Early Risers.

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

So does Israel. 

 

Shabbat candle lighting starts 18 minutes before sundown on a Friday. Shabbat begins at sundown and candles must be lit by then.

And that is why you will seldom find anyone of that faith travelling or even out and about after around 2pm on a Friday.  They are not willing to risk being caught out away from home unable to light the candles and breaking Shabbat observance laws.  

 

You will, however, notice an urgency among them approaching that time.  This is especially noticeable in places with a high percentage of such folk among the population.  The streets of Stamford Hill and Golders Green in London would be bustling at lunchtime, crowded just after with people clearly moving with purpose and almost deserted by mid-afternoon.  

[Tony_S]

22 minutes ago, Hroth said:

Putin seems to be making the same mistakes as his hero, Stalin did, nowadays...

At the end of WW2 Finland ceded territory to the Soviet Union, and had to pay reparations. Finland had a sort of neutrality that was friendly to the USSR imposed. The invasion of Ukraine ended that neutrality. 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[The Lurker]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

And that is why you will seldom find anyone of that faith travelling or even out and about after around 2pm on a Friday.  They are not willing to risk being caught out away from home unable to light the candles and breaking Shabbat observance laws.  

 

You will, however, notice an urgency among them approaching that time.  This is especially noticeable in places with a high percentage of such folk among the population.  The streets of Stamford Hill and Golders Green in London would be bustling at lunchtime, crowded just after with people clearly moving with purpose and almost deserted by mid-afternoon.  

The last accountancy firm I worked for had a large Jewish population and the more orthodox were very much like this, needing to get at least within an eruv on time. The less religious at times seemed to use it as an excuse to get to the pub early. It also meant that Thursday was the going out after work night.

[Smiffy2]

Back in about 1971 I did a teaching practice at Southmoor School in Sunderland. It wasn't a Jewish school, but had many Jewish pupils, so we finished early on Fridays, so they could get home before shabbat.

 

I'm told that the once-vibrant Jewish community of Sunderland has mostly been dissipated; kids left to find work and eventually their parents followed them.

[Ozexpatriate]

Big pharma commercials for 'fur babies' now.

 

Librela (bedinvetmab) for canine osteoarthritis.

 

Veterinary professionals should be careful of self-injection - may cause anaphylaxis. I wonder how much that costs?

[Darlington_Shed]

11 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

spookily quiet in the fog except for the slop of the sea

 

A beautifully evocative phrase. Take a bow, sir!

[jjb1970]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

At the end of WW2 Finland ceded territory to the Soviet Union, and had to pay reparations. Finland had a sort of neutrality that was friendly to the USSR imposed. The invasion of Ukraine ended that neutrality. 

 

The other comparison with the Winter War in Finland and later WW2 is that it appears Russia went into the war placing politics above military logic, some inept generals and questionable tactical doctrine. As the war has gone on they've put their military professionals in charge, dismissed a lot of no hopers and overhauled their tactical doctrine, after which their resilience and industrial capacity becomes critical.

[iL Dottore]

18 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

Not going by their wedding piccy!

 

 

 

 

They say the 70's was the decade that style forgot, but I say that  the 80's was the decade that style got  dragged from its bed,  driven to a lonely bush site, was forced to dig its own grave then got shot a dozen times before being covered in dirt sticks and leaves , then got dug up again  and had petrol poured on it and lit, then the embers got  stamped all over by elephants  before being  flushed down a toilet, then its home was carpet bombed with napalm. And then salted.

Two words Chimpey, just two words:

 

SHOULDER PADS!

[iL Dottore]

16 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear's body is a Temple.....

 

Old, crumbling, curséd and the site of unspeakable rituals?

 

Edited March 3 by iL Dottore

[Hroth]

47 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Old, crumbling! curséd and the site of unspeakable rituals?

 

'tis the Sign of Eight, the abode of the cursed Bel Shamharoth, the Soul Eater!

 

ION

 

Its dull, coldish and grey out. 

But at least its not RAINING!

 

In fact, the sun has come out!

 

Edited March 3 by Hroth
Weather update

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a grey and misty Charente.  It wilbe an interesting drive to the market this morning as there were some flooded roads last night.  Then after the market we are off for cake and coffee at a friend's in honour of her birthday.  Quite a good prospect.  Last night we had wild boar pie.  Beth had helped some friends butcher a complete leg that they had been given.  They left her the nones so she put them in the slow cooker to make stock.  Enough meat came off the bone to make two meat and potato pies.  The other is heading for the freezer. 

