Early Risers.

[leopardml2341]

Just another manic Monday.

 

G'night all.

[Tony_S]

4 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

arrangement of its paragraphs

This was quite an issue for Matthew when he went to study in Utrecht. The kind of paragraph he had been used to writing n England and Canada was most definitely not approved. They had to be short, and really just be arranged as bullet points. When he went to Ireland he was told to write proper sentences again. He was relieved. 
There should be a course manual specifying the format for references. Aditi used  “cite while you write” software for her thesis that could produce every format possible but it did stick them at the end. They didn’t count towards word limits either. My nephew’s fiancée is doing a Masters in nursing at the moment. I will ask her what she is doing about references. I know she and Aditi had a chat about them recently but I wasn’t paying attention. I was however impressed that not only is Bianca doing a masters degree part time, English is her third language. 

[simontaylor484]

Some more disgusting folk

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15272988/couple-left-dogs-car-stole-cash-cafe-tips/?utm_campaign=native_share&utm_source=sharebar_native&utm_medium=sharebar_native

 

I hope they are locked in a hot shed and forced.to.wash up for a very long time 

[Sir TophamHatt]

What a lovely weekend.

Still got a little burned but I forgot to top up with sun lotion.

 

On a related subject, I asked what the difference is between these:

Sun block

Sun tan lotion

Sun screen

Sun cream

Sun lotion

 

And we came to the conclusion that in the olden days, there may have been a difference but they're all interchangeable now.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Done a bit of the G word this evening, a patch of the front garden that I had intended to gravel and I had placed a piece of old carpet on the area. It came in useful as to get rid of the weeds I only had to roll the old carpet up. Only downside was it had been peed on by the local cats and ponged more than a bit. No problem getting rid of it as my neighbour has a skip and gave me permission to use it. Its a bit cooler now but tomorrow is predicted to be a hot one (again).

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

The weather has been quite dull all day, it did try to rain on my way home, but that never materialised. 

 

Well I got to The Christie in plenty of time, I was parking up a few minutes after 8 o’clock. This gave me just over 25 minutes to walk to the phlebotomy department, I got there just after 8:15, luckily I’d taken the latest MERG magazine to read whilst I waited. At that time in the morning it wasn’t busy, but there were still people waiting. I was seen pretty much on time and I was back home for just after 9:15. So I then had my breakfast, as I didn’t get up early enough to be able to eat it before I went. 

 

When I got back, Sheila had left for her Zumba class! Yes, this is the first class there’s been since the first lockdown last year! The lady running the class has been waiting for the past few weeks for the church to release the hall for functions and got the go ahead late last week. Sheila was invited to attend along with 11 others as well. Apparently, everyone in the class has put weight on since that last class, some over 2st, so Sheila kept quiet about the fact that she’s actually 5lb lighter  now than March 2019. 

 

After breakfast I contacted Ian and arranged to go to the big orange DIY shed tomorrow to get the last few sheets of plasterboard and flooring for the extended storage area. I then spent the rest of the day in the cellar, moving stuff about so I have a clear run to store the plasterboard and flooring. I also dismantled an old display cabinet, that I’d made from an old piece of furniture. I kept the glass doors and both the top and bottom runners, but the rest is now in my ‘waste wood’ box ready to go to the tip. To be honest it wasn’t my best work, but I plan on making another, much better version. 

 

This afternoon, whilst I was having my late afternoon drink, I had a call from ‘Rails Of Sheffield’ informing me that my pre-ordered ‘D Class’ locomotive, in ‘SECR Green livery’ is now in the country . They are just waiting for Dapol to check and ship them to their shop, so I can expect delivery sometime in the next 2 - 3 weeks. Whoo hoo, ooooh I’m really looking forward to having a play testing it when it arrives!

 

After tea it was once again time to complete the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix. There were lots of young people, all in the late teens or early 20’s age group WHO WERE NOT wearing masks   what’s wrong with these people? With the current restrictions remaining in place until at least 2 of next month, I think these people are all likely candidates for the ‘Darwin Award’. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Pacific231G]

Goodnight all

Too hot and humid do much today but I did walk to some friends for afternoon tea in their garden. I see them both on Zoom almost every week but I haven't actually met them in person since last July  even though they live just over a mile and a half away.  Home made scones, cream and an assorment of jams including the produce of my blackberry bushes and that of the damsons from another friend's garden. All very civilised.

