Early Risers.

[jjb1970]

There was a period in Indonesia where people were wearing helmets by having them dangling over the back of their neck by the strap. Which is probably worse than just being bare headed but people were arguing they were compliant with the law in wearing a helmet.

 

Road safety in Indonesia is terrible, it's bad enough in a car, never mind a scooter. A lot of people don't realise that insurers will (legitimately) deny claims if injuries are suffered doing excluded and/or illegal activities.

 

I find that SE Asia can bring out the worst in some people. I don't condone corruption and a.....ahem...'flexible' approach to legal requirements, but I do understand why poor people in countries where it is pretty much the only way to stay afloat do what they have to in order to survive but some tourists embrace it gleefully as part of the holiday experience.

[BR60103]

17 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

I've been singing this song now for 25 minutes.  And I'm not proud.  

 

Or tired.

 

I just checked my collection and I have what I think is the first appearance in print of Alice's Restaurant.  (Broadside magazine, 1967).

As well as vinyl.

 

[polybear]

7 hours ago, tigerburnie said:

It's jam first then cream oodles more jam................................................

 

There - corrected it for you.

 

6 hours ago, BSW01 said:

So I gave the whole lot a trim, filling a spare garden waste bin in the process!

 

Bear can thoroughly recommend climbing in the bin and treading it down - works wonders, but don't do it until the bin is nearly full, otherwise climbing out again is, er, "interesting".  Ask a Bear how he knows.

Or even better, get SWMBO to do it for you....

 

5 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Its Australian tourists in Bali and Thailand that are the issue here. Many have never ridden a motor scooter before but can hire them for $2 a day.

 

And even if the rider has travel insurance,  if they arent wearing a helmet (a legal requirement in Bali that is often ignored by tourists), don't have a valid motorbike licence or are drunk, or violate some other traffic rule  their  claim will be rejected and the rider is up for all costs, which can be hefty even in low-cost S.E Asia.

 

https://www.bikesales.com.au/editorial/details/if-you-think-covid-19-is-dangerous-try-this-123268/

 

“We encourage all Australians to consider carefully the risk of motorbike travel overseas"

 

- and to make it compulsory to read that article before they hire a bike (though I suspect it'll make very little difference cos' they'll all think "it won't happen to me" or "It's ok, I know what I'm doing on a bike"

 

 

Bear here.....

 

Harry's Revenge is very much present this morning - the RH aft Paw has come out in sympathy as well now.  Turdycurses - pink pills have been deployed.

 

ION......

 

Bear spotted a Dakota flying back from France yesterday - I was rather hoping for some Red Cross Cake Parcels to parachute out the back but sadly not.....😢

 

BG

 

 

[pH]

59 minutes ago, polybear said:

Bear can thoroughly recommend climbing in the bin and treading it down - works wonders, but don't do it until the bin is nearly full, otherwise climbing out again is, er, "interesting".  Ask a Bear how he knows.

… and make sure you steady yourself (and the bin) by holding on to something separate from the bin.

[monkeysarefun]

4 minutes ago, pH said:

… and make sure you steady yourself (and the bin) by holding on to something separate from the bin.

And never yell out "See - I TOLD you what you'd get, the LAST time you rang the doorbell!" while doing it.

 

 

Edited June 5 by monkeysarefun

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Blue sky and sunshine here with a few clouds.  Mainly sunny spells forecast with the chance of the odd shower and a moderate westerly wind.  10°C rising to 19°C.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon in The Shed and after clearing away all the "stuff" plonked on the O gauge plank played with the larger toys for a while. I still haven't decided how I'm going to rebuild this as it's at eye level and balancing on a step stool to handle 3 link couplings is not the easiest (or safest) of pastimes.  After my patience started to wane I got down and had an easier time with the smaller toys and a pleasant couple of hours ensued.

Today we've got friends visiting and a BBQ lunch has been planned, hopefully the weather will stay kind to us.

The Boss has got a dental appointment at 8.30 so she isgettingamoveon.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[iL Dottore]

8 hours ago, tigerburnie said:

It's jam first then cream................................................

 

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

There - corrected it for you.

Removing the cream from scones? That’s one perverse Bear.

 

Plus when this gets out PB will be permanently banned from entering Devon and Cornwall (at the very least. it is rumoured that there is a £1 million bounty on the head of whoever came up with the Greggs “Cornish” pasty. “Dead or Alive” [preferably dead]).

 

They are a proud people and don’t take kindly to having their national treasures mucked about with  

I must remind Captain Cynical to give the casting director at CCI GmbH (film division) a hefty bonus on her casting choice. When it was announced that, for Early Riders, it will feature @New Haven Neil and @PupCam as the aging, yet virile, disreputable and downright dangerous bikers - Billy (NHN) and Wyatt (PC). There was not one snigger or ribald comment from ER - who are not known for their restraint and nuanced commentary. ID and CC remain amazed.

