Early Risers.

[simontaylor484]

9 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Not if you have a dropped kerb installed. You can cross a footpath for access if there is a dropped kerb. When my dropped kerb was installed they added a layer of concrete before putting on the tarmac. Footpaths are not built to carry the weight of motor vehicles.

Try driving 3 tonne of mini sweeper on the pavement. The worst part of some of the sweeping rounds were on the council estates where residents had made their own drop kerbs with timber or concrete making it difficult to sweep the channels 

Edited June 26, 2021 by simontaylor484
Further thoughts

[simontaylor484]

30 minutes ago, Ian Abel said:

You missed the most important selection option, to whit;

 

"The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. That is why I am your king."

Immediately countered by my favourite bloody peasant*, "Dennis", saying;

"Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."

 

* Further dialogue from Arthur, "your king"

 

You can always tell he is the King because he is the only one not covered in Sh1t

[pH]

40 minutes ago, Ian Abel said:

Enjoy the day, those in the US western states, try and stay cool best you can, thinking of you...

 

Oi! How about us in the western Canadian provinces? 
 

There’s apparently a chance some places in BC, including Vancouver airport, may record highest temperatures ever (not just for the day) over the next week. 
 

At the risk of being somewhat political - we were talking to my brother-in-law in Texas last night. He is generally a Republican voter, but not extreme. His theory (not meant to be taken too seriously) is that these temperatures aren’t due to climate change, but instead to administration change .

Edited June 26, 2021 by pH

[Coombe Barton]

Could this be Matt Hancock's new venture?

 

https://www.starpubs.co.uk/pubs/cock-inn-sibson-nuneaton?fbclid=IwAR3Atftx2SyeyjFz2V9nuLvGHdgfadfvgJvm4SpXF4_No8ZuQfBjxZSflMo

 

[polybear]

4 hours ago, 45156 said:

Was up by 07.00 this morning, as we had a lot of paperwork to catch up on, and some new moving calculations, as the removal estimates have come in at about twice what we'd expected.  On removal firm has quoted on the basis of a four day move, which of course will ramp up the costs, and I don't think it is necessary - of course the estimator is on a couple of days off - Friday and Monday, so I can't query this with him.

 

 

 

Buddy next door has had quotes ranging from a ludicrous >£2K at the top end, down to £900.

 

Bear has spent the afternoon (a) doing paperwork (= filing, and also making sure all those items listed on Bear's credit card bills actually took place in real life), (b) wielding a paint brush (more cut edges of kitchen panels again), and (c) a quick tidy up, followed by the packing of yet another toy broom-broom; this one is now heading north of eighty quid - though the current high bidder seems to be in Canada, which is somewhat worrying if he/she should decide to cause any issues.  Mind you, I've described it as "condition as shown in photos" so claiming it's mis-described would be mighty difficult.

 

Finally, thoughts are with the occupants and families/friends of a certain high-rise building in Miami - if reports that Engineers warned about the condition of the building some three years ago turn out to be accurate then I predict Goolies will be well and truly on the chopping block before too long.

[Coombe Barton]

... and maybe a song that Matt H wishes applied still ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/06/26/another-record/

 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Arthur Itis and his sidekick Si Attica have been sent packing but the eczema is on fire but is being cooled a bit by the application of ointment. Commiserations to those of a Welsh persuasion, I've just seen the final score.

1 hour ago, simontaylor484 said:

Try driving 3 tonne of mini sweeper on the pavement. The worst part of some of the sweeping rounds were on the council estates where residents had made their own drop kerbs with timber or concrete making it difficult to sweep the channels 

I take it that you reported it to your bosses, around here there are so many dropped kerbs that there's little room for the home made variety. If anyone wants to cross a footpath they usually use the neighbours dropped kerb.

News just in, Matt Hancock's aide has also quit, with him gone I suppose that there's nothing for her to do. Cynical, moi?