 

Jamie

[iL Dottore]

10 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

When we have been on cruises we have noticed a complete refusal of most US passengers to eat any sort of local food on shore,

Funny that. I’ve had some amazing food by eating with the locals: goat byriani  in a cafe run for (and by) Bangladeshi “guest” workers in the UAE, Cous-Cous Royale in a ramshackle café in Tunisia, lamb stew with okra with the crew on a Nile cruise ship, curry mee from a hawker stall in KL, a perfect “suppli di riso” in a cafe/bar in the back streets of Venice, pad thai at a roadside stall in Thailand and so on.

 

Never got sick once!
 

Got food poisoning in Texas!

[TheQ]

I Suspect Americans are a lot more frightened of medical bills if they do pick up a nasty eating on shore than Brits .

Also I believe public transport other than flying is something not done and practically non existent outside big cities, even then often regarded as something for "the poor".

 

Mooring Awl,

Good, 7.5 hours near solid sleep.

Bad, left knee and right ankle not happy.

Effects of wandering around on tiled floors at a show.

 

Luckily light winds today so not too stressful when we sail in circles later. Though it won't be good for our racing position as the boat is not set up for the really light stuff.

 

Forecast for the entire week is dry, which would be nice, the ground definitely needs to drain...

 

Ben is still fast asleep, but I'm wide awake.. Brain keeps going onto plans for routing of electric smoke on the current unmentionables.

 

Time I moved though, Ben will awake instantly.

 

 

 

[polybear]

Bear here.....

 

Disgustingly late (0630) out of The Bear Pit for a second day - must try harder.

Today?  Well I've got a few minor muddlin' tasks to sort out, after that it'll be MIUABGA, which will hopefully involve a wander at some point.

I still have to type/finish off/finalise some paperwork (Information, Lifebook, Expression of Wishes) to accompany my Will - these additional documents will hopefully greatly assist my Executors in carrying out my Wishes and (a) minimise legal costs, and (b) ensure my goodies go to those who've shared Cake....

Hopefully that'll be the end of minimise a huge worry that's been bothering me for "some years" at long last.  Whether or not I get that done today remains to be seen - but in the next few days should be achievable if I get my bonce in gear.

 

Bear gone.

[iL Dottore]

10 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

…. Equally they will usually refuse to use local public transport and only used the ship organised Tours.

More fool them.

 

I love using local transport - not only is it a cheap and effective method of getting around, but you also get to see a lot of the city/place/country where tourists never go.

 

One year ESMO (European Society for Medical Oncology) was in Berlin and one afternoon there was absolutely nothing of relevance or interest for me at the sessions, so I explored Berlin by S-Bahn and U-Bahn. Loadsa fun, with many of the (former) East Berlin U-Bahn stations retaining the beautiful art-deco (?) styling of when the stations were built in the 1910s, 20s and 30s.
 

in Kyoto, I slightly upset my tour guide by insisting on going by public transport (he had expected to go everywhere by Taxi), but if I hadn’t had taken public transport and walked to the destinations, I would have missed many beautiful little things – like the Shinto shrine dedicated to the Japanese founders (and the game) of rugby– that going by tour bus or taxi would make you miss.

 

One of the few places where I wouldn’t immediately consider using public transport is the US (and, to a certain extent, Canada). Outside of the Washington DC Metro (which is actually quite superb), US public transport is not terribly reliable, often antiquated and rundown and in some cities (like New York) in parts downright dangerous.

 

Edited March 3 by iL Dottore
Format

[Tony_S]

This was the sky yesterday evening.

I can’t see any delighted shepherds this morning though. 

[TheQ]

Ben the I'd like some of your bacon Collie had a good patrol

Several more bunches of daffs out, a pair of crocuses up on the the " high ground" and a pear tree begining to flower...

Lower ground still awash and flowing waters out onto the road.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Off to Preston shortly. I hope to buysome much needed muddling items.

 

Time for porridge!

 

TTFN

 

Baz

 

Ps wheres @grandadbob??

[Coombe Barton]

Fost and frog, but the bright light in the sky is making itself known. 

 

Today it's tackling the piles of 'stuff' and trying to get it into some sot of order. Supper is cooked (it's part two of the lamb and bean casserole from last night) so I just need to gt the bum off the sofa before gettinonwivit.

However coffee calls.

[Grizz]

9 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

And that is why you will seldom find anyone of that faith travelling or even out and about after around 2pm on a Friday.  They are not willing to risk being caught out away from home unable to light the candles and breaking Shabbat observance laws.  

