Early Risers.

[New Haven Neil]

Just been jabbed again, too late was the cry.  The jabby-centre was quiet.  Either everyone sticks to the appointment times, or the take-up is poor.  I can guess.

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

Well that didn't happen..

Alignment and velcro I mean..

 

I couldn't find the alignment pins, and velcro will have to wait until it's aligned.

Various other things were glued, and the final show bill was paid.

 

Ben cut short his walk, which was good, because it was drizzling, windy, my right ankle hurt and still does.

 

Various bits of parallel metal were placed on the first unit pair of unmentionables, rough placing is now worked out.  Can't start fixing as I've left my mini drill in the Landrover which I collect from MOT tomorrow.

 

[polybear]

Bear here.....

 

Some Git pushed the button at 0340 - I gave up with the attempt at further zedding at 0440.  TC's

 

Mickey's been in Hospital 😢....

It started out as a check-up (= Service & MOT) but when Bear got the dreaded phone call about 45 minutes in I just knew it wouldn't be good news......

Mickey had flunked the MOT with a busted rear spring 🤬 - so Mickey was rushed into Surgery.  One pair of new springs later and Mickey was pronounced good to go again.  Unfortunately 2.5 Deltics also went at the same time after the cost of the Service & MOT had also been bunged on top 😭.  Mega Rattin' Piggin' Turdycurses.

At least I got to meet up with a Buddy from the Fun Factory whilst all this was going on....rumour has it that this "may" have taken place in the Cafe a few yards away whilst scoffin' brekkies......

 

ION.....

Remember the T0sser that was due to visit Bear Towers to fit a new Leccy Meter but didn't bother showing up?  Well I got an email apology from EDF yesterday - with the promise of thirty quid as compo going into Bear's account, so that's a Tick.

 

Right, time to continue with the Templot lessons.....

 

BG

[jamie92208]

Made the mistake of saying there was nothing on the agenda. Made it up as I went along.  After various bits of domestic engineering I headed off to the very good wood merchant 10 miles north of us. The mission was to buy wood for a new set of shutters on the lounge window that gets the worst of the weather.  I was faced with the choice of exotic, eg hard wood or normal aka pine. Pine wasn't in stock the exotic was a deltic with sound.  The normal was about quarter of a deltic less.  I ended up going for the exotic which turned out to be a dark hardwood from Gabon. I suspect that this pair of shutters will see us out. Making them is a winter project. The wood yard was the last customer for the railway  through Chef Boutonne.  This closed in stages from the 50's.  The last timber arrived by train in the 60's.  The yard now extends over the track bed.  There used to be a metre gauge line that crossed the standard gauge line there. That went in 1951. The wood sheds are full  of good quality timber with knowledgeable staff and are a joy to go round. 

 

That dealt with the morning and all the time the sun was shining.  As it's due to rain for the next few days I headed out to cut the weed patches round the house. Coffee and cake is now required.  Shed time this evening. 

 

Jamie 

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

I couldn't find the alignment pins, and velcro will have to wait until it's aligned.

Various other things were glued, and the final show bill was paid.

 

Ben cut short his walk, which was good, because it was drizzling, windy, my right ankle hurt and still does.

 

Various bits of parallel metal were placed on the first unit pair of unmentionables, rough placing is now worked out.  Can't start fixing as I've left my mini drill in the Landrover which I collect from MOT tomorrow.

 

It's good to have a faithful canine companion:

Edited November 8, 2023 by iL Dottore

[DaveF]

In the morning I sat and read a magazine and did a few small odd jobs including cleaning some of the inside window frames.  The rain stopped late in the morning so I decided that the garden could wait.  Instead I had a slightly early lunch and decided to go out as the sun appeared.  I just went to Seaton Delaval Hall (National Trust) which is nearby.  It wasn't busy so I had a very relaxing walk round the gardens and other bits and a look at the main part of the Hall, including the cellars.  There will still some trees with autumn coloured leaves together with a lot of very bare trees after the recent winds but none have blown down.  It just filled the afernoon nicely, I was back in time to sort out the photos and make some tea which went down well with a lemon curd tart.

