Early Risers.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

At some point I will collect Beast from the garage. Latest estimate is between 2 and 3 Deltics.. ouch!

 

As it happens I have never eaten a pot noodle.. they don't tempt me in the least.

 

Time to.. brew a pot of tea and then gerronwithit!

 

After the nice weather yesterday its chuckinitdarn.. Pah!

 

Baz

[iL Dottore]

9 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

'Expensive', 'quality', 'intricate'/'involved'/'complicated'* dishes ..……

……e.g. souffles, meringues for me, I'm sure we all have our culinary 'betes noires'?   

Soufflés are surprisingly easy to make. I was leery of attempting one, but a Nigel Slater Recipe for a smoked salmon soufflé soon set me straight. As for meringues it very much depends upon which type of meringue you are making (there are 3 types: French, Italian and Swiss). The only thing that is critical when working with egg whites is that utensils and bowls must be scrupulously clean and free of any trace of oil/butter/other fat - otherwise the recipe won’t work.

 

In cooking, like so many things, the easy things look hard and the hard things look easy. And preparing a Brunoise, properly, is one of those easy looking hard things (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunoise). Unsurprisingly, you can now get machines to do that.

 

Regarding KFC, the problem - in my view - is not so much with “fast food” per se, but with what it’s made from and when it turns from a treat to a daily staple. Having a pizza or a burger every so often is one thing - but on a daily basis?

 

In those countries with a significant street food culture - like Thailand - “fast food” is a different matter. Most street food in SE Asia is pretty healthy, cooked from scratch and made from unprocessed ingredients.

 

No matter how healthy a recipe, if you use junk ingredients you get junk food.

[New Haven Neil]

8 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

You know you don't have to draw an arrow on the ground pointing to the motorcycle as well  Neil.

 

Ah that's a north pointing arrow for the visitors to understand the distant land seen on a clear day is Scotland, not a suburb of Blackpool or something!

 

Morning world, 9c and dry currently but the fore-guess doesn't look too good for the rest of the day, or week even.

 

Yesterday was spring-like for a few hours, even saw my first flutterbye in the garden, shame it won't be like that again today.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

3 hours +1 +1 hours sleep not enough, reason, hitting the deck on Monday, the bruises have appeared, and of course I put my right hand out and it was the right foot that caught on the wooden deck so that ankle and wrist are more painful than usual.

 

Ben the an hour early Collie didn't get to patrol till I decided to get up. He was off searching around quite rapidly.

Dull drizzly, recent rain, trees dripping, not a lot a wind.

 

I have had the rare pot noodle in the dim and very distant past, I preferred the " stronger " flavours.

 

Plans for today, 

Notalot,

Paint the box for the radar,

Muddling.

 

 

[Hroth]

 

Boinggggg!!!

 

Yep, the Vernal Equinox occured earlier this morning, so Spring has actually Sprung, and the hours of daylight are now OFFICIALLY longer than those of night.

 

All it really means is that the dawn chorus will get earlier and earlier...

 

[polybear]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Well, well, well, Puppers…

 

Now you’ve done it 

 

This scurrilous and libellous insinuation of my good friend iL Dottore has come to my attention. He is most upset, not only because of these preposterous and unfounded implied allegations, but also because it also comes from someone he regarded as a chum. The fact that you took delight in this has not helped your case at all.

 

Therefore, I have decided that you deserve my special, bespoke, creative, personalised corrective therapy.

 

 

You take on Puppers.....you take on The Bear....⚠️

Just thought I'd mention that.....😉

 

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

As it happens I have never eaten a pot noodle.. they don't tempt me in the least.

 

 

Nor has Bear, unlike @iL Dottore iD.

Thought I'd mention that too.....

[southern42]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

Latest estimate is between 2 and 3 Deltics.. ouch!

 

"At some point," I will be collecting some see-better-glasses from the optician's. My estimate is also between 2 and 3 Deltics depending if I go for a second pair for reading...erm...muddling, or not - second lens half price and my own supplied frames: just got to decide which one, if at all! At that price, it makes me wonder if I should wear glasses 24/7 to get best financial benefit! <<OooooH! I saw my dream much clearer last night....>>

 

Or, maybe, I should have gone for the very best quality lenses. I was informed that the varifocal lenses they provide were better than from the chain opticians I had previously frequented but came in three standards. I went for the middle option thinking I might want a second pair and, with the price difference, I could get quite a few of those new little Great Wooden Runabout boxes that run on parallel bits of metal! Guess what I will might be ordering later.....

 

Edited March 20 by southern42

[PupCam]

Morning All!

 

Main activity for the day is planning for a "Special Military Operation".    No it's not a war  😂

 

After that I might go and survey the last two timbers for the pergola and think about finishing it off.     Oh yes, I've got to phone the water company to suggest that there might be a teeny weeny error on their latest bill.  

 

TTFN

[polybear]

Bear here.....

