Early Risers.

[The Lurker]

11 hours ago, Tony_S said:

It wasn’t really like that in education. 

Mrs Lurker would beg to differ for the primary school she works in.

 

She repreatedly says that about a good majority of her colleagues

[Andrew P]

Yesterday was great but knackering all in one foul swoop.

 

I had the Photo Shoot on the Unmentionable and it was a long day, many shots the same with multi stacking images, and many different bits at different angles. An interview to camera was something new to me, even though I talk to camera on my own You Tube Videos, (Andy Peters Model Railways), and finally a running session to Video.

 

After tea, I went back outside for a couple of hours to start boxing up stuff for the Post Office today.

 

I did sleep well last night.

 

This morning I have a phone call booked from the Hospital to me, to discuss the findings of the Lung X Rays a couple of weeks ago. I'm hoping the spot they found in December has not got any bigger or has gone. They could not find it in January with the Ultra Scan, hence the latest X Ray.

 

Nice morning for a walk, so I'm going to make the most of it.

 

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

BBC = Big Black Cloud just come across and now looking grim, oh well, onward and up ward.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Andrew P

[The Lurker]

Greetings from Sidcup where it is grey but dry again. I thought I would report in early doors (which by the way was also a superb and understated comedy).

 

Last day of the week of working for me.

 

Elder Lurker's PS5 should finally arrive today. He asked for it for his 18th birthday last year (firmly in the knowledge that they had not at that time been released). We have struggled to get hold of one ever since, but if it does arrive as advertised, it will just have arrived before his 19th!!

 

Speaking of comedy, I tend to like a good bit of the absurd in my comedy. Growing up, we also heard the Saturday/Sunday lunchtime radio shows, so in the late 70's/early 80s I appreciated Just a Minute, I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue, the Goons, Beyond our Ken/Round the Horne. I also found Blackadder and the first five or so series of Red Dwarf really funny. Porridge and Open All Hours were superb, as was the Two Ronnies. Most sitcoms try too hard to be funny; they run out of storyline so invent a silly stunt that actually is so ridiculous in the situation it doesn't work - Last of the Summer Wine, Dad's Army, Are You Being Served? all fall into the "awful" category, as does Terry and June.

 

Other I liked at the time and have not seen in years, so may have dated include the Goodies, Yes Minister, Men Behaving Badly.

 

 

[New Haven Neil]

9 hours ago, polybear said:

Putting whoever changed their mind in the acute brain injury unit would've been much more productive - and fun.  Did you manage to throw a few grenades in as you left - I do hope so.

 

 

A) was a Consultant, so no hope, they're bullet proof.  B ) well, I cannot confirm nor deny....... 

 

Morning world, 16c currently, showers last night on the rock have left a fresher feel at last - more today though which is a shame, going to look at a bike this morning.....smaller and more knackered NHN compatible. 

 

Another Hitch-Hikers Guide fan here, I first heard it on an LP, then got the boxed set of tapes of the radio show. The film was dire IMHO.  That's just not Marvin. (noted the real Marvin has a cameo appearance).  Dads Army I think was OK, if of its time.  My Dad was in the Home Guard for the early part of the war before eventually becoming a Wavy-Navy Lieutenant (E), he reckoned Dads Army was totally true to life.  The Navy Lark was compulsory Sunday lunchtime listening, or whatever was on at the time, Goons, etc.  We had Blaster Bates do a show at college, he was hilarious - I have several of the LP's in my vinyl collection.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A bit grey but dry this morning but the odd shower predicted. 

2 hours ago, chrisf said:

Greetings one and all

 Like many other things, the festival was on-line last year and it was strange not being there.  A cut-down version is better than nothing!

Away from all thoughts of holidays, I am not having much luck this year finding a Pride parade in which to march.  One that has not yet been cancelled is Pride in London, where those who wish to march as individuals are asked to apply for a place in the individuals’ group.  The webshite proclaims that applications will be invited in late July.  I don’t want to worry you, guys, but there is not much of July left!  

