Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A quick hello from Estuary-Land before I'm out to Uckfield, be back later.

[Barry O]

Herself has been and had her jab..no queue!

Great start to the day.

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

I have just noticed that my hair is somewhat “tufty” so I have requested the services of my in house barber to do some remedial work.  That won’t take up much of my day! 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

We are both getting our flu jab this morning, mine is at 11:30, Sheila’s is at 11:36! As the surgery is only 1/4 of a mile away, we are walking there and back together. After that I will go and collect Ava and Evie, yes, Evie is joining her today, apparently she has express wish to come on a Saturday, but has never been out of bed, fed and watered in time before today! They will both be spending most of the day here and will both be joining us for tea, which tonight will be pizza for a change! The plan for the day is to bake some almond scones and possibly the usual tray of rocky road, will see if we have enough time. I doubt any model making will take place as I just don’t think we’ll have enough time. 

 

Time to get the kettle on for a muggertea before we set off to the surgery. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian

[Gwiwer]

9 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

*(Disclaimer it's illegal to harm wildlife including  the world's second most deadly  snake and huge fines apply so  if one is encountered a local wildlife organisation or snake wrangler should be called who will  come and catch it and rehome it closer to someone else's place)

17 years in Australia. Only lived in Victoria but visited every state and territory bar WA (which I have seen many times but only from the air).  Stayed in mud-brick bush houses, on rural farms, in various remote outback spots in the campervan and was always closely connected with native bushland at the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne. 
 

In all of that time I saw the grand total of two snakes.  Both brown snakes.  One on the beach of all places and the other on my very last full day in the country when I collected SWMBO from her last day working at Cranbourne; brownie was crossing the road there. 
 

Always had “snake-drill” in mind though. Let them know you’re there, give them space, back away if they rear up and remember what they look like just in case. 
 

There’s a part of Australian first-aid courses where you learn to apply a snake-bite bandage. It might buy time by slowing the spread of venom but it also slows circulation risking the limb affected. It’s almost always a limb. 

 

Colleagues who drove country and interstate trains would tell of meeting large numbers of deadly critters in the dry grass out bush. You wore thick cotton trousers and boots for protection; or you wore shorts in the heat and took your chances. 
 

I’ve seen too many spiders to count, some of them potentially deadly and most venomous to some degree.  I’ve had a few blue-tongues in the garden; you knew they were there because they set the chickens off squawking madly. And once we had a goanna. Quite big and definitely not what you expect to find in your backyard. The closest thing I’ve seen alive to a dragon. 
 

I’m happy to remember the snake bites I had as a young lad when some publicans would serve them or at least turn a blind eye if they saw you mixing two pints in a spare glass.  A couple of those and your troubles would blur into a haze ….. until the next morning

 

 

[TheSignalEngineer]

Another hole in the pincushion that doubles for my upper left arm. Just about to walk back home then think after lunch I may take a trip to New Mills where it is advertised that some old boys will be playing with their toys in public today.

[monkeysarefun]

4 hours ago, polybear said:

10 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Luckily like this time  it's usually a blue tongue lizard rather than a snake, I think in my time  here I've had 3 Eastern Brown Snakes, half a  Dozen Red Belly Blacks and a Tiger Snake but about 2 dozen blue tongues. 

 

Expand  

 

Bear has just been looking up the 3 nasties mentioned above - what do those who live miles from anywhere do if they get bitten?  Can you keep anti-venon at home until help arrives?

Prevention is  better than cure. Don't be a nong, stay out the long grass, just be snake aware. Like Gwiwer said, wear long  pants and thick shoes if out in snake country.

Actually for the amount of venomous things, we have very few fatalities. Crocs and sharks aside, I don't recall a death from our wildlife recently, they are rare enough to make the news. In fact a popular trivia quiz question is to name the animal that kills more Australians than any other annually.

Everyone goes shark, croc, snakes etc but it's actually the horse.

[polybear]

Bear spent a fun morning doing a small amount of ironing  then sorting the china and glassware - suitably packing it to suit it's ultimate destination (Charity Warehouse or keepsie); a small number of items have been researched and identified as worth trying their luck on the 'bay.

Still no sign of windscreen chip person - it's currently raining (no mention of that on the Met website last night) so the first thing I did this morning was protect the area with a polythene patch secured with insulating tape to keep it dry; the rain is due to stop from 1pm onwards so I'm hoping they won't show until late afternoon.

