Early Risers.

[jjb1970]

Well, we're now into 2023 here, so Happy New Year to y'all!!! I hope 2023 will be full of good fortune and happiness and that things in the world will improve!

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I thought I could detect a draught  and I was wondering where it came from. A few minutes ago I went out to take in the waste food container, it was then that I found that I hadn't given the extra key turn on the double deadlock to close the seals on the front door. The door is now properly closed and no draughts. Its blowing a real hooly out there at the moment and thats more likely to affect tonights firework display than the rain. There was an item on the BBC London news about tonights fireworks that have apparently been placed on barges floating on the River Thames.

[DaveF]

In my post earlier today I mentioned dull damp weather.

 

Most of the time I love living on the north east coast, but in winter it can be a bit dull and dismal at times.

 

I think these photos I took yesterday show it quite well - but it isn't like this most of the time.

 

 

Beach on a dull day 1  30th December 2022

 

 

Beach on a dull day 2    30th December 2022

 

David

 

[Ozexpatriate]

11 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear (having been listening to the first four Harry Potter Books repeatedly via Alexa whilst doing the Lounge & H/S/L refurbs) was rather hoping they'd be shown again - and they weren't.

They were here. My son and I ended up watching the end of Deathly Hallows II in the wee hours of Christmas morning.

[Barry O]

Happy New Year!!

 

Baz

 

On walkabout.

[monkeysarefun]

46 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

They were here. My son and I ended up watching the end of Deathly Hallows II in the wee hours of Christmas morning.

I turned on the telly last night to catch the fireworks to find that channel 10 were playing Top Gun, which seemed strange after yesterdays posts on the topic.

Met my share of US fastjet  pilots through work, none of them seemed to be overly "I feel the need, the need  for speed!" types.

I recall one major exercise around 2001 which included air forces from Australia, US, Singapore, Cambodia, India, NZ, Malaysia and a few other S.E Asia nations who I forget. It was run out of the Air Operations Centre at work so we had dozens of different airforces  representatives doing mission planning , and at least 2 US specialists for each airframe type, F-16, F-18, B-52, a couple of super secret things etc.

One guy was from some  base back in the US and was wanting Australian words to use for new callsigns for their base. We gave him quite a few, I like to think that somewhere over midwest USA theres "Bloody Drongo, this is Dog Rooter, over" and so on going on still..

Edited December 31, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[BoD]

5 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

Well, we're now into 2023 here, so Happy New Year to y'all!!! I hope 2023 will be full of good fortune and happiness and that things in the world will improve!

What won tonight’s lottery then?

Edited December 31, 2022 by BoD

[PeterBB]

12 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Today would have been my mums 103rd birthday. Hardly a day goes by without thinking about her although she died 35 years ago.

I haven't had my jabs yet. Its not apathy but the venue (the local Boots) is inaccessible to me and when I mentioned it all they sent me was a list of alternatives, those I tried were fully booked and many were to far away. The previous two jabs I received a notification and were held in places that were easily accessible. This year  all that I got was an e-mail reminder to get jabbed with a link to book the jab and the times and places which as I said above were not suitable.

Sorry that you have not been able to get your entitled right.  Do know the problem as early on was given Birmingham places that were out of the question to reach.  Where we are now had quite a period when anyone of the right age or need could just turn up as many notified were not appearinkg.

Polymer - yes, agree your comment on my 'apathy' groan re: vacination

 

Will not be seeing the New Year in on this wet and very windy day. but wishing everybody a better 2023 than 2022.

 

Unintentional but today is the very first day since living here that I have not even been outside. 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Not much in the way of fireworks here, still blowing a hooly. That means that if anyone fired off a rocket it would probably land in the Q's neck of the woods.

[Natalie]

Hi and all best wishes to all.

 

I am around and do read at least once everyday so am lurking in the background (in the Shadows but am no HBM...). I just don't have anything worth sharing most of the time so don't. I do appreciate it when my whereabouts is mentioned so thanks for that.

 

I wonder if some of our more educated, learned and sociable members could please explain to me the logic of letting explosive devices off prior to (ie just had some now at 2218) the accepted celebration time seemingly to 'celebrate' the arrival of a new year.

 

I am not a fan of it but can understand that as the countdown reaches zero you would let some explosives off at that point to mark the transition. But over 90 mins before??? In the days of Auld Lang Syne and a glass of bubbly I seem to recall this took place at 12mn.

 

If you watch the 'celebrations' from around the world they are all characterised by the countdown then a firework display. The display takes place at the actual time.