 

Next will be a sandwich followed by an evening of reading and TV.  

 

In other words a nice relaxing day but I did walk about 2.5 miles while I was out.

 

There are quite a lot of photos, I hope no one minds.

 

Seaton Delaval Hall - the main part, there are wings each side as well.

 

 

Formal garden

 

Inside the main hall, now a shell because of the fire in 1822, after that only the west wing was lived in.

 

 

Cellars

 

Ship in a very big bottle.  Each stone is at least 18" long

 

Staircase

 

Autumn trees.

 

David

Edited November 8, 2023 by DaveF

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Not long got back from Tess Coes after shopping for a few bits and pieces but I had to cut it short as the knee started playing up. The only thing I didn't get were biscuits which may be a good thing as my sugar consumption is a bit on the high side.

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

It's good to have a faithful canine companion:

My dear boy, there's no way I'd do that to a doggy, and since 30th june 1911, protection of animals bill.

 

§If any person shall use, or cause or procure, or being the owner permit, to be used, any dog for the purpose of drawing or helping to draw any cart, carriage, truck, or barrow, on any public highway, he shall be liable upon summary conviction in respect of the first offence to a fine not exceeding two pounds, and in respect of the second or any subsequent offence to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

 

I suspect the fines are higher now..

[iL Dottore]

@jamie92208 was wondering - after his recent model railway purchases - whether or not he should extend his shed again....

[grandadbob]

39 minutes ago, DaveF said:

There are quite a lot of photos, I hope no one minds.

 

 Keep 'em coming Dave,  I'm pretty sure no one minds.  Wish my photos turned out like yours.

 

Mind you, I was quite pleased with this one taken many years ago in the grounds of Dumbleton Hall:

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by grandadbob

[iL Dottore]

9 minutes ago, TheQ said:

My dear boy, there's no way I'd do that to a doggy, and since 30th june 1911, protection of animals bill.

 

§If any person shall use, or cause or procure, or being the owner permit, to be used, any dog for the purpose of drawing or helping to draw any cart, carriage, truck, or barrow, on any public highway, he shall be liable upon summary conviction in respect of the first offence to a fine not exceeding two pounds, and in respect of the second or any subsequent offence to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

 

I suspect the fines are higher now..

Good point, The Q. But what about the dog sports such as Dog Scootering or Bikejoring? How are they regarded by the that particular legislation - or are there specific and newer laws to cover dog sports? (a serious question BTW)

Edited November 8, 2023 by iL Dottore
added text for clarity

[Tony_S]

We had a drive to the Howardian Hills and stopped off at Rievaulx Abbey. 

Very quiet. More pheasants than visitors today. 
Tony

[Flanged Wheel]

Happy Thursday morning to all ERs from Fiji and the temporary custodian of the “most easterly ER” title! 
 

Very positive impression so far - Fiji Airways was a great airline and immigration was really smooth despite the simultaneous arrival of three international flights (two from Australia and ours from Hawaii). Given that we landed at 7.30pm, and were in our apartment having acquired a hire car by 9pm, this shows how smooth the arrival process was. Fijians have a reputation for friendliness and this certainly seems deserved so far.

 

The plan for the day is to find some breakfast and then drive along the coast up to Suva, stopping at various points of interest along the way. 
 

Oh, and they drive on the left! Shouldn’t be a surprise really but after 14 months of driving on the right, it did take a quick bit of brain recalibration.

[TheQ]

The laws on draught animals as applied to dogs do not apply to private land.

They only come under the laws applying to general welfare of animals.

[pH]

16 minutes ago, Flanged Wheel said:

… after 14 months of driving on the right, it did take a quick bit of brain recalibration.

How about after 36 years (our last visit to the UK)? On our next visit (whenever that might be!), and into my 4th quarter-century, I’m seriously considering not hiring a car and just using public transit. 

Edited November 8, 2023 by pH

[TheQ]

Unless you wish to be confined to major towns and cities, you'll find getting around without a car is difficult these days. I live just 20 miles from Norwich it's impossible other than by taxi to get there in less than 3 hours and definitely impossible to get there and back in a day by bus and or train..

