Early Risers.

[AndyID]

This might be post number 300,000 😀

[AndyID]

It was.

[Coombe Barton]

... support sessions .One student turned up. First thing said was “I didn’t come to many sessions …” ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/06/15/a-decline-vaccinations-and-factionalism-in-the-tory-party/

[New Haven Neil]

Great to see @railsquid pop up, feeding iD well too - I was doing OK with the menu until the gooey fishy bit was mentioned! Squid - eeuuch.  Sorry Ian!

 

Baz, folk not turning up for interviews with no explanation is now endemic, Mrs NHN tells me. They have trouble recruiting mechanics, and inviting 8 to interview tends to result in three attending, none of whom are appointable!

[New Haven Neil]

Fraggle Rock reached 29c this evening, we went for a walk along Ramsey beach as the tide was out. (There's not much left when it's in - 27 feet tidal rise here).  A nice breeze down there made it very pleasant, but on out way home the main road into the village was closed due to an accident, so we had to go a very long way around.

 

Back home it is sultry, very humid and no air movement apparent at all.  Another gooey night in store.

Edited June 15, 2023 by New Haven Neil

[Tony_S]

3 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Squid - eeuuch. 

Aditi had squid tonight.  It was served with pasta in cuttlefish ink sauce. Last night after eating duck, a mummy duck wandered about. At least Aditi was guaranteed not to be visited by a squid or cuttlefish tonight (the nearby water isn’t the seaside). 
I didn’t have squid.

[Tony_S]

Aditi wants to visit the nearby (relatively) big town tomorrow.  I would have gone but really wasn’t too enthusiastic about driving and parking. However her plan is to go by boat which sounds rather pleasant.  

[New Haven Neil]

TBH all 'seafood' really isn't for me - I eat white fish and prawns, that's about it!  I just find it too 'fishy'.

[New Haven Neil]

4 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

There’s a nice one just south of Rochefort in our department.  It's been replaced by a High bridge but is preserved and I think that it's possible to ride on it. 

 

Here's the Middlesboghorror one before the boys sold it....it's TALL!

 

 

Photo from Picture Stockton.

[Coombe Barton]

To chart it all - 

[polybear]

6 hours ago, railsquid said:

 

Plastic baggie full of Toblerones in the station hotel lobby.

 

 

Welcome to the Club......

 

5 hours ago, 45156 said:

...........and then we came home to clean the microwave - and found that the roof and back seams are almost penetrated through with rust - and we do wipe it out after use - a quick consultation, and we both decided to replace it - it is a couple of months over a year old so no need to even try for getting it replaced under guarantee!!

TURDYCURSES.

 

 

Rusted thru' in just over a year?  Jeez.  What make was it - I'll make sure I never buy one.

 

3 hours ago, Barry O said:

Nanoblocks are the micro Lego.

 

 

Et voila  micro wally the wombat.

 

 

@Barry O sees a Wombat.....Bear sees chocolate....

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Good God NO!
 

 

Oh dear, so close too.  Never mind, you'll get there.....

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

......a deep fried sausage in a crunchy shell .....

 

That'll be a sausage in batter then.

 

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

As I understand it, the bridges of most modern shipping are all screens, keyboards and joysticks.

 

I recall watching one episode of HMS Ocean (a Helicopter Carrier) - the engines all packed up for no reason; the fix was to turn everything (the computers) off then on again - not ideal when sailing up the English Channel, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

 

Bear here.....

An afternoon of small bits n' pieces, followed by The Muddle Engineering Group - the grand total of five people bothered to appear.  At this rate we'll be lucky if it continues after the summer break - and after hearing "some things" during our Pub din dins it'll be a bluddy miracle, in fact (there's a new Grown-Up that is causing significant problems).  Turdycurses.

I got some bits done, though nothing earth shattering - it felt really humid so not much fun really.

EDF tried to call a couple of times whilst I was driving - I didn't have the mobile bluetooth turned on so couldn't answer the call in the car; presumably they want to sort a new appointment for the leccy meter to be replaced - I'm guessing that not being able to remove the main fuse is regarded as a safety issue in the event of an emergency; when they call back I'll take the opportunity to say that doing the gas meter at the same time would be a rather sensible idea too.

 

BG

[Barry O]

Wombat is not chocolate but if you think it is is,,

 

TARGET. HESH.  @polybear LOADED... LASING ....FIRING.. TARGET STOP... ie no more bear...

 

The transporter on the Tees is still there but no longer operational.. the age and acid rain over the years has done for it.. Terry Scott once drove onto it.. didn't stop and went off the other end...oops..

 

Time for some sleep.. last interview tomorrow...

