Early Risers.

[The White Rabbit]

Afternoon awl,

 

Soggy Sunday is more Wild Weekending at the moment. There is some rain but it's been blown about 90 degrees to the vertical... I'm very glad I'm not on the upper slopes of Dentdale. 

 

Salutations to Baz's lass, hope you both have a good day. And while on personal matters, best wishes and positive vibes to il D's Lucy. 

 

I got down to the village fete yesterday for a couple of hours, watched various people having Fun on assorted stalls, including the archery, quintain and pillow-pole stands. I was tempted by the former but felt too knackered to have a proper go, so left after a little while. Maybe next year. Certain bits were rather boggy but no standing water and no wellies required. Some attendees were in fancy dress but of a different sort... 

 

On the subject of central heating, perhaps I could mention 'hypocausts'? Whatever you think about the Romans' morality, ethics and politics, they were first class engineers. I reckon even today they can teach us a thing or two. 

 

Various bits done on things the awl disapproves of, including sorting out (I hope!) an issue with some salmon pink and brown items from Sheffield, as originally requested from Widnes. 

 

One 'advantage' of inhospitable weather is time spent in the kitchen doesn't feel like time stolen from work outside. Of which there is a sizeable list. Gnocchi yesterday after the fete, lamb shanks today for mittagessen, potentially with Rabbit's leek and cheese quiche to follow later this pm. 

[polybear]

2 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

The driving factor is the criminal gangs organising the boats. Not all of the illegal immigrants head for the UK, far more prefer Germany for example and many prefer other countries in Europe. So much so that border checks are being reintroduced in the EU. At least the new government is taking steps to short circuit the flow by processing immigrants in Albania following the lead of the Italian government.

 

The chances of getting rid of the Gangs is diddly squat - there's just too much money it for v. little risk.  In my book the best bet is to dissuade the illegals sufficiently to make them realise that coming to the UK isn't such a bright idea after all - so stop running a BF/RNLI taxi service (respond to those in genuine distress by all means, but don't go routinely patrolling/looking for them), no free accommodation (I wonder what they get in France?  Also those born in the UK don't get it - pretty much every large town/city in the UK is testament to that) and no free handouts etc.  Also, no lifelong right of residency in the UK - incl. those subsequently born in the UK).  If the person is a Genuine Asylum Seeker (which will exclude 99.9999% of those coming from Europe) then they should be dealt with differently, however.

 

If Bear were to arrive in Oz/N.Z./USA etc. in a Rowing Boat it'd be (a) a Bluddy Good Trick, and (b) I'd be out PDQ I'm sure.

 

Harsh?  Some may think so - but if you don't hit the problem HARD then you'll NEVER stop it.

 

And yes, you can consider that a Big Fat Rant.

 

22 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Apparently not https://lenews.ch/2024/03/22/recent-swiss-fire-deaths-prompt-calls-for-fire-detectors/#:~:text=Ireland and UK%2C homes must,Europe there are no requirements.

 

 

Whilst Building Standards in Switzerland may well be higher (certainly so I'd say, judging by the cr@p the developers are getting away with now) I very much suspect that the primary causes of death are nothing to do with electrical faults in a building; I suspect they are caused by cooking, smoking, faulty white goods, kids playing with matches, charging E-Bikes etc.

[Tony_S]

8 minutes ago, polybear said:

faulty white goods,

Not cleaning fluff out of tumble dryers used to cause a few fires. Ours has all kinds of fluff sensors but having had one of the older ones with heating elements we got in the habit of fluff removal each time we use it.

[Coombe Barton]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

I an not much up to speed on English Channel operations other than what is broadcast on news media. But I suspect certain lifeboat crews will be a little hacked off at the thought of being tasked with constant patrols or daily “shouts” to uplift casualties.

 July 2021 - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jul/28/rnli-hits-out-migrant-taxi-service-accusations

 

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has hit out at accusations it is operating a “migrant taxi service” by rescuing people at risk of dying in the water as they cross the Channel in small boats, which the charity says is its moral and legal duty.

