Early Risers.

[southern42]

In my time, I have travelled through various towns with quite meaty rivers when they have flooded the road, etc, etc. Beyond that time, I was a mere young teenager learning about flood plains. Basically, learning that flood plains are called flood plains because the plains flood, even in the novel, Mill on the Floss, a teacher lent me on a school sailing week at Pin Mill SC on the River Orwell. 

 

6 October, this year. No houses here. River Llugwy, between Ty Hyll (Ugly House) and Swallow Falls, Betws-y-Coed, bursting its banks.

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. After lunch I fell asleep in my chair, obviously more eyelid inspection is required.

[Tony_S]

It was rather sunny here so we decided we would take our new footwear for a walk. However it has really clouded over so probably won’t bother. 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Tony_S

[New Haven Neil]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

I couldn't think of anything worse than "Apartment Living".  

 

Agree.  Our first abode was one such, upstairs 2 bed  - awful PIA neighbours underneath, no freedom to play our music as and when and as loud as is reasonable, but they sure did....pah.  When they put one of those Heinz sponge puds in the oven - yeah they ones you boil - without opening the tin and it blew up big stylee - together with the cooker, kitchen ceiling, our floor etc etc...time to move.  Rented, thankfully.  Bought our first 3 bed end terrace shortly afterwards.   Happy to be in a bungalow now, although the small size took some getting used to.   At least you don't get to the top of the stairs and wonder what you went for.

 

ION  Still crook, but slightly better.  Strongly +ve still.  Brain fog still thick.

 

I'd love to make fancy pointwork as Bear is trying, but there is no space for realistic radii in this scale and still have space for the other toys. Even then 16 feet on the big toy scale isn't much if you want to curve to traverse another wall.

 

 

[Barry O]

2 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Avocado doesn't taste like soap to me but its slimy consistency when eaten sliced or chunked induces my gag reflex.  It's fine as guacamole or "smashed" however.  

Avocado.. isn't it green putty?

 

Turned into pured toad (Aka guacamole) it's OK

 

Baz

[Barry O]

Am I alone in thinking some of the commentators about technical aspect of a hobby to do with running items on parallel bits of metal have the technical knowledge of a piece of wood??

 

Just asking for a mate...

[grandadbob]

Sunshine, rain and now sunshine again.  I have bodgelled a bit then got side tracked and spent a pleasant hour playing with the toys which is actually the entire raison d'être for the project.

More doom & gloom for The Boss,  two more people have cried off tomorrow, baby ill and unhappy to leave with babysitters....which is a good enough reason especially as a couple of weeks ago they had to rush her to hospital with suspected meningitis which was luckily a false alarm.

I am comforting myself with a muggatea and a mince pie.

Edited October 27, 2023 by grandadbob

[Hroth]

9 hours ago, polybear said:

Cr@p on the outside, cr@p on the inside.

 

One does assume they have an indoor bathroom....

 

[Tony_S]

2 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

More doom & gloom for The Boss,

Party arrangements have affected MiL over the last week. Aditi’s brother has organised a meal in a Turkish restaurant to celebrate his 60th birthday . His Mum had somehow fantasised this into a substantial birthday party and has been telling us things like her brother from California is coming. This was a surprise to us and everyone else as it would have involved us getting him to Kettering next week. MiL’s usual supplier of transport (Aditi’s sister) isn’t because she will be attending a book launch on Friday and travelling straight to the birthday lunch. Being taken by one daughter and returned by another (we are going Yorkshire after the lunch) is very confusing for MiL but we don’t know how she managed to imagine her brother was coming. 
Tony

[Hroth]

2 hours ago, southern42 said:

Afternoon sunshine enjoyed later at Bodnant Gardens. Only ever having seen a couple of photos of the Gardens before, I had not realised how steep the place was.

 

You go all the way to the bottom, take arty (fuzzy) shots of the water at the bottom, then you have to claw your way back to the top....

But it is very pretty!

 

 

Couldn't find my fuzzy water snaps, but the Pin Mill is nice!

 

 

 

[Adam88]

What is my Direct Debit payment?

 

If you’re not paying enough to cover your energy usage, you're likely to build up a debit balance. And if energy prices drop in the future, your Direct Debit payments may not reduce.

