Early Risers.

[southern42]

Thinking I would last half an hour at the most, I was out there two and a half hours - or more.

 

Next door's garden is higher than ours and their grass has been invading our side of the slate fence. Removing about a yard length is about all I managed together with digging up a few square feet of roots. Then it was deadheading dandelions before they spread even more of their seeds, and taking a few pics while there is still a bit of life out there.

 

The last of the flowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what it looked like back in June. Notalot and not planted.

 

The last of the berries

 

 

This one is doing really well considering it is overgrown with next door's grass - I have yet to get this far! and is in a plant pot...although the roots have grown down into the ground so I shall have to watch it when it comes to moving it. I only put it here to stop the cats getting through the gap between the slates!

 

 NEW leaves...Ah! The eucalyptus. Its leaves died right back during the hot spell and I never expected it to recover...All that rain we've had recently...

 

I did enjoy the sunshine though the RAF training planes were rumbling around our area today. The closest (noisiest) they came was right into the sun so no see!

 

Rain tomorrow and C&C groceries. Online tomatoes, potatoes, raisins, and a few other items were "not available" so when Mr Suvvern goes to collect, he will be having to traipse round the store to find them or an alternative. Or we could get them elsewhere...

 

The interesting thing is: Tess Coe's is trying to get you to spend (lots) more money per month so they can give you some money back (£15+£45 if complete) for three months Sept Oct Nov. We (just the two of us) are nowhere near their amount, and anyone on their own on a basic wage or less will be even shorter on that. So the large wealthy family wins out again at the exclusion of the smaller user and the less well off and I know plenty of them. I remember when our weekly shop was about £28 and another store we used back then did a similar spend £30 pre Chr*****s deal and we did the extra spend but only buying what we actually needed. This time, the proportion is much greater and no way will I go and spend for the sake of it. I mean, we're talking Deltic tokens, here, and I have plenty on preorder to cater for - but not actually Deltics, you understand!

 

Time for a mugacocoa...YEHOW... <<that'll cheer me up!>>

 

Edited October 12, 2023 by southern42
great big gap got rid of

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I tested a new item that runs on two strips of metal 16.5 mm apart with an appropriate selection of items behind it one of which had to be removed due to a dodgy coupling. They are due to be replaced anyway with those of the magnetic variety.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Another busy morning spent in the cellar today, which was followed by a busy afternoon in the workshop. The shelf has had one coat of varnish applied to the underside and lining paper has been applied to the walls that I sized yesterday, apart from a small section below the cellar window. That will get done over the weekend. The paper has been hung horizontally so that the joins will be less intrusive, they’ll also be easier to hide when I paint the back scene too. Below is a photo taken this afternoon, the reason the missing section of wallpaper is that it will be put on after the skirting boards have been fitted. 

 

I spent the afternoon painting the tracks on inspection pits, as well as experimenting with a bit of nichrome wire and an old train transformer. The next step is to make a large hot wire cutter for sheet polystyrene.

Edited October 12, 2023 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[zarniwhoop]

4 hours ago, Tony_S said:

My GP brother in law said for this Covid Booster his surgery isn’t a vaccine centre as in previous rounds but they are just vaccinating their own patients. Uptake of invitations for the over 65s is high but for those eligible under 65, uptake is poor. 

As an over-65, my impression is that the process of notifications/invitations is still a bit variable.  I got a text from my GP pointing me to a web address, but that continues to report it is not working. I later got a text from the nhs - initially the only local appointments were at the Brighton Centre, which for me is awkward (the downhill walk from the car park around sloping corners is hell with my non-operative ankle and poor balance, plus my inability to stand up if I fall) with a possibility of a local medical centre but no appointments there were available. This week I've booked at the local medical centre for two weeks this Saturday.

 

After the website initially reported it was not working, I searched in the nhs and found several local-ish pharmacies apparently offering walk-in jabs - but you need to phone the pharmacy to see when they are doing it. If they are like the pharmacy I use, you can never get through on the phone (a maximum of one pharmacist and two assistants, and they are always busy). 