Edited June 26, 2021 by PhilJ W

[simontaylor484]

Yes Phil they were often told but you got the typical reaction of a rendition of "make the world go away"

[Ozexpatriate]

14 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

... a large number of small nation states (kingdoms) is preferable to a few very large nation states because (the inevitable) conflict between small nation states would result in few casualties and less destruction than conflict between large nation states

It would be a good essay question for a history examination, or a debate topic for historians.

 

The counter argument would be that history tells us that small states are engaged in almost constant warfare* and that until states grow large enough that their ability to present an effective defence becomes a deterrence* there is an almost constant violent struggle to subdue each other.

 

* Unless they confederate for mutual defence, rather like your cantons.

[Ozexpatriate]

On 25/06/2021 at 10:48, pH said:

... a reasonable view of the CP mainline into Vancouver

On Thursday I was eating near the UP (ex-SP) mainline when a long freight drag was headed north to Portland. I had my back to the line and didn't study the train but was struck by the number of CP locomotives mixed between Uncle Pete's motive power in the head end.

 

Do CP and UP have some joint running arrangement or have UP bought some old CP motive power?

[PhilJ W]

17 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

Yes Phil they were often told but you got the typical reaction of a rendition of "make the world go away"

Our local council hit on the idea to prosecute to add a few pounds to the council coffers. But like illegal parking it proved to cost more than the piddling fines dished out.

[Ozexpatriate]

13 hours ago, chrisf said:

Today will see an early fodder run and unspecified pottering.  That might include fishing out some DVDs ahead of Wimbledon fortnight.  There has long been a presumption in TV circles that everyone likes tennis and nothing else need be shown.  

Would there normally be anything better to watch than live tennis on the hallowed grass of the AELTC?

 

I for one would be delighted by wall-to-wall coverage of said tournament. By the time I arise it is late in the afternoon in Wimbledon and any live match would be a distraction from getting on with my day.  As I type this I have the "Tennis Channel" on running replays of today's final matches in Eastbourne and Bad Homburg. (At this point, having at least seen bits of them including the results, I am switching over to golf, where I am pleased to see a fellow southeast Queenslander sharing the lead, as the day gets hotter* and I plan to remain indoors.)

 

* Speaking of, it was already 30°C when I returned from my walk at 10:30am. Presently (noonish) it is 33°C and headed north to 40°C. For context, "normal" highs for this time of year are about 24°C.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

... reports that Engineers warned about the condition of the building some three years ago turn out to be accurate

It will be proper to wait until a full failure analysis is complete. Having said that, spalling on columns is the logical failure mechanism for such a selective pancake failure mode. (I noticed some in the adjacent "intact" structure in television footage.)

 

Having spent the 15 seconds* of the Loma Prieta earthquake in a hotel ballroom under a flimsy table (with glass shards from decorative lighting fixtures, exploding as they hit the floor, impinging into the table cloth beside me) and thinking of little but the dozen or so hotel storeys of concrete bouncing and swaying overhead and, more specifically, whether they would remain suspended on their supporting columns, the idea of being buried in my bed under multiple storeys of concrete is horrifying.

 

* It felt much, much longer.

 

Edited June 26, 2021 by Ozexpatriate

[simontaylor484]

Personally i would sooner watch paint dry than watch tennis but there is something about Wimbledon that really annoys me I dont know what it is. It's not so much the tennis its the whole thing of Wimbledon the row locks that surrounds it. Ooh centre court overpriced strawberries all them linesman with their hands on their knees all the rubbish about the grass thats knackered after a couple of days.

If I wanted to spend all Day looking left then right i would sooner sit and watch traffic at a busy junction in town.

I hope Andy Murray gets absolutely towsed by a no hoper.

Other folk are perfectly welcome to enjoy tennis and I have nothing against that.

 

[Ian Abel]

2 hours ago, pH said:

Oi! How about us in the western Canadian provinces? 