So, to accurately reflect your energy costs your Direct Debit will automatically change from £10.00 per month to £919.70 per month from 1st November 2023.

 

An email I was sent by one of my energy suppliers the other day.  Rather too much methinks.

Edited October 27, 2023 by Adam88

[Tony_S]

33 minutes ago, Adam88 said:

What is my Direct Debit payment?

 

If you’re not paying enough to cover your energy usage, you're likely to build up a debit balance. And if energy prices drop in the future, your Direct Debit payments may not reduce.

So, to accurately reflect your energy costs your Direct Debit will automatically change from £10.00 per month to £919.70 per month from 1st November 2023.

 

An email from I was sent by one of my energy suppliers thw other day.  Rather too much methinks.

Perhaps you shouldn’t have installed that aluminium smelter!

[DaveF]

Diary of a day.

 

08.00 Got up, breakfast, house jobs.

09.20 E mails, RMWeb, putting photos on web.

09.55 Drive to Seaton Sluice and park easily by the harbour, have a walk, take photos.  Grey and murky most of the time.

10.45 Arrive back home.  Chat with neighbours for 30 minutes.

11.15 Go into house, make coffee.  Do an easy Sudoku.

11.35 Into garage, do more tidying and cleaning.

12.35 Put a fozen cottage pie into the microwave.

12.45 Have lunch.

13.15 Paint second hand O gauge van axleguards, wheels etc black - the previous owner had done them in something close to GWR chocolate.

13.45 Sort out and work on photos taken at Seaton Sluice in Photoshop.

14.15 Felt tired, decided to have a nap.

14.30 Woken by a phone call about a coffee morning at church, the web site and the PCC.

14.50 Back into garage to get stuff ready to go to the tip, possibly tomorrow

15.05 Watched yesterday's Pete Waterman Model Railway programme.

16.00 Cup of tea and a jam tart.  Started marking programmes in Radio Times to watch/listen to next week.

16.35 Look at RMWeb and write things on here.

Still to come:

17.10 Make something for tea.

18.00 Watch local news.

18.30 (Hopefully) listen to music, finish marking up Radio Times, read.

21.00 Supper, perhaps watch TV.

10.45ish Bed, read, sleep.

 

What happened to quite retirement days doing nothing all day?

 

Some photos at Seaton Sluice below.

Seaton Sluice harbour, a lot of water coming down the Dene.

 

Seaton Sluice looking north to Blyth

 

Collywell Bay Seaton Sluice looking south east.

 

Collwell Bay Seaton Sluice, rock is "Charlie's Garden"

 

David

Edited October 27, 2023 by DaveF

[Ian Abel]

POETS, this IS happening (I think!!!), see below.

 

Yesterday, AWOL as I left early with Jemma to "close the cabin". mostly we are the last step in that process, taking out the water pump and draining all the water lines.

All went very smoothly, also took a picture of the cabin and its new siding, completed last week,

 

View showing new siding - requested by the Mrs as she didn't accompany us.

 

The "official" cabin closing picture taken every year. Closing "crew" with the lake in the background.

 

 

Onto today - POETS is expected as we're supposed to go to the wedding of a longtime friend (her FIFTH!!!). All we know so far is it's a very casual affair and will be around 5-5:30 (her message). We DON'T KNOW where or the attire, other than those SMALL DETAILS, we're good to go 🤪🤪🤣

 

Quiet weekend planned so far...

 

Raining overnight and a brisk 2c first thing with overcast skies. 10c the expected high and -2c tonight!

 

Tally ho.

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Ian Abel

[Adam88]

1 hour ago, Adam88 said:

What is my Direct Debit payment?

 

If you’re not paying enough to cover your energy usage, you're likely to build up a debit balance. And if energy prices drop in the future, your Direct Debit payments may not reduce.

So, to accurately reflect your energy costs your Direct Debit will automatically change from £10.00 per month to £919.70 per month from 1st November 2023.

 

An email from I was sent by one of my energy suppliers thw other day.  Rather too much methinks.

 

Hopefully resolved in my favour after a very long on-line chat session with one of their people.  The £10/month refects the fact that I was previously very much in credit (and remained so).  I did helpfully suggest that their billing algorithms may not be quite up to the mark.