[pH]

Today is the anniversary of the riot in Vancouver in 1994, after the local hockey team lost in game 7 (the last possible one) of the Stanley Cup final. 
 

https://www.google.ca/search?q=1994+stanley+cup+riot&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-ca&client=safari

 

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the riot in Vancouver in 2011, after the local hockey team lost in game 7 (the last possible one) of the Stanley Cup final.

 

https://www.google.ca/search?q=2011+stanley+cup+riot&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-ca&client=safari

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

4 hours ago, pH said:

Today is the anniversary of the riot in Vancouver in 1994, after the local hockey team lost in game 7 (the last possible one) of the Stanley Cup final.

 

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the riot in Vancouver in 2011, after the local hockey team lost in game 7 (the last possible one) of the Stanley Cup final.

With the Canucks not in the playoffs there shouldn't be any danger of that happening again this year?

 

I won't play dumb and ask how many times the Canucks won Lord Stanley's Cup.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

On a related subject, I asked what the difference is between these:

Sun block

Sun tan lotion

Sun screen

Sun cream

Sun lotion

In days gone by (before people understood how bad carcinoma and melanoma* really could be) sun tan lotion was about intentionally turning white skin brown - hence brand names like "Coppertone".

 

* My grandmother's cause of death.

 

Just about everything on your list except 'sun block' and 'sun screen' was about turning brown. What you don't have specifically is things like coconut oil and cocoa butter - whose purpose is to darken (crisp) the skin, essentially like basting a turkey.

 

Tanning oils are still available for those foolish enough to use them.

 

Before modern high-SPF sun blocks, zinc oxide was ubiquitous in Australia. Thick and greasy and usually applied to the nose and cheeks, it did the job.

 

At one point 'sun block' would refer to high-SPF and 'sun screen' a lower SPF that permitted some tanning.

 

The southern hemisphere hole in the Ozone layer was a wake-up call for Australia and attitudes moved strongly away from deliberate sun-tanning, in part due to this 1981 advertising campaign.

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Ozexpatriate

[leopardml2341]

Mornin'

 

Random post in editor (again). Looks like today has the makings of a warm one (23°C) the wind is also coming from a different direction to usual as there is much more traffic noise than is the norm for these parts.

 

Not sure yet what today might have in store, there's work (naturally) and maybe washing of the car later, beyond that who knows.

 

Black (can I say that these days?) bin day today and it sounds like the collectors are already nearby.

 

Although I'm clearly awake, I am refusing to get out of bed until the alarm sounds at 07:00

 

Make the best of Tuesday folks, 'til later.

Edited June 15, 2021 by leopardml2341

[jamie92208]

Good moaning. It's already quite warm here and is going to get warmer.  Our pool was 32 degrees yesterday afternoon.  We are promised thunderstorms tomorrow to ckear the air.  The G worrd has now been officially banned after 12 noon by orders of the management.  We did get sone done yesterday morning.  I dismantled and sifted the last  of No 1 compost bin.  Lots of beetle larvae were found, some in what looked like little brown eggs which seemed to be made of earth.  Most of these went into bin no's 4 and 5 for future use, a few went to the chickens as treats. They were good and had given us 4 eggs.  

 

I then excelled myself by mending  the filter psrt for the pool that we look after. My temporary repair using pvc cement and gaffer tape appears to ge working well. A new part is en route.  The afternoon was then spent, partly in the pool and partly picking cherries.  In the evening Beth was nattering to her mate in the UK so I headed for the shed and had a good hour making little buildings.

 

In an hour I'm off to get my wavy locks trimmed into shape by Veronique  then after that off to the supermarket.  Not a lot else is on the agenda as it is likely to ge rather warm.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

 

 

[polybear]

7 hours ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

What a lovely weekend.

Still got a little burned but I forgot to top up with sun lotion.

 

On a related subject, I asked what the difference is between these:

Sun block

Sun tan lotion

Sun screen

Sun cream

Sun lotion

 

And we came to the conclusion that in the olden days, there may have been a difference but they're all interchangeable now.

 

A quick look on the Which? website suggests staying away from sunscreens that supposedly offer "all day" protection from one application, as they fail to do so.  Apparently such products are banned in Australia for that very reason.

