Early Risers.

[shortliner]

 

MorIs this Maundy Thursday? Apart from the monarch dishing out money, where did the term originate? Off to horses now, so no time to Google - one of you will know, anyway!

 

Ian - Wiki says

Derivation of the name "Maundy"Most scholars agree that the English word Maundy in that name for the day is derived through Middle English and Old French mandé, from the Latin mandatum, the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you"), the statement by Jesus in the Gospel of John 13:34 by which Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet. The phrase is used as the antiphon sung during the "Mandatum" ceremony of the washing of the feet, which may be held during Mass or at another time as a separate event, during which a priest or bishop (representing Christ) ceremonially washes the feet of others, typically 12 persons chosen as a cross-section of the community.

 

Others theorize that the English name "Maundy Thursday" arose from "maundsor baskets" or "maundy purses" of alms which the king of England distributed to certain poor at Whitehall before attending Mass on that day. Thus, "maund" is connected to the Latin mendicare, and French mendier, to beg.[36][37] A source from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod likewise states that, if the name was derived from the Latin mandatum, we would call the day Mandy Thursday, or Mandate Thursday, or even Mandatum Thursday; and that the term "Maundy" comes in fact from the Latin mendicare, Old French mendier, and English maund, which as a verb means to beg and as a noun refers to a small basket held out by maunders as they maunded.[38]

[Happy Hippo]

Morning all

 

Early gloom has given way to sunshine, but there's no real warmth in it.

 

Might do some garden stuff later - things have dried out pretty well, so mowing becomes an option, maybe.

 

Is this Maundy Thursday? Apart from the monarch dishing out money, where did the term originate? Off to horses now, so no time to Google - one of you will know, anyway!

Ian,

 

Don't believe wiki, or any other source: This is the truth as witnessed by generations of the Army,Royal Marines and members of the Royal Navy.

 

Maundy-Thursday (0930-1630) used to be the regular working hours of the RAF.

 

Friday-Sunday being their normal weekend.

 

Hope this clears up any confusion.

 

Regards

 

Richard

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

The sun shineth (some of the time, between passing clouds (who remembers them - and I don't mean things in the sky - the brand appeared in 1874 but i don't know when/if they finished).

 

Anyway back to today - herself is talking of the greenhouse and I am thinking I really ought to head to Reading for some 'last rites' pics as I won't get a chance tomorrow.  That apart module (partial) top slicing continues but 'the room' is rather cold and I don't think the mess of sliced Modroc and foamboard would be too well thought of in the modelling dining room.

 

Have a nice day folks.

[Oldddudders]

Weather forecast for France shows a bit of snow this morning over Seine Maritime (Le Havre) and maybe Calvados (Caen) but nothing after that. We in Sarthe may get a few bits of drizzle later. Sun has now disappeared behind high-level gloom again.

 

Many thanks to the various Maundy explainers. Jack's second option moves in the direction of the word mendicant, meaning a beggar, I think. Sherry - I could hear you reading that sermon, as I know you do from time to time. Richard - nothing new in those rivalries!

[AndyB]

I don't recall us staying working that late at Akrotiri; mind you we were on the flight line by about 6:30, oh, and the beach by 14:00. 

 

Maundy-Thursday (0930-1630) used to be the regular working hours of the RAF.
 

[sixoh8sixoh]

Morning all.  Some overnight snow in Edinburgh again and the hillside of Arthur's Seat is a mottled white.

 

Spent last night doing a bit of (non-railway) modelling.  Work are having a decorated Easter egg competition, so I made a Dalek from a hard boiled egg, cocktail sticks, card, plasticard and foamboard which I had lying around from railway modelling.

 

Beautiful sunny day with a clear blue sky, but appearances can be deceptive with frost over the car windows.  Got a real cruncher this morning.  The 'Seniors' v the 'Ladies'.....

 

Better keep my wits about me.  I hear there's a few ladies who'll stoop to anything to get one over the old boys....

 

Gordon, beware of the ladies tampering with your balls.