[polybear]

3 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I must remind Captain Cynical to give the casting director at CCI GmbH (film division) a hefty bonus on her casting choice. When it was announced that, for Early Riders, it will feature @New Haven Neil and @PupCam as the aging, yet virile, disreputable and downright dangerous bikers - Billy (NHN) and Wyatt (PC). There was not one snigger or ribald comment from ER - who are not known for their restraint and nuanced commentary. ID and CC remain amazed.

We’re all still too lost for words….

[Hroth]

18 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

 

I must remind Captain Cynical to give the casting director at CCI GmbH (film division) a hefty bonus on her casting choice. When it was announced that, for Early Riders, it will feature @New Haven Neil and @PupCam as the aging, yet virile, disreputable and downright dangerous bikers - Billy (NHN) and Wyatt (PC). There was not one snigger or ribald comment from ER - who are not known for their restraint and nuanced commentary. ID and CC remain amazed.

 

13 minutes ago, polybear said:

We’re all still too lost for words….

 

We're polite too!

 

[iL Dottore]

On a slightly more serious note: the idea of criminal punishment as being both public and cathartic has a long and storied history. The Romans had a tendency to put the very worst of their criminals into the arena to face either wild animals or fully trained, armoured and weaponed gladiators. There are historians who claim that this was as much about demonstrating the might of Rome, as it was about punishing criminals.
 

Have we (as in the Western democracies) become more accepting of criminality or have we just given up? Low level crime seems NOT to warrant any sort of Police attention nowadays (at least in the UK and places like New York City and LA). Perhaps putting low level criminals in the stocks in a public place (with a guard or two to prevent things from getting too out of hand) to face public opinion, retribution and justice might be a more effective deterrent than the threat of a deferred sentence to an overcrowded prison system.

 

And yet whilst low level crime seems to mostly go unpunished nowadays, for serious criminals there are punishments so evil that even the Romans would say “whoah” By this I mean the severe prison conditions where the prisoners are kept in tiny cells for 23 hours a day, have no (or minimal) light, no fresh air, no human contact, fed the bare minimum and are permitted only 1 hour of exercise in a featureless concrete box. Florence ADX “Supermax” is one of the best examples. I’ve read that not only is suicide common (despite the prison authorities best attempts to remove anything that could be used to commit suicide), but that all but the newest prisoners have become clinically insane. To be honest, I think such prisons are more about revenge than justice.

 

Now I’m no “it’s the victim’s fault /society’s fault that made him do the crime” do-gooder, but I find that the Supermax prison approach to be abhorrent - worse than sticking them into the arena with a wooden stick to face gladiators. The humane thing would be to execute such prisoners. it would also be more cost-effective for the state: such prisons are expensive to man and run and that is not including the additional costs of unceasing appeals and legal aid to the guilty.

 

And whilst I do appreciate the argument against capital punishment centring around “can you really have irrefutable evidence of guilt” I think that there is an overabundance of evidence of their danger to society in order to land them in a Supermax prison. I think there would be very few people who would lament the demise at the hand of the state of individuals like El Chapo, or the Unabomber.

[The White Rabbit]

Morning all,

 

On a more peaceful note, further to posts on the environment and transportation, green or otherwise, I saw: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/article/2024/jun/05/sailing-voyage-the-wash-norfolk-potatoes-chip-shop-kings-lynn this am. One or two of ERs might be aware I hope to produce/commission a scratch aid kit for some coastal small craft (primarily for unmentionable items in 1:76 scale with a quayside scene but should anyone want to use them for other reasons, as they say, 'whatever floats your boat' (groan)). A shrimper is one of the candidates. 

 

[jjb1970]

Looking at previous posts makes me think of a fellow who represents one of the greens NGOs in international meetings. He has a splendid habit of starting interventions by loudly exclaiming 'I am literally speechless!' before launching a long rant. He had the good grace to laugh when I observed he might claim to be many things but literally speechless wasn't one of them.

[Hroth]

14 minutes ago, The White Rabbit said:

A shrimper is one of the candidates.

 

Don't talk to me about shrimps....

 

[Erichill16]

Morning All,

Yesterday was metaphorically speaking a washout. SWMBO woke up feeling dizzy,lightheaded and suffering with a stiff neck. So no visit to mils, Fox Valley or the greasy spoon for spam. When SWMBO did stir we took the dogs for a shortish walk around the woods and took a flask of tea and coffee with us. Nice day if we were in October.

