Early Risers.

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a misty Charente though a strange yellow object is trying to appear. More soil got shovelled yesterday aaftershopping and a trip to the quacks.  Today we are off to Niortfor Beth to see a pneumologue. Then it's lunch at a hood Italian restaurant and various bits of shopping. Not a bad day in prospect.  

 

As a young bobby I was taught to always go to the back door, never the front, that was only for the doctor and the priest.  In 1974 in the pit villages we were usually offered a cuppa, whatever we had called for. The women folk still had the folk memory of the police knocking on the door with bad news from an accident down the pit. Anything else was a welcome surprise.  We covered the village of Lofthouse and the disaster there had only been in 1972.

 

Jamie

 

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Another bright and sunny start to the day here in England’s northwest corner. Although it’s sunny, at -1C it’s colder than yesterday, and there’s a frost on the workshop roof! 

 

My first task today is a walk to the surgery for my 3 monthly hormone injection, which is to keep my cancer at bay. After that, we’re off to collect Ava, as she’s off school due to the teacher ps being on strike. The plan is to head to RHS Bridgewater and have a walk through the woodland area and of course, call for a cup of tea and a slice! 

 

Back later

 

Brian

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Cold start but the sun has already cleared the frost from the cars.  It should be a dry and bright morning but will cloud over this afternoon and probably rain later.  2°C rising to 8 or 9°C.

Still hobbling about as The Back has continued to give me grief. I might try a walk around the block to see if that loosens things up.

Nothing else planned today apart from a couple of minor financial things to deal with.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

[TheQ]

Salt on a table at school? Must have been posh, no condiments at any of the 5 schools I went to.

 

I remember buying my first cassette player, used the money I earnt working as a summer holiday job to buy it, so that would be 1970 ..

Recorded my little brother born in 68, opening his Christmas presents that year , great tape to embarrass him In front of his children...

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I was only in bed for half an hour last nigh when the sciatica struck. It kept me awake for most of the night so I need some more ZZZZZ's.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, from a chilly rock, -1c first thing, 3 now, 'feels like' 0.

 

Adding to the body count, I did see a Shanghai docker crushed by 5 tons of newsprint - further details not really suitable for here, and I am sure I have told the tale of the paramedics and the head - not one I witnessed myself, but demonstrated the black humour developed to cope with these situations.

 

Today sees the boss working from home, so I had better look like I'm doing something.  LOL

 

The new mattress is approved, a better night had by both, and with not having to rush up for work we had what counts as a lye in.  0730!

 

@BSW01 That overhanging contrate gear where the drive turns 90 degrees looks a bit dodgy?  I appreciate that's part of the original design, but it doesn't look very well supported.

 

 

[BoD]

38 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

I did see a Shanghai docker crushed by 5 tons of newsprint

Was it black and white and red all over?

 

Sorry folks.

[BSW01]

42 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

@BSW01 That overhanging contrate gear where the drive turns 90 degrees looks a bit dodgy?  I appreciate that's part of the original design, but it doesn't look very well supported.

 

 

@New Haven Neil Fear not! There is a shaft that runs between the frames and the brass bushes at the ends of both bevel gears, but it’s hidden by spacer shaft in the photo, as can clearly be seen in the photo below, which is taken from a different angle. 
 

Edited March 15, 2023 by BSW01

[Hroth]

40 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

and I am sure I have told the tale of the paramedics and the head

 

One I heard of was of a motorcyclist coming down a steep hill at a considerable rate of knots, overtaking a car and going straight into another car coming up the hill.  His body went through the windscreen and his head...  Well, lets say the police spent some time searching through the bracken alongside the road.

 

[The Johnster]

4 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

Does anyone remember the old custom of keeping the front room of a house immaculately, nicely furnished and with the family heirlooms on display, but which was only used to recieve special guests (not the riff raff like normal friends and family)? Or was that a Carlisle thing. I remember growing up in the 70's and 80's my grandparents and all the grandparents of my friends maintained their front rooms as a showcase, the custom was dying out in my parents generation.

Not just Carlisle, my mum’s rellies up the valleys 20 years earlier (and they were legion) kept their front rooms immaculate but never used them except for laying out the dead.  Seemed an utterly pointless waste to me; the terraced houses were not exactly spacious and there was this best space utterly unused; life centred around the coal-fired stove in the kitchen with it’s permanently simmering kettle.  It was about keeping up appearances, a sort of lace-

curtain pseudo-respectability that everybody joined in. 
 

Back down in my middle-class 50s Cardiff world, the front room was still kept and span, but was much more integrated into family life, and used.  The term ‘lounge’ was not in vogue until late in the 60s, it was the front room, and we had a living room/dining room and a ‘middle room’ as well, a lot more space than a modern home would have.  The front room was used for tea on Sundays, the fire would be lit in winter, and mother would bang out singsong tunes on the old upright.  
 