[southern42]

Hope all goes smoothly for your trip, Tony.

 

Snow is all consuming in my thoughts at the moment.

30 feet snow drifts on Snowdon.

They are sending 'special' equipment to clear the track for the Easter weekend but will only get part of the way up.

 

DD's Top Tip: Stay off the mountains!

 

Sun shining here melting what little snow we had yesterday.  Cloud/haze/snow fflurries(?) still hovering over Anglesey. 

Must admit though, those mountains look most impressive at the moment.

 

Morning all.  Some overnight snow in Edinburgh again and the hillside of Arthur's Seat is a mottled white.

 

Spent last night doing a bit of (non-railway) modelling.  Work are having a decorated Easter egg competition, so I made a Dalek from a hard boiled egg, cocktail sticks, card, plasticard and foamboard which I had lying around from railway modelling.

 

 

Gordon, beware of the ladies tampering with your balls.

Easter Dalek - photo please?

 

 

Have a good day, all, and hope the man (and ffem) fflu germs keep away.

[Ashcombe]

Many thanks to the various Maundy explainers. Jack's second option moves in the direction of the word mendicant, meaning a beggar, I think. Sherry - I could hear you reading that sermon, as I know you do from time to time. Richard - nothing new in those rivalries!

 

Not important enough to do sermons, Ian,  but I'm allowed to read lessons from the Bible - in fact I've had a very early 'phone call this morning asking me to read one this evening.

[sixoh8sixoh]

Polly - hope this works. Can't post pics from work pc so trying via phone.

Edited March 28, 2013 by sixoh8sixoh

[New Haven Neil]

Sneaky look in from work - oh that feels good!  Coffee break RMWeb-ing!!!

[shortliner]

I can remember when the RAF worked 0800 - 1700 Mon Tues, Thurs, Fri - 0800 - 1200 Weds (sports afternoon, compulsory) Sat - 0800 - 1200, which was why you had 48-hour passes, to let you go home at a weekend - if you could get there and back!

Edited for fat-finger typing

Edited March 28, 2013 by shortliner

[AndyB]

Well the mysterious yellow orb has vanished leaving many in the village feeling rather let down - yet another false god we've prostrated ourselves to over the years, alongside the sleeping policeman god that we thought would slow the traffic down....

 

Years ago there as a tradition of working Saturday mornings and having the Wednesday afternoon off for sport. That changed eventually and it became standard office hours (unless here was something inconvenient on, like a war)  - 08:30 till 17:00. One of the air commodores carried on working Saturdays for years and didn't tell his missus. When she finally found out by bumping in to the wife of another member of staff in the local supermarket on a Saturday morning...well, you can imagine the roasting he got!!

 

New dishwasher installed and got to work out how limey the water is to programme the salt dispenser. Quite hard water here, so "brackish" would be a safe bet.

Andy  

[DonBradley]

I loved the Maunday-Thursday working hours -  in the best ERs tradition!

[trisonic]

As I understand it, Pete, it is replacing something which I considered more fit for the purpose (NHS Direct - staffed by qualified Nurses).

Many old people will not call an ambulance no matter the emergency - but NHS Direct (in my experience) did it quickly when needed.

By the time the 111 operators have gone through their list of questions (the reason for the failure of the computers), the need may have tragically passed.

However, I'm relating things secondhand - I'll check the facts later.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21963297

Still sounds superfluous to me.

I remember being sick out of hours and calling my GP and being put through to a stand in service. The very nice Doctor who came around to see me gave me some heavy duty anti-biotics and told me to visit the local out patients (she was worried about a possible tumour in my cheek). Did that, just a severe infection. Went home and she called me later to see if I was alright.

I remember thinking and telling her I wished she was my Doctor. Unfortunately she thought I was joking and just laughed......

 

Best, Pete.

[The Stationmaster]

Still sounds superfluous to me.

I remember being sick out of hours and calling my GP and being put through to a stand in service. The very nice Doctor who came around to see me gave me some heavy duty anti-biotics and told me to visit the local out patients (she was worried about a possible tumour in my cheek). Did that, just a severe infection. Went home and she called me later to see if I was alright.