 

Responding to accusations from Nigel Farage that it is facilitating illegal immigration, the volunteer lifeboat charity said it was “very proud” of its humanitarian work and it would continue to respond to coastguard callouts to rescue at-risk Channel migrants in line with its legal duty under international maritime law.

Don;t want to stray into politics, but what Garage said was despicable.

 

It's what RNLI crews VOLUNTEER to do. No compulsion, no pay, putting themselves in danger, sometimes paying the ultimate sacrifice (Penlee, 1981). the RNLI is a charity.

 

And some have not been able to save lives. Phil Shannon MBE was on the Sennen lifeboat that tried to get round Lands End to help the Solomon Browne, but they couldn't. This news article mentioning Phil Shannon's retirement.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-30477521 They commit, and for ever; quote - "Mr Shannon said: "I've reached the end of the line, regrettably. I wish I could do it all again. I'll always be watching out, wondering what's happening."

[Hroth]

We've been promised much rain this evening, and more tomorrow, so its a comforting thing that I put a lamb casserole on in the slow cooker this morning.  I've not decided whether to boil up some spuds to go with it or to do a baked potato and dump the serving of casserole on top of it....

 

Of course, the remainder will go into the freezer as individual portions for when I can't decide on what to have for tea!

 

I can smell it, calling to meeeee......... 🤪

 

Edited 7 hours ago by Hroth
miner spelin problemette...

[polybear]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

But turning the heating on/off, on/off, on/off is a recipe for burning money. Each time you †urn the heating on it has to burn energy to get the temperature up to a comfortable level and as it gets colder and colder, the amount of energy needed to “warm up the place” increases. But when you heat the place and keep the heating ticking over, instead of turning it off, then you are burning a lot less energy as you are just replacing the heat that is lost through normal use of the house (assuming that you have some degree of insulation)

 

 

The Beary Gas Fire went on @ 0700(?) @ Warp Factor 9 for maybe 90 minutes; it hasn't been on since; Stylish Bear is currently dressed in Jeans (Wrangler, no less) and a shirt.  Do I feel anywhere near cold?  Nope....

 

ION....

 

Shedwood done, din dins done, ironing done, new shoes given a polish for that extra bit of shine.  I reckon that's a Tick.

Now it's time to look at G & L Suppliers....

 

BG

[rockershovel]

Why AC in UK? Not so many years ago I would have agreed that it had little application but No 1 Son's house is unpleasantly warm and stuffy from late spring to early autumn. It is SO insulated and has so little effective ventilation ..

 

Hotels are a different matter. They DO need effective ventilation and/or AC. Prem Inn in particular are well aware of this, along with the Travelodges on motorway sites where you can't open the windows for traffic noise. They are no longer cheap and it simply isn't good enough. 

[Coombe Barton]

Looking at the forecast we've won some more yellow warning of rain on Monday and Tuesday. I do not have to drive in it.

[DaveF]

The sun decided not to bother putting in an appearance today, it remained hiding behind the cloud and it has stayed cool.   It was cold in church as the heating is not yet on, we simply cannot afford it as much as we might like.  When I got to chuch I realised it was the 5th Sunday in the month which means it is a different service so I had to check what I needed to do and when.

 

Lunch was a simple and presumably healthy salad, though many would quibble about the ham I had as the meat part for a change. Then I fell asleep reading part of yesterday's newspaper but that could have been caused by the wine I had with the salad.

 

Since then I have been sorting out things to go in the bin.  I am wondering if I will ever use the old throws in the bottom of the wardrobe but they are in good condition so perhaps I should keep them just in case.  However a number of other things have gone.

 

David

Edited 6 hours ago by DaveF

[TheQ]

Almost evening Awl,

Forecast rain tomorrow and Tuesday, wind 30 mph tomorrow and possibly gusting 50 Tuesday. None of it dyed yellow.

 

The Sailing report,  wind southerly very light to start with slowly increasing all day, this meant close hauled with the possibility of a short tack on the first leg. A semi run round the corner to buoy 2, long tack short tack back to one, a very broad reach to X, then back up river again.

Sunny when I arrived then it went grey and chilly for most of the day, then the sun came out as we packed up..

 

Sadly for the first 3 races I had no one to play with, there was a major White boat event just 4 miles away, so they went.