[Gwiwer]

9 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

name the animal that kills more Australians than any other annually.

Everyone goes shark, croc, snakes etc but it's actually the horse.

Not our fellow humans?  Now there's a surprise.

 

We have a friend who has always been "horsey".  She and hubby bought a rural property in the Gippsland hills after they married.  It included a small stable and tack room.  They invested in a couple of horses.  All was well between them until one day one of the horses bucked his head whilst being groomed and caught her a heavy blow on the side of her head.  The hospital discovered damage to the upper part of her spine - the important bit where it meets the skull had been cracked and slightly displaced.  

 

Undeterred she carried on after a period of recovery only to be felled by the other horse in what she still maintains was a friendly greeting.  She was run at, it seems, and either the horse misjudged the distance or she was doing something else which caused an impact between them.  Down she went and had to be removed by airlift.

 

Once more the skull had been knocked this time upwards and backwards.  

 

She has never fully recovered, her personality is completely changed and she has developed insensitivity to making inappropriate comments.  Such as casting nasturtiums about SWMBO on the antisocial media from which we have had to block her.  Sad.  Two horsey events either of which might have been much more serious and which resulted in her becoming a different person.  

[monkeysarefun]

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I’m just waiting for when hobbyist machines approach the quality of the (currently very expensive) professional machines. 3D printing in metal is a particularly appealing possibility (and it’s just occurred to me, following the discussion about repairability, that a good 3D printer that can print in a variety of materials could allow for the easy replacement of otherwise unavailable spare parts).

Printers have come a long way in the last 3 years. SLA/DLP printers -  where a light is shone from below through a VAT of resin, hardening a layer at a time, while the model is dragged upwards slowly out of the vat by a plate on an arm have revolutionised home printing, and are the go to machines for small detailed parts over the more traditional spool of plastic style printers of yore. 

 

As to quality, you can get print definition of .035mm using 4k and 6k LCD screens. Even printers with  2K screens are good for .05mm resolution and can be bought for around the 200 pound mark on special. 

The other variable, resin, is also making great strides. Initially models were brittle to the point that they'd shatter if dropped, but that's changed with flexible resins that can print out things as flexible as rubber, or mixed with other resins to reduce the brittle.

Also tough resins are available now that can be machined, drilled and hit with hammers.

 

For me however,  the most exciting new thing is polyjet printers, that use jets to squirt resin onto the build plate.

 

Think inkjet printer technology  but used for  creating 3D models rather than 2D prints. Using this technology it's possible to produce models in full colour, just as an inkjet printer can print a photo in full colour .

 

Think of that  IL dottore just think of it! Print out a model loco or coach, it's as  correctly, smoothly and accurately coloured as the real thing,  fully lined, weathered, anything you want!

 

It's a brave new world iL Dottore, a brave new world!

Edited October 16, 2021 by monkeysarefun

[PupCam]

Looks like we've got a weather window ....   Clear Prop, Contact!

 

12 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

Instead I bought a Henry. Not so elegant or clever, rather heavy and a bit awkwad to store but, as an essentially industrial product designed to work for  eight or  more hours a day every working day, I figured it would be pretty  bomb proof and so it's proved. 

 

And it didn't have loads of gadgets, programmes and modes that no one want or uses.   I could easily be tempted next time.

 

And as for those other makes that put lasers on the B things so "you can count and measure the dust particles collected"  - who gives a flying fig!    Just clean the carpet will you?    Oh sorry, that's not one of the features that the vacuum cleaner has ...

 

11 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

It's always a poo ya pants moment when you move a pile of stuff aside and spot a scaly body hiding  in amongst it all. That jJust happened to me when mulching a pile of prunings I'd not had a chance to do last weekend cos the rain came.

 

No, that sort of thing is not for Puppers!

 

9 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

The next day the next-door neighbours asked "Have you seen a snake, our daughter's pet is missing?" We said nothing.

 

I'm not a pet person and as for so-called Exotic Pets, why on earth would you?

 

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

But that reminds me of a story I read about two industrial museums that were being set up about the same time in the 80s. The curators in Germany had to hunt around to find antique and vintage industrial machinery to fill the museum; the curators in Britain just went along to newly closed factories to collect Victorian machinery that only recently had been turned off for the very last time (but having said that there are some quite ingenious pieces of industrial machinery that the Victorians came up with that have never been bettered).

