Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Still coughing and sniffing another nights sleep is in order, if bladder control lets me. Things are getting better though but very slowly. Time for another hot milky drink.

[Dave Hunt]

5 hours ago, 45156 said:

 Dave - based on what I had today, the Feathers is OK.

 

I'm glad to hear it. I was saddened by your earlier experience as we were hoping to visit the Feathers again having really enjoyed it last time. It sounds as though your previous visit caught them on a bad day.

 

Dave 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Coombe Barton]

... It would be OK if the students did the work if they didn’t come in but it’s obvious that many didn’t ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/05/29/marks-and-attendance-my-last-marking/

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[Gwiwer]

4 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

the confrontation between a large German coach and a smaller Italian coach between Zennor and Morvah. German coach could not reverse

I was driving the bus out there on one occasion when, in that section and specifically at Rosemergy Farm, I met a German tour-coach coming the other way. 
 

At that point there is almost no visibility in either direction as the single track road wiggles through the farm. Neither of us could have seen the other coming. We met face to face - both with a number of cars behind - at a point where one or other of us would have to reverse.
 

Herr Tourist-Reisen Fahrer threw his hands up in horror at this. After a brief stalemate he leaned from his (left-hand drive) cab window and said something to the effect of “You must go back”.
 

Knowing the road and knowing he was only 200m from a wider spot where I had almost half a mile of stone-walled single-lane behind me I suggested it might be his move. He disagreed. I got my book out and started reading.
 

With increasingly impatient motorists behind us both and impasse apparently upon us he finally gave up, exited his vehicle and offered me his seat. 
 

Which I duly took. After a brief moment to familiarise myself with the controls and a word of warning to the cars behind I promptly reversed his coach into the farm gateway in one move to the applause of his passengers. 
 

I resumed my own seat and carried on leaving Herr Professionalbusfahrer to extract his shiny-mobile from between stone gate-posts. I had left him about six inches either side. 
 

And that’s still the only Setra I have driven. Nice coach. 
 

My view 

 

 

His view

 

 

Red arrows show my moves of his coach - forward just enough to then reverse off the road between the gate posts! 
 

 

[jjb1970]

4 hours ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 I have a vague recollection of reading that Russian secret police and

other security types always went in 3's . The reasoning was that ' someone would always snitch ' if anyone tried to work a fiddle .

 

 I wonder if NK people that are allowed out for business reasons

always have a government approved ' nark ' in the team to ensure

that no one bad mouths Dear Leader or the Country in general .

 

 

 

I don't know if true but I was told by the Republic of Korea people in a meeting that the DPRK allows people to travel but they have to have family that stay in the country. The logic being if they misbehave or defect they might be OK but good luck for those still in North Korea. I can't vouch for it but it seems a reasonable explanation consistent with other information. 

[NGT6 1315]

Moaning awl. 🥱

 

Split shi(f)t today, though at least with the shorter bit in the afternoon. Still, such shifts generally mean an entire day is effectively gone, so our staff reps and the union have been working to disincentivise this kind of shift for the company for years.

 

FiL came home yesterday. As I expected, he's still very weak and quite evidently requires propping up for the time being. He does not eat very much independently yet, and thus requires supplemental parenteral nutrition. He's visibly relieved to be home, though.

 

And with that, I'll have to get going. Later...

[Ozexpatriate]

7 hours ago, polybear said:

I haven't a clue about all the in's & out's of the pollytikal stuff but I do wonder if the West had simply stayed out of it (the US were secretly supporting the Muj. big time with weapons & money etc) and let Afgan fall to the Ruskies then would we be in the mess we are now?

The west should have stayed out of Afghanistan - starting in 1838, and again in 1878, and again in 1919.

 

Quote

It is easy to get into Afghanistan. The problem is getting out again.

First Duke of Wellington, Sir Arthur Wellesley.

 

At some point in the whole sordid mess, (presumably) in the House of Lords, the Wellesley boys remarked:

Quote

Marquis Wellesley regarded 'this wild expedition into a distant region of rocks and deserts, of sands and ice and snow,' as an act of infatuation. The Duke of Wellington pronounced with prophetic sagacity, that the consequence of once crossing the Indus to settle a government in Afghanistan would be a perennial march into that country.

Quite right they were too - proven over and over again by British, Russian and American armies.

 

What really might have helped the most might have been a for a member of the Indian Civil Service (Sir Henry Mortimer Durand GCMG KCSI KCIE PC) to sit down and have a nice Gin and Tonic, instead of playing with his box of coloured pencils and a map in 1893 - focused on mountain ridges with apparent oblivion of the historical regions of the local ethnic communities.

 

All at playing "The Great Game" with the scary bear.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, Sidecar Racer said:

 I wonder if NK people that are allowed out for business reasons

always have a government approved ' nark ' in the team to ensure

that no one bad mouths Dear Leader or the Country in general .

In fours:

Quote

Hương told the police that she was instructed by four men who were traveling with them ...

Very nasty business.