[Flanged Wheel]

I find that the danger period comes after a few months when you “think” you have it sussed and then some inner instinct rears it head. We had been living in the US for six months and all was well on the driving front. On a trip to Nova Scotia, I turned out of a car park with the family onboard, and merrily started driving down the road. Soon I met a car that was driving straight towards me on the wrong side of the road - only he wasn’t on the wrong side, he was on the right side (in both senses). I had to pull over and have a couple of minutes to let the adrenaline settle. I’ve never made that mistake since but I try very hard not to get complacent as a result.

[Winslow Boy]

5 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Croust time. Pasty in one hand, camera in the other 

 

Multi tasking I like it.

[TheQ]

The flooding gets worse. My house is in picture sort of, a fuzzy dot near the coast.

[Coombe Barton]

... Today teaching at 9 – to less than 30% of those who should have been there. They’d complain soon enough if I wasn’t there. So I sent out another email about that which again turned into an excuse generator. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2023/11/08/covid-enquiry-stating-what-we-all-suspected/

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, Flanged Wheel said:

I find that the danger period comes after a few months when you “think” you have it sussed and then some inner instinct rears it head. We had been living in the US for six months and all was well on the driving front. On a trip to Nova Scotia, I turned out of a car park with the family onboard, and merrily started driving down the road. Soon I met a car that was driving straight towards me on the wrong side of the road - only he wasn’t on the wrong side, he was on the right side (in both senses). I had to pull over and have a couple of minutes to let the adrenaline settle. I’ve never made that mistake since but I try very hard not to get complacent as a result.

I went on a day trip by coach to Belgium about ten years ago. When pulling out of one of the sites visited the coach driver made the same mistake and even his co-driver didn't realise he was on the wrong side of the road. I was sitting behind the co-driver and reminded the driver. Fortunately it was a quiet rural road with no other traffic.

[pH]

 

I have a feeling some ERs might like Anna.

[pH]

3 hours ago, TheQ said:

Unless you wish to be confined to major towns and cities, you'll find getting around without a car is difficult these days.

We would be in Clydeside and London - both with good public transit. Elsewhere , we would have to rely on the relatives and friends we would be visiting for transport.

 

 

3 hours ago, Flanged Wheel said:

I find that the danger period comes after a few months when you “think” you have it sussed and then some inner instinct rears it head.
…

Soon I met a car that was driving straight towards me on the wrong side of the road - only he wasn’t on the wrong side …

I drove in Canada on a holiday in 1968. I found the most difficult thing to cope with, both in Canada and on returning to the UK, was driving on unmarked areas like gas station forecourts. I would just stop and let other drivers round me. 
 

The car driving position and controls being differently arranged did help. My cousin, who was with me in 1968, rode motorbikes in the UK. He would not do it in Canada - he said that if he’d tried, he would have expected to be dead in a week.

[pH]

3 hours ago, TheQ said:

The flooding gets worse. My house is in picture sort of, a fuzzy dot near the coast.

That’s a very nice fuzzy dot you have!

[DaveF]

3 hours ago, Flanged Wheel said:

I find that the danger period comes after a few months when you “think” you have it sussed and then some inner instinct rears it head. We had been living in the US for six months and all was well on the driving front. On a trip to Nova Scotia, I turned out of a car park with the family onboard, and merrily started driving down the road. Soon I met a car that was driving straight towards me on the wrong side of the road - only he wasn’t on the wrong side, he was on the right side (in both senses). I had to pull over and have a couple of minutes to let the adrenaline settle. I’ve never made that mistake since but I try very hard not to get complacent as a result.

 

I know that feeling.  Back in the early 90s I used to drive from ferry ports - Zeebrugge, Rotterdam or Esbjerg (Denmark) to Switzerland and Austria on holidays.

 

One day I left a German hotel in a very quiet village and had driven several miles without seeing any other traffic.  It was an unpleasant surprise when I went round a bend and found a bin lorry coming towards me on "my" side of the road. 

 

Fortunately I realised that I was on the left not the right and quickly moved over to the right hand side of the road.  As I passed the lorry the men were all laughing and pointing at me.

 

I didn't make the same mistake again.

 

David