Edited October 12, 2023 by zarniwhoop
typo 'when they are going it' - sounds rude ;-)

[Ozexpatriate]

17 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Hay can spontaneously combust if it is not stored properly and is not absolutely dry. If not completely dry it can ferment and create heat. This principle was used in a hay box for keeping food hot.

NAS Tillamook Hangar A - a WW2 blimp hangar on the Oregon coast was used for storing hay and was utterly destroyed. Pictures here.

 

Hangar B is an air museum.

[Ozexpatriate]

9 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

I dislike the Houston Astros as much as the NY Yankees, I doubt we'll watch much if ANY more of the post-season games.

Maybe if the Rangers can beat the cheats?

 

For people who don't follow Major League Baseball, the Houston Astros were caught cheating a few years ago, where the catcher's signals to the pitcher were 'translated' to someone banging on a garbage bin in the clubhouse for the batter to anticipate the pitch. Fans remember.

[BR60103]

4 hours ago, southern42 said:

The interesting thing is: Tess Coe's is trying to get you to spend (lots) more money per month so they can give you some money back (£15+£45 if complete) for three months Sept Oct Nov. We (just the two of us) are nowhere near their amount, and anyone on their own on a basic wage or less will be even shorter on that. So the large wealthy family wins out again at the exclusion of the smaller user and the less well off and I know plenty of them. I remember when our weekly shop was about £28 and another store we used back then did a similar spend £30 pre Chr*****s deal and we did the extra spend but only buying what we actually needed. This time, the proportion is much greater and no way will I go and spend for the sake of it. I mean, we're talking Deltic tokens, here, and I have plenty on preorder to cater for - but not actually Deltics, you understand!

 

About 60 years ago, one of the petrol companies was offering a free steak knife with a $5 fill up. My father's car wouldn't take more than $3 or $4 worth even if empty.

The local garage owner offered him a knife for every second fill up.

 

[iL Dottore]

Oh Boy, that was “fun”!

Wednesday night my immune system, out of nowhere, decided to play with all its toys, so I experienced..

• severe rigors
• chills 
• diaphoresis
• tachycardia
• hyperventilation
• pyrexia (39.4*C)
• nausea
• some headache

Simultaneously!

 

As I said, “fun”.
 

Most concerning of all was the pyrexia: a temperature of 39.4*C is getting into really hairy territory, so I‘m off to see my GP this morning at 8am (i called them about 15:00 yesterday) and it will be a GP (though not “my“ GP - he’s on holiday). Last night my body temperature was normal and apart from a thumping headache, muscle soreness and fatigue, I’m feeling fairly OK, but the emergence of some other, minor, symptomatology suggests a recurrence of an old problem. But nothing a decent wide-spectrum Abx won’t handle. However, that’s only a tentative diagnosis - we’ll see what the pros have to say.

 

ION

 

I had a rather creative day in the kitchen the other day, creating a ginger (baked) cheesecake. Basically I started with a basic vanilla NY cheesecake recipe, replaced digestive biscuits with ginger nuts (no sniggering in the back) decreased the amount of sugar used and replacing the sugar taken away with ginger syrup and mixed in finely chopped candied ginger. Mrs iD (for I baked the cheesecake for her) wants me to bake another this weekend - which shall be done.

 

The Ginger Whinger Cheesecake will join a select few other bakes that are much demanded of me. These include a Rhubarb Crumble Cake, A French Apple Cake (or the pear variation), a Traditional Boiled Fruitcake and (another iD creation) The Cadbury Fruit and Nut chocolate bar inspired “Chocolate Fruit and Nut Cake”* (basically a variation on a traditional boiled fruit cake* with a Sacher-Torte like chocolate glasur coating)

 

* a small amount of chopped walnuts are included as a @polybear deterrent!

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Moreasons has a double points offer on every litre of fuel you buy from them .. except their petrol is 2p a litre more expensive than most local garages.. that's what you get when someone borrows more than the net worth of a company to buy it..  then interest rates go up...thank you the Financiers of the UK and the USA...

 

I may have caused some mayhem in the cricketing world. Despite a determined effort by the powers that be we as volunteers are delivering something we'll outsidenof their expertise.

 

As for today.. early awake as I had a stomach upset.

 

Need to go to buy various supplies from various shops followed by a zoom meeting about... cricket..