Up at VSO'C (0430) - yet another piddlin' session in the pool.  Does it feel good?  Well the last half a dozen feet on Lap 30 do, as Bear paddles towards the steps; as for the rest of it, well....

 

Now safely back in Bear Castle; today's fun includes gettin' the lug'oles lowered, followed by "some fun" (hopefully)

 

BG

[iL Dottore]

Caught earlier on CCTV in Pupper's Garage

 

Edited March 20 by iL Dottore
Punctuation

[iL Dottore]

40 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

You take on Puppers.....you take on The Bear....⚠️

Just thought I'd mention that.....😉

Two for the price of one. What Fun! - Got a safe garage in which to park Mickey the MG?

 

Thought not!

 

Captain Cynical

[iL Dottore]

43 minutes ago, polybear said:

Nor has Bear, unlike  iD.

Thought I'd mention that too.....

Unlike some, I don't pass judgment on foods I haven't tried at least once. Which means that, yes, I have tried oven fries and tinned baked beans (and they are still barely edible UPF).

 

Has Bear tried brains? sweetbreads? hare sauce? loin of venison?

 

Thought not.

[PupCam]

13 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Caught earlier on CCTV in Pupper's Garage

 

 

That's not this Puppers' garage!  And what the heck is THAT thing holding the cutters! 🤣

 

10 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Got a safe garage in which to park Mickey the MG?

 

Now that is just cruel.   Fancy mentioning the G word when conversing with Mr Bear.       A below-the-belt tactic if you ask me

 

Now, on with the planning ...

 

 

[PhilJ W]

This was posted on another forum and I'm posting it here with the original posters permission. No comment is needed.

 

My middle daughter is a Cordwainer, one of a team of three, making bespoke, handmade to measure  shoes and boots.  At the beginning of the year a pair of £800 boots were dispatched via Royal Mail to a client in France; clearly addressed with both buyer and sellers details.   Delivery was attempted and a note left for the absent buyer.  When the  buyer attempted to collect the package they were told that it had been returned to the manufacturer.  When Royal Mail we’re contacted they said that they were attempting to re deliver. Nothing arrived with either buyer or seller. Several emails were sent in an effort to discover the whereabouts of the elusive parcel. Last week an email reply from Royal Mail said that as the parcel had gone unclaimed for three weeks it had been destroyed!  
 As a gesture of “goodwill” they offered a cheque for £13:49.  
 Yesterday middle daughter was a little surprised to discover a bespoke pair of handmade boots, in branded box and packaging, offered for sale on e*ay!     When she contacted the seller she received a rather patronising reply, declining to say where they had obtained the boots, and suggesting that the company should take as much care with delivery as they took in making the boots in the first place.  
 A Google search reveals that Royal Mail sold on 75,000+ undelivered/undeliverable parcels last year.  Many have appeared for sale online, in many cases still unopened, and in some cases people have spotted their undelivered parcels still bearing their name and address label, clearly displayed in the online listing.  

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I woke up several times last night though I can't really blame bladder control as I had a couple of mugs of tea rather late in the evening. With regard to the problems in the same department a few weeks ago I had a call this morning from the surgery giving me a telephone consultation at 11 o'clock tomorrow morning. When I phoned last week they told me that they had just received the results back and that nothing serious had been found.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A rather dull and wet start to the day here in England’s northwest corner. However, this will not prevent me from applying the final coat of paint to the cellar woodwork. All that remains to be done is the small door/hatch, which needs a bit of repair work done and a repaint. But I’ll do that outside in the summer. 
 

Best get in with it, back later. 
 

Brian

[iL Dottore]

19 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

This was posted on another forum and I'm posting it here with the original posters permission. No comment is needed.

 

My middle daughter is a Cordwainer, one of a team of three, making bespoke, handmade to measure  shoes and boots.  At the beginning of the year a pair of £800 boots were dispatched via Royal Mail to a client in France; clearly addressed with both buyer and sellers details.   Delivery was attempted and a note left for the absent buyer.  When the  buyer attempted to collect the package they were told that it had been returned to the manufacturer.  When Royal Mail we’re contacted they said that they were attempting to re deliver. Nothing arrived with either buyer or seller. Several emails were sent in an effort to discover the whereabouts of the elusive parcel. Last week an email reply from Royal Mail said that as the parcel had gone unclaimed for three weeks it had been destroyed!  
 As a gesture of “goodwill” they offered a cheque for £13:49.  
 Yesterday middle daughter was a little surprised to discover a bespoke pair of handmade boots, in branded box and packaging, offered for sale on e*ay!     When she contacted the seller she received a rather patronising reply, declining to say where they had obtained the boots, and suggesting that the company should take as much care with delivery as they took in making the boots in the first place.  
 A Google search reveals that Royal Mail sold on 75,000+ undelivered/undeliverable parcels last year.  Many have appeared for sale online, in many cases still unopened, and in some cases people have spotted their undelivered parcels still bearing their name and address label, clearly displayed in the online listing.  