 

In the early days of my employment I used to use a pillar drill with a plate on the side proclaiming "Admiralty 1904".   Used to work a treat and would still be doing so if the factory was still there and that historic airfield at Hatfield hadn't been flattened to make way for various Distribution Facilities, posh car showrooms, offices for mobile phone companies, McDonald's and gravel extraction- what a complete an utter waste of our industrial heritage.

 

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I would say that this would be in addition to the workshop featured above, not instead of

 

Like you, I’m very much in favour of 3D printing and I’m just waiting for when hobbyist machines approach the quality of the (currently very expensive) professional machines. 3D printing in metal is a particularly appealing possibility (and it’s just occurred to me, following the discussion about repairability, that a good 3D printer that can print in a variety of materials could allow for the easy replacement of otherwise unavailable spare parts).

 

Precisely!      

 

A friend has been building a 1/3 scale Fokker DVII (and a might fine thing it is too).   To replicate many of the details e.g. radiator, machine guns, instruments, magnetos, engine valve gear etc he taught himself 3D modelling.   He was going to buy a semi-professional 3D printer to print the components with a possible view of developing a new line for his business but at the time they were out of reach so he coughed up and had them printed professionally.    If I recall, the print of the radiator alone cost him ~£400 but it (and all the other bits) are works of art.    I can't think of any other way of reproducing the hundreds of hexagonal holes in the radiator core.   If you are thinking of a drill and a file, good luck!

 

To be honest, I don't get the "it's not real modelling unless you've made it out of brass and drilled and filed it to shape" argument at all.  Drills, files, lathes, mills, chisels, scalpels, scissors .... are just tools and so are CNC machines whether that be foam cutters, routers or 3D printers.    I'm all for such technology and as to why anyone building a m*d*l r*ilw*y would chose to use anything other than a servo to operate points and signals in this day and age is completely beyond me.   (I'm trying my hardest to drag a certain Bear into the digital age but it's hard going).

 

Anyway, take a gander at these photographs and tell me that is not modelling to the very highest standard.

 

 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Nah mate, in fact in 1978 while my mates were getting surfboards and AC DC cassettes I saved up my pocket money for yonks until I could buy a 2nd hand Unimat SL with a few attachments.

 

Excellent!   I bought my Unimat 3 in about 1983.   What a fantastic and versatile little tool it's been.     Did I ever tell you about the time I used it as an "optical bench" to do some experiments with video camera chips and lenses.    Just like Meccano and Lego, the things you can do with a Unimat are limited only by your imagination.

 

2 hours ago, grandadbob said:

I have just noticed that my hair is somewhat “tufty” so I have requested the services of my in house barber to do some remedial work.  That won’t take up much of my day! 

 

Sounds like you use the same stylist as me.   Very cheap, doesn't go blathering on about their holiday but never asks "Would you like something for the weekend Sir?"

 

In other news:

 

Irrespective of your political affiliations, what a terribly tragic event occurred yesterday.       Thoughts are with all affected and, to some degree, that is every single one of us.

 

Seems like I over did it yesterday with the physical activity.    Not a good nights sleep for a number of reasons and as confirmed by my newly acquired continuos O2 monitor.   So today I am mainly doing nothing.   The fitting of the next (already cut to size) pieces of garage door lagging will have to wait until tomorrow.

 

Have a good one and stay safe!

 

Alan

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by PupCam
Missed a word out

[grandadbob]

Yippee, the bin men turned up.  They even emptied the bins! 

Finances dealt with and I seem to have found a small surplus so that’ll go in the toy fund. 

Tufts have been removed so I now once again look like a bald headed old git.   The “barber” did ask what I’d like for lunch so I settled for a bacon sarnie and that was very enjoyable.

Rugby kicking off at 3.00 so I’m going to The Shed until then.

Edited October 16, 2021 by grandadbob

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

More coats of varnish applied to those bits that needed it..

 

New arm made for rudder head, now glueing to original arm, will get bolts as well.

 

The holes that were drilled through the cockpit edge, were opened out a little, sanded, and painted.

 

At the start of the first step on on the ladder, I tweaked my back and the left knee joined in the pain.

 

Shelving in the mobile home completed, as far as construction goes, cladding to hide the joins and the door to be built.

However SWMBO wants the chest of drawers assembled under the counter of the kitchen. So that's the main task tomorrow..

