Early Risers.

[Andrew P]

Another great and glorious morning, so the walk for the paper will be a leisurely stroll.

 

Not a lot happened yesterday, it really was to hot, and it would have been fool hardy to sit in the Sun for any great length of time but I did have a hour whilst having morning coffee and reading a mag.

 

I enjoyed the new F1 format, which is discussed in more detail and with varied opinions on the Formular1 2021 thread.

 

Off now to wet the body and get out for some much needed exercise.

 

Have a good day one and all, stay safe and keep well.

 

 

[Barry O]

Yesterday was hot.. umpiring was... hot.. I didn't melt but it got close..

 

Cracking game though. Could of gone any way but a couple of quick wickets meant the home team staggered to a win.

 

We had a curry for a very late meal last night. The Sheesh Mahal food was excellent,  the company good and the air con blissful!

 

Off to the T20 today.. lots of sun cream will be plastered on .. lots of water bottles will be taken...

 

We have a greyish bin for general waste, a green bin for recycling ((no glass) and a brown bin for garden waste.

 

We have 3 "Daleks" for compost making.

 

Glass goes to the bottle banks which means a trip in the car.

 

I would stop the clock changes. Farmers work all hours today .. they couldn't in the past. Earlier dusks would kybosh evening cricket but when we were allowed to travel the world dusk could be very early with little or no affect on people.

 

Time to .. cook breakfast for our guest.

 

Baz

[jonny777]

10 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Tyneside then, IoM now - so not much difference - my opinion differs, sorry!

 

Don't apologise. We are allowed to have different opinions - that is the way the world works; although these days one might believe that a difference of opinion is something to be ashamed of because it doesn't get one a billion 'likes' on Instagram or Twitter. 

 

There is nothing really to stop people from working to their preferred daily time span if they wish, irrespective of the official time. If anyone wants to get up at 5am and enjoy the early morning sunshine at this time of year, then - why not? Watch the glowball set soon after 9pm and then off to bed. 

 

Of course, mowing the lawn at 5:45 am may not be a clever idea, but activities can be organised to cause least disruption to those on BST/GMT.  

[New Haven Neil]

Morning.  21c overcast on Fraggle Rock, not looked at what the seaweed twirlers are saying yet - field archery day, so a hot n sweaty day predicted.  Mrs NHN has some new doodah on her bow, hopes to have a better round than last time.  It's over my head.  As opposed to an apple job.....

 

Jonny, indeed, no issue with agreeing to disagree. The reason I hear given for 'daylight saving' or whatever its called this week, is safety of kids going to school.  I always considered that the light would be better used at the end of the day when drivers are tired and possibly more likely to be inattentive as kids come home from school. I can see farmers would disagree, having some as friends and Mrs NHN being a farm gurl, but they are a tiny fraction of the population.  

 

@zarniwhoop no need to rate posts!  iD's summary was pretty comprehensive (as always!) we're basically a well mannered chat room, very supportive, and quite a few of us have become virtual, and in some cases, actual friends.  We talk about anything and everything bar the trains - even then we sometimes are naughty.  No politics, religion or s ex is about the only rule.  We are scattered far and wide throughout the world although this is  a UK based forum, and are grown up about differences of opinion, as can be seen!  

[tigerburnie]

Morning all, since retirement I have not worn a watch( I own several including a nice pocket watch), so time is of little consequence in my life now unless I have an appointment with someone. I spent my working life eating and sleeping when my employer told me too, now I follow the body clock and the sun, what the authorities do to the clock has very little impact on my life. Up here in North East Scotland(apparently north of Moscow) our summer days are very long, I can sit and read outside after midnight without the need of a light and in winter on a grey overcast day it doesn't quite get light all day, my life is arranged to suit this, rather like some indigenous tribes might have done...............................unless SWMBO has other plans of course lol.

[Joseph_Pestell]

13 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Sadly no. All of them try to reduce cost. Even if they didn't, there being far more cost sensitive customers than those who will happily pay more for better service, more business goes to the cost cutters.