So my major task was not to lose distance on the previous fleet the who started 5 minutes ahead, in the first race with very light winds I got to within 20 ft of their last place boat. But about 200 yards behind at the finish , but BM probably beat them all on handicap.

 

Second and third races didn't do so well, with increased wind BM got left behind but may have split the fleets.

 

4th race was combined bermudan class, so some boats to play with.. BM made good start... So did everyone else we were line abreast just behind the line as the buzzer went off. As everyone else was in faster boats, BM was soon last, but kept up well, wasn't till the third leg BM dropped behind a bit so there's a good chance BM wasn't last on handicap.

 

SWMBOs Trimmingham Trosh went better today, probably due to better weather, though there was a surplus of helpers as some turned up who hadn't signed on to do so. She, like me, got very cold though, I don't think it topped 13C today.

[Debs.]

Evenin' awl!🫡 

Just wanted to "turn myself in", for indulging in a bit of ra**w*y m*d*lling recently.😳 

Coombe Barton and Barry O have been keeping and eye on my activities, but there's only so much they can do to limit the potential damage.🫣 

Keep smiling awl.🥰

Edited 5 hours ago by Debs.

[Coombe Barton]

12 minutes ago, Debs. said:

Just wanted to "turn myself in", for indulging in a bit of ra**w*y m*d*lling recently.😳 

 

It puts me to shame.

[Ozexpatriate]

13 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Smoke alarms don’t seem to be widely used here in the domestic setting, or at least I haven’t noticed them in evidence. During our house hunt, we saw a number of apartments of various ages and none had smoke detectors that we noticed.

What with all those wooden chalets? 😉

 

13 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I suspect that very high building standards, quality materials, strict implementation of relevant safety laws and by-law-required monitoring of electrical systems during the lifetime of the property may have something to do with it (every 5 or 10 years, I forget which, you must get your property’s entire electrical system - from where the mains power enters the house down to each socket and switch must be inspected by an independent and qualified electrician and any company that has done any sort of electrical repairs to the property is disqualified because of potential bias).

Electrical inspections will help, but ignition sources like candle next to a curtain or dropped cigarette can do the same thing.

 

Leading causes (according to a US insurer):

1. Cooking fires
2. Heating equipment (portable space heaters / dirty fireplaces)
3. Electrical
4. Candles
5. Smoking
6. Christmas trees

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Ozexpatriate

[Tony_S]

9 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

What with all those wooden chalets? 

Have you been to Switzerland recently? A lot of properties we have seen have a sort of Alpine look about them but there is an awful lot of poured concrete construction with some Heidiland adornment. 

[Ozexpatriate]

7 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Have you been to Switzerland recently? A lot of properties we have seen have a sort of Alpine look about them but there is an awful lot of poured concrete construction with some Heidiland adornment. 

I understand. I meant it facetiously and it took "forever" * (along with a 504 error) to add this: 😉 - which was my one edit.

 

* Actually six minutes - but long enough for you to read the post.

 

I've never been to Switzerland (I think - there might have been an airport stopover) but guessed that the big cities where the vast majority of people live (Genève / Zurich / Basel etc) have very little in the way of the postcard image - no differently than most Britons don't live in 'chocolate box' Cotswolds cottages.

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Ozexpatriate

[tigerburnie]

I have about given up with part of this forum, the provider platform is clearly not fit for purpose, cannot get on for hours. I can get on the less popular threads instantly, pity it can't be sorted out.

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, rockershovel said:

British towns and houses generally are unsuited to central heating ... there are almost NO District Heating Schemes in the European or American fashion, for one thing. Britain is an island made of coal and for a long time, produced considerable amounts of shale oil, paraffin, coal gas from coke production and the like. 

How is it unsuitable for central heating in the American or Continental fashion?

 

6 hours ago, rockershovel said:

Until the 1960s, coal and its by-products were pretty much the universal heating and cooking medium; cheap, abundant and available not far from wherever you happened to be. Gas was widely used for lighting, because it was probably produced not far away. It was widely used for cooking and a huge national project was carried through by which the Natural Gas produced in the North Sea was used as a cooking medium, and still is.