 

Night, night, sleep tight hope the bugs don't bite!

 

Baz

Edited June 15, 2023 by Barry O

[Winslow Boy]

50 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

TBH all 'seafood' really isn't for me - I eat white fish and prawns, that's about it!  I just find it too 'fishy'.

 

You know where its come from don't you.

 

Neighbour of mine, long since departed, refused to eat prawns as they crawled along the bottom of the sea eating c"*%&£#.

[Tony_S]

This is a video from nearly 8 years ago.

I hope the share works

Transporter bridge over Kiel Canal

 

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

After loading the rubbish from the cellar into the car and getting rid of it all at the tip, I’d still not had confirmation that my order from Screwfix was in, so I went home and started tidying up the workshop. I’d just finished tidying up, when Charlie called to say he wouldn’t be calling round today, as he was too tired from yesterday’s shift, what a light weight! Not long after, I got confirmation my order was ready so I tootled off and collected it. Once back home, I read the instructions (yes really) and looked at the hose and fittings. The hose fits the pump well enough, but it’s about 3-4 metres short. So, the plan is to fit proper (upvc) solid pipe work with welded joints, from the pump to the top of the garden retaining wall and then connect the hose (which came with a non return valve) to that. I’m also going to fit a screw union close to the pump so that I can remove it for cleaning etc. So, I now need to dig a pit for the pump, however, I have a large empty 20L plastic paint drum which I’ve been using to hold rubbish for the plan is to use this as a sump pit. It’s certainly large enough to hold the pump, but I wasn’t sure if there was enough room for the float switch to actually operate. So, this afternoon I tested to see if the float switch would operate before the water reached the top of the drum. Thankfully this worked, so the plan is to dig a hole that is just big enough for the plastic tub to sit, this will then be covered with a metal grill. Oh and the pump emptied the drum in less than a minute, result! So I’ve still got to dig a hole,  it at least I now have a waterproof container that is big enough for the pump and for the float switch to operate. 

[iL Dottore]

32 minutes ago, polybear said:

Oh dear, so close too.  Never mind, you'll get there.....

Never, over my dead body!

 

Wait a minute…….

 

Over Bear’s dead body…..

 

(That’s better….🤣)

35 minutes ago, polybear said:

That'll be a sausage in batter then.

Actually it wasn’t battered. There was a crisp shell wrapped around the sausage that left the ends of the soss uncovered. The shell might have been filo pastry. 
 

Whatever it was it was good!

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[Ozexpatriate]

11 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear made a special visit to see the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge with Ricky the Rover - sadly the Bridge is no longer there cos' Jimmy Nail & Pals took it to bits and flogged it to the USA.........

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

Here's the Middlesboghorror one before the boys sold it....it's TALL!

30 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

This is a video from nearly 8 years ago.

I hope the share works

Transporter bridge over Kiel Canal

I had to look that up to comprehend the conversation. I hadn't a clue, having never heard, let alone seen such a conveyance.

 

 

[Andy Hayter]

6 hours ago, 45156 said:

 

 

However, I will just add today's activities - 30747 visited the quack for blood tests and then we came home to clean the microwave - and found that the roof and back seams are almost penetrated through with rust - and we do wipe it out after use - a quick consultation, and we both decided to replace it - it is a couple of months over a year old so no need to even try for getting it replaced under guarantee!!

TURDYCURSES.

 

 

This from Martin Lewis - money saving expert:

 

Within six years – the longest you have to claim fault. The English statute of limitations says you have six years to bring a claim (five in Scotland), so in effect, that’s the maximum time you have to take back faulty goods.

However people often confuse this and think it means goods must last six years – that just isn’t true.

In fact you’ll note the SAD FART* laws specifically say goods should ‘last a reasonable length of time’ and that’s the key, if nebulous, time limit. ,

To work out what is a reasonable length of time, you have to simply imagine what a reasonable person would say was reasonable.

For example it’s likely you wouldn’t say it was reasonable for a £1,000 LCD TV to break after 18 months of normal use, but it’s probably fair enough if a 10p plastic whistle did.

So what the law actually says is goods must last a reasonable length of time – and if not, they’re faulty, and you have up to six years to bring a case about them being faulty.

If that’s confusing, a somewhat oversimplified way to explain it is that goods must last a ‘reasonable time’ – of which the maximum reasonable time possible is six years.