 

Even businesses that cater to a wealthier cross-section of people (like certain credit card providers) employ cost cutting (and worthless) telephone handling automation.

 

Doubtless they do market research on this and draw their own conclusions. And then the accountants get involved...

 

I do accept that many people will just go for the cheapest.

 

But there is a significant (and growing) minority who would pay for proper service. We know the cost/value of OUR time and the benefits in terms of less stressful life that come from proper customer service.

[Joseph_Pestell]

4 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Good Morning Zarniwhoop (and all),

 

ER is much, much more than people just relating what they did that day. Posting is incredibly varied, the first time or the casual observer may think that posting on ER is at the level of  “what I did in my holidays” or “today I’m happy/angry”, but there is a lot of shared informed erudition, black humour and - for want of a better term - running jokes on this thread. Discussions can take place over several days, starting (to refer to a recent topic) with one subject matter (types of wheelie bins) and then gloriously morphing to cover another interesting and related topic (in this case, frequency and types of rubbish collection around Britain).

In addition, and one of the great things about ER, is that you will get a lot of support from ER posters if you have problems or concerns that you might want to just “bounce off“ somebody else to see if your thinking is going in the right direction or if you are genuinely at a loss at what to do next. Such support may take the form of a posting with a response to your issue or, often, a PM from someone with insider knowledge providing some useful hints, tips and observations.

 

Overall, ER posters are a tolerant (and tolerable) lot, although sometimes someone does (very, very rarely) get “bent out of shape“ about something or other and we do have one or two “drive-by“ posters, but compared to other social media platforms, ER on RMWeb is a very civilised corner of the Internet indeed. But be warned, given that the average age of ER posters is trending upwards, you may find that observations on, and comments about, certain social, political and economic Issues tend to be a lot more “robust” than is normally the case nowadays. Probably this reflects the huge amount of accumulated life experience on ER and a view of the world that is based on lived-in reality rather than wishful thinking.

 

The rating of posts is a relatively new development for ER (I believe it was put in place with the last major platform software update. Possibly to attract the younger, social media savvy, railway modeller). It is certainly optional and, to be honest, I still haven’t figured it out how it is used as sometimes there seems to be - to my eyes - a disconnect between the content of the post and the responses that that post garners. 
 

One final thought: I recommend occasionally using emojis to help convey nuance in your posts. Without the inflections, tones and emphasis of the spoken word a statement such as “ my hamster got CoVID-19 and now I have to self-isolate“ could be construed as anything from a whinge to a sarcastic or cynical comment. Emojis help return some of the nuances of the English language when used in social media  but, like adding salt to your meal, emojis are best use sparingly and in carefully selected places. 

Welcome aboard. 
 

iD

 

I had not even noticed that there was a rating system. And I tend not to use emojis although I do understand that they help to clarify some comments for those who have no sense of irony.

 

For what it's worth, your posts are probably the ones that I enjoy the most on ER and I commend you for the time and effort that you put into them. They help me to get the day off to a good start. 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Sunny and hot!  Already 27°C and climbing.  I realise this is nothing compared to what some of our overseas colleagues experience but it's too much for me.

Late on parade today as although I awoke at 5.00ish as usual I turned over and didn't get up until 8.40.  Absolutely disgusting behaviour!  It just won't do and I have severely reprimanded myself.  

Slightly better news is that although I exceeded my Kcal intake a couple of times in the week I have actually lost the pound that I put on the previous week and in fact lost one and a half pounds!   I've celebrated by having my usual Sunday smallish cooked breakfast.  

Also on the good news front is that I've won on the lottery to the tune of 2 lucky dips and £10.  Not exactly life changing though but I shouldn't complain as I was lucky enough to have quite a big win 3 or 4 years ago.

Rugby watched and enjoyed as usual but the serious stuff starts next Saturday for the first Test.  I think the Lions have quite a job on their hands but it wouldn't be South Africa if they didn't.