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris   

As far as I am aware our local one which I told you of on Farcebook is still on. Its in the town centre so parking might be a problem. If you do intend to go let me know and I can direct you to the best pub which happens to be my local (they serve meals as well).

[Simon Moore]

On 27/07/2021 at 07:10, Andrew P said:

All the best Simon, I hope its not to serious and that recovery is swift.

 

Thanks Andy it was a double whammy operation down below. Currently very sore & walking like John Wayne, all being well it was a success although I now have diabetes as well which isn't something you want to learn first thing on a Monday morning.

 

More or a late riser today I feel a bit pooh if I am honest.

[jonny777]

Dull and siling down here in North Somerset. 

 

18mm since midnight, to go with the 10mm we had yesterday in showers. This appears to be maintaining the weather sequence of flood, drought, flood, drought which the West Country seems to have been given as its new climate. 

 

Another 18 hours of Olympic recordings to fast forward through but, given the conditions outside, will be about the only activity permitted. No milk delivery this morning, and presumably the milkman has had to self-isolate. 

 

No apples or nectarines from Ocado on Tuesday, although with the nectarines I have now found that the practice of picking them unripe from the trees and then refrigerating them until they get to the supermarket shelves where ripening is a lottery, has produced some of the most rubbish fruit I can remember. So, I am not too disappointed in not having any. 

 

What these maximise profit at all costs companies seem not to realise, is that fruit will taste far better when allowed to ripen in the sun and turn the bland carbohydrates into tasty sugars. However, I suppose their idea is that better the fruit rot in peoples' kitchens, rather than on the shelves unpaid for. 

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare..

A poor nights sleep just couldn't get comfortable hour many hour? I have no idea..

 

Ben the not very awake Collie was a bit slow this Morning, just a plod round having a sniff..

 

Very little rain overnight just a bit of drizzle in the evening..

Much of the comedy was good at the time but hasn't worn well..

I will say this only once, that 'Allo 'Allo was good for much of it.. but it out ran it's story lines.. Like the later Dads Army.

 I loved, "It Aint Half Hot Mum" too. Like Dads army very true to military life, till they run out of story lines again..

 

Very little I like these days but "Upstart Crow " was better than most.. Never been to anything comic live...

 

Not a good start to work this morning a duff lead had me struggling to work out what was going wrong till eventually the correct broken lead was replaced..

 

Time to ... catch up..

Edited July 28, 2021 by TheQ

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, The Lurker said:

Mrs Lurker would beg to differ for the primary school she works in.

 

She repreatedly says that about a good majority of her colleagues

I suppose I should have said it wasn’t common for people from the private education sector to do well in the state sector. Though when I worked in post 16 education there were a number of people who had worked in a variety of other jobs who came into teaching and were very good. 

[The Lurker]

14 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I suppose I should have said it wasn’t common for people from the private education sector to do well in the state sector. Though when I worked in post 16 education there were a number of people who had worked in a variety of other jobs who came into teaching and were very good. 

The last part echoes Mrs Lurker's observations to a T. Those that have had some non-teaching experience tend to be very good. Those that have been through the educational sausage machine less so.* At Mrs Lurker's school, there at least 5 teachers who were also at the school as children - the older staff remember teaching them. The school has only been there in its current form for just over 25 years. That strikes me as a very narrow set of experiences.

 

* there are examples in both camps who buck these general trends of course.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

It is cloudy but the sun is trying to shine through, it is currently winning, but heavy rain and thunder are predicted for later in the day. Today’s tasks are mainly outside, a bit of tidying up in the garden and possibly try to get the last couple of stubborn marks of the patio. If the rain does come, then I will head for the cellar and begin the big clean up. 

 

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

 

Brian

[Coombe Barton]

Heavy rain overnight, now sunny and breezy. Visibility bodes well for photo taking later.

[Tony_S]

27 minutes ago, The Lurker said:

That strikes me as a very narrow set of experiences.