I remember thinking and telling her I wished she was my Doctor. Unfortunately she thought I was joking and just laughed......

 

Best, Pete.

Some years ago I was suffering from avery severe pain in my lower abdomen and we duly received a visit from the stand-in service Doctor - very nice bloke and very concerned and with a couple of ideas of what it might be.  Anyway he gave me some sort of 'feel happy' pill and duly departed.

 

Next day when I visited the surgery the Doctor I saw explained that he and the other bloke had a bet on about what was causing the pain but he wanted to do an ecg that afternoon as the week before he'd missed that a patient was on the verge of a heart attack (that really did my confidence no end of good).  Anyway the ecg was clear so he sent me for an X-Ray, and about 5 hours later I was nicely tuvcked-up in a hospital bed with everybody telling me I was alright and I was only there for some tests - until the night turn Staff Nurse came on duty and refused to let me walk 20 feet to the loo 'because I don't want you dying on my shift' = more reassurance  .

 

I was in for a week and had one game of screen savers test (a lung scan - 3 days after treatment had started  ) and I hadn't got anything the two original Doctors had thought I might have, just a rather large blood clot in one of my lungs.

[petethemole]

Not related to the Passing Clouds I hope?  A lovely smoke, along with Three Castles (similar blend but not oval) and my other favourite of years ago, Sweet Afton. I didn't like the mainstream "Virginia" brands and usually smoked French fags when flush, roll-ups the rest of the time.  Not now though!

Pete

[New Haven Neil]

As a one time NHS manager, I just feel they are ruining what was once a reasonable service, and sometimes a very good service with these stupid changes.

 

My GP experience in the UK was, er, patchy, and the first one here was atrocious, but when we moved to the other end of the island 10 years ago we got the 'new boy', who locals weren't keen on as he was; new to the island, not manx, young and from London!  In fact he is a superb doctor, and now it's impossible to get on his list.  He has been of immeasurable help to me, both recently with the hip problems, and other fairly serious issues previously.  He listens, understands, is well read on new treatments and drugs, and even shows a good sense of humour, he must do as he is now a local commissioner (councellor)!!  If only they could clone him.

 

I used to recruit doctors when I was a medical staffing officer, and only about 20% seemed to be the people we the public wanted them to be.  Don't get me started about Consultants....sorry to any of those who are on here, but really, you're NOT god - any god, of whatever belief.  Oh oh, /rant.

[The Stationmaster]

Not related to the Passing Clouds I hope?  A lovely smoke, along with Three Castles (similar blend but not oval) and my other favourite of years ago, Sweet Afton. I didn't like the mainstream "Virginia" brands and usually smoked French fags when flush, roll-ups the rest of the time.  Not now though!

Pete

No - a year after I'd given up.  I only smoked passing Clouds very occasionally although I was regular Gold Flake man at one time until I moved to somewhere where I couldn't get them and had to put up with Senior Service and you scored more points with the Divisional Staff & Admin Officer if you smoked plain cigarettes (and could still stand up after the Staff & Admin Office Christmas party, the poor bloke who collapsed was banished to Ebbw Vale).

[Happy Hippo]

One of the problems we have with the NHS is that it was spawned as a part of the beginning of the welfare state and this has burgeoned into a monster that sucks up money more efficiently than a Miele vacuum cleaner.

 

When the welfare state system was introduced, I believe the creators honestly didn't appreciate the birth of a welfare dependent society, where it is deemed quite acceptable in some circles of society to rely on the state to support them from 'cradle to grave' without them doing one iota of work to support such a system. They also didn't see the advances in medical science that would see people surviving illnesses or defects and conditions that in those days were deemed killers. So many more people are surviving, and as the average age before expiring is increasing, the system is working far beyond it's original specification.

 

Neil is spot on with his comment about ruination of a good service with these changes. You get people used to one system, and then change it for something else! Until I started talking to my wife about the new 101 number, she didn't have a clue about it's existence.