I too will watch the last half hour or so of the T de F and hope that Cav can get that final sprint win.  It will take some doing but would be one hell of an achievement.  Will also have to fit in the F1 but probably just the highlights.

Not sure about visiting The Shed today, I suspect it'll be too hot.  

That's enough drivel for now so I bid you farewell,

Have a good one and keep out of the sun,

Bob.

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by grandadbob

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

…No politics, religion or s ex is about the only rule.  We are scattered far and wide throughout the world although this is  a UK based forum, and are grown up about differences of opinion, as can be seen!  

I am not sure I completely agree with you, Neil. If you define “politics” as decisions and actions that have an impact on the way a society functions, then yes we do talk about “politics” (and I would say we talk about it a lot). What we don’t do, and I am in total agreement with this, is we don’t talk about the political -  which, I would argue, is politics as seen through the prism of political allegiance to one particular political party or philosophy.

As for “sex” (e.g. male and female, XY and XX chromosome carriers) yes, we know there’s a difference  but that ain’t half so important as the differences between EM and OO modelling!

 

As for religions, well we tolerate all sorts here: from the run-of-the-mill, mainstream 00 to the more esoteric theisms of P4, S4 or 7mil… 

36 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

I do accept that many people will just go for the cheapest.

 

But there is a significant (and growing) minority who would pay for proper service. We know the cost/value of OUR time and the benefits in terms of less stressful life that come from proper customer service.

A good point, JP. Just two observations from my side: firstly, “cheap“ doesn’t necessarily mean inexpensive. I’ve seen many an expensive, branded, consumer item that was actually quite cheaply made (with a short usable life) Secondly, buying things because they are cheap can be, in the long run, incredibly expensive. Many years ago, at the beginning of my career, I read an interview with an individual who had gone from bankrupt to wealthy a couple of times, before – finally - ending up wealthy again. He said something that resounded with me (and has been borne out by the observations of others, such as Terry Pratchett) which was “when you don’t have much money you can only afford the very best“.
 

At first this seems like a paradoxical statement, but when you look at it more closely it starts to make sense. To borrow (very heavily) from Terry Pratchett let me give you an example: you can spend £20 on a pair of boots or £100 on a pair of boots; the £20 pair of boots will last you about a year, the £100 pair of boots will last you 10 years. If you buy the £20 pair of boots, after 10 years you will have spent £200 on boots, compared to only £100 on the better quality boot.

 

However, and I can see this as a significant problem in much of today’s society, this does presuppose that one is prepared to save up to buy the better quality item. Of course, there are such things as credit cards and loans but these serve to provide instant gratification whilst making a lot of money for the banks.  I think that it would be interesting to find out what proportion of credit card use is devoted to buying high quality, long lasting, items.

 

Of course, to be fair, there are two downsides to buying high-quality items that will last a long while. The first is that what you buy may go out of fashion (does anyone remember polyester three-piece suits with flared trousers? They were quite expensive at the time). The second is that high quality, long lasting, technology items run the risk of becoming obsolete. The first caveat can be overcome by acquiring timeless and classically designed items (such as a Chesterfield sofa or a dinner jacket with a shawl collar) but the second, no matter how carefully you research things, it’s still a gamble. (I still have a very high quality Nakamichi cassette deck and a “state of the art“ Panasonic VHS videotape recorder - now gathering dust and with spares long being unavailable).

 

iD

[Barry O]

@grandadbob.. we won a fiver and one lucky dip..ooh err! What to do with this new found wealth?

Baz

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The rating system has been a feature of RMweb from the beginning. It has been altered and amended from time to time and everyone has a running tally of their ratings (just above the total of posts made under your avatar on each post). If you click on your avatar you might see 'days won', the member who has the most likes (and other ratings) in a day has 'won the day'. I assume there is a league table somewhere of those who have successfully won the day but I haven't found it. Each day a leader board is shown of the top four recipients of ratings. We would probably find that many ER's are on that leader board, indeed one or two ER's will possibly top the league. I checked and I find I have 'won the day' 87 times but even then I've a long way to go to catch up with some other ER's.

