Early Risers.

[grandadbob]

The morning's domestic tasks have been completed and The Boss has declared the premises fit for human habitation and more importantly for our visitors.  I believe I have gained a few more Brownie points. 

I've been asked what I'd like for lunch, not sure yet but it won't be a lot due to the diet.  Mind that's about to go out of the window this afternoon and tonight as I feel I should have a beer or two whilst watching rugby (it's the law here) and tonight there will be slow cooked chilli beef followed by apple & plum crumble and custard all accompanied with some wine.    Oh dear, there is no hope for me.

[DaveF]

My thoughts are with PhilJ W and his family, also congratulations to others. 

 

Today started dull and mild and nothing has changed yet.

 

When I came back from my walk my left big toe felt sore, investigation revealed some missing skin and a badly worn lining to my left shoe and the right one wasn't much better.  Then I looked at the soles and found they were very thin, so the shoes have gone in the bin and my toe is held together with a sticking plaster.  After lunch I watched a German programme about the new Gotthard Tunnel and then Father Brown, entertaining as always.

 

After that I decided I needed some more warm socks so went into town, parked near the shop and bought an assortment of medium and thick thermal socks.  I am tired of having cold feet.  This morning things are better, my body temperature has managed to get up to 36.1!

Edited February 4, 2023 by DaveF

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

More moved.

 2 more wheelbarrows of soil 

1 more wheelbarrow of rocks, bricks, concrete and bits of metal.

Only a couple of dozen daffs...

 

Ben walked, much birdlife singing away, we were buzzed by 50 plus birds, didn't get a clear view, but they appeared to be grey in colour about crow sized but plumper. 

Ben cut short his long walk due to noises, I think a nail gun...

 

Eyelid inspection time.

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Will be going out shortly to Tess Coes to get a few essentials, and to draw more tokens for the toy fair tomorrow (Rayleigh). If you want cold Mount Washington is the place to be, with the added wind chill it will be -78C.

 https://nypost.com/2023/02/04/mount-washington-as-cold-as-mars-as-polar-vortex-brings-record-breaking-windchills-of-110/

[Tony_S]

12 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Will be going out shortly to Tess Coes to get a few essentials, and to draw more tokens for the toy fair tomorrow (Rayleigh). If you want cold Mount Washington is the place to be, with the added wind chill it will be -78C.

 https://nypost.com/2023/02/04/mount-washington-as-cold-as-mars-as-polar-vortex-brings-record-breaking-windchills-of-110/

This was taken in August 2009. 30 minutes later the wind and rain were amazing. Matthew and I were a couple of feet in front of Aditi and she lost sight of us and walked into the wrong car park. You can’t see all our wet weather clothing in the rucksacks at our feet. Up there you need to be prepared for anything even for walking to the restaurant from the car park or train. 

[New Haven Neil]

A'noon, one of those messy days.

 

Commiserations and congratulations where required.

 

Off out first thing to give the camper a good run out before it rains again, or they salt the roads.  All the way down to Port Erin for brunch, some shopping, etc etc.

 

I'm a bit sore after the injections into my hip yesterday which turned out to be much more involved than previous treatments of the ilk, at least feeling has come back into 'the parts' now!  There's lot of bruising, I won't show you a photo you'll be pleased to know.  It'll take a few days or longer to know what effect it has had.  There's a lot of holes.  Didn't sleep well as a result, rather cream crackered now, but.....

 

We're off out to the Big City tonight with friend Jayne, to a 'posh Indian' for a birthday meal for both her and Mrs NHN who both celebrate their last year of their 50's this week.  Not sure what this place is like, bit trendy for my liking 'Orange Indya' apparently.  Oh well.....cripes its expensive, it had better be good.  Not sure Aditi would consider it Indian, I'll report back.

[45156]

19 hours ago, grandadbob said:

Just found this on YouTube.  I suspect that Stewart @45156 and other pickers and strummers may like it.

 

 

Yes indeed - I've been a subscriber to all four main participants channels for some time, and they are all superb musicians, both collectively, and individually - nice to see that I'm in good company - they have toured Europe as a foursome without the bass player, but I've yet to see them live.

[Coombe Barton]

... And the gift that keeps on giving </irony> ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/02/04/algorithm-changes-and-different-data-and-still-8-up-on-yesterday/

[TheQ]

My sailing friend turned up and we've just had a couple of hours chat, he brought with him a bottle of English whisky, smokey, very nice it is too.

He doesn't like whisky... 

We also had an inspection of Blue Moon and the work that's being done to it.

Ben was happy, another person to throw the ball for him.

 

My friend has departed on his Triumph Tiger 900... Which has just had its first service..

 

[The White Rabbit]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

This was taken in August 2009. 30 minutes later the wind and rain were amazing. Matthew and I were a couple of feet in front of Aditi and she lost sight of us and walked into the wrong car park. You can’t see all our wet weather clothing in the rucksacks at our feet. Up there you need to be prepared for anything even for walking to the restaurant from the car park or train. 