 

Time for my mugatea!

 

Baz

Edited October 13, 2023 by Barry O

[polybear]

6 hours ago, BSW01 said:

Below is a photo taken this afternoon, the reason the missing section of wallpaper is that it will be put on after the skirting boards have been fitted. 
 

 

Bear cheated and papered almost to the floor, painted the walls then fitted the pre-painted skirting - it means no cutting in of the paper and paintwork just above the skirting, giving a very sharp line.

 

Bear here.....

 

Play Day continues.......

 

ION......

I spoke to College Buddy last night - after a very high PSA test result, followed by an "indeterminate" MRI scan it seems the NHS have gone into go-slow mode; he received a Hospital Appointment thru' the post yesterday - only the appointment was for the day before......

He's now going to let his wallet do the talking and arrange a private consultation at a nearby private hospital, as well as a blood(?) test that has to go to the U.S. for analysis (results in 5 days IIRC) that is supposedly 95% accurate;  he doesn't fancy  waiting for a biopsy on the NHS.

 

BG

[iL Dottore]

**UPDATE**
I've just finished at the GP. Two (finger stick) samples of blood were taken upon arrival and the results already displayed when I entered the GP's office.

 

A discussion of the results, the symptomatology and a quick examination confirmed my tentative diagnosis. The CRP value (1000, NR < 5) being most emphatically definitive.

 

Medication was prescribed and handed out and I was done and dusted in 30 minutes.

My only gripe was that the doctor wouldn't give me a Brompton Cocktail!* 🤣

 

As much as I love Britain, there are times I'm glad I'm in Switzerland - this being one of them.

* The Brompton Cocktail - look it up 😁

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Quite cloudy and breezy here,  chucking it down again  with sunny spells and showers forecast.  It will become overcast again later with a band of heavy persistent rain moving in.  18°C rising to 21°C.

First task today is a walk to Asda pick up a couple of magazines for The Boss.

After that I will attempt a repair on a kitchen unit drawer.  It's vinyl wrapped and the vinyl is lifting and become a bit hard and catching on the drawer below.  I'm hoping that warming it up will soften it enough to clamp it and glue it back but never had to try this before so there will be much crossing of digits.  If it doesn't work then the offending bit will be trimmed off.  Luckily it's on the bottom edge of the drawer and is not visible.

After that I may well visit The Shed and carry on with bodgelling.

Tonight there's one rugby match on offer, Bristol v Leicester and then the Rugby World Cup quarter finals over the weekend.  On top of all that I'm aiming to visit the Farnham & District MRC exhibition in Aldershot tomorrow morning and hope to catch up with AndyB and maybe one or two other ERs.

Timetogettaetc,

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

7.5 hours near solid sleep that was good...

 

Fleece, hat, coat , wellies,  yep it's not nice out there, wet, windy, dull, heavily overcast.

 

Ben the reluctant Collie  was taken on patrol,, he had a good snuffle, but returned to the house fairly quickly

We used to fill up at Moreasons if we passed their store in Cromer, not any more, the queues for petrol are no longer there, as we and many others have stopped using them.

 

The extra spring clamps have arrived, they have a very strong spring in them, SWMBO needs both hands to operate one. I can only just open them with one.

 

On that car park fire, they keep saying it's a diesel car .. But on the Landrover pages they are saying it's a Landrover diesel hybrid.. and the pictures of the initial fire are definitely not diesel.

 

Considering it's taken the NHS a couple of months to send me a COVID  priority urgent letter and I'm over 65 it's not surprising that there isn't a big response to the under 65s that are entitled to the jab.

 

Time for me to get suited and booted, it's almost time to go to the museum, I wonder how many will venture out in this...

 

[NGT6 1315]

Moaning awl. Still quite balmy, rather too much so for this time of year...

 

Got a week of leave, and not too soon. The kids are at home today as well because of a staff training day at the kindergarten, so they volun-told me to take them to a toy store. Been in those shoes myself many moons ago, but it's still funny to be the parent now!

 

Positive vibes to anyone in need. Be well soon, @iL Dottore ...

[Grizz]

9 hours ago, polybear said:

Does Grizz get to drive?  Don't mow the lil' fluffy animals......