 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Adam88 said:

What is my Direct Debit payment?

 

If you’re not paying enough to cover your energy usage, you're likely to build up a debit balance. And if energy prices drop in the future, your Direct Debit payments may not reduce.

So, to accurately reflect your energy costs your Direct Debit will automatically change from £10.00 per month to £919.70 per month from 1st November 2023.

 

An email from I was sent by one of my energy suppliers thw other day.  Rather too much methinks.

 

Bear is on a PAYG deal with EDF - meter readings submitted every month and then they charge me for what I've used; none of this "you're in debit" or big credit sitting in THEIR bank account.

Works for this Bear.

 

 

 

[iL Dottore]

4 hours ago, PupCam said:

…I couldn't think of anything worse than "Apartment Living".  

I couldn’t agree with you more, Puppers. I am absolutely loathing the idea of moving into an apartment, even if it is a penthouse apartment. Unfortunately, there are times in life when one must bow to the inevitable and succumb to a force majeure – which in this case is Mrs iD (not for nothing is her alter ego known as “The Alpine Angel of Death“).
 

However, she does reassure me that Swiss apartments, especially the new builds, are incredibly well insulated, not only for heat, but also for sound. Something I will test out when we go “apartment shopping“ by politely knocking at the door of our (might be) nearby neighbours and asking them to crank up their stereo to 11 whilst I nip up to the penthouse apartment, shut the doors and see if I can hear anything come through the floor.

 

I am not optimistic!.

[Andy Hayter]

Am I wrong in believing that it is illegal for a male to pee in his apartment toilet overnight unless seated?  This to avoid noise transmission to neighbours.

 

That does not sound like good noise insulation to me - or perhaps it is a Canton thing and does not apply where you live.

[polybear]

It seems that many members of the Public feel that two Police Officers have received a cr@p deal in the interests of seeking out scapegoats:

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-67236220

 

When those pulled over are filmed saying "Don't you know who I am??" I rapidly lose what little sympathy I may (or may not) have had.

 

Bear has a simple ooutlook:

If the Police say "Pull Over" then that's what you do.

If the Police say "Wind the window down" then that's what you do.

If the Police say "Turn the engine off and get out of the vehicle" then that's what you do.

If the Police say "Open the Boot" then that's what you do.

 

It's not hard, or difficult.

 

The moment you start arguing etc. it's all going to go downhill.

 

[jamie92208]

9 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I couldn’t agree with you more, Puppers. I am absolutely loathing the idea of moving into an apartment, even if it is a penthouse apartment. Unfortunately, there are times in life when one must bow to the inevitable and succumb to a force majeure – which in this case is Mrs iD (not for nothing is her alter ego known as “The Alpine Angel of Death“).
 

However, she does reassure me that Swiss apartments, especially the new builds, are incredibly well insulated, not only for heat, but also for sound. Something I will test out when we go “apartment shopping“ by politely knocking at the door of our (might be) nearby neighbours and asking them to crank up their stereo to 11 whilst I nip up to the penthouse apartment, shut the doors and see if I can hear anything come through the floor.

 

I am not optimistic!.

From what I remember of our conversation at Brig last year, once she starts addressing you in Swiss German it's time to raise the white flag.  One idea, why don't you buy the top two floors with upstairs for living and downstairs for hobbies.  Just thinking aloud. 

 

Jamie

1 minute ago, polybear said:

It seems that many members of the Public feel that two Police Officers have received a cr@p deal in the interests of seeking out scapegoats:

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-67236220

 

When those pulled over are filmed saying "Don't you know who I am??" I rapidly lose what little sympathy I may (or may not) have had.

 

Bear has a simple ooutlook:

If the Police say "Pull Over" then that's what you do.

If the Police say "Wind the window down" then that's what you do.

If the Police say "Turn the engine off and get out of the vehicle" then that's what you do.

If the Police say "Open the Boot" then that's what you do.

 

It's not hard, or difficult.

 

The moment you start arguing etc. it's all going to go downhill.