 

You will, however, notice an urgency among them approaching that time.  This is especially noticeable in places with a high percentage of such folk among the population.  The streets of Stamford Hill and Golders Green in London would be bustling at lunchtime, crowded just after with people clearly moving with purpose and almost deserted by mid-afternoon.  

I have some very found memories of chatting with Jewish families in Stamford Hill area. Over 20 years ago my patch was what used to called ‘The North London Lines’, oddly it covered from Richmond in the SW to Woolwich in the East, and all S&C in between. 
 

We used to take a possessions for 053 facing switch inspection / maintenance on weekend nights, with the access at South Tottenham station, giving it up or hand it over in the early hours on a Sunday morning. 
 

From around 01:00 to 04:00 the road from Seven Sisters down through Stamford Hill towards Dalston was busy with Jewish families. All ages, from tiny tots to Adults, happily going to and fro in what was the middle of the night. Always very smartly dressed, with some clearly different denominations. Some Hasidic Jews wore shtreimel, that is the ‘Russian’ looking hat. They explained to us that they were very expensive and were an extremely important part of their religious tradition. Hand made and very precious. 

 

In the summer months we’d often take a break around 02:00, parking up near to the intersection at Stamford Hill, sitting outside the truck drinking tea and coffee. Familes would stop for a chat, asking how we were and what we were doing? Where we were working? We’d look forward to this as everyone would take part in the conversations, with subjects from football to food.
 

My favourite memory was from a chat with a very elderly orthodox gentleman, who was always surrounded by several generations of his family. To paint the picture, my beard was full and quite long even back then and I also had long hair but tied back under my hat.

I think that he had clearly been thinking about this for some time, when finally he asked me in a very quiet voice and with a definite twinkle in his eye, “tell me my friend, with such a beautiful beard like that, are you now or have you ever before been Jewish? He was trying not to laugh as he said it. Then he said “maybe you should check…because who knows? …you could be..”. Then he winked at me.  
 

He also took a great deal of interest in my food as I usually had ‘Sild’ (Danish pickled herring’ on rye bread). Herring was a particular favourite of his. He recommend a brisket recipe that his wife used to make, which Mrs Grizz still uses it to this day, it is melt in mouth and utterly delicious.

I do miss the social aspect of working in London, as over the years I have been fortunate to meet some wonderful people from every back ground imaginable. It is amazing how often that food and football would feature in conversations.
 

[DaveF]

A fine morning but cool, 2°C and a gentle sea breeze.  I won't be going anywhere today in the car, just knowing I can is sufficient for now.  I didn't sleep too well so at 01.30 gave up and read a novel until I finished it it, then I fell soundly asleep until about 07.00.  I woke feeling tired but more cheerful.

 

Yesterday evening I had a walk around the house putting some things away which I had wanted handy while I wasn't very mobile.  As I did that I was able to see quite clearly which ornaments and such need to be got rid of.  So far two small valueless items have gone in the bin.  Others will be binned or taken to a charity shop quite soon, a few may go into the garage while I think about them.  One or two might be worth selling, I shall do some research online.

 

Yesterday evening was old black and white TV and anepisode of The Sweeney.

 

Not much is planned for today, just an e letter to write to a friend , then coffee, then lunch.  I will probably have a walk sometime.   Apart from that I will watch a bit of TV and read.  I may tidy some of the plants which have overwintered in the greenhouse providing I can reach them comfotably.

 

David

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I spent a week in Athens in 1977 and myself and a few friends went around the main sites on foot, come lunchtime we found the Greek equivalent of a greasy spoon cafe in the shadow of the Acropolis. It was down about half a dozen steps in a semi basement and at the back of the room were several cauldrons bubbling away. They were all labelled but in Greek Cyrillic but we just pointed to one of the cauldrons and the chap standing behind just filled a large bowl from the cauldron and served it up with hunks of fresh Greek bread. It was while we were eating that someone got the phrase book out to check exactly what it was we were eating.  I thought I was eating lamb but it turned out to be goat. One of the girls in our party was a bit put out when she found out she'd been eating squid. We returned to the cafe for lunch a couple of further times, not only because of the excellent food but the cost of the meal was only the equivalent of 50-60 pence.

[monkeysarefun]

When I first got my fridge it didnt work on the first Saturday, the light didn't go on and it didnt make the usual fridge noises like humming etc.  I thought to myself "Jeez that didnt last long" but before calling the Fisher and Paykel hotline I checked the manual and discovered it has a Sabbath mode which is set to be on by default.

 

Apparently opening the fridge door to get the milk out etc  isn't classed as "work" but causing the light to come on is. 

Edited March 3 by monkeysarefun