 

Sounds like Snowdonia - or Ribblehead! 

 

Afternoon all. A dull day here but the wind has thankfully dropped. The fields are sodden, didn't really dry out from the rains a week or so ago. Teeth gritted and a walk out done. Unfortunately one of the two dogs we usually see has passed on. At 16 and as a few days ago she looked very shaky, it was no surprise .. but ...  Thankfully it was in her sleep overnight. 

 

Tesco have dropped a major clanger ... again. We have been trying their delivery service instead of going down to the local store. Order cancelled four hours before delivery was due, no explanation, no alternatives offered. Oh, your money will be refunded within 3-5 working days. (I should charge them interest!) Major snottogram sent. It's not the first time they have fouled up. They are on their final warning. 

 

Hopefully those with parties and celebrations planned can use someone more reliable. Congrats to Mr B. Sympathies with Phil (and others). As far as injuries and illnesses go, I'll join Neil in promising not to post any pictures of the relevant parts. Even our Swiss correspondent might flinch a little. 

 

More cheerfully, more snowdrops have bloomed and the crocuses are putting out plenty of leaves. And no aliums yet but some of the other bulbs put in last autumn are emerging. The pink sorrel and wallflowers are also looking healthy. 

[Tony_S]

2 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

more snowdrops have bloomed and the crocuses are putting out plenty of leaves.

Ours are the other way round! Lots of leaves on the snowdrops and crocus are in flower. 

[polybear]

Bear here.....

Leccy C.U. Box sanded.  Tick

Two coats of Primer added.  Tick

Some prep of the Hallway wall carried out - much more to do.  Tiny Tick.

 

Today's din dins was somewhat adventurous for this Bear; I've had a packet of "iNDi Grand" Balti Curry Sauce in the cupboard for soooo long it was 2 years past it's "Best Before" date - I've never tried it before and when I saw it in Home Bargains I thought I'd give it a punt.  Actually it was rather good** - I bunged it on top of some of the freebie Broccoli & Carrots from NNNND, as well as some Peas.  Seemed to work ok too.  Oh yes, and I bunged a Scotch Egg on top for good measure.  Not quite sure what Aditi would've made of it though.....

 

(**TBC - it's quite possible that the Beary Bottie may have other views tomorrow.....🤣).

 

Incidentally, Bear has a sealed unopened packet of "Tilda Long Grain Rice" that's got a BBE date of July 2020 - will it be worth trying, or shall I ditch it?  Google suggests that'll be safe.

 

Bear gone.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Had a nice time on walkabout.. then.. a message from my big sis.. her SiL has passed away.

 

This was expected but my sisters fellow executor lives in the USA.. and her husband is very ill in hospital.....

 

Then, it transpires a next door neighbour who is due to det a lotbof the estate, has been dipping into bank accounts etc before she died with no power of attorney.  Bank reckonsbit was OK as they had had a "verbal" request (!) to allow her to do so. Police have already been informed...

 

Talking about Italy has helped big sis a lot I hope.

 

Baz

[BR traction instructor]

I had a situation when my wife died in 2016 where she left the money originally meant for her sister & family to charity cos her sister had been casing the homes of elderly family/relatives, emptying houses of valuables into her loft, valuing ornaments etc after visiting other relatives…she made the mistake of telling my wife who informed/instructed  others of what was happening and to leave nothing to her sister.

 

The same individual had apparently stolen the money that an elderly aunt, living with the family some decades previously, had put aside for her funeral, in order to buy a car for her daughter.

 

I received veiled threats (from the same creature) via a third party, of consequences if monies weren’t forthcoming but had no hesitation in carrying out the instructions of my late wife.

 

BeRTIe

Edited February 5, 2023 by BR traction instructor

[PeterBB]

Thoughts with Barry O family.

 

Snowdrop and daffodil greenery around but not flowers and croci have not even surfaced.

 

In some ways the late/first in-laws did what they could and their total 'remaining donated wealth' was a cheque for 14d (old money).

[Gwiwer]

35 minutes ago, polybear said:

Bear has a sealed unopened packet of "Tilda Long Grain Rice" that's got a BBE date of July 2020 - will it be worth trying, or shall I ditch it?  Google suggests that'll be safe.

Sealed dry rice should be perfectly fine and the date is only “Best Before” (which is no longer legally required) not “Use By” (which is because some foods are much more risky). One thing: cook what you need, discard any uneaten cooked rice and use the opened pack reasonably quickly. 

[Gwiwer]

Evening all. 
 

The rest of my world seems to have been engaged in the sport of watching-the-egg-chasing today.
 

The Hill of Strawberries has, as is the custom, acted as a relief point for the large stadium up the road.  Knowing persons hike the extra mile-plus each way rather than be part of the queueing systems. For trains, beers, eats and bladder-relief. Not that there’s much here for them on any of those counts but at least there isn’t a queue for the hedge or a wettie on the lamp-post.