 

Edited May 30 by Ozexpatriate

[polybear]

4 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

 

I don't know if true but I was told by the Republic of Korea people in a meeting that the DPRK allows people to travel but they have to have family that stay in the country. The logic being if they misbehave or defect they might be OK but good luck for those still in North Korea. I can't vouch for it but it seems a reasonable explanation consistent with other information. 

 

ISTR a news report/leak from DPRK alleging that a (large?) group of previously in-favour dignitaries were now very much out of favour and were lined up and shot with a 50 cal. (?) machine gun; meanwhile those dignitaries still in-favour were to watch this little show......and any noted to be looking away (or closing their eyes) were told that they would join the line-up.

 

No idea if it's true or not, of course - but I for one can believe it.

 

ION......

A much better snooze last night, luckily - only one visit from CC's bluddy wee wee fairy at 01-summink so that's a Tick.

 

And finally.....

The scales were nicely on the 68 this morning.  That's another Tick.

 

BG

[jjb1970]

Iran is another country for which our interference really came back to bite us. In 1951 Mohammad Mossadegh became Prime Minister of Iran. He would probably be best described as a left of centre progressive using modern terminology. He wanted to audit what would later be BP and take greater control of Iranian oil after which the US and UK organised a coup in 1953 and put the Shah in control. As might be expected, if you suppress centrist opposition and those wanting to achieve change through constitutional means people turn to more extreme alternatives. In all the wailing about Iran there's very little acknowledgement from western Iran hawks that our meddling and subsequent support for the Shah is a significant part of why Iran became the Islamic Republic that it is today.

 

There are plenty of similar examples in Africa, Latin America and other parts of Asia. In more recent times attempted regime change efforts in Iraq, Syria and Libya as well as Afghanistan have been disastrous for pretty much everyone.

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Isnhindsight wonderful? It is but.. it is hard to change history. 

 

Over the years our views on historical events change...and the changes can be hard to follow.

 

Off for a few days of meeting up soe very old workmates. Organisation..  nil.. potential fun content.. high.

 

Time to get a move on!

 

TTFN

Baz

 

[monkeysarefun]

Well that was quick, it was meant to be the end of June...

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Another dull start to the day here.  Sunny spells and showers, some heavy and possibly thundery forecast.  It will be breezy and a bit cooler.  12°C rising to 19°C.

Thursday brings with it multiple bin lorries and Ocado who once again say they will be delivering everything we've asked for.  Must admit their service is far better than we ended up experiencing with Sainsbury's and it's worth paying a bit more for.

No plans made for today yet but The Boss has appeared and is already saying things like "What shall we do today?" which is always a worrying sign. I have pointed out that we can't go out as I'm waiting for a delivery from the chemist as yesterday's prescribed medication was out of stock.  Of course that does leave me wide open to "assist" with certain domestic tasks. 

Never mind Bob, better bite the bullet and gerronwith whatever is "requested."

Have a good one,

Bob.

[iL Dottore]

5 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Well that was quick, it was meant to be the end of June...

 

You jammy b****r! ANOTHER 3D printer?!? (and I’m not even on my first!).

Are you starting up a print farm? (cue “incredibly envious” emoji)

 

Should the bungalow purchase work out, I’ll have plenty of space for 3D printers AND a M**** R****** in the cellar (which will still have a room left over for Mrs iD’s craft room!)

 

As much as I love the idea of doing resin printing, I’m not sure if the new generation FDM printers wouldn’t be a less complicated solution (so no washing and curing after printing). Certainly what the 3D printers from Bambu Labs are able to do is pretty much up to the level of detail a resin printer can achieve - at least according to what has been presented on YouTube.

 

(looks ‘round nervously in case the Mighty Awl is lurking…) I’ve recently viewed some YouTube videos about using the current iteration of Templot - which not only allows to design accurate and prototypical track, but also converts the resulting design into files for printing on a 3D printer (FDM for sleepers and resin for the chairs). This could be the perfect solution for decent t***k.

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from the Charente.  More rain yesterday but none forecast for the next week. 

 

Yesterday did not go very well as Beth had digestion problems and all appointments had to be cancelled.  I did get some carpentry done and also got a refund out of the credit card company for an Amazon Prime subscription that I had not ordered. That was a result. 

 

Anyway this morning we are off to the Physio then I may do some more carpentry in the afternoon. 

 

Regards to all. 

 

Jamie

[polybear]

29 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

Good morning all,

Another dull start to the day here.  Sunny spells and showers, some heavy and possibly thundery forecast.  It will be breezy and a bit cooler.  12°C rising to 19°C.

Thursday brings with it multiple bin lorries and Ocado who once again say they will be delivering everything we've asked for.  Must admit their service is far better than we ended up experiencing with Sainsbury's and it's worth paying a bit more for.

No plans made for today yet but The Boss has appeared and is already saying things like "What shall we do today?" which is always a worrying sign. I have pointed out that we can't go out as I'm waiting for a delivery from the chemist as yesterday's prescribed medication was out of stock.  Of course that does leave me wide open to "assist" with certain domestic tasks. 

Never mind Bob, better bite the bullet and gerronwith whatever is "requested."

Have a good one,

Bob.

I guess “play trains” would be the wrong answer?