 

If you are going to mark an event at least do it at the correct time. I  don't understand the whole concept at all.

 

Best wishes to you all and I hope that 2023 brings a better year (more caring, compassion and consideration) than the appalling 2022 which I bid good riddance to. 

 

Here's to all our furry friends who keep us safe and have to endure the explosions too.

 

Finally a thought for all those in pain, despair, poverty and sorrow and we remember most warmly our much missed friends and family members.

 

Much love and friendship,

Nat, Bracken (the Dog) and Minnie (the Mop)

Edited December 31, 2022 by Natalie

[pH]

Well, that’s been 15 years of erudite discussions mindless wittering. 

[PhilJ W]

Here's wishing all ER's a happy new year.

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Would have liked an early night but having dogs I’ve got Alexa on playing some ‘relaxing’ music on for the dogs. Not my type of relaxing music but it seems to be working on Hovis and Sydney.

I’ll be glad to be rid of this year and without holding my breath I hope next year is a better one for us all.

Happy New Year,

Robert

Hopefully they’ll keep like this until morning.

Edited December 31, 2022 by Erichill16
Add picture

[Tony_S]

We are back home. We set off to Canterbury for lunch with friends, who used to be colleagues of Aditi’s. It was an Indian lunch, mainly vegetarian but with a chicken curry as well.

The family have a couple of children and I was persuaded by the 7 year old to take part in a Pokémon board game. All those hours studying Pokémon with Matthew many years ago enabled me to lose, but with some style! We ended up staying later than lunch especially when I was asked if I could make sense of their solar panel installation documentation. It had been installed for the previous house owner.

Aditi’s friend is Sikh and Aditi ended up having a video chat with her friends parents. This was done in Punjabi which as Aditi hasn’t spoken it regularly for years was quite fun. They spoke to me in English. 
It has been a really nice day. The rain was a bit fierce at times going but wasn’t too bad coming home. There was a wind warning on the Medway bridge but I didn’t notice anything. 
We saw a few fireworks in the sky on the way home but it is quiet now, perhaps,at midnight there will be some. We don’t usually stay up for any midnight celebration.

[BSW01]

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[NGT6 1315]

Cheers and happy new year to all of you! I‘ll just leave this here as an illustration of the kind of determined spirit I’d like the world to embrace once again…

 

 

 

Also, may I second the thoughts for everyone under the weather and indeed absent from our middle. You are not forgotten and never will be, as long as we are around.

[zarniwhoop]

Happy New Year, and may you receive whatever you wish for!

 

I've been watching BBC1 Scotland (the land of my fathers 🤣), nice fireworks - I'm recording the Ceilidh from BBC Alba and will catch up with that in a wee while.

 

Nice fireworks from Edinbugh ( I suppose, the piper certainly was but do they have what looks like the London Eye ?) and although we had some distant rockets here at 20:25 I think most people started theirs at midnight and some are still going off.

 

Commiserations to those caring for animals at this time. Gotta go, do some quality control on Isle of Jura and real Val Dobbiadene 'secco.

 

ĸen

[monkeysarefun]

59 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

I’ll be glad to be rid of this year and without holding my breath I hope next year is a better one for us all.

 

 

Sounds like everyone here on New Years Eve at the end of  2019, in the middle of a decade long drought, half the place on fire, toxic thick smoke everywhere and travel bans on so we were all locked down inside our houses and couldnt go anywhere . "At least 2020 has to get better!:" we all said...

Edited January 1, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Gwiwer]

 

Happy New Year. Happy Hog-as-manay-as-ye-can. And always with the accent on “happy”. 

[Darlington_Shed]

Happy new year to all! @Gwiwer- you look like you're on your knees there. Second bottle?

 

I haven't started with the hard stuff yet - red wine so far, and maybe a dram or two before bed. Hic!

[Gwiwer]

2 minutes ago, Darlington_Shed said:

you look like you're on your knees there. Second bottle?

More a case of getting me in line with the kitchen bench to get everything in shot!  Raasay isn’t that easy to find so yes this is my second bottle but that’s in three years not just tonight!!! 

[Grizz]

Happy New Year all ERs…

 

Suitably anaesthetised I’m off to B Bise now….night night.. 😴

[Darlington_Shed]

Just now, Gwiwer said:

More a case of getting me in line with the kitchen bench to get everything in shot!

 

Brave man... I doubt I'd be able to get up again!

[Gwiwer]

34 minutes ago, Darlington_Shed said:

 

Brave man... I doubt I'd be able to get up again!

Oh I wasn’t planning on getting up again. Not until mid-morning anyway!!!