Whereas a degree in PPE following an education at public school is exactly the  broad background for running the country. 
I am one of those people who did go from school to university and then another one for teacher training and then on to my first teaching job. In my first job the headteacher did say he didn’t like employing graduates as he preferred people from teacher training colleges but he had no choice about employing me and a colleague as he desperately needed a couple of science teachers. The third new member of staff joining the science department that year failed his probation and became a milkman. 

[Coombe Barton]

4 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Heavy rain overnight, now sunny and breezy. Visibility bodes well for photo taking later.

I jinxed it! Now raining again.

 

[TheQ]

I expect most of us here had teachers with experience elsewhere..

Trapesing across Europe, the North African deserts , Burma...

[PhilJ W]

5 minutes ago, TheQ said:

I expect most of us here had teachers with experience elsewhere..

Trapesing across Europe, the North African deserts , Burma...

One of my teachers, Mr. Seibert, was German. He had fled the Nazi's just before the war. He never mentioned anything to us and as he had no trace of a German accent so some were not even aware that he was German. He studied in the UK before the war and actually volunteered his services as an interpreter to the British.

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, The Lurker said:

The last part echoes Mrs Lurker's observations to a T. Those that have had some non-teaching experience tend to be very good. Those that have been through the educational sausage machine less so.* At Mrs Lurker's school, there at least 5 teachers who were also at the school as children - the older staff remember teaching them. The school has only been there in its current form for just over 25 years. That strikes me as a very narrow set of experiences.

 

* there are examples in both camps who buck these general trends of course.

We had similar in the Police. Many of the best thief takers that I ever worked with had grown up on council estates, left school with very few qualifications then gone into engineering and done apprenticeships, then joined the force. Similarly ex miners were usually very good bobbies. Used to working in teams and being conscious of safety as well as usining their intiative quickly when danger threatened. The opposite was true of many ex cadets who could be very police centered to the detriment of the public. However as mentioned above there were many honourable exceptions.  As long as they had 'bottle' they were fine by me, but how do you measure it.  

 

Jamie

Edited July 28, 2021 by jamie92208

[TheSignalEngineer]

When I did HNC the man who taught me about radio and wave transmission systems had worked on radar development in WW2. One of his 'War Stories' was not telling the RAF everything they knew about German radar as they didn't want them to destroy it. They had guys on the ground trying to get information and nick bits of it intact. In addition they didn't want the Germans to retaliate by dropping loads of HE on our stuff. They just told them the best ways to try to avoid getting spotted too early by it.

He also told us how police speed guns were using a Doppler radar system to measure speeds. In the lab he got us to produce a toy for telling whether an object was moving towards or away from you.  He then drew up on the board a theoretical layout for a device to measure incoming frequency then set it to confuse the machine into thinking you were doing anything from going away to approaching at supersonic speed.

Another teacher who did control engineering had previously been responsible for setting up machines which took in large lumps of hot steel and spat out RSJs, rods, tubes and other sections.

My school chemistry teacher had been a lab tech for ICI before taking up teaching, and the games teacher was an England RU international forward. One of the languages masters who was an officer in our cadet force had been an interrogator working for SHAEF and had been involved at the Nuremberg trials.

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by TheSignalEngineer

[Tony_S]

Many of my teachers at secondary school had been through the route of school, university into teaching. However at that time they were “first generation” graduates, that is, no one in their family had been to university before. There were a lot of teachers from Wales who told the same story that their father had told them they were not going down the pit as had previous generations. 
Matthew did not want to be a teacher despite Mum and Dad’s profession. He said he wasn’t nice enough. When I told his undergraduate students this at his memorial event they refuted this quite emphatically. 

[PhilJ W]

When I was at school a high proportion of the teachers were Welsh (including the headmaster). This I was told was because they had more grammar schools in South Wales than in other parts of the UK.

[jonny777]

34 minutes ago, TheQ said:

I expect most of us here had teachers with experience elsewhere..