 

7 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Done a bit of the G word this evening, a patch of the front garden that I had intended to gravel and I had placed a piece of old carpet on the area. It came in useful as to get rid of the weeds I only had to roll the old carpet up. Only downside was it had been peed on by the local cats and ponged more than a bit. No problem getting rid of it as my neighbour has a skip and gave me permission to use it. Its a bit cooler now but tomorrow is predicted to be a hot one (again).

 

Are you sure it was cats? 

 

8 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

Some more disgusting folk

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15272988/couple-left-dogs-car-stole-cash-cafe-tips/?utm_campaign=native_share&utm_source=sharebar_native&utm_medium=sharebar_native

 

I hope they are locked in a hot shed and forced.to.wash up for a very long time 

 

Many moons ago buddy next=door's house was rented to tenants (this was before buddy bought it).  They went out one very hot day, leaving their Alsatian Dog locked in the Conservatory - with no water ; it got to the point where Bear was going over the fence at regular intervals to check he was ok - any signs he wasn't and I would've been calling the Police.  Fortunately they came home before that was necessary - words were had....

Incidentally, when they moved out the carpet in the Conservatory was so ingrained with dogs*** it went straight in a skip   The owners of the house were moving back in - and arrived home late the day before to check the place before their furniture arrived at 9am next morning.  To say they were dismayed would be an understatement - Bear was invited in as an "independent witness" and the place was a tram smash.  It put me right off the idea of ever renting a place, as if someone ever did that to me I could see myself getting into trouble...

And all this was in a place that was supposedly "managed" by a Letting Agent.

 

In other news:

Bear is off to get his ears lowered today - the last time was a DIY session, and the time before that was a No. 3.  Could be a shock.....

 

A minor appointment with a paint brush is expected too, after which Mr.Brush will be taking a rest.  Hopefully.  I also plan to test my new improved extended shelf for the corner unit; if all goes well then a second shelf will be modified in the same way.

 

And if I don't remember to order those f.worktops today then Bear swears he'll not touch so much as a single crumb of cake for a month.  That should do the trick.

 

 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all, with apologies for lateness!

 

I was in the garden before 7.30 yesterday morning to water the hanging basket and was delighted to harvest no fewer than eight ripe strawberries – not enough to form a proper garnish for the corn flakes, but most welcome nonetheless.  For the past several nights the electric fan in my bedroom has been on all night, wafting cool air across my face and greatly assisting slumber.  I have my friend Mike to thank for the fan.  He used to work for a builders’ merchant.  For just a few days in the year the fan is an absolute godsend.

 

As some will have guessed, the outdoor event that I mentioned the other day is Bristol Pride.   Since I last checked the website, details of the parade route and some other stuff have been added.  It may be a massive red herring but it suggests to me that the event will go ahead.  I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it does as two years ago there were almost 20,000 marchers.  Watch this space.

 

Today is the anniversary of my father’s passing.  Later this morning I shall drive to Cambridge crematorium where I shall remember both parents.  The crem is at its least worst on a sunny day, when with any luck there will be roses in bloom, birds in song and no clouds in the sky.  Almost certainly I will have the place very much to myself and will reflect in peace.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris   

[iL Dottore]

On 14/06/2021 at 07:44, Andrew P said:

....Last night we watched the launch of GB News, I found it to be a lot better and more diverse than the MSM, but with quite a few glitches like voice synchronisation and some link ups etc. ...

I certainly think that GB news will put the cat amongst the pigeons. It will be interesting to see the viewing figures in a month or two when they have the technical issues sorted out and word of mouth has started to produce viewers.  Even at this early stage, it has ruffled more than a few feathers if the rather snotty one star review in the Guardian is anything to go by.

23 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

...I see the Signal Engineer has discovered Northumberland, one of the great secrets of the north.  More castles than any other county, sparsely populated, great coastline, hilly scenery inland...

Sadly, one of the counties of the UK I have yet to explore.

It used to be, before the age of the Internet, that living in and working from such a remote location (“remote location“ by SE England Standards)  was rarely possible. But nowadays with the Internet and teleconferencing, Ocado for food, Amazon for a lot of everything else, I think there is no need to restrict yourself to living in an incredibly expensive London-centric corridor (obviously if you can do so).