 

In other news some research and some writing was done. Some painting of the new b**eb**rd was done. And some Domestic Engineering was engaged in. 
 

Dr. SWMBO is feeling a little under the weather. She claims to have a cold. The test strip says it isn’t Wuhan Woohaa. She has also had a series of medical appointments with more in the week ahead most of which have proved uncomfortable physically and / or mentally.

 

With the passing of her uncle in Australia a few days ago and the stresses of selling our own house out there it would be fair to say she isn’t having an easy year of it so far. 
.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Gwiwer
It’s my post and I’ll edit if I want to.

[Ozexpatriate]

On 03/02/2023 at 09:02, Ian Abel said:

Outside temperature this morning retrieving the newspaper... -25c - a dubious win for sure, but I don't expect any other ERs can beat that.

Out correspondent from Guelph, ON ( @BR60103 ) came close at -21°C on Friday if the Accuweather website is as accurate as it implies.

 

It has been very cold in eastern states/provinces in the last day or so.

 

News reports indicated that the wind chill temperatures* at Mt. Washington, NH were the coldest on record anywhere in the US, including Alaska. 

 

* Though not actual temperatures - which are the 'official' record.

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Mention of deceased estates reminded me that the estate of my S-i-L has still not been settled more than a year after her death and my brothers serious illness isn't helping. Basically the property (a bungalow in Romford) was owned by her first husbands family and eventually was divided up between five family members one of whom was her first husband. Naturally as there were no children she inherited her husbands 20% and as she died intestate my brother is the heir to that. The difficulty is that the owners (cousins of her first husband)  of the other 80% cannot be traced. Seeing as they would all be in their late eighties/nineties by now most if not all would have passed away. The solicitor has reached a dead end having only traced one cousin who also died intestate and without any heirs.

[monkeysarefun]

4 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

Oh, your money will be refunded within 3-5 working days

Thats pretty poor gotta say. We only have 2 real supermarket chains so you'd think customer service would be of the "Complain all you like - Who else ya gonna use, huh?!" level,  but I've actually found the opposite.

 

Ive been using one chains click and collect option since lockdown because I find it infinitely better to put together an online order at work at lunchtime then pull into the supermarket carpark on the way home from work, click their apps "I'm here!" button  and have someone arrive at my boot 30 seconds later with a filled trolley, than spending the extra half hour or so walking up the aisles trying to remember what I need.

 

I've never had any problems in the years I've been doing it until Friday morning when I went to the fridge to get the new block of cheese from the Thursday order , couldn't find it  then realised I couldn't recall putting it away to begin with. I checked the car boot without luck, then I checked the order and saw that two items that were shown as delivered were missing, value $17.00.  Given that the order showed thm as delivered  I was pretty dubious about how I'd be able to convince them that they were actually missing and I wasn't just doing a swindle.

 

I opened their websites  chat window (their first line of communication option) when I got to work and spoke to Olive the chatbot who expressed concern and touching sympathy that I was missing items, asked for the order number, then gave me the list of things in the  order. I ticked the appropriate  boxes and she apologised profusely and told me that she was organising a refund. I clicked the disconnect chat button at the very  same time as I got the email notification sound caused by an  email from paypal saying that I had a $17.00 refund from Woolworths.

Well, I was impressed, anyway.

Edited February 4, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Ozexpatriate]

On 03/02/2023 at 01:52, PhilJ W said:

Spy balloons?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64507225

The errant Chinese 'weather balloon' has been shot down. I wonder if the one over Latin America wandered off course too?

[PhilJ W]

22 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

The errant Chinese 'weather balloon' has been shot down. I wonder if the one over Latin America wandered off course too?

I thought that they wouldn't shoot it down because of the danger of falling debris?

[Coombe Barton]

5 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I thought that they wouldn't shoot it down because of the danger of falling debris?

Waited until it got over the Atlantic coast into territorial waters

 

US shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon over Atlantic Ocean. Balloon was downed over North Carolina coast, with the goal of recovering the remnants before they sink into the ocean

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/04/chinese-spy-balloon-shot-down-us

[PhilJ W]

I would have thought that the best way to deal with the balloon would be to puncture it sufficiently to make it descend slowly so that it could be captured intact.

[Ozexpatriate]

Just now, PhilJ W said:

I would have thought that the best way to deal with the balloon would be to puncture it sufficiently to make it descend slowly so that it could be captured intact.

My guess, is that it was more important to have a controlled recovery space where a local can't get to it first - the USN is very good at underwater recoveries and assets can more easily be maneuvered to be in place ahead of time than over irregular terrain. There's no guarantees on what is/isn't part of the payload including (conceivably) fuel cells* which can be dangerous to handle.

 

* More likely Li-ion batteries, given the solar panels

 

Logistically it was tricky. The plan (speculated yesterday) was to down it within the 12 mile limit of territorial waters - trickier than it might sound from 60,000' with variable wind.