Trapesing across Europe, the North African deserts , Burma...

 

Yes, we had a Physics teacher who had previously worked at Woomera rocket ranges, and was great for A Level as he knew most of the stuff off by heart. He managed to persuade the school to purchase a second hand cloud chamber from somewhere, so we could actually see radioactive decay taking place. This was in the late 1960s. 

 

 

[pH]

2 hours ago, jonny777 said:

What these maximise profit at all costs companies seem not to realise, is that fruit will taste far better when allowed to ripen in the sun and turn the bland carbohydrates into tasty sugars. However, I suppose their idea is that better the fruit rot in peoples' kitchens, rather than on the shelves unpaid for. 

The correct time to pick fruit, taking all factors into consideration, can be a pretty precise art.

 

The Okanagan is an area about 250 miles east of Vancouver which used to be a big fruit growing area. (Most of the orchards have now been ripped out and the ground given over to growing grapes for wine.) Peaches were a big crop, and a properly ripe Okanagan peach is still something special. But they have to be picked just before properly ripe to allow for the time needed to pack them and ship them to stores in the Vancouver area.

 

A friend grew up in the Okanagan and worked in fruit packing warehouses as a summer job. One farmer once brought in a beautiful crop of peaches ripened to perfection, but which would be well past their best once they made it onto shelves in Vancouver. It was decided that they would have to be dumped, and my friend was given the job of throwing the lot into dumpsters. He said he was almost in tears doing it. He gave some away to tourists walking past, though.

 

Those dumpsters containing overripe fruit used to be taken up into the surrounding hills and tipped out on the ground. The fruit rapidly fermented in the heat - the southern Okanagan is the only true desert in Canada. Free ranging cattle would find the dumped fruit and quickly get drunk on it! They tried putting barbed wire fences round the dumps, but the cattle would break through those, so instead of drunk cows you got bloody drunk cows. They don’t dump fruit like that now.

[Coombe Barton]

1 hour ago, Coombe Barton said:

I jinxed it! Now raining again.

 

ibid

[jonny777]

26 minutes ago, pH said:

The correct time to pick fruit, taking all factors into consideration, can be a pretty precise art.

 

The Okanagan is an area about 250 miles east of Vancouver which used to be a big fruit growing area. (Most of the orchards have now been ripped out and the ground given over to growing grapes for wine.) Peaches were a big crop, and a properly ripe Okanagan peach is still something special. But they have to be picked just before properly ripe to allow for the time needed to pack them and ship them to stores in the Vancouver area.

 

A friend grew up in the Okanagan and worked in fruit packing warehouses as a summer job. One farmer once brought in a beautiful crop of peaches ripened to perfection, but which would be well past their best once they made it onto shelves in Vancouver. It was decided that they would have to be dumped, and my friend was given the job of throwing the lot into dumpsters. He said he was almost in tears doing it. He gave some away to tourists walking past, though.

 

Those dumpsters containing overripe fruit used to be taken up into the surrounding hills and tipped out on the ground. The fruit rapidly fermented in the heat - the southern Okanagan is the only true desert in Canada. Free ranging cattle would find the dumped fruit and quickly get drunk on it! They tried putting barbed wire fences round the dumps, but the cattle would break through those, so instead of drunk cows you got bloody drunk cows. They don’t dump fruit like that now.

 

Yes, I am well aware of this, but my point was that nowadays instead of dumping fruit at the various companies' expense, they are dumping it on the customs completely unripe and think they are clever by labelling the fruit 'ripen at home'. 

 

All I know is that nectarines bought in UK shops used to be sweet and juicy with very few duds. Now mine seem to be 90% dud and only a few taste like nectarines should. It is almost as if the customer now bears the loss, because the growers, wholesalers and retailers are certainly not going to. The bottom line is all that matters to them.   

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

I expect most of us here had teachers with experience elsewhere..

Trapesing across Europe, the North African deserts , Burma...

Our German teacher was a German speaking Italian who had trained dogs for the SS.