I am trying to persuade Mrs ID to move away from where we are to somewhere more remote in the Swiss countryside (of course, with Switzerland being so developed as it is “remote“ is relative).  She is unconvinced that with modern technology and delivery services living a good 20-30 km from the nearest shop there is no great drawback.

I seem to have been infected with whatever afflicted Daniel Boone; as, much like him, I find that having neighbours less than half a kilometre away as being “too damn near”

20 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

...Now a decision - split firewood or tidy garage?  Or procrastinate for a few hours?

Quite honestly Neil, I would do none of the above. Instead, with the aid of a decently filled tumbler of whiskey, I would sit and deeply cogitate upon the best way of re-organising the garage and the most energy sparing method of chopping wood.  There is no need to rush hastily into doing something, dear boy!

14 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

...G word abandoned t due to the weather - it was 22C in the shade of the front porch when we got home from Tesco  So various indoor activties have taken place.   

Forgive me for saying so, Mike. But isn’t that just a little bit... well, wimpy? 

Of course, if you are one of those unfortunate souls who get sunburn in moonlight, then obviously it makes sense not to go out. But from our acquaintance, I rather got the impression that you are one of these robust fellows who would live up to the standards set by Noel Coward in his famous song “Mad Dogs and Englishmen“ 

11 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

For Border Collie fans:

 

Video: "Verb" the Border Collie wins the Westminster* Kennel Club Dog Show agility challenge for the second time in three years.

 

* Named for a NY hotel where hunters met in the 19th century.

As much as I love all dogs who look like “proper dogs” (I’m sorry, but pugs and bulldogs and the like, although having wonderful characters, have been so perversely bred that the poor beasts do not have any quality of life and can’t live as “proper dogs”),  I have a real soft spot for Border Collies. Probably because our late and much missed “hairy houseguest“ Jordi was a Border Collie mix, as is Schotty.  Both Mrs iD and meself would be very happy to have a Border Collie puppy, but we both realise that we are too old and probably too sedate to be able to give such a bundle of energy a good quality of life, keeping the wee beastie mentally and physically engaged and stimulated.

7 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

...an assortment of jams including the produce of my blackberry bushes ...

You jammy so-and-so (pun intended).  I absolutely love blackberries and I am continually horrified by the prices of blackberries in the shops (when you can find them), but Mrs iD is resolutely against planting blackberries in the garden as she claims that in no time that they will take over it.  I would also like to plant gooseberries, but again Mrs iD is against that for the same reason (even though gooseberries are even rarer to find in the shops over here than blackberries). Any thoughts about a non-invasive, low maintenance sort of gooseberry or blackberry?

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

In days gone by (before people understood how bad carcinoma and melanoma* really could be)...

Truly, melanoma is one of the nastiest cancers around. I am currently working on a project which involves patients with advanced, metastatic melanoma and reading the radiology reports on these patients is very sobering reading indeed. Definitely one of the many good reasons not to go out and get deeply tanned.

ironically, like many things, a tan or absence thereof has reversed itself in terms of signifying social status. It used to be (back in Georgian days until???) that if you were tanned with leathery skin then you were of the “labouring classes” whilst if you were pale with soft skin, you were one of the monied, leisured classes. Nowadays it’s the reverse: the rich (who can afford to jet off to exotic and sunny locations to “work on their tan“) are bronzed and tanned whilst the white and wan are wage slaves stuck in an office somewhere (Like all stereotypes and clichés very much an exaggeration but with more than a kernel of truth).

 

Given that the temperature here is expected to hover around 29°C today, I will be, quite literally, battening down the hatches to keep the house relatively cool as I work.

 

And on that solar powered note I bid you a sunny and sweltering Tuesday!
 

iD

Edited June 15, 2021 by iL Dottore

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A lot fresher this morning and the weather report says 15C. A bit of cloud but forecast to go this morning. I will not continue with the G word until this evening when things cool off.

24 minutes ago, polybear said:

Are you sure it was cats? 

 

It could be foxes or even muntjac deer. A green (garden waste) wheelie bin has mysteriously appeared in the council shrubbery alongside my house, there is no markings on it indicating the owner. The estate has its own Farcebook page so I'll ask on there if anyone's missing one.

[Andrew P]

Not read back through from last night yet, so if I've missed anything important then I'm sorry.