[Gwiwer]

Good morning all, for such it just about remains.  And on a page which bears the number, for those who care about such things, of the long-serving and still-extant LT tube car 10012.  

 

10012 was the first of a very large build of 1938-stock cars following on from the 1935 prototypes (10000 - 10011) and which served on the Northern, Bakerloo and Piccadilly Lines, plus a handful of later conversions on the Central Line's rural shuttle between Woodford and Hainault.  The final cars were only withdrawn from passenger service - on the Isle of Wight - in January this year at the tender age of 82.  10012 resides in the Acton Depot annexe of the London Transport Museum having formed a part of the "Starlight Express" unit which ran special trips after withdrawal from the Northern Line in 1988.  

 

Taking note of earlier comments ER is a place of sanctuary, support, friendship and (largely non-judgemental) freedom to speak.  We probably represent a fair cross-section of the hobby and as such are typically of more mature years.  Though not necessarily of more mature behaviour!  There are running jokes, we are not all "in" on all of them, and there are subjects which are only mentioned in passing as they tend to bring forth the wrath of the awl.  Our hobby - in detail  being one of those.  Otherwise it's the RM-web standard of no politics or religion although both are usually accepted in general terms.  There is no requirement to "rate" each and every post; some of us read and rate everything while others skim and rate a few.  Most of us probably fall somewhere between.  I don't appear every day and find it hard to catch up if I miss more than a couple of day's-worth but the gist is easy enough to capture and anything of great significance (hatches, matches, despatches for instance) will easily be found.  

 

It's here for us all.  We are free to join in, take it, lurk or leave it.  It won't be for everyone.  I have made friends here and met several whom I would likely never have encountered otherwise.  For which I am very thankful.  

 

Onwards.  Sun-day is living up to its name with a searing blast greeting me outside the back door as I let His Pawship out for Morning Roll-in-the-Dirt.  The seaweed people suggest it will reach 31C but in still air and full sun that will be very warm indeed.  Even for this ex-exile who spent 17 years in the much higher temperatures of Australian summers knowingly working in 48C and with the mercury suggesting it was 52C one day out bush in the Western Macs.  

 

There is water and chilled chardonnay to be drunk.  There is pollen affecting everything I try to do.  Yesterday was bad; this morning I can just about breathe.  Two bad night haven't helped with the fan required last night to avoid self-basting.  I don't remember when the hay-fever season was last this bad nor this long.  I might have to consult the quack over the possibility that the asthmatic side of things has worsened with age.  It certainly feels that way this weekend.  

 

I'm off for a cooling muggertea.  Oxymoronic?  Not.  Apparently drinking hot beverages causes the pores to open releasing body heat and cooling one down.  The alternative might be to stand naked outside and have Dr. SWMBO make use of the watering can and cold tap!!!  

[grandadbob]

Rick, the funny rating was just for your last sentence! 

[PhilJ W]

7 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

I'm off for a cooling muggertea.  Oxymoronic?  Not.  Apparently drinking hot beverages causes the pores to open releasing body heat and cooling one down.  The alternative might be to stand naked outside and have Dr. SWMBO make use of the watering can and cold tap!!!  

[Coombe Barton]

13 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

The alternative might be to stand naked outside and have Dr. SWMBO make use of the watering can and cold tap!!!  

Migrating into TMI territory.

 

[BSW01]

Good afternoon everyone 

 

Very late on parade today due to having a bit of a lie in. We didn't wake up until almost 9:30!

 

So after a late breakfast I went straight outside to do some work in the garden. Mainly weeding, dead heading and pruning, but I do have a couple of plants to put in the ground. 

 

Zarniwhoop, welcome to the madhouse, we're a friendly bunch so do join in. 

 

In the meantime, stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later 

 

Brian 

[JohnDMJ]

Good Afternoon, for it is again thus!