In short Bear…sadly no I don’t get to drive as I’m the PICOP (person in charge of possession) and also the ‘Pilot’ (which was Pilotman when I started on the British Rail hundreds of years ago) responsible for conducting the machine when the machine operator is not familiar with the route. These operators were out for operational training.
 

As for the mowing of any  ‘Lil Fluffy Animals’…..the noise and vibration of this Unimog is so great that they have all scarpered far far away, long before the guys start flailing and mowing. Thus happily preventing any ‘Pink Mist’ ….Unpleasantness’. 😊

 

 

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

As much as I love Britain, there are times I'm glad I'm in Switzerland - this being one of them.

 

 

That does sound  like the standard doctoring experience   you get in most of the 1st world!

[DaveF]

Quite a good night's sleep, I did wake once but after visiting the bathroom I read my book for a short while before falling asleep.  This morning is dull, there has been about 10 minutes of rain which has now stopped and the sky looks a bit lighter to the north so I think the sun will appear later on.

 

This morning will involve a small amount of shopping as I have realised I didn't order something for the grocery delivery earlier in the week.  Then I expect I'll have a typical day sorting out photos, gardening and so on.  Yesterday I did well in the evening with the photos, I sorted out and checked the captions over just over 100 photos in 40 minutes which I think is a record.  I have to admit though that the captions only needed reading as they seemed to be correct which always saves time.

 

Now I must actually go out to the shop while it is still quiet.

 

David

[iL Dottore]

For those of you who didn’t get the oncology in-joke:

 

The Brompton cocktail is a mixture containing morphine and cocaine in a vehicle of alcohol, syrup, and chloroform water. It was given to patients for the management of severe cancer pain

 

But also note: “The original inclusion of cocaine was said to counter the sedative effects of morphine and to enhance the patient’s mood and promote sociability” and “The alcohol content was also varied (whisky, sherry, brandy) in an attempt to mask the bitter taste”

 

The Brompton cocktail is now obsolete in terms of treating cancer patient pain; the newer synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are much more effective with less AEs.
 

Having said that, I think the Brompton Cocktail would be the ideal mixed drink for an incredibly louche and dissolute lifestyle! 🤣 (hence the “in-joke”).

 

 

[Hroth]

Hey ho, a late start due to the dark, wet and windy morn.

 

Think I'll have some autumnal porridge for brekkie.

 

No, NOT Ready Brek!!!

 

 

(Another of their famous radioactive children adverts...)

 

 

[BoD]

Morning all.

 

It is raining at the moment. Matches the mood as we are off to purchase paint for the kitchen and associated lobby/utility room.  Given the fixed colour of the kitchen units and splashbacks there will be a limited choice of pallete.  Do we go for a specially mixed up esoteric shade like ‘Autumn Cornfield Yellow suffused with Honey Orchid White’  or stick with Magnolia or something similar off the shelf.  Decisions, decisions.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Well, the overnight rain has stopped, but it’s still wet out there, very wet, I’ll definitely need to put a jacket on for my walk to the butchers today. Both bins have already been emptied, but where the refuse operatives have left the empty bins is anyone’s guess! Apart from the butchers and the usual Friday visit to the Trafford Centre, there’s not much else planned for the day. 
 

Back later. 
 

Brian

[grandadbob]

There was a short break in the rain so off we toddled to Asda and managed to get there and back without getting too wet notwithstanding the efforts of the tw#t in a Nissan Qashqai who I'm sure deliberately drove into a puddle in the gutter.  Luckily we hadn't quite reached it otherwise would have been drenched.  I was rebuked as apparently I shouldn't have used the stentorian roar and accompanying bad language that ensued.  Made me feel better though.

Muggacoffee now and then hair dryer*, glue and clamps etc will wielded.

 

*This belongs to the Boss, I don't need one.  Permission has been granted to borrow it as I think my hot air gun might be a step too far.

Edited October 13, 2023 by grandadbob

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A wet and windy morning it is and it looks as if it's in for the day. Not a good night last night, first the arthritis in the hip then it moved to the knee. Its OK for now after the administration of Voltarol gel. Shopping for the weekend needs to be done so I'd  better get on with it.