 

Golly gosh, feels like another warm one.

 

Gas Boiler engineer coming today to sort out a thermostat problem, so will probably put the heating on to test it.

 

Have a good day one and all and stay safe and well.

EDIT = I forgot to add Mini me earlier.

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Andrew P

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare.

4 hours sleep was interrupted by a worried  Ben the very not happy collie.. We've no Idea why.. maybe he had bad dreams..

I later managed another hours sleep.

 

Today I'm confined to barracks while we move.. Yep the long delayed move to our future place of residence at work. So I'm confined to the lab while it all changes rooms.. I don't suppose I'm high up the list for getting the intranet reconnected, so I may be here some time.

I've boxed up all the desk stuff computer etc, taped all the draws shut, on the filing cabinet and desks. So sometime today it all will trundle to as far as it is possible from the lab.

 

When Normal tea breaks are reestablished, it will consist of walking 100 yards away from the lab, then back past the lab to the canteen to get liquids from the tea and coffee machines then back all the way to my desk to commence drinking and then back to the lab at the end..

I shall not be taking the time taken in all that walking, off my official allotted 10 minute tea break.

 

Our MRC show appears to be no more, the church hall we used is going to become church use only permanently, and this year at least our main sponsor can't afford to sponsor us. Should we find another hall it's unlike to be in the same town, so the sponsor won't be interested in doing so. There is a decidedly low number of suitable places we could afford to hire in the area.. But research will go on..

 

Nice to see Bens relatives doing well, not only are they are fast, they are clever, there was a piece  a few days ago about a border collie who had been trained to identify an pick up any particular one of his toys.. He also puts his own toys away.. Pity I haven't persuaded Ben to do that..

 

Ah found it, a bit about Bear not the one I originally read it on though.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9615811/Border-Collie-called-Bear-knows-52-toys-fetches-command.html

 

I note, long diatribes about the non removal of Covid restrictions  on TV.. If it had reopened, the News programmes would have rounded up numbers of people to complain about it being reopened..

 

 

Time to get on with this weeks system, the automatic section has just finished..

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

The weather is a little sunnier than yesterday and set to be 5C warmer than yesterday. Breakfast has now been consumed and I’ll head off to the dining room and wait for Ian to call. He’s dropping by after dropping the kids at school, so will be here just after 9 o’clock, as Evie’s school is less than 1/4 mile away. Well then head off to the big orange DIY shed and get the last few sheets of plasterboard and the flooring. I’m hoping that by late afternoon, I’ll have the last wall completed. 

 

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

 

Brian

[Dave Hunt]

8 hours ago, pH said:

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the riot in Vancouver in 2011, after the local hockey team lost in game 7 (the last possible one) of the Stanley Cup final.

 

I was in Vancouver during the 2011 post-Stanley cup riot and couldn't believe what was happening. We'd been out for a meal with my cousin and were just about to return to her place in North Vancouver when we became aware of lots of police activity and a crowd of very noisy people in the vicinity so putting two and two together we beat a hasty retreat. Fortunately our car was parked outside the danger zone so we didn't get involved but it was a bit scary. 

 

I've recently been on a severe tonnage reduction regime largely due to intended attendance at a Squadron reunion lunch in London a week next Friday when I would need to get into a lounge suit that had become, shall we say, a little snug. That is now not going to happen because of the lifting of restrictions being put back but at least it provided the spur to there now being about fifteen pounds less of DH than had become the case during various lockdowns. The temptation to celebrate with fish and chips followed by chocolate cake all washed down with several pints of ale will be resisted 

 

Cheers everyone

 

Dave

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from a Sidcup which, like many other places, is slightly fresher today. The grey cloud cover looks under threat from the sun.

 

We await what might happen to the British Grand Prix, which is the day before lockdown is now supposed to end. With 300,000 attendees over the weekend, we fear some kind of rationing of places, even though it is a big open space. Still, what will be will be.

 

In the meanwhile we have been watching in the football - major tournaments are the only sports that Mrs Lurker condones and thus the only time that we all watch the telly together. The second Czechia goal was a treat, and I was disappointed that a Swedish striker managed to miss when it seemed easier to score; Spain massively dominated possession and failed to convert that to goals and I could have indulged in some schadenfreude at their expense.

 

Have a good day all