According to the BBC, the Royal Mail made over £1 million in 2011 (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-14785851). by selling "undeliverable" parcels. Post-pandemic (and the associated huge increase of buying on line) I am certain that the sum the Royal Mail made in 2023 from selling "undeliverable" parcels (yeah, right!) must be considerably more than just £1 million.

 

I wonder if some bean-counter at RM has calculated that they will make more money by NOT delivering parcels and selling them off and thus RM only makes desultory attempts to deliver said parcels.

 

Apparently, there's a whole sub-culture on YouTube where they buy boxes of "undeliverable" parcels and then un-box things on camera for their YouTube viewers.

 

Someone has to pay to replace the "undeliverable" items, perhaps if "parcel loss insurance" became mandatory, then fewer parcels would be "undeliverable" as insurance companies would be very interested in reducing the payouts they have to make...

[DaveF]

I think my "get up and go" got up very early this morning and has left the house without me.  I woke about 04.30 for a call of nature and could hear some birds singing, it was nowhere near dawn.

 

So far today I have done a few jobs and have been sorting out more paperwork, this time making sure that all the car documents are in one place. I found a couple need printing off for safe keeping, including the service plan details.  There is a pile of unwanted stuff to be put in the bin after I have checked how much of it needs shredding.

 

It's dull and rainy so I won't be going far until it dries up, after the last two days of being quite busy I feel very tired so a day of rest will do me good.  As it wet I also ache and bits around the scar are sore.

 

I haven't though much about what I will on this "rest" day but I do have some phone calls to make concerning my funeral plan - to finish setting it up, church things and so on.

 

David

[woodenhead]

Another trip south, at least this time it’s all in daylight, wonder what delights will be parked in LSL at Crewe?

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Caught earlier on CCTV in Pupper's Garage

 

 

52 minutes ago, PupCam said:

 

That's not this Puppers' garage!  And what the heck is THAT thing holding the cutters! 🤣

 

 

 

Going by the symbols on chest and hat, whatever it is must be the First Cuccoo of Spring....

 

I really do feel sorry fot its minder!

 

[The White Rabbit]

3 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

Ah that's a north pointing arrow for the visitors to understand the distant land seen on a clear day is Scotland, not a suburb of Blackpool or something! ...

 

I've seen engravings at various viewpoints with basic maps and compass bearings/lines so you know what you're looking at. Or would be if the mist would clear. Occasionally with distances included as well. Useful and nice to see. 

 

ION... time for this picture again? 

 

 

Though it doesn't feel like it at the moment. Maybe later? 

 

44 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

...  A Google search reveals that Royal Mail sold on 75,000+ undelivered/undeliverable parcels last year.  Many have appeared for sale online, in many cases still unopened, and in some cases people have spotted their undelivered parcels still bearing their name and address label, clearly displayed in the online listing.  

 

I wonder if one of the 'dishonesty' offences cannot be applied or proven, whether GDPR could be used? If so, then that, the resulting media coverage and public reaction might enable a stop to be put to the practice? 

 

[Hroth]

 

 

As the Vernal Equinox occurred just after 3am this morning, Spring can be said to be well and truly here!

 

Boiiiing!!!  🙂

 

[polybear]

55 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

This was posted on another forum and I'm posting it here with the original posters permission. No comment is needed.

 

My middle daughter is a Cordwainer, one of a team of three, making bespoke, handmade to measure  shoes and boots.  At the beginning of the year a pair of £800 boots were dispatched via Royal Mail to a client in France; clearly addressed with both buyer and sellers details.   Delivery was attempted and a note left for the absent buyer.  When the  buyer attempted to collect the package they were told that it had been returned to the manufacturer.  When Royal Mail we’re contacted they said that they were attempting to re deliver. Nothing arrived with either buyer or seller. Several emails were sent in an effort to discover the whereabouts of the elusive parcel. Last week an email reply from Royal Mail said that as the parcel had gone unclaimed for three weeks it had been destroyed!  
 As a gesture of “goodwill” they offered a cheque for £13:49.  
 Yesterday middle daughter was a little surprised to discover a bespoke pair of handmade boots, in branded box and packaging, offered for sale on e*ay!     When she contacted the seller she received a rather patronising reply, declining to say where they had obtained the boots, and suggesting that the company should take as much care with delivery as they took in making the boots in the first place.  
 A Google search reveals that Royal Mail sold on 75,000+ undelivered/undeliverable parcels last year.  Many have appeared for sale online, in many cases still unopened, and in some cases people have spotted their undelivered parcels still bearing their name and address label, clearly displayed in the online listing.  

 

Hopefully she had the sense to take out insurance on a parcel of that value.....

[Tony_S]

1 minute ago, polybear said:

 

Hopefully she had the sense to take out insurance on a parcel of that value.....

I,suspect as the compensation was about the value of a book of stamps, I suspect the answer was “no”. 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Two for the price of one. What Fun!

 

Captain Cynical

 

 

Edited March 20 by polybear