Ben took me for his long walk, however after about 400yards the pheasant massacres started up, and he wanted home, to the relief of back and knee.

 

 

[polybear]

2 hours ago, PupCam said:

In the early days of my employment I used to use a pillar drill with a plate on the side proclaiming "Admiralty 1904".   Used to work a treat and would still be doing so if the factory was still there and that historic airfield at Hatfield hadn't been flattened to make way for various Distribution Facilities, posh car showrooms, offices for mobile phone companies, McDonald's and gravel extraction- what a complete an utter waste of our industrial heritage.

 

 

2 hours ago, PupCam said:

 (I'm trying my hardest to drag a certain Bear into the digital age but it's hard going).

 

Levers, pulleys and Bowden cables, dear Puppers.....

 

2 hours ago, PupCam said:

Anyway, take a gander at these photographs and tell me that is not modelling to the very highest standard.

 

 

 

 

 

Ever had that feeling of giving up before you've even started?  Rapidly followed by a feeling of envy so intense you wanna chuck?

 

In other news.....

Wall Unit now emptied and moved away from the wall ready for collection on Wednesday; the space between the unit and the wall can best be described as "somewhat dusty" (and some) - not sure when it was last moved, but ISTR Noah had just enrolled in a woodwork evening class....

 

I've discovered an email from Halfords in my junk folder that tells me the window fixit person is due "sometime between 4pm and 8pm" (now how did I know it'd be at the end of the day?).  They also included a link to a tracking function, which tells me (at 3pm) they are on Job No. 5 - and Bear is No. 10.  Looks like it's gonna be closer to 8pm than 4pm....

 

 

[Tony_S]

I am just back from the flu jab at the doctors. All very efficient. I was only away from home for about 20 minutes. Most exciting bit was seeing someone in a small brown car attempt a prohibited right hand turn at the A13 junction (Tarpots for the locals). 
I have also received a link from our GP about a booster vaccine but although the link works there aren’t any appointments  available. If I don’t get one by Wednesday I’ll need to wait a while as my hospital appointment for more gastro stuff must be at least 2 weeks after a Covid booster. 
Tony

[Gwiwer]

Flu jab was done at the House of Fun on the first available day.  I was, in fact, the third person to be done on that day which was luck of the draw more than anything.  Bookings were not taken rather it was turn up at the appointed time and place.  Which happened to be where I was working and only a half-hour after I clocked off.  It was worth waiting.  

 

Both Covid jabs were done some while ago and while we are both in line for boosters our time is not yet.  But soon based on local vaccination rates as they are cracking through the seventy-somethings and I'm in the next age bracket.  Dr. SWMBO isn't prioritised by age but by medical need and had both her initial jabs within 24 hours of mine despite being the best part of 11 years my junior.  

 

20 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

hospital appointment for more gastro stuff

 

We generally understand that to refer to gastro-intestinal matters.  In Her Majesty's Antipodes the term "gastro" is used only to refer to the many forms of gastro-enteritis and is a very common reason fora absence from work or education.  It saves the blunt, if truthful, statement to whoever that ""I'm sorry mate, I've got the sh1ts"    And probably some instances of the Technicolor© Yawn as well .  So why does the UK have these venues called "Gastro Pubs"???  Public houses where one may acquire such an infection?  Or does it in fact refer more to the word "Gastronomy" and the assumed higher-than-average quality of food served thereat?  

 

I shall leave the answer to your own experiences, dear ERs, as it may well vary among us.  Suffice to say our Aussie friends declined the invitation to dine at the local "Gastro Pub" when they visited a couple of years back ......... so we ended up with the same meals being delivered from there to here.  

[J. S. Bach]

19 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Nice one grandad, but unless you are old enough to know who the Beatles were  this is the modelling  workshop you want!

 

 

 

None of those are big enough for O scale. However the machine shop referred to by bear above is; well, at least some of it is.

[Pacific231G]

5 hours ago, PupCam said:

Looks like we've got a weather window ....   Clear Prop, Contact!

 

 

And it didn't have loads of gadgets, programmes and modes that no one want or uses.   I could easily be tempted next time.

 

And as for those other makes that put lasers on the B things so "you can count and measure the dust particles collected"  - who gives a flying fig!    Just clean the carpet will you?    Oh sorry, that's not one of the features that the vacuum cleaner has ...