A blind tuner would give it a going over once a year, and he could play properly!   The idea of a blind man being able to play piano at all fascinated me as a child, never mind being able to delight us with orchestral standard playing!

[polybear]

4 hours ago, TheQ said:

Salt on a table at school? Must have been posh, no condiments at any of the 5 schools I went to.

 

Bear's secondary school had salt + vinegar (not sure about pepper) - you did have to be careful that some tvrd hadn't loosened the sprinkler cap though 🤬; a certain bear had his din dins swimmin' in half a jar of vinegar on at least one occasion 🤬. 

 

Bear has been wieldin' all morning - all the brake shoes are now fitted 😀, though I did manage to bvgger the brake ratchet loop in the progress.  Turdycurses.  A replacement has now been formed and fitted, and in somewhat shorter time than the original.  The brake lever will be refitted shortly.

 

In other news....

Bear is currently watching the goings-on in The Big House; no sign of any discounts on LDC (or any other cake) for that matter.  TC's

 

Bear gone.

 

 

 

[Winslow Boy]

14 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Bear's secondary school had salt + vinegar (not sure about pepper) - you did have to be careful that some tvrd hadn't loosened the sprinkler cap though 🤬; a certain bear had his din dins swimmin' in half a jar of vinegar on at least one occasion 🤬. 

 

Bear has been wieldin' all morning - all the brake shoes are now fitted 😀, though I did manage to bvgger the brake ratchet loop in the progress.  Turdycurses.  A replacement has now been formed and fitted, and in somewhat shorter time than the original.  The brake lever will be refitted shortly.

 

In other news....

Bear is currently watching the goings-on in The Big House; no sign of any discounts on LDC (or any other cake) for that matter.  TC's

 

Bear gone.

 

 

 

 

Sorry Bear I believe those are classed as luxuries so might be subject to a wild fall tax due to their excessive profits.

[Gwiwer]

1 minute ago, Winslow Boy said:

a wild fall tax

As opposed to a tame or domesticated fall?

[New Haven Neil]

3 hours ago, BoD said:

Was it black and white and red all over?

 

Sorry folks.

 

It was.......and not a nice sight.  My first view of a human's insides.

[New Haven Neil]

3 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

One I heard of was of a motorcyclist coming down a steep hill at a considerable rate of knots, overtaking a car and going straight into another car coming up the hill.  His body went through the windscreen and his head...  Well, lets say the police spent some time searching through the bracken alongside the road.

 

 

Oh, OK then.  Back when I was a stressed NHS junior manager, I used to often have lunch with a couple of the paramedics who frequented our canteen.   They came in one day very down in the dumps, having just been disciplined with final warnings, having made comment at an RTC that one victim was dead.  They had a junior, junior doctor with them on experience and he had reported them as only a doctor could declare death.  The fact the person was dead was not in doubt - you can imagine.

 

Not long afterwards, they came in in hoots of laughter, and it turned out that they had attended another nasty RTC with the same doctor - a car under-ran the back of a truck, the driver was beheaded.  The paramedic retrieved the head, turned to the doctor and said 'tell me this one's not f^%$£g dead then'. 

[BoD]

2 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

It was.......and not a nice sight.  My first view of a human's insides.

I have been fortunate (or have led a very sheltered life) in that I have never been involved in or seen the aftermath of a bad accident.   Furthermore the only dead bodies I have ever seen were ‘planned’ sightings of close relatives at or shortly after the point of death - in, despite the circumstances, not unpleasant or distressing surroundings.

 

For all of which I am most thankful.

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

One I heard of was of a motorcyclist coming down a steep hill at a considerable rate of knots, overtaking a car and going straight into another car coming up the hill.  His body went through the windscreen and his head...  Well, lets say the police spent some time searching through the bracken alongside the road.

 

Closed casket job?

[Hroth]

3 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Closed casket job?

 

Lord knows.

I hear that undertakers can do a lot with makup and a carefully positioned scarf.

 

[DaveF]

I got up at the usual time this morning, noticed it was cold and frosty and then realised I had a lot I wanted to do after breakfast  including some shopping so that has kept me busy until now.

 

Yesterday was a lovely sunny morning so I went out to take some photos fairly soon after breakfast.  I achieved a few nice photos of things passing by at high speed at a level crossing - those who look at my photo thread will have seen them.  However the wind was very cold and the field was wet so after about half an hour I decided to return home. 