 

Returned from the local metropolis to find it is cooler in the house than outside!

 

When I was updating said house before moving in, I renewed all the double glazing, conservatory and porch (AKA utility room) (latter two stripped to foundation and rebuilt) and every glazing unit has Venetian blinds between the panes! It's almost like having Mediterranean style shutters!

 

(I often wonder how effective those shields to go inside windscreens to keep the car cool; to my mind, they are on the wrong side of the glass!)

 

Elsewhere:

 

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

At first this seems like a paradoxical statement, but when you look at it more closely it starts to make sense. To borrow (very heavily) from Terry Pratchett let me give you an example: you can spend £20 on a pair of boots or £100 on a pair of boots; the £20 pair of boots will last you about a year, the £100 pair of boots will last you 10 years. If you buy the £20 pair of boots, after 10 years you will have spent £200 on boots, compared to only £100 on the better quality boot.

 

Talking with a friend the other day, I enquired as to whether the brake light on her car had been sorted. "can't afford a bulb" was the response, so, presumably, saving up for the fine!

 

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

(I still have a very high quality Nakamichi cassette deck .snip.

 

I will be most upset and extremely jealous if it be the Dragon model you have!

 

33 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

I'm off for a cooling muggertea.  Oxymoronic?  Not.  Apparently drinking hot beverages causes the pores to open releasing body heat and cooling one down.

 

An interesting paradox but advised to me by many an elder relative!

 

33 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

The alternative might be to stand naked outside and have Dr. SWMBO make use of the watering can and cold tap!!!  

 

Image Alert!!

[Erichill16]

Feeling a bit queezy!

[polybear]

59 minutes ago, JohnDMJ said:

Talking with a friend the other day, I enquired as to whether the brake light on her car had been sorted. "can't afford a bulb" was the response, so, presumably, saving up for the fine!

 

[Tony_S]

We had a nice photo from Aditi’s brother of his daughters bouncing on a bouncy castle that had just arrived this morning. My niece who is nine in a couple of days is having a very small party for some of her school friends in the garden. Aditi’s brother is clearly brave as there will be jelly and ice cream too. Perhaps jelly throwing has ceased to be a thing.  Aditi’s brother intends to retire in a few years so is starting to look for things to do. He noticed that his daughters school was asking for people to become governors. So he put his name forward thinking he was unlikely to get elected on a first time application. Well, he was the only applicant and so now has been given the fiinance and safeguarding responsibility. He said those are his responsible areas at work too. Another brother in law is worried about retiring as he doesn’t know what he will do with the time. I don’t think Aditi’s brother will have any problem at all.

Tony

[45156]

1 hour ago, BSW01 said:

Very late on parade today due to having a bit of a lie in. We didn't wake up until almost 9:30!

 

 

Afternoon All

 

We also had a lie in this morning, as we didn't get up until 05.45, well I did, as it was my turn to make the tea (it is 5 mornings of the week) and 30747 rose at 06.00 - so we were at the A6 car boot for 7.15, and it's a good job we took some extra cash with us - we bought a bird table and a hedgehog house, both quite cheap, £23 for the two.  Also a number of other bits and bobs, then home to do some G word (!!)

 

Now awaiting a turkey breast roast cooking for Sunday dinner - it's been in the freezer since Easter, as it was bought but not eaten at the time, and though it has a use by of next January, it is in our opinion time to eat it.  Oddly, though it is a Lidl branded item, it was made in Norfolk, by a company which is based in Ketteringham Hall, and we lived for a while in one of the gatehouses to that building - both were once owned by Colin Chapman, of Lotus fame.  Odd little coincidence.

 

Timer has just gone - time to cut it all up.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[Winslow Boy]

 So here I àm sitting in the shade of the garage, alternately being blasted by waves of heat or just 'waves' of air.

 

Anyway I hear you ask why are you sitting ?  Well my dear fellow contributors - other descriptions are available, I have been busy. And what prey tell have you been busy doing.