 

 

No, that sort of thing is not for Puppers!

 

 

I'm not a pet person and as for so-called Exotic Pets, why on earth would you?

 

 

In the early days of my employment I used to use a pillar drill with a plate on the side proclaiming "Admiralty 1904".   Used to work a treat and would still be doing so if the factory was still there and that historic airfield at Hatfield hadn't been flattened to make way for various Distribution Facilities, posh car showrooms, offices for mobile phone companies, McDonald's and gravel extraction- what a complete an utter waste of our industrial heritage.

 

 

Precisely!      

 

A friend has been building a 1/3 scale Fokker DVII (and a might fine thing it is too).   To replicate many of the details e.g. radiator, machine guns, instruments, magnetos, engine valve gear etc he taught himself 3D modelling.   He was going to buy a semi-professional 3D printer to print the components with a possible view of developing a new line for his business but at the time they were out of reach so he coughed up and had them printed professionally.    If I recall, the print of the radiator alone cost him ~£400 but it (and all the other bits) are works of art.    I can't think of any other way of reproducing the hundreds of hexagonal holes in the radiator core.   If you are thinking of a drill and a file, good luck!

 

 

 

Anyway, take a gander at these photographs and tell me that is not modelling to the very highest standard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good afternoon all and greetings Pup

I've got a prospective new member of my flying group getting his check out tomorrow so my fingers are crossed that the weather gods aren't just teasing us with the current window.

 

That Fokker is definitely modelling of the very highest standard and looking over the hedge  at other modelling disciplines is always a good idea. Is it a static model of a flying one? ( I do sometimes wonder about very large scale flying model aircraft when they approach the size when it would seem to make as much sense to just build an aircraft you could actually fly in) 

A friend was telling me the other day about someone he knows who's built a superb large scale RC model of a Spitfire (probably not 1/3rd scale though)  The trouble is that having spent hundreds of hours building it he doesn't dare even start the engine let alone fly it. (gravity can be very unforgiving) 

There are apparently also quite a lot of superb working models of steam engines, both stationary and the  variety guided and supported by steel beams, that have never actually been allowed to get hot!  

As to what constitutes the appropriate techniques for modelling, the measure must surely be, was it enjoyable and did you get a sense of personal achievement from building it?  I've yet to meet a "scratchbuilder" who smelts their own metal and mines their own ore. 

 

I've just been to Oxfordshire and back to visit a friend who is in in "intermediate care" and the numpty level of the M40 was down to its usual weekend standard. On the way back I made the encouraging discovery that I could once again choose a filling station on price (£1.39- £1.45 excluding Motorway services) . 

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend

Edited October 16, 2021 by Pacific231G

[Coombe Barton]

... spam - Proceed to maintain up the excellent operate ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/10/16/maintaining-high-levels/

[Pacific231G]

12 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

 

As for your final point, I am shocked, yes - shocked, that an ostensibly “cake loving” ursine should be so cavalierly dismissive of one of Australia’s great contributions to culinary pleasure (another being the Peach Melba). An egregious insult, I agree (that’s much, much worse than claiming all Aussies drink Foster’s).

 

 

I'm shocked that you can even mention the Peach Melba when everyone knows that the Pavlova is the greatest antipodean* contribution to world cuisine.

*(I'm being deliberately diplomatic here as  I fear the risk of starting a war between Australia and New Zealand over claims of Pavlovan provenance  that could engulf us all)

Edited October 16, 2021 by Pacific231G
typo

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

"I'm sorry mate, I've got the sh1ts"    And probably some instances of the Technicolor© Yawn as well .  

 

 

Ah yes, the dreaded "double-ender...." 

Been there, done that - Mumbai is rather a good location for that little number.  Bear lost 14 lbs in 3 days.....

Would you like to see the video? 

 

2 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

So why does the UK have these venues called "Gastro Pubs"???  Public houses where one may acquire such an infection?  Or does it in fact refer more to the word "Gastronomy" and the assumed higher-than-average quality of food served thereat?  

 

 

The Gastro bit means the same grub (and double-ender) at a jacked-up price.  Cynical?  Moi?

 

52 minutes ago, Pacific231G said:

That Fokker is definitely modelling of the very highest standard and looking over the hedge  at other modelling disciplines is always a good idea. Is it a static model of a flying one? 

 

I very much suspect that's being built as a flyer....

