow, very drawn out, form of societal suicide.

 

By slicing and dicing the population into ever smaller minority groups, then painting these groups as either “good“ or “bad“ and creating a sub-standard society by not insisting on high standards for literacy and numeration, very successful (and in some cases incredibly lucrative) careers have been made by various pundits by pushing these agendas.

 

In a recent discussion with Captain Cynical about this situation, he caustically commented that “it is very interesting to note that those promoting these agendas are the very people to whom these agendas (and the concomitant ludicrous solutions),  will never apply. The classic example being those politicians who rail against grammar schools but very quietly and discreetly send their own kids to top quality fee paying centres of learning excellence”

 

I think it is illuminating and illustrative to note that those countries in the northern hemisphere - which are doing very nicely thank you very much - are those that have retained the equivalent of the grammar school and very demanding university entrance requirements (both in Western Europe and in Asia).

 

I doubt that there are very many German or South Korean young people who leave school unable to spell the local equivalent of “literate” before going to university to study “the ethnology of Raffia weaving“, if at all.

 

Captain Cynical isn’t old enough to remember the days of Victorian/Edwardian emphasis on self improvement, self education and the insistence on high standards of literacy and numeracy, but he had elderly relatives who did. And if you think Captain Cynical is caustic about the current generation, Grandad Oberst Zynisch was positively, volcanically, scathing.

 

Bis später
 

iD

Edited April 17, 2021 by iL Dottore

[polybear]

36 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Note, being GEC we had to pay for meals and accommodation personally, then claim it back. Credit cards with bonus points or a % back at the end of the year were popular.. GEC tried to claim bonus points etc belonged to them they never got it from us..

 

I worked with a Ferranti Radar guy from Edinburgh (IIRC they became GEC, and are now Leonardo) - he told me (in the GEC days I think) that they wouldn't pay for ANY drinks with a meal - not even a soft drink)

 

5 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Bonuses are that it uses a load less gas and you don't run out of hot water.

 

 

Negatives include no hot water cyclinder - so no option of an immersion heater for when the combi goes wrong....

[Andrew P]

7 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

MOrning, sunny and cold again, 3c but no forst.

 

Mention of Wuppertal brings to mind it is the twin town of my home town - haven't visited as yet.  We have no twin village here, it would be 'Nowheresville, Germany', I presume.

 

Another shout for Vaillant boilers, a good make, unfortunately this house doesn't have one, but the last did!

 

A trip way down south to pay Tank for his work is on the cards, then a carry out lunch somewhere.  Then finish that &^%$£" bike engine....pah.

With you on Vaillant, that's what we had at the last abode, BRILLIANT.

[jamie92208]

We have fun with the heated floor in the en suite. Umpteen different programmes, 2 stats, fllor and air, then the programming. There are various settings but none for all 7 days so Mon to Fri can be done as a block then Sat and Sun done individually.  Wall heaters are similar.

 

We have had fun here. Before we rang the girls Beth shouted that one of hens had got out.  I went to investi4 and it turned out to be a large plant pot with a jagged top. Coupled with the colour and the morning light made it look just like a hen from 50 yards. I was going to suggest a trip to the opthamologist but we only went on Tuesday.

 

Jamie

[Andrew P]

9 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Bonuses are that it uses a load less gas and you don't run out of hot water.

 

Unfortunately our Boiler does, if the Heating is on, hot water is supposed to take priority, (according to the manual), but when running a shower, or filling the sink to wash up, after a couple of minutes the hot goes to warm, then cold for a few seconds, and back to boiling hot. Not good if your in a shower, so the heating has to be turned off before having a shower. It was serviced by the Company Engineers last September, and he confirmed that this can happen on occasions. I wish we could afford to replace it, even though its only about 8 years old.

[tigerburnie]

10 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

We have hive for our central heating and hot water control it's quite good and simple to use. I even bought a couple of light bulbs from Maplins cheap when they went bust (as well as a load of storage bins) 

The  upshot was when at work i could turn the lamps on and of at home whilst I was out frightening swmbo the first few times till she cottoned on to the reason it was happening.

Someone with a mischievous attitude could have hours of fun with one of those lol

[jcm@gwr]

13 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Bonuses are that it uses a load less gas and you don't run out of hot water.