 

Well some time ago, beginning of the month to be truthful, I acquired a standard willow, that's a Salix integra Flamingo to those in the know.

 

Now I must admit that this was something of an impulse purchase as I had seen then before and dismissed them as the previous one had died off due to unsuitable siting. Come to think of it that was also an impulse buy as well.

 

Anyway on passing them again I weakened. Shame on you I hear you cry. Well not really as since the first passing there had been a reorganising of the patio and there was now room to accommodate an extra planter. All I needed to do was to make it.

 

So that is what I have been doing and being the talented, multi skilled - you mean tight fisted g...., that I am I finished it on Friday.  A pallet was acquired and a large pot that were being thrown out. A root in the 'store', the garage, for some metal strips - to reinforce the timber uprights  and using compost created on site here it is. I did have to purchase some castors but only because the ones I had I didn't think we're suitable. Plus I few more plants 'appeared' - they leaped into my trolley 'onest guv.

 

So when you throw them in, it probably cost something like £20 to £25 but when you think about  how much something similar would cost, a definite saving. Least ways that's what I think.

Edited July 18, 2021 by Winslow Boy

[TheQ]

Not having things to do when retired? I've 18 months to go, have too many things to choose from and that's without SWMBO's list...

Of which, started to restore SWMBO'S grandmother's rocking chair, the wooden central panel of the back is embossed with a big flowery pattern, so I've been very carefully cleaning and removing some sort of varnish that's gone black in places.

I noticed several of the furniture tacks have broken both on the back and seat, so the next adventure is to remove the all take the pretty bits off, then I can use a detail sander on the flat  bits.

 

Another 60ft of Sideshow Bob trimmed one side only..

Moved used again , I did quite a bit before it started cutting out again, which suggests a heat reated problem, since it restarts with the choke it still suggests a fuel carburettor fault.

 

Steering controls sanded and painted I eventually chose white paint as that the tin I had open to recoat the main hatch, which was done after a light sanding. I had finish that and wandered round the boat to touch up some other white bits when I got round there was a big blue bottle getting its Darwin award by gluing itself to the paint on the hatch.

 

SWMBO has found the loppers, they were in the alleyway between mobile home and muddling shed. I'm informed this the alleyway is now designated the wool working shed.. quite why the loppers were in there I have no idea..

 

The second hatch was sanded and repaired unfortunately the cap came off the polyurethane glue bottle, and flooded the hatch plus some on the paws. Luckily the hatch was upside down. After spreading the glue to where it would do most good , it was left to set.

 

Ben the I really want my walk Collie, had been pestering for some time, so I took him out. We didn't get far about a 5th of they way round before he sat down in the shade and said "it's too hot, I want to go home". We had by that time dropped down the hill out of the sea breeze..

 

On return I went to the gluey hatch and chiseled off the excess while it was still soft .

 

Right time for a long soak in the bath and an attempt to remove waterproof glue from the paws..

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by TheQ

[tigerburnie]

Always surprises me how many people have no hobbies, I have had dozens over the years, some like flying a falcon ended when she passed away and I decided I was getting too old for chasing across fields after errant birds of prey. Fishing has always been my main hobby which began at the age of 4 when my Grand mother used to take me as my Grandad lacked the patience to teach a nipper. Trainspotting on the Great Central led to an interest in steam, which led to an interest in muddling. Always gardened, used to help my Dad from an early age and he made my first greenhouse, that wasn't tall enough to stand up in, but I loved it. Hill walking and mountain climbing began when I moved to Scotland and the wildlife photography has also gathered speed since living up here, though I have done photography for around 50 years. Wine, beer and cider making is another hobby I've had for over 50 years as well, no time to wonder what to do and boredom does not exist.

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, Erichill16 said:

Feeling a bit queezy!

I can only only offer my apologies for any part I might have played in that.  I prescribe a few cooled ales or a bottle of falling-down water either of which are wont to erase the memory.

 

Whether you awake still queazy afterwards is entirely another matter