Until recently gas* was the primary source of central heating, water heating and cooking fuel in US homes. My home (constructed 8 years ago), has gas-fueled central heat, cooktop/hob, hot water and clothes dryer.

 

* "Natural gas" rather than coal gas.

 

From here.

Quote

Fifty-nine percent of all U.S. households are still dependent on fossil fuels for primary space heating, according to the most recent 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). Natural gas is the most prevalent space heating fuel in the United States, used in nearly 63 million households (51 percent). Home heating oil and propane account for another 5 million households (4 percent) each.

 

Your premise that ubiquity of coal products negates central heating is unsupportable.

 

The issue is simply that 'it wasn't done' and retrofitting is very expensive.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Ozexpatriate

[New Haven Neil]

6 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

n London where more than 100 years of moving passengers below ground in tube trains has now caused the London Clay to warm alarmingly the first air-conditioned deep-level tube trains will arrive later this year. That should help to reduce the heat stress of tube travel where it can be well over 30C on platforms and aboard trains even when the air outside is half that. 

 

Air conditioned trains won't help cool the 'tube', as the heat extracted from the trains will be discharged into....the air in the tube.  Unless they have some form of heat exchange storage I'm unaware of. Which I doubt, sorry.

 

The tube air itself need to be cooled, and the heat exchanged with the outside world.

[BoD]

19 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

I have about given up with part of this forum, the provider platform is clearly not fit for purpose, cannot get on for hours. I can get on the less popular threads instantly, pity it can't be sorted out.

It can be very frustrating.  A victim of its own success, although as you (and others regularly) say, it should not be beyond the wit of humans or the grasp of technology to sort it.  I have often left this very place without fully reading it or posting* because of the ridiculous delay.**

 

* good! I hear many of you say.

** probably still beats the Royal Mail.  Only just, at times, though.

Edited 3 hours ago by BoD

[Ozexpatriate]

13 minutes ago, BoD said:

... it should not be beyond the wit of humans or the grasp of technology to sort it.

Three 504s this morning - just trying to read two pages of ERs and reply.

 

I thought starting over, leaving this thread to the backup, was a great idea. 

 

No problems opening other threads. 

Quote

This community is temporarily unavailable

For the most part only applies to Early Risers.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Ozexpatriate
Extra 504 - on two pages.

[BoD]

1 hour ago, Debs. said:

Evenin' awl!🫡 

And a very, very good evening to you too.

It has just got so much better knowing that you are still keeping an eye on us all.

[New Haven Neil]

6 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Two 504s this morning - just trying to read two pages of ERs and reply.

 

I thought starting over, leaving this thread to the backup, was a great idea. 

 

No problems opening other threads. 

For the most part only applies to Early Risers.

 

I get it on TNM too.  But ER's is normally OK in the morning when not so many, errr, ER's are on.

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, The White Rabbit said:

On the subject of central heating, perhaps I could mention 'hypocausts'?

Radiant floor heating is very common in high-end US homes. Usually in bathrooms. It's very nice. It is expensive to install - hence the rarity in any but more expensive homes.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon/evening all from Estuary-Land. The problem with not getting up until 11 am is that much of the day is already over. I've managed to get most of the 'to do' things done today, but it's been a bit tight. Mind you there's been no need for eyelid inspection but I've still got to catch up on a few other threads on ER's.

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, polybear said:

If Bear were to arrive in Oz/N.Z./USA etc. in a Rowing Boat it'd be (a) a Bluddy Good Trick, and (b) I'd be out PDQ I'm sure.

"Boat people" have been an immigration 'hot potato' in Australia since the Vietnam war. Refugees from conflicts in the area (at one point Vietnam, but later places like Timor-Leste) braved pirates and the elements to cross the Timor Sea and seek asylum in Australia.

 

It has been a political issue fraught with a similar sort of politics you can find in your part of the world and the US regarding asylum seekers since the 1970s. 

 

One of Australia's "solutions" was to create their own version of Gitmo on the Pacific Island of Nauru. (I don't take pride in this approach.) I might hazard a guess that this could have inspired a certain scheme in Rwanda.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Ozexpatriate
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