 

52 minutes ago, Pacific231G said:

A friend was telling me the other day about someone he knows who's built a superb large scale RC model of a Spitfire (probably not 1/3rd scale though)  The trouble is that having spent hundreds of hours building it he doesn't dare even start the engine let alone fly it. (gravity can be very unforgiving) 

 

There is a model Spitfire - or is it a Hurricane - that is truly something else, and documented in a book IIRC.  I'm sure Puppers can guide us to the relevant piccies.....

edit:  Too late Puppers - here it is:

https://www.spitfireinmyworkshop.net/book/

With lots of piccies here:

https://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Glen.htm

 

52 minutes ago, Pacific231G said:

There are apparently also quite a lot of superb working models of steam engines, both stationary and the  variety guided and supported by steel beams, that have never actually been allowed to get hot!  

 

Many builders are happy to know they will run on compressed air - thus avoiding spoiling all that hard work by discolouring bits with hot steam....

 

Bear once had the privilege to talk to the builder of this little number - to say that he was the most down to earth guy would be an understatement; he also mentioned that many parts were made several times cos' he'd screwed a bit up somewhere during machining.  Kinda spoils your day when it's a cylinder head or crankshaft....

 

https://modelengineeringwebsite.com/Napier_aero_engine.html

 

Bear is still waiting for the window man - he's now on call 7 (I'm sure it was 8 earlier - I think the tracking is iffy) and I'm 10 - and it's almost dark.  I hope he's got a good lighting setup....

 

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by polybear

[New Haven Neil]

Evening orl.

 

Nice day out all the way to Port Erin - waaay down south.  The portion of the journey on the steam railway was somewhat enlivened by having a footplate ride offered unexpectedly, thanks to folk that Mrs NHN works with recognising her. Mrs NHN got first dibs though, the best part of the journey, its a run of 15 miles, the initial 5 miles or so is mostly uphill.  Dave H will be green. As was our steed, 'Kissack'.

 

iD, once when interviewing junior doctors for a rotation one of the questions was 'who do you think would be the most appropriate person to head a multi-disciplinary team' (this was mostly a psych rotation with GUM and cardio, odd mix but good for GP's), any who answered 'the doctor' went to the bottom of the pile!  

[Pacific231G]

3 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Many builders are happy to know they will run on compressed air - thus avoiding spoiling all that hard work by discolouring bits with hot steam....

 

Bear once had the privilege to talk to the builder of this little number - to say that he was the most down to earth guy would be an understatement; he also mentioned that many parts were made several times cos' he'd screwed a bit up somewhere during machining.  Kinda spoils your day when it's a cylinder head or crankshaft....

 

https://modelengineeringwebsite.com/Napier_aero_engine.html

 

Bear is still waiting for the window man - he's now on call 7 (I'm sure it was 8 earlier - I think the tracking is iffy) and I'm 10 - and it's almost dark.  I hope he's got a good lighting setup....

 

 

I think the word you may be anticipating is Mañana. (Though I did hear from a Welsh speaking friend that he didn't know of a word in his preferred language that could express that degree of urgency)

I used to love the compressed air powered model steam machines in the Science Museum- especially those in the Marine Engineering section. My favourite was the steam steering gear where you turned a wheel that represented the ships's wheel and the thing would chuff round after you. I never expected to see a real one until I made a film about the SS Shieldhall (while it was still in service with Southern Water) and there it was. Two triple expansion engines and that - engineering heaven!   

[tigerburnie]

Evening, quiet day today recovering from yesterdays hill walking.................................bits ache that I had forgot I still had lol. A bit of the "G" word in the greenhouse brought about by buying bulbs and pots in the Garden Centre, along with a free coffee, I like free things lol. Tele tonight is dire, headphones and some Youtube may well happen when Strictly starts.

[Gwiwer]

24 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

The Gastro bit means the same grub (and double-ender) at a jacked-up price.  Cynical?  Moi?

Non. 
 

It has spread to the supermarkets.  Ocado substituted an item on Friday’s order with “Gastropub Classic Mash”.   £2.16 for about a medium spud’s-worth of hyped up mashed spud. 
 

I rejected it. It was a substitute for cabbage; last time I looked fresh cabbage bore no resemblance to pre-mashed potato. I can also make my own mash much more cheaply. Add a knob of butter and season and hey - gastropub classic mash!  For about 20p instead of £2.16 a portion.