 

23 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

You jammy b****r! ANOTHER 3D printer?!? (and I’m not even on my first!).

Are you starting up a print farm? (cue “incredibly envious” emoji)

 

Should the bungalow purchase work out, I’ll have plenty of space for 3D printers AND a M**** R****** in the cellar (which will still have a room left over for Mrs iD’s craft room!)

 

As much as I love the idea of doing resin printing, I’m not sure if the new generation FDM printers wouldn’t be a less complicated solution (so no washing and curing after printing). Certainly what the 3D printers from Bambu Labs are able to do is pretty much up to the level of detail a resin printer can achieve - at least according to what has been presented on YouTube.

 

(looks ‘round nervously in case the Mighty Awl is lurking…) I’ve recently viewed some YouTube videos about using the current iteration of Templot - which not only allows to design accurate and prototypical track, but also converts the resulting design into files for printing on a 3D printer (FDM for sleepers and resin for the chairs). This could be the perfect solution for decent t***k.

 

Not sure the Templot printed track will go down to 3mm - might be worth asking the question on the Templot forum

[iL Dottore]

ION

The bungalow may turn out to be a keeper. Once we have clarification about how susceptible the house is to damp (it may just be the row of houses that Mrs iD’s niece lives in that has a damp problem and we get some estimates of refurbishment costs, we’ll probably go ahead with the purchase. It’s not perfect (but as they say “perfect is the enemy of the good”), but it certainly pretty much ticks all the right boxes.

If purchased, as the house is empty (the 90 year old owner recently went into a care home) we can refurbish with ease. To be done are

• new kitchen
• new bathrooms
• new windows (possibly)
• clearance of the courtyard garden and its replacement with a Japanese style low maintenance garden
• upgrade of electrics
• repainting

The “bit of a headache” part is sorting out the damp cellar. I suspect that modern technology (including a professional quality and capacity dehumidifier with auto pump out/drainage) should be able to sort out this issue.

 

I wonder if @polybear does a “house refurbishment for cake” scheme?

 

I will be in good company, as - like @Winslow Boy- I won’t have a shed, but I will have an underground lair. Which kinda knocks a shed into a cocked hat.

 

IOON (In Other Other News)

 

Diet proceeds apace, and as it’s a low carb diet I find myself reduced to eating things like today’s breakfast: bacon, soss, scrambled eggs and mushrooms. Definitely low carb. It’s tough dieting - but I have the willpower - so I am not missing the baked beans 🤣🤣 Single Malt Whisky IS permitted - so it’s not all hair-shirt, self-flagellation abnegation. 😁

The underperformance (to put it diplomatically) of one research site continues to be a headache - a very expensive headache. I’m having to redo all the work I’ve done due to them providing the wrong - key - information to us (a bit like expecting to be sent an EM track gauge, only to find out you’ve been sent an OO gauge instead). Which means that I shall once again be pocketing (quite) a few extra and unexpected bob this month.

 

Finally, the great downgrade (from 4mm to 3mm) proceeds apace. The Hornby stocks have been catalogued and this weekend I’ll be cataloguing the Bachmann, Dapol, Heljan and “other” stocks.  Mostly GWR, but other stuff as well. PM me if curious.

 

[Hroth]

Speaking of the Koreas, I see that the North is chucking dirty stuff at the South via balloon.  It reminds me of chimps at the zoo "mudflinging"* at the spectators.

 

* Slight bowdlerisation as its too early in the morning for terminalogical exactitude...

 

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Another dull and wet start to the day here in England’s northwest corner. Sheila is busy getting herself ready for her Zumba class, so I’m sat in the dining room keeping out of the way! Once again I’m on door answering duties, as I mentioned yesterday, we both have packages due, Sheila’s package is due today between 11 and 2, mine just says it’s in transit, so it could be today, or possibly (more likely) tomorrow. So, once back from dropping Sheila off at the church hall, I’ll once again some more unspecified pottering in the cellar, so that I’m available to answer the door. 

 

Back later. 
 

Brian

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl,

4 hours sleep, loooooooong awake, 2 hours sleep.

Woke with forepaws, left knee and right ankle all complaining, probably because it's raining..

 

Ben the cheeky Collie keeps trying to push this tablet out of my hand, he wants more attention.

We have been on a damp patrol, dull grey skies, not a lot of wind.

 

Hmm scrambled eggs, I'm might have some tomorrow, not had any in a while.

 

Plans for today,

More accounts.

And

?

 

 

 

Time for a muggacoffee 

[Hroth]

Greyish, coolish, breezy. BBC says showers around tennish, then sunny spells from twelve.

I wish the weather would make its mind up!

 

Now to stagger downstairs for brekky.....

 

[Coombe Barton]

20 minutes ago, Hroth said:

I wish the weather would make its mind up!

It’s the start of meteorological summer on Saturday 

[DaveF]

It's just started raining again.  We had a thunderstorm yesterday evening with torrential rain for a while.

 

Once again it looks like being an "indoors day" after I come back from church.

 

I've had cramp the last 2 nights, this morning I have had a glass of water with salt in it which usually cures it.

 

David