To use another Monty Python reference;

Brian: "there's no pleasing some people..."

Leper:" that's what Jesus said sir" 

 

Sorry it was supposed to be all inclusive as I didn't say "US States"... I'll update here to "western states and provinces" - ta da... 

 

 

[pH]

With temperatures not expected to get any cooler over the next several days, I faced up to cutting the grass this morning. There’s some shade before midday from big trees behind us. Grass now cut, I’m sitting in the cool basement, watching Wales-Denmark and drinking water and Gatorade. (No beer till much later: heat + exertion + beer at lunchtime is almost guaranteed to result in a migraine). 

[New Haven Neil]

Mad busy day, Mrs NHN on a staycation frenzy.  As it involved two train rides I shouldn't complain, but I knackered now.

 

We rode the steam railway to Castletown, had lunch and a wander about the castle that put the, er, ass in to Castletown, managed to get up to the ramparts, foot and hip complaining loudly but it was worth it for the view around the old town.

 

 

 

[pH]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

On Thursday I was eating near the UP (ex-SP) mainline when a long freight drag was headed north to Portland. I had my back to the line and didn't study the train but was struck by the number of CP locomotives mixed between Uncle Pete's motive power in the head end.

 

Do CP and UP have some joint running arrangement or have UP bought some old CP motive power?

 

CP and UP have a power pool arrangement for trains between Lethbridge in Alberta and Hinkle in Oregon over what used to be the Spokane International and through Crowsnest Pass. All the UP units involved are fully equipped to operate as leaders in Canada, so they sometimes are used onwards from Lethbridge to places further into the Canadian Prairies. I've seen one in the CP engine facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan:

 

I would guess that CP units go walkabout occasionally on UP from the other end of that route. In fact, it appears CP may specifically not be sending their newest rebuilt units on trains to Hinkle, perhaps for fear of not seeing them back for a while:

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/41022-occasional-canadian-photos-mostly-from-vancouver-area/&do=findComment&comment=4100405

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/41022-occasional-canadian-photos-mostly-from-vancouver-area/&do=findComment&comment=4100417

 

Apart from that formal Lethbridge-Hinkle arrangement, UP units aren't unknown here around Vancouver. They're possibly the most common units from an American railway in the area, and any I've seen have been on CP, rather than CN. There are pictures of some in these posts:

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/41022-occasional-canadian-photos-mostly-from-vancouver-area/&do=findComment&comment=4094342

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/41022-occasional-canadian-photos-mostly-from-vancouver-area/&do=findComment&comment=3639883

 

CP units get all over the US. If you search on the Railpictures website for 'Railroad' as 'Canadian Pacific Railway' and 'Country/State' as 'USA - California' or 'USA - Arizona' (for example) you will find many pictures of CP units in those states (virtually always as leaders!).

 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land.  The eczema has cooled down a bit now and is not so irritating. Not as irritating as Farcebook where they don't understand the concept of user friendly.

[Gwiwer]

Evening all.  A trifle late on parade today with reasonable reasons.  

 

Hayfever did not grant me a good night's sleep and I awoke with the dreaded sensation of dust and itchiness everywhere and the urge to sneeze.  Eyes were swollen and refused to carry out their allotted task to a satisfactory standard.  IT took around three hours and a couple of pills and eye-sprays to get things to improve.  

 

Domestic Engineering was then carried out which included dusting and vacuuming and therefore set off the hay fever once more for another hour.  That took us to lunchtime.

 

After which it was necessary, apparently, to plant some growing things into the garden before tackling the digging-over of a neighbour's front plot which he had asked us a few weeks ago to do.  We have even been given £100 towards plants to make it look better and received several offers of "drinks" as he (being a little too old and unfit to do things himself) watched us working in the warm sun.  

 

This evening we were pleased to be visited by Former Neighbours (Next Door) who have been away with family in Norfolk since the Spring.  Drinks and conversation were enjoyed on the Terrace.