 

However my chosen route took me past two nature reserves, I stopped at the bigger one, for once there was plenty of space to park and decided to walk along the tarmac path as far as the pond and back - the whole place takes me at least 45 minutes to walk right round, so this was only a short stroll.  Fortunately I had my Nikon with me as when I reached the bird feeding area one of the birdwatchers quietly spoke to me saying there was a red squirrel on its feeder.  I was there for about 20 minutes watching it.  I only had an 18-200mm lens with me, I could have done with something much longer but I managed a few photos which when cropped look OK.

 

There were also a lot of birds about.

 

Eventually the squirrel stopped lifting up the lid of the feeder and getting out more nuts and set off up the tree top a branch near the top to finish its meal.  Then I finished the rest of my walk and came home for coffee.

 

Red squirrels are not that uncommon near me, there are several at the local golf course who apparently turn up at feeding time everyday - one of the staff feeds them.  There are others in several places around town where there are trees, but they are very secretive.

 

On the way home I noticed two flattened road signs and a large hole in the roadside wall at Seaton Delaval Hall - I think some people must have found driving on the recent icy days too challenging.

 

In the afternoon I finished going the boxes from the loft and found a number of useful things - including my spare transformer and controller.  Everything is now put away tidily and can easily be found.  Now I can get on with other things in the loft - after a few days doing something else for a change.

 

Red Squirrel 

 

 

 

 

David

Edited March 15, 2023 by DaveF

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Another bit of eyelid inspection this morning  and I'm feeling less tired. The arthritis and sciatica seem to be slowly easing but are still hanging about in the background.

[Danemouth]

3 hours ago, The Johnster said:

Not just Carlisle, my mum’s rellies up the valleys 20 years earlier (and they were legion) kept their front rooms immaculate but never used them except for laying out the dead. 

 

When I worked in Wales Gas one of my colleagues was a former Meter Reader. He recalled going to a house in the Valleys where said room had an occupied coffin in front of the cupboard containing the meter. He had to go under the coffin to read the meter.

 

I thank the Lord that I have never witnessed the things some of you have seen.

 

Dave

[jjb1970]

There was a high profile case a couple of years ago where the master/captain of a container ship died on-board and the body ended up stuck in the ships frozen store room as no port would allow it to be repatriated despite the best efforts of the shipping line. In a way, he was lucky, there were other seafarers with life threatening and/or seriously debilitating injuries and illnesses trapped on-board because ports denied access to medical care and repatriation (in violation of legal obligations).

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

Removed several bits of the old steering gear.

Started fitting new steering gear to BM, managed to round off the posidrive in the head of a screw, it's only half in the wood but so far all I've done is extract blood from a knuckle not the screw. There ain't a lot of room in there. Gave up as a bad job today. 

 

Cross bar removed, new handles fitted twice.. first position I tried, I got half way out and got stuck. Having moved the handles 6 inches further away, they now work.

 

As the forecast tomorrow isn't good, went for a sheet of ply today. Out side BQ still chaos with the road works.. though they shouldn't be called works as there was no one there.

Followed by Tes and Coes, absolutely no own brand tea in stock... 

Firelighters. Used to buy a big box of 60, now you can only get a box of 16, all individually wrapped, the cost seems about the same...

 

Occular covers inspection required.

Bye for now.

[pH]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Oh, OK then.  Back when I was a stressed NHS junior manager, I used to often have lunch with a couple of the paramedics who frequented our canteen.   They came in one day very down in the dumps, having just been disciplined with final warnings, having made comment at an RTC that one victim was dead.  They had a junior, junior doctor with them on experience and he had reported them as only a doctor could declare death.  The fact the person was dead was not in doubt - you can imagine.

 

Not long afterwards, they came in in hoots of laughter, and it turned out that they had attended another nasty RTC with the same doctor - a car under-ran the back of a truck, the driver was beheaded.  The paramedic retrieved the head, turned to the doctor and said 'tell me this one's not f^%$£g dead then'. 

I’ve been told a very similar story about a crewman on a rescue helicopter calling in a code indicating they had picked up a body, which required different arrangements on landing. When he was reprimanded, being told that he could not assess death, he pointed out that the body was in the state you describe.

[Ian Abel]

9 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I don’t know about you and your mates Andy, but a real object of teenage lustful desire for me and my chums was the Revox A77 Reel-To-Reel Tape Recorder (we’d congregate in front of the shops selling high end HiFi gear and basically drool). Way beyond unaffordable for us.

 

Like this??? 😃 I couldn't pass it up. Sadly it's not exactly state-of-the-art now and even with high-speed FWD/REW can't easily find anything you may want to skip too.

I got the NAB hubs and always used some higher end 10.5 inch tapes for the music.

 

 

HUMP day.

Yesterday a very enjoyable lunch with Trevor before I had to cut it somewhat shorter with a panic call from the client re: more report changes!

 

Today, expected to be pretty quiet.

 

Weather, -2c first thing, partly cloudy, expected to reach as high as 4-5c today.