 

It was when they started telling me that they played golf with the Chief Constable that they failed the attitude test. Mind you there was one drunk driver in his XJS who started to drive away.  Fortunately for me my arm was firmly round his neck and when his head and shoulders followed his head out of the window he stopped. I then had to call up the van as I had been patrolling on my trusty, and silent pushbike. 

 

 

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, Andy Hayter said:

Am I wrong in believing that it is illegal for a male to pee in his apartment toilet overnight unless seated?  This to avoid noise transmission to neighbours.

 

That does not sound like good noise insulation to me - or perhaps it is a Canton thing and does not apply where you live.

I have seen signs stating something like “kein stehpinkeln” , but that was in Germany not Switzerland. I didn’t think it was due to noise though.

[polybear]

11 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

From what I remember of our conversation at Brig last year, once she starts addressing you in Swiss German it's time to raise the white flag.  One idea, why don't you buy the top two floors with upstairs for living and downstairs for hobbies.  Just thinking aloud. 

 

Or a house with no garden and install a lift.....

 

11 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Jamie

It was when they started telling me that they played golf with the Chief Constable that they failed the attitude test. Mind you there was one drunk driver in his XJS who started to drive away.  Fortunately for me my arm was firmly round his neck and when his head and shoulders followed his head out of the window he stopped. I then had to call up the van as I had been patrolling on my trusty, and silent pushbike. 

Jamie

 

You caught a guy in an XJS whilst on your pushbike?  Seriously impressed - you must've pedalled like bvggery....

[Tony_S]

17 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

From what I remember of our conversation at Brig last year, once she starts addressing you in Swiss German it's time to raise the white flag.  One idea, why don't you buy the top two floors with upstairs for living and downstairs for hobbies.  Just thinking aloud. 

 

Jamie

It was when they started telling me that they played golf with the Chief Constable that they failed the attitude test. Mind you there was one drunk driver in his XJS who started to drive away.  Fortunately for me my arm was firmly round his neck and when his head and shoulders followed his head out of the window he stopped. I then had to call up the van as I had been patrolling on my trusty, and silent pushbike. 

 

 

 

Jamie

In 1945 Dad was at a road block somewhere near the German side of the Danish border. Tensions were high as there were rumours of senior Nazis trying to escape. One vehicle slowed and the male occupant said he didn’t need to stop, and drove off knocking my father over. He opened fire with a rifle and he said the rear tyre was punctured and the car stopped. The real road block was round the corner with a couple of armoured cars, and their officer drove up see what had happened. He said he was impressed by the shooting. Dad said he wasn’t used t9 using a rifle and had been aiming for the driver not the tyre. The officer assumed he was joking. The driver was a MilGov official out with a German lady that his wife was unaware of. He was not amused at being locked up as “suspicious”. 

[iL Dottore]

23 minutes ago, Andy Hayter said:

Am I wrong in believing that it is illegal for a male to pee in his apartment toilet overnight unless seated?  This to avoid noise transmission to neighbours.

 

That does not sound like good noise insulation to me - or perhaps it is a Canton thing and does not apply where you live.

A lot of the pre-war (that’s WWII btw) apartments were built very cheaply with minimal insulation and shared plumbing (and in some very, very, old pre WWI apartments with a loo to share on each floor). Although such apartments are now often in trendy sought after areas, a huge number were cheaply built to house workers although as worker’s’ accommodation they were miles ahead of most anything offered elsewhere in Europe at the time).

 

I would imagine that moving from a poor rural area (Switzerland was a very poor country until about the early 50s) to the city and to a workers’ apartment with indoor running water, good heating (a kachelofen if not central heating) would have been the height of luxury.

 

Most apartment hausordnung date from that time and is just a way to ensure that people can live together fairly friction free. Many hausordnung in old apartment buildings still have prohibitions about showering after a certain time, flushing the loo in the wee hours of the morning and so on. Being required to sit to urinate is a new one on me and sounds like a hygiene messure more than anything else.

 

 

[polybear]

ION.......

 

Bear picked up a couple of these in Tess & Co yesterday, just for the hell of it.  I suspect that @iL Dottore and residents of Distant Signal (West) @Gwiwer will be horrified.....

 

Beary verdict?  "OK"..... 

 

 

 

BG

Edited October 27, 2023 by polybear