 

Reading quickly through the last how many? pages .......

 

Quote

Gales HSB

A much-missed beverage even though a version of it remains available.  When does a "version" become a totally different brew using a respected name, I wonder.  I used to make a trek, usually on foot, of several miles to a pub well outside my own sphere of influence simply because they served draught HSB.  

 

Quote

Highway Code

Dropped kerbs (not curbs) require reinforcement of the footway beneath the crossover but one is then permitted to "pass and re-pass" in a motor vehicle to access property across the footpath.  It is not permitted to use blocks, baulks or other objects within the carriageway to ease the passage of a vehicle across the kerb even if a driveway exists beyond.  Notwithstanding which a good many people do it and get away with it sometimes for many years.  The cost to the local authority of enforcing it and of possibly facing an appeal against enforcement outweigh the benefits.  

 

In terms of parking on and crossing footpaths when in charge of a motor vehicle the test at Law is always "What would a reasonable person do?"  If it is lawful to drive over a dropped kerb and to drive into premises so served then it is reasonable to cross the footpath though hopefully it has been reinforced.  Because a reasonable person might reasonably be liable for repairs caused if it were not and damage were caused.  Likewise a reasonable person would park within marked bays which straddle the kerb and leave their vehicle half-on and half-off the footpath in areas so marked - including in London where such things are apparently not lawful even when the requirement to do so is clearly signposted.  

 

Quote

Cornwall - where do you draw the line?

Along the eastern bank of the River Tamar.  This forms the historical border between Cornwall and England and not, as some assume, the centre-line of the river itself.  The river is entirely within Cornwall.  There is a short land border north of the source but something like 85% of the border is unequivocally defined by the river and has been for a considerable period of time.  This makes it one of the most ancient and long-standing unchanged boundaries in the British Isles.  

Quote

The Tamar river became Cornwall’s eastern boundary after King Athelstan of Wessex seized Exeter, Dartmoor and the South Hams from Cornish possession, c.936 AD 

In 1337-8, the exact same border became fixed in law as the eastern boundary of the new constitutional Duchy of Cornwall, an entity separate from, but linked with, the Kingdom of England .

- found here http://www.transceltic.com/blog/kernow-westminster-parliamentary-boundary-matters-no-devonwall and available from other sources.  

 

And now - back to sleep.  Let us hope Sun Day lives up to its name and not to the Seaweed Wrangler's promises.  

Edited June 26, 2021 by Gwiwer
Correcting the Auto-corrupt

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[TheSignalEngineer]

4 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Could this be Matt Hancock's new venture?

 

https://www.starpubs.co.uk/pubs/cock-inn-sibson-nuneaton?fbclid=IwAR3Atftx2SyeyjFz2V9nuLvGHdgfadfvgJvm4SpXF4_No8ZuQfBjxZSflMo

 

Reminds me of when a now defunct Sunday newspaper described the compere of a TV game show as 'Mr. It's a Kockout'

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

The weather has been absolutely glorious, sunshine all day despite the forecast saying otherwise! Apart from coming in for dinner, I spent the whole day outside, lots of plants are now in permanent positions, including a rose that has been in a pot for more years than I can remember, there’s just 3 more left to find places for. Before packing up for the day, I put my cordless hedge clippers on charge, so that tomorrow I can trim the box hedging in both the back and front gardens, I’ll also clip the 2 topiary box as well. 

 

After tea, at around 7 o’clock, Sheila and I had a walk in the garden, so I was able to show her where I’d put the plants today as well as showing her some that were coming into to bloom. At that time of the day the back garden is in complete shade and it cooled down quite considerably, which made being a lot more comfortable, altogether we were outside for about 30 minutes.

 

The evening was rounded off with a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon whilst sat watching a film, tonight’s choice being ‘Phantom Thread’. It was very well acted, but I wasn’t so keen on it, however, Sheila liked it though!

[BSW01]

Goodnight all