 

* SAD FART = Goods must be of ‘Satisfactory quality, As Described, Fit for purpose And last a Reasonable length of Time’ 

 

https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2013/10/how-long-do-you-have-to-take-faulty-goods-back/

 

 

 

[Hroth]

There used to be a transporter bridge between Runcorn and Widnes, crossing the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widnes–Runcorn_Transporter_Bridge

 

It was done away with nearly 62 years ago, replaced by the first Runcorn road bridge. This is now obsolete, being replaced by a The Mersey Gateway toll bridge, the first Runcorn bridge was free to use but is now also a toll bridge, with free facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.

 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

 

[monkeysarefun]

5 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Kentucky Fried Chicken was the first 'fast food' restaurant I remember in Australia.  Wimpy's did appear at one point. They were never really successful in Australia. (According to Wikipedia they tapped out at about 70 outlets.)

 

McDonalds and Hungry Jack's* were well established by the time I was in high school.

 

* Which is how "Burger King" is still marketed in Australia. There was some sort of trademark infringement issue. Hungry Jack's is the "Home of the Whopper" and had the "King" mascot all the same.

 

I recall (at least in NSW) an import from the US called  Hartees that arrived in the very early '70's. They had a pretty heavy TV campaign that I can still recall the jingle for, and opened several outlets.

 

From the "what happened to them?" file - 

In mid-1975, Willesee, a current affairs program on Channel 7, received a tip-off from Bankstown Council garbagemen that a hamburger restaurant at Bankstown had, on a regular basis, some very odd items in its dumpsters out the back. When reporters from the program went down to the Bankstown Hartee’s to investigate, they found that the bins outside were full of dog food cans. Further investigation revealed that the dog food was in fact being sliced into patties and used on the burgers at this particular location.

 

 

 

5 hours ago, roundhouse said:

I remember having Hungry Jacks on a couple of visits to Oz. I also remember having the biggest ever Mc D's burger anywhere in the world, in Freemantle back in the early 90's. Not even in the USA have I seen anything as close in size.

Its making me hungry... sorry guys.

 

 

The Australian milkbar hamburger once reigned supreme, however  the US imports have spread across the land like canetoads - poor substitutions with their stupid sauce, pickles that no one  ever eats  and orange crap cheese. Fortunately away from the inner cities you can still find a place that  sells a hamburger "with the lot" - which includes a fried egg, beetroot, bacon, fried onion, lettuce tomato  and a slice of grilled pineapple, smothered in red or brown sauce  By law must be served with a "large chips" and a chocolate milk.

 

 

 

And before anyone goes all "ooooh heart attack! oooh  hardening arteries!  ooohh obesity!  etc etc etc, big yawn cos   average  life expectancy here  just hit  84.5 years  so pull ya head in!

 

 

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

Wombat is not chocolate but if you think it is is,,

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately how I see most wombats on the drive to work and back..

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Hroth]

3 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

TBH all 'seafood' really isn't for me - I eat white fish and prawns, that's about it!  I just find it too 'fishy'.

 

2 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

You know where its come from don't you.

 

Neighbour of mine, long since departed, refused to eat prawns as they crawled along the bottom of the sea eating c"*%&£#.

 

I used to love shrimps, freshly boiled, pop 'em open and yum!

Then a teacher at primary school told us about going for a walk along the shore during the war and encountering some poor bu@@er washed up, what remained of his head crawling with shrimps...

Never willingly eaten one since!

Crab, lobster, prawns are all the same, shellfish likewise.

 

Ordinary fish are ok!

 

(Not so much a case of being up early, more its still too hot and I can't get to sleep...)

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Hroth

[Ozexpatriate]

17 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

stupid sauce, pickles that no one  ever eats  and orange crap cheese

I'm with you on the cheese, but I'm a fan of having some kind of sauce* and love the pickles. I always include them on homemade burgers.

 

Mind you the heavily processed Australian yellow cheese is frankly little different - like the one that used to have a 'bad word' name.

 

* Not necessarily the pseudo-"Russian dressing" McD's Big Mac sauce. Russian dressing properly belongs on a Rueben**. My homemade burgers will have mayo (or some sort of aioli) on the lettuce side and ketchup + mustard on the beef side.

 

** Toasted sandwich (on rye) with corned beef, "Swiss" cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing. Yum.

[Ozexpatriate]

36 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

an import from the US called  Hartees

Not actually an import. Hartees was an Australian collaboration between Kelloggs and US-based Hardees. 

 

Hardees/Carl's Jr (Hardees in the east, Carl's Jr in the west) continues. Carl's Jr is the reason I don't (or very rarely) eat fast food burgers. In my early 20s I ate a Double western bacon cheeseburger for dinner every day for a few days. It put me off the low-end chain burgers pretty much for good.

 

They actually taste great but they're not good for you - which was evident to me after eating them for a few days in a row.

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Ozexpatriate