Did manage to get the ledger sorted for April but now it’s June! Where did May go?

I know SWMBO is a bit better today so I think a trip out to ‘Foxy’ will be on the cards. It’s Wednesday so nephews are due for tea but not sure if SWMBO is up to it but a decision will have to be made soon.

On that not I’d better get a move on.

 

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

there is a £1 million bounty on the head of whoever came up with the Greggs “Cornish” pasty. “Dead or Alive” [preferably dead]).

As opposed to the “fine” for eating a Ginsters pasty which is to eat all of them.  
 

This obviates the need to place them on sale, have them offered as “Cornish Pasties” and ultimately should result in death by ingestion of the victim. 
 

The Cornish pasty now has a Protected Geographical Indicator status. They must meet certain requirement of form and content and must have been made in Cornwall.

 

If made elsewhere or not to those standards they can be described as a “pasty” or (incorrectly) as a “pastie”. But must not be described as “Cornish”. 
 

Ginsters are made in Callington which is (just) in Cornwall. Their pasties contain carrots and peas and a mush-like substance which they call “meat”. Their products do not meet the PGI standards.  

 

Despite being an EU “thing” the PGI has been maintained. 
 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fd34f3dd3bf7f3059ef3cd2/pfn-cornish-pasty-pgi-pdf.pdf

 

Now what’s for croust? 

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Due to it being damp and freezing the match yesterday finished after 8pm. Good job the teas at Driffield were, as usual, excellent! (And @polybearit included chips and pizza!)

Her self is off for an xray so we were cleaning the house from 8am. Now all finished so having a coffee before I prepare for a women's cricket game this afternoon. It's still fairly cold here but multiple layers of clothes will be deployed, two electric hand warmers are fully charged so. 

 

Time to warm up in the shower!

 

Baz

[TheQ]

I've just come across this bikers video for NHN.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Nnamd541HekvhddQ/

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

The weather can’t make up its mind today, it was dull and wet, (but not raining) when I got up. As I was eating breakfast it became very windy and started to rain, but now the sun is shining! So, it’s far too wet to do any work in the garden today, not that I was anyway, due to my back issue, so a day of unspecified pottering (@Chrisf) is on the cards. As for the green bin, I always push down the contents using either a spade or a rake, it works for me AND is after than trying to stand on the contents! 
 

Back later.
 

Brian

[Erichill16]

Further to my last post regarding seasonal weather, Acuweather predict 3 degrees ‘realfeel’ and 60% chance of rain in Penistone.

 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Last week it was the lurgy this week it's the hay fever. I'm not venturing out into the garden today as the grass is still very wet from last nights rain. Just general pottering around the house today then, be back later.

[Erichill16]

A start has been made on May’s accounts.

 

 

Edited June 5 by Erichill16
Remove duplicate images

[Erichill16]

19 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

 

 

Edited June 5 by Erichill16
Blxxdy technology

[DaveF]

I was not an early riser today, I woke once in the early hours and then at 08.15 when I heard the garden bin being emptied.  I felt very tired when I woke but made the effort to get up and have decided to have a quiet day.

 

All I've done so far is clean the kitchen sink and work surfaces, check my e mail and spent some time looking up things about family on the web. 

 

I have the TV on vaguely watching the programme about D Day, it seems to be aimed at people who do not know much about it - that's me showing my age.  When I was at school like anyone who is now in their mid 70s I knew people who had been there on the day or not too long afterwards, including a couple of my teachers. 

 

It's time now for coffee.

 

David

[Hroth]

 

 

 

I've just watched the "D Day 80: We Were There". programme on iPlayer.  Very good, very moving.  I'm glad I've not had to be involved in anything like it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001zrbz/dday-80-we-were-there

BBC News item about some of the interviews

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8001py1ly5o

 

Another interesting series is "D Day: The Unheard Tapes", audio history recordings carefully brought to life.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001zg8f/dday-the-unheard-tapes

 

 

After "We Were There" finished, I switched from iPlayer to BBC 1 and wasn't impressed by what I saw after "We Were There" so switched it off.  It's dry outside at the moment so I may go out and do some weeding....

 

 

[grandadbob]

The Boss survived the dentist as it was only a check up and hygiene visit.  However panic has now set in as she has to return for either a large filling or a crown. I have mentioned before that she is rather nervous at the prospect of dental treatment so much so that I used to have to accompany her. Since she changed to my dentist that is no longer the case but she's still worried.  The only good news is that as we are In Denplan the crown will only cost £150 to £200 instead  of some of the figures I've heard quoted.

All preparations have been made for our BBQ lunch, all we need now are some customers!  If they don't arrive I've got a serious amount of eating to do. 

Edited June 5 by grandadbob