 

Overall, the NHS is a unique and wonderful organisation, but it's treatment of 'clients' varies drastically across the country. When my father had his first stroke, the ICU/CCU care he received was outstanding. The physio/rehab was extremely poor: but is was easy to see that it was a(sadly) typical case of too few staff, running themselves ragged trying to do too much with too little. Conversely, the NHS did their best to kill my mil after her breast cancer op with a x 10 over prescription of medication, and recurring bouts of of the various stomach bugs that seem to live in hospital wards these days. they would not release her until she was well.....every time she got better, she picked up another bug. in the end the hospital put the ward under isolation, which did cure the problem. However, my mil is now terrified of hospital, and has refused to go back in.

 

Generally we seem to have stopped using that little known part of the brain which is called the 'common sense zone'.

 

This has resulted in our ability to breed a nation of idiots who are incapable of making rational decisions regarding the use of the telephone for emergency/non emergency use. In fact some of them seem incapable of deciding anything unless there is a rule or regulation telling them what to do.

 

and don't start me on consultants: Mine decided to cancel my appointment in early December last and I've still not recieved a revised date over 3 months later! (So I have been poking outpatients appointments with a big sharp stick this week)

 

I don't know whether to bang my head against a brick wall in frustration, or to go and lie down in a darkened room.

 

Perhaps we ought to rename this thread ERs 'Early Ranters'.

 

Regards

 

Richard

Edited March 28, 2013 by Happy Hippo

[BoD]

The sun has been out all afternoon here and there is a bit of warmth in it.

Unfortunately that cold easterly is still blowing.

 

At the moment the score is Wind 5; Sun 0

[trisonic]

Not related to the Passing Clouds I hope?  A lovely smoke, along with Three Castles (similar blend but not oval) and my other favourite of years ago, Sweet Afton. I didn't like the mainstream "Virginia" brands and usually smoked French fags when flush, roll-ups the rest of the time.  Not now though!

Pete

I used to stock up on Sweet Afton whenever I visited the Emerald Isle - lovely smoke. Then I got hooked on Rothmans but now smoke Winston because they are cheap in comparison and are the only US brand  that is most like UK ones (no aromatic additives).

At school I smoked No.11's. Remember them? Ghastly but you could palm them easy because of their small size....

Best, Pete.

[New Haven Neil]

Similar score here BoD,  5c on the external thermometer, which doesn't recognise wind chill!  Despite the sun, it is most unpleasant out.

 

Warming myself with the thought of a Kernow Thumper. 

Edited March 28, 2013 by New Haven Neil

[The Stationmaster]

I used to stock up on Sweet Afton whenever I visited the Emerald Isle - lovely smoke. Then I got hooked on Rothmans but now smoke Winston because they are cheap in comparison and are the only US brand  that is most like UK ones (no aromatic additives).

At school I smoked No.11's. Remember them? Ghastly but you could palm them easy because of their small size....

Best, Pete.

Odd you saying that about Winston Pete as when buying cheaper cigs on my not infrequent trips across the Channel I normally bought Marlboro if I couldn't get something that was in the same packaging as a British cigarette  (I say that because I often bought Dunhill and the tobacco mix was clearly not the same as the ones sold in Britain).  One of our Directors smoked Silk Cut and he had various arrangements in place to ensure that he received a regular supply from across the water (in fact he and I were the only people on our floor who both smoked and had private offices so we were guaranteed some regular visitors to talk 'urgent matters') 

[Shedman5]

Afternoon, Passing Clouds, I can recall my Aunty smoking these, oval and in a pink box I recall!!! Well its nice and sunny here, a slight wind though. Great game of tennis this morning then pub lunch followed by a snooze. This retired life is turning out to be very enjoyable!!

[southern42]

Polly - hope this works. Can't post pics from work pc so trying via phone.

 

That photo works really well - especially at the top of a new page.

Superb modelling there, Mike.

Thanks for posting.

 

I AM A DALEK...