 

 

Apart from the time taken for the combi to wake up and start heating the water, 

therefore wasting a lot of water first, if you use a lot of hot water, your radiators

go cold! That's why I got rid of my combi and went back to a system boiler and an

unvented cylinder, the bonus of that is when the boiler is being serviced/doesn't

work/middle of summer/etc. I've still got hot water via the immersion.

[Coombe Barton]

17 minutes ago, polybear said:

Negatives include no hot water cyclinder - so no option of an immersion heater for when the combi goes wrong....

Probabilility very small, and cost savings outweigh any of that eventuality

 

[tigerburnie]

We had a couple of combi boilers, one a condensing one was superb, the thing was instant, the only cold water was that which was already in the pipes downstream of the boiler. We are all electric here with a multi fuel stove and no central heating, not a problem, but I do miss the combi's.

[Pacific231G]

Morning all

Clear blue skies this morning but still cold.

I had a Valliant boiler fitted about seven years ago and it's been no trouble at all. The h/w cylinder gives me an airing cupboard in my back bedroom which is useful, especially in winter, though it does limit the scope for L shaped layouts. It does also have an immersion element.

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A bit nippy this morning but the sun is up and the frost has gone. My new combi boiler is a Valiant and is a great improvement on the previous boiler, heat and hot water comes on a lot quicker as well and its using a lot less gas.

3 hours ago, JohnDMJ said:

 

 

Phil, I have seen the Meaux Club's exhibition layout several times at various Expos in France and would like to attend their annual show; any chance, when you get the details, of posting this in the RMWeb calendar, please?

 

Travel there is easy! Eurostar to Eurodisney then bus to Meaux or Eurostar to Paris then RER to Meaux. I'm curious to know if the "Meaux BIll Phones" shop still exists!

Unfortunately the links have slipped and there's not much contact now. This is down to an ageing demograph and the passing away of our one French speaker. They do have a Facebook page however:-

  https://www.facebook.com/Rail-Club-de-Meaux-210497129024338/

I can see no mention of an Exhibition currently IIRC one was planned for last year but cancelled because of Covid.

 

18 minutes ago, Andrew P said:

With you on Vaillant, that's what we had at the last abode, BRILLIANT.

As mentioned above, no complaints and a great improvement on its predecessor. 

 

[Coombe Barton]

My son will only fit Vaillant and Glow Worm - made in same place, same company. He said Vaillant for me because of their performance, both short and long term.

Edited April 17, 2021 by Coombe Barton

[AndrewC]

Good moaning from the boring borough. Pleasant and sunny at the moment. Off to the beer mile today to meet up with an old friend. Some shopping at nearby Spa Road market will be done as well. 

 

@chrisf Toronto is not like the rest of Canada. They have an undeserved arrogance and try to think they are as good as New York. All of the really bad experiences with hospitality we've had in Canada were in Toronto. Hotel, restaurant, car rental, etc. Especially true of businesses at the airport. Fairmont hotels have a reputation of nickelling and diming everything they can. My younger brother who spends more of his life living in hotels than is healthy, refuses to stay in a Fairmont. 

 

We've got a Worcester combi-boiler. It was originally in the utility room but that is now the kitchen. The kitchen was actually built around it. It's perfectly disguised behind a standard cupboard door. The company we bought it from suggested the Salus wifi thermostat as it was half the price of the Bosch mechanical one. The app is stupidly simple. Basically a touch dial to set the temp, and a user created schedule if you want one. 

 

Time for more coffee and off to the untamed wilds of Bermondsey. 

[Erichill16]

Talking of boilers it reminds me of when we returned from a holiday in a Antarctica. When we got home the boiler had shut down due to low boiler water pressure and it was about 2C in the house.I don’t think it had been that cold in Antarctica! The issue was compounded by the fact that we have underfloor heating and it takes hours and I mean hours for the rooms to get up to temperature, especially the ones with carpets.

When choosing carpets for the house we had to check on their Tog ratings as if it was too high the heat would not be released from the floor.

Swmbo stirring, she’s not been well for a couple of days so better make a move.

Robert

 

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Sunny now after a frosty start. 
Our boiler is a Vaillant. Open system type with hot water tank and header tank. Hot water is on a three times a day timer, the heating is continuous in winter controlled by  a room  thermostat. It all works well. None of the “what boiler should I fit” websites recommend combi boilers for houses like ours. The showers we have won’t work with combi boilers either so an open system and new hot tank replaced the similar but horribly inefficent ancient boiler. 

[Coombe Barton]

As I had everything done, boiler and bathroom, didn't have compatibility problems.